Gabapentin Withdrawal Horror

Dear Nancy,  Reading what you and others have gone through on gabapentin and discontinuing this drug breaks my heart.

I promise you I did not write of my account to frighten people, but to inform and hopefully help them.

It was a very difficult withdrawal for me, but I believe being on gabapentin for 20 years and the six day withdrawal made it more difficult.

While on gabapentin I had confusion, trouble finding the word I wanted to say, balance issues, fluid retention and increased pain.  For years I had horrible SI joint and leg pain.

Problems with discontinuing gabapentin were terrible leg pain and feeling like my nerves in my legs were *shaking*.  My feet had a great deal of burning nerve pain.  It took a long time, but the pain and shaking are finally going away.  I felt strongly this pain and shaking were due to the withdrawal since it was unusual for me.

It (the withdrawal) was a miserable experience, but I am glad I did it.  I will NEVER take gabapentin in the future.  If it was the only drug I could take to save my life --- I would refuse it.

The confusion, fluid retention, balance problems, word finding problems and severe pain are gone.  I still have pain since I had two herniated discs and three spine surgeries.  I had a fourth surgery to have a SCS implanted for pain control. 

I am not currently using my SCS because my nerves in my legs still feel hypersensitive from the gabapentin withdrawal.  In addition to stopping my gabapentin I have discontinued my extend release opioid and decreased my break through opioid by over half. 

It is my belief the gabapentin made my pain worse.  Over the years I was on methadone, morphine, oxycontin, fentanyl and percocet to try and control pain.   All of these were relatively easy to discontinue compared to the gabapentin.  The gabapentin was 50 times worse.

It was worth it in the end.  I am now on percocet 5-10 mg per day.  That is it!  Pretty good in my opinion, and I may be able to decrease more when the darn nerve shaking and leg pain decreases.

I just wish I had not been tortured for 20 years while I was on the gabapentin.  I saw four physicians in this time frame and they all thought the drug was appropriate as a course of treatment.  My doctor at my last appointment still questioned why I was no longer on gabapentin.  He must not listen to a word I say.

whoever suggested you could,or should take just 6 days to discontinue a drug that you've been taking for 20 years, wants shooting.

Thank you G.Allen for the hope and strength you share, 

 

Hello I've been on methadone zanax and prozac for almost 8yrs, I moved out of state to live w my fiance of 9 yrs about 2yrs ago had to find a new doc ect. Then They prescribed me Nurotin "GP" the 300 mg 4x a day my physc. Said it would help my mood. It did.. At first.. But I'm really freaking out I stumbled on this thread and need help I've been on the nurotin for almost 2yrs but I'm gonna be completly honest when I would get my methadone in the a.m an hr I would take all 4 Nurotin aswell as a lil bud, but I really do take 4 Nurotin a day, but all at once.. And I've been noticing at first after about 4months my face was breaking out like really aweful it looked like lil red rash infected pimples or something.. Then this last month I've been burning and itching Down u know as well as being itchy all over and just hot and now I'm especially freaked bc when I go to bathroom in the a.m a clear watery comes out like a lil stream of water and Its been burning when I pee I have aweful pain in my vag and get throbbing pinching burning if you know what could be going on w me I've been crying so much Idk what to do anymore.. It feels like a burning itching rash in my yea you know area Like how you mentioned the diaper rash that is what my symptoms feel like.. I'm just losing it my fiance takes his and he has no symtoms!?? & I dont know "Im so stressed sorry" I can't be withdrawling bc I take the 4 all at one time in the a.m .. Right? Can it be in my head. Its just when I feel pain and uncomfortable down there I panic. And Ive been taking the nurotins almost everyday for a lil ovr a year at first I kinda abused them but my point is I never had problems like this till that drug, but at first it was fine Idk what happened.. Please try not to judge me from this I'm another person w my own issues I just wanted to see if you can help calm me down. Or anyone.. And I'm new to this whole discussion thing on here. I just need advice severely.. This is embarrassing.

I understand your pain since I had burning rashes with blisters, from Lamotrigine in 2009. I was only taking 1/4th of 25 mg. My doctor didn’t think that was causing it, but a dermatologist thought it was RX related. It went away after I slowly weaned off.

Lamotrigine and Neurontin are both in the anti-epileptic class of drugs.

You really need help since you also sound like you might have a urinary tract infection.

I went to the ER with my scary skin condition and since today is Saturday, that might be your best option.  

I don’t think you know that Neurontin has a 5 -7 hour half life. It should have been spaced out. 

I had an adverse reaction to the introduction to Gabapentin so I stopped it,  but I’ve 

heard from many people that going cold turkey off of it isn’t safe. 

I know this was embarrassing for both of us, but I knew someone should answer immediately.

