Gabapentin Withdrawal IMPORTANT

The reason it says in the drug pamphlet it says can cause death if stopped suddenly is because it can cause you to have a seizure. I've been on it for over a year 1200mg 3 times a day to control seizures because it is a anti-convulsive medication. The main side effect of withdrawal that I found to be the most horrible was the extreme itching sensation. I literally wanted to tear my skin off for two days straight....

I have peripheral neuropathy and have been taking 2400mg per day for five years. I have noticed that my memory is getting bad so thought I would stop the Gabapentin. BAD IDEA! The entire day I was in a living HELL. I figured it out and took the drug again and felt normal again. To get off of this must take months and reducing the amount by almost nothing each day to avoid this horrible experience. 

You are so right..I was taken off this nasty drug that had been on for way over a year for Osteo pain..My rhuematoligist had me drop from 3200 a day to 1600 a day for 5 days then 800 a day for 5 days..wrong..my family Dr. was very upset..said I should of gone down 100 mgs over a period of months..

?This was in February..went thru the anxiety, nervesness, sleeplessness, headaches..chest pain, stomach pain, acid reflux..was horrid.

?All withdrawal is pretty much gone except for still having stomach issues, bloating, stomach aches off and on.

?So if you get off this drug please do it very very slowly..

?Good Luck..keep us posted..

I have 600MG tablets. Weird that they say they only come in capsules.

I received capsules first time 300mg. Then prescribed 600mg no capsule, pill form. So I'm confused also why they advertise it does not come in pill form.

Looking online Sheliab, Gaba only comes in capsule form in 100mg, 300mg and 400mg - all other strengths are tablet form. I am interested as i want to come off it for the bad side effects i'm experiencing and it looks like i will need all 3 strengths if i'm going to only drop 100mgs per few months from 1200mg. 

Please do it slowly....I know you are anxious to get off of it......100mg every three to four weeks I would say.......going to see if i can get liquid form  I am down 100mg once a day so I can drop only 10 mg every 3 to 4 weeks and once I hit 50 maybe drop only 5 mg   

Hi Gabapentin comes in liquid form which I got as I have absorbtion issues.

When I got it I was doing Chemotherapy and the liquid cost £120 a bottle as opposed to a few pounds for the tablets. My GP practise phoned me up and said I WAS COSTING THE PRACTISE TOO MUCH MONEY.

I got it for side effects of Chemo !!!!

Hi sheep_ali, just new to this forum, but what concerns me is this.........

i am Sister for an NHS hospital, and the capsule form they were talking about is a drug called Lyrica, NOT Gabapentin!!

Hope this helps 😷

Also, just remember I was first started on Gabapentin 100mg capsule!!!

Lyrica withdrawal is just like Gabapentin!! Has to be done V E R Y slowly!!

Hello Sandy I was taking gabapentin for 3 months recently for lower back pain L5 discs worn away) and started having panic attacks because of it. I stopped taking it over a week lowering the dose each day. I have been off it now over a month but I'm still suffering from these attacks. I can go 3/4 days with nothing then can have days where I feel like I can't breath, tight chest, struggling to swallow spit and even speak and that my hearts skipping beats (scary). It happens most at night. I don't understand it, lm not panicking, i'm not worried, scared or anxious so can't understand why it's happening but it all started since taking this drug. For 3 months of taking it I was fine then it just hit me. I ended up at A&E thinking I was having an heart attack but ecg and chest xray came back fine and told it was a panic attack. How long does it take for the drug to totally leave your system if you know. I feel like it's messed my whole nervous system up. Any help or advice would be great. Thanks Tony.

Everyone is different.. I have been off since February and still have stomach issues!! They are better and hoping they go away by themselves!!

I know Gabby messes with your brain, I went thru sleeplessness, anxiety, nervousness, chest pain, stomach pain never had panic attacks. Everything is pretty much normal now except for stomach

Good Luck!

