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Gabapentin Withdrawal IMPORTANT

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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:!:

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  • emma68070
    emma68070 Guest

    Posted

    Tip.

    I struggled to jump from 100mg. I rip open the pill with my teeth (most effective way unfortunately). I then dilute at least half of the powder in a cup of orange juice. It masks the nasty powder taste. And I'm now sleeping. I'm just dealing With headaches, nausea, mood swings, and overtiredness despite sleeping. Enough. Before I also had insomnia when I went from 100 to 0.

    My highest dose was 1000mg. I've tapered slowly for 8 months (was on other sh*t too). I was on gaba a total of 2.5 years.

    Hope this post helps someone. This thread helped me a lot in the beginning.

    • bernadett_1972
      bernadett_1972 emma68070

      Posted

      Hello Emma

      I'm on Gabapentin only nights 100 mg for back pain, I really want to get off of it completely. I tried quitting cold turkey only to find myself in insomnia and pain. How can I safely taper off of a 100 mg? I'm also on capsules so I would follow your footsteps of tearing the capsules apart putting it in drink. What's your advise how much should I start off with and for how long should I be taking it for ?

      Thanks !

      Bernadett

    • kirk51905
      kirk51905 bernadett_1972

      Posted

      my advise seeing how you have already been taking 100 mg of gabapentin for  a while my best guess would be to just stop taking gabapentin but start taking 1mg of ativan each night at bed time for one week then starting on week 2 each night at bedtime start with .5mg of ativan every night all through week to at bed time then all through week 3 take .25mg of ativan then all through week 4 take .12mg of ativan and then at the end of week 4 stop taking ativan then you should have no problem going to sleep with no pills every night after that
    • jose55581
      jose55581 kirk51905

      Posted

      Hello,I have been on this gabapentin's for about a month, I am wondering how you are tapering of the drug. I hear alote of concerns of seizures and that plays alote in my head. My dosage is 100mg a day , for 19 days. How is your tapering going?? Need help. Thanks

    • kirk51905
      kirk51905 jose55581

      Posted

      my tapering went good i was on 300mg a day when i started tapering my emergency room doctor gave me gabapentin in 100mg capsules and he also gave me ativan 1mg tablets and what i did was my first night going to bed i took 200mg of gabapentin and 1mg of ativan at bedtime and i did that for the entire first week every night at bedtime then at the end of the first week i started taking 100mg of gabapentin and .5mg of ativan each night at bedtime all through the entire 2nd week then at the end of the second week i started to stop taking gabapentin but did take .25mg of ativan at bedtime every night of the entire 3rd week then at the end of the 3rd week i continued to no longer take gabapentin but did take .12mg of ativan every night at bedtime all through the 4th week and at the end of the fourth week i stopped taking ativan and continued to not take gabapentin at bedtime and ive been able to sleep every night on my own with no pills ever since now if you need help stopping the gabapentin because you cant sleep every time you stop taking gabapentin and you have already been on gabapentin for 19 days then i would start off with taking no gabapentin but do take .25mg of ativan at bed time every night for your first week of tapering then goto no gabapentin and .12mg of ativan every night at bedtime all through your second week and then goto no gabapentin and no ativan at bedtime every night at bedtime for the rest of your life after the end of your second week that should work
  • katrinas
    katrinas Guest

    Posted

    I had a terrible MVA on May 1 2015 in which i sustained disc herniations at C5, C 6, Cervical Radiculopathy, Peripheral Neuropathy, Concussion, and a host of other issues. I spent a week in a trauma hospital and another 3 in an in-patient physical rehabilitation facility. This is where I began the drug from hell, Neurontin/Gabapentin. I wish I had never been placed on it. They began me at 100 mg 3 Xs daily and added Baclofen at 5 mg 3 Xs daily along with 50 mg Amitriptyline nightly. I am now up to 600 mg Gaba 3 Xs daily. Not only have I never found significant pain relief, I have ballloned from 105 lbs the day of my accident to 155 lbs. I finally made my Nuerologist listen to me and demaded off the meds. My sudden obesity has caused only more problems, depression, bad knees, and now that I am trying to withdraw, insomnia, irritability, mood swings, crying spells, pain. Had I known about this drug, I would have refused it and dealt with the pain. Now they want me try topomax and I hear this is even more poisonous, but I want to lose weight. I can not afford new clothes. This accident has already cost me enough. I lost all income the whole month I was hospitalized and I can now work very pat time due to my injuries. I contract so no benefits. Any ideas out there?
    • Tabstoyou
      Tabstoyou katrinas

