In Neurontin/Gabapentin Hell
 

Four months ago I was diagnosed with Valley Fever. The stress of being very ill and the fear of possible chronic illness cascaded me into an agitated depressed state. I mostly over the Valley Fever (I think?) but I was prescribed Neurontin/Gabapentin for my mental state — now at 2400mg/day for almost a month. Needless to say, this has worsened my depression and made me addicted to the drug. Every time I try to withdraw by 300-400mg the very next day I am in agonizing convulsions: chest pain, panic, double vision, nausea, etc. I am feeling so **** hopeless. I want so desperately off of this drug but my doctor just says take off 400 every few days and you will not experience any withdrawal. He's kidding, right? Is there anyone who can suggest what to do? Am I doomed to 6-10 months of slow withdrawal off this drug just because I have taken it for only a month?! I have all the ReMag. Epsom salts, NeuroEndure, JNK but nothing seems to work. Is it possible to withdraw from this *****? Please help.

Great to meet you!!
 

Gosh, I do feel for you. I came off of Oxycodone the other year, and instead of filtering it to lower doses, I went Cold Turkey. It was horrific .. I had to sleep in the spare room as my legs kept jerking .. I couldn't close my eyes .. I'd probably doze for 10 minutes then wake in a sweat.

This was the Wednesday .. at midnight on Wednesday I took a half spponful of Oxynorm (the liquid equivalent of Oxycodone) as I was in such a state.

I threw all my tablets out .. (husband took them to the pharmacy to be disposed of) and on the Saturday, I lay in bed looking at the bottle of Oxynorm thinking: "Just one spoonful and I will feel better" ... that's when I knew I was in trouble. So I tipped it down the toilet.

My family were fantastic .. I was unable to eat as I felt sick ALL the time. I couldn't even watch my favourite cookery programmes. I forced myself to eat lightly buttered toast as I knew I had to keep my energy up to fight this.

My husband bought me smoothies, vitamins and when I started with the Anxiety Attacks, some herbal remedies for calming you.

At one point I even phoned my Doctor to ask if Panic Attacks could kill you as I was having wave after wave .. it was like riding a huge storm.

I did it though .. a bit drastic, but I did it.

I found that by talking to people on forums such as this, a great help, as there is always someone that has been in the same position.

Try NOT to read the forums where people use these drugs recreationally, as they abuse the drug so much that they are on extremely high doses and my mistake was reading comments on there are frightening myself half to death.

Talk again to your Doctor .. ask if you can speak to them on the phone if you need to. My Doctor was fully supportive and rang me every day to see how I was getting on.

It terrified me that she said that the only thing she could give me for withdrawal of this drug was METHADONE !

Stay strong ... get in touch with the Doctor and tell them that you need support. Remember also, WE are here if you need to talk.

xx Thinking of you.

To my understanding, that's not entirely accurate. Buprenorphine, Clonazepam, and Methocarbamol to name just a few, but that's a medical judgment, and still needs to be done under the supervision of a doctor, as there is some risk of substituting one dependence for another.

Tapering down with OTC meds to help alleviate symptoms might have been easier, but that's a personal choice, and moot at this point. What's important is that you succeeded. (Thumbs Up) Hopefully you've found other ways of managing pain. :)

Doc

Umm yes, more drugs. Lol. However, I feel they are under MY control whereas before, they were ruling me.

Still a lot ..

Zomorph 30mg twice a day
Tramadol or Oramorph for breakthrough pain. (I switch between the two)
Diazepam for back spasm
Tamazepam IF I have a few nights without sleep
20mg Amitryptilline at night
Paracetamol every 6 hours if pain is in flare up
Fluoxetine 40mg per day
Omeprazole 40mg twice a day
Lazido .. Powder to keep your gut moving
Biaocodyl .. Tablet to keep bowel moving
Micralax .. The big guns, if bowel NOT moving. Lol

That explains why your doctor was reluctant to prescribe anything more.

Doc

Doctor could be right!
 

Hi Adamo,
I am sorry that the drug is not working for you. I think that your doctor might actually know what he is talking about. After taking amitriptyline at a dose of 17.5 mg nightly, admittedly for some time, I had to reduce the dosage very very gradually. I would reduce by only 2.5 mg at a time and keep it like that for several weeks or months sometimes or I would get withdrawal symptoms (pain mainly). It has taken me over 2 years to get down to almost nothing. It might be the same story with gabapentin, in which case just go with it. If you withdraw gradually you might find that you no longer need it.
Good luck.
CS

the Zomorph is instead of thenoxcodone and Oramorph instead of the Oxynorm .. Does that make sense?

I have been on oxy for two years now I hope I dont have that when its time to get off of it. I have had 3 back operation and still have no relife from pain. All I do is stay home most of time in bed.

To Adamo, re: gabapentin withdrawal / gradual suspension
 

Welcome!

Let your doctor know that you have tried his suggestion, and tell him the things you experienced when you you removed 400 mg. He wasn't kidding because that is a fairly reasonable taper schedule but it clearly isn't working for you. There is an alternative...

In the US, gabapentin also comes in 100 mg capsules. If your doctor does not offer these, ask him to prescribe them for taper purposes. I might try taking off 200 mg every few days -- if that is still too steep, go with 100 mg.

Please do not try the cold turkey route from 2400 mg of gabapentin -- that's like begging to have seizures. It isn't worth the risk and there's no need. If you want off of it fast, your doctor will probably want to prescribe another antiseizure medication as a temporary safety measure. But normally, gradual reduction is the preferred route with seizure meds.

Best wishes! Glad the Valley Fever seems to be under control!

waves