Gabapentin Withdrawal IMPORTANT
Posted , 149 users are following.
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
Sassa05 Guest
Posted
Thank you for writing this. I thought I had the flu and was actually dying from it. I was on gabapentin for a little over two months and I just spent 8 days of hell. No one said anything to me as they prescribed it. I will never never take anything again without knowing how to get off and if there are any withdrawals from it. I'm still sick but at least I'm done with the soaking wet sweats, chills, vomiting, diarrheal, headaches, stuffy nose, barely being conscious, sensitivity to light, noise and smells. I was so weak I could not move. It took everything I had to get to the bathroom in time thought I was going to die... seriously. Do not take this drug. Yes it definitely helped my pain but this withdrawal was enough to make me live with the pain. That's how bad it is.
martin45332 Sassa05
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me86638 Sassa05
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me86638 Guest
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Shewholvs me86638
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forgive me for any typos I am using my Mic. my psychiatrist gave me the first 600 of the milligram to go with my antidepressants. Then my MD gave me 600 more because I was having problems with my feet burning all the time. So my MD started writing me the prescription for the 1200 a night. I'm still on the 900 mg I have not gone back up to the 1200 I want to drop another 300 mg but I don't want to go through all that I went through when I quit taking all of it. and no I'm not a diabetic so why I got burning in my feet I don't know I believe it's the chemicals that we use to clean the floors but I could be wrong I will find out as I go down more milligrams. I take Seroquel as my sleeping pill. When I have really bad times hell up the milligrams to 100 but right now I've been on 50 for quite a while now. I've been told Neurontin was not addicting either and it is highly addictive. So I wish you the best and the withdrawal side effects are horrible if you don't know what they are or why you go through such weird stuff that you can't even get out of bed and you can't eat dizzy all kinds of stuff I wish you the best and yes keep in touch.
nancy67024 Guest
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My husband also shed tears after my most recent descent into hell while dosing down...he was happy to have his girl back!!
linda88918 nancy67024
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Just sent the following reply to “guest,” but I thought I was sending it to you.
Sooooooooooo sorry. So thankful someone recognized the problem and got it straightened out. I'm sure you and your husband will be watching that very carefully if you ever have another surgery. Did you report it to the hospital? Something needs to be done so this doesn't keep happening to people. It's a shame so many have suffered needlessly.
You said you dosed down. Are you off Gabapentin completely now? Again, much sympathy to you.
kirk51905 nancy67024
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linda88918 Guest
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Sooooooooooo sorry. So thankful someone recognized the problem and got it straightened out. I'm sure you and your husband will be watching that very carefully if you ever have another surgery. Did you report it to the hospital? Something needs to be done so this doesn't keep happening to people. It's a shame so many have suffered needlessly.
linda88918
Posted
So sorry Irmajeans! You're right, the doctors DON'T know. I wish I had a dollar for every time a doctor told me that my symptom either wasn't real or absolutely could not be caused by the medication. I had to just trust my gut and be my own advocate. I was then criticized by one physician for being "controlling," but have finally been able to recover from medication mismanagement. You are the only one who know what's going on in your body. It took more than 6 months for my gabapentin withdrawal symptoms to let up and be tolerable. Yours WILL let up too! It's not fun, but if you give your body enough time, it will adjust and you'll recover. Best wishes.
irmajeans Guest
Posted
Well this is the second time ive attempted to write this, so here goes the short version. I Stopped Gabapentin 5 days ago cold turkey. I was on 600mg at night for restless leg syndrome RLS for the last 4 1/2 months. 4 months ago i started getting cronic UTIs. Every antibiotic they tried failed. Every test the Urologest did was normal. It has been hell and worse through the holidays. Gaba worked for the RLS but for some reason i was now sick all the time with a UTI, fever, hot and cold sweats. I asked my Neurologist several times if it could be the gaba. Answer was always "NO". Five days ago i stopped it and my 4 month long UTI was gone the next day! Withdrawal has been its own hell, but I was already there, just a different one. I'm praying i can get off this stuff and it will get better soon. The aussea and fatige is so bad, but the worst is the depression. I want to cry all the time. I have no options left for my RLS. I had to withdraw from ropinirole (dopimine drug) last year from augmentation. Prior to that I went through withdrawal from an antidepressant caused by the ropinirole. The doctors never tell you what this stuff does to you. I Cant wait to feel better and be off of it all. I hear THC & CDB oil works great for RLS . Also bringing up my ferritin level by taking iron. This last year, if I havent learned anything else, its that doctors dont know everything and you have to be your own advacte. Thats why doctors are "practicing" medicine. lol ANYWAY, if you know someone with relentless UTIs, ask if they take gaba . The doctors dont know.
aaron03723 Guest
Posted
sadly this is not "Rare" or uncommon at all. when people try to quit gabapentin and experience these terrifying withdrawals they are diagnosed with a different condition and told then "need" the medication. the truth is gabapentin WD happens to most people, and physicians that do know its best to taper, usually taper their patients to fast. Gabapentin and Lyrica are just as hard to kick as drugs like valium and xanax that were once considered not addictive or dangerous...
linda88918 aaron03723
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I agree with everything you have just said. Doctors are typically inept at dealing with the dosing and tapering (or lack of tapering) with gabapentin. I know way too many horror stories, including my own!
decndor Guest
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I was given Gabapentine around four months ago and prescribed by my doctor for back pain since I could not take antinfflametries dur to suffering from crohns for the last 54 yrs. he prescribed 300mg capsules and told me to start with one a day and could then go up to 3 capsules a day. After two months I was taking two capsules a day, but at that stage I started developing stomach problems which suffering from crohns I cannot afford so I stopped them there and then, that was a bad idea, the next morning when I woke I felt awful and did not know what was happening then I suddenly realised that it was coming off the gabapentine too quickly. I then decided that these were too dangerous to continue with so the next day I went back to my GP and asked for a lower dosage so that I could gradually come off them she gave me 100mg capsules and I gradually reduced these until I eventually came off them all together if that was the only end to it but the horrendous withdrawal symptoms continued. I personally
feel that these drugs should be banned. And the Doctors do not think that there is a problem with this medication
jordanhughes099 Guest
Edited
its bad, isnt it? I was put on gabapentin back 7ish years ago; at the time it was the Hot New Drug that doctors were putting damn near every psych patient on for a million different off-label reasons (anyone else who's had extensive psychiatric treatment im sure you're familiar with this phenomenon; 12 years ago it was seroquel, 7 years ago it was gabapentin, etc) if anyone on here is looking for advice to deal with withdrawal symptoms, there's a couple options (depending on your goal). If you're just looking to bridge a gap between refills, phenibut can be bought legally online and essentially cures all the w/d symptoms HOWEVER don't reach for that if you have any intention of getting off gabapentin as it causes physical dependence thats just as bad as the original. If you're looking to get off the meds long term, high-dosage magnesium and kava (the instant powder is easiest you can just add to a beverage) makes things a lot easier, although its still hellish. Best bet is to taper off verrrrry slowly in concert with your doctor (i mean like six months at least slowly)