Gabapentin (Neurontin) is an anticonvulsant medication in the GABA analog lass that was originally created to help manage epilepsy, but is also utilized to help individuals suffering from neuropathic pain. It has become a first-line treatment option for the relief of neuropathic pain from diabetic neuropathy, central neuropathic pain, as well as post-herpetic neuralgia. This medication also is popular for other, more off-label uses including: treating restless leg syndrome, insomnia, and in some cases, bipolar disorder.
Gabapentin was created with the intention of mimicking the GABA neurotransmitter (gamma-aminobutyric acid), but is not thought to act on the same brain receptors. The way the drug works isn’t well known. Some research suggests that it may interact with various voltage-dependent calcium channels in neurons. It is also thought to reduce the release of mono-amines and decrease the axon excitability in certain areas in the hippocampus.
The half life of Gabapentin is only 5 to 7 hours – meaning this medication has an extremely short time before it is cleared from the body. Half life is important to understand because medications with shorter half lives tend to yield the most severe withdrawal symptoms. This medication can be extremely difficult to withdraw from – so make sure you work with a professional when trying to stop taking it.
Factors that influence Gabapentin withdrawal include
There are various factors that influence withdrawal from any medication and/or powerful drug like Gabapentin. The factors that play the greatest role in determining how quick you recover are: time span (how long you took the drug), the dosage (how much you took), your physiology (some people recover quicker), and how you quit the drug (long taper vs. short taper vs. cold turkey).
1. Time Span
For what length of time were you taking this drug? Did you take it every day for years? Did you take it for just a few months? The shorter the duration of time that you were on this medication, the easier it should be for you to come off of it. The longer that you were taking Gabapentin, the more accustomed your brain and nervous system will become to receiving the drug to help with functioning. Therefore, it may be extremely difficult to withdraw from if you have been on this medication for an extended period of time.
2. Dosage (300 mg to 3000 mg)
Most doctors start younger people at 300 mg to take 3x per day. So the starting dose is typically around 900 mg per day. The a young adult or teenager may work their way up to 1800 mg per day if that’s what is recommended by the doctor. In some cases, the drug is prescribed in regards to bodyweight. Some doctors will prescribe 10 mg to 15 mg per kilogram (kg) of bodyweight. Anyways, if you are on a higher dosage, it is thought that withdrawal is going to be a lot more difficult compared to someone on a low dose.
3. Physiology
This drug has a noticeable effect on nearly everyone that takes it. The majority of individuals are going to have withdrawal symptoms of some kind. However, your individual physiology will determine how severe these symptoms are. If you tend to not experience many withdrawal effects on medications, you may cope with the withdrawal process just fine. If you are someone who is ultra-sensitive to medications, you may have a very difficult time adjusting to life without Gabapentin.
4. Cold turkey vs. Tapering
It is strongly advised that you always work with your doctor and do a “gradual taper.” This involves slowly reducing your dosage over a period of weeks or months with the intention of finally quitting the drug. The higher the dose you have become accustomed to taking, the more gradual you will need to stop taking this medication. If you quit this medication “cold turkey” it may trigger very dangerous symptoms including seizures. Never quit anything this powerful without slowly tapering off of it.
Gabapentin Withdrawal Symptoms: List of Possibilities
Below are some withdrawal symptoms that you may experience when withdrawing from Gabapentin. Keep in mind that you may not experience everything on the list – everyone will have a different experience. These are a list of symptoms based on what individuals have reported during their withdrawal process.
- Anxiety: Some individuals report feelings of anxiety upon withdrawal. This anxiety may be subtle or severe. It has been documented that some people actually take this medication for treating anxiety. Therefore when coming off of this medication, it is common for people to feel especially anxious.
- Appetite changes: Some people may feel like not eating and will experience a noticeable loss of appetite when quitting Gabapentin. Others may experience an increased appetite – especially if while on the drug their appetite decreased.
- Crying spells: The emotions can run wild when coming off of this medication. You may find yourself crying for no reason or you may experience crying spells as a result of the depression you are experiencing. Just know that the excessive crying will eventually stop.
- Depression: Many people experience feelings of significant depression when they stop taking this medication. Even for people with no prior emotional problems may experience severe depression when they stop taking this drug. There have been cases where individuals take this medication recreationally and experience very tough depression when they have to stop taking it.
- Dizziness: One of the most common symptoms to experience during withdrawal from this medication is dizziness. You may feel so dizzy that you are unable to properly function throughout the day. Just know that this means your brain is trying to reset itself and it will eventually go away. If it doesn’t subside, you could try to taper even more slowly.
- Fatigue: Another common withdrawal symptom that you may experience is that of fatigue, lethargy, or tiredness. You may lack energy to get things done throughout the day. It is common to feel extremely fatigued while coming off of Gabapentin – do your best to cope with it.
- Headaches: Most people don’t talk about the fact that coming off of this medication can result in headaches. There have been cases of individuals that go on this medication, and during withdrawal experience migraine headaches. As time passes, these are thought to go away.
- Insomnia: Some people experience pretty severe insomnia when they first quit this medication. This may have a profound impact on your sleep patterns, so do your best to cope with the inability to fall asleep. Try to engage in some relaxation exercises if you are too anxious or agitated to fall asleep.
- Irritability: You may notice yourself becoming especially irritable during the acute phases of withdrawal from this drug. It may be difficult to cope with, but take a step back and realize that your neurotransmitter levels and brain activity has been temporarily altered. You may not be able to control feeling this way, but you can do your best to control how you react because of it.
- Itching: You may experience itching all over your body. This isn’t a very well documented or talked about symptom, but some people may feel as if they are going crazy because their body feels so itchy during the withdrawal process. Just know that if you are experiencing extreme itchiness, you are not alone.
