Gabapentin Withdrawal IMPORTANT

I have been on 900ml Gabipentin gradually built up to the dosage over few months I have tail bone pain on sitting and laying tablets not helping I've tried to stop taking them gradually but feeling very ill mostly dizziness and sweating should I go back to doctors. 

I am a 77 yo female. Last December I was started on Gabapentin 300 mg 3X/day for cervical spondylosis and headache.   It relieved pain almost immediately, but greatly sedated me, but I slept well at night, even after having short naps during the day.  After about 2 weeks,

I noticed sexual side effects (lack of desire, orgasm), weight gain (I have always been weight conscious and maintain a slim athletic frame.  After gaining 4 pounds overnight, I consulted my neurosurgeon--he told me to stop the medicine, but didn't suggest I do it gradually.  I stopped it and the next day was having withdrawal symptoms--restlessness, headache, general malaise, loss of appetite.  My blood pressure was high 220/110 whereas I am usually 110/70.  I went to an ER, they focused on lowering my BP and weren't convinced that this was due to Gabapentin withdrawal--telling me that it is a very safe drug.  My BP came down with IV meds in the ER, but at home it jumped up again after a few hours.   I spent the next two days without sleeping at night and feeling lousy.  Then miraculously, it was over.  I really feel I could have died from the withdrawal.  ER even did a head CT to rule out aneurysm as a cause of the headache.  Anyway--never again will I take Gabapentin.  Thanks for your post.

I just took one 300mg tablet as i have shingles. After readng all this I've decided not to take it anymore. Since it was just one can I just quit?

This drug quickly became the bane of my existence.  Was prescribed for peripheral neuropathy pain, started at 300 mg and worked up to 900. Initially it would knock me out cold but eventually interrupted my sleep. I felt like a zombie, it took hours after rising before I could function at all. I made lots of errors in usual household tasks and became afraid that I would do something dangerous. Most annoying was that it interfered with my vocabulary, I couldn't find the right word to express myself. It also made me voraciously hungry (worse than the prednisone hungry horrors).  I was on the 900 mg for about 6 weeks and then began weaning off.  I went to 600 mg for 2 weeks then 300 mg for two weeks and now am taking 300 mg every other day for two weeks. Coming down has been strange, lots of dizziness and some pretty intense vertigo incidents, having headaches, stomach problems and anxiety. My doctor wants to switch me to Lyrica after I am done with the Gabapentin reduction but all that I read has me not liking that idea, it seems the two drugs are closely related and have similar side effects and reduction issues. I am in so much pain at night that I need to do something, I cannot even stand having even a light sheet on top of me.  History...was diagnosed with neuropathy and ataxia about 8 years ago and there is a family history of neuropathy. It got suddenly worse 3 years ago when I was being treated with chemotherapy, it was so bad that my chemo treatments were ended early. Since then it has slowly but ever so surely grown worse by the day. 

I would like to share my experience with Gabapentin withdrawal.  I have gone through it three times - the first two without experiencing any side effects at all; the third time with such severe symptoms that I ended up in the ER for 11 hours.

On all three occasions I was prescribed it as a way to get off benzodiazepines - the first two times to get off ativan, the third was to get off  valium.  And in all three cases I was taking the benzodiazepines for severe insomnia brought on by stressful events in my life for which I did not find a drug-free method of surmounting.

And because in the second instance I got off the Gabapentin fairly quickly - namely from 2100 mg once a day at bedtime to 0 mg in two weeks with no side effects, I had no reason to believe that I could not successfully do so the third time - however as I discovered that was not to be the case.

So as to my recent experience with gaba.  I had been on ativan for three years following the death of my mother at age 91 for whom I had been the primary caregiver while she was in home hospice care for 4 years (an usually long period I know).  Once she died I developed severe insomnia and, over time, habituated to the ativan and required more and more to be able to sleep - finally reaching a maximum dose of 8.5 mg per night.  At that point I sought the help of an addiction specialist who decided to transition me to valium since the withdrawal from valium is easier than the withdrawal from ativan.  And so that I how I ended up with a dose of 35 mg of valium per night.

