Gabapentin Withdrawal Horror

It's your choice, but generally this drug doesn't help much with that kind of pain, All it does at the higher levels is give you more side effects. Your GP is obviously unaware of all the problems gab causes.

They all seem completely ignorant or choose to be. Makes Me furious in the amount money I’ve spent on Hospitals, specialists and more meds to fix side effects! It made me have more pain. Try lowering it and that pain may start decreasing. Good luck!

Your right,I just finished being so sick for 2 weeks and spent numerous trips to the Doctors and a full day in the ER where they ran every test possible even a spinal tap to test for Meningitis. They even thought it might be Tetanus and gave me a shot for that...Afterling X-rays blood tests and every other test they could try I was sent home on Antibiotics. All the Doctors knew I was weaning off of Gabapentin which I have been on for 6 years and up to 1600mg per day for Nueropothy in my feet. I was down to 300mg a day and still very sick with severe headaches and ear aches and severe depression along with no appetite. Well they finally figured out I was in withdrawal from the Gabapentin and told me to increase my dosage and see if the headaches would disappear which they did for one day.  The next day I went back to a 900 mg a day start again on the Gabapentin ....I was so relieved till that night when the fevers and headaches returned. I’m so confused and scared and don’t know what to do,I do not trust the Doctors anymore because why didn’t they pick up on this when I first started showing the symptoms of drug withdrawal. Not sure if I should just go back to the 300 mg a day where I was at and fight through this till I’m weaned off completely.....

Weaning, technically tapering, off gab is not an easy process, nor is it straightforward. How quickly did you drop the gab? For many, the recommendation is 5-10% every 2-4 weeks. The withdrawal symptoms are long and varied, but include dizziness, confusion, severe depression, suicdal thoughts, memory loss, headaches, fatigue,anxiety, greatly increased pain, insomnia etc. Basically everything you can get when you start you get as you come off. Some people have these problems for weeks or months if they dropped too quickly. I use a 5-10% per  month schedule and will even skip a month if I've got something special like a trip, so I don't feel lousy.

I seem to have an easier time of it than others who drop every two weeks. I allow my body and brain time to adjust. However, I do have some VERY hard stretches, anywhere from a few minutes to several days in a row. I had a headache for 8 days in a row earlier this month, I'd never had that before.

Read up on benzoids, tapering and withdrawal. The same holds true for gab. If you're on  FB consider joining Gabapentin Awareness, it's been a tremendous resource and support for me. Some people don't have too much trouble getting off it, others have a lot of problems and even for me, from month to month or week to week it varies. It sucks, but I'm grateful that I've gone from 2700 in January 2017 to 900 mg now. I'm NOT tapering in July, too many fun things, but I'll do it again in August.

My advice is allow your body and brain to heal and accept that higher dose of now, knowing that the symptoms may last a few days or weeks. Then when you're ready SLOWLY drop. You could also fight through it, but it is very hard as your body's going through a hard time with this drop and increase.

I worked in healthcare for 30 years and have faith in it, to some degree, but I too feel betrayed by the ignorance of the doctors. They were sold a bill of goods on this drug, and just now we're starting to educate them.  BTW, I hate to say this, but unless you have a specific type of diabetic neuropathy, it generally makes little difference to the pain. This stuff is given off-label constantly with no proof or research it helps. It the FB group I'm in, I'd say only about 5% of us have had a healthcare provider recognize the problems gab causes. No-one's ever told them.

Good luck, I'm pulling for you.

I was very Ill the first 30 days of withdrawal. I hung in there and finnaly got off it completely. Today I celebrate 30 days off. Won't say it was easy. It wasn't. But I'm glad I did it.

I’m in the same fix as You are. I’m in between 300 mg and 400 mg a day. The pain is excruciating!! I was told to stop coming back to ER for this as it is a chronic condition. I get too sick too make it to the Doctors. I’m trying My hardest not to go back up!!  I actually got bacterial Menegitis from all the chronic upper respiratory infections. The side effects had me hospitalized 20 times in a year in a half!  Finally a Doctor said it’s Your medications. No one with any sense would take 3600 mg a day. Well how was I to know?  Lowered it and haven’t had to be admitted to ICU since!  I actually started to believe that’s where You go when admitted. Lol!  Damned stuff just about killed Me. It was reason I stopped breathing, couldn’t get electrolytes to balance!  That was beginning. Pain so bad my adrenal glands are still too bad so I’m on steroids!! They basically shut down and I have an auto immune disease called Addison’s!  All because of gabapentin!!  Beware People this is true. The bacterial Menegitis was a 234,000$ ICU bill!  That doesn’t include the ambulance, hospital, Doctors or nursing Home for a week to finish IV antibiotics!  Good luck and I hope You have Someone helping You if You lose Your mind like I did and start running naked down the hall in the hospital!  Hitting Anybody trying to stop You!!

Do you think I should stay at the 300 mg per day for a while and then try to wean or just quit now completely and fight through it.   Thanks for the advice and any help.   

"no-one with any sense would take 3600 mg". Guess what, I've read of several people and know someone who was prescribed that by their doctor. It shows how little any of these doctors know. It seems that IF it does help with the pain, the max dose is 1800. Anything over that only causes more side effects.

I think I've mentioned this here previously, the increased pain is NOT from your underlying problem that put you on gab, it's called "paradoxical pain" and is actually caused by the gab.

I was on 300 mg. No. I highly suggest you lower 100 mg a month. Dont stop the 300 mg all at once. Once you lower any mg, NEVER go backwards. Its a set back and it will not be good. Stay the course. Im off all 5 months today. Much better. The first 60 days was the hardest, but i survived and you will too!! Plz dont go backwards! That will mess you up. You will be tempted but it wont make you feel even a tiny bit better. I actually lowered 100 mg every 21 days. I was too anxious to get off completely. Glsd i did it too. Everyone is different. Remember everyone here is with you!! God bless

I had a pain pump implant done this past monday. Works great! Surgical pain almost gone.

I really believe the increase in pain is from withdrawaing off the gab. It’s like what’s going to give in first?!  Me or gabapentin!  I wish there was something to replace or help with the withdrawing. Pain medication doesn’t help one bit!  Benzo just a bit!  Sense OK just passed a RX marijuana bill I may have to try that!! Just to stop taking a non addictive safe medication! Being told that over and over really makes Me mad!!! These smart Doctors are not clueless, They know but as one weakly admitted to My Parents who were so concerned about My health that age 54 I told Them to ask themselves because I’m not making what the Doctor says up!  He claimed what choice do We have? We are being told no to opiates and benzos so gabapentin is best choice. Sure and increase Your bed space for Everyone suffering the side effects. 

I got a Medtronics pain pump using fentanyl but My pain is just as bad as before?! My abdominal and pelvic pain almost feels worse but I’m also lowering my gabapentin!  It’s nerve pain like you wouldn’t believe. Do you think the pain pump could be irritating the already inflamed pelvic area. My GP said not possible!  

It’s important for us to remember taking meds is not natural to our bodies healing process. Dr’s and especially er’s 

Still know very little about the withdrawal process for gaba. 

I’ve been tapering off gaba for 4 months. 

I’m down to 150mg a day. 

I’m glad I went slow. I was taking 900mg last yr at this time. 

Dr’s put me on gaba. After I completed rehab. I had a 20yr opioid and benzo habit. 

It too my body a year to recover to a somewhat normal level. 

Since my goal is to be 100percent r x free. I insisted on getting off of gaba. 

I am also tapering bupropion.  I’m down to 300mg a day with that. 

After coming off benzo a and oxy. 

This stuff is nothing for me. 

But I just don’t wanna suffer like I did. 

So tapering was a better choice. 

I had no idea when I started both of these that I would have to taper or I wouldn’t have agreeed to take them.  

I wanna encourage all of you to get off as many r x’s as you can.  You’ll feel better .  It won’t happen right away but ride it out. 

Number one thing is being free.  Getting free from the chain of meds is liberating. 

Now that I am giving my body and brain to work naturally.  It’s amazing how it takes care of most of these problems. Like pain and anxiety.  Life is hard. But we can do it on our own. 

Give it a chance. You can all do it. If I can you can. 👍

Idk, but i had severe pelvic pain like i got stabbed, once i got off the gaba it stopped completely. So hang in there!! Its so hard! How long ago did you get the pump? I dont think the pump will take away the gaba pain at all. The gaba receptors have been compromised. They are scrambled. Hang in there. Your going to be great again.

Not everyone has success with them, but I’ve heard of others that also had that initial problem. The gab withdrawal can also cause pain. Beware of docs that say, “its not possible”.

Oh man. I had three great days, three whole days!! I felt like myself again. My mind was fresh, I felt motivated and happy... my mind was buzzing. And now I feel POOP! Had to get that out there, into cyberspace and unload my disappointment lol 

Babs,

Like you, I’m all for natural healing methods. I found a great nutritionist at New Life Nutrition. She prescribed me Phospholec from Cytoplan. And after week of hell from the internal change, I’m starting to feel better. Phospholec helps to rebalance cortisol and reduces the stress in our body. Interestingly, my cortisol always showed normal in my bloods, but it wasn’t! She’s also given me daily diet plan packed full of vitamins, esp magnesium, zinc and vitamin B’s. a nutritionist is defo worth looking into xx

I agree!  Since lowering My GABA I’ve gone from 23 daily meds back to 4! I was being treated for symptoms not the side effects that it actually was wrong with Me!  Wow!  Talk about sick. GABA withdrawal is worse for Me than any benzo or opiate!  It just won’t stop and the pain is excruciating!  Down in 1 year from3600 mg daily to 300 mg. I did taper faster than I’ve read on this forum is recommended!  My GP said it would’ve taken Him 10 days to get Me off 3600 mg?!  I was like You are sooo clueless!  

Thanks for the advice,I had a pretty good night with just a mild fever and a mild headache...I’m going to stay at the 300mg a day for awhile and see if I get stable with that amount. Then I plan on weaning off and reducing 100mg every 3 weeks.... I had started at about 1500 mg a day which I have been on for years for my neuropathy in my feet and decided to quit when it didn’t seem to help anymore. I started a slow weaning over a few months but never realized the withdrawal nightmare I was going to experience. I am hoping this 300mg per day will keep the headaches and other withdrawal symptoms at bay for a while till I can feel ok...then I will try again to rid my body of this medicine....

