GABA OR ANXIETY

I was originally put on gabapentin for anxiety. Crazy Dr. Dose 100, still anxious, then 200, 300. Gave up but continued taking it. Kerk I was. Took myself off cold turkey when I changed Dr's & put on buscar. Was taking lamictal as a pteventive seizure med )don't have seizures) again crazy Dr. Stopped cold turkey with gabapentin. 1 week later I came out of the fog. Couldn't understand why I would sleep 2-3 days after vigorous cleaning, etc. Then chronic daily migraines. I used to have a tolerance to pain but ,no longer my body became an enemy, pain!!!! One year later diagnosed with chronic migraines 1 1/2 Yeats later after Dr hopping I was finally diagnosed w/FM. Who know how long I had it. I was on gabapentin & lamictal for 9 years? I feel for u. After disaster with BOTOX injections, given gabapentin & calmed horrible migraines & pain thru out body. After exposure & insight & awrness of gabapentin, I slowly got off of it. I take topomax for migraines, muscle relaxer, tramadol for pain in bones, Motrin & lamictal besides my antidepressant meds. It can be done!🌷😃

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did you have the leg "pings" and "zaps" too? 

Yeah everyday I feel like I'm in a constant hangover..anxiety through the roof..I hope this passes soon..I'm going crazy.

I did not, however I did experience the zaps when I took lexapro which is an antidepressant years ago so I know exactly what you are talking about. over time this went away while I was on the lexapro and so I'm sure with the gaba it will go away for you also with time

thanks! yeah--it's odd, didn't start till i upped to 1200 mg and i have been off of it for almost a week and it's still going on. SIGH.

It will absolutely get better! I know that at times it may feel completely hopeless but that's just a side effect of discontinuation. Like benzodiazepine withdrawal getting your body used to being off the drug can be a roller coaster and the symptoms don't always improve at a steady rate where you can definitively see progress every day but if you look hard enough you can see your body improving bit by bit. For instance, try to track the amount of sleep you get each night (if any). Say you are only getting an hour a night all broken up, even if that improves to 2 hours a night that's still definitive progress you can see and track. Try to look for little improvements in all the symptoms and it will help you ride this thing out.

thank you benjamin, your words give me peace, i just want to be fine again...

Jesika I know the feeling! It's amazing how much suffering these drugs can cause some people. When I was enduring the worst of it all I could think about was getting that "normal feeling" back. It'll come back hang in there

Yep it feels like it's gonna last forever right? I know the feeling, try to track your symptoms on a daily basis I kept a log in my iPhone detailing my symptoms each day and it'll be easier to see the improvements that way because you can compare each day. It's gonna get better!

Going on 3 weeks off it....head pressure..feels nssty.

Thanks-you are really kind! I guess I don't know if my "issues" are from the gaba or something else?? Good call to track everything! I'm seeing my doc Thursday so I'm hoping she will have some answers. How long did it take you to move past symptoms? I was only on it a month.

For me this is a tricky question because I have generalized anxiety even before I started the gabapentin and I have bad flare ups every so often during the year that can mimic some of the gabapentin discontinuation symptoms. My doctor started me on a 300 mg dose which was too high (should've been 100mg) so I had a severe reaction after only 2 pills and then I discontinued it. A lot of people on here typically did not have any anxiety before starting treatment so that's a different situation than me I've been dealing with anxiety for years (I'm a recovering drug addict). I've also tried other anti anxiety drugs from my doctor and I haven't handled those well either. I have ADHD and oddly enough my medicine (which I have been on for 7 years) helped deal with some of the gaba side effects (got rid of the brain fog and some anxiety). But that first night off the gaba I had full blown insomnia, crazy dreams, panic attacks, heart beating out of my chest, etc.Going to work the next day I have no idea how the hell I made it there. After a week I felt like I was getting close to normal and by week 2 all physical side effects were gone, the mental ones have lingered but I see improvement every day. How long they will last I can't be sure but as long as I'm seeing and tracking my improvement I know I'm on the right track!

