Jim takes gaba Tammy. Don't go cold turkey or you could have seizures. That's the side effect of stopping too soon and Jim found out the hard way. He has swelling and weight gain too and his neuro said if we wanted to try to go down on them we could. She said to report back to her what we find. She up'd his dose last year and he's gained almost thirty pounds since then.

Stay tuned because it will be a long ride. I am weening Jim slowly, very slowly. I don't ever want to see him seize again.

Sandy, did he have seizures before the took the gaba? I'm on a pretty high dose (600 mg X 3) and would like to cut back. I've never had a seizure before. It's causing me to gain weight, too. But...I have such bad pain in my arms and legs I hesitate to cut back. How much are you decreasing the dose by?

Thanks! :)

Kelly, no he didn't. He was put on gaba for nerve pain years ago. Now that he's on Methadone we feel that maybe he can come off gaba. When he had those seizures five years ago it was all from gabapentin withdrawl. Some resident took him off the gaba while in kidney failure and forgot to tell his neuro, not to mention forgot to look up the side effects of going cold turkey.

My advice would be take it slow. Jim is on 3600 mgs at 1200mgs 3x a day. I am taking one pill out for each dose. So, now he is getting only 2400 mgs a day, 800mgs 3x a day. We'll do that for about a week or two and then drop down again, one pill each dose until we are done. I am hoping he can get off it completely but if he starts to feel nerve pain, we'll know it was doing it's job and stop at the dose he needs.

My Neuro stated me on Gabapentin 3 weeks ago.

I started with one 300mg at bedtime for one week, the second week it was one in the morning and at bedtime and now I am on one pill 3 times a day.

I am having a little relief but I think she will probably increase the dosage after my next appt. in Sept or Oct. I haven't had any bad side effects other than being a little slower and foggier in the morning and my fatigue is worse. I don't do well in the morning anyway so I just take it slower.

I'm on a low dose compared to the rest of you but my Neuro did start me on it very slow.

I have been on Gabapentin for a couple years now and am taking 3600mg a day. The only side effect I notice is weight gain (it makes me hungry all the time) and sleepyness in the late morning and afternoon. But then, I have an extremely high tolerance for meds. In 2004, I was taking about 8 Vicadins (7.5/750mg) a day for months (and working and driving) before a spinal fusion and quit the day my surgery was done. No WD. I am lucky in some respects and not so lucky in others.

I would follow the advice mentioned prior and hope it works for you.

Hello Tamiloo, I am currently taking gabapentin, (1) 600 mg pill twice during the day, and (2) pills at bedtime for a total of 2400 mgs per day for over a year now. I am currently experiencing a jerking of my left hand (I am left-handed) which creates any messes, and a loss of body movement as well, which leads to my falling down sometimes. Attempting to go off is not good as it leads to seizures. My doctors assistent told me that gabapentin is not for treatment of the nerves, but I was under the impression it is. At this time, I am simply looking for someone who shares some of the conditions I am experiencing, and when I read your post, I felt a kindrid spirit. please respond. Revyrev:

The post you are responding to is over 4 years old, so getting a response may be iffy.

Gabapentin
 

I canned them the gabapentin shatkes, and finally, when I was at my worst, I had to have wife drive me to the doc so he could see it firsthand. He took me off them right away. One size does not fit all, and I have discovered that rats have it. even been tested for cancer for the stuff in high dosses. It marginally worked for me, but after that reaction and serration in syndrome from SSRIs, they decided to put me strictly on opioid therapy.

It has been a paperwork hassle, but well worth it. 80% pain free, not in gaga land, and able to function. It is a miracle