Gabapentin: withdrawal symptoms or am I going crazy?
Posted , 4 users are following.
Hello all!
I hope you are doing better than I at this moment in time.
I have had to resort to forums as I can’t seem to get a clear answer from any NHS medical professional as to why I am feeling the way I am since coming off Gabapentin. The doctors tell me it’s safe and with the half-life being so short any ‘mild’ side effect should be gone within a couple of days.
Background: I was prescribed 900mg of Gabapentin to take at night off label by a sleep specialist to help with my sleep disturbances and RLS 10 months ago. After tapering up by 300mg per week over 3 weeks I found that this mystery drug was helping and the suffering of the last 10 years of chronic insomnia was being beaten finally! I am a 28 yo male who is otherwise healthy, active gym goer etc..
Fast forward to a couple of months ago. With about a stone weight gain, groggy feeling, memory issues and low mood I decided that I would like to come off the drug, however all the GP’s at my practice did not want the responsibility of dealing with the drug and me and recommended I continue until I got to speak to the specialist at the hospital once again.. thanks to Covid my follow up has been pushed back by another 6 months so I decided to come off the drug myself. I told the GP of my decision and they gave me a rough tapering guideline of going from 900mg to 600mg to 300mg over 3 weeks!
This is where the crazy begins:
I have been experiencing:
- [x] Distorted vision, contrast issues, colour changes, photophobia (things looking really bright and shiny), halo vision, double vision, and choppy vision that looks like low frame rate with continued flickering when you close your eyes.
- [x] Dizziness and vertigo akin to having been on rough water for a week with balance issues.
- [x] Weakness and numbness in my hands and arms.
- [x] Pins and needles in my feet and legs.
- [x] Severe anxiety, palpitations, suicidal thoughts (all new to me), hopelessness and low low mood.
- [x] Burning prickly sensations in my extremities with strange heat/ cold sensations.
- [x] Waking with pins and needles in my arms and shoulders.
- [x] Insomnia and night time awakenings with panic attacks
- [x] Daytime panic and anxiety attacks
It has now been 10 days since my last dose of 300mg gaba before bed and I’m still having these issues outlined above.. they seem to be less severe in the morning when I wake up and get worse throughout the day or if I’m stressed out or tired.
I have been taking magnesium baths and supplements to help as some forums suggested this..
Could you recommend anything else? Have you experienced these sides? What does the next week look like for me? I’m starting to think I have some other medical underlying condition which is exacerbated by the anxiety of coming off gaba..
many thanks!
Olly
0 likes, 5 replies
kevin59851 olly90113
Posted
Thank you for sharing your experience, I have been having some visual symptoms as well and it was reassuring that someone else was having the same experience even though i wish you were not.
You seem to be experiencing very similar symptoms to what has been shared on the forums here. I have been coming off gaba for a few months now and no withdrawal symptoms surprise me. I would talk to your doctor but rest assured that what your experiencing seems very akin to gaba withdrawal as opposed to some newly developed or underlying condition causing your symptoms. Unfortunately, I cant comment on what is in store for you and whether it will get better quickly. You will get better but I cant comment on how quickly. Your taper was very fast compared to whats been recommended by folks on the forum.
I would recommend speaking with your doctor, the prescribing doctor or your GP, despite their reluctance to get involved. Gabapentin comes in 100mg capsules as well as a liquid form so there are options to start taking it again and implement a slow taper based on your comfort level.
Im sorry this is happening to you but hang in there and ask for help from doctors, family, friends. It will get better I can assure you of that from experience.
kevin59851 olly90113
Posted
Was just reading your symptom list again and wanted to comment that your list is as close to my list that I have seen on the forums. Perhaps we can take comfort in our shared experience 😃
SalmonriverJame olly90113
Posted
me too ( two posts deleted in error so keeping it short)i went off gaba cold turkey two weeks ago ( didnt know the issues at the time) and had panic attacks, wanted to end myself. went back on and things went back to normal. this med should have a skull and cross bones on it. search this forom... countless others like us? the FDA failed us
working with a pain mgt doctor to slowly wean off aftwr 7 years
kevin59851 olly90113
Posted
hey Olly, how are things going? Did your symptoms subside?
babs99203 olly90113
Posted
Hi all, I used to be VERY active in the gab group here, but hadn't seen updates for a long time and forgot to check. I'm truly sorry you've been left in the dark. Quick answer YES! You are having withdrawal from gab. What you list is classic WD symptoms.
I was on gab for 3 years for shingles/lasting nerve pain back in 2016, last pill was 12/2019. I've been in several groups and learned a lot (also worked in healthcare as a medical secretary for 30 years which makes it easier for me to sort thru all the med-speak.
Here are a couple of things: VERY few docs understand this drug, world-wide we're told there are no side effects, anything you have is in your head and there's not withdrawal. WRONG. When the drug is continued most people need to decrease slowly and carefully, a 10% or less daily decrease in the dose over 4 weeks or more. Listen to your body, allow it time to get better before you decrease again. The WD and side effects of the drug can last weeks or months. The half-life has nothing to do with what it does to your brain/body. It's a way of saying the drug's level in the blood stream. The damage to the body is NOT confined to it being in your blood stream. Think of a traumatic brain injury, or an amputation. The incident may have been brief, but the damage is long-lasting. This was a simplistic way to describe it, but I think rather effective.
Look to other groups like Benzo buddies or inner compass. There is much more info available about the effects of benzoids, anti-depressants and drugs like gab/Lyrica than even a few years ago. This can take time, but you will get better.