Gabapentinoids (Gabapentin) withdrawal, any advice?

[AlphaOdure]

OK, i'll make the info i posted in regards to substances that may help more concise:

OTC medications to help with mood-effectual problems, you'll have to use GABAergics:
In order from most effective to least effective, at least in MY opinion
-Phenibut (OTC, GABA-b agonist; but hard to find literally "over-the-counter" 8) easily obtainable over the internet)
-ethanol may barely help
-kava kava (OTC, but hard to find; slightly less effective than alcohol)
-Valerian Root (OTC, easy to find; very weak)
-Kratom (OTC/non-controlled- but hard to literally find "over-the-counter", need internet sources; this is also NOT a GABAergic; it acts on mu-opioid receptors- it may marginally help. Although it may exasperate some symptoms.. you would have to worry about possible lowering of your seizure threshold using kratom during high-dose gabapentin w/d)
-diphenhydramine, brand name benadryl (symptomatic relief only for insomnia & marginally w/ anxiety, no activity at calcium ion channels nor GABA complex. This may exasperate some symptoms of w/d, including lowering of seizure threshold)
-melatonin (symptomatic relief only for insomnia, does not act directly on calcium ion channels nor the GABA neuro-system)


Pharmaceuticals (GABA modulators):
-ANY benzodiazepine
-ANY barbiturate (such as butalbital.. it's easily obtainable, via the "Fioricet" formula, over the internet through US pharmacies w/o an Rx, i know from extensive experience; the fioricet formula is NOT scheduled or controlled by the DEA... at least YET )
-Pregabalin (Lyrica brand name, acts in same way as gabapentin; but more potent)
-Baclofen (GABA-b agonist; this medication is also available via "online US pharmacies".. i know from extensive personal experience)
-GHB/GBL/GHx drugs (GABA-b agonists.. risking addiction; agonism at GHB receptor most certainly may induce convulsions if you take/took gabapentin for epilepsy/convulsions)
-clonidine (or any other related drug that is a selective alpha2-receptor agonist)
-Any opioid/opiate (although, they probably wont provide full relief as they act on a different receptor complex: gabapentin increases endogenous GABA levels via unknown mechanisms.. it is thought to act via MANY different actions, such as: interaction at calcium channels that are voltage-sensitive, "presynaptic" NMDAR binding, alpha2-adrenergic receptors. & binding at adenosine A1 receptors)
-Any tetracyclic or tricyclic antidepressant (not a GABAergic drug; but may help w/ mood)- i'd stay away from SSRI's & SNRI's... but that's my experience, though.

 

[theantiadult]

kavas easy 2 find.

 

[katniss]

In all honesty, Imhaven't read all the posts..but I wanted to answer a few things for you.
A very bright pharmacist told me years ago, that 1200 mgs of gabapentin is basically as much as you need...because anything higher than that is nott needed, as it does nothing.
Also, I am currently on gabapentin, 900mgs/day. I have also been through methadone w/ds and benzo w/ds --hell on earth. I know, I really feel for you.

Why did you stop the gabapentin? I really don't thi8nk it's smart to cold turkey such a medication. Your doctor should be tapering you off of it. Period.
In the meanbtime, use Clonidine, you can use up to 1.2mgs/day safely, because when you are in w/ds your blood pressure gets higher, hence the Clonidine (catapress) I currently take 0.2mgs 3x/day. I am on methadone. It is hard as anything to taper off the Clo0nidine when you have been on it as long as I have. Also, immodium, it does have opiates, but they do not cross the blood brain barrier..therfore, you will not be "on" opiates. Please do let me know how you are doing, Pm me or posst or email me..I've been in your shoes and it's not funny what-so-ever.
Please take care of you.
Katniss

 

[maintainin]

