Gabapentin withdrawal symptoms

Hello natjw33,

Other side effects I experienced were severe burning sensation in my head, severe heart palpatations like my heart was beating out of my chest. This drug should be pulled off the market. These Drs have no idea how how bad this drug is. If you have not been on Gabapentin that long, I suggest you getting off this evil drug. in my opinion the longer a person is on this drug the harder it is to get off of it. Best of luck to you.

BTW, I did give you a long answer, but sometimes those need to be moderated. So if it didn't like it. I'll edit it and repost later. There are some key words you should avoid when posting. Anything referencing self harm, even if you say I used to do xyz but am so much better and it never happens, will prevent the post.

Hi babs99203,

When I tried to get off this medication I experienced severe burning sensation in my head and my heart felt like it was beating out of my chest. My pain management dr is telling me that the bruising I have all over my body is not because of the Gabapentin, but I have not been on any other medications since starting this drug. I have been to see a dermatologist for the bruising but that Dr was no help. These Drs have no clue how bad this drug is. I just want to feel normal again. I am terrified to try coming off this drug. This medication should be pulled off the market.

I'm just going to post it again, without the section about the difficult emotional times I had, which many people do get from gab. read the warning on the bottle.

In case you couldn't guess it I'm "that Babs person" LOL! I had shingles almost exactly 3 years ago, didn't know it , so no antivirals. I was put on gab for it and now I also have PHN. Post Herpetic Neuralgia is the pain that can linger after shingles due to nerve damage. Like everyone here, my doctor told me nothing about it but, "you may lose some hair. It's perfectly safe". He's an outstanding doctor, but like the vast majority, clueless about this drug. Like benzos (ativan, sleeping pills), opioids and SSRI (anti-depressants) patients, and now some medical practioners are realizing the harm these drugs can cause. Both the side effects and the very difficult withdrawal process when we want off. The patient info sheets with the meds, list the warnings, tell us NOT to go off cold turkey, but as doctors have becoming complacent and were never educated about them, they don't know this. So we're the ones who suffer and turn to each other and the internet.

I am NOT a medical professional, only worked as a medical secretary for 30 years, but have picked up a few things, am a member of another support group and done a lot of reading and research on the topic. So I can give advice, but please do your own research and find a trusted doctor or pharmacist familiar with these drugs.

OK, I mentioned 10% or less for getting off it. I was at 2700 mg in November 2016, I originally, somehow thru researching, realized I should wait at least 2 weeks to drop a dose, that was too fast, even dropping 100 mg. Then I went to 4 weeks, then eventually 8 weeks. I find I'm so VERY sensitive that 8 weeks is the minimum for me between drops. That allows the worst symptoms to be less severe, but it's still not easy. I've had severe depression, {edit: scary, bad thoughts} confusion, memory loss, crying at the drop of the hat and about 20 other side effects. I've avoided some of the most severe, thank God. I also found this group and other outstanding resources, like the ones I mentioned above.

In order to drop, you need 100 mg pills. As mentioned, listen to your body, don't drop until you feel the symptoms improve. For me, they don't show up until about 4-6 weeks after the drop. There may be some mild, fleeting problems, but I hit the wall at about 5 weeks. I am now at 300 mg per day, 100 mg 3 times a day. I'll stay at this until December (avoiding withdrawal during our anniversary vacation in October, T'giving and Xmas. I've ruined too many things with withdrawal, so now I plan out my drops.

So bottom line SLOWLY is the trick, if you go too quickly, you can develop serious withdrawal that can't really be helped, except by time and may last months or years. We ALL want off NOW! But you risk the horrible problems you read about.

You can also use either liquid gab or titrate by dissolving the meds in water, and use a fraction of the liquid (like dropping 1/10th of 1% daily). You'd have to research that. It works very well for some people, and they avoid any type of WD. For me, it's too involved and consuming. My way has worked for me. Good luck!

Thank you babs for the information. So sorry to hear about your health issues. I hear of people opening the capsules and decreasing the dosage that way. I realize this process of getting off this drug is going to be a difficult journey. Like you said, I just need to go slowly with this and listen to my body. I truly believe most medications harm our mind and bodies. I do wish that I had researched this drug before I started taking it. Best of luck to you as well. Thank you again for the feedback.

Some meds you can open the capsules. I know people do Cymbalta that way and actually weigh or count the micro-beads. Gab isn't like that. There's a lot of filler so if you try and divide the dose that way, you may not be accurate. I'm so sensitive to it, that even using a different maker caused problems. Either because of the fillers or the tolerance they're allowed on the active ingredient. Technically generics are supposed to be identical. In reality the FDA allows a certain plus or minus amount.

If you want to open the capsules, dissolve in water and then decrease that fluid with a syringe, that's acceptable. Look up Lisa Ling: This Is Life The Benzo Crisis on YouTube. She has a documentary news show in the US on CNN and she aired a show last Sunday discussing benzos. What we deal with whether it's gab or benzoids is nearly identical, so those groups are a huge resource for gab users.

Thanks for your concern, its been hard but compared t others I'm lucky. My PHN is slowly healing and I haven't had the worst side effects. Therapy has helped me cope with all this. I had to quit working because of the pain and gab side effects. Ironically, PHN/Shingles is one of three things (and ONLY three) that the FDA approved gab for. It didn't help with the pain, just made me so numb, confused and zombie like that I guess I noticed it less.

Hi rommon,

This drug should be taken off the market. These Drs have no idea how to assist a person who is trying to get off this medication. I no longer want to take this medication and I am terrified of the side effects that I will go through trying to get off of it. I do believe Drs need to do their research on a drug before prescribing it to people. I do hope your side effects from this drug goes away.