She said that it lasted about one day and that mostly she felt like "gritting her teeth" and was very nervous. I am presently on 3 - 300mg capsules twice a day and 4 at night for back pain, rls and sciatica. Seems to be helping to some extent, mostly for the back pain and sciatica. But I am worried about the amount I am taking... Too much? Too little? More worried about too much than too little and then having withdrawals.
What happens when you go off gabapentin? My friend says she went thru withdrawals... Is that usual?
Question posted by SSTEF25 on 1 July 2010
Last updated on 24 January 2019
This question has also been asked and answered here: How long does gabapentin withdrawal last?
Answers
Vibrantbeyondsixty
24 Jan 2019
I went off the drug immediately after getting help on this site from a qualified doctor. I had only taken the meds for a day and a half. They did not help my nerve pain at all, but made me very foggy, dizzy, and unable to think or to remember anything. My stomach also was upset.
Rajive Goel
1 July 2010
Neurontin Withdrawal:
Neurontin (gabapentin) is a prescription medication used for treating certain types of epileptic seizures and nerve pain. As with most epilepsy medications, stopping Neurontin is not recommended without the doc's approval. Stopping the drug quickly is also not recommended. Although Neurontin is not addicting and is not likely to be abused, stopping it too quickly can cause problems. Usually, the doc will recommend stopping Neurontin slowly, over a period of at least one week.
Symptoms of Neurontin Withdrawal
The most important Neurontin withdrawal symptom is seizures. Stopping the medication too quickly can cause seizures to become worse, or may cause you to have a type of seizure you have never had before. This is possible even if you are not taking Neurontin to treat seizures. Other symptoms of Neurontin withdrawal include:
* Anxiety
* Insomnia
* Nausea
* Pain
* Sweating.
Limiting Neurontin Withdrawal
In most cases, the doc would suggest that one weans off the medication slowly (over at least one week) to avoid seizures or other Neurontin withdrawal symptoms. Even if one is switching to another epilepsy medication, the doc may still recommend stopping the drug slowly. The exact way the doc suggests one to stop taking Neurontin will vary, depending on the Neurontin dosage, how long it has been taken for, and whether one is starting a new seizure medication.
If you stop taking Neurontin before you have reached an effective dose of your new medication (or if your new medication does not work for you), you are still at risk for seizures. Please talk to the doc before stopping Neurontin.
On dosing I shall not be able to comment as it entirely depends upon the doc who prescribed the med, please talk to him as soon as possible, hope this helps.
christineATU
1 July 2010
Very thorough research Rajive!
Rajive Goel
1 July 2010
Thanks, Christine, I seldom can read or see pain/ailments, people suffering.
SSTEF25
1 July 2010
Thank you so much for your response, Rajive... I don't post questions on-line very much because of the kinds of responses I have received; however, your answer was so detailed and obviously comes from a knowledgeable source so I'm glad you are out there giving out correct and useful info... please continue!
Rajive Goel
2 July 2010
Thank you & you stay well, may God be with you, take care.
bnagoh
5 July 2010
Yes great answer. I am on gabapentin same meds been on them for 4 years now started at your dosage and now i am taking double 2 300 mg caps 3x a day and when I run out and wait a day or two by the second day I have the exact symptoms that were mentioned before. I felt worse running out of nuerontin than with oxycodone which is my pain med now. Always talk with your Dr about this. I sometimes have to write on a little pad some of the stuff that I need to mention to the Dr cause mental fidelity is way down with these medications. I am just forgetful some times too.
Vibrantbeyondsixty
30 Oct 2018
I have only taken it for 1.5 days. I am taking 300 mgs 3 x day.
Do I need to taper off? I don't want to take it any more.
Hnicolap
24 Jan 2019
I was originally prescribed gabapentin 100 mg 3/day and 200mg at bedtime which immediately made me loopy and forgetful. I tried starting slowly 200 mg 2hrs. before bed which worked pretty well for a year then just recently had to increase to 300 mg at night. That works very well so far and hope I don’t need to increase too soon. I spoke to someone this morning who went off gabapentin weaning herself off slowly. She now takes Cymbalta which she said works just as well with no weight gain. I am thinking of doing the same and would taper off even though I do not take a high dose. I wonder if anyone with SFN takes Cymbalta instead of gabapentin and can you take both and if so how much.
cindy-59
25 Jan 2019
Hi Hnicolap. I have been taking Cymbalta (60) for about 10 years now for chronic nerve pain. I had so many horrible side effects from this medication that I decided to slowly taper off. I started tapering in 2017 and I’m down to 6 mg and I’m hoping to be completely off by May or June 2019. Over the years of taking Cymbalta I kept getting worse and I thought it was because of Trigeminal Neuralgia and Mia facial pain syndrome but one day I was researching Cymbalta and I found many others who were having the same problems that I was having. I then realized it was all side effects from Cymbalta. A few of the side effects that I had was dizziness, confusion, anxiety and memory loss. It caused me to have depression and suicidal thoughts. I experienced blurry vision and hearing loss. I also gained over 80 pounds. I had other side effects; too many to list. Please research Cymbalta before taking it.
I wish someone would have warned me about all the side effects before I started taking it. Then when you decide you don’t want to take it anymore (either because of all the side effects or it just stops working after you get to the maximum dosage) you will probably have to take months or years like a lot have to do so you don’t have what they now call ‘The Discontinuation Syndrome’. I have talked to many people who have finally tapered off and they are afraid that they will never be normal again. In my opinion; and experience Cymbalta is poison. It should never have been put on the market. Most doctors have no idea how strong and how dangerous this medication is. You can search for a question on here from JenJen where she asks about how long will the withdrawals last. I think that’s the way she worded the question. There were 200 answers the last time I saw that someone had answered her question and over 95% were people commenting on how horrible Cymbalta was for them. I do hope you find something that will help you but be careful and do a lot of research. Take care and I wish you the best. Cindy59
Related topics
pain, restless legs syndrome, gabapentin, withdrawal
Further information
- Gabapentin uses and safety info
- Gabapentin prescribing info & package insert (for Health Professionals)
- Side effects of Gabapentin (detailed)
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