I was on neurontin for about 6 weeks for headaches. Worked my way up to 600mgs a day at highest dose. I was fine for first two weeks and then I started going above 300mg and all hell broke loose. Started off with severe insomnia. Yes, that's right neurontin gave me insomnia. Intractable insomnia. I went four days without sleep. Then the anxiety and intense feelings of hopelessness started creeping in. Didnt take long before I put two and two together. I've never been a great sleeper. And I've dealt with depression in the past. But nothing this severe and sudden. The anxiety was new to me. So I said screw this stuff. I quit cold turkey. I figure 600mgs isn't that high shouldn't be any problems. WRONG. Two days after cold turkey every bad thing just doubled in intensity. Went to the doc and told her what was going on. She said I'm probably withdrawing and to go back on 400mg and withdraw 100mg every few days. Well that's what I spent the last couple of weeks doing while i was on it. It was hell all the way down. This stuff screwed me while I was on it, screwed me while I was coming off of it, and has screwed me the last couple of weeks since I've been off of it. I had to go back on remeron because the whole experience has totally fucked my psyche. And a bottle of ativan to take as needed for the anxiety as well. Is been two weeks today since I took last 100mg pill and it is getting better. Hopefully in the next couple of weeks a can get full resolution.

Neurontin is nothing to screw around with. This drug has just about the shadiest, slimiest, history out there. The psychiatric side effects were suppressed in clinical trials:

http://www.counterpunch.org/2007/02/23/the-neurontin-suicides/

The maker had to pay millions for pushing for every off label use under the sun. There's been several trials already for people with no prior history of mental illness offing themselves while on this and many in the works.

I'd love to see some studies comparing neurontin psychiatric side effects on people taking neurontin alone versus people who are on other meds. Cuz the truth of the matter is the majority of folks who take neurontin(epilectic, bipolar, etc...) are usually on other neuroleptic meds and that may be holding off psychiatric side effects. If you take neurontin alone and/or have a history of mental illness you better take that black box warning very seriously. Just my opinion.

I'll never be able to hear or see the word neurontin again without shuddering. Neurontin and lyrica both can eat a fat dick. Hell on earth from the poster above is about the most perfect description of what I've been thru with this stuff.

Just wanted to add a note on magnesium. Ive taken magnesium citrate for years, twice a day. 400mgs in the morning and 400mg at night. It doesnt do jack for neurontin withdrawals. Been my experience anyway. The only thing that's going to help if you get hit with this type of withdrawal is time and some kind of benzo or something else that acts on anxiety. Ativan has been a big help.

 

[phactor]

Currently starting a taper off of Gabapentin. Am just finishing a little over a week off Celexa (tapered off) and I feel okay. Does anyone have a taper schedule for this stuff? I take 1200 daily at the most. Currently I am thinking of trying to knock off 300 milligrams every few days. Gabapentin was originally prescribed for anxiety and sleep, but I feel little need for it now. It is creating too much of a fog as well, especially considering that I plan on attending grad school in the next year.

Currently taking Picamilon and L Theanine. I have dipenhydramine and melatonin for sleep and do not mind have a beer or two before bed if its really needed (I know it acts on the gaba receptors).

I haven't really felt any withdrawal so far. Just checking into my options and trying to play it safe. I am pretty knowledgable when it comes to medication/substances/dependency and have tapered and withdrawn from different classes of legal and illegal drugs. What I do not like about this situation is the little amount of literature that is out there.

As for discussing this with my pysch... well, my experience with the place I go has not been good and to be honest he/she doesn't really seem to know what they are talking about. I do see a therapist weekly.

 

[phactor]

Yes, but the thread is still relevant. Its better to use this one then to create a new one to cut down on clutter. Bluelight is old, obviously you don't want to necro something from 05 but a post that started in 09 and has been added to over the years is okay. If a mod disagrees then I apologize.

Anyways, I am feeling kinda out of it and a little jittery. Not sure if this is from the reduction in Gabapentin or if it is from the Celexa withdrawal. Who knows, I could just be getting some of my natural anxiety coming back up (I have had an on and off anxiety issue for over 20 years at this point, damn I am getting old) :D

Anyways, I do not really feel like messing around with phenibut or benzos as they would just add to the problem. I screwed up and used a small daily dose of etizolam for about 2 months and tapered and got off of that about two weeks ago. Did not feel much of any withdrawal from that.