- Muscle pain: If you were taking this medication to help manage symptoms of pain, it is no doubt that the pain is going to return. With that said, it is common to feel pain throughout the body and in various muscles when quitting this drug.
- Nausea: Some people become very nauseated during their withdrawal. This is not an easy symptom to cope with, but do your best to fight through it.
- Restlessness: It’s common to feel restless when coming off of Gabapentin. The restlessness may interfere with your ability to stay focused throughout the day on certain tasks. Take it for what it’s worth – try to push through it and know it will subside.
- Seizures: One of the biggest dangers associated with cold turkey or sudden discontinuation of Gabapentin is that of seizures. There have even been reports of people experiencing seizures from relatively low doses. Make sure that you take the time to taper off of this drug – regardless of your dose.
- Sleep disturbances: You may experience significant difficulties falling asleep, staying asleep, and getting a restful night’s sleep. These go hand-in-hand with insomnia, anxiety, and restlessness that you may be experiencing.
- Spasms: Many people experience muscle spasms when trying to quit. If the spasms become unbearable, you may need to conduct a slower taper. In most cases people can deal with an occasional spasm or two.
- Stomach pain: Some individuals have pain in their stomach and/or abdominal area during withdrawal.
- Suicidal thinking: If you are withdrawing from Gabapentin and notice that you are becoming extremely depressed and/or experiencing suicidal thoughts, be sure to get help. These will eventually subside as time passes.
- Sweating: Many people report horrible night sweats to the point that they wake up in the middle of their sleep with beads of sweat dripping off of their body. You may experience excessive sweating throughout the day, but it may be even worse at night.
Note: It is understood that Gabapentin stays in your system for 1-2 days after discontinuation. Once the drug has been fully excreted from your body, many of the withdrawal symptoms are likely to emerge.
Suggestion: Magnesium supplements to help ease withdrawal symptoms
Many people have had success easing withdrawal symptoms by supplementing magnesium. Gabapentin attaches to the same chemical receptor in your brain as calcium and magnesium. As you begin to taper off of Gabapentin, your body will make use of magnesium supplementation that you supply it, and you’ll have a much easier time coping with withdrawal symptoms. Some people experience very minimal to no withdrawal symptoms while supplementing magnesium during withdrawal.
Gabapentin Withdrawal Duration: How long does it last?
The withdrawal process affects everyone differently, so there is no exact science to say that withdrawal will take a specific amount of time. For some people the process will take a few weeks, for others the effects will linger for months. Many individuals that have withdrawn say that it took them over a year to fully recover once they took their last dose. Give your body and mind time to heal – after all, these medications have a significant impact on your brain chemistry when taken over an extended period of time.
Recognize that the most important thing you can do during any sort of withdrawal is to take good care of yourself. Make sure you are eating healthy foods, getting exercise, and allowing your body to make a full recovery. Talk to close family members and friends about your experience for added social support. If you are feeling especially down or having a difficult time, consider working with a therapist.
If you cannot afford a therapist, various online forums should be able to provide you with some good advice and support. Realize that you are not the only person that has experienced Gabapentin withdrawal – many people have made it through this experience. It does take time, but with good habits, social support, and advice, recovery will only be a matter of time.
Hello, I first tried gabapentin after purchasing it from a research chemical site. Now, that should raise a red flag. It’s sold as a research chemical, because not much is known about it. After reading about it the information I gathered was only a bunch of theories on how it worked in the human body. Anyway, I was dealing with an opiate addiction and heard it was great for that and ordered ten grams of powder.
To my delight I found that it had recreational powers! Fast forward, I had an appointment with a psychiatrist and mentioned that the antidepressant I was taking was giving me restless leg and he perscribed me gabapentin. Yay! I was taking it only every three days, since I knew about its addiction potential. Two days after taking it I would become severely depressed, irritable, no appetite with stomach pains, and the opiate withdrawal sweats were back.
I was so depressed that I made an appointment with the methadone clinic. My doctor thinks I’m still on opiaites and wanted me to go there. I figured that by now being off opiaites I would have zero tolerance and twenty mg of methadone would get me really high. In the mean time I was going to take a bunch of etizolam which would surely have killed me.
In the mean time I began to see the correlation between my recreational gaba use and the severe depression and cancelled my appointment. In the mean time I made plans with my daughter to leave my husband as I saw him as the source of all my problems. This is one recreational drug I can do without! The price is too high with cloudy thinking, suicide ideation, insomnia and gastrointestinal issues.
I have been on gabapentin since Nov 4, 2015 100mg then on Nov 23, my psych doc increased me to 2 pills at bedtime for a mood disorder. I feel horrible I cannot breathe and I need to wean. I am planning on cutting back to 1 pill a day and I hope for the best. I cannot take my body craving this stuff. My doctor never explained how this would affect me. This is a horrible drug… Kind Regards, Shanie
My experience with Gabapentin/Neurontin seems to have gone the reverse of what I am reading. I was prescribed 100mg three times a day (300 mg) for neural pain and a “lift” in mood. I tolerated this for two weeks. The instructions said to double the dosage at this point (600mg). Within three days I had shortness of breath, unending tiredness, blurry vision, difficulty concentrating, high anxiety and trouble making decisions.
(I take Venlafaxine, Xanax, and Bupropion.) I was not functioning at all and slowly tapered off. The symptoms lingered the first three days and then quickly exacerbated to a level that I could tolerate. Hopefully I will not have to go through all the withdrawal symptoms mentioned. The literature with the medication said to call the prescribing physician if there were any ill effects. I haven’t had my call returned after three days.
This would have been helpful to read earlier, but I’m glad I read it now. I am so miserable with nausea and dizziness, I honestly can’t even get across how bad it is. I began to take an overdose of pills and luckily stopped before it went too far. This is very, very serious and I was given NO warning whatsoever! Do NOT do this without a doctor’s help! One who knows and understands this drug! Now that I’ve read this, I will be making some phone calls tomorrow and asking if these idiots had a clue as to what I was about to go through.
