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Gabapentin (Neurontin) Withdrawl Support Group


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Hi all,

 

I see different support groups like the remeron thread. Does anyone know if there is a Nerontin withdarwl support group thread? It is killing me...

 

 

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I saw an old thread from 2011 and not sure the members are still around. I thought I would start a new one. I was given a cocktail of four drugs in detox to get off my 18 years of perscription Valium use.  I finally got down to just Neurontin. I had to get off the Neurontin  and I was successful tapering to 300mg, but then it got hard. I went down to 200mg then 100mg and stopped but after 7 days off I had to reinstae to 300mg. Symptoms way bad. I did this 4 different time. It was burning my face and ears and gave me spots all over my body. I finally quit it for good. I have been off this nasty drug for 19 days.  The wd was as  bad or worse than benzo. I had to push thru many sleepless nights and day 9 I was vomiting....

 

What sxs are/did you have?  Please share... Lexi you out there?

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I forgot to say I also got Akathisia too. My feet and ears also turn bright rad and get super hot and tingling. This only happens at night. I also cant close my teeth together until I got off of it. Still is a problem from time to time. My teeth all hurt .

 

Do you have Nerontin sxs? Please share  thanks

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How long were you on the neurontin?  I was on it for several years before I got on Klonopin, and I stopped it cold turkey with no problems.  I'm much more sensitive to medications now because of benzos.  I'm considering trying gabapentin encarbil (Horizant) for my restless legs syndrome but I think I will only take it for no longer than a month.  I just need a break from my insomnia.
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I was on "detox" drugs as well. Vistaril, Lamictal (for seizures...holy suck), and Gabapentin. I came off Lamictal recently, and I too am just on Neurontin. I'm nervous about w/d because I have heard the symptoms are awful. I'm on a rather low dose. Hoping I can get off it soon. I have been told to stay on it because of my horrible w/d seizures just a few months ago. Ugh.
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Kris - I was on Neurontin for over 4 months, but it was after the benzos. I feel the Valium screwed up my CNS so bad that the Neurontin grabbed a hold and kicked my butt. I got every side effect there was and to add to worse matters I did what the Dr said and stayed on it. Not until I found BB that I realized what was going on. I confirmed everything once the only drug I was on was Neurontin.  I would start it and my eyes got better, but my face and ears would burn and the Akathisia really got bad. I would stop and things would calm down.  I truly believe most of these horrible things are Neurontin caused. You see on many threads and other sites that Neurontin wds are just as bad as benzos and could take up to a year to heal. You might have had an easier time because it looks like you were not on benzos the first time you ct of Neurontin if I am reading your post right.  If I got it wrong I do apologize. Based on my limited experience and bad sxs I would stay away from the big N.  Thank you so much for your post. Keep us informed on what you do and I truly wish you the best...

 

Notkafka - When you feel you are ready to get off Gabapentin I would suggest you taper very slowly. The smallest dose I could find was 100mg. I decreased by 100mg. Once I got to last 100mg I opened the capsule and halfed the powder.  Others have gone to a compounding pharmacy to have this done for them.  Good luck and I wish you fast healing so you can get off this crap. I had to get off it quickly because the sxs it was giving me was unbearable..  Keep us posted here on this thread on how you are doing....

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Notkafka,

 

I am so sorry your day is going poorly. I too have been in a bad place for a few days. I really believe the Neurontin screwed me over.  Hang in there and we can heal together. Keep in touch and I wish you well.