And then, to wean me from the valium, the shrink started me on gabapentin.  Because my body had already built up a tolerance from the earlier experiences with it, I had to keep bumping the dose of gabapentin in order to sleep (drowsiness is one of the side effects of gaba).  And so after two weeks elapsed I had reached a nightly dose of 1,950 mg of gaba.  Concurrently I tapered down to zero on the valium and I had actually started to fall asleep on my own (I had resolved all the issues attendant on my mother's death and so was no longer exeriencing anxiety at bedtime).  

The problem though with being on that high a dose of gaba was that I started experiencing side effects - this had not happened the previous two times I was on gaba.  These side effects included headaches, severe back, neck and side pains as well as the experience of heavy legs in the afternoon meaning it would be uncomfortable for me to walk - this latter side effect lasted for several hours each day.

And since I was now sleeping on my own and since I couldn't stand the gaba side effects, I made the decision to withdraw.  By this point I had "fired" the shrink who prescribed it- he had acted unprfessionally on several occasions (including not being willing to provide me with a taper schedule unless I paid $100 for a 15 minute phone consutation).  I  figured I could withdraw on my own (upon consultation with my pharmacist) since I had done so before three years prior.  And so I went from 1950 mg to 0 mg in two weeks.  Two and a half days after my last dose of 200 mg (two 100 mg capsules), I realized, at 8:30 in the morning of that last day, I was unable to walk.  I asked the pharmacist for the name of the company that manufactured the gaba, called them up to report my symptoms and within 15 minutes of my call, the company's Chief Medical Officer called me back and said that I most likely was exeriencing Gabapentin withdrawal syndrome and that I should get to an ER immediately for a medical evaluation.  And so I called 911 (I am in the US for those Brits among you who are reading this) and an ambulance came to take me to my nearest hospital - I had so much difficulty walking - all I could take were baby steps as I was afraid I would keel over - that I had to hold on to the paramedic.

Once in the ER, the attending physican pretty much agreed with the diagnosis although said he wanted me to be evaluated by a neurologist just to be sure.  And my blood and urine work were completely normal.  And so at 10:30 at night I was finally discharged since I had begun to walk normally once again.  The ER doctor said I could go on a low dose of the gaba to help ease the withdrawal symptoms but I said no - given that it was finally leaving my body and I could again walk (although with an occional feeling once again that I might lose it and topple over) why would I want to reintroduce it into my body.

And that night I slept 3 1/2 hours on my own.  HOWEVER the next 4 nights I got ZERO sleep!  Insomnia, as it turns out, is also a symtom of the withdrawal syndrome and at that point I could not take it any more - from reading this forum I was afraid this insomnia might last for weeks!  And, again in consultation with my pharmacist, I went back on a low dose (200 mg) with the intention of doing a slower taper this time around.  The next two nights I got 2 hours of sleep each but the back pain and itching started up and so the next night went to 150 mg and got 4 hours of sleep. And that brings us to the present.  Last night I again got zero hours but my brother died unexpectedly of cardiac arrest yesterday so am not sure if I was reacting to that or whether I went from 200 to 150 too quickly - hopefully the former since I really do not want to go up again.  And so the plan is to go from 150 to 100 to 50 (I am cutting the capsule in half - a bit tricky) over the next couple of weeks.  

And a request - hopefully no one will suggest that I use ativan to ease the withdrawal - I never want to take a benzo again as long as I live given how quickly I became dependent on it!

And that is my story to date.

I was prescribed this horrible drug on June 16 at 100mg 3 times a day, then the next week increased to 200mg for. "Short time" but then 3 days later it was increased to 300mg 3 times per day. Today is July 1 and I quit. I took 300 this morning but will take 200 in morning than 100 on Wed. and then no more, my own scaling down and my own decision to quit. . I would rather suffer with pain in my body than jumbled brains in my head. I feel drunk in my head, want to cry all the time, chills and aches. I want to die and have had thoughts of suicide. Need to clean my body and mind of this horrible stuff.  I take no meds whatsoever except an antibiotic from time to time and I am 69 years old, perhaps a headache one or two a year and use aspirin, so this stuff was new to me. I will never take this stuff again. I believe I had Shingles starting up is what caused my initial pain as I have 14 sore like places healing on my upper back. Whatever the cause. Nothing is as bad as not feeling normal, or as normal as I used to feel before all this started. I encourage anyone who has never used it...dont ever start.