Good to hear your better and I hope the same for me. I would never take Gabapentin ever again and would advise anyone taking it to be careful. I still don't understand how for 3 months I was good and then suddenly went down hill on them. I've never had a panic attack in my life until now and their horrible.

It does something to the brain.

I took it for Osteoarthritis for pain. It did nothing but make me sleep.

That's why I got off of it!

Hope things get better for you. Lot of people on here have used Magnesium I took Epson Salt baths.

Keep me posted.

I take Gapapentin (Neurotin).  It is capsule here in USA.  

Hi Sandy. How long did the intensity last in your symptoms -- the nervousness, anxiety, etc?  Did it last weeks?  Did your symptoms come and go before they finally let up?

They lasted for a few months. Some days good some days bad.

Been a year still have stomach issues but hoping they will go away soon.

I was taken off such a high dose so quickly. Lesson learned.

I have Osteoarthritis arthritis in knees & feet. Did nothing for pain. Now I am so careful about taking anything anymore. Don't want to go thru anything like that again.

Good Luck.

Hi,

I was on gabapentin 800mg at night for neuropathic pain... on 1-9-17 I was advised to discontinue the medication to try another... 3 days after I stopped the Gabapentin I ended up with an explosive migraine that lasted 9 days

I started suffering anxiety attacks heart palpitations flu like symptoms and many other things

It is now 2-22-17 and I'm still having bad anxiety attacks and I have this jittery sensation in my body like a inner restlessness that I can't shake off... I feel like I'm losing my mind.. has anyone experienced this and how long were the symptoms for?

It's been over a month since my last gabapentin and I'm still a mess

I thought I'd be good by now

Hi Arlene I was on gaba for 3 months Aug to Oct 2016 for disc problems. I took 1200mg a day. 2 300mg tabs in the morng 1 tea time and 1 at night. For the first 3 months I was fine and then suddenly started having bad panic attacks. I decided to take 1 tablet a day for a week and then stopped, I had to get off them. I ended up at A&E on one occasion thinking I was having a heart attack and ended up fitting on the floor. I'm still to this day getting the anixtey and panic attack symptoms but are becoming less. 6 October was the last time I had a tablet so the side effects can last a while. I'm feeling 90% now so getting there.

Arlene,

I feel your pain. You WILL get through this. My misguided doctor tolld me to titrate down 300mg per day!! fo

rom 1500. by day 4 I was sweating all over, not sleeing at all, had chils and was vomiting. I called and absolutely demanded that I be taken down 100g fr three days, then another 100 for three days and so on. She agreed and I came off it fine. The symptoms it was creating were exactly like Gastroparesis and they wanted to do a gastric emptying study. If you can't handle solid food, I strongly suggest Kefir (liquid probiotic yogurt drink) to keep food in your stomach. If withdrawal causes gastric reflux, I recommend Aloe Vera Stomach Aid that you can get in your health food store. Take as directed on the bottle. Hang in there. It seems like forever but it's not. You WILL come through this. I wish you all the best. it is pure hell to get off. I'm gad I was only on it for a little over 6 months. It's hard to believe but it could have been worse.

I was brought down from 3200 mgs to 1600 mgs for 5 days and then 800 mgs for 5 days then nothing. That was a year ago. Still have stomach issues, bloating, little acid reflux.

Was horrible. Nasty drug.

Good Luck!

Sandy,

The bloating and acid reflux were reallly helped by Aloe Vera Stomach Aid liquid from the health food store. There you can also find Kefir. Whatever you do, DO NOT take acid reducers (PPIs). If you are, read online about what they can do to you and the withdrawal symptoms of them. They are dangerous and also prescribed by doctors who do not educate themselves on the poisons they are prescribing. Best to you.

Have been taking Zantac & Tums told to by my doctor. Not good.

Don't know anything about probiotics???

Thanks for the info.

Have they tried you on codeine based drugs? I can't take codeine myself, but if i could i would....

My pain largely stems from fibromyalgia and arthritis in multiple smaller joints..have you considered chiropracter and accupuncture?

