Misc Does the drug Gabapentin cause withdrawals? Experience?

[Gold_Fish]

I have been on high doses of gabapentin for about 2 weeks. I will run through my script in the next few days. I have had two scripts total, now am on my second script (second script has double amount of gaba) Also taking tramadol 300mg per day, (100 3x/day) which helps immensely for my pain;

I was prescribed 80x 600mg about a week ago (prescribed, supposed to take 600mg 3x per day, however I now have about 25 pills left after about a week of being prescribed. I know I am abusing this medication, however (not to make excuses for myself):

There is a tumor in my cheek that I have had for around 3 years. I am scheduled for surgery for it in a few days. Over three years it grew from the size of a quarter to now the surface mass of around a baseball. It hurts like hell. I never dealt with it because well, methadone, meth, heroin, cocaine were my priorities for the last 3 years since developing it…. Bottom line, gabapentin really helps, and the higher the dose the better the relief, especially combined with tramadol.

Anyone have any idea of if there will be any problems from discontinuing this drug? Will attempt curbing my compulsion to take "just 3 more" in order to allow myself a taper for softer landing once I run out.

Any advice welcome. Oh yea, can't take drugs either because I am on probation. Just got out jail incarcerated 6 months.

 

[Blind Melon]

I love Gabapentin. Amazing benzo and Methadone potentiation. Also works wonderings on Benzo WDs. I have yet to experience any type of noticeable WDs, after fairly extensive use, and a few personal 'scripts. But I have friends who swear the kick is as gnarly as a benzo kick.

 

[Jekyl Anhydride]

I used GP to help with monthly oxy w/d's and began to use it all the time. I ended up on 4-5 grams / day for 7 months and when I tried to do a steep taper it was the worst W/D I've ever experienced in my life. I've withdrawn off of a dozen drugs but nothing prepared me for it. It was like going crazy with insane mood swings of sadness and anger. I lost a good friend over it and scared away my good ones for a while. After obtaining more GP and doing a much more shallow taper things became more bearable but I strongly recommend you keep enough GP available for a long, easy taper to avoid what I went through. The hell was nearly ineffable to describe. Good luck with your surgery and use the GP as you need it but when things get better, ease up on it and plan a soft taper. Good Luck

 

[Nicholai]

Yeah, some people can't get off of it. I have a nurse friend that has to take 100mg 3x a day, otherwise she gets wd's and can't work. She used to be on a much higher dose.

 

[Jekyl Anhydride]

This is the thread that got me to taper before I ran out as many people have said GP withdrawals don't exist. I beg to differ.



http://www.bluelight.org/vb/threads/448441-Gabapentin-withdrawal-any-advice/page3

 

[pineapplexx]

I took Gabpentin/Neurontin for about 6 weeks for sciatica, didn't have any ill effects, other than it really didn't help much. I took it as prescribed though. Any drug/medication take long-term will have some withdrawal effects. Shit, if I don't take my Lexapro for a few days, I get dizzy, nauseous and my vision does this weird, skipping thing that is hard to explain.
I also saw you are taking Tramadol and wanted to warn you in case you weren't aware that taking higher than prescribed doses (even just a few) can lower your threshold for seizures. Bad news, so be careful!

 

[Gold_Fish]

Oh my god. Thank you for the replies. I am done taking mega doses. I luckily have about 15-20 600mg pills left. I will stop taking insane amounts .

Much love blue lighters. Thank you one again!

 

[kleinerkiffer]

You could just try and stop as many people don't experience any withdrawal, but if you feel withdrawal symptoms take the smallest amount possible to make you feel alright, wait till withdrawal get#s worse again, take a smaller dose etc.

 

[MamaD]

Wow. Thank you for posting that link about Gaba withdrawals. I'm very lucky to not have had any issues with that when I quit taking them. (I'm diabetic and have neuropathy, which is what I was taking it for.) I was taking 300mg 2x a day with up to taking 3 a day if needed. I ended up getting off the Gaba tho because it made me sleepy. Like couldn't keep myself awake sleepy. Now I'm taking Lyrica and it doesn't make me sleepy at all. It does however give me dry mouth which is annoying...

 

[Jekyl Anhydride]

Wow. Thank you for posting that link about Gaba withdrawals. I'm very lucky to not have had any issues with that when I quit taking them. (I'm diabetic and have neuropathy, which is what I was taking it for.) I was taking 300mg 2x a day with up to taking 3 a day if needed. I ended up getting off the Gaba tho because it made me sleepy. Like couldn't keep myself awake sleepy. Now I'm taking Lyrica and it doesn't make me sleepy at all. It does however give me dry mouth which is annoying...

Lyrica being a more potent form of gabapentin basically can have nasty W/D's as well so you could hope your lucky and just quit, but it seems far more intelligent to plan a taper when discontinuing. Of course the larger amounts and long term use seem to be more likely to produce W/D's, but there are accounts of people having nasty effects upon discontinuation who were not taking very large amounts. If it were me I'd plan on a taper regardless and that way you are covered. The wait and see approach sounds like it's from someone who has never experienced gabaergic W/D and can't comprehend just how bad it can be. Good Luck with the Neuropathy

 

[Thomas29]

Some people have Placebo withdrawals But I have not had any and I have HEAVILY i mean HEAVY DUTY elephant DAILY DOSES of lyrica and gabapentin I use just 1200mg GABAPentin 2x a Night now and I was recently sick with the stomach bug and I was not able to take any for 5 Days And I did Not feel any difference when my Stomach Bug went away and I had still not taken my gabapentin.