I have been taking Gabapentin for at least a year for symptoms related to mental illness (including, ironically, some anxiety). I was given two 100mg pills for each day and was told that I could take them as needed, rather than regularly (daily). This has gradually increased to 300mg, again, as needed. I go days without, days where I just take 100 or 200 mg, and days I take 300, depending on how I feel. For a little while, it seemed to help somewhat.
Well, I have more or less been a basket case for nine months now, uncontrollable sobbing for no reason, panic attacks, dizziness, and my anxiety is far worse than it has ever been. I thought something was off with my hormones, but tests have shown them to be normal. So, now I’m reading this, and feeling like a lot of theses withdrawal symptoms sound familiar.
Is is possible that the very irregular way that I have been told I can take this medicine has put me into some kind of constant withdrawal with the inconsistent doses I take? When I told my nurse about the problems I’m having, she doubled my dose, and still said “as needed”. I feel so scared and mixed up with all these crazy mood swings that I have no idea what to do. It sounds like the last thing I need is more of this medicine. Any thoughts?
Hi Lucy. Yes I believe that’s your problem you have to take the same dose at the same time everyday or you can go into tolerance withdrawal this is where I was at for years until I figured it out. I thought I was going insane!!! Try the 200 or 300 mg for about a week dosing at the same time everyday and see how you feel then try to cut back VERY slowly like 50 to 100 mg’s every few weeks or until your system adjust. Even if it takes a month before you’re able to make the next cut and please let me know how your coming along with it. I will be praying for you, as well as for everyone else in here!!! Peace in Christ, Johnny
I was really glad to find your site. I have been on 2400mg of gabapentin for many years for phantom pain, diabetic neuropathy, and fibromyalgia. My liver function test hit an all time high and it was suggested that I go off my meds for awhile. NO ONE warned me about withdrawal. I had to figure it out for myself and this site does explain the itching, which is worse in the evening.
Shortness of breath, fatigue, depression, severe night sweats, and dizziness. I wish I had a better idea how long this would last. I have been 11 days with no meds so I think it is too late to taper off seeing as I have already done “cold turkey”. Can anyone give me a better idea of a time frame? I am 65, 250 lbs 5’11” and was taking 2400 mg daily for at least 10 years.
Wow! I am so pleased I found this website, I have been reading all of your posts and I know you are all suffering but it has made me feel slightly better knowing that how I am feeling is apparently ‘the norm.’ I was given gabapentin after having surgery for a broken ankle as I suffered with extreme nerve pain after. It was great it really worked and I didn’t have any side effects from taking it. The nurse suggested coming off of it 2 weeks after the surgery, she advised me to taper off of it as I would feel a bit poorly.
This was the only information I was given. I was on 600mg per day and I reduced it to 400mg over a week and felt fine but as I reduced it further I have felt so ill. I can’t bring myself to even get out of bed, I feel so lethargic, nauseous, headaches, restlessness, lack of appetite. I can’t even concentrate properly on anything even watching TV! I can’t stop crying, I suffer with depression already but I feel even worse at the moment. It doesn’t help that I’m not mobile at all because of my broken ankle, I just feel so helpless.
I still have another 200mg per day to come off of but I’ve decided I feel so rough as it is that I’m just not going to take them at all anymore. I don’t want to prolong the withdrawal! Sorry for the long moan but no one seems to understand and it’s a lonely process.
600 mg Gabapentin 2 hrs before bed for 10 months. This was a first try for Restless Leg Syndrome as the doctor indicated Gabapentin had some great benefits: pain relief, drowsiness, and the off-label use for RLS. It might have helped RLS to some degree but did not do anything for my nighttime pain in legs that leaves me unable to sleep on either left or right side of my body. Continued to have to take Ultram 2x daily and Flexeril every other day for some relief.
Medical marijuana helped a lot in the beginning until my THC tolerance built up and I’m not willing to go above 10mg of that per day. In the last month, I started getting blurry vision after 6 hrs of computer work, then 5, then 4 hrs, etc. I began taking 8 minutes out of every 60 minutes to “rest” my eyes by looking at distant objects. This would buy me maybe an extra hour of non-blurry vision in a workday.
I could get by a bit by squinting and after perhaps 60 to 90 minutes during the commute home and the evening it would go away completely. Then, the next day it comes back. Being a bit stubborn and stupid, I just went to zero dosage and had intense pain in my legs and lost sleep for several nights. Also, anxiety bordering on panic, some irritability, a little depression. This is now day 10 after quitting and I hope to be normal someday soon.
I have been on Gabapentin for about a month. I first took 200mg and then 400mg and just recently was on another 300. I stopped 300mg cold turkey and it seems to be working. I have only been on the extra gabapentin for about 3 weeks. How long will it take to go off of the 400 mg which I have been on for about 2 months? The doctors are acting strangely about it and when I was feeling better the doctor put me on more. I have stopped taking 300mg about 6 days ago. It is hard. What should I do about the remaining 400 which I am still on?
Have stopped taking GABAPENTIN (cold turkey) and have gone completely numb from waist down to toes on front & back side of body. Is this normal anyone, please?
I have been on gabapentin for over 4 years and am tapering down very slowly and even when I’m still on it as I’m hitting the lower end of my taper I’m starting to feel the withdrawal symptoms. I can’t continue this medication because it does bad things to your liver and I just found out my liver is bad. Will magnesium help me while I’m still tapering or do I need to wait until I’ve completely stopped taking it for it to work? Thanks
I have been on a high dose of gabapentin – 900 mg 3 times a day for over a year. I have tapered back more rapidly than is recommended and feel a little anxious, but all in all I don’t feel that bad. Having said that, I do empathize with those having bad withdrawal symptoms. Years back I tapered off of Paxil and had one of the worst experiences of my life. Hang in there, it will get better! And don’t be afraid to seek help or talk about it with loved ones.
