urgent please help

Can akathisia be a symptom that arises and lasts far into withdrawl? I feel like im hoing insane it is so painful i feel like ripping my skin off. My friends are telling me its a panick attack but it has been severe since 9 am it is now 4pm i have had this feeling before but nothing like this and it dies down but its not letting up its inner turmoil does anyone else have this

Sounds paradoxal compared to most benzo withdrawal effects.

 

According to wikipedia, drug withdrawal can cause this.

Its not an unusual symptom. I had it on and off as you describe- remember its a symptom of withdrawal and every second you endure what withdrawal throws at you is one second closer you are to healing and being out of this mess. I get the crawling out of your skin thing. It seems from your sig line that you have reinstated a couple times. Me too. Took me three jumps to get it. That made it worse, and yet- in the end I made it through. You will too. Just hang in there and do not take a rescue dose.

If you have anyone around, try and just hang out with them and distract yourself in as much as you can. I had to do things like sweep, vacuum, walk around the yard, get someone to take walks with me, talk to my cat, sing loudly to music, go online and watch stupid you tube videos- sometimes while standing up. I get it. But it GOES AWAY. And I know it might not feel like you can make it but you can. hang in there.

north

 

Those rescue doses stirred it up.

Akathasia came after my second CT.

I still have it once in a while for 5-20 minutes at 30%.

Just before a wave peaks and breaks it kicks in before its over.

It sounds like you went with one of those quack "addiction specialists". They are "real" psychiatrists, but they have NO CLUE regarding this. NO CLUE whatsoever. There´s not one aspect in your story that´s not a mistake, sorry to tell you. Gabapentin CAN downregulate receptors, and Phenobarbital CERTAINLY DOES. So you´re not quite into the healing process, which happens only after you´ve quit EVERYTHING touching GABA receptors, including supplements. 

 

Plus 3 or 4 CTs and reinstatements, not only of benzos but of phenobarbital as well. That causes "kindilng phenomenon" (look for it). 

 

What I would do is the following:

 

a) NEVER again go back with the doctor that put you in this mess, except to punch him in the face when you resolve this. Look for a good one (or at least someone willing to try, listen and prescribe what you really need and confirm here on BB, even if he´s not a benzo expert, almost no one is anyways).

 

b) You could try doxepine. I´m not a big fan of medicines or ADs in WD, but in this case I think it can be helpful and doesn´t hinder recovery. It helps with akathisia. Not big doses, on the contrary, since it also can increase other sxs through anticholinergic effects. And you wouldn´t stop it until no (or few) benzo sxs remain, in a good while. This is an open to debate topic, but many have been helped by this kind of meds, including me (until they acted violently against me, but that was a very rare event, and reversible in some weeks).

 

c) Also propranolol can be helpful for anxiety and tachycardia, without major side effects and without messing with GABA.

 

d) If this two doesn´t help, I would updose phenobarbital until finding some stability, and then plan calmly a SLOW taper of some months. Another CT could be really harmful, and also exposing your brain to this trauma of akathisia, so you have to act quickly.

 

e) Check here a thread called Inositol, my life saver. That can be a very helpful supplement for anxiety, depresion and insomnia. There are some dosing tips there.

 

f) You can try a relatively quick taper of gabapentin BEFORE phenobarbital. Never at the same time. It has no benefit for our sxs and may slower recovery. If you have epileptic problems, be careful, though. If you decide to keep taking gabapentin, after you taper phenobabital off, I wouldn´t move it until well past the most severe wd sxs after discontinuation.

 

g) Talk to your doctor about nemodipin or memantine. They can help to avoid kindling the brain more still, but they are very $$$$. Ir your economic position is not stable,, don´t even ask him / her.

 

Be confident that you will heal. No one remains like that forever, not even from more toxic medicines like quinolones (which must be avoided at all costs, btw)

 

Of course no alcohol at all, no coffe and nothing stimulant. Less sugar if possible, though not resisting cravings since they are in themselves o sort of abstinence syndrome of carbohydrates.

 

I also had a very complicated case, with 5 CTs, reinstatements and many other reckless things, and after one year I feel healing happening. You will feel it as well, but be prepared, cause it won´t be tomorrow.

 

Let us know you progress or any other doubts or symptoms.

Dude I really think you need to get off the gabapentin. I'm sure you are experiencing some bad kindling right now from the several CTs you went through, but I think gabapentin is causing a lot of additional physical and mental symptoms.

 

If you get off of it things will be worse for a short while, maybe a month or two, but it would be worth it for your overall healing.

