Gabapentin Withdrawal Horror

how long did it take for you?

I think about 15 years.

Kyle, gab WD can cause severe depression, which has feelings of loneliness and isolation. If at this point you can't think of a relative, friend, acquaintance etc that you want to reach out to, it's time to contact a therapist, counselor, minister or someone with a professional background.

Of course those of us in the group can try and reassure you that we're here for you, but you need some personal contact also. Please seek help. I've been there, it gets better. I had feelings like that three years ago, but each taper it got better. These are temporary feelings.

I have been suffering from Gabapentin withdrawal for 5 months now and I also have no one to talk to. Hang in there though it will get better, just day by day is all you can do. I just found this site not too long ago. I have left several replies but not many responses. I was on Gab for over 20 years with many of them suffering from side effects. I know someday it will be better. Just count one more day you are off it and try to stay as positive as you can. I know it's hard I have struggled so bad but I know I am better off each and every day. Take care you can do it.

If you get an answer from someone that there is help with getting off gab please let me know, because I was told there is not because our wonderful medical community doesn't believe it's an addicting drug. And there is no drug to help with withdrawal as I was told. Shows what they know. They no nothing about this drug. I have been on it for 20 years and off it for 6 months and it has been a nightmare, with no help from anyone except this forum. Hang in there and I hope you get some helpful info.

Thank you, and if I find anything I will let you know. I am starting to search through doctors and any contacts I know who would have help, I'm betting it will be international. I contacted a rehab that I thought you did not have to be addicted to stuff to go for chronic pain, well you do have to be on at least opioids, but they were going to check out some stuff for me and give me a call tomorrow. Just as a question to all of you, if you could go to a rehab type of facility to get off of gabapentin whether you were addicted or not, would you do it? Assuming it was affordable and safe etc. Is this an option people are looking for?

I would never go to a facility for tapering off gab. It can take months or years to safely reduce and stop the drug. There a many lay resources on Facebook or other groups like this that are reputable and follow similar guidelines. Most rehab groups will add or substitute another drug.

Gab is NOT an addictive drug; it can however cause dependence. Those are two different issues, but I'm not going into the different interpretations of addiction vs dependence. For each, the body adjusts to the medication and there are withdrawal symptoms as the dosage is decreased.

The suggested schedule for getting off benzos, gab, Lyrica or similar drugs is a 10% reduction in the daily dose and staying at that (holding) for 4 weeks or longer. You can find The Ashton Manual online for free. Many feel the 4 week time frame is too short, as some WD doesn't appear until after that. I needed 8-15 weeks for each drop. If you're at 2400 mg/day, a 10% drop would be 200 or 300 mg per day less. So 800 mg 3 times a days becomes 700, 700, 700 or 700, 800, 700. You maintain that dose until the withdrawal subsides, then start again, dropping 10%.

Please continue researching and looking at groups or sites like Inner Compass, Benzo Buddies, Bloom in Wellness. Too many rehab centers are ignorant about the damage that gab can do.

Megan I also replied below. Like you, I found this group almost 3 years ago. I was put on gab due to shingles back in October 2016, I then had PHN subsequently, which is Post Herpetic Neuralgia ie lingering pain from shingles due to nerve damage. That's only one of three conditions gab is FDA approved for. FYI "approved" only means that in some studies (usually relatively small and short-lived) that about half the people have some decrease in pain. It's a seizure medication, so that's why we have such a broad range of side effects involving both the mind and body. In January 2017 I was at 2700 mg and since then I have carefully tapered to zero, back on 12/26/19. I found information through research and support groups like this. I worked as a medical secretary for 30 years, so I've picked up some basic healthcare knowledge that's helped me navigate this.

Luckily some early research told me to SLOWLY decrease, but even then I went too quickly. I later learned that I needed at least 8 weeks or even 15 weeks between drops in dosage. I have more detail below, but 10% or less over 4 weeks or more is the standard recommendation. It's not easy, it's not fun, it's draining and extremely discouraging. BUT at the end of every taper/decrease I had fewer side effects and was more "me". It CAN be done.

