Out Of Gabapentine And Going Nuts

Hi I recently went to dr. to refill my gabapentine prescrip and he said I was on it too long. I was taking 600 mg bid and I have been off now since Tuesday. I was on it for fibromyalgia. It actually worked. I am going thru some major withdrawls and want to know if it is possible to get it without prescrip. I cant take it anymore

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I'm sorry to hear your Dr is being a ****! I had no idea Gab was a narcotic and that people were abusing it to the point the Dr felt it neccesary to rip it away from you so drasticly! Esspecially for something like fibro! I feel for you because I had a Dr that was prescribing Norco 10/325 1-2 tabs every 4-6 hours for herniated discs in my neck and lower back for close to a couple years. During the course of that couple years I had surgery replacing a disc and fusing 2 in my neck then 3 months later a surgery fixing a torn rotator cuff in my shoulder by placing an anchor in there. The surgeons then took over my pain management for 3 months for each surgery. After the 3 months I returned to my PCP for further pain management. After a few months of this my Dr fired me along with a large group of other patients that were on narcotic pain killers. (I know this because a nurse that no longer works at that office told me about the mass firings.) It has been a year since my surgeries and I have been in double the pain in my neck than I was before (it feels like something is constantly poking me at the base of my head) and still having pain in my lower back and now have pain running down both legs, knees and feet to the point that it is impossible for me to function. I CANNOT find a Dr ANYWHERE that cares enough to prescribe ANYTHING for pain relief and basicly treat me like a druggie! I was even referred to a pain clinic where the Dr will ONLY do epidural injections in my lower back. The last time I had one I developed a dural puncture and suffered debilitating headaches 24/7 for 3 1/2 weeks straight! So obviously I refuse to get another epidural. That Dr WILL NOT prescribe anything for pain because he says he has too many other patients he has to monitor. My new PCP says it's a copout way of saying he doesn't trust me. I'm almost to the point of eating a bullet because I am so miserable and tired of how much of a horrible person I've turned into and how horrible I treat my daughter, family, friends and coworkers. I'm almost at my breaking point and don't know what to do! I've even told my Dr that in the past pain killers such as oxy (which in my opinion are worse than Norco) don't even help and that I found that Norco is the only thing that does help! What can I do??? Where can I turn??? So, as I said in the beginning of my rant... I'm sorry for you and I feel for you. I think I would go back to my Dr and have a nice, stern talk with them and if that doesn't help, I would be seeking a new PCP. Good luck!

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How long were you taking it?

And why did he just abruptly cut you off?

Gabapentin is an anticonvulsant, so when someone has been on it for a long time, there can be some risks associated with stopping it abruptly.

Learn more Gabapentin details here.

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I started in 2009 taking Lyrica which worked wonders and gave me my life back. I had surgery on my back in 2011 and my back dr. said I had too high of expectations for my surgery bacause it only worked about a month and the disc had slipped again. I was pissed so I just went to my family dr. which I love (usually).I explained that i could no longer pay that much for the lyrica so could he put me on gabapentine. but realized I was refilling them early every month.I am also on an anti depressant called cymbalta so he didnt feel safe giving it to me again. I am doing I guess as well as xpected but I cannot stand the constant sweating and chills. I just want to be halfway normal. my feet sweat so bad they are all broken out and stings. I can change my socks once every hour. I tried the epsom salt bathes and the swishing of the mouth with epsom salt. I also baught some magnesium vitamins but they are the wrong kind. they are magnesium oxide 250 mg.My face is red hot and it feels like I have a fever but I dont. Please help me someone I cant take it anymore.

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are you in Az? My brother had somewhat of the same condition, I can give you his doctors name. Best wishes, Suzanne.... {edited for privacy}

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Hi Kelly,
I should be easy enough to go to an other doctor to get a prescription for gabapentin. It is not a narcotic. How long were you on gabapentin? But if you are unable to stay on gabapentin, a magnesium supplement (magneium chloride) or Dr. Carolyn Dean's ReMag an other magnesium supplement will help with your withdrawal symptoms. Start out with a small amount of magnesium 50 mg. or less to see how you react to it. It has a sedating effect so expect to want to take a nap after taking. Magnesium is an esential mineral as is calcium and zinc and others and we are unable to get enough through our diet.

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Kelly, if you are comfortable at the 50 mg. magnesium than you can imcrease it to 100 mg. if everything goes well you should be able to take 250 mg. a day and not OD on the magnesium 125 mg. in the morning and 125 at bedtime. If you are supplementing with calcium you should take the magnesium first and wait a couple of hour before taking the calcium the ratio of calcium to magnesium ahould be 1 to 1 since we get much more calcium through our diet. Look at the food labels to see how much calcium are in the foods you eat. Also you should supplement with Vit D3 as magnesium and calcium are unable to do their job properly without D3.
8 oz. of milk has 300 mg. or more calcium.

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Gabapentin is an anticonvulsant that appears to increase the efficiency of gamma amino butric acid in the brain. Benzodiazepines like Valium, Xanax, and Klonopin do the same thing. Gabapentin is now sold on the streets --they're called "johnnies'. So this supposedly non-addictive drug appears to cause abuse and dependency. There are lots of other meds for neuropathy and related disorders that can be used that don't cause dependency. By the way, Lyrica is a chemical cousin to gabapentin - it,too is abuseable.

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Wow, I never knew that gab could be addictive. I have been on this since 2000, dosage has gone up and down from 900 to 1600 depending on how I am feeling. I have M.S., lower back pain and P.T.S.D for which I also use Xanax, vvybrad, narco and fentynal patches. Never has my Dr. questioned an increase of the gab which I use for severe leg cramps. My Dr has just lways told me to not stop taking it without his knowledge.

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I was on Gabapentine 600 mg. 2 tabs 3 times a day and Morphine and Ativan all at the same time for a year and Gabapentine and hydrocodone max dose and Ativan max dose for 5 years all at the same time. When it stoped working my doctor (Pain management) wanted to give me Gabapentine and oxycontin but I was getting so druged out an addicted to it that I knew I either had to stop taking meds or the meds would kill me. I stoped cold turkey on my own one day and have not had any med's in 2+ years. Yes withdrawls are terrible but it only lasts for 1 or 2 weeks. I am still in pain but not a drugie and am doing so much better I was on Gabapentine 600 mg. 2 tabs 3 times a day and Morphine and Ativan all at the same time for a year and Gabapentine and hydrocodone max dose and Ativan max dose for 5 years all at the same time. When it stoped working my doctor (Pain management) wanted to give me Gabapentine and oxycontin but I was getting so druged out an addicted to it that I knew I either had to stop taking meds or the meds would kill me. I stoped cold turkey on my own one day and have not had any med's in over a year. Yes withdrawls are terrible but it only lasts for 1 or 2 weeks. I am still in pain but not a drugie and am doing so much better menataly without the drugs then with the drugs. Pain mangement should teach mental mangement first as well as drugs as the time will come when you will know that it is better just to tuff it out and belive that you can be without meds. When I belived I could do it without meds (I did) But you have to belive you can. This may not work for all but It may help others that think they must be on drugs. Good luck

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Hi Josie,
I found this link on the internet, which indicates gabapentin leaches magnesium out of the body:

drcarolyndean.com it's the Jan 20,2013 post and is the current post on her page, but she has a different topic about every 2 months or so. So you may have to check previous post to fine the specific post which is as follows. "magnesium a nervous system lifesaver"

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