Hi. Ive been off phenobarbital for three months. Where do you read that gabapentin downregulates receptors? Every research ive read says it is a calcium channel blocker and modulated glutamate into gaba but in no way attaches or binds to gaba a or gaba b receptors. I am very scared i fo not know if this akathesia is happening because of the ct withdrawal or if the gabapentin is turning on me. But it is getting worse and i am going insane it feels like my soul needs to escape out of my body it is the most mentaly excruciating thing ive ever experience. I dont know what to do i took some propanolol yesterday and it took the edge off but it made me very depressed. Tried clonidine this morning didnt help. I cant do a wuick taper off gaba i tried and experience horrible withdrawl i experience horrible akathesia and withdrawl just trying to switch to the liquid. How do i know whats causing the akathesia? Its intolerable emergency. I just want to know if its cuz the withdrawl. It seems like its getting worse and more constant

Hi, Hipo. I´m really sorry for what you describe. I can´t even say "been there" because althoough I¨ve had akathisia, who can´t tell if to that degree. I have no doubt it´s the withdrawal. Some supplements can increase it. If you want please tell me all that you are taking and maybe I can know.

 

I thoughtyou were still on pheno based on your signture, sorry.

 

Regarding gabapentin, I don´t know if its increasing it but that´s rather unlikely. It´s not working to help you, either. A more powerful calcium blocker is nimodipine, maybe it´s worth a try. I didn´t say it WILL downregulate receptors, but just that it CAN. It´s true that there´s no evidence for this, but its chemical structure is based on GABA´s, so... In any case, I wouldn´t move it by now, that would be dangerous. My suggestion to taper it was only when stable with phenobarbital, but you´re 3 months off, no way to reinstate it.

 

Try hydroxyzine. It can increase brain fog a little bit, but it has worked for me many times. From 10 to 30 mg.

 

Inositol can also help, but whithout choline, just the powder form.

 

If it´s really, really severe, go to ER and ask for quetiapine, doxepine or other tranquilizer not touching GABA. The less we take the better, but emergencies are emergencies.

 

Do you think the gaba will keep me from healing? Ive been going through sone serious psychotic delusions and obsessions about what is going on with this gabapentin and why all my symptoms seem to be getting worse the waves seem to be getting worse abd more intense and the akathesia feels like its acute but lasts for days at a tine and literally makes the clocks crawl backwards. The nerve pain and burning is horendous. I see no hope my thoughts are becoming so twisted and paranoid and living in sheer terror

Sorry to hear all that.

 

I don´t believe gabapentin is hurting you. In fact you can try to updose to see if you can find some stability and then think better what to do. It´s very unlikely that it could harm you, and if you feel worsening, it is reversible in hours.

 

I would updose maybe a 50%, and take 60 mg. propranolol. If it doesn´t work, please go to ER. You can´t be like this.

If you have any tricyclic antidepressant at home (amitriptiline, clomipramine, doxepine, mirtazapine) take a dose. It can help you. Also olanzapine.

Wellp it def is the gaba it was hindering with my recovery in oh so many ways i cant even begin to explain right now but ill make a thread for it soon. Little did i know that the gabapentin had given me and adverse reaction and was slowly worsenin. The akathesis and my burning pain and my depression and my vision and my mental health. Doent for everyone. But for so many months i was trying to push through this hoping things were getting better but i didnt see all these things creeping up cuz they were mild at first and by the time i hit like month six i was so confused why everything was more painful and more severe and i was so lost abd delusional i didnt know what was real anymore. So i am doing a short reinstatement to drop the gaba it has to go when that akathesia and mental akathisia took over and i had the dreaded urge all day i obsessed to find a gun to do me in and i didnt want to die it was this stupid gaba that fucked my brain up and made that whole 6 months so much more painful than it had to ben so doin it right this time ditchin the rest of it with this brief reinstatment the doin a super medium taper and jumpin. Wish me luck lolthe three man sypmtoms the gaba caused and didnt know will be gone so this should be a breeze

Told you to get rid of that shit....how did you figure it out?

It definitely can be, like I said in my first post here. I guess you have confirmed all this before taking measures. Hope you´ll find relief soon tapering it.

Wellp it def is the gaba it was hindering with my recovery in oh so many ways i cant even begin to explain right now but ill make a thread for it soon. Little did i know that the gabapentin had given me and adverse reaction and was slowly worsenin. The akathesis and my burning pain and my depression and my vision and my mental health. Doent for everyone. But for so many months i was trying to push through this hoping things were getting better but i didnt see all these things creeping up cuz they were mild at first and by the time i hit like month six i was so confused why everything was more painful and more severe and i was so lost abd delusional i didnt know what was real anymore. So i am doing a short reinstatement to drop the gaba[pentin] it has to go when that akathesia and mental akathisia took over and i had the dreaded urge all day i obsessed to find a gun to do me in and i didnt want to die it was this stupid gaba[pentin] that fucked my brain up and made that whole 6 months so much more painful than it had to ben so doin it right this time ditchin the rest of it with this brief reinstatment the doin a super medium taper and jumpin. Wish me luck lolthe three man sypmtoms the gaba[pentin] caused and didnt know will be gone so this should be a breeze

 

Hiphop, take care if you are reinstating benzos.  If it turns out benzos (or barbiturates) are the cause of some of your present symptoms then, when you go through their withdrawal again, your symptoms might flare up even worse than now.