Trying to find out how long COLD TURKEY SYMPTOMS may last. I had been on 2400 mg of Neurontin for 15 yrs (for sleep issues) until beginning a very slow taper 8 months ago. I made it down to 300 mg but ended up going back to 600 I couldn’t function at all. At 300 mg I was adding several supplements and still not sleeping. At 600, I was sleeping decently again.
Last night, however, my pill did not get absorbed (as happens occasionally), but this time I decided not to get up and take something, but rather just go “cold turkey.” As expected, I never went to sleep. Any idea as to how long this might last if I continue cold turkey? I am soooooo sick of this very long taper and would love to finally be done with it! Thanks in advance…
I’m an otherwise healthy 35 year old female with ankle pain for few years, post surgery one year, my pain recently labeled “nerve pain”. Doctor prescribed this and I took 300mg daily for TWO DAYS and went off it and am having severe muscle spasms in my lower back that I have never had in my life (cannot sit). Side effects when I took it were: severe GERD, undigested food in my stool, fatigue, lowered libido at body-level (normal sexual response cycle not capable of happening,) spacey/forgetfulness, general joint pain, constipation, and dry mouth. It did reduce my pain but for all the above, no way.
On July 17th I had a collis-belsey using a trans thoracic approach. I was given gabapentin about 10 days after surgery for referred neuropathy, I started with 300 mg a day and increased to 900 mg a day. It worked very well to get rid of the terrible pain but I did not like the side effects. I stepped down my dosage until I was totally off of them, the withdrawal period was not too bad for me possibly because I was not taking them very long.
My problem is that it has now been three weeks since my last dose and I still have a layer of constant numbness in the area of my original neuropathy. What I am wondering is if this is possibly from the gabapentin not clearing my system or is this from the nerve damage itself and more importantly will the numbness ever go away. I also now have a horrible itch under the numb layer.
Howdy All, I stopped Gabapentin pretty quickly under the advice of my prescriber. I had been on 600 mg 3 times a day. She had me taper down to twice a day for 5 days and then once a day for 5 days then quit. I can’t even begin to explain the severe heavy depression I started feeling. For three straight days I was so down I couldn’t do anything and I didn’t want to do anything. I’m not a suicidal person by any means, but I just wanted it to end. I have been feeling a bit better over the past 24 hours, but I’ve still been extremely irritable, I feel like I’m having hot flashes (even though I’m 27 and I’m definitely not), insomnia and head aches.
I’m glad I had only been taking this for a few months, I can’t imagine how horrible this could have been if I had been on it for more than 6 months. Luckily my mom had some Xanax that seemed to help the irritability and insomnia. Wondering if I should try the Magnesium to get rid of the rest of these withdrawal symptoms.
I have been on only 300mg of Gabapentin at bedtime for two months to help with insomnia, while attempting to taper off of Ativan. At first, I thought it was wonderful, but I soon realized it was causing me nosebleeds and fluid retention. I am still on Ativan, but am tapering off the Gabapentin first, although that was not my plan originally. For one week, now I have opened my capsules and taken out 15% of the powder, and then re weighing them, using a micro scale.
I have had no withdrawal symptoms so far, and have now gone on to do the same with a 25% reduction. I started that last night and intend to do that for a few more days. Maybe I’m just lucky with such a low dose and short time on, but we will see. I do take magnesium though, just not within two hours of taking the Gabapentin. If all goes well, I will reduce in a week using two of the 100 mg capsules for a few days, and see how it goes from there. Has anyone else had nosebleeds from Gabapentin?
I took neurontin to detox off alcohol I guess the doctor gave it to me to prevent seizures. He wouldn’t give me a benzo because basically benzos act on the GABA receptors in a similar way that alcohol does. Plus benzos are addictive and although they gave me ativan in the hospital he didn’t want to continue me on a benzo at home. So I was taking 400 milligrams of neurontin three times a day for about 3 weeks.
I had a couple of hundred’s in my purse that another hospital has given me and I popped one of those here and there to try to taper off of it. Well just in that short time I have terrible night sweats and sweating during the day I have to keep my air conditioner on 72 and I still sweat constantly. The worst side effect that I’ve had is depression and overall body itching. I itch from head to toe to the point where I clawed my skin I use expensive deep moisturizing lotions and nothing seems to help.
I gained about 15 pounds literally within a month on this stuff and I hardly eat. I’ve been off of it now about a week and a half or so. So I really think that this drug does have severe withdrawals even being one of the short time but I was on a very high dose. So I hope that helps somebody out there. I think my body is very sensitive to medications.
In January, I tapered off Lyrica 150mg 2x’s a day and onto Gabapentin 300mg 2x’s a day. I had no side effects. Now, I’m tapering off the Gabapentin. I stopped taking the evening dose about 10 days ago. I woke up yesterday with horrible blues that I just can’t shake. I’m on 2 different medications for depression, even though I never felt like I was depressed before.
This low feeling is really overwhelming and something I’ve never experienced before. Also have the nighttime sweating. My docs know I’m tapering off. I just wonder how long this is going to last. I’m afraid to taper any further. On the other hand, I’m thinking of just stopping it altogether to just get the withdrawals over with. Any advice?
I have severe nerve damage in my left leg from a traumatic break a few years ago. I was put on gabapentin to help with the pain. It works about 80% of the time. I went for a week and a half without it and experienced 14 of these withdrawal symptoms. Nausea, fatigue, crying spells, irritability and sleep deprivation being the most noticeable. I resumed my regular prescription today. I am hoping I’ll be back to normal in a few days. If you decide you no longer want or need to take this drug, please tell your doctor and taper off. This type of drug has substantial effects on the brain and has the potential to be life threatening if not handled properly.