Had both for years, they are wonderful if you get good ones ( registered) I only went back to Drs as i wasnt responding...thats when i found out i have fibromyalgia...As an old nurse I also have chronic back probs, and sciatica is not an unknown to me...

If you have hot baths the warmth helps, and swimming is good but not breast stroke.

Hi sandy I took my last tablet 3 weeks ago after dowing dose slowly over 5 months had all horrible withdrawal and still some now anxiety is one how long could it be before this subsides feels like onew step forward and two back sometimes x

Hi Tammy,

Been a year for me everything back to normal except stomach. Dr thinks could be hiatal hernia, or ulcer, have bloating & acid reflux. She wants me to have a scope done but done want to do that. Hoping this will eventually go away too.

Good Luck!!

Hi Tony. Just wondered if you panick went away.  How are you doing now? I stopped 1 month ago and am still dealing with anxiety issues.  Kay

Hi Linda I too stopped 1 month ago and still have anxiety heart palpitations and shakes from inside out not daily so will be interested in replies u get

How long do withdrawals last I'm a month in not as bad but just when u think u have turned the corner it hits u like a train keep getting head aches and sore neck ears buzzing too shakes

Hi Tammy....It takes time.  Remember Gabapentin works on your brain,,,,it changes your bran chemstry..... have read that it can take up to a year.....to completely feel good from this med...I have been off it since Oct 2016 and I swear I am still having issues from it......have dr appt next month...will question it.......

Thanks Rita yes realy messes with your brain just so fed up of feeling rough most of the time I get little glimpses of what I was like does

Yes Rita Tammy is right. I have been off Gabby since February of 2016!! Everything finally about back to normal except digestive issues. Went to my family doctor this past week going to try probiotics to see if this helps me.

Takes a long time to rid your scoff this horrid drug..

Good Luck!!

Yes, I get that too!!!  lol.....times where I don't even think about the situation and I am like I was before this all started with me......had alot of trouble with acid reflux, dizziness is now coming back and the passed 2 night felt really weird...can't explain......felt anxious.....and it was like my brain didn't know what to do.....I know it sounds crazy......I am lucky considering what other people are going through...I exercise 4 to 5 times a week at the gym.......just started pilates......think I am ust going to give myself a break today...

You ain't kidding.......I keep telling myself every day is another day closer to I hope recovery....I was on it for 15 months .....was taking 400 mg only once a day.......but I was also on depakoe...which basically exact same withdrawls ...been off of that about 6 months before getting off of gabapentin....maybe even  longer........did pretty good with that one...gapentin was the one where I couldnt even take 100mg every other day...by day 6 couldnt function...had to go back on gabentin 100mg once a day for another 3 months........i pray alot too!!!   God help all of us Just so glad I was able to get off of it...

Hi am off drug been 6 weeks now does any body know when sideaffects stop anxiety head aches sleepless nights thought might be getting better now but still no any body else still suffering after stopping how Long should it last x

Hi tammy,

Everyone is different. A few people report no withdrawals, other say they suffer up to a year. Try some herbal remedies to aid sleep and try to exercise if possible. I got really sweaty legs which was so distressing as it was really weird.

I do hope it doesn't last much longer for you. You have done well to stop so try to concentrate on the positives and keep blogging here for support.

Hi actiquser yes I have heard up to a year I am starting to use herbel pillow spray so fingers crossed would be so niece if anxiety backed off I dout all I do and think I can't cope with anything but must stay positive just so hard when most days are rubbish x

Hi Tammy Everyone is different some people get very little which Worrell symptoms others get it much worse and some don't get it at all from what I am hearing . But I did hear it could take up to one year to feel 100% which were all free it's a pens how long you want on it for and what the dosage wise I have been off it since October 2016

tammy are you dieting and excersizing?

