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Stiff as a board

Posted , 8 users are following.

chrissie61614
chrissie61614

Hi, I'm shocked to see all the comments about thus drug which I was put on my my Consultant Neurologist about two months ago. Ive been waking up as stiff as a board and barely able to get out of bed, with terrible pains in th back of my knees. I've seen my GP fortnightly for acupuncture and reported the increasing stiffness in my neck, shoulders and legs, and he has continued to increase the dose of gabapentin. I'm now on 700mg three times a day, as well as cocdamol, paracetamol and  iboprufen throughout the day. Today I thought "enough" so I haven't taken any gabapentin this morning but now worried sick about the possible side effects of withdrawal. Can anyone tell me whether the short time I've been on the drug (6 weeks of rapid increase in dose) will mean I have to taper off slowly please? Or can I risk a more rapid withdrawal? 

0 likes, 13 replies

13 Replies

  • judeuhl
    judeuhl chrissie61614

    Posted

    Chrissie....DO NOT go cold turkey! You need to taper at a slow pace/rate. 700 mg 3x daily is a high dose. These doctors prescribing this medication are out of their minds. It's a terrible drug. A rapid withdrawal could cause major side effects other than what you now are experiencing. Other than Ibuprofen, the other meds you mention here I am not familiar with. I was on Gaba for 6 wks due to auto accident. Was prescribed 100 mg 3x daily. Cld not make it beyond 200 per day. Terrible side effects. It took me 2 months of tapering slowly and even at that did experience a few withdrawal side effects. I began by cutting contents of 100 mg cap in half (50 mg) and continued for 1 week, then dropped another 50 each week until completely off. Wasn't easy. God Bless and good luck. If I can be of any help, pls let me know.

    • chrissie61614
      chrissie61614 judeuhl

      Posted

      Thank you for the advice. I don't think my GP knew much about this drug and kept increasing the dose because it didn't appear to be working, whilst all along it was making things so much worse. I didn't realise either until I could barely move this morning. Some quick research has left me really concerned about this taking this drug and even more concerned about discontinuing it. This is day 1, here goes! 

  • naomi64
    naomi64 chrissie61614

    Posted

    Hi Chrissie

    Some people have problems with this GP some don't, but I would not go cold turkey just like Jude said in comment below.  I am still experiening some side effects and i been off for 6 weeks.  I went off two fast and because of it, my body is paying for it.  People say on this site even if they took it for a week, at 100 mg they still had problems with withdrawal.  like Jude said you can go now 50 per week but you will have to go to a special pharmacy to get it. Or 100 per week. I will pray you will be well.

    Naomi

    • Margot49
      Margot49 naomi64

      Posted

      Everyone mentions side effects but can you elaborate?  I have been in this drug fir GI ussues for a long time. Am trying to reduce but can't get below 700 mg a day.  

    • Cassie57
      Cassie57 Margot49

      Posted

      Abdominal pain; constipated, big weight gain, feeling disoriented as in foggy thinking, irritable.

      I thought maybe these symptoms were just me but the more I read about it the more it became quite clear to me that it wasn't just me. Even my pharmacists papers that came with the prescription had warnings and side effects,

      Since I stopped the gaba I am thinking very clearly, I am not constipated at all and my weight is coming down again. It's been 6 weeks and I feel so much better!

      Good luck!

    • chrissie61614
      chrissie61614 Margot49

      Posted

      I've been reading trying to get my head round it. As a sufferer of depression and anxiety even before starting this drug it fills me with dread if I am to experience any of these withdrawal symptoms. But my lifestyle is so compromised by the effects of taking gabapentin that I have to get off it, as fast as humanly possible. By the way, I am in the UK and was prescribed their drug for a trapped nerve by a Consultant Neurologist in early October.

    • Margot49
      Margot49 Cassie57

      Posted

      Thanks, that helps.  I have gained 30 lbs in two years!!  I have so much stomach trouble, hard to try to wean off this and know if it the drug decrease or my gut.  Yes, hirribke bloating.  
    • Cassie57
      Cassie57 Margot49

      Posted

      Margo, hi!

      I forgot to mention the terrible bloating I had along with the stomach aches!

      I hope you can wean off of it and get better soon!

    • lucy81308
      lucy81308 Margot49

      Posted

      The side effects vary enormously My withdrawal effect manifests as a very jittery, speedy kind of  hyper awareness. It's vile. I am coming off 3000mgs a day, for approx 6 months. I still have these effects even at 100mgs reduction every two weeks, but they only last a few hours. I tried coming down by 300mgs, and I felt like I was dying.

    • chrissie61614
      chrissie61614 lucy81308

      Posted

      I should have heeded all the warnings and reduced more slowly if the way I felt this morning is an indication of what to expect. I didn't know whether I was fainting, vomiting or trying to sit on the WC all at the same time, along with hot flushes, shivering, and ringing in the ears. I have gone from being an active energetic health conscious woman of 59 to being a wreck and a near cripple. I want my life back. 

    • carl92298
      carl92298 Margot49

      Posted

      Hello M,

      First, I'm not a doctor. I just want to stress in response to your query that if you were to read every post, of every thread, of every Gabapentin topic on just this site alone, I would not be stretching to say that you will find hundreds upon hundreds of user side affects surrounding this drug. Ranging from hearing birds chirp in the morning, to near fatal experiences. Some that could just as easily be the multivitamin they are taking, yet others that are very real, life changing, and dangerous. A PDR alone contains a very exhaustive list, and runs the gamut. Read A PDA, check with the FDA. A source I highly recommend are medicine and medical journals where you can read clinical trials ranging from the affects of Gabapentin on Louisiana swamp opossums to combat troops (yes... that was a joke but you get the picture). These can be read on line, and can be downloaded as a PDF.

      Happy hunting.

  • Cassie57
    Cassie57 chrissie61614

    Posted

    Taper off slowly just to be safe; however...I'm telling you this and I quit cold turkey! I was on gaba for over six months; we were on our way down South by car for six weeks to see family.

    I broke out in hives all over; so immediately went off of my pain patch and the gaba.

    Within the week I was in so much pain but I took my chances and tried my pain patch. I knew if it was that; I would have a reaction almost immediately.i had Benadryl beside me but happy to report I was fine.

    It was definitely the gaba! I noticed my appetite immediately was back to normal and the weight I had gained is coming off.

    Try to get off of it; it's a horrible drug.

  • joe03634
    joe03634 chrissie61614

    Posted

    I was a week at 300 mgs 3x a day and I had a month and a half of severe symptoms the worst being insomnia I didnt sleep at all. Everyone reacts differently but may be worth talking to your doctor about tapering.
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