Gabapentin Withdrawal Horror

I've been in my own little hell too. I quit Gabapentin cold turkey back in June. I do not recommend anyone to quit cold turkey, it's dangerous, tapering off this drug slowly is the best way to go in my opinion. I was on Gabapentin for 3 years and near the end I was taking about 5,000 to 6,400mg a day. I'm ashamed to say I was highly addicted and was taking more then prescribed. I'm still having withdrawal symptoms such as;

• headaches
• nausea and vomiting
• virtigo
• brain zaps
• anxiety
• depression
• easily agitated
• heart palpitations
• weakness, no energy
• mood swings
• insomnia

I done a little research on brain zaps and come across this section where they were talking about how suddenly quitting certain medications can cause a chemical imbalance in your brain. It mentions how low serotonin levels can effects you. I have all the sighs and symptoms of having low serotonin levels in my brain and I believe it's the cause for most of my symptoms. I'm now trying to raise my serotonin level by eating foods rich in serotonin. Hopefully this will help because I don't ever want to take another drug that I have to be dependent on and because I am miserable as hell. I hope this information will help others. I only just found out about it a couple days ago. Please let me know if you have any advice for me. Good luck to everyone fighting this drug and thanks for sharing your story.

I'm so sorry Kendra, it will be slow progress as you likely have PAWS prolonged acute withdrawal syndrome. We're not told what gab can do to us by the doctors.

At this point, eating healthy, getting rest, and accepting that this can be a long road for you. Avoid any other drugs or alcohol, as this can prolong the recovery or even set off new withdrawal symptoms.

You have good information and a warning to others. Reputable support groups recommend 10% or less drops of the total dose over 4 weeks or more. I found I need 10 weeks to drop 100 mg. Yes, that's slow, in the long run safest and easiest. I've had difficulties during my WD, but not the constant hell others have had. This gives me and my body time to slowly recover before the next drop.

congrats Michele, it's nice to hear from another person 1.5 years off the gabapentin. thanks for your reply, and i know exactly what you went through, and god bless you made it through the worst of it. so you get the frontal lobe headaches? they're not like a migraine, but a strange tightness and tingling sensation yes? very annoying but nothing compared to the hell we were in. i feel like i have brain damage in the frontal lobe, I'm wondering if that will ever fully heal? obviously that is the area of the brain that the gaba affected. it feels as though it got fried. i pray that it will heal for both of us. i have heard people say they have had full recovery from gabapentin damage so that gives me hope. I've also heard it can take 3 years on average to fully heal and up to 10 for some. can you drink alcohol or coffee? I'm confident that i will make a full recovery. I'm a very positive and optimistic person. good luck to you all and don't lose hope. another piece of advice is to not obsess over your condition by reading blogs and horror stories all day long everyday. i fell into that trap in the early stages and it just slowed down my healing process. once i decided to stop looking stuff up, i started getting better. you have to live your life regardless of your situation. everyone has there own story, what you read on the net is not your story. go get busy doing something productive and focus on that. get your head out of the gutter. it was the best thing i did for my recovery. I'll check in here about every 4 months to try and encourage someone. so see ya'll around Valentine's day. lol

haha matt! have been thinking of you and glad to know youve progressed so much. this brain fog has been the bain of my life too!! that is until i found Centrum vitamins (for men and women respectively) it took abt a week before i niticed any difference but it does help your brain function better and gives u more energy. that said, i found a halal/vegetarian (obviously anyone can have this) version of the same vitamin with more ingredients on amazon. its called Hashmats A-Z multi vitamin and my God within five minutes my brain and body were buzzing with so much energy. not only that, my skin began glowing after a few days and my started getting thicker too! the only thing is, the tablet is so big so i started by crushing and taking 1/4 a day until my body got used to it. foul tasting but sooo worth it for the peace if mind. but then it started getting too heavy for my stomach and ive started to take it every few days instead. it really does help!! you are not brain damaged you clown, please stop telling yourself that you are lol. the brain needs b1,b3,b6,b9 to feel happy and balanced again. both the above vitamins contain all of them. happy shopping!! 😉

i meant that my hair started getting thicker too

I dont drink alcohol. its too dangerous with pain meds. but i do drink coffee. i seem to have issues when introducing or taking away any type of med too fast. i go into a little bit of a fog for a short time. i was recently diagnosed with a rare auto immune issue that i did NOT have before the gaba. i cant tolerate certain meds. the symptoms however are IDENTICAL to gaba wd! i cant believe where i, we were before and where we are today! success! mind blowing. im so grateful i wasnt in a position where i was working or alone,and lost a job but was with a friend and i didnt need to worry about any responsibilities. its SO GOOD for others here that may still be wding that we come back here from time to time t9 give progress reports. i remember when i was in the middle of wding, i kept looking for any story of success and couldnt find one. i get it. we move on by Gods grace. but we must never forget tjose that be suffering. its so important. so to all here... HANG IN! It will pass. it really does happen.

