Now Tapered off. How to reduce numbness/ pain?
Posted , 2 users are following.
900mg/day -> zero in ~two months (yesterday).
Current symptoms are primarily numbness in arms, hand, legs and feet. This can progress to serious pain.
800mg of ibuprofen seem to help best (trying to limit two or three times a day).
Acetaminophen and asprin appear to help.
During the taper lots of symptoms mentioned in 100+ messages I've here read appeared. Chills, horrendous headaches, unbelievable fatigue (first ~two weeks), weakness and some psychological issues (vastly reduced from when on 900 mg/day).
0 likes, 5 replies
babs99203 bruce_d
Edited
Unfortunately, you may have gotten off the gab way too quickly and now you're dealing with withdrawal. I'm not sure if there's a question in your comments, but the symptoms you mention can all be caused by that. If Advil helps, that's good, but just be aware that it can cause bleeding issues, particularly internal, like all NSAIDs can. Understanding what you're going through and time is about all that can help. Gab is a seizure medication, also prescribed for some types of nerve pain. It works on the components of the nervous system so withdrawal can include many nasty symptoms. Good luck.
bruce_d babs99203
Posted
If the doctor said "It will take more than two months to taper off a relatively low dose" I doubt few would take it!!
That said today is the first day to wake up with only mildly numb legs.
Acetaminophen I am finding works best (via trial and error). 1,000mg at a time which I think I took twice yesterday. Rapid-release varieties are generic/cheap. That will be allow waiting until it's really bad before taking.
Medications I dislike. Until age ~35 I barely ever took even an aspirin.
babs99203 bruce_d
Edited
You're right Bruce, we are not giving "informed consent" on these drugs. Doctors believed pharmacy reps 20 years ago and they never looked back. I take both a prescription NSAID for a previous joint issue and also acetaminophen 3 times a day. I was at 1,000 mg previously, four times a day, but decreased it as soon as I could. Now I take 825 3 times a day (one regular, one extra-strength).
We can never predict individual reactions to the drug, or the withdrawal they may have. Some have a terrible reaction with low doses for only a few days and deal with those for months. A lucky few can decrease quickly without too many problems. I was at 2700 mg for shingles and its complications, slowly tapered over 3 years and have been off it (last daily dose was 100 mg 3 times a day) since the day after Christmas. Many of my side effects are much better or gone compared to previously. Some I still struggle with, some days better, others worse. But we can both be grateful that we're no longer taking it.
bruce_d babs99203
Posted
That was a slow taper!
babs99203 bruce_d
Edited
I understand your thinking that. To anyone using even some logic, that would seem slow. However, drugs like gabapentin, anti-depressants, anti-anxiety and some opioids need more time. As doctors have ignored concerns over years and dismiss our symptoms, support groups have formed and by sharing experiences, researching and trial and error have learned differently. They support a 10% or less decrease in the daily dosage, which stays at that for 2 weeks or more before the next decrease. The Ashton Manual, created by a doctor suggested the 2 week time frame over 20 years ago. Now many groups suggest it takes longer, but each person is different. I agree with their guidelines and have found for me with trial and error, that 8 weeks or longer for a taper was easier for me.
If you want more information the Ashton Manual is available online for free, supports groups like Inner Compass, Benzo Buddies and The Withdrawal Project are wonderful resources. Sadly many "rehab" centers and doctors still follow traditional schedules created by drug companies from more than 30 years ago. They dismiss concerns by patients, saying we don't know what we're talking about. However, there are more doctors who are understanding this every year.