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Gabapentin Withdrawal IMPORTANT

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Guest
Guest

I spent 4 days in intensive care following a spinal operation. This was found to be the result of the sudden complete withdraawal of Gabapentin.

For 3 whole days I was, to quote my surgeon, 'on another planet.' The only drug, of the many I was taking for pain, the only one that could not been given in an alternative form was Gabapentin. Fortunately, on the 3rd day there happened to be a charge nurse on duty who had seen a [b]previous case similar to mine, also resulting from withdrawal of Gabapentin.

My husband insisted that some way was found of administrating the drug. (I myself was una\\ware of any of this until later). There were objections from the staff since I would need sedating and was unable to consent! My husband over-rode them - thank goodness - and said he would take full responsibility and 'just do it.'

Some time after he left they did sedate me and administer the Gabapoentin. Then, as now, I had been taking 900mg 3 times daily for nerve pain, so I had obviously fallen off a cliff in terms of amount taken.

The following morning I woke up back to normal and asked for a cup of tea. When my husband arrived I saw him wipe tears from his eyes. If not back from the dead I WAS back from a living nightmare.

WHAT CONCERNS ME MOST IS THAT THIS WAS DISMISSED BY THE MANUFACTURERS WHEN ONE OF MY CONSULTANTS MENTIONED IT. YET IT IS A TERRIBLE REACTION, ALBEIT NO DOUBT EXTREMELY RARE. IT SHOULD BE MAD E KNOWN:!:

16 likes, 474 replies

474 Replies

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  • Rener
    Rener Guest

    Posted

    If I cut 1200 mg at once from a dose of 3600 mg to 2400 mg did I cut too fast?  I also cut all my klonopin as I take Opana er and oxycodone!  Almost dying again really shook Me up!  6 times in ICU!!! My Doctor wants to put pain pump in too!  Can't get my electrolytes right!  I think His ignorance might be a death sentence!  Please help Me!

    • sandy97889
      sandy97889 Rener

      Posted

      I was on Gabby 3200 mgs for over a year for Osteo arthritis all it did was make me sleep. My Rhuematoligist dropped me to 1600 then 800 then nothing. This was all in 15 days! Horrible. It's now been over a year feeling pretty good except for digestive issues..

      My family Dr said i should of tampered 100 mgs over a series of 4 to 5 months!

      Do this tamper very, very slowly.

      Good luck.

    • rita52071
      rita52071 Rener

      Posted

      Gabapentin  is a horrible drug I need to count my blessings I am totally off of it and have been off of it I believe now for a year actually a little bit over ......  went to see a new neurologist recommendation of an ENT doctor and she wants to put me on Tomapax.......  she called it in for me and I refused to take it the side effects are horrible ........  The worst side effect is memory loss and I am not willing to do that the other side effects I could probably deal with and from what I understand it doesn't come back once you lose it 

    • me86638
      me86638

      Posted

      im on the drug and i feel like this along with other meds  i need some serious help
    • rita52071
      rita52071 me86638

      Posted

      Yes. Find another dr. Who can help you..... I know how you feel....remember your the one that makes final decision what to take and not to take..... I got screamed at by a doctor a headache specialist because I did not take medicine that she prescribed for me actually it was a muscle relaxer and I didn't want to take it for several reasons and I didn't take it and I explained what I was doing and she just went off on me so bad anyway I canceled my last appointment with her and I don't think I'm going back to her

  • Rener
    Rener Guest

    Posted

    If I cut too much at once. Should I go back and restart?
    • kirk51905
      kirk51905 Rener

      Posted

      i dont think the guest responds anymore. but when your taking as much gabapentin as your taking per day ive heard that you are suppose to drop by 100mg per 10 days
  • carolyn55082
    carolyn55082 Guest

    Posted

    I have taken gabapentin for 10 years. At first it was 600 mg until 2015. Then it was risen to 1200 mg for 2 months and then 1800 mg. I have been on 1800 mg since and my doctor dropped me to 600 mg a few weeks ago. Ever since I have been crying over everything and anything. I have also gotten insomnia, headaches, irritability, and a huge craving for sugar foods. When I contacted the doctor a week ago , she increased it back to 1200 mg. By reading the other replies it sounds like withdrawal. I have been taking this for anxiety, depression and bipolar disorder. How should have I been taken off it and how long will the withdrawal symptoms last? I am really scared and so is my family.
    • kirk51905
      kirk51905 carolyn55082

      Posted

      a guy on my video says he was on it as long as you and as much as you and he says to go down by 100mg every 10 days. for me, the withdrawals would have caused me to go the rest of my life with no sleep and that's only if no sleep doesn't kill you before then

    • carolyn55082
      carolyn55082 kirk51905

      Posted

      I only got 2-3 hours sleep last night and have had a migraine for 3 days. Is the headache normal. It says it could be one of the uncommon effects.
    • linda88918
      linda88918 carolyn55082

