Gabapentin Withdrawals (Page 3) (Top voted first)

I'm being taken off of Neurontin/Gabapentin after seven years. I'm now crying, anxious, and itching all over! I have tried antihistamines and cortisone creams but with no relief.

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I'd Google the daily recomended dose for a female your age, and that's how much I'd take a day. Also, try the Epsom salt soaks. :) they helped me a lot. Today is 15 days gabapentin free for me! Good luck!

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Does Gabapentin cause itching? Been on 1800 mg for nine months, having sexual dysfunction, and rapid HR. This is the first website were I find other people have these symptoms. I have had bad itching on and off for past six months. now i'm going to stop over the next two weeks by taking half dose and then stopping. I'm really unhappy with anxiety meds that cause sexual dysfunction. I've told my doctor this many times. Time to change doctors. I've been taking Gabapentin for panic anxiety because the doctor does not like xanax which I have been using with good results and no panic for 30 years! First he said it's addicting, now he says it might cause dementia in the elderly. Really? I've been taking it 30 years, if it causes dementia I think I might know by now? I'm disappointed with psychiatry doctors, it's very hard to find a good one. They want to give me all kind of antidepressants and I did take desipramine for a year or so. Now I find out it is proven to cause dementia and the more you take the greater the risk even if you stop!

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Hi Chris

Thanks for your post, I am interested in asking you more if that is ok.

I'm on pregabalin 600mg, but not from my doctor.
I hear you say "Not to discourage but some people have experienced withdrawal besides their best efforts at a proper taper.", by this, do you mean, that some people's withdrawals get worse as they go cown, no matter how much they cut?
If so, that is scary. That means I will need care, but I have no one. I am unmarried and live far away from family, so I am dreading what is to come, if mine is olnly going to get worse despite a taper. I know you say that it is not everybody, but the problem is, mine is already bad, because I got symptoms after being on 300mg for a while, and updosing to stabilise, each time holding a week before tapering, but each time, as well, symptoms would appear a week after each updose and get worse. This is why I fear that I will get worse, no matter how slowly I go down in dose, and that this could mean I end up psychotic, because this drug has already made me more paranoid, anxious and depressed, and I am seriously worried that no matter how slow i taper, I will still get worsening syptoms from what i have now. I dont mean to be rude, but one morning in bed, in my sleep, I lost control of my bowels, and had to get up and change, it was traumatic, and I am scared of that happening again, among other things like my anxiety and depression getting worse.
I tried to do a super slow taper, but the symptoms got to bad and I had to updose.

What should I do, I am ok if I have to keep these symptoms while i taper, but scared stiff of getting any worse, and not even coming out of this intact.
I am scared of being permanently scared and traumatized by this.

Do you think there is any point in tapering if I am only going to get worse anyway?
Would this not be dragging it out.

Please could you link me to online posts of people who have tapered and not got any better, or if you cannot, can you tell me where to find them.
I have been trying to look, but it's hard work sifting through and I want to read them to give myself a heads up, an idea of what to expect.

thank you

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I did not take magnesium..my pharmacist told me not too..I was taken off Gabby way to fast after being on it for a year..
Withdrawal is horrid..I stopped taking it February 1st and can finally say that I am starting to feel better..still some stomach issues but all the other stuff is gone..My family Doctor wanted me to come off it 100 mgs at a time over months..but the rhuematoligist didn't think there would be any withdrawal coming off sooner..I was off it in 3 weeks and was taking 3200 mgs a day..was not fun..so please do it very very slowly..good luck

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dont cold turkey, they are fat soluble so dissolve them in milk and do small daily cuts. Dose several times a day due to short half life.
Ive done this with pregabalin, gaba-p's big brother, as pregab is water soluble, the taper is a roaring success so far, ive had to lower my cuts as i go down but im gonna be off it in a couple of months at this rate, and am feeling no wds
magnesium transdermally helps, as pregab a calcium channel blocker and i think gabap is too.

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I use life-flo magnesium oil which I apply twice a day, but there are many different brands, and if you look online, it shows you how to make your own, which saves a lot of money. Orally mag glycinate is the best as you don't get the runs. I use mag malate for when i want a laxative because, although it doesn't usually give you the runs, i have constipation occasionally, so two of the source naturals ones helps that.