I would just like to say well done to everybody on this forum, whatever stage you are at with withdrawal, hope you are doing well. I’ve got down to 3 x 300mg a day from 3 x 700mg. I’m struggling with the last phase though. Got some good tips here. I started taking magnesium but didn’t realize you had to be gabapentin free before taking it. I will stop the magnesium for now. Any tips on how to come down 50mg at a time when you can only get them in capsule format? I find that I have to stay on the same dose for at least a month before coming down any further. A pharmacist suggested reducing my middle dose to 200mg every second day, but is this not coming down to go back up scenario? Anybody else done it this way? Good luck everyone. Keep smiling, we can beat this!
I have taken 3x300mg for about 10 years now for trigeminal neuralgia. I was on Tegretol for 20 yrs before that for it. I was changed as it was no longer controllin the pain. To cut a long story short I always suspected it was the air con at work blowing in yen side of my face that was causing my condition to keep flaring up. I retired last year and lo and behold my pain went. I decided of my own back to wean myself off the gabapentin as I didn’t feel I needed it any longer.
I’m now only taking 200mg a day but I have noticed night sweats (I’m through the the menopause), lethargy, not interested in anything at all, itching, joint pains etc. I’ve had a lot of blood work etc done at the GP but all came back clear. The GP rang today to say she’d left a prescription for something to lift my mood. I’m wondering if it’s all down to stopping this drug and should I take anything else or just go and get some magnesium and stop Gabapentin all together? Any Advice would be good.
I’ve been on Gabapentin 2400mg a day for well over 5 years. I’m in a financial situation that has caused me to have to stop cold turkey and I’m afraid. I’ve had to do this once before and it was a nightmare that sent me to the ER. I’m done with this medication and what I really would like to know are what can I do to subside the withdrawal symptoms??
I can make it through the pain I’ve lived with that for 20 years its just the itchy crawling skin sensation and the depression I can’t deal with. I’ve heard magnesium helps but what kind should I take and how much? I’ve heard sipping the magnesium type that’s in the Epsom salts helps but I don’t know how much. I may sound crazy but I’ve read enough here to see that someone has an answer for me. Please, I’m a single mom of three and I can’t go through this and have them affected. Any helpful advice is so appreciated. Thank you, RTaylor
Been on gabapentin 3 x 300mg at night for restless legs for around 2 years. I was on this medication for 3 months roughly 3 years ago but gave it up due to my job working offshore in oil. When I first quit this I never slept for 3 nights but I put this down to the restless legs coming back. I then went on holiday about a year ago and ran out, again not being able to sleep for 3 nights.
I’m weak and I’ve started to sleep better although having wild dreams! I feel constantly drained at work, struggling to motivate myself to do anything. These tablets work for restless legs but it’s not worth feeling like a zombie for the rest of your life. Thanks for this website, has been very interesting to read others’ experiences.
So I’ve been on Gaba for the majority of the last three years – 3x daily 300mg – for chronic nerve pain. Just the other day, though, my doctor suggested that I change over to Lyrica twice daily. Now I’m utterly confused on what I’m experiencing. Are the mood swings, paranoia, headaches, nausea and loopy behavior (I won’t even drive anymore, that’s how bad it is) symptoms of the sudden and cold-turkey withdrawal from the gaba, or are they a symptom of the Lyrica?
My poor husband, he doesn’t know what to do with me, it’s like I’ve had an utter personality shift. I will note, though, that I experienced increased suicidal thoughts and depression while on Gaba, but since my not taking them any longer as of a week ago, I’ve not had any. This is just driving me crazy! I wasn’t informed of the side effects of stopping cold turkey, instead it was just “Here, try this it may help you better than what you’re taking” and wham-bam-thank you ma’am. Any advice?
I have only been on neurontin for less than 3 months. MD prescribed 300 mg three times/day and said to gradually work up to 900 mg. I started at 300 mg at bedtime for 2 months. Went to 300 mg twice a day for a month with no real improvement in fatigue, aching pain in my legs related to mild to moderate stenosis at L-4, L-5, S-1. Saw MD and we discussed getting to 900 mg to see if my symptoms would improve.
I asked specifically about brain chemistry effects and did read all the fine print before going on it but did not think about the withdrawal process. I got to the 900 md dose for 2 weeks but couldn’t bear the “off” feeling and started noticing mood changes. So I dropped back to 600 mg for a week and then to 300 mg for a week. I’ve been off it for 3 days now and my anxiety, fatigue, irritability, and some strange muscle pains where I had none before, are all increased.
Ugh. I called MD who prescribed and his staff person called back to say go back on one at night until I see him this Thursday for scheduled appt to discuss directly. She said it would take about a week for withdrawal effects to subside. What a mistake it was to try this treatment. I was so apprehensive initially, I didn’t start for a month after it was prescribed. People who have been on it kept telling me your body will adjust. I do take really good care of myself in terms of healthy eating, exercise and trying to get sleep/rest. I don’t want one more day of this let alone a week.
So happy that I found this site. Went from taking 3200 mg a day and decided to go off last week. Went down to 800 a day and for the past 3 days just 1 – 800 daily. Today I started feeling depressed and withdrawn and just started crying having a conversation with my husband. Thought I just had a lot going on this past week but now I know the reason. What to do now, stay on 1 – 800 per day and deal with it or increase it again? I would hate to waste the past 3 days of withdrawing but getting quite concerned. Haven’t even told my husband what I did. Any suggestions??
I took gabapentin for 5 years at 2700 mg per day (900 x 3 times per day. It helped my sister with her anxiety disorder so I asked my doctor about it. He put me on it right away. In the last 6 months I have been able to get off all antidepressants and thought that now I would stop the gabapentin. My doctor told me to do this very slowly and I did.