      Posted

      Carolyn,  I thought I had replied to you but I guess I replied to guest. Read the comments I posted yesterday to guest for my input.   As far as headaches,,that could be withdrawal.  Lack of sleep definitely is.  When i experienced bad ithdrawal, my doc put me back on the high dose and then I titrated down very slowly from there (as I said in my reply to guest.
    • kirk51905
      kirk51905 carolyn55082

      Posted

      did you have a head ache before you took gabapentin for the first time? what ever way you were before taking gabapentin for the first time is the way you should be and is the way to be normal. 2-3 hours sleep is not normal is the headache causing you to sleep only 2-3 hours? the head ache could have been caused by going down on the amount of gabapentin but now that you went back up on the gabapentin you will now have to wait tell the headache goes away after you get use to being back up on the dosage of gabapentin. did you have a headache soon after taking your very first gabapentin? if so then the headache could be a side effect of the gabapentin if you read the side effects of gabapentin it might say heads as being one of them and if it is it says to tell your doctor of the side effects your experiencing from the gabapentin the doctor will decide what to do about the side effects of gabapentin but if the doctor says to stop the gabapentin and you go through withdrawals then your going to be in trouble because 99 percent of doctors dont believe gabapentin withdrawals is possible and if you go through withwithdrawals because all the doctors are telling you its not possible the withdrawals could kill you in the process if you really need help getting off the gabapentin you might need to do what my emergency room doctor told me to do to get off gabapentin which was to use ativan to get off gabapentin but with ativan you cant stay at 1mg of ativan for more than 7 days so you would have to go down on the dosage every 7 days by half so after 7 days you would go down to .5mg of ativan then after 14 days go down to .25mg of ativan after 21 days go down to .12mg of ativan and at the end of 4 weeks stop taking ativan because you cant take ativan for more than a month otherwise you will become addicted to ativan. but you will also have to go down on the gabapentin when you start taking ativan once you get down to 300mg of gabapentin a day you could start this process because with ativan you only get one month to use it so you would want to be down to 300mg of gabapentin a day before starting to take ativan and once you start to take ativan then you can drop down from 300mg of gabapentin down to 200mg of gabapentin so after starting to take ativan you would spend your first week of gabapentin at 200mg gabapentin a day then after 7 days drop the gabapentin down to 100mg gabapentin a day then after 14 days stop taking gabapentin but at that point you will be dropping down to .25mg of ativan and continue with the ativan for two more weeks droping the ativan down to .12mg ativan all through fourth week and then stop ativan at end of fourth week but this is only if its a emergency to get off gabapentin but like i say wait tell you get down to 300mg gabapentin a day before starting this process only if its an emergency
    • rita52071
      rita52071 carolyn55082

      Posted

       I read so often that these doctors take you off of it too fast I was only on 400 mg once a day and I came off of it very very slowly in fact after taking a  hundred milligrams for two weeks I was told to stop but what I did was I reduced it down to one pill every other day I don't even want to tell you what the rituals were and then they put me back on 100 mg for three more months and then 50 mg for like three weeks and then I   Was OK but it's a horrible drug

    • me86638
      me86638 kirk51905

      Posted

      i let her take me off my xanax  nobody is going to give me that she took me off 1 mg 4 times a day she wanted me to get off that on the outside but i had to cry to a counselor i wanted off it so she took me off it sick joke, and i let her put me on gaba pentin all i heard was pain relieve and she put me on remeron at 7.5 also a bad drug she said it helps with sleep ssings i havent slept alot while i was there thats all i heard   i am so dumb!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!   and i dont wnat to go back to community mental health because they wont help me and i cant even sit stil to ride in a car and i am driving my husband nuts  pleasehelp   the lady emailed me from pine rest told me to call there number but i know what will happen they will send me to community health and now that i decided to go back there  to make it worse i take the stupid s**t 3 times  a day im afraid i wont get the help i need  i havent slept in along time i shouldnt have let her put me on all those meds and went home on the cymbalta xanax and trazodone at least then it would probably be easier to get help i need 

       

    • rita52071
      rita52071 me86638

      Posted

      Can't you go see a neurologist or a psychiatrist or regular doctor rather than going to a center what part of the world do you live in do you live in the states

    • rita52071
      rita52071 me86638

      Posted

      Call your regular doctor I meant adopted that is not with in that center the mental center
    • rita52071
      rita52071 me86638

      Posted

      Sorry didn't come across right.... Buy a regular doctor I meant a doctor that is not in the mental center

    • kirk51905
      kirk51905 rita52071

      Posted

      when i would try to taper down from 300mg gabapentin a dayto 200mg gabapentin a day i would lay there awake all night
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