Another thing that is more recent of my gabapergenic substance withdrawals is a very mild tinnitus and it is flaring a little bit now as well.

 

[chapora_chemist]

I was on neurontin for about 6 weeks for headaches. Worked my way up to 600mgs a day at highest dose. I was fine for first two weeks and then I started going above 300mg and all hell broke loose. Started off with severe insomnia. Yes, that's right neurontin gave me insomnia. Intractable insomnia. I went four days without sleep. Then the anxiety and intense feelings of hopelessness started creeping in. Didnt take long before I put two and two together. I've never been a great sleeper. And I've dealt with depression in the past. But nothing this severe and sudden. The anxiety was new to me. So I said screw this stuff. I quit cold turkey. I figure 600mgs isn't that high shouldn't be any problems. WRONG. Two days after cold turkey every bad thing just doubled in intensity. Went to the doc and told her what was going on. She said I'm probably withdrawing and to go back on 400mg and withdraw 100mg every few days. Well that's what I spent the last couple of weeks doing while i was on it. It was hell all the way down. This stuff screwed me while I was on it, screwed me while I was coming off of it, and has screwed me the last couple of weeks since I've been off of it. I had to go back on remeron because the whole experience has totally fucked my psyche. And a bottle of ativan to take as needed for the anxiety as well. Is been two weeks today since I took last 100mg pill and it is getting better. Hopefully in the next couple of weeks a can get full resolution.

Neurontin is nothing to screw around with. This drug has just about the shadiest, slimiest, history out there. The psychiatric side effects were suppressed in clinical trials:

http://www.counterpunch.org/2007/02/23/the-neurontin-suicides/

The maker had to pay millions for pushing for every off label use under the sun. There's been several trials already for people with no prior history of mental illness offing themselves while on this and many in the works.

I'd love to see some studies comparing neurontin psychiatric side effects on people taking neurontin alone versus people who are on other meds. Cuz the truth of the matter is the majority of folks who take neurontin(epilectic, bipolar, etc...) are usually on other neuroleptic meds and that may be holding off psychiatric side effects. If you take neurontin alone and/or have a history of mental illness you better take that black box warning very seriously. Just my opinion.

I'll never be able to hear or see the word neurontin again without shuddering. Neurontin and lyrica both can eat a fat dick. Hell on earth from the poster above is about the most perfect description of what I've been thru with this stuff.

Just wanted to add a note on magnesium. Ive taken magnesium citrate for years, twice a day. 400mgs in the morning and 400mg at night. It doesnt do jack for neurontin withdrawals. Been my experience anyway. The only thing that's going to help if you get hit with this type of withdrawal is time and some kind of benzo or something else that acts on anxiety. Ativan has been a big help.

Yes, it was that bad for me as well. It's been 4 years since I got off them. I have tapered from Xanax (4mg/day) relatively fast (3 weeks under a foolish doctors advice) and gone through a very rough couple of months. But NOTHING compares to the sheer psychic terror that is gabapentin withdrawals. I was on 900 -1200 mg. I consider myself lucky, as I tapered as slowly as possible (3 months); and I didn't think it was possible. The scariest experience I've ever had..(with benzos to take as needed), they had no effect on withdrawal symptoms .. I NEEDED gabapentin, over Xanax , klonopin, Valium , ambien, you name it (the only thing that worked was gabapentin, even tiny amounts; without which benzos had very little use). I don't usually ever post experiences like this..
But no one should have to ever go through this..
And the majority would certainly not be able to stand the psychic trauma that ensues.

- I was prescribed this off label for anxiety, as a partial replacement for benzos, effectively halving my required benzo dose. Little did i know I would go through this.. I wanted to taper as I was getting foggy, dizzy, tired after a year of taking gabapentin. I am now back on the very same stable smallish dose of benzos that I was on prior to me taking gabapentin, and im doing a lot better.

 

[Ninae]

Hahah. I couldn't agree more with the last posters. Never actually experienced trauma from Gabapentin, but it's a weakervVersion of Pregabalin, which is essentially like a benzo withdrawal with an element of opiate withdrawal thrown in.

