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Taper question and do dr's actually understand?

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Outsider31

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Joined
Mar 26, 2014
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Hi guys, For 4 months exactly I've been using high doses of gabapentin and baclofen to help me get off opana 160mg per day, which I quit cold turkey. My doctor prescribed me these meds a while back for 2 herniated discs in my back. After 4 months of use, at least 4000mg gabapentin and 80mg baclofen 2-3 times a week for 4 months with a couple week binges in between. I've had a hard time getting off these 2 meds so I saw my Dr. She doesn't know I took way more than I was supposed to. Originally supposed to take gabapentin 300mg 3x a day and baclofen 10mg 2x a day.

I told her I've tried stopping but the withdrawals were horrendous. She basically wants me to cut 300mg gabapentin every 4 days and cut baclofen in half every 4 days. From what I gather this seems very fast. I guess I can try it and see how it goes. I didn't know even how much I should start with because I took such high doses, so I'm starting at 1200mg gabapentin and 30mg baclofen per day for 4 days. Going to then see about 900 and 20mg, 600 and 10, 300 and 5 and then off and see how it goes.

She also prescribed me 0.2 of clonidine to take as needed when I finish the taper. Does clonidine seem to be an appropriate med to use on an as needed basis when finally off gabapentin and baclofen?

This idea that every 4 days to drop my dosages seems extremely fast but I guess if I get too overwhelmed I will have to slightly up my dose and hold for a week to 10 days. I've never tapered before, finding it kind of hard because I just want to stop these meds already but the withdrawals have been rough cold turkey.
 
Clonidine is used in medical detoxes of just about everything, so yes, to answer your question, it probably is appropriate. It is primarily a blood pressure med and I'm on it for that reason. I get the .1mg/day transdermal patch. It can be sedating, so that will help with anxiety and it also helps with focus - it's also used as an ADD/ADHD medication as well.
 
Thanks, she gave me an rx for 2 months worth of 0.2 clonidine and said I could take twice a day but suggested only once a day. Maybe after my taper I will break it in half and try 0.1 and see how it goes. I plan on using it at most a couple weeks depending how I feel and definitely won't be using everyday.

I'm tired of using 1 med to get off another and to keep going through withdrawals. So for its day 3 of my taper, and when I tried going off baclofen and gabapentin cold turkey I really felt the anxiety by day 3. So far anxiety is minimal and definitely more manageable.

Tapering is tough though, I was always an all or nothing type of person. I really want off the gabapentin and baclofen so bad but I will have to have patience for once lol. I give all the credit in the world to everyone that goes through this!
 
I take clonidine primarily for blood pressure, and because of the relatively short half-life, rebound hypertension can be an issue. When I was in rehab and couldn't have the patch, I was on .3 mg/day. That's probably why she gave you .2mg up to twice a day. Just be aware of the potential for your symptoms to yo-yo up and down. This should have been explained to you IMO.
 
clonidine might help. Quitting gabapentin sucks though
 
Yeah I can't stop it cold turkey. I kicked an opana habit and finding this harder....
 
Well today is day 6 of my taper. Started out at 1200mg gabapentin and 30mg baclofen. Took them for 4 days and now on 900mg gabapentin and 20mg baclofen. I've been taking the gabapentin 3 times a day and baclofen twice. On Friday I will go down to 600mg and 10mg, 200mg 3 times a day and 0.5 mg twice a day.

So far the only hiccup has been mild anxiety here and there and on day 3 I woke up and my heart felt like it was pounding out of my chest for about 15 minutes then stopped. So far tapering has definitely been easier than going cold turkey, even though I want off this medicine asap.

Luckily sleep has been okay and I have an apetite, just the daily headaches continue . When I went cold turkey the previous 2 times I could not eat anything and my anxiety was through the roof.

So far going down every 4 days seems to be working, will see how it goes as I get closer to 300mg per day and finally down to 100mg for 4 days. From what I've read online, my taper seems pretty quick, but I've only been on the meds for 4 months n my Dr said to use 4 day intervals. Will only use clonidine 0.2 if it's needed after my taper.
 
Glad the taper is helping. Gabapentin withdrawal is beyond nasty.
 
Outsider31 said:
Thanks cj. Yeah, are you off it? How did it go for you?
Click to expand...

Yeah I got off it in the hospital the same time I attempted to kick benzos. It was brutal but it was over quick 5 days I was back to some normalcy. Its hard to separate it from the benzo withdrawal but looking back I would say it was at least half the brutality. I haven't had any issues with craving it since the kick ended but I did relapse back on benzos so I may not be the best person to give you real advice on that front.
 
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