gabapentin

I was recently placed on gabapentin and my two year depression went away. I went online and it said it was could be good for depression and anxiety and it is a good medication for benzo withdrawal. Right now I'm on 200MG daily. Next week I go up to 400MG daily.

Oh, yea. This is some gooood stuff.

 

fourth day: bad news. This is another one I call the three day wonder drug. For some reason when I go on a new medication it seems to kick in the third day and I feel great and then the fourth day I crash. Today's the fourth day and I crashed. It seems like my brain has a need to be depressed. I'm going to stay on it. It is used for banzo withdrawal. And for anxiety.

 

4:00PM - Just took one. Depression and withdrawal symptoms have lifted. I guess temporary relief on and off is better than nothing at all. I would recommending giving it a try if you can.

Keep us posted on how it continues to effect you.  Good luck.

I just read this on the Internet:

 

A withdrawal syndrome associated with gabapentin may resemble benzodiazepine and ethanol withdrawal.

 

That's just wonderful. I also read that if you snort it, it feels like cocaine. So, I'm basically trading one addictive drug for another.

 

I'll have to talk to my doctor about this. Of course some people are prescribed up to 2400MG daily. WOW! I was feeling very relaxed on 100MG. Next week I'm only going up to 400MG daily.

 

Just like Xanax it has a very short 1/2 life so that's why it's so hard to get off of. With my luck I'll probably have to be put on Valium to detox of the gabapentin. And then gabapentin to get off the valium. Over and over like the movie Groundhog Day.

Yep, it definitely has a withdrawal syndrome....usually not as bad as benzos, but still......

And, I really didn't need to find out how sniffing it makes you feel...

A couple of years ago about once a week or so I'd sniff 1 or 2MG Xanax. That was on top of the 8MG I was prescribed. When I stopped I never had any withdrawal symptoms. Then I try and drop just .5MG a month and I feel like I'm going to die.

Given how hard it is for most of us to get off of this crap, I would stay at the lowest dose that gives you relief.

I'm taking anywhere from 200mg to 300mg of gabapentin daily as needed for nervousness and anxiety.  I go back and forth and some days only take 100mg at night.  Thankfully, I don't have any problems with taking more or less.  The few Docs I've spoken with assure me it is non-addictive and my dealings with "gabbi" have been good ones and I've not had any issues with major daily fluctuations.  I am having a slight issues with my taper and am extremely sensitive to slight changes in meds....

 

Use the gabbi to help you off the benzo.  Know it's a tool in your toolbox and for goodness sake, don't snort it!

Dria

I won't. One withdrawal is bad enough. If I knew getting off Xanax was so horrific I would have just learned to cope with the ringing in my ears. My doctor dropped me 1MG Monday and I was concerned but the Gabapentin has a lot of the symptoms under control. He says he has tapered people off Xanax that were taking 14MG daily. WOW! If I feel he is tapering me too fast I still have the nurse that was giving me the 8MG to fall back on for a slower tapering.

I just read in another forum that gabapentin withdrawal is just as bad or worse than benzo withdrawal. That's just great.

My psyc gave me a script for gabapentin.  I tried taking 100 mg 3 or 4 times, everytime it was really bad.  I'd get this warm euphoric feeling for 45 mintues then absolutely crash.  Based on my experiences I wouldn't recommend using this for off label use, but...yeah.  I have been so messed up by not just Klonopin but all the other stuff that I am working on getting off it all.  Our bodies can only handle so much, there is a place for medication but they werent designed to have multiple drugs thrown at them.

I realize now that the third day when all my symptoms went away and then came back somewhat was because of the celexa and not the gabapentin. I have this thing that when I go on a new anti-depressant on the second or third day I feel great and then on the next day I crash. It is my understanding that it takes 7 to 8 weeks for the benefits to kick in. I'm a little pissed off about the sexual problems it causes. I don't want to spend the next couple of years waiting until I stabilize and taper off it.

I was feeling some strong withdrawal so I took two gabapentin and I am getting some relief. I'm going to talk to my doctor about the gabapentin withdrawal. I have an appointment with my nurse on the 24th and I can always drop the doctor, go back up to the 8MG daily and then start a VERY slow taper with her.

My doctors told me what most doctors will tell you:  there is no withdrawal syndrome associated with gabapentin.  Unfortunately, this is just not the case.  Some people seem to be able to stop it with no problems, just like some people can stop benzos with no problems.