Hi Michele and Matt,

Just a quick note to say that it's been almost 3 years since I got shingles, then PHN (post shingles pain) and was given gab. I was eventually at 2700 mg. I too had my struggles with gab and withdrawal, same as many, depression, memory problems, confusion etc. But I'm down to 300 mg now, 10 weeks since my last drop and I feel like "me" again. WD was tough at times, but I got through it. That included increased pain, depression and confusion etc. but I'm almost totally back to myself emotionally, but my memory isn't quite right yet. YES, YES! We can recover. Hang in there everyone.

Edith, the window for restarting gabapentin without negative repercussions is 3 weeks though some have done it and had only a few new negative side effects that weren't too bothersome. The problem with going back on is that it can make it much harder to taper off -- especially since your body has already been shocked by a fast taper. The itching skin will end in time, though it could take a number of months to end completely. It should get gradually better. The same with the insomnia, irritability, and depression. You may have waves and windows where your symptoms get better and worse again before they are gone, but they will all end eventually -- though it will probably take longer than you anticipate. If you feel the need to take something for sleep, I would be very hesitant to take a GABA med (benzo or gabapentinoid - like gabapentin and Lyrica). A safer med (unless you have an allergy) would be an antihistamine or even melatonin. In case you don't know (and I've never heard of a doc so far who informed his patient of this since most docs don't even seem to know) gabapentin and Lyrica were shown in a 2009 study by Stanford University to prevent the formation of new synapses in the brain. Many people who are on the med long term have short term memory loss and cognitive impairment. You can throw that fact into your input to help you decide what to do. Best wishes.

sweetie, you did great. in my opinion ONLY, I wouldn't go backwards. no. stay the course. you apparently read many stories here. some are alike, others differ a bit. but one thing i believe we would all agree is once off, no going back. symptoms will continuously get better. it may take you a shorter time or it may take a bit longer. nobody knows for sure. but you WILL have a full recovery. i did. i didn't believe I would but I really did! keep your head up and thank God that you are going to be just fine! no you will be just GREAT! May God bless you and give you his peace. much love. M

Thanks you both for the replies. I see I made an error in my original post - I was not taking 2000 three times a day, but three doses that added up to 2000 per day.I am so glad that this forum is available. It has validated so many things that I suspected. I am retired so I can deal with the lack of sleep for the most part. I can't take melatonin because when I tried it years ago it gave me a seizure. I have pretty good short term memory still. I also have high histamine disorder so would hestiate to take anything related to histamine without consulting my doc. I have a fabulous fuctional medicine doctor who has helped me so much with depression created by epilepsy. Until the gabapentin withdrawal he had "cured" all my sypmptoms of depression using supplements. Thank you for the support and for sharing that eventually both of you felt better. It helps enormously. I have seen a U. of Washington study that did state the taking benadryl for sleep could cause cognitive impairment especially in older people. I think a lot of docs know that now as I have heard a couple repeat that. Any way, thank you again.

Thank you Michele,

I'm now on day 13 of 100mg 3× day. Since my last post , I have been scoped and have gastritis.

I eat and drink only alkaline balanced food. Painful to go through along with major anxiety and neuropathy in legs

which was why I was put on this

stuff to begin with. Saw the neuro Dr and have applied for thc/ cbd as it's legalized here in FL.

It's been a real nightmare . Glad the burning has backed off but then again I know I have a distance to go and will have the worst according to some on Facebook gaba withdrawl. Today I'm so weak. Back feels as if it can't hold me up. Wish I were like some folks that have no real

withdrawl but my age I think precludes that.Only lucky to have gone down at 7 mos.

Thanks again for your cheerleading!

I needed that .

By the way , would you tell me your story ? I get strength through hearing them.