Scruskie, do you  mind another suggestion? Don't set yourself up or a 3 week schedule, there's not rush, really. See how you feel at the end of the three weeks. For me, that's when I start to improve. There are a number of people that feel you should let the body/brain and emotions stabilize before setting this all off again. Why not wait even another week? Some people can go faster than others, but I TRULY believe that allowing the body to recover is crucial for an easier withdrawal. At least psychologically, it's easier knowing I start rested and composed.

Also, you can also titrate down, so you drop by less than 100 mg. If you go from 1000 mg to 900 mg, that's a 10% drop. If you go from 300 mg to 200 mg, that's a 33% drop. I'm so sensitive that I had problems when they switched generics on me. Remember this is the BRAIN we're talking about. There's a lot of discussion about what a "slow" taper is and the fact is everyone has a different idea. For some doctors, they think going from 3600 to zero over  1 month is slow, for the record, that's crazy. For others, it may take two years.

Clueless? More like arrogant and uninformed. When I tell people that I've heard from others that getting off this is harder than getting off opioids, they don't believe me. I'm so glad I happened upon the slow 10% taper info previously. I truly believe I've had an easier time than others. By easier, I mean several days of hell per month vs. the majority of the days. Out of a month, I have 3-4 very difficult days, then about another 8 where it's uncomfortable, about 9 where I'm just fine. The rest are in between. But at least I can handle this. Well, on those bad days, I think I can't, but somehow we do, right?

 

I hope it helped! There's a terrific article about benzoids and withdrawal. Getting off gab is the same process for the brain and body. They describe it as Waves and Windows. There'll be days of waves of pain and problems, but then windows where we get relief and can see a way out of this. All positive days would be so much easier, but neither the drug nor our our underlying health issues allow that. But there WILL be better days.

Listen CAREFULLY to your own body. You will know when the time is right. DONT BE AFRAID. Its not easy but it IS possible and you WILL have the victory. Be patient. Remember worrying dosent change any situation. The Lord is with you. He will be your strength. Ask him for his help. He will give you His peace. Dont be afraid. I did all this and im doing really good. Youre going to be GREAT REAL SOON! God bless you.

You did fantastic!! Good for you! Im very happy for you. I also had multiple symptoms. They are all gone! Pain gets better. Our nervous systems have been compromised. We going to just fine. God bless you. Im praying you have a fully speedy recovery.

Very important....please pass this on to everyone here, at home, neighbors, etc., warn whoever maybe on this med or alike of what will happen and what happened to you, to us. People must learn of this nightmare and how this drug does NOT HELP BUT HURT. So important we all help one another. If people learn just how bad this is, it just may save a life. God bless.

Definitely comes and go’s in waves. Missing those 3 days like mad. I seem to get a window of release once in a month. I don’t have any of the aches and pains anymore.... more left with fatigue, problems eating and the brain fog. Thankfully the rest have gone 

Thank you for the help,.🤯I’m so glad I found this site because 5 days ago I had reached rock bottom with my withdrawal and this site has given me new hope....And yes I’ve done a lot of praying lately and not just for myself but all the others that have had and are still having problems with Gabapentin. I never knew so many people could have suffered the same fate as myself. The question that still baffles me is when I first got so sick my Doctor,who I like, never suspected I was in withdrawal and knew I was weaning off. the ER never suspected on 2 trips that I was in withdrawal and I asked both times if it could have something to do with me weaning off of Gabapentin? And I really liked my ER doctors and I know they were very concerned.   How do they miss this.  Oh and. Today has been my best day in weeks.  I’m even taking the Grandkids out to dinner tonight.  

Sorry Scruskie, Gab Brain. After I sent this, I got sidetracked and realized that I never explained what titration is. It's dissolved the ingredients inside the capsule in water, then removing some of that solution so you've got a total of 90%, a 10% drop. Then that solution can be divided into the three doses. It keeps in a refrigerator for a couple of days. I've not tried it yet, but many others use it. There are videos online. You can still take whole capsules, like if you want 150 mg, you take the 100 mg capsule and the liquid to make up the 50 mg. My brain is REALLY foggy today, so I hope this makes sense.

Agreed! Ive told a few people that its harder wd than opiods. Only a few didnt believe but MOST listened carefully and will be aware to tell others. Crazy drug companies and govts colluding to dumb us all down for that almighty dollar. Thats who the problem is. Thats exactly whats happening with these drugs. They are fully aware whats going on and do it to us purposely. Control. Shameful.

I’m down to 2. 100 mg’s A day. 

Last night I tried to skip the night time dose. 

Could not sleep so ended up taking it. 

Saw my dr last week he’s the one that told me to do that. 

I thinking taking half of the night time dose would be better it’s a capsule though 

Maybe dissolve it in water. 

Is this ok to do. 

As far as I know my pills aren’t the time realeased. 

Oh by the way my dr originally told me I could just stop taking gab. 

He said none of his patients have had a problem. 

Yeah right. 

I’ve withdrawn from oxy and norco. And xanax. 

They all suck. 

Opioids hurt the worst. To quit. 

Xanax was a long suffering withdrawal. 

Turned my body inside out. 

Well I’m off all of those for 15 months now. 

Rehab was the only way I could stop that last 1/2 of xanax. Pill 

I cold turkeyed oxy at home. 

Norco I cold turkeyed at the rehab too 

My dilemma has been trouble sleeping. 

I don’t think I’ve missed a night without melatonin or benedryl 

They push those two at the rehabs. 

Ever since I started getting off all these drugs I’ve battled chronic fatigue 

I have to drink coffee all day to keep up with my busy life. 

I still am glad I quit.  I’ll deal with the tiredness. 

Oxy used to give me energy. 

Xanax Knocked me out when I was ready. 

I’m

Hoping after I’m off the gab and Wellbutrin. I’ll have more energy. 

I’m not sure which one of these is making me tired. 

I know gab has caused me to gain weight. 

I can’t seem to ever get food off my mind. 

I though it was because when I was a opioid junkie I did my eat as much and I got to the point where I lost 4o pounds in two months when I started tapering off Xanax. 

Thier all crap for our brains bodies. 

All these things help us destroy our lives. 

My goal is to be completely free from meds by the end of summer. 

It’s a long process for some of us. 

I was a 20yr xanax and opioid user. 

It will be two years this nov that I started to taper Xanax. 

I don’t like that they put me on gab at the rehab. 

I didn’t know it was similar to benzos to get off of.  

Maybe the hell I went through conditioned me for an easier taper for gab. It hasn’t been even 10percent bad as getting off benzos. 

But I didn’t spend all that time getting off drugs to get back on them.  So I woke up after a few months and realized I need to get off the gab and Wellbutrin before I get too used to it. 

So I started another taper in feb2018. 

I’m still working on getting off all meds. 

The goal is to be free from all r x meds. 

For the first time in 25 years.   

You’re a very strong man  You can do this. First gab can cause severe fatigue in withdrawal. Next, are you at 200 mg total for the day? Many people stop right there rather than go through another withdrawal.  But I’ve heard it’s hard. Yes the alternative is to titrate, look up the process online or your rehab should be able to tell tell you how. You dissolve in water and decrease the liquid gradually. Do what you think feels right when it feels right.

 Because of gabs short life, it acts differently from other drugs. It’s an issue called bio availability. When you get below a certain dosage such as 1000 mg it starts to actually use more of a chemical in your body. So let’s say at 1000 mg uses 80%, that means it’s like taking 800 mg . But when you get down to 800 mg it’s like taking 700 mg, my math isn’t quite correct here but you get the idea so the lower you go doesn’t necessarily mean you were actually going to the dosage you think you’re going to. If you follow this. Sorry, I’m on my iPad and using speech to text because it’s just too hard to type on this. I see if you got through all the rest of that you can get through this too. 

The medical community is so desperate to get people off opioids. They hand out gab. No problem. I’ve had 4 drs tell me how great it is.  

One admitted to taking it himself. 

I guess they see it as safe.  But it’s not. 

I’m glad I was only up to 900 mgs for awhile. 

In the last year I’ve been able to get to 200. A day. 

It’s probabaly gonna take awhile for the medical community to realize That gab is the magic pill they think it is. 

I’m tired of gaining weight and being tired all the time from gab.  

So wish me luck on going to 150mg a day starting tomorrow.  

Maybe by sept I can be free from this crap. 

By the way most dr’s don’t know crap on how to get patients off drugs. 

We’re on our own. 

Their need to

Be more help 

We’ve become a nation on pills is really bad.  

Hi Rener,

I’ve also been having really bad pelvic pain but I tried a few sips of salt water last night just before they kicked in and they calmed down. Gabapentin does deplete sodium in our bodies. I’m not sure if it would work for everyone as we’re all different but something to try perhaps? I only have 2-3 sips because it bloats my stomach but it tends to work for me. All the best

May I ask what causes your pain Rener? I have PHN, Post Herpetic Neuralgia, which means there's nerve damage from shingles, which I got in October 2016, so the nerves are screwed up and over-react and cause pain. However, I'm VERY lucky that I'm slowing improving. But as I taper, the nerves/brain connection gets messed up again, and the pain increases. But, during that month I taper, yes the pain gets worse, but by the end of the month it's better than at the beginning of the  month and MUCH better than during those flares caused by the gab. I'm so saddened and discouraged the more I delve into this complicated problem. So many parts of the systems are broken, over-worked, under-researched, uninformed and in some cases greedy. Yet, we're the ones left with the damaged lives and no recourse.

The only meds I take are 4% OTC Lidocaine pain cream--Aspercreme, a prescription NSAID I've been on for 25 years for an arthritis type situation, Tyelenol 3X a day, Vitamin D, a basic one a day vitamin, and my gab, now at 900 mg/day. I avoid ANY other substances at all. I don't support many of the "natural" options as natural means nothing. Arsenic is natural, lead is natural etc. And some of these drugs could be similar to prescription drugs and could cause problems. Our meds are based on "natural" products.

How are you going to  150 Richard? Are you titrating or cutting the capsule? Some people freeze them, then cut them but it's hard to know if the active ingredient is equally divided between the two halves. Also, on a separate note, I've learned about something called "Kindling", it's a theory that to me makes sense, but others disagree, which explains why sometimes as you get off a med or substance and go back up, down, add another substance etc. it can increase the withdrawal problems and disrupt the process.  You may want to look it up. That's why lay people familiar with gab and benzos suggest to NOT bounce up and down with doses or to add other substances.

