Misc Gabapentin addiction?

[xtcgrrrl]

Hi all, I'm a newcomer to bluelight so if I mess up with this posting please forgive me (and correct me so I know what to do and what NOT to do in the future!) I am an ex-benzo addict, and I have been getting gabapentin (Neurontin) as a prescription for my anxiety for a little while (since last spring.) I was told by my psychiatrist this was a non-addictive drug. Well like any former drug user I investigated this medicine and found out it could be abused. I have since been using it more or less recreationally (I take a shitload of it every few days and in between take none. This is obviously NOT using it as prescribed!) I have found that when I use it once every 3 days and take a lot of it, I feel euphoria and a strong sense of calm that helps me to deal with the crap in my life. I schedule it on purpose so that I have enough to use on days that I know I will be stressed (like when I'm around my in-laws all day.) I am careful never to drive while on this as it makes me sedated and I had a car crash from falling asleep while on Xanax so I will NEVER attempt to drive again while on ANY sedating substance! I am just wondering, am I addicted to gapapentin now? I have done many things that I used to do while on Xanax: getting multiple prescriptions from different doctors and paying cash for them, ordering pills from the internet, and so forth. This is ADDICT BEHAVIOR and I am aware of that but the gabapentin really helps me to deal with my life and I can't see myself stopping unless I am caught and forced to. I just want to know, if I were to stop, would I suffer physical WD? I had the most terrible WD from benzos and I really don't want to do that again...could I taper off? Please let me know if anyone else has ever done this sort of thing (and survived, lol.) I'm starting to get a little scared by my own behavior.

 

[bingey]

The nice thing about gabapentin is that it's impossible to abuse every day. So I guess You'll be okay in regards to physical WD's if you stick to your once a 3 days routine. Iv'e abused it a lot and it think it's a tier down in addiction potential from benzo's or other gaba-agonist also because there is a ceiling effect (the more you take the less gets absorbed efficiently)

 

[Corazon]

I'd recommend tapering off. (unless what your saying is you've already used up the Rx and are worried about withdrawals).

It isn't good for you to take those big "break through" doses of gabapentin. Fucks with the balance of chemicals in your head.

The withdrawals should mostly involve you feeling like complete crap and not wanting to do stuff for a few days. Other factors could play a role too.

 

[xtcgrrrl]

Corazon, I'm aware that it isn't good for me to abuse gabapentin...any drug, when taken to excess, is potentially harmful. However, I'm not sure I'm ready to stop yet. I haven't run out of my Rx...I keep a log of when I can fill a certain Rx (I have multiple prescriptions for this med, from different doctors and for different things. One Rx is for anxiety, one is for pain from my slipped disc and one is for migraines.) and I keep track of when my mail-order pills will arrive and I make sure I will have at least 3 grams for each occasion I use and that I am always stocked up. It might be my bipolar disorder, but I just seem to have a harder time dealing with life things...less patience and such. I really wish there was a non-harmful way I could "escape reality" for a little while. And by reality I mean sobriety...television bores me so I can't use that as an out! I'm hoping I can just "manage" this as well as possible so I don't do too much damage. And BTW I can't use anything illegal or not prescribed for me since I get drug tested. Sigh.

 

[mrflowers00]

gabapentin wds are the easiest i've gone through but still they suck major nuts

 

[ferinox]

You're unlikely to be physically dependent on gabapentin if you're only taking it once every 3 days. I take it once every 4 days and never noticed any problems from that schedule. The behavior you're exhibiting is troubling although if you did increase frequency as with normal addictive behavior and take it every day you would quickly find it's impossible to continue to get high no matter how high of a dose you're taking. I don't know why you have to doctor shop though. Most doctor will throw the stuff out like candy and quickly increase doses because it's "not addictive." How much are you taking when you get high? I've never found the need to take more than 1800 mg in 300 mg doses every 45 minutes. With a prescription for gabapentin 600 mg x 3 daily, you can see how quickly I can accumulate gaba without even trying. Somebody using gaba in the manner you are is less likely to experience problems than somebody taking it daily as a normal prescription. It's just not likely to continue to reinforce it's own consumption beyond a certain point when abused.

Edit- I see you did say your dose in a later post but even 3 grams once every 3 days shouldn't be too hard to obtain with a single prescription.

 

[Toz]

gabapentin wds are the easiest i've gone through but still they suck major nuts

I have the complete opposite experience. I have had withdrawals from the shit for over a year and it's been the worst withdrawal I've ever had. Far worse than heroin and benzos. It seems really indivdual. I definitely recommend tapering as the symptoms seem to last forever.

And I definitely don't recommend using gabapentin at all if you have been dependant on benzos etc before. I found gabapentin withdrawals far worse than benzos.

For me, gabapentin withdrawals feels like a mix between opiate and benzo withdrawal with a horrible psychedelic twist. It is a fucking nightmare.

 

[xtcgrrrl]

Ferinox, I go to three different doctors for this med..."doctor shopping" as you called it, I've never heard that term before...because all my doctors know I'm an addict and I'm scared to ask them to increase my dose. I get 100 mgs 3x a day from 2 doctors and 300 twice a day from one. I COULD ask my family doctor, he tends to prescribe meds like crazy (I once left his office with no less than SEVEN different prescriptions. He MUST be getting paid by the pharm companies.) I just have been too nervous too and too paranoid about "drug seeking" seeming behavior. It would really cut down on the amount of pills I have to buy from online pharmacies, which are really expensive (and I get frowned at by my family when they see the mail but I have explained it away as vitamin supplements, of which they know I take a lot.) Three grams is the minimum I take in one day and if I find that I have less than 3 grams, but still some pills, I'll wait til I have at least that amount or it isn't "worth it" to me. Because I know once I take it then I have to wait 3 days before I can go again and I don't want to "waste" the day. It's a good thing too. One time I tried to, late in the day, take a few pills because I was mad at my husband and I wanted to forget about it and be high. It didn't work out so well as I felt nothing at all and I had wasted the pills. I normally take 300/600 mgs every half hour until I reach at least 3 grams, by which time I'm feeling it anyway even though it takes 2 hours to kick in, so I generally stop after I'm feeling it quite a bit. I like this method because it seems like I get the most from each pill and I am high for a long time, sometimes I even go to sleep and wake up and I'm STILL feeling it. That's kind of nice.

Toz, agreed about not taking gabapentin if you've been addicted before; I cannot believe my PSYCHIATRIST at the fucking Addiction Clinic is the one who initially prescribed me this! Now, I know that it's my own fault for even THINKING about whether I could abuse this med, but unfortunately I'm already in too deep. I like this med, when used as I'm using it, far too much. I think I'm probably incapable of having a normal relationship with prescription drugs! I do know eventually I will have to stop for one reason or another (this can't go on forever. I'm relatively young and I really can't see myself abusing pills in my 80's) so when I do I will keep in mind that I need to taper. Hopefully I will stop of my own free will and not because someone made me...