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In February of 2020, my family and I headed up to ski for a week in Colorado as we do each year. We're accomplished skiers, at home on the slopes, no worries. This particular year, because my son was interested in snowboarding, we decided to take a snowboard lesson as a family. That decision, and a fall that should have been completely unremarkable, led to a year of surgeries, heavy medication use, and eventually in early 2021, dealing with an uncomfortable physical withdrawal from Gabapentin. (read more)
I won't bore you too much with details of how I came to be on Gabapentin for a year, but since it is prescribed for both nerve pain and depression/anxiety (there might even be more uses that I am unaware of), I want to clarify that my use stemmed from nerve pain. I fell backward while going very slowly downhill on a snowboard, thrust both of my arms behind me to catch myself, and shattered my humerus into several pieces. It was a terrible break, the kind normally reserved for people who get into car accidents and push their arms out to brace against the dashboard.
Basically my lower arm rammed into my upper arm, and that was that. Still, I managed to walk off the slope (I was at the bottom anyway) instead of getting kitted up by ski patrol, so that's a win. I've made a video of the break so you can see it.
Here are some X-rays to showcase the damage and repair a bit better. This was just the first surgery. I ended up having two more in 2020 to try and fix the pain/mobility issues, and I would consider them a success.
As you can see from the images, the surgeon had a hard time reaching my Humerus to repair the damage, so he had to cut off the end of my elbow, lift it up (triceps attached) to my shoulder, repair my Humerus, then reattach the elbow, hence the large screw in my elbow.
What all of this meant to me is that I was in a lot of pain. The problem was that it wasn't the kind of pain I could take pain medication for. It was a constant aching buzz in my fingertips that kept me from functioning in every day life and certainly kept me from sleeping. After about six weeks of having this pain I followed up with my local surgeon and he prescribed Gabapentin. It worked. He gave me a prescription for 300mg twice a day. I found that it made me woozy and fuzzy, so I instead took both pills at night which was when I really needed relief from the pain so I could sleep. After a few months of this, I was able to taper down to one pill at night, just 300mg once per day. When I got to the point, about a year later, where I decided I wanted to try to stop taking Gabapentin altogether, I figured it wouldn't be too difficult. After all my dose wasn't very high. I never considered that I would need to think about how to wean off Gabapentin, not once. So when I stopped taking it cold-turkey, I figured things would be fine. I was very, very wrong. TY WRITES BOOKS FOR KIDS WHO LOVE ROBLOX AND MINECRAFT DOES GABAPENTIN HAVE WITHDRAWAL SYMPTOMS?
Does Gabapentin cause withdrawals? Beyond a shadow of a doubt, yes, Gabapentin withdrawal is a real thing. Depending on the dose you take, how long you've been on it, your weight, etc. Gabapentin withdrawal could look different for you than it did for me, but if you're reading this, you're dealing with it in some way, and that sucks.
Hopefully I can help you get through it by telling you what I did. So no matter what you searched for to get here, I'm hoping to get you one step closer to kicking those little pills. Let's talk about the symptoms and the timeline. How long do Gabapentin withdrawal symptoms last? This is a tough question for me to answer because I didn't make it through the withdrawal. I stopped taking my pills altogether instead of weaning myself off slowly, which was a mistake. The first day after I stopped was pretty much okay, but by the second day I was starting to have what I now realize were symptoms of Gabapentin withdrawal. Does gabapentin withdrawal cause nausea/can Gabapentin withdrawal cause nausea? - Yes, this was one of my main symptoms and the biggest reason I got back on Gabapentin to instead slowly wean myself off. Can gabapentin withdrawal cause hot flashes/can stopping Gabapentin cause hot sweats/can stopping Gabapentin cause hot flashes? - Yes. As a 43 year old woman I had convinced myself that I must be going through "the change". It wasn't until I realized I was actually having withdrawal symptoms that I put two and two together, realizing that the things happening to me were 100% related to a medication I was no longer taking. Can stopping Gabapentin cause headaches? - Yes. The three things I've listed so far are the main symptoms of Gabapentin withdrawal I dealt with. That's not to say there can't be more withdrawal symptoms associated with it, but these three, in addition to feeling irritable and anxious, were my major complaints.