      Posted

      You poor thing!  sad   I cant speak for you as I dont know your pain etc., but I went up to maximum Gabapentin dose for osteoarthritis in spine, hips, knee and neck.  Also slow release Tramadol.  It didnt help and I had similar problems to you.  I came off it (which is a nightmare in itself and has to be done slowly - more slowly than I realised at the time!).  I now have gone back to basics - paracetamol as and when needed, heat pads, heat cream (capsaisin is the best in my opinion, only available on prescription).  My lifeline physically and mentally has been pilates, yoga and swimming.  I cant always do it if I have had a flare up, but its made me more supple, taken the place of antidepressants etc.  Obviously I dont know if you are able to do that and you should chat to your GP if you think you can etc.  I would have to be desperate before I go on Gabapentin or Tramadol again.
    • katrinas
      katrinas Tabstoyou

      Posted

      Thanks for your response. I am so glad that excercise has worked for you. I was in such great shape before my accident and the pain meds have left me fat and feeling gross. I am lucky that I have an understanding man to support me. I have an appointment to see a pain management doctor but right now I take nothing for pain at all. I do use a traction device that my PT started and i bought the same one off of Ebay so I could use it at home. I never liked medicating for pain and after my MVA was the only time that I did. I am glad to be off everything now but now I have 40 pounds to lose. 
    • martin45332
      martin45332 Tabstoyou

      Posted

      Hi

      I have read your posting in the context of coming off Gabapentin and slow release Tramadol. Neither are really helping with the pain in my legs caused by severe Restless Leg Syndrome and something, I think Gabapentin, is causing me to have convulsions I want to try Oxycodone instead but judging by your comments I have some fun ahead of me. Fortunately I have only been on the Gabapentin since March. 

    • Nemoris
      Nemoris martin45332

      Posted

      No. No. No.

      Oxycodone is the last thing you need. That'd be like trying to use water on an electrical fire. Sure l it'll take away pain but you're just ending up with a whole new set of lethal problems. Not too mention the tolerance issue combined with the degrading effects long term use of Oxycodone has. Your doctors need to treat the root cause of the restless leg syndrome, remove/reduce movement and in return that will reduce pain. I assume they have already tried xanax to help with the movement?

  • nm156
    nm156 Guest

    Posted

    I have nerve pain that radiates down my leg from a herniated disc. I also have numbness and pain from my arm to my face from an ulna nerve issue. And as if it couldnt get worse l recently lost some hearing in my right ear which was found to be caused by a tumor (acoustic neuroma)

    For the disc pain I take Norco and Oxycontin. My Dr. reduced my dosage of Norco after the other Dr.'s in the pain clinic decided to reduce the harm the meds could cause on the patients Kidneys. The reduction was only one pill a day but I was in alot of pain from this change.

    We decided to try Gabapentin to help with the nerve pain and it actually helped alot. I had small issues when I forgot to take it for a couple of hours like nervousness and twitching.

    Today, after over sleeping several hours , I woke up in a hazy like tunnel vision.

    I struggled to get out of bed into the bathroom and took my meds, minus the Gabapentin. Walking back to bed I had like a walking seizure and fell into bed. After 30 minutes of this , calming myself and letting the pain meds kick in , I realized I was withdrawling from the Gabapentin. I struggled back to get my Gabapentin , stumbled back to bed  and waited for it to kick in.