 

 

Oh, I read that post at about 7 pm, in zombie state, and I didn´t notice the reinstatement warning. Hope it´s not too late.

 

There´s no such thing as "short reinstatement". ONE DOSE can downregulate receptors, I know from experience. And all that for free, because usualy reinstantment doesn´t work. 

 

The way you process was done increased risk. Please don´t increase it again for acting impulsively. We know what akathisia is like, and how it can lead you to desperate actions (like my own reinstatement attempt at month 10, which I deeply regrest, even if it was one dose).

 

In any case it´s a better option to take another anticonvulsivant to help with taper, not GABA downreulators.

How long does it take to stabilize from a 300mg gabapentin drop? I know ativan was probably not the best thing to reinstate to. Maybe klonopin? What happens when all these reinstatements dont work? Does the benzo stop working and then you have all the same same symptoms as you would without the benzo like in ct? Cuz i feel ok right now except crying spells and depresseion and pain and fear and burning but im taking the ativa 3 times a day and inbetween doses i feel like im ganna die but after i dose i feel ok just really tired and the burning skin doesnt go away. When you slowly taper do new receptors form behind the taper or does it just slowly alow the glutamate gaba to go back to balance but then only after the last trace of benzo leaves your system will the receptors upregulate. I have tried to reinstate so many times but never gave it a chance and not on the rihgt dose what does it feel like if the reinstatement works does it start rocky and then get better its hard to tell cuz i also just dropped a huge chunk of gaba. What should i look for?

How long does it take to stabilize from a 300mg gabapentin drop? I know ativan was probably not the best thing to reinstate to. Maybe klonopin? What happens when all these reinstatements dont work? Does the benzo stop working and then you have all the same same symptoms as you would without the benzo like in ct? Cuz i feel ok right now except crying spells and depresseion and pain and fear and burning but im taking the ativa 3 times a day and inbetween doses i feel like im ganna die but after i dose i feel ok just really tired and the burning skin doesnt go away. When you slowly taper do new receptors form behind the taper or does it just slowly alow the glutamate gaba to go back to balance but then only after the last trace of benzo leaves your system will the receptors upregulate. I have tried to reinstate so many times but never gave it a chance and not on the rihgt dose what does it feel like if the reinstatement works does it start rocky and then get better its hard to tell cuz i also just dropped a huge chunk of gaba. What should i look for?

 

Hiya Hiphop.  It may be an idea to try and find a clear moment to update your sig.  I used to be able to follow your medication history but I have lost track of what you have been doing recently and other people too may have a similar difficulty. 

 

For example, until you mentioned it in that post I had no idea you were back on Ativan.  Such info may be important to give a full picture.

 

 

 

 

I cant figure out how. I reinstated 6mg ativan on sat. Same day i dropped 300mg of gaba it felt good at first and everything was ok then slowly all the fears are coming back and im just tires depressed and a lot of fear my skin is burning and my thoughts are all crazy my back hurts so bad and i cant rest. Im scared the reinstatement. Isnt working or something. I do have brief moments where i feel good and it all goes away but my feet and hands and head are still burning and itching. Is my reinstatement going south?

6 mg? Holy shit.

Yup 6mg man.... Thats what i had to do ativan has such a short half life im ganna start dosing every 4 hours and do a microtaper as soon as i get rid of the gaba and get stable i hope this happens

Hi Hip, a drug counselor once told me that Akathsia was caused by the nerves regenerating. I had this and I believe it to be true....It can be a short term or ling term fix, and yes it is very distressing. Mine is gone now Thank God...yours will too..Diane

H,

I reinstated onto 2.65 mg X after 6 months of a failed C/t to phenobarb taper.

I experienced zero symptom improvement after 6 months post C/t - phenobarb taper. Zero.

I do not regret reinstating.

After reinstating, it took approximately 5 weeks for my body to stabilize. I was not symptom free, mostly nausea, burning, tingly skin (significantly reduced) but I was functional again.

After holding at 2.65 X for 3 months while I tapered massive amounts of progesterone and remaining Nortryipline, I began slowly tapering X.

I dosed 6 times per day.

I had capsules formulated with methylcellulose to make X behave like an extended release tablet.

 

I know reinstating is not recommended but neither is day to day tortuous pain.

Good luck on your Ativan taper.

Does anyone have suicidal inner akathesia? This is the worst thing i can explain to anyone i need to know whats causing it. It is a feeling of torment and the clocks crawl backwards the said it was from the gabapentin so i dropped 300mg and reinstated 6mg ativan and it helped for a few days and now its back

I would stop the stoping and starting of meds, if it were me I would either taper of the benzos or if you have already cold turkeyd continue that and don't do any resue doses, your brain is fragile right now . 

 

But to answer your question yes I have had that all off and on the whole Time, normally it's not to bad but it can ramp up like you have it now.

 

For me I stoped the benzos  cold turkey (not saying that's right for you) and have never even thought of taking any pills besides Advil or over the counter headache stuff.