While you're searching for things like: What are gabapentin withdrawal symptoms? Does gabapentin have withdrawal? What are the signs of gabapentin withdrawal? What are the symptoms of gabapentin withdrawal? you're likely going to find a ton of symptoms that you don't have. You might also have symptoms that you're sure are related to discontinuing Gabapentin, but you can't find confirmation of in your searches.
I'm not a doctor, nothing in here is meant to diagnose you with anything. I will say that when I was suffering withdrawal from Gabapentin I basically felt like garbage. I was nauseous, my head hurt, I was hot all the time, I was irritable, I couldn't sleep, I didn't want to eat, etc. I felt alien in my own skin and could NOT figure out why. I've never been physically addicted to anything in my entire life, with the exception of having one cup of coffee each morning (and getting a headache if I don't have it), I had no idea what to expect and couldn't believe my life was cast into such a state of upheaval over one tiny, yellow gel cap. Once I figured out what was going on, I made the swift decision to start taking the 300mg per day again (all of the symptoms abated within an hour of this) and began the slow process of weaning myself off. Now that I've told you my symptoms, let me tell you how I tapered my dose over a two week period to get over all this nonsense. UNIVERSAL YUMS IS OUR FAVORITE MONTHLY SNACK BOX - HERE'S WHAT YOU GET! HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE TO GET OVER GABAPENTIN WITHDRAWAL VIDEO
If you'd like to hear me talk about my experience, and see my awesome surgery scar, here you go!
HOW LONG DO WITHDRAWALS FROM GABAPENTIN LAST?
How long does withdrawal from Gabapentin last? If you do it like I did it, you don't really have to notice the withdrawal symptoms at all.
By the time I decided to get back on Gabapentin to wean off of it slowly, I had already been off of it entirely for about seven days. I thought for sure the symptoms would go away at that point, and I probably was close to it, but waking up in the middle of the night and retching into the toilet for fifteen minutes disabused any notion I had of continuing on the cold-turkey route. Everything I'd read said that the Gabapentin withdrawal symptoms timeline could start anywhere from immediately, all the way to 10-12 days after discontinuing use. Since I was only seven days in and things were getting worse, not better, I'm inclined to think that it takes some time for the Gabapentin to work its way out of your system, meaning you won't feel the real effects of withdrawal for a few days at least. I was on what my surgeon called a "maintenance dose", meaning I needed to keep taking it to keep the nerve pain at bay, but I wasn't going to feel that relief all the way until I'd built up enough of the drug in my system to do the trick. Even though my maintenance dose was small, it was enough to be a real shock to my system when I went without. Since my medication was filled in a gel cap, it wasn't very easy to simply half the dose or whatever, especially when I needed to get down from 300mg to zero mg. PUFFY UNDER EYES AFTER BOTOX? HERE'S WHAT HAPPENED TO US. HOW TO GET RID OF GABAPENTIN WITHDRAWAL
The first thing I did after searching for how to deal with gabapentin withdrawal, how to get over gabapentin withdrawal, and how to help gabapentin withdrawal was to give my surgeon a call, let him know that I was trying to taper off, and asking him to fill the prescription in a smaller dose.
He was happy to do so and quickly called in a prescription for 100mg gel caps. While I waited for that prescription to be ready, I started cutting the top off of my 300mg tablets and pouring half the tablet into a cup of orange juice (the powder is foul tasting). I did that for a few days, staying around 150mg for that time period before hitting the pharmacy. Once I had the 100mg tablets at home, I started adjusting my time frame for ingestion. I wanted to be able to take the medication at night so I could go to sleep and hopefully sleep through any symptoms that might come with lowering the dose. There was a little nausea during the day, but not too much. Not enough to make me want to up the dose. After three days of the 100mg dose I once again cut open the tablet and dumped half into a glass of orange juice. I followed that procedure, three days of a half dose, half it again, three days of that dose, etc. By the time I got to the 25mg point, I couldn't be bothered to half the dose anymore so I'd just cut the top off the pill. pour a tiny amount into some orange juice, and call it done. A week after starting the 100mg dose, I was just about finished. One night I walked into the bathroom, grabbed the bottle of Gabapentin, then shrugged and stuffed it back into the drawer. I haven't taken any since, and I honestly hope to never again. WHY WE LOVE ZYGOR FOR LEVELING IN WORLD OF WARCRAFT MY NERVE PAIN AFTER GETTING OFF GABAPENTIN
My last surgery was three months ago. The surgeon was able to remove all of the hardware. It was invasive, there was a lot of swelling, and my entire hand hurt for quite awhile. Now that I'm off Gabapentin I do have bouts of nerve pain, but it hasn't been severe enough to make me want to get back on it.
