Gabapentin and Burning/Prickly Skin

I was put on 400mg of gabapentin after trying lexapro and then zoloft for three months total from May-July.  Five days into Lexapro, I started experiencing burning skin almost like a constant adrenaline rush.  Stuck with it because doc said that it could be just start up side effects.  Well, it didn't go away.  So gabapentin was added to help and the SSRI was stopped.  Nine weeks later, I still have skin / nerve issues.  I'm wondering if gabapentin is hindering my recovery or possibly making my symptoms worse.

 

I've dropped my dose from 400 to 300mg a few days ago and haven't noticed any changes yet - good or bad.

 

Anyone suffer with burning skin and using gabapentin?  Also wondering about gabapentin withdrawals from 400mg used for a short period of time.

 

Thanks!

I was put on 400mg of gabapentin after trying lexapro and then zoloft for three months total from May-July.  Five days into Lexapro, I started experiencing burning skin almost like a constant adrenaline rush.  Stuck with it because doc said that it could be just start up side effects.  Well, it didn't go away.  So gabapentin was added to help and the SSRI was stopped.  Nine weeks later, I still have skin / nerve issues.  I'm wondering if gabapentin is hindering my recovery or possibly making my symptoms worse.

 

I've dropped my dose from 400 to 300mg a few days ago and haven't noticed any changes yet - good or bad.

 

Anyone suffer with burning skin and using gabapentin?  Also wondering about gabapentin withdrawals from 400mg used for a short period of time.

 

Thanks!

I know gabapentin is addictive but I don't know how long it takes to get addicted to it.

I used pregabalin and got addicted, fortunately it was water soluble so I used water titration, as the withdrawals are horrible.

Gabapentin is not soluble in water however there is an excellent forum called survivingantidepressants.org which helped me off seroquel and trazodone.

Thanks.  I'm on survivingantindepressants, but it seems like they ask for a lot of information, but don't engage in any discussion.  I've posted a few times and not received any feedback.  I'm guessing that they would suggest 10% per month, but I've only been using it for 3 months and would really hope to not have to taper so slowly being that it isn't actually addressing any of the symptoms that I'm using it for.  This forum is much more engaging and user friendly so I figured that I'd reach out here and see if anyone has experienced the same. 

There is a support thread for members with Gabapentin experience if you're interested.  http://www.benzobuddies.org/forum/index.php?topic=84267.0

Everyone is different with Gabapentin. I only took it for 9 days and had a terrible withdrawal (for which I was prescribed lorazepam, sigh). As with benzos, some people are just more sensitive and can develop dependency quickly. My pharmacist told me that he’d read studies of people suffering after only three days of use. The speed of taper varies by the individual - some can cold turkey without issue, some use Ashton, others need to go slower.

 

Check out the thread Pamster recommended. There are also some other support groups on social media specific to gabapentin withdrawal that you may be interested in.

 

Best wishes,

Beauty

I was on lyrica for over 10 years and never had any issues until I detoxed off narcotics and then every side effect it can cause and more hit. Since it's in the same class as gabapentin I wanted to comment. I have been off lyrica for almost 2 years but had xanax added in since then and have wd from it as of Jan 20, 2020. So my wds overlapped, I think. I had terrible skin burning with lyrica and in wd. It has finally almost entirely gone away. I also wanted to tell you what worked for me as far as getting off lyrica. I was on 50 mg 3 xs a day at one time and when I tapered and I was able to get down to that lowest dose capsule, 25 mg one time a day without any real issues. But any cuts below that caused major sxs. Severe agitation, RLS, skin burning. I would open the capsule and try to remove less than 10% and the sxs were horrible. So I started adding an hour a day to each dose of 25 mg. I went from 24 hours to 25 and so forth. If I had any sxs I would hold for a day or 2 but it went really well. I had to set my alarm and take doses at all hours of the day and night but that was worth it. I was pretty scared and went all the way to 72 hours between doses before I stopped and had hardly any sxs. The skin burning and RLS and agitation are tons better. I still have mild episodes but have no idea if it is from xanax wd or a combination. I still blame a lot of the trouble I had with benzo wd on having been on lyrica and what it did to my brain. I don't know if the method I used to get off lyrica will help with gabapentin. I hope you will feel better soon and find the support that most helps!

How did you go from 50 mg 3x a day down to 25 mg once a day?

 

How was that don't exactly?

 

Did you taper all 3 doses at the same time  til you got down to 8.33 mg on each dose and then just combine all doses?