At times I get discouraged when I read yet another problem affiliated with this drug, but it also often explains some things that have happened to me.

What symptoms have you had as you have been weaning off the Gab.  My were it first started like the worst flu and the settled into just a earache in my left ear and fevers at night plus a horrible headache toward the back of my head.....know I’m just getting a slight fever at night and a very mild headache that is more in the center of my head....Tylenol pain reliever is all I’m taking plus the 300mg of Gab every day...1 100 pill 3 times a day is what I’m trying and seems to be working...I’m still very tired but that could be just from my COPD.  I know now that trying to wean down from 1500 mg a day to 300 a day in three months was a big mistake that I made....after so many years on that crap I’m hoping to be free by September also.    

I am gonna try the freezing method that sounds good.  

I tried just opening the capsule and putting half on my tongue. 

Made a mess 

As far as I know the lowest mg pill is 100 mg. 

I’ve been through withdrawal dozens of times with benzos and opioids. 

Like I said before the w/d from gab is nothing near those other two. 

But it is giving me problems 

Having trouble 

Sleeping and being irritable are the main ones. 

It’s always a different game when you give up that last dose. 

That’s why I waited for rehab ... so I could have supervision especially with the benzos. 

I don’t I feel that I need the gab anymore so it’s going .

I just don’t wanna suffer like I did last year. 

 But I am anxious to be drug free. 

Long tapers are the best. 

It took me 6 months to taper off Xanax. 

It’s been a year and half xanax free for me. 

I still get anxious and have trouble sleeping. 

I also have fears of public places. 

The gab has helped that. 

But being off benzos. Is better. 

I get feeling of flight or fight. 

But I have my brain working now. And can figure out a solution. 

Before I would end up in the hospital sometime out of control. 

Life is so much better without this s**t. 

My goal is to let my body and brain deal with stuff even if it hurts. 

Like I did in my twenties. 

Now that I’m in my fifties. 

It’s taking me a long time to get back to an equilibrium ...

The gab hasn’t really caused my any major side effects except fatigue and weight gain. 

I can tell though with even 200mgs a day that my brain is foggy. 

So My goal is to drop 50mgs month with sept being my last month. 

Along with that I’m tapering off of Wellbutrin.  The dr gave me that for smoking and said it would give me energy. 

It did for a few months. 

Now I just feel dumbed down and don’t like it.  

So I will be done with that the same time I’m done with the gab.  

Our tapering problems could be solved if they'd just make 10/25 and 50 mg tablets. There's lobbying in a different country from politicians do make the drug companies do that. But they won't. They see no need, it's not cost effective AND they'd have to admit there's a problem.

I agree. I know it would have been better for me if I could have had 25 or 50 mg Gaba. I didn't so I went down 100 every day which was too much. I don't think my doc knew what he was doing. I had 3 good days. Yesterday tingling again and now today a little, not as bad as it was. Just one day at a time. That's all I have.

Take care everyone.

I wanted to ask you Michele if you had bloating and pains in the stomach and abdomen?  I have been off of gabapentin for about seven weeks and still am suffering from these symptom .  For about three days I felt it almost gone and then yesterday the problems came back.  So frustrating.  I have ask the Lord to heal me but guess it is in time not mine.  So thanks if you can give me any answers to the above. garnella.

Garnella, withdrawal problems from the gab or symptoms FROM the gab can last weeks or months. I get some weird side effects that happen briefly once or twice and never re-occur. Others happen every month when I drop and can occur through-out the month. I drop about every 30 days, out of that 30 days, there will be about 6 with absolutely no WD issues and about 8 where it's fairly frequent each day.

Babs it does come in less dosages. I did the liquid form at the end. Pain in the butt breaking open tabs, you cant cut powder perfectly and its exhausting enuf!! Ask your dr if he or she csn prescribe your med in liquid form. It comes with a droppercso you can measure out 100, 75, 50 or 25 mgs at a time. Taste isnt terrible.

Marie gaba comes in liquid form. Comes with a dropper so you can measure 100, 75, 50, or 25 mg doses. It dosent taste too terrible, but it sure beats opening capsules that you really cant measure out evenly. Ask your dr to prescrible the liquid. It sure helps at the end.

Thanks for the suggestion but it's got to work out for people. Some doctors may not prescribe it, some pharmacies may not carry it. For me, I'm very sensitive to the med and can only use one generic maker of the drug, Aurorbindo. It took a while to figure out what was happening to me, until I realized they changed the supplier. Aurobindo is not commonly used but thank God my local CVS has it. My old CVS changed suppliers (the old one was a Target CVS, my new one a stand-alone CVS. They have different suppliers) and I had what I realize now was the same problem I get either when I taper or when I used to increase the dosage in the beginning. It's a good option for others if it works out for them.

I agree but my liquid form made by different manufacturer!  So I’m not sure if that alone is or isn’t making me sick. I tried at 10 mg less and that made me sick. I’ve read that change in manufacturing could make you sick. What is better option if I can’t use same manufacturer and don’t want to try splitting a capsule because that is a huge mess!  I know I tried!  I’m at 400-300 mg and it gets worse the lower I go!!!

I just read babs response and I agree with Her

I never heard that the manuf would make a difference but you know your own body. The whole issue makes our heads spin without the wd symptoms! Dont ever go backwards. Once you lower stick with it. I did. I Refused to go backward cause it would onky take an extra month longer. Very important bc you are messing up receptors going low to high than low. Honestly, i dont mean to sound cold but your not going to feel clear while lowering. Not until its over. Im only saying this so you dont expect any diff and somehow you can try to settle yourself and know what to expect, its the gaba! I know its really hard. But once i accepted that i knew what to expect, and remembered that it WILL get better, and it helped. Its very very consuming cause thats all that you can think about. Remember your NOT where you used to be! Your doing it! And If you can do this, and you ARE, you can do ANYTHING!

Richard, I re-read your reply of 3 days ago and what you said about not accepting pain in your body. For you it works so I will try that too. My PT person keeps telling me to say, my surgery is over, my back is healed and I have no more pain or numbness. Your right about the feet. Once they get cold it's hard to warm them up. Going to bed I wear warm socks so my feet are nice and warm in the morning. I eat very healthy and take lots of vitamins. I sleep well, getting around 8 hrs at night.

Lately I had 3 days of feeling good, no pain, no tingling than both started up again. I will see what the day brings.

I'm off the Gaba 35 days now and take 1 pain pill per day which I would like to stop taking and just do the Aleve but I'm not there yet.

Take care of yourself. Keep up the good work.

Marie

Michele, I just read about "kindling" which is exactly what you describe in your comment regarding the receptors. Look it up, particularly on Wikipedia. I'm usually NOT a Wiki fan, but it's concise and scientific. I didn't now it was the mfr until I realized I had increased pain, fatigue, confusion and weepiness, the quadfecta of my withdrawal (there are another 5-10 symptoms, but those are the consistent ones). Eventually I experimented with one of my old 100 mg tabs, then with my new 100 mg. I was at 2100 mg, so I could change just the AM 100 mg and I'd see the difference. Because of my gab brain, I usually forgot that I had tried the other brand, until I started to feel lousy, then it clicked.  I have no idea if it was a higher dose, a lower dose or the inert ingredients, but there is an allowable tolerance, I think of about 5% either way in these drugs. Pharmacists agreed with me that with a med that affects the brain, it could easily happen.

The rest of your words are what I keep reminding myself of, it does keep me going. I had a tough day yesterday with my PHN, too much activity with the my left arm, my PHN is on my left side. No more cutting 2 pans of brownies!

Rener, I can't remember if I mentioned it here, but look up titratration in the benzo forums or online anywhere. It's a method of opening the capsules and dissolving them in water. You then use precise measurements with a syringe to remove a portion 5-10% of the liquid to make that solution your 10% less liquid. It then gets divided into three (as most of us take it three days a day). That becomes your dose.  If you take 300 mg 3 times a day, you can still take two 100 mg tabs with each dose, but than that last 100 mg tablet will now be 90 mg of liquid? Got it?  Read up on it. Not all meds can be done that way, gab can. I've read of people who only go down 2-3%, they say they're having almost no side effects. They're willing to do a little bit of work and taper longer to feel better. I'm still at 900 mg, so I've yet to try it.  If you're on FB consider joining Gabapentine Awareness group, it's a wealth of support and information.

Remember, 5-10% drops are recommended, but everyone may be different. As you go lower, you're dropping more than 10% if you're at 1000 mg, the first drop to 900 is 10%, the next is 900 to 800 mg, so it's (ARGH MATH THE GAB BRAIN!!) about 12%, 800 to 700 mg is larger etc. So that's why just trying to drop the 100 mg tablet can be too large a drop for some people.

I forgot to write that somewhere in Europe, a legislator's lobbying to get manufacturers to make gab in smaller dosages. That would solve our problem, wouldn't it? But they won't, too expensive, too much hassle, not enough profit and they'd have to admit there's a problem. No-one seems to care about the patient, do they?

Of course! Makes perfect sense! I can understand that and I agree.

Oh ya!! It would be a great help to reduce as slow as a person needs to. The demand will work!

I know and I swear I have to convince myself like it is the enemy that Gabe isn’t going to Win. I waited about 2 months when one night I just gave up!  It really didn’t help especially being made at self!  

Thank you. Will try but I take it twice a day. 200 mg in morning and 100 mg at night. I’m constantly throwing myself into withdrawals as it’s a fast acting medication!  They say that starts in 4-6 hours!

Thats what i was afraid of ! I did the SAME thing too! I was so mad at myself. It made no difference. If anything i felt worse. Probably just mental cause i didnt feel better at all. We hope its going to take that feeling away and it doesnt go away! Your doing really really good though. I know you are bc i remember when i was right where you are. You are closer today than months ago, or before you knew about the wd. Remember that. You know your going to this and its your not far away at all. When i was at 300, i reduced 100 mg at 21 days. Then 21 days later i lowered another 100. I only had 100 to go. I got the liquid so i could reduce 50mg and then the last 50. But u know what i did? I didnt bother with the liquid at all. I lowered the next 100, leaving me at 100mg a day left. I waited 21 days and STOPPED. I had no more patience and i wanted it over with already. I wasnt sorry i did it because i would have delayed a whole month! Now im at 5 months and 1 week off.