The withdrawal symptoms were terrible just like everyone else. No matter now slow you go I believe that you will have these withdrawal symptoms. Reading all of your posts helped me very much. After I was completely off gabapentin, I began Magnesium ( a very good one, Nature’s Calm) I started taking Valerian Root, I began a probiotic Salivarious, an herb for the stomach, Neem.
I had already started massages, and also began detox treatments through the feet. I am slowly getting better and sleeping better at night. I split up the doses of Natures Calm and if I wake up at night I take another does along with a Valerian Root. The Neem herb really helped with the nausea. I take the Natures Calm (which is a good form of Magnesium) through the day with Valerian Root. I also take Chromium. My blood sugars were all messed up due to the gabapentin. My anxiety hit me hard again but I am working through it and getting better.
The Valerian Root really helped this and helped calm my blood pressure. Gabapentin is a very bad drug and it destroys the very thing that we need to help pain, anxiety, depression which is magnesium. Searching the internet and this website has educated me on magnesium and it’s importance to the body. I also take epsom salt baths. I use a menthol spray for the itching. The Natures Calm and the Valerian Root also helped the restless legs at night. I have had all the withdrawal symptoms. Good luck to each of you.
I have been taking Gabapentin for about 3 years. I was taking 300 mgs 3 times a day. I had gotten off of Fentanyl patches and painkillers that I was addicted to, and was then put on these. I already take antidepressant medicine but I feel depressed, anxious, restless, very tired all day. I wish now I never started this medicine. Doc told me to take 2 a day instead, for a week. Then 1 a day for another week. My insomnia seems to be my worst symptom right now. I do feel overall crappy, and I can’t wait to throw the bottle of these in the garbage. Seems there is never a miracle cure. So it goes another day…
I too am tapering down… have been on 500 a night… am working with a psycho pharmacologist and she is good and I trust her with my life, literally. We decided to dose down because of sexual side effects. When I went down to 400 I was fine with withdrawal symptoms but no relief from sexual side effects. We decided to dose down to 200 and I started this a week ago tomorrow and no have had nausea every day… I am able to function because I am determined not to let the nausea screw with me so to speak… but it is getting very old. Any suggestions for helping the nausea?
I had the same and found alka seltzer works quite well… Settles the stomach enough to eat.
I am so glad that I found this site. I’ve been off of Gabapentin for two weeks now. I was on 300 mg two times a day. My rheumatologist said I was on a low dose so getting off of it would not be hard. He said “just take one pill every other day for a few days”, so I just went cold turkey. Big mistake! But, I felt there was no turning back. The anxiety and depression are disabling.
Finding this site helps tremendously…just knowing that I’m not alone and that the symptoms I am experiencing are only temporary. I must say though, that trying to keep busy or exercise is difficult. I feel like I have a weight holding me down. I do feel that in the long run I will be better for it. If I had known that the medication was this difficult to get off of I would never have taken it in the first place. My heart goes out to anyone trying to get off of it. Hang in there.
Oh thank goodness I have found this page. I’m sitting here with tears streaming down my face as I read your comments and realize that I am not a mad, nasty person. I can barely get through a day without needing to sleep in the afternoon, the sweating I thought was a bad menopause or some sort of liver or kidney failure, the vivid dreams staying with me for days, and thoughts all the time about no-one liking me, I’m worthless, etc. This is a lifeline; thank you.
One thing that is not listed but something that I have experienced is weight loss during gabapentin withdrawal, has this been mentioned by other people who are withdrawing from gabapentin?
Just took myself off 600mg per day for sciatica issues. Started 2 months ago. Pain has subsided enough to stop. Doc said to stay with it. After wondering why my body felt achy most of the time and tired mostly, I figured it was the drug. Started to read articles on this drug and decided I have had enough. Stopped completely over three days. Felt dizzy and irritated for two days. Now on forth day and feel pretty good and aches have subsided. Trust that it is this crap.
I’ve been off gabapentin 3 week today. I stopped them cold turkey after not knowing I had to withdraw. The day after I stopped I started getting twitching all around body which I had never had before. Which I still have. 3 days after stopping the back pain started which I still have. I couldn’t sleep for the first 7 days. I was sweating. Feeling depressed. Anxiety through roof. I was only taking 900mg a day for 22 days.
I was prescribed Gabapentin when I was 18, for severe vulvadynia. I am currently on 1200 mg/day. My doctor assured me it was a safe drug. Not only did it help tremendously with my pain, it also eliminated my anxiety, which I had struggled with my whole life. It has done amazing things for me, and allowed me to live a normal life – it’s even made me generally happier and more optimistic. There is a dark side to this medication, though – the indescribably awful withdrawal. There have been a few times when I couldn’t refill my script before it ran out.
After just one day of not taking it, I went through the hell that is Gaba withdrawal. I couldn’t sleep, and if I managed to doze off, I would wake up in a panic, heart racing. One night, I even had a mild seizure. If I did manage to fall asleep for more than a few minutes, I would have the most horrific dreams imaginable. The withdrawal forces you to dwell on the worst parts of your life. It made me feel almost insane; the night I had the seizure, I was convinced there was a demon in my room. Terrifying, to say the least.
The general feeling of restlessness, depression, and anxiety is the least of the withdrawal. I also became more irritable, and snapped at people I love. I was convinced they didn’t care about me anymore, and said terrible things. The symptoms combined produced suicidal thoughts, which I never have, normally. I just couldn’t imagine living with the horrible feelings for more than a few days. I hate the way I am when I’m withdrawing. I’m not myself, and I feel like a stranger in my own mind. When I’m taking the Gaba, I am myself. I’m happy. I’m motivated.
So why stop? Well, my husband and I really want to try and get pregnant next year, and I feel like I have to stop taking the Gaba for the safety of our child. However, I’m so scared of what my withdrawal will do to our marriage, and our lives in general. I know I will not be able to work (which we can’t afford), I will be nasty to him, and distant with everyone else. I won’t be able to leave the house – the withdrawal gives me EXTREME social anxiety and insecurity. I just feel so hopeless.
