Quote:
Originally Posted by Dr. Smith
This is almost identical to my reaction to gabapentin—no attenuation of pain whatsoever, and feeling of overall ill-being. Worse (IMO), it deprived me of my ability to think clearly/concentrate, and worst of all, robbed me of my ability to create (both imagination and abstract thought) —my vocation. Perhaps it was fortunate that I never got beyond 900-1200 mg/day; I was in intractable pain at the time, and that may have masked/overridden whatever withdrawal there was.
Acknowledging that jobs involving travel often/usually have no regard for the five-day work week, will this new job require "on-call" or erratic scheduling? It occurs to me that if you can reasonably count on the second day as being the worst, and you have any ability to incorporate that into your working schedule, you might be able to arrange to have that worst day (or worst 2 days) coincide with your "weekend"/(off days). This will indubitably suck until you're off the beastie, but by December, may only be for a couple/few more weeks at worst.
I share your reluctance on this one (and by all means discuss it with your doctor), but thinking it through, it also occurs to me that using something else (e.g. a diazapine prescribed by your doctor) to attenuate withdrawal symptoms one or two days out of 5 - 7 (~a week) through this step-down period is quite different than taking it every day for a month or more, and far less likely to produce/trigger another dependence (or swap one for another). Speaking only for myself, and under the circumstances outlined above, I would seriously consider this option. Planning ahead, maybe ask your doctor about a prescription for a couple days worth—not enough to produce dependence, but enough to test/see if it's worthwhile considering for you.
Doc
|
I am seriously looking into the option of using an Ativan, etc. to attenuate the bad 2nd day withdrawal after a reduction. Someone on another forum has said to me "...I would strongly recommend against taking Ativan or any other Benzo. These drugs further 'dull' or down regulate your gaba receptors and therefore will only postpone your recovery. My recommendation would be to slow down your taper significantly rather than adding other meds...." Ideally I would like to reduce 200mg/week w/ one day of benzo relief — is this just completely ridiculous plan? My doctor still tells me "there is no such thing as Gabapentin withdrawal and any benzos for attenutation are unjustified!" What do you think?
To clarify, the person who said this was on 9mg Xianax/day 2005-2010 tapering to 5mg 2010 and on 2700mg Gabapentin 2005-2008 tapering to 900mg by 2008 but has held at this until now while tapering off 5mg Xanax until zero now. She still uses 900mg of Gabapentin today. I think this a NIGHT AND DAY difference from what you advise about my situation when you recommend attenuating with a one day a week use of a benzo during a step-down from my 1900mg of Gabapentin which rightly say is: "...different than taking it every day for a month or more, and is less likely to produce/trigger another dependence (or one for another)." Am I correct in understanding that after a dose reduction of Gabapentin when the level in the blood drops the over stimulation of the dulled Gaba receptors causes withdrawal symptoms but that unlike other drugs this imbalance levels off relatively quickly? In my case the second day after a dose-reduction is real BAD! I am hoping by getting past this day with benzo-attenuation I will not be too discouraged or scared to move on to the next dose reduction. After all, the most important point is to continually forge ahead towards being free of this s***, right?!
Most obliged for you counsel in this regard. Like you, I too more so than most other people depend on the sharpness and acuity of my intellectual/analytic faculties to do my work.