Now listen here, there will be none of that!....Rener, I made it and so will you. Ya it’s an awful process, ya gotta remember when I had to teach myself to breathe normally again. I got stuck with my feet over my head for about 6hrs. A lot of this is electrolyte imbalance. It takes your sodium, magnesium, calcium, and it pushes K+ which regulates the heart. Until I was down to once a day dosing I could only supplement salt. Any other electrolyte through me into withdrawl because they all share the same receptor site except Na. Take your B complex, fish oil. You can do this.  Except it, your gonna feel real bad before recovery. It’s ok, ur having a bad stint. I wanted to die...but guess what, I’m still here and I care about all of us and we work in the solution. I still have bad days. I ask God to carry me through. If ya have something bigger that man to help spiritually lean on it and you will make it ..,,I promise ❣️

Yes it has a half life of 4-7 hours. Thats why when people are taking it regularly its very important to space it out evenly. I only took 300mg 1x night before bed. It stopped the leg pain and helped me sleep well. I couldnt handle taking it during the day it made me too loopy. But...i woke up every morning in severe wd!! Every morning i went thru wd for 2-3 years!! I thought it was a pain med wd which made no sense at all. Once i researched and understood the half life i felt better knowing the cause. Huge pain in the butt! Once i lowered to 200mg the pelvic pain was gone. Once down to 100mg, the Panic attacks and anxiety totally stopped. Now im completely off for 5.1 months. The 1st 2 months off was harder, but i knew i was on my way. i still have some off moments. Its usually in the mornings only i have a little double vision, but after an hour its gone. On occassion i will cry or get angry for a a few minutes for no apparent reason and that leaves too, as quick as it came. So keep doing exactly what your doing. Your doing so good. Trust me. You made great progress and almost off. You are NOT where you were! As for different people taking different supplements, ive heard so so many different remedies. "Everyone is different". I chose not to do anything except my regular daily vitamins which is pretty broad. Ate healthy. NO PROCESSED ANYTHING HELPED A LOT. A few times i ate frozen foods and i immediately felt terribly off. Everytime so i stopped that.

I'm off the Gaba around 36 days now. Still have tingling in my legs. It has eased off some what. Not as bad as it has been but still very annoying. The last few days have nerves jumping. No matter what I take doesn't seem to help. I'm taking St John's Wort, B vitamins. Normally this would calm the nerves. Not doing it for me now. Any suggestions anybody

36 days is great Marie!! I know how you feel, your at a peak and its hard. But u understand this part, dosent make it physically easier but mentally u know what to expect. For me the hardest was the 1st 2 months, right where you are at. I also didnt bother with taking what others suggested bc many had said it didnt make a diff. So why spend money on many different experiments when u still ho thru the wd. You just have to do the time! But you are off!! Now it will only get better. Some days better than others but soon enough it WILL be MORE AND MORE better days. I also have tingling in my lower legs but thats where im effected from nerve damage from the nerve injury during surgery on my spine. The tingling DID get MUCH better after the 2nd month. So much of that tungling was the gaba. May i ask why u were prescribed gaba? Im so happy to hear you are on your way to regaining your physical and mental health! May our God bless you and heal you quickly!

Hi Michele, I was on Gabapentin for nerve pain before I had surgery on my lumbar spine for 3 hearniated bulging disc that had slipped unto nerves on the spine. . Was caused by a fall. Doc put me on Gaba to help with the nerve pain. He kept me on it after surgery again for nerve pain. I was also on a muscle relaxant which I stopped taking months ago cold turkey.

Today was a really bad day. I had pain shooting from my knee back up to my hip. Have been in bed since 8 pm resting. Some days the tingling drives me crazy.

Thanks for writing me back.

Michele, I go to PT still. Do you feel it's good to be going thru this detoxing period. I also went to the gym at church and walked around it 3 times yesterday. Or am I supposed to to be resting. Last night I had really bad pain. Any suggestion you have for me is really appreciated.

Marie

I talk to My higher power and say take this your in charge all the time. I had been in Hospital mostly admitted through ICU at 20x in year and about 3 months!  Couldn’t breath, still

Having problems because it feel like I’m sitting on the most painful nerve pain starting at tailbone and up. Goes into pelvic area to low abdominal and low spine. The Pain is madness!’ I remember constantly being told of electrolyte imbalance. Low sodium, high potassium!!! Right now My GP who still remains clueless despite my big improvements of not being hospital and maintains electrolytes wants me to start lyrica. I’m like isn’t that switching one big problem for another huge problem. What should I do with lyrica?!  

I've never been on Lyrica

Rener, im sorry you are going through so much, but your higher power sustains you. Draw your strength from above. I hope you DONT go back on Lyrica. Same as gaba. I just had a pain pump implant and right after surgery he suggested i go on lyrica for a week! I guess the look on my face reminded him that i just came off gaba! He said oh ya i forgot! I said i will deal with the pain! NEVER AGAIN! NOOOO! Im praying for you right now. God bless

I've never been on Lyrica but from what I hear it's as bad as Gaba. I wouldn't go on it. I too get nerve pain starting at my tailbone which I find very painful. I too have had electroytes problems. There a lot more stable now. My doc is clueless too. He said he never saw anyone having such bad withdrawal as me. He's on Gaba too . Just wait. Let's see what his withdrawal will be like. I too know God. Keep turning all this over to Him.

Take care of yourself. God be with you.

Marie

Hi Marie, I highly suggest if you can excercise do it!! Always remember that if it hurts, STOP. You will have good and bad days wd. But definately walk if you are up to it. Yes. Walk! Go lighter on the excersing in the beginning until you build stamina. Go slow by only exercising 1 or 2 parts of your body. Dont do more than that. This way you can tell what causes your pain and avoid that one exercise that hurts. Remember that one of the symptoms of coming off gaba is a strange feeling of "sometimes"having a hard time breathing, so dont be alarmed if that happens too. Many people including myself experience this. Not all the time but it does happen. Strange. Also "sometimes" we feel extreme weakness. Dont pusg yourself that day. Go with however your body tells you to. Your body is your best leader. God bless. Please ask away. If I can help I would love it. Perhaps some good will come out of this from our experiences to help another. Feel better.

The Lord has sustained me too during this time. Im so grateful. Read the scriptures every morning. On my fuzzy days, i was able to read without hinderance! I heard there were 2 doctors taking gaba. They didnt know what was wrong when they stopped. Their wives were in touch with each other after they both died. They both committed suicide. Both women turned to each other for support. They began the same research here where we are communicating. Thats how they both figured out what happened. Both drs had stopped gaba cold turkey. I cant imagine that! Both couldnt work, couldnt function and you know the rest. The thing is they didnt know what was happening. Both wives said they believe of they knew it was the gaba, they would both be alive today. Very sad. I can see how someone would be terribly frightened coming off gaba unaware that their symptoms are a gaba wd. We are actually blessed that the Lord guided us here to undrrstand. There must be so many that done know. Manufacturer of lyrica gaba know. They dont tell the public EVERYTHING. No one would take it. They were sued and the people won. They continue to put this drug out. The USA military has BANNED these drugs. Yet its ok for us civilians!! Big pharma! Govt has their sticky hands in it too.

Michelle thanks for being there for me. Last night I went to bed early I was experiencing so much nerve pain on left side of my body. So bad didn't want to move, couldn't. This morning thank God, am much better. Still a little painful, but nothing like yesterday. I have PT today. Will not over do it. Reading a book yesterday author says, don't take your pain from yesterday into today. So I'll try not to. I do have shortness of breath and low energy sometimes. I am trying to rest in afternoons. Will today after I get home from PT.

Thanks again for being there.

Matie

No need to thank me Marie, lets thank God. Im glad your resting. I do. I wont push and i dont. I cant. Why are you in pt??

You'd be switching one drug for another that are almost identical. They have a different formula, but for all intents and purposes it's the same drug. Don't do it. Plus it most likely wouldn't even help, so then they'd have you add more or more of something else. The increase in pain is likely being caused by the withdrawal, it can last a while but PLEASE don't get caught back into that spiral of adding more drugs. Yes it's hard, but worth it in the long run.

Marie I LOVE that phrase "don't take your pain from yesterday into today". I hate tattoos but that is so good it's tempting to get one for that.  I agree with Michelle, don't push the physical activity too much, but just strongly encourage yourself to do at least a bit. Other days, it's just too hard. I get it. I was walking over a mile daily with my dog, but then had a bad stretch when just a 5-10 minute walk was too much. Then suddenly, the next day I was full of energy and back to a mile. The meds, withdrawal and the pain take a toll more so on some days than others.

Exactly right on!!

Rener, what dosage are you on? Previously you wrote this. "Thank you. Will try but I take it twice a day. 200 mg in morning and 100 mg at night. I’m constantly throwing myself into withdrawals as it’s a fast acting medication!  They say that starts in 4-6 hours!"  Now you state that you're at 400-300 mg, so I'm confused. If you are increasing and decreasing you may be causing "kindling" which throws the receptors into chaos and greatly increases the degree and the length of the withdrawal symptoms.

I suggest you stabilize your meds for at least a month, maybe several months and take them THREE X A DAY which is the manufacturers and pharmacists recommendations. Between changing the doses and only taking them twice a day, you're making things worse. I hope this doesn't sound harsh, but this is one of the reasons you're having a hard time.  If you're at 300 mg/day, take a 100 mg tablet 3 times a day. preferably with food. If you're at 400 mg, take 200, 100 and 100 mgs. as evenly spaced as possible.

I'm in pt since I had back surgery for 3 herinated bulging discs in my lumbar spine on Feb 9, 2017. Yes, over a year of pt. Sometimes I treat with chiro too. I was doing great until I found out I had to go off Gabapentin due to the blurred vision. Couldn't see anything. It scared me and I looked up side effects. One of the many I was experiencing was blurred vision. Detoxing has set me back in PT. It's like I have to start all over again.

My blurred vision is annoying also, but at least it does improve, until the next taper! I haven't had new glasses in 5 years but won't get them until I'm off this stuff. There's no way of knowing what my "real" vision is, but I wear trifocals and I knew before I started gab that they needed correcting.