Beth

 

Beth gave you some very good information. Gab is a very powerful drug, yet few doctors (or others) seem to really understand that. Thank heavens there's more research starting to come out now. It does sound like a UTI, Urinary Tract Infection. They're very common. Gab also affects the urinary system, some people have a hard time urinating, so that may have increased the likelihood of the problem. The other problem, as she said is how you're taking the gabapentin/Neurontin. I'm not sure how many mg tablets those are, they come in 100 mg and 300 mg, but taking at once is NOT a good idea. Yes, you can be going through "withdrawal", but the docs call it "discontinuation syndrome". I guess only because they say you can become dependent on it, not addicted. Yeah, it's a fine line. But you do get many symptoms as you come off the drug. Some suggest tapering by 10-25% of the dosage per months. So, if you're on 3000 mg/day, drop 300 mg over a 30 days, then drop 200 or 300 mg a day for the next month etc. I went slower, 100 mg/day starting at 2700. The slower you go the fewer side effects. BUT, you may still get stretches of dizziness, panicky feelings, confusion, memory loss, fatigue and/or insomnia. This acts on the brain so it can be miserable. So yes, the pain is scary, but the meds themselves can make you freak out.  Go to an urgent care facility, explain your symptoms. There may be other conditions that can cause this too, which will definitely require treatments, Don't delay as it can be quite serious and you can get very ill.

 

hey megan, i was reading your story. i wouldnt take 4 gabas together. that could be your problem. that goes in to your system all at once and then its gone and you have none so you arent keeping a steady flow of it in you.  also, you could have a yeast infection. any white discharge? you would need to get monistat at the drug store. its over the counter and cost about 12.-15 bucks. if you just started the gaba, it can make you feel like you have a uti, i thinkl.  drinks lots of water.  or go to urgent care and they will give you bactrim....med for uti.   dont wait, it can go up into your kidneys.  are you taking the methadone too with the gaba?  i would ask a pharmacist if that would cause a problem. dont worry, just take the gaba one at a time and i think after acouple of days you will notice a difference.  i hope i have helped you. take care.  

I've been weaning off Gabapentin for close to 8 weeks now

Am down to 2 100 mg pills and I'm off it. I have the most horrible tingling in my legs. Anyone else experience leg tingling. If you have please share.

I used to have this a lot and few constant jelly legs until 'talktohim' mentioned vitamin B in this forum. They've been better since I started taking it. I also found having some fresh fruit juice each day has really helped strengthen my legs a little, in particular having some watermelon each day has really helped. Hope it helps you too! 

I take B complex plus 2 diff kinds of B12. I went thru 7 weeks of detox now I have 3 days to go. 1 pill today and 1 on Wed. Than I will take Formula 303 which is a natural nerve relaxant. I pray it works. Can't take it now it counteracts with the Gabapentin. Got my fingers crossed and lots if prayer.

Thanks for writing me back.

300 mg weekly is WAY too fast. 100 mg per month ONLY.

Hi Nancy I was also on it for over 20 years. Fibro was one of the things I was given it for as well. I started having side effects to it years ago but was kept on it by my docs saying it wasn't the gab it doesn't have side effects. The doctors know nothing about this medication and choose not to learn. After many trips to the doctors and specialist and years later I realized it was the gab and opted to get off it, little did I know how nasty of a drug it really is. I was on 1800 mgs a day when I started cutting down and after reading other peoples stories on here I realized I did it too fast. I am glad I found this site it just validates it's not just me. The doctors have been no help to me, my pcp says it's not withdrawal, she doesn't know what she is talking about and she wont do any research on it. Very frustrating? I have been off it now for six months and it has been the worst thing I have gone through in my life. I have had some better days though and I hope as time goes on it will stop. I don't mean to be too down, on the up side I have met some very supportive people on this forum that tell me it will get better and to hang in there. So you stay as positive as you can I just wanted to let you know you are not alone. If you need someone to talk too I would be happy to listen. Hang in there.

You will get better. Quit alcohol and caffeine and magnesium supplements, as these things can affect your neurotransmitter balance. Give your brain a few months to find its equilibrium again.

It took me more than two years to regain myself, but I did it. I went from feeling honestly brain-damaged to having my brain back almost entirely. I'm engaging in hobbies again and I held down a job for a few months!

You are still in there. You are not broken. Don't give up.

I know what you mean, my nerves in my head feel shot and it's such an annoying feeling, I feel like there is a battle going on inside my head. It is so unpredictable from day to day. But everybody's symptoms are different, lot of factors involved, like how much, how long you took it, and so on. I am trying really hard to change my thought process and say it's going to get better, instead of being negative and cursing the medical community for doing this to me, it's hard though. I am trying. Take care.

I have been dosing down from 2500mg at one point a few years ago to 300 this past year. I am now down to 50mg daily. I swear my memory is worse now more than ever. I stumbled for words amongst other side effects for years,. I hope my memory is just due to my neurotransmitters trying to fire on their own and level out. Thoughts?