Thanks babbs, I will check out those resources. I have studied this drug a lot to understand what's going on, and I know there is no easy way around this. I have been getting off of these meds for over a year and I am only down 400mg. I can't live like this anymore, its so hard on me and my family. I went to see my GP yesterday because I can't get in to see my specialist because he is overbooked. When he suggested that maybe I just need to be on these drugs or maybe they'll add a medication that I just got off, I was upset to say the least. Its frustrating that the doctors around me probably don't know much about this. I started asking people around me who had random medical contacts to ask about it. I've emailed the doctor who put me on the medication to ask if she knows anywhere or anything to make this easier. I will be surprised if she responds, but its worth a shot. Its given me some hope, its been a while since anything like this has given me hope. There is something satisfying about not waiting for the professionals around me to figure this out, and taking some action for myself. I don't think we should have to suffer like we have. I am going to try and find anything that will make this easier. I might not find anything, and I expect many leads not to go anywhere, but I feel like I am taking back some control over a situation that started because one doctor didn't do his job properly in one moment and I am paying for his mistakes still over a decade later. If you have any more resources please let me know. If anyone knows of any specialists or researchers anywhere in the world who deal with gabapentin I would love to have that kind of info too.

ive been Decreasing every 2 weeks burning like im being cut with shards of glass . im liquid titrating each 300mg in 300ml of water its taken 12 weeks to remove 80ml so another month before i get to 600mg aday from the original 900mg aday

Megan, I am so very sorry. Since I got caught in the same drug-trapped new life that you did, I've worked hard to educate myself and others. It took me a long time to truly understand how little doctors understand these drugs that they're given. I'm angry and feel betrayed, but I also understand many just trusted the drug reps (who lied, there were lawsuits against the company that first marketed gab, you can find this in your research). Then through habit and ignorance they kept giving out these drugs, confident in their belief that they had no side effects, or if they did, they were so minor they wouldn't affect us much.

Not everyone has these reactions, but as nobody does real research, we can't know. No-one is going to pay a research to find out why people are being hurt by a drug. The most we can hope for is a long list of side effects. Almost all the drug info we have is based on controlled, initial research of carefully selected people. Which is as much drug research is done--the trials often last only a few months, involve mainly men, exclude people on other medications or who have other health issues. In other words, not real-life scenarios. However, with the internet and info at our finger tips, more groups are sharing stories and the word is getting out.

I know like it sounds like you're not making much progress, but how we each progress in our taper varies. Our age, stressors, over-all health, other medication, dosage, the speed or amount of the taper affect all of that. Generally speaking, that 10% drop over 6-8 weeks (allowing the body time to greatly decrease the WD symptoms) will be effective. I've also taken even longer to give myself more time to heal and to avoid withdrawal during important events like vacations and holidays.

What dose were you on and how much did you drop? What other meds are you on, and why did you start it? As hard as it is to look out years, it's really the "easiest" way to do it. There are FB groups, I recommend Gabapentin Awareness for one. But you're doing the right thing by researching. I felt a little bit more in control once I knew more. It does help a bit. But as you know, it's hard and an up/down journey. You'll get through this!

Joseph, if you're having that severe of a withdrawal, you should slow down. I'll be honest, I never titrated and I'm having trouble trying to figure out how long you took between decreasing your dose. My Gab Brain causes problems in math for me. I've read this 3 times and I think you were at 900 mg (I assume taking 300 mg 3 times a day). Now you're down to 820 mg?

that’s correct I took 300 mg three times a day making it 900 total. I’m also having to taper 2 mg a day of clonazepam.Due to losing my health insurance recently I’m having to taper them both at the same time

Having to decrease those two drugs at once makes this much harder on you. I'm not as familiar with the dosing of clonazepam, but I assume it's a strong enough dose to cause additional problems. Groups usually recommend getting off one drug before doing the other one.

You're in a difficult situation, but if there's a way to get to decrease only one at a time it may help. I know you're loosing your insurance, but if you're in the US there are many programs like Good Rx which can get you discounts on drugs. Generic gab isn't terribly expensive, I don't know about clonazepam. Sometimes these drug cards are even cheaper than your insurance.

I was surprised you were having such a severe reaction, and the two meds explain it. Yes, the burning pain is neuropathy from the withdrawal. You're in a difficult situation. I'll also say that for some, as you get below 900 mg of gab, it gets more difficult. Have you double checked your titrating schedule? I found it very confusing and preferred the drop and hold method. I wish you the best of luck, it's tragic that doctors put us in this situation.

I hope I am answering the question you asked a few days ago. I can only speak for myself, as I believe we are all so different and have various causes for our chronic pain.

I have used acupuncture for over a year. Sometimes, it helps more than other appointments, but it always takes the edge off am makes my pain tolerable.

Acupuncture works for me. There are appointments that are more successful than others, but it usually helps most of the time. When my pain is severe, it seems to take two or three appointments to get my pain under control.