    Eventually,  I felt normal again but what kind of withdrawl is this if my body goes with out it for several hours in Bed?!  I really do benefit taking this for my pain , but now im scared to be without it. Ive also read about people suffering through withdrawls after surgery and Im due for surgery to remove the tumor in my ear canal / Head. I cant imagine what this is going to be like for me.

    Sorry for the long post, but i wanted to relay my experience for those thinking of using Gabapentin.

     

  • b2wc97455
    b2wc97455 Guest

    Posted

    HI there, I  hope you are ok now, this was post a ywar ago but I just got it, but if you have any other problem with the side effect with any medication, you should have a look at the leaflet content in the pack, where it stated you can write to them directly as gabapentin is now can be manufactured by several companies, they might give you compensation as well.
  • paganecho
    paganecho Guest

    Posted

    I was on gabapentin 300mg x 4 times a day along with oxycodone 30mg x 3 for over a little over 2 years. I have blown the disk at L4/L5 3 times. I have had 2 surgeries and still need a 3rd, this time will be a fusion. I had less problem weaning off the oxy then I did off the gabapentin. I would get the horrid night sweats, chills, muscle spasms and more. It was horrible. I was never told about these issues. I have been off all medications for over a year now other than ibuprofen every once in a while. I will tolerate the pain. Some days are definitely worse than others but there is no way in hell I would ever go back to taking that stuff.
    • katrinas
      katrinas paganecho

      Posted

      I agree. I wish that I had been told about these horrible medications by real patients before I ever blindly filled the prescriptions from my doctros. I had never before been on medications for pain. My auto accident left me with Disc herniations at C4, C5, Protrusions at C6 C7 and C8, Peripheral Neuropathy, and Cervical Radiculopathy. I was up to 600 Mg Gapapentin 3 Xs a day, Baclofen (forget how much) 3 Xs  a day for 5 months. I put on 50 lbs too making everything worse for my little 5 foot frame. Thank God I had the sense to get off of all that. Through the help of my Physical therapist, I have acheived enough pain relief through PT and Traction with a Saunders unit that relieves my pain to a level in which I can function and I no longer feel drugged all day.  
  • ellen92802
    ellen92802 Guest

    Posted

    Please help!  I am an almost 70 year old who has been on Gabapentin for about 6 months.  I'm only taking 300 mg, all in the morning. By early afternoon I'm irritable, shaky, dizzy and just feeling awful.  My memory is now shot.  I'm out of focus, foggy and feel like my ability to think is off. Oh, and I have palpitations. I've always been overly sensitive to medications. I think what's happening is that I am starting to go through withdrawal by the afternoon and it's terrible. I'm fine for the first few hours after taking the morning pill.  How long do you think it will take me to get off of this?  Do you think tapering off by 100 mg a day will work?  I need some advice from REAL people who have gone through this. Thank you so much. 
    • lolalopez
      lolalopez ellen92802

      Posted

      I was on GP for a couple of years max dose 3x a day, it stopped working for my pain so I decided to come off of it. I tapered down successfully pretty quickly up until 400mg 1x day, once that I tried to quit completely and my withdrawals were AWFUL. Resteless legs all day, muscle pain, crying spells, anxiety, difficulty coping with my emotions, nausea that would come and go. So what I did was I brought it down to 200mg 1x day for 2 weeks, then 100mg 1xday for a week, then I stopped. Again withdrawals were bad but not as bad as with the higher dose. I started to take a magnesium supplement 250mg in the morning and that within a couple of hours took away my physical symptoms. No more leg pain (which was preventing me from sleeping well). It has been 2 weeks since i've been off of it and although my physical symptoms are mostly gone, emotionally I'm still a wreck, so I've been taking a half of .25mg of xanax when I absolutely have to, and that's pretty much the only thing stopping me from going back on GP. I would highly recommend the magnesium (it worked for me but may not work for everyone) and if you can get something from your dr to help you with the anxiety for a brief period that would help too. I am just hoping that these withdrawals dissipate soon because I am such an emotional wreck and I'm so irritable i can barely stand myself.
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