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Awww Caroline Dean's stuff. I thought of that, but I thought of the profit margin. I ordered some flakes and am gonna get some distilled water from Halfords and make my own mag oil when the ones I have run out, cos I bought three. I use loads, the bath has a nice white coating which I have to wash off. I would urge you to get your own flakes and make your own, its absorbed much better transdermally. It might cost you £1 or $1.20 roughly for a spray can, depending on the exchange rate. I'm keeping my empty spray cans to put my home made oil in. Nah, I keep away from over the counter capsules. Mag malate helps me sleep, and helps me go to the loo if I have enough of it, when bunged up, cos I take opiates some days as my mood is so low I cannot get thru the day with my conditions. Too tough. I'll try epsom salt soaks, but maybe stick to footbaths, cos I can't afford to keep taking baths, I'm on a water meter, have a low income so I save water like mad, not flushing "if it's yellow, let it mellow, if it's brown, flush it down' kinda thing and my water bill went down from £21 a month to £13 a month.

I can do the foot soaks with epsom though, I'm sure they will do me good and also keep my feet super clean as its mag chloride a form of salt, so I would assume, antibacterial. I'll try epsom salt mouth water rinses, will have to look up concentration of epsom salts to water, got a big tub of epsom. I get a lot of uti's, so I do drink when my wee smells funny. I also use a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar in a glass of water to flush me out, but it has to be the ACV with the sediment in the bottom, from the 'mother' apple. I get outbursts of crying. I hope I am not due a cut in my pregabalin. I want off, I've been tapering since christmas, but like you, I get crying outbursts too, and it cannot be the benzos, cos I wasn't on them long, and I am familiar with benzo addiction, having been once addicted already.

I am dosing pregab 5 x daily which is a bit of a pain, but the duration of action is so short, 5 x a day dosing really helps keep blood levels same, rather than one big dose of 214 mg in the morning, I take 42.8ml 5 x a day, and tomorrow, it will be 42.6ml and so on, hopefully down to Omg. If I start burning up or having pregab/gabba headaches I will reduce my daily cut size. So far though, this taper method I devised is working great and if it is a success, I will make it more public to others, so they can choose to try it if they want. I have my own views how they can legally prescribe this stuff, because humans, esp those in power, seem to want to make us sicker. I say that because of a number of videos I have read and a whole load of articles. I keep getting addicted to drugs, and drink. Been off drinking for nearly 11wks now, one the one hand, I miss it and am gutted i cant drink anymore, but on the other hand, it makes me feel too vulnerable, messes up my head and the thought of how I will feel afterwards has put me off drinking for the last 70+ days, and I hope it lasts forever. I hope i become happy without drinking or drugs, I will find a way. Now I know I am borderline and cptsd and poss adhd, that helps enormously, as drug-addiction is a symptom of all three, yet treatment cannot commence while I am addicted to drugs. The old "Stop throwing up in my surgery please, because I cannot fix your stomach till you stop throwing up", when the patient goes to the doctor cos of the very fact he is throwing up and the sickness is a symptom his stomach needs fixing. An analogy to illustrate the kafkaesque nature of 'treatment' for the drug addicted mentally ill such as myself.

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Hi - I fancy remag might be a gimic, having experienced the benefit of normal magnesium oil. I know my pregabalin taper would be much more difficult without it. The good news is gabapentin is fat soluble, so you can liquefy it and take off tiny doses each day like I described above with my pregabalin. I use water though cos pregab is water soluble. Sorry you're feeling pretty awful, hope you are ok soon. Get some magnesium oil, its best absorbed through the skin, you won't regret it, it relaxes your muscles and everything. I bet Dr Dean recommended remag, I know she knows her stuff on magnesium, but i cant help thinking she is making a buck on this remag stuff, when mag chloride and water are as good, and apparently so is epsom salt mouth rinses and baths. Go on youtube to see how to make mag oil, get yourself some spray bottles, get some mag chloride pure flakes and some distilled water from halfords and you'll save a fortune.

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Re: Katy (# 261)

Sounds pretty fast to me Katy...I started at 300 mg per day...I followed a schedule like 300 mg/day (100mg every 8 hours) then started cutting. 285mg (95 every 8 hours) for 3-4 days and then another 5% cut. I use a 100 ml plastic graduated cylinder and dissolve the 100mg capsules in hot water. I've had pretty good luck with this. With a graduated cylinder you can accurately determine what your current dose is. 300 mg capsules can be dissolved in the same way, just remember that everything is in ratio. I'm at the end of the taper now but I cut a bit too fast and had to go back up to 10 mg each 8 hours. I also take magnesium. Everyone is different so my schedule might be too quick for you...but a gradual taper seems to be the key.

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Hi Chris,

JIGSAW, Magnesium w/srt (sustained release technolory) 125 mg. 240 tablets. Google "Jigsaw w/srt"
Untill you know how you respond to the Jigsaw w/srt I'd take just one a day. Altostrata says Jigsaw w/srt can activate your system, this means you might have a bad reaction to it.

I have been taking one at bed time and I got a mild head ache (very mild) from it for the first 4 days I took it. Now day 5, 6, and 7, no problems. What I notised with the Jigsaw w/srt was it quieted my tinnitus.