I am not the type of person who does well with "having" to do anything, so being addicted to Gabapentin was a frustrating experience, and not one I want to repeat. If the pain gets really bad again I'll probably just call my doctor and ask him for something else, but hopefully, this far out, I'm no longer in the danger zone of shooting pain and buzzing fingertips. GABAPENTIN FOR DEPRESSION/ANXIETY
Again, I'm not a doctor and none of this is meant to diagnose or advise, but if you're taking Gabapentin for anxiety or depression (or dealing with these things while trying to wean off), contacting your doctor can only be a good thing.
One of the reasons I was most wary about staring Gabapentin was that it said on the bottle that it could cause feelings of anger. I don't like that. I want to know that if I get angry, it's because I'm angry, not because my brain is being chemically altered into anger, if that makes sense. Things that mess with my emotions or psychological well being are a bit scary to me, and while I could not have dealt with the pain of the past year without Gabapentin, I do not take lightly the changes in my attitude it was causing. So, let your doctor know what you're doing. He or she will be able to help you get off with as little interruption and discomfort as possible. I hope this helps, but if you have any questions be sure to let me know. I'm more than happy to answer, and after a year of being on this stuff, I feel like I know a little bit. :) Good luck! Ty
32 Comments
Charles Ward
4/6/2021 06:56:40 am
So how long did your successful taper last? Was it only a week?
Sheila (Ty The Hunter)
4/6/2021 07:08:25 am
Hi Charles. It took about two weeks to get off completely. I did about a week of cutting the tops off my 300mg capsules, then another week of taking the 100mg capsules, cutting the tops off of those the last few days. It was doable tapering, not doable (for me) going cold turkey. I hope that helps.
Anthony
2/25/2022 01:05:42 pm
Hi Sheila and so glad it worked out for you at the end. Substance dependancy is a living nightmare!!
Char Grady
5/9/2021 07:22:54 pm
I stopped 75 mg cold turkey last Monday. It has almost been a week I have been crying everyday with anxiety I have never felt in my lifetime. I have been nauseous and have insomnia. I can’t believe this is so hard. Not sure what to do now. I have had to take a been of lorazepam since Wednesday. Why is this so hard. Hope I hear back from you. Thanks
Sheila (Ty The Hunter)
5/9/2021 07:31:13 pm
Hi Char. I'm so sorry to hear this, Have you called your doctor? They might be able to give you a lower dose so you can taper down.
Kristine
6/22/2021 02:32:12 pm
Hello I am on 200 mg of gabapentin,I was on 300mgs,and I cut back 50mgs in feb,now I cut back another 50mgs just a few days ago,I feel very low in mood,my chest feels heavy,i have trouble sleeping,my depression got worse,how do i taper the rest without suffering so bad? I been taking this every day since last summer,i had it as a prn since 2017,then as time went on,I started taking it more frequently,and then I got real stuck on it,now I dont know where to began,any suggestions? I was taking different amounts as I needed it,but I never overused it,but I did like the high feeling I used to get,then once that wore off,I began feeling very strange on it,I felt like I didn't want to be in this world anymore,and I just couldn't deal with reality,I felt very personalized to. Any help would be great.
Sophie
7/4/2021 08:01:20 am
Hi Kristine and Ty the hunter,
Eric
7/6/2021 08:02:32 am
Yep same. I’m at exactly 14 days today. The anxiety and restlessness is the worst.