No not dieting still struggling to eat most days and exercising I do yoga now not the gym have poundIng head ache today and shakes from inside out 😢😢

wo thats heavy no pills for six weeks well i would say the fact you had no pills for 6 weeks is awesome because i know how scary it is to stop the pills but even when i stoped my last gabapentin pill i could still feel the adrenaline going for at least two more weeks after my last pill so i was still tapering off ativan for two weeks after my last gabapentin pill but the fact that you are struggling to eat tells me your still at the worst point of generalized anxiety disorder because i struggled to eat to at my worst point so you do have a serious problem to contend with if its taking 2 hours or more to go to sleep you could try taking ativan to goto sleep and help with the anxiety during the day but theres a catch to ativan you cant stay at 1mg of ativan for more than one week so if your sleep doesnt go back to normal after one week of ativan you will have to taper down to .5 mg of ativan for all of the second week and if after two weeks you cant sleep then goto .25mg of ativan all through 3rd week then check again to see if you can sleep with out ativan at the end of 3rd week and if not goto .12mg of ativan all through 4th week but dont go past then end of 4 weeks taking ativan after 4 weeks dont take ativan no more after that but if you dont need help sleeping with ativan thats good um now if you dont need pills thats great now generalized anxiety disorder can go away but it can take 6 months you have to look at it like a headache you know a headache wont kill you but you have to wait for it to go away only difference is this might be a couple month headache or it could be a 6 month headache so if you have to take ativan for sleep so be it if not great so what you would do at this point forward is do what i did i forced my self to eat i did a routine everyday i started with 1 apple and 1 cup of orange juice then couple hours later 1 cup of milk and what ever you eat for breakfast then couple hours later 1 bannana and 1 cup of water then couple hours later 1 cup of water and dinner then couple hours later i would eat 4 shredded baby carrots 1 celery stick a little bit of lettuce 1 tomato and a little bit of potato salad and 1 cup of water and little bit of peanuts and little bit of cashew then a couple hours later say 2 hours before bed time drink 1/2 cup of water and maybe a little midnight snack but you will have to play it by ear because only you know how much you can eat and drink and do this everyday for the next 6 months as for excersize i was also doing a 1/2 walk in the morning and 1 hour walk after dinner and do both these diet and excersize for the next six months and i guarantee you will be your normal self by the end of that six months of diet and excersize as for the pills if you have to take ativan to help with sleep and anxiety like i say no longer than 1 month with that taper i mentioned because if your off of gabapentin already for 6 weeks like i say that is awesome and you do not want to go back on gabapentin because gabapentin will become addicted to your body again and then you will have to start all over again taking another six months to make your generalized anxiety disorder go away again

I was given 300mg 3x a day for 11 days but no one said I had to wein myself off the drug so I just stopped.  I've had two violent dizzy spells that feel like panic attacks.  And now I'm seeing black tarry stools.  Going to the doctor on Monday to see what I need to do to get this out of my system.   I've been off for 14 days.  Just not sure of 11 days can cause that many problems or if my systems are really tied to gabapentin.

Hi I am on Gabapentin too. I wonder how I can get down, it was to get off of Methadone. I think Methadone was better, how shall I get down off of it? It is for a shoulder injury from working out. I am prescribed 600 mg a day. I am afraid I have been on it for 4 months, but I only took 300 mgs, and only taking 100 mgs a day all that time, should I use a pill cutter take try to split it into 50 mgs.? I still work out, 3 times a week.

Please write back ASAP. Thank you,

Anna

Hi I am on Gabapentin too. I wonder how I can get down, it was to get off of Methadone. I think Methadone was better, how shall I get down off of it? It is for a shoulder injury from working out. I am prescribed 600 mg a day. I am afraid I have been on it for 4 months, but I only took 300 mgs, and only taking 100 mgs a day all that time, should I use a pill cutter take try to split it into 50 mgs.? I still work out, 3 times a week.

