Doc told me to stop Gabapentin cold turkey

I've had neuropathy in my feet so I got checked out and it was from diabetes type 2. Doctor prescribed gabapentin. The neuropathy was no better but now I have skin crawling in my legs and groin. I decreased it and fonally stoped it on Friday. Today is Sunday and the creepy crawly feelings are worse today. Im not going back. This is torture.

I've had neuropathy in my feet so I got checked out and it was from diabetes type 2. Doctor prescribed gabapentin. The neuropathy was no better but now I have skin crawling in my legs and groin. I decreased it and finally stoped it on Friday. Today is Sunday and the creepy crawly feelings are worse today. Im not going back. This is torture.

I was first given gaba from a pain clinic for interstitial cystitis, which is like having a UTI all the time, but the test is negative. My PCP told me that I didn't need to go to the pain clinic that they could treat me for that. I was on 300mg/3xday. It did nothing for the pain. They put me on Norco, which helped the pain, but said to keep taking the gaba as it would help with the numbness and tingling in my feet (non-diabetic neuropathy). It did nothing for that either. I had no side effects at all until I read that weight gain was a side effect, I have gained 70 pounds in about 6 months. I am going to quit cold turkey because it does nothing but make me fat. I have stopped abruptly before when I let my script lapse and it took the doctor 4 days to refill and I had no withdrawal symptoms, so I doubt I will now. I also take 2mg/2xday lorazepam, maybe that has something to do with that. Pointless drug if you ask me.

Hello Tonya.

You sound like a very sweet lady who is at the mercy of your Physician and the pharmacist.

Now I first need to point out that when you are at the mercy of the doctor and the pharmacist about 79% of people in your shoes that have this predicament it is always a cause of concern that you need to check how you're doing with your medicine.

No most people that take medicine for acid reflux simply do not drink enough water and most the time they also drink soda or other drinks other than water in excess.

Let me remind you that this drug you're taking to combat ear horrible acid reflux is a drug and it's going to have consequences such as some pretty serious side effects. Now if he had some kind of stomach problem that is hard to tolerate the acid reflux then it might be worth taking the anti acid to make you more comfortable well accepting the side effects but it's not so stop taking that right now.

Gabapentin should all currently only be prescribed for one thing and one thing only and that's seizure disorders. I don't care if some studies show that some patients can tolerate their pain more efficient it's just not right we have pain medicine for pain. If someone suffers chronic pain they need to be taking an opiate pain medication not some anti-seizure medicine that is just ludicrous.

If you have anxiety you need to see a mental health counselor to see what's going on with your personal life. If it's something that cannot be talked out then yes we need to put you on something for anxiety on a very low dose for a very short period of time. Xanax is okay but I prefer to start you on Ativan.

Now you should have been going through counseling therapy the last few years instead of taking different ssris that's b*******. You have no idea the side effects those ssris can cause to your body.

I'm going to tell you some more things to that you're not going to like to hear.

Life is very stressful. It's normal to have stress in your life the question is is it warranted. Do you work full time I don't think you do get a job. Xanax is definitely not the answer that will make you a much bigger person than you already are. Ssris will make you a much more of a unpredictable person than you already are. Gabapentin will just mess up your body's chemistry causing anything from cancer to bone fractures to mood swings.

It's time for you to stop everything quit taking the drugs. Start exercising and doing a hobby that brings you joy and happiness preferably daily.

The ultimate goal would be to build you some cognitive skills along with confidence in your daily life.

You need to always question yout Doctor. If you do not feel confident Or well heard fire them.

I pray that you will find peace and happiness in the rest of your life I mean that I hope you will find a doctor who will provide you with the utmost quality of life.

Hello Tonya; 

I was told by my Dr to just stop taking Gabapentin and it would be fine. I was taking 800mg 3 x daily for the past 4 months for Fibromyalgia. went to see him yesterday cause the pain was back with vengeance, it had changed my personalty and the depression was horrible. And his comment was he had never heard of anyone with these symptoms while taking Gabapentin. yesterday was rough but last night was a nightmare I have made it 48 hrs without this poison. Doctor wrote a prescription for Cymbalta but after some research on this drug and the many lawsuits not going to trust the big pharmaceutical companies or the doctors that prescribe them. Very Frustrated to say the least.

It's funny that I came across this thread while searching for any indication that Gabapentin might be the cause of my GERD. I've never had an issue with these symptoms until not long after taking it along with a muscle relaxer, which also might be a contributor. 2012 research showed that Gabapentin may HELP relieve GERD symptoms, but I am skeptical.

