Gabapentin??

Do you believe it’s ok to take for a short period? I have a script waiting at the pharmacy.. I have been having painful burnig all over my upper body. It’s almost intolerable  and making me nauseous..

How long have you been experiencing the burning?

I’m curious if it helps with sleep. And if it causes weight gain. I take Valium mainly for sleep. Very difficult to taper cause of insomnia. As I hit tolerance with V. it really doesn’t help much with sleep. I cannot take sleep aids which cause weight gain. I prefer not to sleep.

I have been burnig badly starting with my right hand about a week now it’s on my arms and chest.

I hope it's OK - I've been on a high dosage for quite a while so it better be or I'm totally screwed. If I could say by now at 17 mo. things have cleared up with the Benzo routine, that would be definitive but not such is the case yet. I get the burning sensation in my head so I suppose it helps for that but I was already on it for mood stabilization. I don't know why I get myself into these situations. Best to yours -

You might want to post your question on one of the other boards.  See if you get more responses. 

I have heard that it can cause unpleasant S/X. But it worked well for me at the time and I think it helped with my sleep. I took most of it at night.

I have heard that it can cause unpleasant S/X. But it worked well for me at the time and I think it helped with my sleep. I took most of it at night.

 

Does it cause weight gain, Betsy? Since this Phenergan CT, my sleep is like 50% worse. I hope I could manage to convince my pdoc to give me a script. He wants me to taper V. first of all.

I have gained weight but not sure if it's the gaba. I'm off it and still crave sweets; that's my problem. More than likely the seroquel.

I have gained weight but not sure if it's the gaba. I'm off it and still crave sweets; that's my problem. More than likely the seroquel.

 

I gained lots of weight on Lyrica, Gabapentin’s successor. So much that I CTed, although it’s addictive. I just couldn’t have it at home. Lyrica didn’t help me sleep in the end, but I was definitely abusing it. It was good for numbing emotions. Went from 75 mg to 300 mg in a year. Mixing it with Valium and Ambien to sleep. I wouldn’t want an addictive med. But if it helped me sleep, it would be better than Valium probably.

For me it’s the burning in my body symptoms that I want to use it for. I picked up the prescription but haven’t taken one yet... does anyone use it for badly burning?

Do you believe it’s ok to take for a short period? I have a script waiting at the pharmacy.. I have been having painful burnig all over my upper body. It’s almost intolerable  and making me nauseous..

 

Yes, I believe it's ok to use it, but only for a very short period.  I can be difficult to withdraw from.  I used it very sparingly/intermittently early in my benzo withdrawal when my anxiety and nerve pain was unbearable, it really helped. 

I would never recommend anyone to use pregabalin or gabapentin(which is almost the same). I am tapering  pregabalin, and it's a nightmare. I've put a hold on my benso taper, because it's too much to bear. But this withdrawal is nasty. Worse than tapering the benso. Of course it's different for everyone, but remember, it might be hard to get off.

 

Bets of luck!

I would never recommend anyone to use pregabalin or gabapentin(which is almost the same). I am tapering  pregabalin, and it's a nightmare. I've put a hold on my benso taper, because it's too much to bear. But this withdrawal is nasty. Worse than tapering the benso. Of course it's different for everyone, but remember, it might be hard to get off.

 

Bets of luck!

 

Short term/intermittent use is ok.  Nothing more than several days tops.  Longer than that creates problems and possible withdrawal.

I would never recommend anyone to use pregabalin or gabapentin(which is almost the same). I am tapering  pregabalin, and it's a nightmare. I've put a hold on my benso taper, because it's too much to bear. But this withdrawal is nasty. Worse than tapering the benso. Of course it's different for everyone, but remember, it might be hard to get off.

 

Bets of luck!

 

Hey MAVO, do you think they are so similar? Cannot sleep after Phenergan CT. Lost 4 kg, but I’m desperate. Cause my V. taper is not going so well anymore. Lyrica was a med from hell. Made me gain lots of weight and I couldn’t even sleep after a month of taking it. Hated it so much I went CT from 300 mg. Just didn’t have that crap at home. Otherwise, I would take it. Gonna write to you ASAP, maybe I’ll manage this week. So happy to have heard from you and to see you on the forum

Do you believe it’s ok to take for a short period? I have a script waiting at the pharmacy.. I have been having painful burnig all over my upper body. It’s almost intolerable  and making me nauseous..

 

Yes, I believe it's ok to use it, but only for a very short period.  I can be difficult to withdraw from.  I used it very sparingly/intermittently early in my benzo withdrawal when my anxiety and nerve pain was unbearable, it really helped.

 

Did it help you sleep, Ginger? Does it cause weight gain? I’m looking for sth to alleviate my insomnia. Onescareddude, sorry to have hijacked your thread a bit. But it goes up if there are more replies. Ppl usually read the first post, don’t worry I’m not gonna post here anymore...

Do you believe it’s ok to take for a short period? I have a script waiting at the pharmacy.. I have been having painful burnig all over my upper body. It’s almost intolerable  and making me nauseous..

 

Yes, I believe it's ok to use it, but only for a very short period.  I can be difficult to withdraw from.  I used it very sparingly/intermittently early in my benzo withdrawal when my anxiety and nerve pain was unbearable, it really helped.

 

Did it help you sleep, Ginger? Does it cause weight gain? I’m looking for sth to alleviate my insomnia. Onescareddude, sorry to have hijacked your thread a bit. But it goes up if there are more replies. Ppl usually read the first post, don’t worry I’m not gonna post here anymore...

 

Yes, it helped me sleep really well, I would take 300-600mg in the evening and could sleep way into the next day, didn't even want to get up, sleep was good.  But it made me a little loopy the next day.

Happy to see you here too Estee! I think they are very similar, from what I've read, they are working in the same way with the same working mechanism. I think that pregabalin is more potent than gabapentin though. Maybe that's why it seems like more people are having problems getting off pregabalin.

 

Looking forward to hearing from you! Lots of hugs!

Thank you so much, Ginger and MAVO. Missing you, MAVO Won’t have much time this week, but hoping to write!

I found Gabapentin caused significant weight gain even when I got down to low doses. I also know many people who have protracted and terrifying withdrawals even on low doses for short periods of time. If there were any way to avoid it, my advice to you would be to do that.

I found Gabapentin caused significant weight gain even when I got down to low doses. I also know many people who have protracted and terrifying withdrawals even on low doses for short periods of time. If there were any way to avoid it, my advice to you would be to do that.

 

Thank you so much for your input, Callydex I hope Onescareddude won’t get mad at me... The information may be useful for everyone who haven’t tried Gabapentin yet.

 

I took it forever in massive quantities, so I am not a typical user by any means - and I am using Valium as a way to 'cover' my ongoing gabapentin withdrawal... - again an anomaly on this board - but I've talked to literally hundreds of people who went through hell after minimal use so I always feel an obligation to warn people - regards to Kitty

Thank you for the responses. I took one 300mg last night and nothing changed. I’m fact I think I started having more burning pins and needles. I woke up today shaking very bad. That is a first. I’m also feeling very confused and slow in my brain. Today is day 21 and nothing has improved.

Estee :-) you didn’t hijack the post.. all of the information is useful.. please post as much as you like. Hope things get better for everyone.

Thank you for the responses. I took one 300mg last night and nothing changed. I’m fact I think I started having more burning pins and needles. I woke up today shaking very bad. That is a first. I’m also feeling very confused and slow in my brain. Today is day 21 and nothing has improved.

 

This drug does do that to some people here. It is certainly not for everyone.