Edith, You are welcome. So glad you are working with a functional doctor who will not be apt to put you on more drugs to deal with withdrawal symptoms (which happens to so many). Yes, histamines can cause cognitive impairment too, if taken too much, but at least one can take a dose occasionally and not have a need to take it 3x/day to get a benefit and one can get off without withdrawal. (I only suggested that because you said lack of sleep can increase seizures for epileptics.) I didn't take anything for sleep when going through withdrawal because I didn't want to give any chances for more complications for my withdrawal. So many things people take for sleep cause more problems and there are worse things than not sleeping (unless, as you said, it can cause seizures). Also, people who take gabapentin for sleep regularly, usually just take one dose at night, which eventually can cause interdose withdrawal since it is meant to be taken 3x/day because of the half-life of 5-7 hours. You are very wise in investigating your doctor's advice and finding this site for validation. Many doctors assume gabapentin is like street drugs and withdrawal only lasts 2-3 weeks. You will be okay in time, but it will most likely take longer than you would expect. Hang in there. There are facebook withdrawal groups with thousands of members if you desire daily support. Best wishes.

I can't take benedryl or any cold products as it makes me hyper and gives me insomnia. Everyone is dif when it comes to meds .

you are very welcome. my experience of wd symptoms... the 1st day of not taking any gaba was wonderful. i felt great. the 2nd day... wow. never dreamed that it would be so nasty. i read others stories so i knew what to expect but words cant describe it. i am so blessed that i didnt have to work or worry about bills. i didnt need to leave the house. i had stroke like symptoms for the 1st month. i was told i was slurring. i had numbness on one side for a little bit then it would stop. i never knew what to expect day to day. i only took 300 mg one time at night. thats it. and i still had bad wd symptoms like everyone else. some people on this site at that time said it could take a few years to get back to normal. another said 5 years! that is so unacceptable. it took me about 8 months. but, i still had weird days here and there. but for the most part im fine other than the original injury pain that got me prescribed gaba. now, everyone is very different. i dont mean to scare you by any means but i say this that "if" it should happen to you, remind yourself that this will pass. it does. hang in there. it will get bumpy but will get smooth sailing again.

Oh wow! Bless your heart! That sound just awful. I have had nothing like that. Mostly the irritability and depression. I am so glad you are better. Your story gives me a lot of inspiration to look to the day when I feel more like my old self again. Any way, I hope. My new epilepsy drug is no walk in the park but I think it will be better once I am through this withdrawal. My epileptologist is the top epileptologist at Mayo and I can remember he told me years ago that gabapentin was a very safe drug. I don't think he tried to mislead me, I think that was the considered opinion at the time. My line in the sand is always, "is this worse than having seizures?" And mostly the answer is no. Seizures can kill or at least maim you so sometimes you just have to put up with a lot. BUT I don't want to if I don't have to. Here's to feeling better! Thank you so much for the words of encouragement.

all 4 branches of the military have now banned all neurontin drugs. some states have finally made it a class 5 drug. they all effect, compromise the nervous system. some people do just fine with it. but i dont think most are aware of the wd symptoms when or if they miss a few days. i try to warn others just to bring awareness not to be frightened and not to miss doses.

Michele, Are you a member of the Gabapentin Sufferers Desiring Action facebook group? Your experience as a former used and sufferer would be helpful to us in giving clout the the need for changing how gabapentin is prescribed. Even though it is now a controlled substance in many states, that has led to other problems -- like docs cold turkeying patients off of the drug or people running out and not being able to get their monthly refill until after the weekend, etc. and there is no plan in place to keep someone from developing difficult withdrawal symptoms from a cold turkey or lack of availability for several days. Going off and on the med can set up a person for more adverse reactions and more difficult withdrawal while tapering as well. And though the military bans the drug for active service people, it is still highly prescribed for vets and leading to many struggles for them. Many of our members are still suffering from the effects of gabapentin and are not as able to help our cause as they would like to, so anyone who has already recovered enough to be more involved is coveted for our membership. I had a horrific experience with gabapentin and want to help prevent others from experiencing the trauma I went through. If you would consider also helping, we would appreciate it. Thanks for your involvement here and your consideration.

no. i quit fb many years ago. i do agree with everything you said. most docs dont understand and dome refuse to talk about it. i had 2 docs who knew exactly what i was experiencing but still was prescribing it. people cant understand the magnitude of this unless they walked thru it. in the same way opiods was pushed through on the people, i believe this maybe that next destroyer. i hate to talk about it but i do believe this.