I take Gabapentin for nerve pain. Initially 300mg 4 times a day, but after 2 weeks I became very emotional and told my doctor that it was definitely from the medicine because shortly after I stopped taking it, those symptoms went away. I requested 100mg tablets so that I could adjust the dosage to 200 mg or less. Fast forward 12 months. I do not take it the way it was initially prescribed, rather I take it at bedtime as needed between 100-200 mg unless I am in extreme pain and barely walking. I don't take it everyday nor do I notice any symptoms or withdrawal. I'm not in the medical profession however I do a lot of research using medical journals, PubMed, NIH, etc. What I have found is that most people taking this drug are likely experiencing the placebo effect as it is not very effective in small dosages. A government neurologist confirmed my finding and indicated that I should be on 1400mg.. Hah!!! I don't think so.

Years ago I was on antidepressants and every one of them made me more emotional and gave me the jitters: Paxel, Zoloft and Cymbalta all did the exact same thing to me, made me terribly emotional.

I completely agree with Dr. _Bauer's recommendation. I completely stopped taking any antidepressants and focused on lifestyle changes. I examined my life and made a list of all of the things that caused me stress in my life (work, spouse, kids, traffic, etc.) I focused on removing myself from stressful environments, people and situations where possible and found outlets that helped me relax. This was key to managing stress. Over time my stress level went down and my depression became more manageable. I use breathing exercises to ward of anxiety attacks and tell myself that I am in control not my emotions.

My point, we are responsible for managing our health and making an informed decision on what we put into our bodies. This and family related health situations were eye opening events for me, therefore I view doctors as "advisors". they are there to assess, recommend and treat if necessary, but the bottomline is that "we" must educate ourselves in order to make an informed decision as to whether or not the recommended treatment is for us. This includes getting a 2nd, 3rd or 4th opinion if necessary. This is not to degrade any physican's experience or training, just simple common sense. We live with our bodies 24/7 and our doctors see us for 5-15 minutes for maybe 1 - 2 times a month or less per year.

Educate yourself, ask questions and then ask more questions (accept but verify). Write their responses down so you can remember. They are not always right and what works for one patient doesn't necessarily guarantee their recommendation is going to work for you, particularly since their bodies and what's going on inside their bodies is likely quite different from yours (no two people's body chemistry is exactly the same). This has held true in my case since the original reason for me being prescribed Gabapentin was due to cervical disc degeneration. I was seen by 7 different surgeons (yes, I got multiple opinions). 5 out of 7 wanted to perform a Discectomy. Not being satisfied with the answers to my questions led me to seek one opinion after the next until the answers I received could be backed up by research data. The most interesting thing I discovered was that while I again do question these surgeons experience and education, most who are in private practice are motivated by money. Most do not specialize in one type of surgery, therefore having an opportunity to perform a discectomy would not only help them gain experience, but a hefty fee for their services. Needless to say, that I did not have the surgery as recommended as the 2 surgeons who did not recommend surgery were not in private practice. One is the Chief Neurosurgeon at a major University in Washington and the other is a Government Neurosurgeon at a VA hospital.

Thankfully my instinct told me to keep searching for an answer to questions that my own research prompted me to ask. Yes, I still suffer painful episodes, however, I discovered during my research that the procedure that is performed was developed around 1959 and has not changed much over the years. In addition to this, I also discovered that there is a 60% reoccurance rate in patients who have undergone such surgeries and to make matters worse, I had epidural steroid injections that did not help but increased my pain. Having questioned the pain management doctor (prompted by my research), I was able to convinced her to be perfectly honest with me when I ask her about the patients in her very "crowded" waiting room. the question; "How many of those patients are here due to reoccurances?" Initially she was taken back by my question which obviously caught her off guard. After explaining to her all that I had been through, the number of surgeons I had seen and sharing with her the amount of research I had performed citing my sources, she answered my question truthfully if I were to promise not to mention her name or practice if I shared her response with others. Her response was "about 40%". While I was not surprised, I was certain that her estimation was modest and that actual percentage was likely higher.

FYI - disc degeneration is a normal process which begin around the age of 11, my case just happens to be more advanced than others at my age, but I am confident I can resolve it through lifestyle changes, reducing stress and diet. some doctors may argue against my assessment, but I bet they cannot answer this question with a straight face. Why is it that two people with similar degeneration shown on MRI have different experiences? One has no symptoms or pain while the other suffers a great deal? Our emotional health plays a very important role in our overall health including incidents of pain, sickness, diseases and disorders. Modern medical professionals need so to stop treating symptoms and start focusing on treating the entire patient.

Do your own research.. ask and ask more questions... get second and multiple opinions, and if you are in an insurance network where you don't have many choices, reach out to your state government for assistance in getting the insurance company to cover an outside opinion. Afterall, it's your health we are talking about and it is solely up to you to manage it.

Good luck and may God bless each of you with His healing hands.

(Now back to my search for the cause of my GERD-like symptoms, although I suspect medications and post nasal drip are the culprits)

Brian