I never thought, as an 18-year-old who trusted their doctor, that I would be so addicted and dependent on a drug that I was told is safe. I am now 28, it’s been almost 10 years of Gaba. I haven’t been able to find any solid information about the effects of taking Gaba while pregnant. If I have to go through this withdrawal, I won’t even WANT to get pregnant anymore. Any advice, stories, comfort, and especially experiences of pregnancy and Gaba would be SO appreciated. Thank you.
I am a 67 yr old male. I was prescribed Gabapentin 300 mg + Pregabilin 75 mg for a herniated disc in my lower back. I took these drugs for about 2 months but quit as they did not help with the pain. Since quitting I have had terrible insomnia – feel drowsy but the mind just won’t switch off. Forced to take 5 mg Ambien to get to sleep – works for a max of 5 hours. Trying yoga and meditation – hasn’t helped as yet. Will start magnesium now based on info from this website.
I was in a pretty horrible car accident last April. Drowned in a river (was under water for at least 18mins), had hypothermia (probably the only reason 18mins underwater didn’t kill me), and spent a week in a coma. I lost feeling/movement in my right leg from the knee down, but still had excruciating pain in the leg. I was put on Gabapentin.
I’ve been taking 3600mg/day for over a year. Last week, I just decided to stop taking it. I haven’t had ANY withdrawal symptoms (aside from maybe a little bit of itching now that I read that…). My doctor told me that I would have to wean off of it (obviously I stopped taking it without consulting). Being that I hadn’t noticed any symptoms and it has been a week off of it, I came here to see what I was supposed to be experiencing.
I honestly thought it was a joke and that they were just covering their bases when they said I’d have to ween. I now see that people on doses much lower than mine over much shorter duration are having an awful time getting off of it. I feel so bad for you guys. Considering my dose/duration, though, why am I getting off so easy?
I have been on gabapentin since 2000 for severe nerve damage in my right leg. The lasting results from a back injury. My DR. has had me on 2,900 mg a day. (I’m 5’6, 128 lbs). I, myself decided to take myself off of Gaba because of memory loss that I was suffering along with a few other reasons. This has been very difficult try to wean myself off this med. I am doing it with my Dr.’s help though. Some days are definitely better then others. I’m now down to 600 mg daily and this has been done by tapering myself down over a 6 week period. I have been drinking a lot of water to help flush my system out and also taking very hot detox baths. (Detox baths and drinks can be found on Pintrest). This has not been an easy road by at all, but I do think that in the end it will be so worth it. Good luck everyone.
I was told to take this by my dialysis doc for restless leg syndrome and it did help at only 300mg at night. Now I am trying to get off this drug which is making me dizzy, losing muscle strength, etc. but my withdrawal is hell, double hell, even at that low dose. What is a good taper from 300mg a day?
I have read 50 to 100mg and week. I was on 900mg and have used 100mg caps and dropping 100mg a week. Now down to 500mg and doing ok except sleeping is a problem. Hope this helps you.
Can’t believe how slippery this group of meds are. Heard someone say that they are now the ‘new herion’ in UK prisons and can totally believe it. My boyfriend and started taking it for a buzz but it’s so hard to deal with withdrawals. We are both over 50 with a long history of substance misuse and addiction that we thought we had overcome.
The thought of going back onto opiates to help with withdrawals has occurred to both of us but we haven’t actually done this. In the UK they really seemed to be dishing them out to all and sundry but now they realize there’s a problem people are being taken off them. We’re gonna try so hard not to take again as I don’t think our relationship will survive if we keep doing this. AVOID, AVOID, AVOID.
I was taking Gabapentin for pain in my thigh from shingles. I had only been on it for about a month. I only took 300 mg at night and it totally knocked me out and made it difficult to wake in the morning. 5 days ago I was staggering in the morning after getting up. The next day I could not walk without veering 10 feet from the direction I was trying to go and became very dizzy and nauseous.
I went back to bed and got up later, read about side effects and did not take the pill that night. I woke up in worse shape the next morning and ended up with a brain scan and trip to ER. I constantly felt like throwing up or passing out. They gave me IV anti dizzy drugs and steroids plus Diazepam. Today I am able to move around without looking drunk. Started to do more in depth research and found this site.
The comments about magnesium hit home since I seldom eat bananas but had started to eat them plus take a vitamin pill for skin and nails that had some in it just prior to my issues. I will deal with the nerve pain rather than deal with this drug.
I was prescribed Gabapentin back in December for nerve pain in the feet due to spine. They wanted me to take 300 mg per day and after a few days I stopped because I didn’t like the groggy, high feeling it gave me. When I went back to the doctors she encouraged me to get back on it and slowly ease into it. I did and eventually it helped the burning in my feet. My doctor kept raising the dose and soon I was on 2700 mg per day.
I went into the hospital for lower back surgery and during recovery I started getting a burning in my butt, lower back and thighs that was so intense I thought I would die. The nurses just told me it was from not using my muscles and I needed to get up and walk and sit. The pain just got worse! It was like someone was holding a torch on those areas and no matter how many pain Meds they gave me I was in excruciating pain and could not sleep. A slight wrinkle in the sheets would cause unbearable burning and there was no way to get comfortable.
I looked around the room for ways to kill myself, the pain was so bad. Then on day five the doctor came in and I said it’s gotta be my nerves and not muscles because nothing can touch my skin and I suggested we maybe up the Gabapentin . He said okay we will up you to 400 mg per day and I just looked at him and said “what, I am supposed to be on 2700mg per day”. My primary care doctor had not updated that on the computer and I suffered for 5 days for it. They immediately raised my dose and within hours the pain was nearly gone. So I have no doubt that withdrawal from Gabapentin causes hypersensitive nerves.