Ooh boy! Thats hard! Yes gaba will set EVERYTHING back. Many people experience many diff kinds of infections while on gaba as well as off. From reading many forums i dont suggest anyone having surgery for at least 3-4 months after stopping gaba. Everyone is diff and will know when its right time for them. Our entire nervous system is compromised. There are nerves EVERYWHERE including the brain. I just had surgery at 5 months and felt confident. At 3 i wouldnt have done it. Too suseptible for infection. If someone HAS to have surgery be sure to tell the surgeon so they can take extra precautions. I still get double vision but only early in the morning. And its ONLY looking at tv. People have 4 eyes! Now its not really bad bad, but its there. Then it clears up by mid am. Only with tv. I dont wear glasses only readers.

Smart decision to wait. But if it remains and is burdensome, perhaps get one now and again later?

Michele, I'm so grateful God led me to this web site. If I hadn't come upon it like I did I would have thought I was going mad. Especially concerning the blurred vision. I was happy to know other people suffered a bunch of the side effects like I was. Not that I would wish a withdraw like mine happening to anyone.

Exactly Marie! I wouldnt have known either! I dont ususally go on line like this. actually my first time chatting on line was here! I dont know what would have happened to me either. I went thru some pretty crazy stuff. One day for about 6 hours, 1/2 of my body was paralyzed. For about 2 months my gums hurt so bad i could barely brush, then it just stopped. The pain was incredible. One day, for about 30 seconds, the left side of my brain was vibrating very hard and loud. If that didnt stop, i couldnt live with that! Seriously hurt. I just sat holding my head frightened. The 1st month was as if i had a stroke. My speech was always slurred and i couldnt remember very much. Very forgetful. Before i stopped, i had chest pain, left arm pain, and jaw pain, they were Heart attack signs. They put a halter moniter on me at the er and all was fine! When i went to the dentist for my gums, nothing wrong at all! My husband learned about the gaba wd with me. We watched u tube videos. Scary stuff. I said, shut that off thats not me! The next day it was me!! Plz feel free to chat with me here bc the ONLY people that can truely undrstand is us. Not even my husband can get it. I may not answer right away cause im in the US and most people here are from the united kingdom. Big time difference

I'm in the US too. I live in South Carolina and you ?

It is like it goes back and forth with Me. I will be ok for a bit then bang I’m done in. My Doctors office and the ER here think I’m a hypochondriac. My Doctor claims I don’t remember what I’ve said but since it’s the same thing over and over.. it’s the side effects or it is a side effect of gabapentin. My Doctor will then explain how wrong I am which really angers Me. I don’t know if I would still

Be hanging on to my own sanity if I didn’t have this type of forum to see people confirming what I’m saying!  It’s the gabapentin!  I think it’s time for me to start lowering again. This is what happens and how I know it’s time...I become extremely excitable and talkative. If I don’t have anyone to talk to then I talk to myself. I actually just babble about things I remember back when I felt better!  My pelvic pain increases too!  Then I lower it and it feels as if my colon or small intestine just seize up into one huge muscle spasm!  This dang medication has taken 6 years of My life. I hope to be gaba free in 3 months?!  I’m at 300 mg daily right now. I just found out my bone density has really taken a hit!  If I fall I will break!! Thank You gabapentin! God bless us all!  

Good!! We are both on the east coast right now anyway. Im currently in NY for the pain pump surgery. I have another place in Arizona where my son moved back in to take care of the house. It helps him save and pay his bills off too. It worked out. It seems the last 3 days i havent had much pain to almost no pain at all while in bed anyway. Im having a hard time wrapping my head around the fact that im not in much pain! Its been too many years of waking up & going to sleep in agony that my mind is conditioned to living that life style of doing everything around pain and pain meds! You know what im talking about! I put my phone down and I walked away not realizing i didnt press the send button!!

Hi Rener! I know what you mean when drs tell you diff than we feel and know. No one who hasnt gone thru this can understand and uts hard to explain. Yes, they think we are hypocondriacs! Not! Its very real. Thats why this forum is a blessing! I too talk to myself! A lot! Lived alone for a good portion of the time i was injured, surgeries then gaba. Its been almost 7 years for me. Too long. I also knew when i was ready to lower gaba again. See? We know each others symptoms so this forum helps remember we are NOT nuts! That pelvic will stop eventually. Each time i lowered that subsided. Then it stopped when i got down to 100mg

Glad to hear you are feeling good. We really need that time in between to exhale! God bless and have a great day!

Morning Michele, I lived in NY for most of my life. I moved to S. Carolina 6 yrs ago with my husband Joe. He passed away 3 yrs ago. Are you living in the city now.? I love NY. I stil Miss it.

Im so sorry you lost your husband. Thats hard. You will see him again! Im Not in the city, im all the way out on the northshore long island. Its beautiful here. My childhood friend came out to Az a few times after he heard i got injured. We have been together since. This past August we got married. After i said never again, i did it again! Do you have children at home? I heard SC is really nice and inexpensive.

Yes this forum is definitely a blessing. It’s made Me realize I’m not insane!  Lol!  This medication has drove Me to the brink of insanity!  Least I We can laugh at Ourselves. I have to think how much money that between Me and My insurance have paid out to treat what basically are side effects that People would realize something is really wrong here. I know on Hospital bill was just over a quarter of a million dollars. That was for one ICU stay!  There were 20x! So if that just for Me alone then United May want to speak to big Pharma or Phizer!! They can’t be clueless!!  Im getting another infection which are chronic now.. side effect.. so I wish I could be treated before it gets bad!  I hope You like Your pain pump!  I’m having trouble with mine!  We can’t get medicine right!  I’m allergic to morphine, dilaudid/bupvicaine burned me up inside and this fentanyl has Me nauseas and not feeling right! I’m in more pain not less and now the Doctor wants to add prialt to the fentanyl or just prialt!  I’ve only heard that works for 30% of People!  I’m so sensitive to medicine that I’m scared to try it!  Understand it can effect you mentally. Let Me know how you progress. Rener

Well I live for the day the pelvic pain stops!! Good luck with pain pump and let Me know how that works out for You!  

Michele,

I'm glad to hear you're off gaba for five months. I've been off for 3 months and a few days. I was on 1200 mg a day for 6 months before I began my taper. I tapered 100mg a week until I was off. It was agonizing for me, but I stuck it out. My current situation is that I'm still suffering all the typical withdrawal symptoms at 3 months post taper. Although, it's not as difficult as the actual taper and I do have days where I feel like I'm over it, only to have the misery come right back without warning. I typically have about 3 good days a week, 3 below average, and 1 horrible day a week. This has been going on for months now. I'm wondering when things finally got better for you? I refuse to go back on that drug or any other drug for that matter. I'm wondering if my brain will ever get back to normal. My withdrawal symptoms are mainly anxiety, insomnia, headache, and upset stomach.. insomnia is the worst symptom for me as it seems to agravate all the other symptoms. Any advice, or encouragement would be awesome. Thank you!

I know exactly what your going through. I've been gaba free for 3 months. I'll have an occasion 3-4 day stretch where I feel I'm finally back to normal, only to have the gaba curse come back with a vengeance. When will it end???

How long have you been off?

Thats GREAT NEWS Matt! Its not easy by any means. I spoke with 1 pharmacist that fully understood the gaba wd. She told me that the gaba receptors have been compromised and it will take time for everyone even if your dose was only 100mg! The receptors are trying to get back to normal. There are a few things that you can do that will help. I found that it made a difference,,,dont eat processed foods there are chemicals in them. Thats not easy today since pretty much every food is also compromised. Do your best to eat single ingredient foods, whole foods like eggs, fruit, veggies. Dont eat out. Chinese has lots of chemicals. Caffiene actually causes inflammation in the brain! I wasnt happy to hear this since I love love coffee! I didnt give it up. But i cut to 1/2 caffeine and 1/2 decaf. This helped. A study was done using an mri with several people who didnt drink coffee and they showed a pic of the brain normal, then they did a mri on the same people who drank only 1 cup and the pic showed 40% inflammation! Thats a huge difference. The pic was very clear. I would think smoking could also make it worse since theres many chemicals in it. No booze. You get the picture. Its just a matter of time each person is diff. You happen to be doing very very good! There was 1 lady, a nurse, she was on 4800mg daily! Her dr diagnosed her with alzheimers! Her kids knew she did not have it. They researched for her because she couldnt function, speak, go out, nothing. They found out it was the gaba, weaned her over a 3-4 year period! My gosh! And now she can speak again! Imagine that? It took her 5 years after stopping to be 100% normal. Thats so unacceptable! But...she DID IT! Others it took anywhere from 6-12 months or up to 18 months. In my STRONG opinion, many are also taking xanax or kolonipon at the same time as gaba. Its very very important to know that stopping that type of med cold turkey will also cause the SAME wd symptoms as gaba wd symptoms. (gaba causes anxiety and panic attacks and many people will take anti-anxiety to counter. Also peoe get depressed on gaba and lyrica which are the same type drugs. Anti deppressants also screw with the SAME gaba receptors making things even worse. NEVER stop anti-deppressants cold turkey. So you need to be real careful as you dont want to stop anxiety, anti-deppressants or gaba simultaneously. Try to stay away from any mind altering drugs wether legal or illegal. They could be triggers. Yes. Hope this was helpful. Now...i dont want to do this but im going to...the truth is slways best even if it hurts or is hard to hear...there is another forum you can read if you choose to. Its many like stories of other peoples stories but more. Google..."people nightmares coming off gabapentin" I read them and learned a lot. You may find it helpful. If anything its an education to possibly help another person in your path. The best is to warn others before they start. We dont want to frighten anyone ON gaba but the warning on stopping could possibly save someones life. Dangerous drug.

Congratulations on your marriage and to your childhood sweetheart. How beautiful is that. I wish you a wonderful life together. A healthy pain free life.

I lived in Nassau County. A small town called East Rockaway where my children grew up. I had 4. My oldest son age 44 passed away nearly 4 yrs ago. I have a son David. He lives in Long Beach with wife Ashley and

have 3 boys. My son who passed his wife lives in Patchogue with my granddaughter Olivia. I have 2 daughters, 1 in SC and 1 in NC. Living is SCarolina is very inexpensive.

You mentioned you got injured. What happened or would you rather not talk about it.

What part of Long Island are you in at the moment ? I too love it there.

Take care of yourself. Have a great weekend.

