1. Community
  2. Brain and nerves
  3. Gabapentin

Gabapentin side effects coming back weeks after stopping dosage? Does it ever end?

Posted , 3 users are following.

rommon
rommon

Hello,

I was prescribed Gabapentin for pain caused by nerves healing in my right leg after a lower back surgery (microdiscectomy), and I had a very extreme reaction to a single 300mg pill, but was advised by the doctor to continue taking it despite these effects.

At first the effects were more mild, slight anxiety / insomnia / constant dizziness, this lasted for maybe 3-4 days.

Then came the real fun side effects:

- Hot flashes under my skin, felt like I had a fever but skin cool to the touch

- Hyper-sensitive feelings, body easily irritable, especially sensitive to smell

- Insane nightmares, triggered by smells oddly enough

- Psychosis, visual and auditory hallucinations, unable to tell if I was in reality or a nightmare at times during the night when alone

- Complete inability to eat, anything that goes in the mouth comes back out liquid within 15 minutes or so

- Overwhelming anxiety from all the above mentioned effects

I could probably go on with that list, but it was basically every side effect listed on the pharmacy instructions outside of thoughts of suicide or harming other people.

Once the really insane effects kicked in I told my doctor I had to stop taking it, and we agreed to just take 2 x 100mg capsules once daily, as that just barely kept the nerve pain at bay while still putting me completely out of my mind but at a low enough dosage that coming off it should be relatively easy.

I waned myself down to 1 x 100mg per day for about 2 weeks, then halted intake all together, which was also a nightmare but it eventually subsided for the most part or so I had thought.

Over the last two weeks the symptoms have started coming back, starting with the extreme sensitivity in my body and hyper-sensitive smell, which I thought may have been a cold and didn't think anything of it at the time.

Since then I am back to having a lesser extremity of lucid nightmares, insomnia, hot flashes under the skin, and overwhelming anxiety(!!!).

When I talk to doctors about what I am feeling and explain my gabapentin stint to them, they seem like they are completely oblivious to the side effects or that they may linger, and its getting to a point now where I am having trouble again just functioning as an adult with working my job and being confident I can drive safely with sleep deprivation.

Has anyone else experienced this, and found anything at all to help?

I'm at a point where I can barely work because I have overwhelming anxiety for absolutely no reason, other than not being able to sleep at night, so I am fuzzy the entire day at work and I stay up all night unable to sleep dwelling on how I might screw up at work the next day.

On the weekends I am anxious about anyone texting me asking if I want to do something, because I feel so out of reality, again for basically no reason other than the insomnia / dizziness.

Does this ever go away? Has anyone found any non-prescription help in suppressing these side effects?

Any help is appreciated at this point, I am just a nervous wreck at this point, and there has been no signs of it getting better.

At this point I am wondering if I will ever be myself again prior to the doctor force feeding me gabapentin, I'm starting to feel helpless and hopeless, and its getting worse sad

Input appreciated, thank you!

0 likes, 7 replies

7 Replies

  • mary25674
    mary25674 rommon

    Posted

    Dear Rommon, It's a really bad drug, Magnesium, and Epsom baths 2xs a day helped me. Didn't make it go away, but eased the pain.  I tapered off for 2 months, then quit. Bad times until 2 1/2 months. But at 3 months now everything is getting back to normal.You WILL get there

    • mary25674
      mary25674

      Posted

      Your body is starved for Mag and all the "B" Vits. Gabe soaks up them and throws them out, makes it hard to sleep, You must keep taking them to build them back up in your body. I get  Source Naturals b Complex from Amazon. Good brand that works. Just don't give up. You will win.

      Epsom bath soaks 2xs a day helped me

  • deebee777
    deebee777 rommon

    Posted

    Yes, it will get better. I also had withdrawals come back after a few weeks off and am now at almost 2 months off gaba. Some residual stuff, legs a bit weak, but mind/memory/sleep much better, having more good days!

    Epsom salt baths and magnesium supplement have helped me too. 

    Best wishes.. just remember that in time we do feel better. 

  • rommon
    rommon

    Posted

    Thank you for the comments, I have some multi vitamins around with vitamin B / Mag that I can start taking immediately to see if there is any relief.

    Since posting its continued to get worse, with the insomnia now going around the clock, haven't slept since the night before posting this thread originally.

    This is the kind of thing that makes me not trust anyone in the medical field, how can this stuff possibly be seen as an alternative to traditional pain killers, bleh sad

  • mary25674
    mary25674 rommon

    Posted

    I to will never trust anyone in the medical field again.  I'm 63 yrs old, smoked pot 1-2 times in the 1970's, didn't like it. BUT a friend gave me some, it stopped the pain and allowed me to sleep, what a wonderful thing to sleep again. 

    • rommon
      rommon mary25674

      Posted

      Pot had actually helped me eat and feel human oddly enough at the height of side effects during the real psychosis, with the less intense effects though it actually just intensifies the blah feeling, I've found the Vitamin B / Mag supplements seem to be helping (not sure if this is maybe just placebo).

      During the day I feel mental clarity and not fluish when I first wake up and begin my work day now, however at night I am still just blah, seems like as my body gets tired the feelings intensify.

      Like when I lay down for bed, I feel heat flashes and have started breaking into cold sweats, and my skin gets so sensitive that even the covers moving over it is uncomfortable. This stuff is really doing a number on me :\

      Looking forward to this being over at some point, after all the pre-surgery treatments with oral steroids and a cortizone shot that about made me lose my sanity too, feeling like I'm going crazy is getting sooo old!

       

    • mary25674
      mary25674 rommon

      Posted

      You might be getting out of the worst of it.  I didn't get the night sweats until the last 3-4 weeks of the WD.  

Back to top

Report or request deletion

Thanks for your help!

We want the community to be a useful resource for our users but it is important to remember that the community are not moderated or reviewed by doctors and so you should not rely on opinions or advice given by other users in respect of any healthcare matters. Always speak to your doctor before acting and in cases of emergency seek appropriate medical assistance immediately. Use of the community is subject to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy and steps will be taken to remove posts identified as being in breach of those terms.