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Gabapentin is basically a psychiatric drug even though it works for pain and seizures as well. Psych drugs like SSRI’s, other antidepressants, Seroquel and Benzos are all recommended to taper 10% per month, or even every 6 weeks. I would take opioid withdrawal any day over the withdrawals from gabapentin or pregabalin. They are atrocious and make you feel absolutely insane. That being said, pregabalin has worked great for me while I got only mild relief from gabapentin (chronic sciatica from severe scoliosis). Over the past 2 months my doctor started me on 300mg 4 times a day, now up to 800mg 4 times a day for my chronic nerve pain in my spine. I had no idea the withdrawals from this medication could be that bad! Yes when somebody has taken Gabapentin for a period of time and stops taking it abruptly they will be going to have a rougher time of it. Hey, everyone. I started taking Gabapentin at the end of April to help with my herniated disc sciatica and finished tapering off on July 9th, so 2.5 months in total. Gabapentin has a horrendously long half life, so it takes something like 36 hrs to 3 days to start feeling the withdrawal, so the 100mg step down over 7-10 days has been key for me. Sometimes I can go down faster if I’ve been at higher doses for only a day or two. Aside from that, the usual withdrawal symptoms are things like anxiety, agitation, sour stomach, headache, fatigue, insomnia just a general crappy feeling, but not usually anything terrible. GPN withdrawal usually only lasts about a week, and it seldom requires supportive care beyond rest. I felt completely fine after my evening dose last night and was fine all day today, until I randomly started feeling extremely anxious and having stomach pain. Could the symptoms be withdrawal from missing a dose? Or just a weird coincidence? Both times it happened 5-6 hours after the missed dose. Gabapentin is really in a class of its own.. I'd call it a disbenzopiate haha. It has the warmth and optimism that you get from opiates with a nice anxiolytic effect on par with Xanax. That's great and all but the real reason I use Gabapentin is for the dissociative effects. It feels very much like MXE if you've ever done that. I have been taking Gabapentin recreationally on a daily basis. Should I expect withdrawal if I stop. Taking about 3800mg daily combined with about Fortunately, I found all the posts on Reddit about gabapentin withdrawal and told my doctor there was no way I would take that unless I was desperate. Fast forward almost a year, and unfortunately, out of nowhere my pain just started going bonkers, and so I became desperate about 2 months ago and had to begin using gabapentin. Gabapentin withdrawal is absolutely terrible. Literally out of commission laying on the couch for two days straight. Completely non-functional. So I've been taking 900mg of gabapentin for nerve pain in my spine after three vertebral fractures and spinal osteomyelitis. Eleven weeks in the hospital on IV antibiotics for that. I also take 160mg of methadone a day, about 1500 or 2000mg of Tylenol, 300mg of Wellbutrin and Prilosec as well. 16 votes, 52 comments. true. I too am coming off of gabapentin. I was first prescribed 100 mg; then 300 mg; then 600 mg & 900 mg, but decreased to 300 mg again only after a few months of being in 900 mg. Common symptoms of that are increased pain (it's caused by the brain, NOT by your original problem, it's withdrawal) depression and suicidal thoughts, abdominal distress, sleep disturbances such as extreme fatigue or insomnia. I started tapering off of Gabapentin because it was making me tired at work in the afternoons. I have been taking 600mg x 3 for a couple years now. I started as pain relief for my hip and noticed it reduced my anxiety, so my psychiatrist kept me on it. Gabapentin has been life changing for me. Nerve pain has always been my biggest issue, and gabapentin has reduced it by a lot. I don't think it's particularly useful for anything else, though. I was very sleepy for the first couple of weeks I took it and I may still be a bit drowsier than I would be without it, it's hard to tell. Gabapentin is helpful to some people with specific pain problems as many in the comments are suggesting. However if you are getting TMS (Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation) to treat depression and/or anxiety keep in mind gabapentin can actually reduce the efficacy of the treatment. My plan was to write about my extremely painful and unexpected withdrawal experience after I felt better, but it has been FIFTEEN months. I was on 1800-3600 mg /day for 20 years. My physician put me on a six day weaning schedule. I grilled both my pain care specialist and my pharmacist (and a doctor friend) about the risks of stopping Gabapentin cold-turkey, and they all told me there would be no problem (as I take it for nerve pain, not for seizures). I really hope I am one of the lucky ones, with a seamless switch between the two, similar, medications. Case reports have shown that gabapentin withdrawal often lasts for 5 to 10 days, but some people have taken as long as 18 weeks to completely taper off gabapentin while managing withdrawal symptoms. Symptoms may start within 12 hours to 7 days after stopping gabapentin and may be severe.
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