Marie

I've been off Gabapentin exactly 38 days today and am grateful I am. I get About 3 good days and some not so good days. I was dealing with leg pain but that seems to be gone but I still get tingling in my legs from knees down. It is a horror. I took the Gaba for 14 mnths and only 200 mg a day. I'll never go on that stuff again. It's a horror and should be off the market.

Take care of yourself.

Marie

Bless you, know the feeling all too well. You’re doing amazing if you’re already having 3-4 normal days at 3 months clean 👌🏼 They can only get longer and better 😊

I’ve been completely off gaba 8 months now but my story is a lil different I guess. I had to stop cold turkey, I had no choice as I was vomiting profusely and could no longer swallow the tablets. Asked my gp if it was okay to stop suddenly and she said it was okay. Never in a million yrs did it cross my mind that I was going through withdrawal as id never taken any long term drug before.

The first three months were hell to say the least, I literally would stop breathing. But that said, a lot of symptoms that are continuously mentioned here by everyone, reoccur with every taper whereas I had them all at once for 4 months and since then I have a lot fewer symptoms... which do reocurr but with less intensity. Im pretty much active all day now. Getting out is still hard but I manage to drive everyday so it does get better with time. I found that the key is to eat clean. No processed foods and more of a fruit and raw veg diet really helps.

Keeping your body cool will help redevelop your liver that’s taken a hammering because of the gaba. Watermelon is extremely beneficial for this. Other than that, raw veg with humous.... one part veg and one part fruit smoothies, yoghurt parfaits and plenty of nuts for magnesium. Also, Epsom bath salts (magnesium sulphate) will really help relax muscles and pelvic spasms as the bath salts get into the skin quicker than tablets.

I really wish you all the best on your journey, you’re over the hardest part ??

Michele,

Thank you so much for your response it's nice to talk to someone who understands. Some of the things you've mentioned I have learned through experience, like the processed foods, caffeine, and alcohol. If I drink one beer, or glass of wine it completely throws me into severe withdrawal every time. I won't be able to sleep for even 5 minutes. It's horrible! So I don't drink at all, and I try my best to eat only healthy foods which I notice helps tremendously. I had Chinese food a few months ago while I was feeling good, and it sent me into a3 day nightmare. I'm pretty sure it was the msg. The reason I got on here today is because I felt 100% normal on Wednesday and I was hopeful that I finally made a breakthrough only to have a total relapse of withdrawal the very next day including zero sleep. I hadn't drank alcohol, eaten out, or anything. It just decided to rear it's ugly head for no reason. These unexpected bouts of withdrawal never seem to end. I'm into my 4th month now post gaba and I'm really tired of the unpredictability. I guess I should be happy to have an occasional 3-4 days feeling normal? I had probably 6 good days during my 3rd month clean. I sure hope it gets better soon! I've see YouTube videos of people saying it was hell for six weeks then all the sudden they felt normal again. I guess they are the lucky ones. I was only on it for 3 months@ 1200mg before I started my taper. I can't believe I'm still dealing with this. Thank you again for all the great advise, I think I will try even harder to eat healthy. Good luck to you.

Matt

Marie,

Congrats getting off that garbage. I had no idea that this drug had the potential to do to me what it has. I don't think any of us would have agreed to taking it had they known. I was put on it to help me get off Ativan which I was only taking for two months. I've found out the hard way that I'm really sensitive to these drugs. The Dr. Threw gas on the fire by putting on this to curb a mild Ativan addiction. Here it is almost a year later still dealing with the consequences. The good news for you is that you are 38 days closer to being well. I wish you all the best.

Matt

Matt, Ive got the answer for your sleep problem!! Oh boy, im so sorry i didnt tell you before. Go to your local cvs, walgreens, or pharmacy, buy what i did, its PERFECT you will sleep so good and probably heal quicker from good rest. What i take and never lost sleep is the "store brand", "CVS Nightime Sleep Aid 50mg (diphenhydamine) take only 1 the first night. If you wake up without a full night sleep then try 2. One should do it, NO DOUBT!! Enjoy the rest!! Ha! Btw....its a blue gel tablet.

Leenz,

Wow cold turkey. I have a lot of respect for you being able to do what you did. Your response has lifted my spirits. stating that you started to see improvements at around 4 months gives me hope because I'm at 3 months and 2 days gaba free. I did a fairly quick taper at 100 mg per week.

I really feel for you and what you went through. It sounds like your body rejected the poison, causing you to throw it up. I'm really happy for you to have made 8 months. I think you'll appreciate the things in life we take for granted after this experience. I know I will.

I will give the green smoothie a try and eat more nuts. I really enjoy the Epsom salt baths as well, but i have noticed that if I take magnesium supplements they cause my withdrawal symptoms to flare up.. nobody can explain why this happens, I've looked everywhere online with no luck. I can take an Epsom salt bath about 2x a week. Anything more than that causes a flare up. Have you experienced this? Any extra tid bits of advise would be so appreciated.

By the way, I used CBD oil to help me through the worst of my wd, which was a miracle. I still take it daily. Thanks once again for your kind response to my post.

Matt

Im not too farfrom Patchogue, im in Northport, Sulfolk County. . I lived in Rosedale growing up, moved to East Meadow Nassau County for a few years, then AZ for 20+. I got injured on 11/11/11 on Veterans Day. I was serving vets free meals all day. It was packed non-stop. I finally took a break about the 11th hr. Got food to eat and couldnt find a chair or table to sit and eat on. My legs were so tired. I leaned against a wall, squatted all the way down to rest, when i went to stand up, I put my hand on a little round table for leverage, as i stood the table tipped over, i tipped over, almost fell,,, and i tore my lower disks, and both knees. Freaky stupid accident. Stupid. My life changed. So far i had 5 knee surgeries, need 2 more but these will now be replacements, had 2 back surgrries, fusions. 2nd fusion the surgeon hurt 3 of my nerves at the left and right of the s1, and the left l4. I didnt know that nerve damage gave crippling pain. I had no idea. Before i got hurt, i had my own business that i lost cause i could no longer work. Good work too. I was a private caregiver for seniors in their own homes. Loved loved it. But..when i got married it was wrong. I was on gaba and i couldnt think correctly. I was always in pannick attacks and high anxiety. Dont get me wrong he is very good to me, but i married bc he said he would put me under his health ins. I only had state ins. He thought that i would find better docs in ny and all would be ok again. I married for the wrong reason. Im a christian and i did wrong. I beat myself up everyday now since i e been off the gaba. I couldnt make any important decisions on gaba. Now look what ive done. I messed everything up.

The gaba w/d are weird. 

I made the jump from 200 mg a day to 100. 

I felt I didn’t need the nighttime dose. 

Restless leg is happening tonight as well as insomnia even though I worked o t this week and am exhausted. 

I have moments where I feel good. But I’m kinda a zombie. 

I can’t sleep unless I take a Benadryl. 

Last night I was fine though a woke up fresh even though I only slept 5 hrs. 

I think it’s just a matter of being tough mentally. 

I got off of opioids and benzos. 

That was tough. 

This  is easy for me. But  uncomfortable 

Sometimes. 

Comes and goes. 

I had a temper tantrum at work this week.  I was p****d at all humans. 

I’m gonna stick with it. 

I don’t crave gaba. 

Not like the oxy. Or Xanax. 

So I think it’s just getting my nerves to calm. Down.  Time  time time. 

That’s what made the benzo w d better and the opioids. 

Hi Michele, I know Northport so well. When I was single before I met my 2nd husband I used to go to a Sunday afternoon singles group in Northport. I know all the restaurants and I loved to walk around the harbor. Is Skippy's restaurant still there on the corner of main St. We had great flounder sandwiches there. Oh my, I do miss Long Island.

You sound like you have had it rough and I am sorry your marriage is not working out the way you would like. Perhaps you have to give it time. Sometimes things have a way of working themselves out. Joe and I were only married 5 yrs when he passed but I do remember we had a difference of opinions the first year of wedded bliss, than 4 really good yrs.

Did you find better Dr's in New York. I hope so. I do wish you well. It sounds like to me that you've had enough discomfort and it's time you had a break. Take care of yourself. Marie

I didnt mean to sound like i was very very unhappy, he is very good to me and we do get along fine, i just made a lifetime decision while under the gaba, for health ins! Thats not a reason but i did it. Bible says different. But its fine. It is working out. I have to let go of the guilt. Yes, Skippys is still there. I walk my little dog at the harbor or tommy does everyday! Beautiful there! Do you know The Shack? Small out door roadside restaurant? I live close to there. They have the Farmers Market every saturday at the harbor, today they had a art festival. Beautiful day today. Are you living alone or with one of your kids?

Hi Michele, Sorry, I misunderstood. I'm glad everything is good with you. I know Northport well and I do remember the Shack. That's a lovely area to be living in.

Here I am 2.15 am and can't sleep. I'll blame the Gaba. It's probably because I have a lot on my mind. Sometimes life is just so complicated.

Anyhow, time to go back to sleep.

Take care.

Marie

Dont ever bevafraid what time you send me a message. I will answer as soon as i can. That goes both ways. Sometimes we may not feel up to it. We both know how it is with gaba, nothing personal! Yes, the house high on the hill behind the shack is ours! Tommys bff , his boss gave him this house about 25 years ago. Its a beautiful area. Im having trouble outside in northport with all roads being winding and hilly, not level, makes it hard on my body, legs, cause its not flat. It will get better once i have one knee replaced. In Az its flat and i felt more confident with these types of injuries i sustained. When i stopped gaba, i had much trouble sleeping which probably made symptoms worse. I started taking cvs brand sleep ais, 50 mg, and i sleep great now! Best thing is a good nights sleep when healing. Do you ever come to NY? We could meet sometime for lunch in town! Probably not for some time, were both down still! How have you been feeling lately? Any good clear days yet? Sleep well Marie.

Morning Michele, I finally gave in and took Melatonin last night at around 3 and woke up now. I know sleep is important when our bodies are trying to heal.

When are you having your knee done? Having a man taking care of you at this time is a blessing. I miss my husband. He was a great caretaker.

I know the part of LI you live in is very hilly.

So is where I live in the south. Hard to get out there and walk. I have been trying to get up to NY to visit family but one thing has led to another and now Gaba has set me back but I am shooting for Sept. Would be nice to meet you and perhaps one day we will be able to.

Have a peaceful day.