I have never been so ill for so long. I was struck down for 10 days and had never experienced benzo withdrawal so I was shocked. If you look for the Lyrica thread it all applies to it.

Why do people even keep saying these drugs have no withdrawal when in actual practice they obviously do?

 

[weeryan55]

i have a tollerance to around 200-300ms of seroquel xl, what would upping the dose to around 500-600 do?

 

[eden4201]

I really did not expect any withdrawals from this initially because it is supposed to be such a safe god damn medication with no withdrawals. I find that to be quite the contrary, I feel like shit. I've been through cold turkey methadone withdrawals with a benzo taper at the same time; those are obviously far different. But I do not really know what to expect from these current withdrawal. It's easy to see what withdrawals are from benzos and opiates. Anyone know anything that might help me? Or how long it really takes to withdrawal from gabapentin completly? Any advice, experience, anything really, would be much appreciated.

EDIT: Oh yea, I've been on gabapentin for over a year and a half. I'm on 800 MGs four times a day; 3200 MGs a day. For anxiety or as a mood stabilizer, whatever the fuck you want to call it.

Hi,
Ive just joined this thread and have a screaming toddler running around so i have only skimmed the.replies.. I will give you the details i was given from my dr when i was on gabbys... My dosage was 600mg 3x a day... I went thru a week or so long time period of not remembering what was going on.. I was on the gabapentin and a few other meds actually.prescribed for me and the combo made me black out. Due to that i wanted off everything. I was tapered off oxyxontin 10mg at a time over a month time span.. The gabapentin i had to reduce slower because it is known to cause seizures when dropped cold turkey if you take a larger dose and the length of time you have taken it.. Obviously..

When i see you are on double what i was on and my dr feared seizure risk, i knew i had to post... Please talk to your dr about gradually stopping.. Id hate to have anyone go thru a grand mal because they wanted off a non narcotic or any medication for that matter.

Be safe and good luck.

(this is my very first submission to bl though ive been a lurker for a while, i just became worried once i read ur questions)

 

[Toz]

Fuck this horrible poison, 14+ months of physical withdrawal can go to hell. I regret ever taking this pill more than I regret injecting heroin or eating lots of benzos. Now I will have to start this bullshit med back up because the problems obviously never go away anyway. Fucking year of excruciating pain for nothing.

I'll cold turkey benzos and opiates combined 5 times over rather than ever experience withdrawal from gabapentin again.

Is there some kind of risk that I will get some horrible rebound extreme withdrawal from reinstating for a few days / hours like with benzos? If so I'd rather just pick up my gun, shoot myself and then be done with it.

The first months of trying to get off gabapentin I used fentanyl to kill the horrible physical pain that withdrawal from this med causes and not even that would eliminate it. Gabapentin helps with all withdrawals, nothing fucking helps with gabapentin withdrawals.

 

[DickTate]

The first months of trying to get off gabapentin I used fentanyl to kill the horrible physical pain that withdrawal from this med causes and not even that would eliminate it.

Wow, Gabapentin really affects people very differently. I think we had a short conversation a few months ago on this subject but I still can not imagine that the WD lasts over a year. Did you take other meds/drugs in that time?
On another board there are people ingesting 5-10 grams(!) of this stuff and don't experience symptoms other than acute intoxication which is also ridiculous imo.
I could not take more than 900mg a day without getting nearly narcoleptic and braindead as fuck.

 

[Tryptamite]

Pregabalin and nuerontin are certainly strange drugs that affect people differently in terms of effects, dosage required and issues of dependency and withdrawal. S far S I can gather.

I am tapering my lyrica doses to 2 x 75 mg in the morning and 1 x 75mg at night. I was o n 3 x 200mg a day. Taper is relatively painless with the lower dose caps. Liquid measurement tastes like shit. I had a great weekend. Will reduce dose lower soon. Phenibut is really helping me in social situations. But I am being careful as I have heard it really rapes your GABA b receptors and I do not need an addiction to that.