Jesika I never dealt with the head pressure but that may be because I just didn't notice it because my other symptoms were so overwhelming. Is the head pressure your worst symptom? For me it was the insomnia and crazy levels of anxiety

i too have anxiety. i am on zoloft. it's mainly sleep induced (if i am stressed i don't sleep and then it all happens). i want to be preg soon, so that is why the doc suggested the gaba because it is "safe" in preg. i still have anxious symptoms--feeling my heart beat, shakey hands. super frustrating!! it might not even be the gaba. no idea. i am glad you are feeling better! tough road!!!

Yes it is a tough road for sure! And thanks . I was on lexapro for 9 months years ago and i had horrible side effects on that in the beginning, it's similar to Zoloft. Glad the Zoloft is working for you though. My anxiety does also tend to get worse with lack of sleep but I wouldn't say it's what causes it for me

i dont really have bad side effects but i am still not 100% better. i mean hand treamor and still some physical issues. i also started trazodone for (hopefully) a bit just to get me through this hump. i still have those little leg zaps. fun stuff. so you only took gaba twice? that is insane that there are such crazy side effects!!

Yes I only took two doses and then stopped once I could tell I started feeling terrible. it could have been my body was just in shock from the dose. If I had started at 100mg instead of 300 it's possible I wouldn't have had side effects. My doctor seems to agree with me. I will never try it again though or any antidepressants. The side effects are just too scary for me to even take a chance. For some reason I just don't handle sedatives of any kind very well at all. I seem to have no problems with stimulants (I take ADHD medicine) and a lot of people don't handle them well so it seems we are all different! I have never tried trazadone so I can't speak on that but my main problem with antidepressants even after the side effects subside is the fact that they make me soooo tired and lethargic. I mean they do help in terms of the negative thoughts and anxiety but I just feel so unmotivated to do anything. Getting of bed every morning was so difficult on them I just wanted to sleep. But yeah the zaps I had with my brain, I can't remember any leg zaps. The brain zaps were very weird though. Yeah I read about someone who took one dose of gabapentin 900 mg and he suffered discontinuation symptoms also. Seems like certain folks just have a difficult time processing this medicine. Like for me when I quit my antidepressant I basically did cold turkey. For most people that is bad bad news. I had no problems whatsoever. I had all my difficulty starting the medicine, not stopping it.

yeah, its crazy how quick you can feel a med--good or bad. i wish i didn't need anything, never did till i had my daughter. i don't have the unmotivated problem, it's more the random side effects i am having that bother me, especially since i didn't have them last time! super frustrating! i am glad you are doing better! 

Thanks . Interesting, It seems like maybe something was thrown off in your brain by the pregnancy? Weird how that works. Yes I am feeling a lot better still looking for a treatment to combat the underlying anxiety issue but me and my doctor are working on it. I wished I lived in a state where medicinal marijuana was a realistic option but it's still pretty strict here (basically have to have cancer) seems to be a lot safer than some of these psychiatric medicines I've tried.

ha--i have thought that too. would make life a lot easier! something did happen in my short lived preg. i like the idea of herbs but they scare me a bit because they aren't fda approved. 

Yeah I haven't smoked in about 5 years I quit that and cigarettes during my time in college. And it was hard to quit, marijuana is definitely addicting. However, when I quit I was still able to function, some of these psych drugs if you quit using them it's impossible to even attend your job! Horrible stuff. I think smoking at an early age could lead to mental problems but for an adult done responsibly, I think the risks are much lower. and I agree we need more testing on it because a lot of folks are very uncomfortable with the idea of marijuana. At the end of the day I just don't want to see people suffer like this from psych medicine, hopefully we can continue to find safer medicine for all people.

i never got side effects taking gaba, i felt them once i came off it, nasty, hell.