On a scale of 1 to 10, 10 being drowing out the volume on my tv my tinnitus was reduced to about a 3 or 4 from a 7 or 8 (considerable less).

I don't think you should break the pill it would spoil the sustained release aspect. (defeat the prupose of the srt)

I took epson salts baths at least once a day and swished 3 or 4 times a day. I used at least 4 cups of epsom salts in my baths.

I did not know if the epsom salts was going to work but I had nothing to loose for trying.

hope it works for you.
Later

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Hi Chris it's good to hear from you. I received the ReMag in the mail Dec. 13, it works as advertised. 100% absorbed! So you are on the right track taking mag-cal- zinc supplement. Is that nature made brand, please check the ingredients label and find out what kind of calcium and magnesium they are useing. If calcium carbonate and magnesium oxid. Your stomach can't digest these forms very well not a good source of oral magnesium. Also for now I would suggest remag google Dr. carolyn Dean go to her web sight and scroll down to where it says resources and click on resources and order the remag it is around $40.00 with shipping and handling. If you take 4 ml. = 250 mg. this one 8 oz. bottle is 60 days supply of the liguid magnesium remag, since it is 100% absorbed. This is the best magnesium product on the market right now. You allso need the zinc and vitamin D3, you can get this from a daily multi-vitamin. The problem we are confronted with is so many choices, you might consider the multi-vitamin Dr. Carolyn Dean uses and recomends on her resource page.

Admittedly they are more expensive than picking up a multi-vitamin from your local drug store and all I can say about that is I trust Dr. dean on her recomendations. And if you can afford the added expense of a good multi-vitamin I think this is a good way to go.

Something else you can do is hol off on the taper untill you have the ReMag or other recomended magnesium supplement and multi-vitamin so before you begin your taper start taking the magnesium and multi-vitamin say for about a week before you begin your taper this way your body will better prepared in advance of your taper,

If I had to do this over before I began my taper I know for me at least that I would have not experienced any withdrawal at all. I can't speak to your situation as we are all different but I am suggesting that this is a better way to taper for you will have prepared your body before the taper and your body and your wellbeing will be better for it.

So you are tapering off the gabapentin. you might want to slow down your taper espesially if you have the nature made brand of Cal mag zink you won't get enough usable magnesium to help with your withdrawal if you experience any withdrawal.

You should only do a 10% taper and hold for a 2 week period and see if you are going to experience withdrawal. You are taking 900 mg. so 10% would be a reduction of 90 mg. Probably ok to drop by 100 mg. for your starting taper and hold at that untill you get the remag.

You will want to get the 100 mg. capsules as the 300 mg. will be harder to split and cut up into smaller doses as you want to maintain the taper at no more than 10% of the amount you are taking, so when you are taking 100 mg. your taper will now be only 10 mg.

100mg. X 10%=10 mg. so you would be taking 90 mg.

It is possable that you have a good supplement allready it may not be nature made. But if it is nature made or an other brand and it has magnesium oxide and calcium carbonate as I mentioned earlier then you should select one of the recomemded magnesium supplements from Dr. dean. A 10% taper will require patience on your part as it will take you much longer to taper but I think once you have a good magnesium supplement you may be able to increase the speed of your taper. It is a good idea that if you do run into withdrawal to reinstate to a previous dose of gabapentin where you didn't experience any withdrawal and taper more slowly. a 5% taper instead of 10% for example, you may be lucky and not experience any withdrawal I have read that not every body experiences withdrawal from gabapentin.

If you should decide to purchase the ReMag and the multi-vitamin Dr. Dean recomends it may be servral weeks before you receive the products in the mail. On accout of the holidays and the strong demand for the Remag- it took me about 15 days from when I ordered the ReMag and it arrived in the mail. You should know it has a lousy taste but putting it in some fruit juice you shouldn't notice the taste. You will note on Dr. Deans resource page there are servral other magnesium products which she recomends and has used herself. I have tried the Jigsaw magnesium w/srt and it works well. but now that remag is on the market I'd definately go with it, 4 ml. of remag is 4/5th teaspoon half a teaspoon in the morning and half a teaspoon at bed time = 250 mg. pure 100% absorbed magnesium. This beats all of the other magnesium supplements bar none, as other oral magnesium supplements are maybe 30% absorbable. You should take it servral hours before you eat as it has a sedative effect and you may find your self feeling the need to lie down for a while, for about an hour or so. You can avoid this by cutting the dose to 1 ml. dose. The bottle comes with an eye dropper. And so you can measure out 1 ml. = 20 drops. and take this 4 times a day. So should help reduce the sedative effect. Also you know that after a week or so the sedative properties seem to go away. As I am taking 4 ml. in the morning afternoon and evening for a total of 375 mg. magnesium. The equivilent amount of magnesium oxide you would need to take would be 9000 mg. And you probably could never achieve that goal as long before you reached this amount of magnesium oxide you would experience diarea. Only 4% of magnesium oxide can be digested and if you precipitate diarea you would loose more magnesium through the diarea than you gained from the 4% you absorbed.