Marie

Hi Rener. Wow you have had too many ICU visits, but you are here and your one toughy! Your fighting hard, good girl. The drs here, 3 of them said the amount of success on pain pumps is at 80%! Thats a big difference. Sometimes some drs like to give you the low % on success. I dont get that but my knee replacement dr gave me the low and told me everything and anything that could go wrong! But i know its a pretty successful rate. Some drs just do that so we dont have high expectations if it goes south i guess, who knows! I guess it depends on each patient. . Some have horrible bedside manners while others are so compassionate! They chose the duladid for me, as i previously had reactions to morphine both oral and in the iv. Sick to my stomach BAD, and very very itchy, So why play with that at all. I still take oral pain meds but want to begin lowering a little at a time. Today i lowered 1/4 of a pill. That works for me. Too fast is not necessary. Ive done it before. Coming off or lowering opiods is a lot easier than gaba. Opiods not easy but theres no side effects like the gaba which compromises EVERYTHING mentally and physically which is a nightmare. The wd Goes on and on. Opiods if done wisely, slowly i can do, have done it several times prior to all surgeries. Its yukky and hard but a whole lot quicker. It all stinks! I found the pain pump dosent effect me mentally at all while the oral always does. Today, they took the staples out of my belly and back. They bumped up the dolodid since im still the beginning stages. So its reslly not that much yet, they begin very very low. They also gave me, if needed, up to 4 boluses this time. The prob with the 3 i was taking was every 8 hours, but one of those times would always fall in the middle of the night, 2,3,4 am! Stupid. I dont need it at that time but i do while awake. He is really good, he listens. Im happy with him. Very kind. Are you on oral ss well like me?

Sounds nice if it works out. I know with gaba + injuries = cant make plans! I know what its like going it alone, its hard hard hard! I did the first 7 surgries alone too . Thats why he insisted on flying me in. I had to take a medical flt bc i cant sit for more than 10-15 minutes. It cost a lot, 25g. Crazy but he said lets do this! I packed up my suv and shipped that too, another 1200! These injuies have cost too much. Its REALLYBhard to walk or even drive with the hills and long winding roads too. The driveway goes up 80 feet! It hurts. I feel unstable. In Az its flat. More confident. The hills doubled the pain. I didnt anticipate that. I think im going to try to go back to Az to have 1 knee replacement before the winter. I had a right knee miniscus surgery here and 3 weeks later i fell on ice! Now the knee is done! One patch of ice and i hit it!

I'm only repeating what I've heard others have dealt with, I'm still at 900 mg but what you're going thru is common. Fatigue, insomnia, anger ups and downs. YES you can get through this. Some people stop taking it completely. It seems that what you go thru at 200 to zero is about the same as 100 to zero so they decide to just stop completely rather than have a second withdrawal. I admit it sounds scary, but many people are glad they did it. Maybe it's like needing a double knee replacement, some people get all the misery over at once, others do to separate surgeries.

Either way, you're on the right track and yes, it will take time, probably longer than you like, but there will be better days.

Marie and Michele, have you thought of sending messages through your account here, rather than on the thread? It's private and allows this to continue to reply to others with questions. If you need help on how to do private messaging/emailing in your accounts, I can help, but it's pretty easy once you go to your account. Just look at  the person's name here, and you'll see an envelope, that will allow you to start writing back and forth.

I'll look into what you suggested and get back to you. Thank you for sharing that with me.

Marie

Day 3 with only 100mg gab in the morning. 

Sleep is getting harder. But I can get to sleep eventually. 

I seem to be needing 3 aleve a day now. And benedryl to sleep. But I’m on my way. 

I know all about the snow and ice in New York. And the hills on the northshore. That's one of the main reasons I'm in the south. My achy body would not be able to tolerate NY winter. I'd be house bound for mnths.

I too live alone. I have a daughter in Charlotte who comes to visit and stays a few days when she can get the time off from work.

Today is a bad day for me. Besides all this tingling going on in the legs I also have nerve pain in my butt and back pain. I took a pain pill about 6 hrs ago. Its a 24 hr pill and I guess it hasn't kicked in yet. I am now resting.

Will your husband go back to AZ with you ?

I do hope you feel well for the rest of the day.

Marie

While I was on Gaba the worst side effect I had was blurred vision. The pain medicine I'm on has that side effect also so I don't like to take more than 1 pill in 24 hr period. Lately because of pain I had been taking 2. While in church yesterday I noticed I couldn't see the pastor's face. That was the problem I had had on the Gaba. Don't want a repeat. All the time 6 of one half dozen if another. Can't win.

Michele, my problem I think for my pain pump I’d im also trying to wd off gabapentin at the same time I’m trying to figure out what helps with the pain pump. I’m in such excruciating pain in abdomen and pelvic that it  doesnt touch my pain. The oral helps that some but My Dr wants Me completely off oral. I lowered those real fast to meet DEA guidelines. I’m like don’t they understand the gabapentin is the danger.  I probably don’t make sense because I just dropped 100 mg of gabapentin!  Wow!  I had to. Felt not only is my whole body inflamed right now but my brain is too. It has helped some but I still have 200 mg to go until I can start the recovery of this awful medicine. Feels like I’m poisoning myself every time I take my daily doses. Please let me know how it works for you. Doctor want to add prialt to my pump but I heard that affects your brain too. I don’t need that! Rener

Exactly right on again! I was stuck in the house bc of the ice, injury, hills, etc. You got and know me! Go get rest sweetie. Praying you begin to start seeing better days. REALLY SOON! Love from your new gf,,,Michele XX Night. Sweet dreams.

I will check that out too tomorrow. Sorry.

Rener, I'm sorry you're dealing with this, but have you read my comments about tapering off gab? I had asked when amount you're on as you've mentioned several different dosages and the number of times per day you take it. I believe Marie had concerns also. You are likely putting yourself at MUCH greater risk of long term side effects if you take it improperly. I too hate taking the drug, but going up and down increases the problems, the pain, the confusion. The brain can't handle that and tries to compensate causing more pain etc. PLEASE maintain the same dose, taking it 3 times a day for several weeks, even months. Until your body stabilizes, you're just harming yourself. You need to find a doctor who understands the complications of gab and the other meds you're on.

You say you have 200 mg to go before you can start recover. WRONG, Everytime you change the dose, your body is in recovery and withdrawal. It takes WEEKS for the body to handle this, not hours or days.

Oh my! No they are wrong wrong wrong. I just went up on pain meds when the pump was put in. May i ask how much did they say was your limit. Because every doctor makes that call. Not the govt. I wasnt told no oral. On the contrary. I asked if i had to come off or lower and my dr said absolutely NOT. Not with my type of injury(s) I would be able to rise to pee! Gaba wd pain is harder than opiod wd pain. The infection is what im concerned about. Your body doesnt need any more shots right now. Your immune system is lower, your nervous system is recovering. Mske sure you get really good rest, so important. Do you have help??

Morning Michele, Do hope your feeling good today. I just have some back pain and a little tingling in the legs. No leg pain. I have PT in a little while.

Take care of yourselve.

Marie

Glad to hear you had no leg pain today. Take it! Yesterday they bumped up the dosage on the pump as well. Staples came out. I shopped a little. Make adjustments in clothing so the pump isnt squished. It was a good dsy i was happy. Today was a bit tougher bc of yesterday i guess. Good and bad i guess! Have a great day

Richard, is it safe to take 3 Aleve a day. I take Mobic for pain. I don't like taking it as it has similar side effects as Gaba has. I was off it for a while and I took 2 Aleve a day. Just didn't cut it.

Marie

Forgot to say I take Melatonin when I can't sleep. Works for me.

My husband takes melatonin too

I’ve haven’t had any problems so far 

I’ve been taking it everyday for a year now. Most days I take two. 

I’m 6.3 220  

I have chronic pain from the back ,legs and feet. 

I don’t want anything really but aleve is the lesser of 3 evils. 

I got addicted to oxycodone and ended up snorting it cuz  my Tolerance went up. 

Norco had very little effect on me anymore. 

Opioids and benzos almost destroyed my health and my life .

I have to take the risk with naproxen sodium ( aleve) 

I do buy the most expensive brand name gel tabs. I don’t like to consume titanium dioxide which is is most tablets. 

I experimented with all the non narcotics and this is the one that worked the best , for me. 

I’ve used melatonin also. Works well. 

Gives me nightmares though. 

And  makes the room spin if I don’t lay down and sleep right away. 

More natural then 

Benedryl. 

I’ll probably have trouble sleeping for awhile. 

For 25 years I would just pop a Xanax when I wanted to sleep. 

I’ll never take that garbage again. 

I would have to say next to nicotine  Xanax was the hardest drug to get off. 

Opioids are painful and uncomfortable. 

I would encourage everyone to get off of xanax now. 

But be ready for an ordeal. 

It’s taken me almost two years and I’m still having trouble. 

Anxiety has a lot to do with my sleep problems. Can’t shut the mind off. 

But I’m done with drugs. 

They have their place but need to be very closely monitored. 

Most drs are just handing out pills. 

Very little info and very little follow through. I had no idea what I was getting into. I just glad I went to rehab when I did. 

My body was shutting down.  

I might not be here now if I had made the move to get clean. 

Richard, Thanks for sharing and getting back to me. I'm glad you went to rehab too. Means your still here. It's a good feeling to be off everything even though you still have to deal with pain. I'm off the Gaba maybe 45 days now. Before that got off muscle relaxant. On that one I went cold turkey and had no side effects. I have been in PT for over a year now due to back surgery. Will not be going there for a while as I got hurt the last few times I went. Was thinking maybe it's doing more harm than good. Going there 2 tms per week for over a year exausted me. I think right now I am just plain ole tired.

Thank you for letting me know about Aleve. I will try it as soon as I am able.

Have a great day Richard.

Hi Michele, Just saying hello and happy Wed. Do hope you had a good day. I had some back and leg pain today but feel it was from PT and not from Gaba side effect. Also weak legs. One day good, one day not so good. Let's see what tomorrow will bring.

Marie

Hi Marie, I had a tough day too. Last week I had 3 amazing pain FREE days! Not one this week. Disappointed. My legs and back. The usual. It looks like pain pump didnt work our so well after all. Maybe they can bump it up? Only the Lord knows. Heres to a better day! Hoping your feeling better today too.

Morning Michele, so sorry you had a bad day yesterday and a bad week like I have had also. I pray today will be better for both of us.

