Incredible success with Gabapentin

I felt I should relate my remarkable experience on Gabapentin so that people should at least consider it if they are looking for treatment options.

 

I struggled for five years with an addiction to first Lorazepam and then Valium.  After a gruelling Valium taper (all the usual symptoms) failed in 2009 my drug use spiralled slowly upwards again.  Several other failed tapers followed.  My use skyrocketed to 100 mg/day this year and even 200 mg/day a few times.  I was terrified of entering a drug treatment facility because of the stories I had heard but was exhausted and did not see how else I was going to get off of the drugs.

 

In August detoxed from 90 mg/day of Valium in a 35 day program at a highly regarded drug treatment facility near where I live in Ontario, Canada.  I was prescribed 300 mg of Gabapentin 3x/day for the duration and experienced no physical withdrawal effects whatsoever.  I was cut to 80 mg/day for four days, then 60 mg/day for four days, then 40, 20, 10,5, and was clean by the time I left.  I dealt with a lot of anxiety but nothing I couldn't handle.  The side effects of the Gabapentin were moderate numbness all over my body and some mental fogginess, but it was not a big deal.

 

After I was discharged I continued with the dose of Gabapentin for a month, then cut to 300 mg 2x/day for a month, then 200, then 100, and now after four months I am off of the Gabapentin as well.  The only side effects were the general numbness which has worn off, a loss of appetite which is also gone and some mental fog.  I have had a lot of anxiety and several panic attacks and my OCD has gone wild as the Valium has worn off over the past months, but nothing I can't handle and not as bad as episodes in the past when I was on the drugs, even massive doses.

 

I know that Gabapentin has not worked or had mixed success for many people on this forum but for me it has been nothing short of a wonder drug.  It is the standard treatment for benzo addiction at the facility I went to and they treat several dozen such cases a year.

 

I should also add that not all treatment facilities are created equal.  Where I went, at any one time there were 40+ recovering alcoholics and drug addicts and only one (an alcoholic) seemed to be suffering what I imagined my withdrawal might be like, and then only for about a week before she seemed quite well.  They had a wide range of medications to assist with detoxing and very well-educated staff including an addiction doctor who himself was a recovered drug addict.

 

Several studies have demonstrated that oxcarbazepine, a similar anti-seizure medication, has also had a remarkable effect on benzo withdrawal.

Hi kaiser100,

 

Congratulations on your successful withdrawal from benzo's and taper from gabapentin. It must feel great to be free from all of it!! I have one more drug to taper and your story gives me strength...thank you!!!

 

Hugs to you XXOO

I am glad this worked out for you Kaiser. I know others have had far less success with gabapentin. I wonder why that is.

I felt I should relate my remarkable experience on Gabapentin so that people should at least consider it if they are looking for treatment options.

 

I struggled for five years with an addiction to first Lorazepam and then Valium.  After a gruelling Valium taper (all the usual symptoms) failed in 2009 my drug use spiralled slowly upwards again.  Several other failed tapers followed.  My use skyrocketed to 100 mg/day this year and even 200 mg/day a few times.  I was terrified of entering a drug treatment facility because of the stories I had heard but was exhausted and did not see how else I was going to get off of the drugs.

 

In August detoxed from 90 mg/day of Valium in a 35 day program at a highly regarded drug treatment facility near where I live in Ontario, Canada.  I was prescribed 300 mg of Gabapentin 3x/day for the duration and experienced no physical withdrawal effects whatsoever.  I was cut to 80 mg/day for four days, then 60 mg/day for four days, then 40, 20, 10,5, and was clean by the time I left.  I dealt with a lot of anxiety but nothing I couldn't handle.  The side effects of the Gabapentin were moderate numbness all over my body and some mental fogginess, but it was not a big deal.

 

After I was discharged I continued with the dose of Gabapentin for a month, then cut to 300 mg 2x/day for a month, then 200, then 100, and now after four months I am off of the Gabapentin as well.  The only side effects were the general numbness which has worn off, a loss of appetite which is also gone and some mental fog.  I have had a lot of anxiety and several panic attacks and my OCD has gone wild as the Valium has worn off over the past months, but nothing I can't handle and not as bad as episodes in the past when I was on the drugs, even massive doses.

 

I know that Gabapentin has not worked or had mixed success for many people on this forum but for me it has been nothing short of a wonder drug.  It is the standard treatment for benzo addiction at the facility I went to and they treat several dozen such cases a year.

 

I should also add that not all treatment facilities are created equal.  Where I went, at any one time there were 40+ recovering alcoholics and drug addicts and only one (an alcoholic) seemed to be suffering what I imagined my withdrawal might be like, and then only for about a week before she seemed quite well.  They had a wide range of medications to assist with detoxing and very well-educated staff including an addiction doctor who himself was a recovered drug addict.

 

Several studies have demonstrated that oxcarbazepine, a similar anti-seizure medication, has also had a remarkable effect on benzo withdrawal.

 

hi friend. can you tell which rehab facility was it exactly? thanks