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Islandgirl it is good you started this support group, I think everyone may experience different levels of symptoms and trouble stopping the Neurontin.I need help and everyone's experience that has been on a benzo and Neurontin at the same time. My taper of Valium has failed my sxs were intolerable. So my doctor has told me to increase my Valium dose to 25 mg. I am also on 300mg Neurontin. I have found out that Neurontin can really mess up a benzo Taper. This was according to the benzo wise Doctor. He wants me to stop both the Neurontin and the Trazodone. I need anyone who has been in this situation to tell me what they did and what helped them. I am planning on doing my own  taper off the Neurontin. I have an accurate scale and can weigh the capsule and remove the powder to get accurate dose reductions . I just need to know what has worked for other BB members. Please help me I really messed up and I need to get back on track.. I weighed and opened up the 300mg capsule of Neurontin and took out powder to get a dose of 235mg for 7 days. I will then reduce to 200mg for 7 day then 100mg for 7 days then 60mg for 7 days. That is my plan. I may have to change it if I get bad sxs. The benzo wise doctor told me to stop the Neurontin immediately but I was worried about W/D sxs. He said I would have none. He also told me I would have no W/D sxs from stopping Trazodone. Day 1 at 235mgs N I had insomnia but so far no other sxs yet. Will see how it goes day by day. I had been on 300mgs of Neurontin for 4 months. I am hoping that the 25mg of valium may hold off some of the sxs when I am tapering off of the Neurontin.
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This is a question that always comes to me. I had cold turkeyed off of 3 mg of Klonopin in June of 2011. I was given 1600 mg/day of Neurontin. The Neurontin stopped the burning sensations I was having for that whole month I was at detox. When I left detox I had no Neurontin and these burning sensations came back. I would say the burning sensations were due to the Klonopin withdrawal and by taking the Neurontin it was covering up the Klonopin W/D sxs. As we know benzo W/D sxs can last a long time to fade away. I bet most detox places use Neurontin as a symptom relief drug for benzo withdrawals. So if you stop the Neurontin it may just be a return to the benzo W/D sxs.

 

Now ask someone who has never taken benzos but has only taken Neurontin and ask them what kind of symptoms do they have when they stop the Neurontin. This may be a way of finding out if your symptoms are due to benzo W/D or to Neurontin W/D. I guess if I stop my Neurontin and I only taper Valium at the end I will know that any sxs I have will be due to Valium W/D. I am just worried now that I will get symptoms as I taper off the Neurontin . I am hoping that since I am on a single dose of 300mg/day I will not have severe sxs. If I do have sxs fron stopping the Neurontin it may be possible to cover thes up by increasing my dosage of Valium or just staying on my current dose and waiting for the symptoms to subside before I begin my Valium Taper

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I have recently discovered how many people are actually on Neurontin. I think it's a popular drug to prescribe because it doesn't show up in a pee test. However, after a few searches online it seems as though people will try to abuse almost anything...including Gabapentin. Crazy. I'm down to two 3oo mg tabs a day. I think I can taper off pretty quickly. I mean hell, if I could get off xanax, I think I can do Neurontin. I've been taking lots of vitamins. B-12, Fish Oil, 5-HTP, and Melatonin @ night. This seems to help, and cleans my system out. :)
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Rob- Your taper plan sound good. I used 7 days as a cut over point too. Our biggest difference is that I cold turkey off of Valium and the Nuerontin was being used to help control my Valium wd/sxs. I was never reinstated. My problem came when I started getting even more sxs. With trial and error I found out that the sxs were not Valium related, but Neurontin caused. The spots all over my body and the burning in my face/feet/ears got better once I stopped Neurontin. Other bad things started too. You always question is it benzo related or Neurontin related.  This time I knew it was Neurontin because it got worse when I would take my reduced dose and got better when I stopped.  I guess I will never know which is benzo or Neurontin now. My current sxs are Akathisia, burning feet/ears only at night for few hours, insomnia, teeth pain, tinnitus,  inner vibration, tingling all over, light sensitivity, tremors and a few others. I am now 19 days perscription free (off Trazadone) and 25 days Neurontin free and 148 days Valium free.  Good luck with the tapers and keep us posted. 

 

Notkafka- Good job on the supplements. I can not take them yet because when I do all of my sxs gets worse.  We are all different and our bodies react in different ways. I really think the Valium c/t messed up my cns causing the Neurontin to take hold.  I tapered from 2400 mg down to 300 mg of Neurontin with very little problems and actually went well.  It was that last 300 that kicked my butt. Just be carefull and listen to your body.  I truly wish you well. Please keep us up to date on your tremendous future progress...

 

Daisy Mae- I could not get liquid form, but I was able to get 100mg capsules.  The pharmacists said it was OK to cut the powder. I d id 100mg cuts until the final then I did a 50mg for the last 4 days and jumped.  Good luck to you when you are ready.