I'm not skipping any doses , but I'm having symptoms of panic and my neuropathy in legs is accentuated with tightness around ankles and other stuff.Going to make appointment

with Dr. to talk about this . Calling today as a matter of fact .

Scary stuff we've been on here. I do hope short term memory comes back. I know the

magnesium is recommended but it takes the gaba down 20% and I'm not o.k with that as it's bad enuf with only 100 3× day.

While there are defintely some really unethical doctors out there I think we also have to see it some from their perspective. I am a retired clincial social worker and had a lot of docs on my caseload for therapy. So many of them went into medicine to truly help people. They get enormous pressure from some patients to "do something, anything". They also get enormous pressure from their administrators to perform and sell. I remember one cardiologist telling me that his hospital told him he had to schedule so many MRIs a week because they had to pay for the equipment. So the system is pretty screwed up. I also would not work with a doc who would not talk to me about any aspect of my health. I always tell docs I am the top member of the treatment team and they are my hired consultants. I further say that I make the final decisions based on their input and my trust in them. I tell them if they don't want to work that way that I would be happy to find another doctor. I have left some doctors, but it also is a way to find out who the really good docs are in that if they are willing to work with me as a team they are not threatened by my input. I also give credit where credit is due and I give it often and verbally. We all need to be supported. I would not be a doc and work in our current medical system for all the tea in China!

short term memory does get better. depending on our age i guess. i had to write everything down. still do! gaba effects our central nervous systm, the brain. i didnt have physical help so i had to write everytime i took any medication. as far as those stinking panic attacks, that WILL end the last day you take your last dose of gaba. it did for me anyway. i had crazy anxiety & panic attacks especially if i had to go somewhere and had them for no reason as well. i was prescribed xanax. it did nothing!! zero. but after i ended the gaba, the xanax worked! when it didnt work when i needed it on gaba, the dr kept increasing my dose. sigh. i had to wean myself off of that slowly now too. no need to put myself thru more wd nonsense. i took my time and didnt really think about that at all. i had enough to deal with the wd from gaba. now i rarely take it. no more panic attacks, no more anxiety other than lifes normal issues which we shouldnt turn to a pill for. be careful when you tell the dr. i just hate when think they have the answer in another pill. when wdg from gaba, i found it best not to take more of anything if at all possible. keep it as natural as possible. however, i did try other meds. i was desperate. but found only one thing really helped. i was already taking pain meds when i went thru all this. i found that when it was time to take a pain med, it actually helped those gaba wd symptoms. i didnt increase for that reason, but i actually decreased the pain meds. a dr told me that people are being prescribed gaba to wd from opiods. not a good idea at all. opiod wd is a walk in the park compared to gaba. not easy, but its a whole lot quicker.

Well, today my tongue is black. I read that that can be a withdrawal symptom of gabapentin or a symptom of dry mouth which both gabapentin and my new med have caused. But never have I had a black tongue. Sounds mostly benign but sort of shocking to see. The black from my tongue also makes my teeth look kind of black. I dare anyone to tell me that this is a withdrawal symptom that is all in my head! 😃)! Actually it is all in my head - that's where my tongue is! 😃)

Had to stop the magnesium becuase it made me burn up more .last night my pain was a 10. Was going to go down fartur than 100 3 times day but can't.today i'm tight around chest and know it"s related to low sodium which gaba pentin does .My sodium levels were low 3 weeks ago. I bave zero energy .Terrible stuff .people on facebook are taking months months of burning ,insomnia , all kinds of other symptoma even after being off for weeks. I'm 64 so all of this is overwhelming for the body.

,

It is overwhelming for anybody's body. So much so that we all landed on this blog.

When I tapered off, I would go through the am with none and then afternoon and night for a two weeks, then only at night for two weeks and then every other night for about a week and so on. The burning, neuropathy began to subside after about 3 months of being totally off and is now just a slight throb in my feet at times. I got off the xanax also and panic issues have decreased a lot more than I expected as well as the pain. I've been completely off of gab for about 4 months. My sister told me that I am more like myself than last year.Still have those "dayz" but it is getting better.

There are a number of support groups for benzos, gab and similar drugs and they advocate (as do I) a slow 10% drop of the total dosage of the day, and staying at that level for 4 weeks or longer. The slower and more careful you decrease or taper the meds, the better the outcome and fewer long-term side effects. Bocephus, your method of decreasing is similar to what was suggested 20 years ago, when (like many doctors now) doctors and drug reps said there were no side effects and no withdrawal. Gab has a short half-life, so dropping one dose, rather than keeping a steady level in the body, can put people into interdose withdrawal. It seems you tolerated this all right, but for others it could be hell.

