What happens if you stop gabapentin for a day?
 

So I have a long drive next week - 10 hours driving. I will have my daughters with me but no one to share the driving. I started on gabapentin about 2.5 months ago, and am still getting wooly headed. I don't want to be sleepy or have slow reflexes on the drive. Can I stop the gabapentin for a day? Should I also stop the day before? I am willing to accept the pain, even aggravated by the drive, if I can stay alert and not put my daughters at risk.

Will stopping the gabapentin help me stay alert and is there a problem with stopping for a day or two?

Thanks.

I have, due to not refilling my RX on time a couple of times, missed 1 or 2 days (once, due to a mix up almost 2 weeks!), and have found that in addition to a return of pain and nerve aggravation, I also have to deal with noticeable changes in mood. and not in a good way. Once I discovered that, I try to be more regular and not miss! I am also more likely to have a bad flareup if I am not consistent in taking my gabapentin and pyrodostigmine...
Having said that, I would probably do the same as you are considering, and not take the gabapentin for the day you would be driving, substituting Tylenol and or alternating with Ibuprofen. (I can not drive however, as my right side (leg and arm) have quite bad nerve damage, so it is a moot point for me, anyway)

safe travels!

Hello Ccm47
I have stopped it for 2 or 3 days also because of mix ups with refills and as Akashenov I also had mood changes. Mostly found myself getting aggravated with people and also was very inpatient with others. I'm taking 1400 mg's a day.

Thanks for the info. That is really helpful to know so I'm not yelling at my girls in the car! I have found that eating helps a little with the drowsiness, so maybe I'll cut down on my dose and just make sure to snack so my blood sugar stays up or whatever.

Maybe this is why people gain weight on gabapentin?

Hi Ccm47
 

Hello, and I sure do understand your concern. Your daughters are #1. This particular med. as you know already makes you a bit woozy. I think you should call your doctor and ask his advise on this. Mood changes can also occur when starting or stopping this medication. Be safe buzz the doc. Have a safe trip. ginnie:grouphug:

Haha
 

sorry I stopped for a week, thats how I knew this was the drug that was making me a lump. i stopped it all together, but as far as stopping for a day?? I doubt it will hurt but sw your dr anyway that way its monitored..

You should seriously talk to your doctor about this. Sure it's nice and interesting to find out from others what you MIGHT expect, but it's not the safe thing to do, especially if you are driving a long distance and have children in the car. I just, with my doctor's assistance tried to ramp down and get rid of my Lyrica. (Which is my replacement drug for your Neurontin/Gabbapentin. I had to ramp down my dose and the number of capsules I took, over the course of 4 weeks. This is a medication that affects your brain function. You should absolutely not stop taking it without your doctor knowing. I will tell you too that when I took a lower does I was fine until all so a sudden I was not, I was in excruciating pain that I could not control or get on top of and had to get a rush appointment to see my doctor and get my does up again. also, studies show that chronic pain patients are safer drivers when they are taking their medication. You do not want to be in a lot of pain when you are behind the wheel of a car. Call your doctor and figure it out with him or her, not with advice from a forum.

Abrupt discontinuation of Neurontin can cause seizures.

I feel a disclaimer is in order.....Everyone should take their medications as prescribed by their doctor and consult their doctor about any changes, etc, etc Any personal stories about side effects suffered or not by any of us should not be construed to be advice to not take your meds as ordered, etc, etc

I've skipped doses and started/stopped taking Neurontin more times than I can count. I have "formally" weaned on and off, accidentally run out, and purposefully skipped doses. The purposefully skipping doses have been when I want to enjoy a cocktail (or two, or....) and to do science experiments to see how the Neurontin effects my blood sugar (a lot).

I have no problems with skipping my morning and evening doses in one day. I have problems with withdrawal with rebound pain and nasty mood only when I get to skipping the second day and beyond.

I will say that Neurontin fog was a big problem for me when I first started taking it, for maybe a year or two. Now, many years later, it actually gives me a little boost, perks me up a bit. Something for you to look forward too ;)

I would recommend breaking that trip up. My RSD is in my neck/left arm, so driving is a real issue for me. Even before RSD, driving 4 or 5 hours would be my mental limit in one day. I can't imagine 10 hours.....ugh ! Remember frequent rest stops, elevating your RSD area, etc.

Thanks everyone for your advice. I'll give my doctors office a cell Monday and see what they say.

The doctor had already suggested switching me to lyrica if the side effects don't go away, but I've only been on gabapentin for about three months, and I don't get the side effects every day anyway. I'd forgotten about all the withdrawal problems, through. I want to talk to the doctor about that as well. Do the problems last a long time? More than a week or so? Would lyrica have fewer withdrawal problems?

My wife is on lyrica and has not had any side effects from it. You have to remember everyone is different what works for you may not work for everyone.

I took Gabapentin for nearly a year, and had dizziness, tiredness etc, and then really bad stomach problems. I stopped and have been on Lyrica for the last 8 months - I'm on a really low dose (50mg twice a day) but still getting on much better than I was on the Gaba :rolleyes: I hadn't realised how little the Gaba was doing until I stopped it. I haven't noticed any side-effects on the low dose of Lyrica, but when I was on a much higher dose of it 18 months ago, I did have some issues, which was why I was swapped to Gabapentin. In Lyrica's defence, I had the same issues later while on the gaba, and they turned out to be the CRPS, not the meds,

That said - obviously a lot of folk swear by their Gabapentin, so it works for some and not others. Personally I'm much happier with Lyrica, but I know Gabapentin is encouraged more by docs because it is MUCH cheaper for them to buy. Very loosely, I gather Lyrica is an active part of Gabapentin which has been isolated, and that's why the dosages for Lyrica are a lot lower than Gaba.

Bram.

Years ago, I was switched to Lyrica to see if side effects would be less of a problem than with Neurontin. Six of one, half dozen of the other. I switched back to Neurontin because it's cheaper for me and my insurance and both meds "felt" the same to me.

Thanks everyone. I might try lyrica eventually, but I want to give gabapentin a shot first because of the money - lyrica would cost 10x more. I am seeing my doctor tomorrow so ill talk to her about the whole thing and see what she says.

I hope that your doc gives you the green light for skipping at least part or all of your gabapentin for a day. Like the others I'd never want to say it's ok to do so -- I have, but it depends on a lot of things, including the reason(s) you take it, the amount you take, and the number of doses per day.

Maybe she will let you skip the daytime doses -- you could ask about doing that and possibly taking part of your daytime dose at night. It might be helpful to do that rather than skipping completely, but the doc would have to say.

Good luck to you tomorrow, and have a safe trip!

waves

Well, we made it to my parents house just fine. I was really wiped out today, though.

My doctor suggested that I take my am dose, and delay my afternoon dose until the drive was over. That was because I told her I am usually okay in the morning but more tired from the drug in the afternoon. She also said it was fine to skip a dose when I need to.

Thanks everyone for your help and well wishes.

Glad you all made it safe an sound .

You must be relived its all over! :D

Really glad everything went ok, hopefully this will give you more confidence for next time you need to do anything long-distance :)

Bram.