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Alcohol withdrawal advice

Mr. Tambourine Man

Mr. Tambourine Man

Bluelighter
Joined
Feb 21, 2008
Messages
461
Location
California
So I’m 36 hours past the last drink of a ~6 day bender on which I averaged about 17 standard drinks per day. First 24 hrs had high BP 165+/90, heart rate of 100+, serious anxiety, panic attacks, chills and sweating. At this point I’m feeling more normal, but still have (shorter) episodes of tachycardia, hypertension, as well coughing, runny nose, and diarrhea.

My question is: at what point would it be safe to take either gabapentin or kratom? I get quite bad RLS which can prevent me from sleeping under normal circumstances, and would appreciate something to cover up the lingering symptoms.

Also, could kratom raise my blood pressure substantially (I know it has some adrenergic effect). If so, how long ought I to wait before consumption?

I realize it was dumb not to taper, but I was supervised in case of seizures.
 
Hi op I don't think kratom spikes blood levels but it is best to seek medical attention and go to the doctor for the proper treatment for the withdrawals and not just self prescribe if this is what you are doing. The doctor can properly assess you and provide information and medication you can take including how long you have to take of the medication. Goodluck OP and please report back on how you are doing.
 
Thank you for the info, Maya.

Currently I'm feeling much better and more normal. After taking half my prescribed dose of gabapentin (600 mg), I was ble to get nine hours of uninterrupted sleep. BP is still around 140/75 (which isn't perfect, but I had high-ish blood pressure to begin with), and heart rate is normal. Chills, headache, malaise etc. have all disappeared. I still feel a bit "off", and have very slight anxiety, but otherwise I feel fine. EDIT: forgot to add, very mild soreness around my sternum.

I realize medical treatment is the best option, but it wasn't really feasible. If symptoms return, or get worse, I have a relative I can talk to who is a physician. I will have some blood work done in next week, so I can check on the status of my liver. Also, if I have any lingering chest pain or other effects, I will mention it to my family GP at that time.

I will wait a while before taking anything else, to make sure the symptoms have faded. Thanks again.
 
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phatass said:
How long have you been drinking daily OP? And what quantities?
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For about four years, on and off, but I've never drunk this much continuously before. The worst I ever got was mild anxiety.

As for actual amounts, it fluctuates too much to say. the most I might have consumed was about 16 standard drinks in a night, but usually not that much in successive days. Never drank in the mornings until very recently, which is probably what did me in.
 
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Mr. T said:
My question is: at what point would it be safe to take either gabapentin or kratom? I get quite bad RLS which can prevent me from sleeping under normal circumstances, and would appreciate something to cover up the lingering symptoms.

Also, could kratom raise my blood pressure substantially (I know it has some adrenergic effect). If so, how long ought I to wait before consumption?
Click to expand...

I would avoid using kratom until your pulse and BP return to near basal levels: its adrenergic effects will just feel nasty. You can use gabapentin immediately though.

maya said:
spikes blood levels
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I don't know what this means...if you mean increases HR and BP, then yes, kratom does do such.

ebola
 
Thanks for the advice ebola. Sadly, for me basal levels are in the pre-hypertentsion range (partly due to diet, partly due of drinking). I'm definitely gong to adopt a healthier regimen after this (no booze, sodium, etc). I'm a bit too young to have high blood pressure.

One last question, does gabapentin have any cross-tolerance with alcohol/benzos? I've heard of people getting nasty withdrawals from it, and I'd rather not restart my alc. WD.
 
Mr Tambourine man, were you taking gabapentin at all before you binged on alcohol? I'm not sure about cross-tolerance and read that it doesn't bind to either gaba-a or b receptors. Still have heard stories about bad withdrawals from people abruptly stopping gabapentin. When I was detoxing they gave me Librium.

If you plan to only use it for a short time, I think you should be ok. Also your dosage is not high and gabapentin is fairly short-acting. Are you taking it only once a day? How are you feeling now?
 
Gabapentin lacks any mechanism in common with alcohol or benzos, the former acting as a calcium channel blocker. Now, while gabapentin induces the endogenous synthesis of GABA from glutamate, it's unclear whether this effect is strong enough to account for any of the compound's activity. However, downregulation of GABAA receptors due to chronic use of alcohol or benzos could conceivably reduce the effect of compounds that globally increase synaptic GABA, but this is likely too minor an issue so minor as to be irrelevant.

Still have heard stories about bad withdrawals from people abruptly stopping gabapentin.
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Luckily, Gabapentin has a really sharp tolerance-curve that makes the chronic dosing that tends to induce habituation less likely. Its withdrawal is also simply milder than with benzos/alcohol.

ebola
 
T. Calderone said:
Mr Tambourine man, were you taking gabapentin at all before you binged on alcohol? ?
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Yes, I've been taking it for a year at a dosage of of 1.2 g (which often isn;t quite enough; 1.5 is ideal). I try not to take it every day, and mix it up a few times a week with kratom. Occasionally I'll take a larger dose for social lubrication, but then try to avoid taking any the next day.

T.Calderone said:
Are you taking it only once a day? How are you feeling now?
Click to expand...

My blood pressures down a bit to 135/74. Still not great, but it could be worse. All other symptoms have disappeared besides mild anxiety, which seems to pop up randomly. I have no idea how long the anxiety is supposed to last, but since I'm an anxious person to begin with, it might take a while.

@ebola: Thanks again for the info. The odd thing is, when I'm taking it as prescribed, I've yet to notice any buildup of tolerance. 1.5 g. cures my RLS 99% of the time.
 
I'm no expert on Kratom so i couldn't say how long you should wait, but well done with the alcohol withdrawals, hopefully there won't be a next time, but if there is, since booze has such a short half life, it's very difficult to taper, which is why a long acting benzo works well, and baclofene does amazing things for the cravings in the longer term, glad you're ok!
 
I am a recovering alcoholic, and I found that Pregabalin really helped, and I hear this is similar to Gabapentin. Wish you well, withdrawals are hell, but you will get through!
 
Thank you for the kind words phatass :) I, too hope there won't be a next time.

I appreciate the baclofen suggestion, I've used it before to withdraw from benzos, and it definitely helps. Also, since I don't enjoy them very much, I doubt I'd abuse them if I kept some on hand.

konanwarrior said:
I am a recovering alcoholic, and I found that Pregabalin really helped, and I hear this is similar to Gabapentin. Wish you well, withdrawals are hell, but you will get through!
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I used pregabalin towards the end of my benzo WD, and it worked great at 3-500 mg. Thanks for the encouragement!

Right now I'm feeling just the faintest aches in random places, otherwise fine. No (serious) anxiety, BP down to 126/80 (DIA is still oddly high). Best part: No cravings (at least, not yet). The idea of a drink scares the hell out of me. I've been having a small amount of kratom to resume into "functional" behavior.

EDIT: Thanks to everyone in this thread, for your info and support. It really helped keep me positive.
 
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^ My binge was not very long at all compared to some people's, but I've been addicted to benzos, so I may be more sensitive to GABA WD. I definitely wouldn't recommend doing what I did, at times I really thought I was going to die.

Definitely see a doctor if you plan to quit drinking (or at bare minimum, taper). Hope things turn out alright for you.
 
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