Very good article. I’m coming off Gabapentin, I was only on it for maybe 4-5 weeks but I have been really unwell coming off it. I’ve had loss of appetite, hot and cold sweats, feeling sick, headache, pain, exhaustion, tummy ache, can’t sleep…its been awful. Feeling terrible.
First thing: The doctor should tell you up front that this is a serious drug which messes with your brain. I just started tapering off 800 mg a day. Its been one week now and I have had sweats and I’ve got a constant headache. My doctor suggested I go off of it because I was feeling unsteady all the time, sometimes staggering as if I were drunk. She thought it would be good to get off before searching for more reasons which would require an MRI. So far I don’t feel great, but I have a schedule for reducing the dose and I hope I can stick to it.
This is all scaring me a little bit… Missing one dose, not only did my right leg go numb but I started sweating wicked, had the shakes, and blurred vision. Had to take the dose I missed and lie down to get through it so I can just imaging what is about to come. I have been on 2700mg per day for over two years, but am finally getting back surgery (OLIF). The end of taking Gabapentin is coming soon. Not looking forward to this. I am glad there are all these comments to read through to prepare me :).
Dan, my heart goes out to you. I hope your back surgery really helps you.
Hello. Firstly I want to say I can sympathise with all of you who have left comments or have visited this site for reassurance that you are not going mad. I have been on gabapentin 3X600mg daily to stop pain derived from a damaged c8 disc. This damage caused my ring finger and little finger to be paralyzed on my left hand and the back of my hand and these two fingers were mainly numb. Also I had the most terrible pain travelling from my shoulder blade to my armpit and down my arm.
When Gabapentin was prescribed and I was so grateful it had reduced the pain. Morphine, codeine, and other stuff had had no effect on this at all, it was relentless and unbearable! After a couple of months I cut the dose in half and then quit altogether. Felt fine and then it started! Horrendous dreams, two or three hours sleep a day, no appetite, depression and sheer terror and fear in my mind. I would wake from nightmares and visions shivering and trembling with a wave of heat coming over my body – like when you mistakenly think you’ve lost one of your children at a busy venue, but they are still stood nearby.
I could not stop the feelings of total despair and fear, a depression that engulfed me and made my head feel like a cloud that wanted to burst. I have not cried so many tears in such a short space of time. It felt like there was no way back and I would always be in this depressive state for the rest of my life – I would never feel happy again. I knew something was wrong but I couldn’t work out what? Then I started to research gabapentin withdrawal and found this website amongst others and having read peoples’ comments, I started taking it again.
I am now taking 1500mg daily and also using magnesium as suggested by others on this site, and will continue to taper off it slowly. I feel almost back to normal, but the nightmares and memories this has raked up will be with me for some time to come. This drug needs to be banned outright until more research has been carried out. Without the support of my wife and my brother, I genuinely would have committed suicide.
As for giving this to kids – !!!!!! Never, just never. Good luck to those people that gabapentin is helping and they are pleased with the results, but for me, as soon as I can get off it I will do and then it will never be in my household again.
Have had herniated disc for years and started on Hydrocodone and helped with pain while working, well years go by and not enough relief so doctor put me on low dose of Methadone 5mg daily along with the hydrocodone seemed to work! Well doctor moved on and new doctor does not agree with old doctor so no more opiates! And not very responsive to slow down, well added Gabapentin 3 -300mg a day – very tired. Fell asleep driving so says cut back. Have extreme leg cramps, hot feet and bad insomnia, have not slept a full night for at least a month. Well decide to quit the gaba 2 days in and not doing very well. Added magnesium hope to finally get some sleep, well I know the opiates were bad but at least I was maintaining some type of normal life!
I’ve been abusing gaba for about 2 years been taking it for 4. I quit a bad oxy habit and my gaba habit got out of control shortly after. I don’t really want to say the amount I take because it’s embarrassing but I will because I need advice. I can go through 360 800mg pills in 5-6 days. Needless to say if I let myself run out it’s absolutely hell. I’ve tried quitting and a week is about all I can handle. Any advice is welcome. Is there anything besides magnesium out there to make this a little easier. Thanks in advance.
Hi Chase. I’ve been withdrawing since mid-Feb (2700 mg) and the only thing I’ve been able to do to make it somewhat better is to slow down my reduction to 50 mg per week. I’m at 350 mg right now. I still get weak, tingling limbs, leg and foot cramps, some nightmares, hot and cold flashes, and some passing nerve pain, but I haven’t had much anxiety or depression. When I get to the last 100 mg capsule I plan on pouring some out until I can be off of them completely. I’ve been on them for 6 years. though I started at a lower dose and went up to 2700. Good luck on your taper, and try taking it slowly even though we all want to be off this crap as soon as possible!
Gabapentin is the only drug my ins would cover for fibromyalgia. I was taking 900mg 3x a day. I qualified for free Lyrica through “Pfizer Pathways” for low income patients. I think I’ve been on gab for 3 years. My pain mgmt doc has prescribed a 45 day titrate with a 5 day ‘wash out’ at the end – no gab, no Lyrica. I’ve just put in a call to him, I feel like crap. (There are some stressful things in my life that are contributing to feeling like this, I’m sure.)
I also have non-diabetic neuropathy. The gab was helping with both the fibro and neuropathy. Thank God I found this website! I figured that some of feeling so badly was due to gab but this is such validation that withdrawal is difficult and nasty! I’m trying to quit smoking for all the usual reasons but most importantly for an upcoming major surgery. I’ll be a ‘good patient’ and continue the titrate.
I think that my pain management doc is highly qualified – he’s a D.O. not an M.D. That’s fine with me; DO’s have a different approach to treatment and healing. I wasn’t informed of how difficult the titrate could be. Feeling the way I do now, I may be back to rant (or whine). I’ll keep you posted.