Please write back ASAP. Thank you,

Anna

if you have already been on 100mg a day for 4 months now then all you have to do is stop taking gabapentin now but just take .25mg of ativan at bed time each night for one week then goto .12mg of ativan each night at bed time for a second week and then at the end of the second week just stop taking ativan at bedtime and you should be fine

I've got the same except the stools. Took it in 2013 and stopped without problems. Took it again this year after spinal fusion and stopped abruptly. The side effects were killing me. I wonder how long I'll suffer with the pressure in my head and dizzyness. It's been 5 day off now.

This is the exact thing I experienced after attempting to drop my 600mg 3x daily by half. I would be generally ok during the day... a little uncomfortable with pain and irritability but as soon as the night creeps in its go time for my panic disorder. I was unaware of just how dangerous it was to just stop or drop like that. My doc didn't tell me. When I showed up at the ER I went thru precisely the same scenario

To the T. You're not alone.

Hiatal hernias are permanent without intervention and ulcers generally are too except they get worse. So can a Hiatal hernia in some cases. You should get a scope... they're not that bad.

Hi kirk thank you for your advice now been 3 months since last gabapentin I am better still struggle with eating have to realy focus on food I know I can eat have good days and then hits like a truck shakes from inside sick feeling and very anxious have got all that going on now after having such a good run of feeling well. Does this sound right after quite a while with no gabapentin? My doctors say it's not possible it could be gabapentin after all this time but I'm not sure on this drug anything is possible.

trouble eating still 3 months later doesnt sound right i had trouble eating when i was at my worst it leads me to wonder have you been dieting and excersizing like a pro during that 3 months? thing is everyone reacts differently to the same gabapentin i dont know i honestly felt anxious for at least a good 8 months off gabapentin at that point i felt i could finally act as my own attorney i felt strong then went to court with no attorney on my own and won getting reimbursed for medical expenses caused by workers compensation doctor prescribing me gabapentin then causing withdrawals its been over a year now of dieting and excersizing for me and by now i would think these sleep disturbances ive been still having would have gone away by now but a lot of other people online mention it could take a year for my sleep to go back completely to normal my last gabapentin pill was around june 15 last year but i was still on ativan tell july 7 last year its hard to tell for me unless i was in your shoes to know for sure if that sounds right my hunch says it doesnt sound right but your right anything is possible on gabapentin id say diet and excersize like your life depends on it if you havent already because thats what i did and thats what i still do to this day but let me know if you have been already talk to you later also are you taking any drugs?

 

oh and if you havent already seen my video i posted on youtube you can check it out if you want type in the search gabapentin withdrawal youll see my name kirk nyman and thats the video i made with the title gabapentin withdrawal ok talk to you later

I have been off Gabby for over a year now. Was on a high dose and taken off way to fast by my Rhuematoligist.

Went thru months of withdrawal. Everything is pretty much back to normal now except my stomach! Still having issues there. Not as bad but still there. Bloating, acid reflux. Hoping in time this to shall pass.

This is a nasty drug. If you get off it do it v e r y slowly!!

i allready did like 10 months ago you can check out my video on youtube just type in search gabapentin withdrawals and you will see me kirk nyman in the video explaining how i got off gabapentin

I to am having a lot of stomach issues. Thinking it is from neurontin. I have tapered myself off the medication. I'm on day five with no neurontin.Took me three months to get here. Still having a lot of stomach issues. Pain, burning constantly hurting. I think I have had every test there is. They did find an ulcer in stomach. This pain is not ulcer pain. It's smack dab in the middle. I'm pretty sure it's from taking neurontin and Ativan. I'm still tapering off Ativan. I'm down to 1mg a night. If I knew the terrible side effects and what these meds do to you I would of never of taken them. One of the doctors wanted me to start a antidepressant and I stood firm. I asked him "Are you not listening?". How is it going to help with all my stomach pain? The gastrointestinal doctor looked at me like I was crazy. I told him I would only take herbs. I've had it with so called modern medicine.

Been a year in February that I got off Gabby. All the withdrawals went away but stomach.

It is better still have some acid reflux and bloating but not as bad.

Just praying in time this to will pass. Was on such a high dose that it totally messed me up!

Hope you get better..I too am staying off meds after this.