Today a friend is taking me to see my old chiropractor. He's 86 and retired about 6 mnths ago, but will still see his patients and I am one of them. Before surgery I had been seeing him on and off for 3 yrs. Having gotten hurt at PT last Thur and experiencing back pain since than I need him to check out my back to make sure none of the other discs have slipped.

I do hope your pain pump works better for you going forward. Take care and have blessed day.

Im sorry Marie that you are having a tough time also. Its good to check the disks for sure. I was thinking the same exact thing this morning for myself. After back surgery, a fusion especially, when there much hardware involved like I have from 2 fusions, there WILL be future issues bc it pushes/presses on the other disks. Im calling now too to discuss this. Im praying for you as well. May the God of all grace heal us quickly! Please Lord, please help all here who are suffering. Thank you Lord for making the way for us here on this forum to connect, encourage, and lift one another. By His stripes WE ARE HEALED. Thank you Lord for your many blessings. Amen. Prayers for this day for all of us. Talk soon Marie xx

Hi Michele, I saw my old retired Chiropractor yesterday. He's 86. Only retired6 mnths ago. I treated back issues with him over a period 3 yrs. When he retired he told me to come back if I needed him. What I like about him is he knows every inch of my back so if something is out of whack he'll know.

Thank God nothing out of whack. He said spine felt great. Was telling him I got hurt at PT a week ago and since than bad back and leg pain. He said PT was aggrevating my nerves and muscles. That nerves in back not healed yet. Told me walking would be good for me and when stronger swimming. I will see him 2 times per week for whatever time. Wait and see. Told me not to go back to PT. Today I'm not 100 percent but feel better than day before. According to my Surgeon who did back surgery nerves not healed. Can take up to a year. That's it for me today. How are you, any better today?

Take care and have Blessed day.

Marie

It makes a lot of sense that pt would aggravate your back and especially the nerves. It did for me after just the 1st session being only 5 minutes. It was awefully painful for me. May i ask if you ever had a emg nerve conductor test done? I thought i needed another back surgery bc i was in tremendous pain too 6 months aftrr my fusion. I Still had that same back pain and burning going down my butt, both legs, as well as extreme weakness in legs too. After remaining in pain for so long after back surgery, it was recommended i see a neurologist. I did and he was a great, kind doctor. He did the emg nerve conductor tests which showed i had nerve damage at the right and left sides of the S1 as well as the left L4. Nerve damage in crippling pain and is pretty much the same symptoms as when you need back surgery but no relief ever. They tried ablation, (rfa), epidurals, etc. Nothing worked. They told me it wouldnt and it didnt. The neurologist said The Nerve damage i sustained happened DURING back surgery. The back surgeon knew it too. It explains the way he treated me so terribly when i told him i had trouble walking, sitting, and standing after surgery. Another whole story. He denied doing surgery on me! He was scared. He knew i had PERMANENT nerve damage. Thats when i leaned the nerve damage was never going to change. If i were you, i would do an EMG test. You need to know for sure exactly whats going on. What you have is a neuro issue if its not the disks. A year for your nerves not yo heal is way too long. Nerves generally repair themselves from 3-6 months. When anyone has ablation,(rfa) done, where they purposely burn nerves to stop pain, it needs to be redone every 6 months bc the nerve heals. If your arent healed, check that out. Im no dr, but have learned a great deal. Have had rfa done?

Hi Michele, the doc that did my surgery was a Neuro Surgeon. Would I go back to him or would I see a Neurologist. Very few Neurologist in my neck of the woods. Last night I got such bad nerve pain going across my butt. I laid on my bed with ice pack afraid to move. It subsisted and I slept.

I was doing fine at PT until she put me on leg presser. That's where all this started.

I'll pray about this. Thank you for sharing.

Marie

Marie, when i was in pt on my left knee, it was the leg press that finished my back off. It tore. The therpaist insisted he put me on the last band, i didnt think that was necessary, i was in really good shape and he knew i could under normal circumstsnces do it, but it want normal. I had complained that my back pain was increasing dimuring the pt. But i did that last band and thst was the last of that! If your ins allows, if you want to see a neuro here, you are very welcome to stay. I know a good neuro here too. Just keep that in mind. Never know!

Michele, that is so kind of you. I don't feel I'm well enough to fly up to NY, but would certainly keep that in mind. Chiro says I need to rest. And walk when I can. I too feel I need to rest. I believe the leg press hurt my back and hopefully didn't do anything else.

Talk later. Happy Saturday. Hope you have a good day.

You too Marie, hoping you have better days! Yes, do rest. Thats the only time we heal. 🙏🙏🙏🙏

Michele, would I have to talk to my neurosurgeon first before I treat with a Neurologist ? I feel the nerve pain I had last night is coming from S1 which has nothing to do with area I had surgery on.

Did you ever treat Chiropractor? When they say rest does that mean laying in bed all day which I'm no good at. Iove around and I guess I sit a lot. Just thinking that's all your husband would need 2 disabled

people in his 🏠.

I really appreciate you writing back and do wish you a pain free day.

Marie

The word love got into that sentence in error.

Marie, we are all in this together! Its humanity, Christianity. No one should go this alone. No one!! I know what that is. I too was alone the 1st six years. You do NOT need to consult with your neurosurgeon prior to seeing a neurologist. They do different things. Neuro JUST does the testing of things the surgeon dosent do. Also keep in mind ortho and neuro surgeons do pretty much the same surgeries on the back but are bias bc they all think they know best!! Questions...if you believe that its possibly your S1, does it hurt when u sit? Do you get relief only when laying down? Did you have a fusion and if so, do you have hardware on the L4/L5??

Hi Michele & Marie,

As suggested by another member, is it possible for you guys to convert your conversation to be between the two of you. I'm sure I'm not the only one who is getting their inbox full of your banter. Though lovely as it is I think it's best that we keep this thread between everyone.

Thanks!

Michele did you ever hear if St Jude Medical Axium. It's a device that is implanted in your body. Blocks pain from reaching the brain. I was reading about it.

I'm resting on my bed now. How are you today ?

I am so sorry. I didn't realize that it went to all of you. I will try to figure something else out.

I apologize as well. We are talking about gaba, back surgery with nerve damage which got us on the gaba to begin with! I was thinking many people could also benefit from our conversation. Thats how marie and i found this issue we had in common and were helping one another! Bc of others conversations! Thats the way this works. I pray that you also may benefit thru another conversation. I would be thrilled for you as well to find a friend to reach out. Remember please, we are all in this together. Its the gaba stories that brings us together. God bless!

Yes I tried the St. Jude too. Thats the spinal cord stimulator right??

Hi Matt!

Sincerest apologies for such a delayed response. I seem to have somehow missed this message, apologies! How are you doing since this post? I hope things are improving?

Aww, that’s the nicest thing anyone’s said to me through this horrid journey, thank you so much! In turn, you lifted my spirits no end too!!  Indeed, my body rejected the poison and I’m lucky it did or things would be far worse so I’m grateful. Every dark cloud and all....

Oh you have to be careful with magnesium. Firstly, magnesium requires calcium to balance and calcium requires vitamin d to balance too. But through this withdrawal, it’s extrenely difficult to put so many things into your gut. I’ve had the same issue. Magnesium also takes a while to digest, it’s heavy and anything that causes your liver and gut to work hard will throw you into withdrawal. Just like alcohol, it’s heavily oxidised and has too much iron so to digest that you need a fully healthy liver that’s why each time to drink it, it causes a flare up. I get the same with red meat so I’m not having it anymore. The best thing you can do is to eat and drink ‘clean’. No processed foods and no alcohol, you will defo see a difference in a week or two.

To get around the magnesium issue, my nutritionist suggested seeds and nuts so what I do is blend all seeds together and add them to my smoothie at breakfast:

Seeds: pumpkin, melon, sesame, hemp, sunflower and linseed. Grind them all together and start adding tiny amounts to smoothie until u can take a teaspoon each day....

Every change has to be slow and gradual since making big changes causes a flare up as well. To my smoothie, I had half teaspoon organic flaxseed oil (high in omega 3,6,9), plus Greek yoghurt (onken is the best as it’s probiotic), the seeds and one part fruit and one part veg. This is extremely nourishing and full of vitamins. I have this at breakfast and before evening meal so that gut is prepared to digest food. 

The magnesium baths are usually recommended up to twice a week so you shouldn’t have to do more than that. I find that once is enough for me. 

Apart from the above, nuts in your diet will add the much needed magnesium. Almonds are great but they can be heavy on your stomach so soak them in water overnight and then peel before you eat with houmous and some raw veg, this is absolutely brilliant for withdrawal. It has worked wonders for me! Then there’s walnut, Brazil nuts are a great anti inflammatory which we all need through this and they lift low/depressive mood. Pecan nuts are fab too. I usually make a yoghurt parfait with these and alternate the nuts and fruit I use in it daily. So again, Greek yoghurt, I add a banana with berries, some granola and then nuts. Berries are all rich in vitamin C and antioxidant so perfect for detox. One day I add blueberries and Brazil nuts, next day raspberry and walnuts etc so that there’s variety. 

Another great thing that’s helped me is water based Kefir. You can make this at home and it was suggested by my nutritionist. It’s probiotic so it’s fabulous to rebuild the gut, it breaks down acidic enzymes and is a good source of B vitamins. She gave me a recipe to follow from nourishedkitchen dot com. It tastes absolutely foul so to begin with even 3-4 sips are enough but it works!! 

Hope these things help, they’ve definitely helped me feel more balanced than I’ve been in 8 months and my body is getting stronger so I hope they work for you and anyone else reading. Wish you all the best going fwd  

Oh Lord! I’ve just written a longggg reply and now it’s waiting to be moderated. Those ones never seem to get posted in the end. What a waste of half an hour! Does anyone know how to send private messages please? I can’t seem to find how to do it? I love this site for the people and info I’ve found but so not user friendly!! I hope moderators are reading this ! 

Hi Michelle,

I'm wondering how you're sleeping now since being off gabapentin for over 6 months? I've been off for 5 months and my sleep is still poor. Before being on gaba, I always got 8 hrs and slept great. Since getting off I only get between 4-5 hrs. I'm wondering if the drug permanently messed up my sleep? I hope it gets better because I'm really missing those full night's of great sleep that I already had. Hope you're sleeping well!

Matt