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Gabapentin withdrawal

Posted , 8 users are following.

Shumate
Shumate

Approximately 4 months ago I was prescribed 600mg Gabapentin 3x daily along with 5mg methadone 3x daily for nerve pain by my local Veteran's Administration GP.  After reading about the difficulty many people have experienced in getting off of these drugs, especially the gabapentin, I stopped both medications cold turkey 1 week ago (with the hesitating okay of my VA GP).  Since that time I have had severe insomnia, sleeping only 1-2 hours per night.

Can anyone offer some insight into how long it will be before I resume normal sleep routines and my brain "reprograms" itself to manufacture it's own chemicals?  Thanks.

1 like, 20 replies

20 Replies

  • dorbocon55
    dorbocon55 Shumate

    Posted

    If you take magnesium it will help you with sleeping . It did me but I had to go back on the gabapentin because of nerve burning .
    • Shumate
      Shumate dorbocon55

      Posted

      Thanks.  I started taking magnesium a few days ago and will continue it.
  • Jeshuaschild
    Jeshuaschild Shumate

    Posted

    Cold turkey isn't usually the way to go

    Tapering is important , consult dr

    I'm not a medical professional

    Hopefully one will respond

    • Shumate
      Shumate Jeshuaschild

      Posted

      I appreciate your input.  I discussed this with my GP at the VA and although he wasn't real happy with my decision he told me that his biggest fear in stopping cold turkey would be the possibility of seizures; and, since I was already on day 4 of CT when I called him, he said the likelihood of seizures at that point was small.  I understand the rationale behind tapering, but I also realize that tapering just keeps the drug in my system that much longer. Patience is not my strong suit, but I realize that I just have to tough this out until my system is completely clean and my brain has resumed normal function.  In the meantime I just can't sleep more than an hour or so each night and not at all during the day.

    • Jeshuaschild
      Jeshuaschild Shumate

      Posted

      So sorry but I get it

      I was on gab for 30 days

      Last 1/2 dose was 7/11

      I'm still dealing with after effects

      Met w doc Tuesday and she suggested Benadryl to help me sleep

      I'll try to keep in touch

      Quite sick right now so going to try to sleep

      Pray it gets easier for you

    • Shumate
      Shumate Jeshuaschild

      Posted

      Good luck to you.  I think I've got some benadryl around here somewhere.  I'll give that a try and see if that helps me sleep.  Thanks again for responding.

    • Shumate
      Shumate

      Posted

      I took one of those over the counter PM pain meds last night and subsequently was able to sleep for about 3 1/2 hours.  That is the most continual sleep I've had since I stopped taking the gabapentin 8 days ago.  After last night I'm not sure if I see the light at the end of the tunnel, or the on coming train.

  • dorbocon55
    dorbocon55 Shumate

    Posted

    I didn't get that far when I stopped because of my nerve pain but as I understand it will take awhile w

    I understand Ithat will take you some time for your mind to reboot . The magnesium will help you as gabapentin robs you of it .

  • Chan2015
    Chan2015 Shumate

    Posted

    HI Shumate, I'll have to tell you going off 1800 mg a day of gabapentin cold turkey is extreme in my opinion, no wonder you can't sleep!  And I can't believe your doc said yes to this.  You may or may not be out of the seizure mode, saying this I would definitely take 300 mg at night for at least a week!  Do you still have some left?  I hope.  This will allow your system to relax and your mind, then you can go cold turkey thereafter.  If it were me (and yes I've been where you are) I would take 600 mg at night for 1 week then 300mg for your last week and off.  It's dangerous to just bluntly jump off the train so to speak after taking so much for 4 months.  I pray for you and get some sleep my friend..trust me you are not alone!

    chan

    • Shumate
      Shumate Chan2015

      Posted

      Thanks for your comments and your thoughts.  My VA doc wasn't real happy about my decision; but, without getting off on a rant about the VA I will just say that I am rapidly coming to the conclusion that their primary mission is to keep us doped up in order to keep us shut up.

      Yes, I've got a bunch of the stuff left.  After my initial prescription, the VA sent me a bottle of 540 capsules.  I'm tempted to take some in order to get some sleep, but keep telling myself that that will simply put me further away from being clean from it.  My growing fear is that my brain won't ever recover.  I don't know if the drug is that dibilitating or not, but the various message boards I've read over the past week certainly don't have very many success stories related to getting off of it.

      As I said before, patience is not my strong suit.  I've only been on gabapentin a few months. When I read the comments from people who have been on it for years upon years I have to wonder if there is any hope at all for them.  Thus, my reluctance to take even one more capsule of it.  I don't want to appear to be too big of a wuss, but the lack of sleep the past week is kicking my butt.

      Again, thank you for your comments.

  • Deki
    Deki Shumate

    Posted

    OH Gosh, by stopping Cold Turkey is NOT recommended for these medications and can make withdrawal and side effects worse. It may take a year or so to completely leave your body. Can be stored in fat!
    • Shumate
      Shumate Deki

      Posted

      Thank you for the information and your insight.  Everyone tells me that I shouldn't be doing this cold turkey, but I guess I'm just stubborn enough to believe that tapering is just another way of staying on the stuff.  I've been off of it for 8 days now and at this point am still not ready to tell myself I'd be better off starting up with it again at a lower dosage.

  • joe03634
    joe03634 Shumate

    Posted

    I am currently going through the sleep issues same 1-2 hours. Did this improve at some point?
    • pam5133
      pam5133 joe03634

      Posted

      After 3 months I am sleeping 5 hours at a time, if I take magnesium at bedtime
    • joe03634
      joe03634 pam5133

      Posted

      The last few days I've been 3 and it's decent sleep just not enough I believe magnesium has helped. I was only on it 3 weeks total and been abstinent 9 days. IME this drug is no good. I withdrew from kolonipin I took for years and had insomnia for 2 weeks and it was no where near this bad.

    • Jeshuaschild
      Jeshuaschild joe03634

      Posted

      My last half dose after a month on of 1200-1800mg was July 18

      Still have sleep and anxi

    • Jeshuaschild
      Jeshuaschild

      Posted

      Sorry having trouble posting

      Have continued blood pressure spikes when stressed and anxiety when there was none

      So 3 1/2 months

    • joe03634
      joe03634 Jeshuaschild

      Posted

      Would you say the insomnia was from anxiety? The first week had really bad anxiety but the last 4-5 days I am relaxed and have no problem going to sleep but wake up after 3 hours and cannot sleep til that time 21 hours later.
    • Shumate
      Shumate joe03634

      Posted

      Hi Joe...

      Sorry for the delayed response but I've been off of the computer for a few days.

      I hope your sleep pattern is starting to return to normal.

      Like you, the first week off of the gabapentin I was only getting 1 - 1 1/2 hours of sleep per night.  It was horrible.  And, the anxiety that accompanied it didn't help either.  

      The second week off of it I would routinely get 3 -4 hours per night, but it wasn't really good quality sleep, but, it was sleep.

      The third week off of it things started to improve noticiably.  I started getting 7 - 8 hours of sleep per night and started getting some clarity of life back.

      The 4th week off of it things really started to get back to normal.  I was still weak and got exhausted with very little exertion, but, I could see improvement on a daily basis.

      I've been off of the stuff for a couple of months now and am really feeling good.

      I was on gabapentin/methadone for 4 months.  Horrible stuff.

      Hang in there.  You're on the verge of starting to get your life back.

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