The side effects of the drugs, due to the changes in the brain, can last many months., but eventually they'll dissipate.

im so happy for you. it will only get better. boy we sure have been thru so much. many who dont know about the wd and stop the med have no clue whats happening to them since its not considered a dangerous drug. im glad i found this site before i tapered. god led me here. no doubt. god bless

If it weren't for the change in me when I was on it and then the wd issues, I would have never researched it. That's how bad it was. I am not someone who goes to the doctor a lot. But after the double vision and $9,000 worth of tests and meds out of pocket, I am personally convinced that many of the issues I experienced where caused by the gab. Doctor that gave it to me in place of the pain meds I had been on for 12 years said it would work better for the pain since I was addicted to opiodes.

Same amount of pills for 12 years. Yes, I am dependent due to my injuries but I don't take more than I am supposed to and can take care of my home and family.

And, after being on the pain meds for 12 years, I can attest that the pain was way worse while on the gab. I couldn't even stand up long enough to make a salad, let alone a complete dinner without feeling like I would break in half. I found myself leaning on the counter while pouring my morning coffee. We know our bodies and it is insane when you can't figure out what's going on.

I hear you .My upper back felt and still feels as if I'm in a vice grip. I have to eat low ph as it caused gastritis .Still have a ways to go and my neuropathy in feet never got better just colsd and numb. what a mess.I too had multiple tests and it changes your blood worl .My white count due to inflamation was always elevated Sodium very low .Dangerous .Go onto facebook Gabapentin withdrawl .Over 4,000 folk on there and I guess when you finish your withdrawl , you can still have nausea vomiting and more

for a while.At my age 64 I can't believe I could even get this far.Started tapering Aug 15 .Still have 250 a day to complete.Thats supposed to be the worst.Some just quit and stop but Ithis body really can't be shocked too much more let alone the anxiety .

your story, your pain, is me, my story! 1st thing in the morning i get my cup of coffee. soon as i lift the carafe its over! i now have a pain pump. all those years of being in bed and suffering and my dr never told me about a pain pump or the spinal cord stimulator. he wouldnt even allow any patients to use medical marijuana either. and it was legal. just pain pills. of course we are dependant. were badly injured or we wouldnt have spent so much money trying to feel better. then i went to ny, and while laying in bed there i found this site. i learned about the pain pump! i went to a dr and he said i was a perfect candidate. i did the trial and i got up and walked out of there as if i was never injured!! success! victory!! i was able to fly back to az on a commercial flight with my little dog in my arms! 8 hr flight plus drive time to/from airports, and going thru security, etc. the 1st time i booked the flight, i panicked. i was scared that i wouldnt make it. i cancelled the flight!! that cost 400.!! i was picturing myself in crazy pain and laying down in the middle of the isle on the plane and hearing the captain say, "ladies and gentle, we have to make a unexpected landing, a stop because Michele is refusing to get up and sit in her seat!! b4 the pump, i couldnt sit, walk, or stand for more than 5 to 10 minutes. but i did rebook the flight. i wanted out of the cold and back to the sun!! the cold hurt a lot. i made it back and i was just fine! i had been flown to ny on a medical flight. that cost 25 grand! yes we live 1st 1/2 of our lives working, raising kids, keeping house, etc, then misfortune hits in one moment and EVERYTHING changes in that one moment. i lost my business. thank God i had paid off my home while i was working. hope you continue to find relief. one day at a time.

tough stuff, tough times. im right behind you in age. couple of years. i went thru my entire 50s dealing with this and i feel like i went full circle and starting almost all over again. exhausting. god bless ALL here. prayers. everything is going to be ok. it has to be. i know thru my faith this isnt permanent. i look forward to a new beginning, no pain, no more suffering, no more tears. a perfect body and filled with love, joy, and no more diseases.

Bocephus I agree with you--gab makes the pain worse. When I tell people this, they think I'm crazy. But how else do you explain that as I decreased the meds, my pain decreased equally? I kept thinking as I got to a lower dose that the pain would get much worse as the gab was supposed to "help" the pain.

Yes, it got worse, but that was WITHDRAWAL, you quacks! YOU caused this by giving me (us) these meds.

i agree. the 1st week gaba gave me some relief. after that my pain increased 100x worse. after the wd, my pain deceased a whole lot.