Withdrawal From Gabapentin Or Zoloft? (Top voted first)

I started taking Gabapentin 300mg x 3 daily on May 13,015 for severe shingles pain in my ear, mouth and face. June 16,2015 I began having memory lapses not walking straight as well as anxiety. My doctor told me to go off cold turkey. I was to be taking tylenol for the pain as it was not as severe. I also take .5 mg Lorazepam for anxiety up to 2 times per day as needed for my copd depression. I also take .25 Zoloft once daily. I had forgotten to take my Zoloft for three days last week. Now I am having nausea all day long as well as feeling like just crawling in bed. I also have hot flashes. I now do not know which one I am having WD from? Doc says if it continues make an appointment. Take tums for the nausea. They do nothing. I cannot eat until I take a Lorazepam ... as this settles the stomach. Any words of wisdom here?

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I have a terminal spinal condition & it appears my spine may have broken once again. This will be the 5th time, one gets to know the feeling. I will be getting a new MRI, was preparing with an orthopedic surgeon to have a neuro stimulator installed for back pain. My spine is turning on its axis, was on the third rotation over two years ago. I am given any medication in existence to mitigate the pain, am working hard to keep the very strongest in reserve.
Gabapentin is one drug that helps me do that. I am given 600mg tablets 6X a day to help keep nerve pain down. I take them over the day, then two when I go to sleep.
I cannot believe any good doctor would recommend going cold turkey to somebody in your situation. I would Google the drug, read up on it, paying close attention to the dosage recommendation by the MFG company for starting and/or detoxing the drug. Due to the litigious nature of the world the MFG company is careful to list all known side effects.
We have to be self protective about the medications they offer us, and read up on them carefully. One doctor I knew very well once told me bluntly they know about medications they prescribe often, but many they don't. Call your pharmacist, often hey can be a rich resource of information.

For me, the benefits are higher than the costs, so I take it on a regular basis.

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Hello, Leah! How are you feeling? Have things gotten any better, yet?

To be honest, it was most likely from the combination, withdrawals from both of them. Thus, it may take a week, or two, before things settle back down and return to normal.

Zoloft is classified by the FDA as an SSRI and its typical side effects may possibly include nausea, dizziness, drowsiness, dry mouth and weight changes.

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Thanks Verwon. :) The nausea is a bit better. Still post shingles itch is crazy. Tried drinking boost as a way of adding more minerals to my system. The only thing that helps with the nausea is a dose of lorazepam twice a day for now. Will get back to my once as day as needed soon. Appetite is slowly returning .... Hope it gets better every day. ~ Blessings to you!

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I'm very glad that things are improving and I hope they continue to do so. Please keep me updated.

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Oh, MG! I am so sorry that you're in so much pain and having so many spinal adventures! That's horrible.

Thank you for your helpful post and for reminding me of something I had forgotten to mention…

No one should go cold turkey off of Gabapentin. It is actually an anticonvulsant, so doing so creates the risk of seizures!!!

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Good morning.:) Well today and last evening it felt like my Shingles were trying to return ... itching and a tiny bit of burning .... but I am also itching a little all over. I took my benadryl and my lorazepam and it keeps it at bay. Wonder how long it will last? *sigh* ... My Doctor will not be in until tomorrow. Closed on Wednesdays. I will call on Thursday.

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Ask your doc about Valtrex for Shingles. It has helped me with the shingles. I hate those things! My first outbreak was on my forehead at age 5. And I have had them several times in my life

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I have been taking Gabapentin for several years. I started tapering off with in the past few weeks. I started at 900mg a day to 600 mg a day. My doctor told me to go ahead and stop taking it on Friday. She gave me Seroquel that same day. I started it that night. I got SUPER sick! I had a few long MAJOR panic attacks and anxiety attacks. I did not sleep but maybe 2 hours. I don't know if it was one or the other or both? I stopped taking the Seroquel that next day and started back on the gabapentin. I haven't talked to my Dr yet since they are closed but I didn't know what else to do.

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Take your Zoloft as ordered. No you can't get a withdrawal from that dosage but the tiny bit of good that dose provided was missing those days. That's not withdrawal. I would never ever go off of a drug like gabapentin cold turkey. I'd tell you to go back on it but I'm not your MD. Take all these question to your MD. if they tell you something you can't do or doesn't work for go back to them about it. Don't sit at home and suffer and write into an Internet site when it's your Dr. or another Dr. referred, that has responsibility to give you treatment you can tolerate. Whenever you start a new medication read everything you can about it. Now, don't be afraid of the list of bad things that can occur because they must list every side effect anyone had during clinical trials and from what is reported from the field. But these are very rare. If it says it's rare, then believe it and move on to the usual nausea/vomiting/diarrhea section which everyone seems to get with every drug that's evaluated. Keep it in perspective but just be aware when a side effect turns up you'll be ready for it and it won't affect you as much. Realize too our brains are super strong in uncontrolled subconscious beliefs ie: placebo effect. It's a protective mechanism built within our DNA. Many think that most drugs would not work nearly as well, or at all, if it were not for this mind body balancing act. But the last thing you want to do is add any disinformation into the mix. Research any medication you take. It's very important that you do.

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You are most likely feeling sick because you stopped taking gabapentin suddenly; doing this causes with drawls from gabapentin. Your doctor should have weaned you off of it. For the nausea I would try Pepto-Bismol, also what works great is ginger. You could eat a small amount or drink ginger tea, the tea is my favorite and what works best for me (if you are eating at plain I would look up the correct amount to eat).

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