Gabapentin Withdrawal Horror

I was on 2000 mg - 600 mg morning and evening, 800 mg mid-day. As per my neurologist I tapered down from 2000 mg to 0 mg in four weeks. I wish he had put me on a much slower tapering schedule. I think it would have helped with the wd effects to have gone much slower. They do pass but sometimes it was/ishard to bear. The best of luck to you.

That pharmacist is wrong. TOTALLY incorrect according to all support groups. This is almost as bad as going cold turkey. PLEASE, please research this before following that suggestion. Go to innercompass, benzobuddies or any other group created by lay people who have been thru withdrawal due to bad tapers. 10% or less over 4 weeks or more is the safest route. The info he gave you is outdated. Once you go too quickly and end up in PAWS Prolonged Acute Withdrawal Syndrome, you can be ill for years. PLEASE Mindy. I am heartbroken reading stories by people who went too quickly and destroyed their lives. You have a chance to avoid this. Read the posts here, that's why it's called Gab Withdrawal Horror stories. They went too quickly, just like this pharmacist is telling you.

does your dr have a answering svc? plz check with him. also it would very helpful if you have help at home. it wont be easy and it wont be quick. but eventually it will lighten and then stop. my symptoms did not stop until i took that last dose. then it was hardest but i knew i wouldnt get anywhere until i took that last dose. god bless. im praying for everyone here.

must speak with the doctor first. if he isnt there today, it would be best to WAIT for him or her. babs is 100% correct. the pharmacist is incorrect. i dont mean to scare but in a way i do mean to from doing something that may hurt you long term. babs is 100% right on. taking a few more months or more to taper will make all the diff. plz tell your family everything you are doing daily. keep a log. you must also have an advocate or 2. i was only taking 300mg and went through hell for almost a year. i did a 3 month taper on 300 mg. and still was crazy hard.

LOL answering service. PFFT yeah right. they do not even return my phone calls.

also unlikey to have a seizure. i do not have epilepsy.

have you guys tried INOSITOL & CHOLINE together? it worked wonders when i got off of wellbutrin + i also take 5htp.

You don't have to have epilepsy to have a seizure from too rapid gabapentin withdrawal. Epilepsy is only diagnosed after people have more than one seizure. 10 % of all people have one seizure in their lifetime for one reason or another. Too rapid gabapentin withdrawal can trigger seizure in non epilepsy folks.

As the phrase goes, what the drug can treat, it can cause. Yes, people who have gone off too quickly have gotten seizures. If you read the pamphlet that your pharmacist gave you or do some research, you'll see that. Ironically, gab is a poor epilepsy treatment. As the drug dissipates in the body so quickly it has to be used with other medications. I firmly believe they spent money to develop this drug, found it was not going to sell sell for its intended purpose, they kept trying to find other ways to sell it.

It worries me to hear people say that gabapentin is a poor epilepsy drug. There are newer drugs that are more effective for some people. Gabapentin worked for me for years to control seizures. Then things change and it became less effective. I tried lots of epilepsy drugs before I tried gabapentin. These a big drugs and for me the side effects were sometimes very adverse and scarey. So I am grateful for the years that gabapentin gave me. Have the medical people learned things that have changed how they see gabapentin? Yes. Are their still some unethical or uncaring doctors that don't understand? Yes. But for some people gabapentin does work. Each of us has different bio individuality. For some of us gabapentin was a godsend until it became ineffective. Is that the drug's fault or my changing biochemistry as I aged. So while I think gabapentin should not be used as widely as it has been, it did give me some really good seizure free years.

My father took gab for over 20 years for seizures and then it quit working as he aged and is now on other meds.

Edith I'm glad it helped you. But from the research I've read, for many people it has to be an adjunct medication, that is used with other meds because of it's short half-life. That's why it has to be administered 3-4 times a day. Many doctors don't know that. I've heard for many people who are given it just once or twice a day. That hope is any doctor treating epilepsy is aware of that and makes sure the patient knows that.

Yes, my dad took other meds as well.

My theory on my tapering was to wean off the daytime first because sleep matters so much and I was already miserable during the day anyway. It took about three or four weeks to get one night of good sleep again and that has gradually started to improve as well. I also have a fan on my nightstand for the white noise and or direct air if I am burning up.

A lot of people with epilepsy have to be on more than one med. Epilepsy is so different for everyone for a vast number of reasons. It is often referred to as "the epilepsies" because everyone's seizure are different. Lots of tinker, tinker, tinker with meds. I wouldn't wish epilepsy on my worst enemy although I must say it has been a great teacher.

I'm not sure if this will help with itching, but when my skin was burning constantly during gabapentin withdrawal, I used solarcaine/ aloe vera. It numbed my skin and helped me deal with that side effect. (I didn't think it would work when it was suggested to me, but, amazingly, it did!)

It's a tough one, as it's not itch caused by an irritant, it's actually a cousin to the nerve pain. The "itch" is really the nerves so many of the usual treatments don't work, as they're topical treatments. I use Aspercreme for my back pain, but never thought of it for the itch. Unfortunately, mine is more on my scalp. Which makes no sense, but not much about nerve pain and gab does. My shingles/PHN is in my back chest, but the longer I'm dealing with this, the more I feel the whole nervous systems gets messed up.

I tried a product called Ted's Pain Cream, you can read about it online. It was created by a pain researcher and it does work on insect bites. I had a noseeum (or something) bite that itched for weeks. I finally tried it and it stopped!

Thank you!

Yes, my scalp, legs, hands, back. Comes and goes. Sometimes creams help. Sometime creams add another dimension of feeling irritated. But I have definitely figured out it's not really a skin issue as much as a central nervous system issue. I do feel lucky when I read others people's stories, however. This is manageable but annoying. Thanks to everyone!