My first purchase of a magnesium supplement was magnesium oxide so I speak with first hand experience in regards to the diarea.

You probable don't need any calcium at least for now as if you take too much calsium supplement if will interfere with the obsorbtion of the magnesium. The calcium in your diet will be good enough for now.

Well I hope I have written this with good clarity and it's not an information overload for you.

I wish you with best of luck in your quest to wean yourself off of the gabapentin.

gabyist

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Gabyist, I ordered the jigsaw and it helped alittle. So u think the dr deans would much better ? Did you have a tight chest ?

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20 drops is 1 ml. but the easiest way to get 1 ml. is to pull the eye dropper out squeez out all of the remag back into the container, once the eye dropper is empty, squees the rubber part of the eye dropper and while holding tight to the rubber head put the eye dropper back into the bottle and let go so the eye dropper it fills up part way, pull out of the bottle and drop by drop count the drops, you should have about 20 drops = 1ml., dont try to fill the dropper all the way full. There is just enough volume in the rubber part of the dropper to displace enough for 1 ml. So this is 4 droppers or 4 ml.
4 ml. is 4/5 teaspoon so fill a teaspoon and take that amount, you might want to split that and take 1/2 teaspoon in the morning and 1/2 teaspoon in the evening =250 mg. approx. And yes you might have better luck with the Jigsaw.

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Hi Chris,

I have have heard of GABA but haven't looked into it.
Did you check out survivingantidepressants web sight?

How are you doing with the Jigsaw, magnesium? Any luck? I started taking Jigsaw magnesium again along with the ReMag, I take 750 MG. ReMag and 250 mg. Jigsaw Magnesium w/SRT. I think the B6 and folate in the Jigsaw product are very helpful in eliminating my headaches. After reading some of George Eby's web sight I decided to buy some kelp, lots of magnesium, iodine, and potassium. FDA for iodine is very low and kelp has much iodine. Purchased Methyl B12 and B6 P5P, supplement also.
Here is a wonderful resource about much of everything from George Eby:
george-eby-research.com/html/depression-anxiety.html#story

See ya later.

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About a year ago, I tried iodoral ( iodine supplement) my gyn did a iodine test on my arm to see if I was deficient. Anyway, it gave me bad headaches but they told me if I could get through a week I would feel great. Well, I couldn't even on 1/4 the dose. You might want to try it???

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600 to 500 ok...(in about a week). Then 500 to 400 and big trouble. taking magnesium 250mg/day to see if I can get down to 400. 10? That means back to the doctor to try to get to give a liquid....oh dear. Everybody goes on and on that opiods are so addictive and bad...what about this? easy? mmmm maybe with help from forums. Thanks.

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I just got back from urgent care after 4 hours and the docs don't know what's wrong, I feel like I've been getting stabbed by pins and needles that make me cry and the hot sweats on cold day and pain that I've been up 3 days straight. My doctor told me gabapentin has no withdrawl affects and no side affects. I stopped taking it a few days ago due to needing refill, and took it lastnight and felt like I was on drugs that the pain was gone. I know I'm addacted to it now and doctors know nothing

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Some doctors know, some don't. Taper down instead of cold turkey.

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Been on gabapentin daily now for about 6 weeks...I must admit that I have been taking really high doses. I was prescribed 3600 mgs a day but I'm probably taking 4x that amount.Im done now because I don't like that I quickly became so addicted to them, but I am wondering what will happen to me. Will I withdraw because I was on such an extensively high dose? I know I have only been taking gabapentin for about 6 weeks but I did abuse it so I was wondering about the withdrawal symptoms and what I could do to help myself with them. I do not have anymore gabapentin! I threw them away and will never take them again. I am an addict . I have been sober for 4 years and I feel so angry with myself that I let this happen!

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Hi, Back again with the gabapentin 300mg and still have the same problems, I'm now trying to stop the meds and have gone to 300mg every other day and will try that for a month or so to see if it helps at all.. I did notice that when I stopped the 300mg for that day I had a problem with sleep but I think as time goes on my body will adjust.. I was reading on this form and they were talking about Magnesium that the Gabapentin depletes Magensium from the body and that by taking baths with Epson salts or rinsing your mouth out will replace the magensium witch will help with stopping Gabapentin..

Is this true..??? I can;t remember his name but it began with a G... There is a lot of good info on this form, Thanks and have a nice day

AJ

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