THAT SAID!


everyone is different so some people can have withdrawals.

 

[Thomas29]

Lyrica being a more potent form of gabapentin basically can have nasty W/D's as well so you could hope your lucky and just quit, but it seems far more intelligent to plan a taper when discontinuing. Of course the larger amounts and long term use seem to be more likely to produce W/D's, but there are accounts of people having nasty effects upon discontinuation who were not taking very large amounts. If it were me I'd plan on a taper regardless and that way you are covered. The wait and see approach sounds like it's from someone who has never experienced gabaergic W/D and can't comprehend just how bad it can be. Good Luck with the Neuropathy

Also Lyrica Absorbs Like 90% of the Drug and GABAPentin Absorbs Like BARLEY any of the drug and even if GABAPentin absorbed the same amount as Lyrica does Lyrica is twice as strong per MG So.

 

[Jekyl Anhydride]

Some people have Placebo withdrawals But I have not had any and I have HEAVILY i mean HEAVY DUTY elephant DAILY DOSES of lyrica and gabapentin I use just 1200mg GABAPentin 2x a Night now and I was recently sick with the stomach bug and I was not able to take any for 5 Days And I did Not feel any difference when my Stomach Bug went away and I had still not taken my gabapentin.
THAT SAID!
everyone is different so some people can have withdrawals.

If you read the GabaP W/D thread the people having problems didn't know you could even experience withdrawals from the stuff. They ended up finding out through trial and error so that kind of shoots down the whole Placebo W/D effect.

Have you gone longer than 5 days without it? And did you take these elephant doses (5-6 grams I'm assuming) for more than a couple months ?

Also Lyrica Absorbs Like 90% of the Drug and GABAPentin Absorbs Like BARLEY any of the drug and even if GABAPentin absorbed the same amount as Lyrica does Lyrica is twice as strong per MG So.

And that means what exactly ??? What other drug is Pregabalin or Gabapentin absorbing ?

This is what one person wrote and there are many others:

Gabapentin legit fucked my life up, biggest mistake of my life, that is why i ask people to post there W/D and months following so i can get input and share stories on the situation, ever since i stopped taking gabapentin i feel like a total different person and it scares me sometimes and i would give my left nut to go back to how i use to be before hand.
I suffered from pretty bad derealization for the first 6 months after stopping, could barely even leave the house or drive when i did leave, i constantly felt like i was gonna pass out and die which sent me to the ER multiple times, i had ringing in the ears and still do, heart palpations, blurry vision, hot and cold flashes, no motivation, would shake and get jittery sometimes and then little things, i would blank out when thinking, boredom and loss of sleep etc etc... @Billiard

 

[MamaD]

While that would be nice, it's very effective for my Neuropathy so unless I can find something else that works just as well, I'll stick with the Lyrica and this dose until it starts to be as effective. I figure doing it this way will allow me time to find something else that might work as well if not better than. Because at this time, the Neuropathy at times makes it very hard and painful to walk.

 

[Jekyl Anhydride]

While that would be nice, it's very effective for my Neuropathy so unless I can find something else that works just as well, I'll stick with the Lyrica and this dose until it starts to be as effective. I figure doing it this way will allow me time to find something else that might work as well if not better than. Because at this time, the Neuropathy at times makes it very hard and painful to walk.

Oh by all means use the Lyrica as directed. I'm not saying to stay away all together, just plan a taper with your doctor when you decide to quit. The problem I hear about most is people using it for W/D's, then recreationally, then running out after doing huge amounts or getting cut off by their doctors and having horrific W/D syndromes that are worse then opioid or benzo W/D.

Your use would probably not cause a problem even if you did quit rapidly, I just think it's wise to have a taper plan, even a short one available in case you did start having a rough time. Responsible users like yourself are definitely not at risk like recreational users. Having neuropathy I highly doubt your doctor would cut you off anyway. I hope it helps and please don't let my ranting discourage your use in any way.

 

[MamaD]

Lyrica being a more potent form of gabapentin basically can have nasty W/D's as well so you could hope your lucky and just quit, but it seems far more intelligent to plan a taper when discontinuing. Of course the larger amounts and long term use seem to be more likely to produce W/D's, but there are accounts of people having nasty effects upon discontinuation who were not taking very large amounts. If it were me I'd plan on a taper regardless and that way you are covered. The wait and see approach sounds like it's from someone who has never experienced gabaergic W/D and can't comprehend just how bad it can be. Good Luck with the Neuropathy

Thanks love, I got off the Lyrica with thankfully NO w/d symptoms. Instead, I now take 10 mg CBD caps for my neuropathy pain. They work so much better and the relief they provide lasts longer than Gaba or Lyrica ever did. I'm also going to check into a diet another member mentioned to me in another thread. Every little bit helps imo.

 

[MamaD]

Oh by all means use the Lyrica as directed. I'm not saying to stay away all together, just plan a taper with your doctor when you decide to quit. The problem I hear about most is people using it for W/D's, then recreationally, then running out after doing huge amounts or getting cut off by their doctors and having horrific W/D syndromes that are worse then opioid or benzo W/D.

Your use would probably not cause a problem even if you did quit rapidly, I just think it's wise to have a taper plan, even a short one available in case you did start having a rough time. Responsible users like yourself are definitely not at risk like recreational users. Having neuropathy I highly doubt your doctor would cut you off anyway. I hope it helps and please don't let my ranting discourage your use in any way.

I'm sorry if I came off as sounding bitchy in that first reply. The stupid pain makes me a bit cranky at times.