Brooke
7/12/2021 01:54:23 pm
Well I am glad you made it a specific point to clarify that you were not taking them for mental health issues. You are definitely better than those of us on them for anxiety and depression. And ppl wonder why there is such a stigma??? Its because of ppl like you!
Sheila (Ty The Hunter)
7/12/2021 08:18:55 pm
Hey Brookie! I clarified that I wasn't on it for mental health reasons because I did not know it could be prescribed for reasons other than nerve pain until I started digging into it when I started having the withdrawal symptoms. I didn't point it out to stigmatize anyone. Whatever your reasons to be on it, they were prescribed by your doctor and that's all that matters. I hope you're successful in your efforts to wean. It's tough for sure.
Sheila (Ty The Hunter)
7/12/2021 08:21:00 pm
Gah, "Brookie" was a typo, not a pet name. Sorry about that!
Eric
7/12/2021 02:15:04 pm
The chick in this video makes it seem a hell of a lot easier then this is. 20 days off nothing but panic attacks for the last 2 days. You’re absolutely right about the stigma. I’ll take a return in pain over this withdrawal any day!
Sheila (Ty The Hunter)
7/12/2021 08:20:23 pm
Hey Eric! Yeah, I will gladly take the return to the nerve pain. Thankfully I can take it as needed now if my arm is really hurting, but I will never, ever get on it on a regular basis again, no way. Good luck!
Eric
7/13/2021 05:59:07 am
Wait so your still taking it as per needed? And kindling your system? what you went through is nothing like others go through. You make a website dedicated to getting off gabapentin but yet now your taking gabapentin as needed which is the worst thing to do after going through “your awful withdrawal”. You really should take this down. MANY people are not normal for months. You’re spreading bull shit.
Sheila (Ty The Hunter)
7/13/2021 07:28:43 am
Hi Eric. :) My experience is not going to be your experience, so I'm going to stick with staying in touch with my Orthopedic surgeon and following his advice. As I said in the post, that's my suggestion to anyone, first and foremost taking your doctor's advice. Good luck!
Eric
7/13/2021 07:53:03 am
Lol so you make a website for a medication you’re still taking. You’re hilarious lol.
Sheila (Ty The Hunter)
7/13/2021 08:53:40 am
Hey Eric. Yes, I do take it as needed, 200mg once or twice a month if my hand is hurting at night, preventing me from sleeping. I'm okay with that. I'm also okay with whatever your doctor has told you to do. We're all different, both in our ability to tolerate medication, how much or little will cause an addictive response, and how much we are or are not able to tolerate without an addictive response. Again, this is just my experience, I'm sure there are thousands of others that are both more and less severe, with varying doses. If you're looking for a more specific experience and someone with that point of view, I do certainly hope you find it.
Joe
7/21/2021 06:39:44 pm
Thanks for sharing your experiences. It's kind of amazing the different stories you can run across.
Sheila (Ty The Hunter)
7/23/2021 09:31:08 am
Hi Joe,
Chris
7/27/2021 11:04:35 pm
I am on 2400mg Gabpentin a day. My other doctor suggested tapering down, not my neuro doctor. He had me taking 300mg 3 times a day. I made it 600mg in the morning then 300mg on the evening. At first I was fine. Then all the sudden I get hit with everything, mainly the extreme sweating, even doing one small thing. I woke up dripping with sweat, air conditioner on, but drenched in sweat. I thought I was getting sick. I didn't feel well either. All day I felt blah and kept sweating, nausea, headache etc.
Sheila (Ty The Hunter)
7/28/2021 07:28:16 am
Hi Chris. I'm sorry to hear you're dealing with this. I'm sure you've seen the other comments (I'm not huge on censoring people, so I'll leave them up unless they get into the area of personal attacks, etc.), but the best advice you can follow is that of your doctor. Not a Facebook group, not a random person who made a very specific blog post about her very specific experience (that would be me), and not anyone on that blog post telling you what steps you ought to take. My experience was my own, and I included my doctor the entire time. If you don't feel good about your doctor, my reaction is that you go with that feeling and find another provider. I wish you the best of luck and hope you're able to get to where you want to be soon.