Hang in there 🖒

I can't speak to the form gabapentin takes in UK but I know for sure there are 100 mg capsules in US because I have them in my possession right now!

And I just spent the day in ER yesterday after having apparently withdrawn from gaba too quickly - I went from 1950 mg to 0 mg in 2 weeks and yesterday experienced an inability to walk other than in very small baby steps.  Was discharged finally after my ability to walk normally returned.  I had actually been off the gaba for 2 days when that terrible withdrawal symptom kicked in - it was very scary,

And btw I was put on the gaba to help me taper off from Valium which I had been taking for insomnia - the gaba helped me slee as well but finally solved my sleeping problem so didn't need valium or gaba.

weird never heard of that.....but hey docs are prescribing it for all sorts of things it was never meant for....the pills are cheaper if you can take them i cant..

Carmen how are you doing i took it for 4 days only first day severe chest pains stomache pains headache and now i have been off it for a month and headaches getting worse now severe face pain chest pain and stomache pain went to emerg like 8 times and they say they dont believe its the gambepentin...so frustrating as it happened the day i took the first pill....dont know what to do now they just dismiss me at emerg and say see a counsellor...very frustrating this drug i only took it for 4 dyas

as long as your off gabapentin you can try taking magnesium for gabapentin withdrawal to see if that helps

what is freaking me out is i only took 4 pills..over a month ago now have severe headaches and in the last few days severe face pain..been to emerg they just dismiss me. went to the ear nose and throat guy he says it is not your sinus...they once thought i had polymyalgia...and started me on prednisone before the whole headache face pain started....and now i read up if you have polymyagia you could have Giant Cell arterisis....so i went back on the prednisone i had planning to see my doc tuesday but that isnt taking all the pain away..it has been so weird my symptoms are growing and getting worse and the docs are not taking me serious...the emergency dept keeps dismsissing me saying they "dont diagnose problems"...only fix broken bones etc...dont know what to do if the prednisone is not working....think i am going to go to the hospital and say put me in and fix this or i am going to camp out in your waiting room until you do..funny my previous doc had serious back pain they would not put her in she slept in the emerg waiting area for 3 days before they put her in.....her kids had to bring her food every day and she is a doctor !!!! i did see your video by the way...dont know if this withrdrawal after only taking 4 pills and now its been a month since i have been off them

you know i was thinking a month does seem a little long but then again i did go 3 weeks with no sleep at all all the way to the point were i was starting to see time and space in a tunnel vision and during those 3 weeks i had 3 doctors tell me it wasnt gabapentin withdrawal which those 3 doctors made me go 3 weeks with no sleep at all im talking i did not sleep not even for one second for the entire 3 weeks until i went to the emergency room and the emergency room doctor saved my life with ativan so if i could go 3 weeks its possible you could go a month if your not using any drugs to try to stop the withdrawals but of coarse its just a guess but i dont know your situation and mine was an on the job injury so you would have to figure out whats going me personally i use trial and error as a process of elimination to figure whats going on if you try magnesium for say 1 day and you start to notice symptoms starting to subside great if not try something else until you have figured it out but i would read up online the right way to do it with magnesium i dont say ativan because you would want to try ativan the moment you start to stop taking gabapentin plus the doctors say ativan is addicting and you never know when someone can get addicted to the ativan but all you can do is guess if magnesium doesnt work then maybe .12mg of ativan to relax you might work who knows but again trial and error theres never know way of knowing for sure maybe the relaxing affects of ativan some how allows the body to heal itself i dont know but the way you describe whats happening to you it sure sounds like withdrawals from what i read online but you know yourself the best and i really do hope you figure whats going on with yourself because ive been there and its scarey as hell but it seems to me like relaxing might be the best thing you can do to try to remedy whats going on so anyways good luck with that and i wish you well

Hi 

Sorry fo rthe late reply but they do also come in 50mgs if your still having problems. I hope you are sorted though now. this is one bad ass drug!

Take care,

Tracy.