gabapentin for opiate withdrawal......advice

[mpgunner]

Okay so this is my first thread so I hope I'm doing it right. Anywho, I've been in a absolute battle with opiate addiction. It all started in Iraq. I injured my back from falling off the tailgate of a hummer. Myself and a Abu ghraib detainee was setting on the tailgate as I was providing overwatch for breakfast crew which are all detainees about 12 of them. Well all of a sudden the tailgate chain broke and we both went straight to the ground. My tailbone impacted and all of my weight fell right on that one spot on my behind. Well the shotgun in my hands flew up and busted me in the nose and my eyes immediately began watering. I couldn't see anything except orange jumpsuites coming toward me. My immediate reaction was I'm fucked, their gonna kill me right here. But actually they helped me up and clung to the shotgun with all my might. But they never went for the gun. Anyway long story short due to my injury I was given percocets for pain for the rest of my time in theatre. I was only 19 at the time but I soon realized that I needed the percs more and more. Well when I got home I attempted to get them from a civilian doc but they all said I was too young. So I bought them off the street. That began my road to addiction. It's destroyed everything in my life. But now I'm almost better no withdrawal physically but mentally I am beyond depressed without it. But I have gabapentin and in a high dose I feel so much better. I'm not depressed I'm talkative and my ptsd is almost non existent. My question is have anyone else used gabapentin for this and what are the long term effects as far as tolerance? I thank you for reading my post and I open to any suggestions. I'm also on Prozac for PTSD but I don't think it does anything for me. Thanks..

 

[Keif' Richards]

Gabapentin has the ability to arrest many of the negative symptoms of opioid withdrawal. It's your friend and you are on the right track. As I'm sure you'll find/have found, the recommended dose is going to be exceeded to attain relief. There are many threads on BL touching upon the utilitarian use of gabapentin/pregabalin that you should consult, but truthfully, you're going to need to figure out the dose that works best for you through trial and error. For instance, I'll consume 4g in a sitting when I'm really hurting. It goes without saying that this is an excessive dose, but the fact remains that it is effective. Do not just follow my lead, as for many, 4g of gabapentin is enough to cause convulsions.

As I said, consult the search engine and a plan might begin to form on how you can best utilize your prescription, but I'll leave you with a few quick facts that are important to note....

Gabapentin tolerance builds rapidly. A very rough estimate on my part is a ~25% reduction in efficacy per diem. Meaning, that if you are using excessive doses, by the 4th day, you are going to be dealing with a drastically reduced effect. Use your gabapentin wisely and try your best to space out doses.

Stomach contents seem to have a drastic effect on bioavailability. I advise consuming something rich in lipids (fat) prior to consuming the gabapentin. My trick, as I have posted before, is to eat a couple Tbs of peanut butter about 10 minutes prior to swallowing the pills. Taking gabapentin on an empty stomach has proven to be much less effective in my experience.

Hope this helps.

 

[Monchhichi]

Okay so this is my first thread so I hope I'm doing it right. Anywho, I've been in a absolute battle with opiate addiction. It all started in Iraq. I injured my back from falling off the tailgate of a hummer. Myself and a Abu ghraib detainee was setting on the tailgate as I was providing overwatch for breakfast crew which are all detainees about 12 of them. Well all of a sudden the tailgate chain broke and we both went straight to the ground. My tailbone impacted and all of my weight fell right on that one spot on my behind. Well the shotgun in my hands flew up and busted me in the nose and my eyes immediately began watering. I couldn't see anything except orange jumpsuites coming toward me. My immediate reaction was I'm fucked, their gonna kill me right here. But actually they helped me up and clung to the shotgun with all my might. But they never went for the gun. Anyway long story short due to my injury I was given percocets for pain for the rest of my time in theatre. I was only 19 at the time but I soon realized that I needed the percs more and more. Well when I got home I attempted to get them from a civilian doc but they all said I was too young. So I bought them off the street. That began my road to addiction. It's destroyed everything in my life. But now I'm almost better no withdrawal physically but mentally I am beyond depressed without it. But I have gabapentin and in a high dose I feel so much better. I'm not depressed I'm talkative and my ptsd is almost non existent. My question is have anyone else used gabapentin for this and what are the long term effects as far as tolerance? I thank you for reading my post and I open to any suggestions. I'm also on Prozac for PTSD but I don't think it does anything for me. Thanks..

Hi brother. First of all, because you're a veteran, I'd like to thank you for your service. And I hope that you will be able to get over these issues, especially the PTSD. Gabapentin has always helped me during withdrawal but it carries its own nasty withdrawal if you stay on it too long.