I want some advise on Gabapentin and if I should continue using it?

Mary, I encourage you to try. If you drop very slowly and carefully, it can be done. The horrible withdrawals are usually from people who are either on multiple medications like benzoids i.e. anti-anxiety meds plus gab or they dropped too drastically or too quickly. Less than 10% every 4 weeks or longer will help. If you went thru a bad WD, wait a few months until you feel you've stabilized. Also, for many people, if it helps with anxiety, it can also then make it much worse. A side effect is fear and anxiety.

OMG! What was he doing with them? Is he okay? And how are you doing? Were you able to get a new scrip?

I hope you're doing better now Mary, but going cold turkey is what caused that terrible withdrawal symptoms. Slowly tapering can help prevent much of that. But if you went back on them, you may still be having problems related to the abrupt discontinuation. Are you still having problems? In case you didn't realize, yes the drug is being used to increase the high of other illegal drugs. They can also be sold. I hope you keep your drugs locked up now and that you can work through the problems your son is having.

He is on methadone and he was taking them to get hi and he says they helped his anxiety. yes I got my refill and felt better. I'm fine now. I don't live with my son anymore so he can't take them but he begs me all the time.

I had no idea Gabapentin could be used that way. Thanks for sharing. I'm very glad you sorted out the problem. I wish your son a committed recovery. I was once an addictions counselor, and I know just how hard this process is.

US, that's why some states are changing the Schedule status for gab. I believe it's in KY and TN. They found that in many drug over-dose cases gab was found in addition to other illicit drugs, so they're tightening up the rules for dispensing. In same states people are finding themselves cut-off by capricious decisions by either pharmacists or doctors. As much as I want to get off this drug, going cold turkey because of a bureaucratic decision isn't the way. Abrupt cessation can even cause seizures in some people.

Those are a lot of meds Chris. Doctors often feel that they want to throw a lot of drugs at a health issues. Yes, gab can cause this type of feeling but Amitriptylin has somewhat the same effect of the body and brain, add codeine to this, and personally I'm not surprised. I imagine the steroids are to deal with the inflammation, but these are all very wrong drugs. It's your choice, but I'd definitely consider getting off the gab. Even if they feel you have shingles, it's only helpful less than 50% of the time and for many the side effects aren't worth it.

Normally the recommendation is 10% or less reduction every 4 weeks. However, if someone's on a much higher dose of gab, once they've tapered down to 300 mg, some just stop there for one taper, rather than trying to drop more.

Please be careful walking, you're at risk of falls. Did they offer a walker or cane? Many people have had this problem with gab then have fallen and had fractures.

I'm sorry you're having such problems. That zombie feeling is unpleasant at best!

For what it's worth, my brother (Chief of Medicine at a major NY hospital) told me (as does the FDA website) that Gabapentin can take weeks to kick in, and that's at the recommended dose of 300mg 3x daily. Odds are it never started working for you. I can't say it's working well for me after almost 2 months, though only the last month was at 300 mg bis.

Also for what it's worth, I can't tolerate codeine at all. That gives me exactly the zombie feeling you described. Even Tylenol III (Tylenol with codeine) gives me the loopy feeling that the furniture is moving under me. I found the side effects of Gabapentin were worse the very first dose (100 mg bis), so after one pill, and watching the stairs in my house turn into an escalator and being unable to figure out how to get aboard the tractor I've been driving every day for 23 years, I stopped and didn't take the next dose for 3 days. That's how long it took for those effects to wear off. Then I started over (once I knew what to expect I was braver), and worked up gradually over nearly a month to 300 mg bis, still under the normal dose. It doesn't do a whole lot for the pain (2 herniated discs, one ruptered disc, sciatica, and spinal stenosis), but it seems to augment the effect of x-tra strength Tylenol.

Be careful what drugs you combine! And good luck. It sounds as if you can use some.

US, are you aware that the mos recent studies have shown that gab does nothing for back pain? I was just going to put in the link from the NCBI/NIH.gov website, but I remembered we're not allowed. Just search and you'll find numerous references and the actual report regarding "A randomized controlled study...back pain". I too believe that gab enhances the effects of medication, like my NSAID and I've seen some studies that reference that. It's also why some people are taking it with various illegal drugs. USRider, I feel I can speak honestly regarding the drug. There are also potential long-term side effects from gab regarding bone regeneration and bone density. Not to mention concerns about long-term memory issues.

Yes, I'm aware, and believe me, I was more than put off by the doc's insistence that this was the go-to and I could be on it forever. Like you, I do believe it enhances the action of Tylenol, but I'm not sure there's equal value to the downside of side-effects.

Did you get a diagnosis for your problem? Was it nerve related to do an injury or something like back problems? Or was it shingles? The writing on the floor/burning pain and itch sounds like shingles, but it could be something else that I'm not aware of. Shingles doesn't need a rash to be shingles, it's only one of the symptoms. I also second everything US Rider says. If it is shingles, generally within two weeks you'll see a lessening of symptoms.

For what it's worth, An MRI showed I had lumbar arthritis (knew about that when it was dianosed 9 years ago), two bulging lumbar discs, one on each side, one disc missing entirely, right-side sciatica, and spinal stenosis from the lumbar on down to the sacro-iliac. All of that is creating severe nerve pain and Gab does not alleviate it. So Chris2, if you have shingles, as Babs said, that's an on-label use for the drug and relief should kick in shortly. If, on the other hand, you also have a situation like mine, then it's highly unlikely to work

I'm sorry US, back problems are SO problematic. I've been lucky to avoid it, but my father and sister have had spinal fusions. In fact she's had several and is on disability. But as an odd and surprising side note (she's the one I've referred to previously) she's been on multiple meds, but has an allergy to a lot of NSAID products but found one she could use. Then her creat got funky, and they said stop that. Then she got concerned about the gab and stopped that. Expecting an onslaught of pain, she was shocked that instead, she's had NO pain! She will take a half dose of an opioid every few weeks if she needs to. However, she's diligent about her exercises, PT, massage and staying active. So for some people it can work. But she was shocked.