 

[pinpoint]

People suffering gabapentin withdrawals sound a lot like those who are suffering magnesium deficiency and what do you know? Turns out gabapentin competes with magnesium.

Take some epsom salt, swish it around in your mouth, spit out, and wha-la.. not an instant cure but you will feel better in an hour or two.

FYI if I didn't say this was a list for magnesium deficiency you'd probably think it was for gabapentin withdrawal:

- Low energy
- Fatigue
- Weakness
- Confusion
- Nervousness
- Anxiousness
- Irritability
- Seizures (and tantrums)
- Poor digestion
- PMS and hormonal imbalances
- Inability to sleep, insomnia
- Muscle tension, spasm and cramps
- RLS

 

[maintainin]

What's with the folks pushing magnesium on these gabapentin withdrawal boards? Not just this website. All over the net. Let me tell you something about magnesium and gabapentin withdrawals. Magnesium does two things for gabapentin withdrawals......jack and shit. I've taken 400mg's magnesium citrate twice a day(that's double the RDA) and it didnt a thing for withdrawals. And I regularly take Epsom salt baths. I don't know what your all's angle is but it's complete shit.

It's now been six weeks since i quit taking the neurontin and I feel pretty much back to normal. This whole episode was enough to make me go back on an AD. Scariest experience of my life. I literally thought i was losing my mind. My whole experience with neurontin was a nightmare, not just the withdrawal. I am one those folks they put the black box warning on the box for. It mentally fucked me up.

 

[pinpoint]

What's with the folks pushing magnesium on these gabapentin withdrawal boards? Not just this website. All over the net. Let me tell you something about magnesium and gabapentin withdrawals. Magnesium does two things for gabapentin withdrawals......jack and shit. I've taken 400mg's magnesium citrate twice a day(that's double the RDA) and it didnt a thing for withdrawals. And I regularly take Epsom salt baths. I don't know what your all's angle is but it's complete shit.

It's now been six weeks since i quit taking the neurontin and I feel pretty much back to normal. This whole episode was enough to make me go back on an AD. Scariest experience of my life. I literally thought i was losing my mind. My whole experience with neurontin was a nightmare, not just the withdrawal. I am one those folks they put the black box warning on the box for. It mentally fucked me up.

Dr. Magnesium pays me 10 cents per post mwuaha, but in all seriousness, look at the pharmadynamics of gabapentin. As with most psychotropics that generally stimulate/depress through receptor agonism and/or non-activating receptor antagonism, this drug does the latter. By binding to a subunit of voltage dependent calcium channels gabapentin is competing for uptake and then blocking the fourth most abundant ion (cation) in the entire body: magnesium. Not mentioning other external factors such as poor processed-food diet and deteriorating farm soil that has led to a deficiency epidemic. So just because it didn't work for you will not indicate lack of efficacy for others. Hence the reason a protocol at my ER for crash carts coming in is usually high dose intravenous magnesium sulfate.

If black box warnings are your shtick I really don't get why any MD other than a drug dealing shrink would put you on an even more neurally damaging medication like AD's. Good luck getting off those.

Depressed? Here's a pill that clinically increases patient suicide, but we won't tell you until our patent expires.

 

[biblioteque]

what if you only use it recreationally? Will you get withdrawal symptoms then?

 

[Slinky1119]

I am taking 3600 mgs (self prescribed) daily and was wondering if that was an absurd amount... apparently it is not! I started taking it for benzo WD (now 30 days clean) and have stumbled upon a delightful legal drug via kratom as well. The two are working very well... I am fully functioning (whereas the Kpin WD had me completely incompacitated AND STILL wanting to die). I am now running low of what should have been a 90 day supply and am wondering just how bad the WD will be and if I am totally over the benzo WD at this point???

 

[EP158207]

This stuff sounds scary. I was given a prescription for a foot issues but I ended up taking recreationally...not knowing it was actually the devil in little pills. I know everyone is different but it does jar me to learn about WD for gaba.

 

[bigjoe56]

i have been on gabapentin for 6 mounths work up to 2700mg was not working made me fiil stupid so i guit cold turkey trying to find out how long withdrawals last