Sheila (Ty The Hunter)
7/28/2021 07:30:55 am
Oops, never mind, I just realized the other comments came from a guy that's been giving me some trouble, so that's all I'm prepared to deal with from him. Again, see your doctor, and do find a different one if you aren't comfortable with your level of care. Good luck!
Kyle
9/7/2021 09:45:34 am
Man I don't know why everyone is hating on you so much. You literally just told your story.
Sheila (Ty The Hunter)
9/7/2021 10:42:05 am
Hi Kyle, thanks for the comment and thanks for sharing a little bit of your story. It does take time, and it's definitely different for everyone. As to why people post such ugly things, well...I think it's the life of the internet. You can say tons of things with your fingers that you'd never dare say to a person's face, and there are a lot of people out there who really enjoy that angry anonymity. I like to think it's also that Gabapentin messes with our brains a bit and can make us more prone to outbursts, but I've been running my blog long enough and covered a big range of topics, so my money is on the first reason, keyboard warriors. :)
Charlotte
12/22/2021 02:02:52 pm
Thank you so much for sharing your experience with this, I've found it very helpful!
Sheila (Ty The Hunter)
2/25/2022 03:53:51 pm
Hey Anthony, I couldn't figure out how to reply to your question so I'm going to reply here:
Neily
4/25/2022 10:27:34 am
This is great to read all the different thoughts - i am down to my final 200mg per day and its been hardwork.
Jake
5/13/2022 11:08:28 am
I have taken Gabapentin for approximately a decade for Trigeminal Neuralgia and I was on a particularly high dose for several years (5.4g) then dropped down (3.6g). Starting in January this year I began the process of tapering off of it completely, but I found it was nearly impossible to differentiate between symptoms of physical withdrawal and other unrelated problems.
Andria D
7/14/2022 09:27:15 am
Thx for this write-up. I'm currently experiencing gabapentin withdrawal, but really don't dare take anymore, as apparently I'm allergic to it - which I didn't realize when taking just 300mg at night for insomnia, but after talking to my doctor and his increasing my prescription to take as much as 900mg nightly (3 capsules), I started suffering the most ungodly itching, all over my body. So I stopped taking the gabapentin, and after about a week - and several miserable sleepless nights - the itching eased, so I started back taking just 300mg nightly. Within 2 weeks, the itching was back worse than ever, full-body hives, and apparently I'm just take lucky that I never did experience any breathing problems (anaphylaxis). So I've been back completely off it for nearly a week now. Still itching, and now some nausea; ginger capsules help a great deal, but I'm having a hard time eating, have lost a lot of weight, feeling just generally ill like I'm sick, but no fever, and considering that I was taking it for insomnia in the first place, and insomnia is one of the withdrawal symptoms, it's like "insomnia squared." Hopefully it will be over soon!
Rebecca Vickery
9/29/2022 11:24:00 pm
Thank you for the article. I'm on gabapentin for nerve pain and have noticed an undercurrent of depression and anxiety. I metabolize medication quickly so I tend to go straight to the withdrawal.
Neil
9/29/2022 11:54:02 pm
i cut out certain doses at specific times rather than all at once.
Sheri
10/12/2022 07:09:02 pm
Thanks for the article! I was on 900 mg for anxiety/sleep for about a year, and then cut down to 600 mg for 2 years. I’m sleeping well now and anxiety is under control from my AD, so I’ve been tapering. My doctor is great and has let me go at my own pace. I’ve been dropping 100 mg a month. Each drop I get some symptoms, like slight nausea and I do have the intense sweating (but it could also be menopause). I’m now at 100 mg and with the last drop I’ve been quite irritable and have some nerve pain in my legs, but none of it is so horrible I can’t manage. The symptoms usually last a week, then I give myself a few weeks to stabilize on the new dose, then drop again. In about a month I’ll drop from 100 mg to 0 and see how it goes! If it’s a problem, I’ll go back up to 50 mg by dissolving the pill in 10 ml of water or juice and drinking 5 ml. This method worked great to taper off of temazepam last year. Definitely not something to cold turkey! Leave a Reply. |
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