Gabapentinoids Gabapentin after benzo dependence: interdose withdrawal or side effects? Cessation protocol.

[probablyanxious]

I’m a longtime high-dose benzo user (clonazepam 2+mg a day, 14 out of the last 20 years). I stopped taking the benzo as of 7/26 of this year. The withdrawals sucked but relative benzo withdrawals not as bad as previous withdrawals.

However I have been taking gabapentin before that sporadically (max 300mg in a day, not everyday). But since I jumped off the benzo I’ve been taking 600-900 mg a day of the GBP, practically every day. Occasionally my dosing reached 1200mg, but I’d say the average daily dose is 700-800mg a day. I’ve since read about the hell of GBP withdrawal.

I’ve been having some symptoms since the July jump. Notably, horrible suicidal depression, restless arms/legs/shoulders at night, waking up 1 hour after falling asleep, some weird muscle and nerve sensations/pains, intense anxiety, fear and social avoidance, sleep disturbances and insomnia. I’m probably forgetting some. The symptoms seem not to wane and maybe even intensify.

I was attributing these symptoms to benzo withdrawal but now I’m seriously wondering if I’m actually experiencing inter dose GBP withdrawal or possibly even side effects.

I need any help I can get trying to identify my issue and how I should proceed. I asked my psyche and therapist but they said it couldn’t be the benzo and that GBP doesn’t cause withdrawal. That maybe it’s a side effect and I should just stop taking it or taper extremely rapidly, like a week of tapering and call it good.

However I feel stuck between jumping off the benzo and now this GBP situation. I’m seriously thinking about restarting like Valium to help me get off GBP and manage these terrible symptoms.

Would it be okay you think to start up Valium? Should I just taper the GBP rapidly with no benzo? Should I long taper, and if so what does that look like? What’s the protocol if you have side effects? How can I deal with this while being at least somewhat functional? I feel like I’m dying or that I need to die. It’s no way to live. Please help. Thank you.

 

[placebonaut]

Could be PAWS from clonazepam, PAWS can last month or years for some people, Gabapentin does cause withdrawal, so it could be interdose Gabapentin withdrawal I guess, how long had you been taking it for at 300mg and how often, what does not everyday mean? Depending on the answer you might already have been dependent on Gabapentin before you started taking it daily.....

Assume you tapered off Clonzepam? How long for and what taper?

Did these symptoms begin before or after you started using gabapentin daily?

You say that symptoms might intensify at time, do they fluctuate in relation to gabapentin doses and or frequency of use? - Keep a log of when you dose, how much and symptoms with timings to help you understand things better.

Were there any other medication changes or substance use changes around the same time?

I need any help I can get trying to identify my issue and how I should proceed. I asked my psyche and therapist but they said it couldn’t be the benzo and that GBP doesn’t cause withdrawal. That maybe it’s a side effect and I should just stop taking it or taper extremely rapidly, like a week of tapering and call it good.

they sound like morons.

you need some help with these symptoms, diazepam might be a valid answer but given the issues you're having you should get some pro advice and help to manage it correctly ideally, have you talked to your local doctor about this? maybe a 2nd opinion is a good idea.

danger here is that the cause of your symptoms isn't clear and the gabapentin might actually be helping with some of the PAWS symptoms if that is what it actually is, so a fast taper on gabapentin might be fine on it's own (depending on your length of use), but it might also make the PAWS worse if that's actually the underlying issue....

 

[kris66]

they sound like morons.

I agree!

It’s shocking how little some doctors seem to know about the substances they prescribe.

Stopping benzos too quickly can cause the symptoms you describe. Unfortunately re-starting benzos doesn’t always stop the symptoms but it may help. Do you have a Dr willing to prescribe Valium?

Gabapentin can be addictive, but stopping it right now may make the symptoms you are having worse. If you do start Valium you could wait until your symptoms stabilize and then taper, I just wouldn’t taper both medications at once.