Gabapentin AFTER withdrawal?

Hi all, posting on behalf of my spouse.

 

He has been fully off of Kolopin for 5 years, but has experienced protracted withdrawal symptoms ever since.

 

After a recent dental surgery, he's been experiencing severe nerve pain in his feet and legs (as yet unexplained by imaging and blood tests). His primary care physician has suggested he start on Gabapentin to relieve this nerve pain, at least so he can sleep. (Fear not, this is not the same doc who put him on the K!)

 

This scares the daylights out of me (and him too, for that matter). He had such a bad time with the Kolonopin, and I can't believe he still experiences so many w/d symptoms, 5 years out.

 

Any thoughts or experiences to share - taking gabapentin AFTER withdrawal? To be clear, this is not during withdrawal to relieve symptoms, but *after* withdrawal to relieve other issues.

 

Thanks in advance!

I took Gabapentin for several years at high doses for Lyme neurological pain, which it really helped to control. But getting off it was just as difficult as the Benzo withdrawals people experience: I ended up taking Ativan to deal with the Gaba W/D and then crossed to Valium. I am now tapering the V, and experiencing what I think is probably a combination of Gabapentin AND Valium withdrawal symptoms. Just my experience, but I would explore any and all alternative pain treatments before douching Gabapentin: some have no trouble getting off it but some have protracted and severe withdrawals even after short term use. And after a Benzo withdrawal, it might be additionally dangerous.

May I ask - how did you determine you had Lyme? It's something I'm concerned with for my husband, too. . . he seems to have something that flares (sometimes it 'lies in wait' and he is almost back to normal, and then sometimes it rears its ugly head and everything falls back apart).

 

And may I also ask - what prompted you to get off the gabapentin? Was it affecting you like a benzo, or something else? Sorry, I don't want to get too personal but I'm curious.

 

I very much fear my husband will be someone who gets severe withdrawal after short-term use. He had such a bad reaction with Kolonopin after a short time/low dose. . .

You can see my signature: I had Lyme and co-infections for about 6 years, took antibiotics, never had a WB positive but did get an Igenex positive about a year into treatment. If your husband is not sure about a Lyme diagnosis he might try a Lyme specialist or an Igenex test. I was taking massive doses for really extreme pain, and eventually the Gabapentin was causing all kinds of physical and neurological symptoms. I was very sick just from the drugs. Did taper, but clearly not slowly enough, given my level of dependency, length of use, and high dosage. Jumped at 50 mg a day, and went into a terrible withdrawal. Then the ativan, then Valium

May I ask - how did you determine you had Lyme? It's something I'm concerned with for my husband, too. . . he seems to have something that flares (sometimes it 'lies in wait' and he is almost back to normal, and then sometimes it rears its ugly head and everything falls back apart).

 

And may I also ask - what prompted you to get off the gabapentin? Was it affecting you like a benzo, or something else? Sorry, I don't want to get too personal but I'm curious.

 

I very much fear my husband will be someone who gets severe withdrawal after short-term use. He had such a bad reaction with Kolonopin after a short time/low dose. . .

How long was your husband on the k and what dosage? I personally would avoid gabapentin like the plague. It is basically just another benzo. Good luck and hope you and your husband can find total relief soon.

@[Ca...]

 

@Badben - it was a very small dose, but he was on and off of it (and on/off z-drugs, and tricyclics; thanks docs) for around 5 years, so in retrospect we think he experienced inter-dose withdrawal for several years that contributed to a horrible acute withdrawal, and then protracted withdrawal.

 

I'm wondering if his nerve problem is actually an effect of kindling - it started after a dental surgery with lots of novocain, which typically messes him up pretty badly. This was pretty invasive surgery so he followed the dentist's lead. . .

Hi Alt,

 

I suspect the novocain/benzo aspect may be involved.. More in a way of overall general CNS sensitivity... -Which would make me wonder if Gabapentin, etc. wouldnt be a problem also

 

I took Gabapentin for years for physical nerve damage, Every way imaginable... I never had a problem untill benzos were in the mix... At that point I didnt take it often enough to have WD issues, But they turned on me and made me feel horrid (taken as needed)..

 

It may be that things will settle down in time, I sure hope so...

Depending on the cause and type of nerve pain, It may be possible to alter the sensations with pressure, hot/cold, etc..??

 

All the best, Nerve pain sux...

 

 

It is basically just another benzo

 

No, it certainly is not. Making statements like that is so irresponsible.

 

Alto, I took gabapentin for years and years for nerve pain in my foot and it was extremely helpful. My food got better (yay) and I decided to wean off the gaba and it was very difficult. It was every bit as bad as valium.

 

It has some nasty s/x such as dizziness which goes away, but which some people can't tolerate.

 

That having been said, it can be a very good drug. It made a huge difference for the better in my life.

 

Hope your husband gets to feeling better.

 

Katz

It is basically just another benzo

 

No, it certainly is not. Making statements like that is so irresponsible.

 

Alto, I took gabapentin for years and years for nerve pain in my foot and it was extremely helpful. My food got better (yay) and I decided to wean off the gaba and it was very difficult. It was every bit as bad as valium.

 

It has some nasty s/x such as dizziness which goes away, but which some people can't tolerate.

 

That having been said, it can be a very good drug. It made a huge difference for the better in my life.

 

Hope your husband gets to feeling better.

 

Katz

 

Hi Katz, not sure what you meant to say here, because there’s a contradiction (bolded).

 

In any case, although I cannot speak for Badben, it appears that he was saying that gabapentin is basically like a benzo for its degree-of-difficulty getting off.

 

That is certainly true for many folks, although, not for all, and repeated use might just make it worse, based on my own experience.

 

I took gabapentin for a short time when I cold-turkeyed, and tapered off quickly with no particular problem. However, I realized later that the arrival of severe nerve pain (neuropathy) commenced soon after. Months later I was given Lyrica (a cousin of gabapentin) for the neuropathy.

 

It helped for a while, but then required escalating doses. The interdose nerve pain was far worse than original, leading me to taper off the Lyrica, too. It was not fun, and quite benzo-like in many ways. The rebound pain that followed was immense, and a year later I am (somewhat) grateful to be back to ‘only’ the post-gabapentin level of pain.

 

What I’m sorry about is that I ever took gabapentin and Lyrica in the first place, even though I have no idea if the gabapentin or the Ativan caused the neuropathy, and I’ll probably never know.

 

If I had to do it over, I would not take either drug, but that’s probably because the timing of these nasty symptoms put the fear in me.

 

However, as with any powerful nerve drug, it’s best to proceed with the utmost caution.

 

Good luck to everyone!