 

Thanks all for sharing. Keep it coming. We can all learn from each other...  heal safe...IG

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Pregabalin versus gabapentin:     Pregabalin, like gabapentin, is an amino acid derivative of gamma-amino butyric acid (GABA analogue).1,2 Pregabalin is the pharmacologically active S-enantiomer of 3-aminomethyl-5-methyl-hexanoic acid, and has a similar pharmacological profile to gabapentin.1 These agents are part of a unique class that have a high affinity to the alpha-2-delta protein in the CNS.3,4,5  Both agents have been shown to be effective for neuropathic pain disorders, however, only prebabalin has been FDA approved for both the management of diabetic peripheral neuropathy and post herpetic neuralgia.3,6,7     Pregabalin has been shown in studies to provide equivalent efficacy to gabapentin, however, at much lower doses.3,5 Because lower dosages can be used to treat neuropathic pain, it is likely that pregabalin will be associated with fewer dose-related adverse events.3,5Part of the reason why pregabalin requires lower dosages is that it has a much higher bioavailability (90% versus 33-66%) and is rapidly absorbed (peak: 1 hr). Also, plasma concentrations increase linearly with increasing dose.3 This is not true with gabapentin. Gabapentin is slowly absorbed (peak: 3 to 4 hours post-dose) and more importantly, plasma concentrations have been found to have a non-linear relationship to increasing doses. Pregabalin has been found to have distinct pharmacokinetic advantages over gabapentin.3       Pregabalin has shown greater potency than gabapentin in pain and seizure disorders.6  J. Fehrenbacher et al stated that pregabalin has been shown to have greater analgesic activity in rodent models of neuropathic pain.2 Further, D. Wesche et al noted that pregabalin is approximately 2.5 times more potent than gabapentin based on plasma concentrations.
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Island girl, how long have you been off the valium? You will probably have withdrawal from valium for a long time. Why do you think your problem is neurontin? It actually helps with benzo withdrawal. Just my opinion.
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IslandGirl, Why did they say no liquid neurontin. Children have to take it for seizures. Right? Also, I will need help, if there is no liquid, in titrating 100mg capsules. Would appreciate any help you can give. I probably won't do it any time soon, because I am 19 and 1/2 mos. out from 1mg xanax and I am still having a good many problems. My neurontin 300mg night only was for hot flashes after the Mayo Clinic took me off HRT--had breast cancer. During chemo, I was given xanax for sleep. So, I was already on 300mg neurontin when I stopped xanax. Any help for titrating neurontin is greatly appreciated.
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Thanks Island girl.

 

I've been put on pregabalin to stabilise mood and as anti anxiety med. didn't have any pain?

 

Does anyone else experience fatigue due to this med?

 

 

X

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Hi Daisy Mae,

 

I really appreciate and cherish your opionion.I have been off valium for 150 days today.  The reason I think most of my problems are Neurontin cause is because I did not have a lot of my sxs until I started the Neurontin. For instance I have never had Akathisia while on the benzo nor during the cold turkey, but once Neurontin was there for a while baam  I got it. Also the face, feet and ear burning would come 1 hour after taking Neurontin.  Even my brain clarity is back now after I stopped. The clincher was when my body developed a rash all over .  It may be some benzo, but I truely believe in my heart Neurontin is at the base of it all.

 

As far as the comment on liquid what I was trying to say was that liquid was never offered to me and I did not know it comes it liquid form. Hopfully you can find it.  I know nothing about titration, but when you are ready we can help find someone on bb that will know how. I could have used a compounding pharmacy, but I just halfed the powder myself. I wish you all the love and healing and I will help in any way I can even if it is just being here.

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Dear JigglyJo,

 

I was never on pregabalin, but the Neurontin (cousin of pregabalin) actually rev me up. It never would make me tired and would make my heart beat fast. I always seem to be in the 1% where meds always have the paradoxical effect.  Drives me batty. I hope your are doing well.  Heal fast and be safe.. Island.

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Hey, IslandGirl! This is only my opinion, but you are only 150 days out from valium. Benzo withdrawal can last SO much longer than this. Also, the symptoms change from time to time. The other thing that I am beginning to feel about myself is that I blame a symptom on something I eat or do, when it probably is just a coincidence. Would have happened any way. That's why I feel, in my opinion, that your symptoms could still be benzo withdrawal. Thanks for your response and opinions! We have  to stick together in this!
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Welcome cagr,

 

Glad you found us. Have a great night and ask away any questions.  I hope your Dr appointment goes well.

 

Heal good...

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hi ig - i have a great dr i can just email him and ask him for the best way to taper..sometimes lack of sleep doesn't allow me to make the smartest decisions, i had no idea that this drug would have an impact on me...
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hi bb's - i decreased my dosage of gabapentin last night one 400 mg capsule and i opened another 400 mg capsule and poured 1/2 out, so i guess i took 600 mg, which decreased my dosage from 800 to 600 (maybe) and i have to say i feel great today, no sx's i got up and did a little house and have so much energy today...

 

maybe another window????:) :) :) :) :) :) :)

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