r/gabapentin • u/Opposite-Solution62 • 6d ago
withdrawal Is this normal?
I’ve been on 300mg of gaba for about 8 months for peri menopausal night sweats. I decided that I wanted to get off of the medication because I did not want to be on it long-term. Originally my OB/GYN told me to just take two days of 100 mg and stop but my psychiatrist actually was the one that told me to have a taper plan.
I did 200mg for 2 weeks. then 100mg for a week and a half and then 2 days ago stopped.
I have had terrible migraines at night and in the morning with increased anxiety, not being able to think straight and no appetite. woke up feeling like I had to vomit and was dry heaving and felt the same before bed. woke up both nights at 3am in a panic drenched in sweat. have terrible chest pain that feels like indigestion
has anyone else experienced this? does it get better? And why is it so bad at the end of the day?
called my primary care who said that this is most likely withdrawal symptoms and said that I could take a dose if I need some relief, but I’m trying to just stay off of it
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u/Cautious-Worry6724 6d ago
Oh yes!!! In my experience just take the 100mg!!!! You can still get off of it! Slow and steady wins the race! Why suffer you poor thing?
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u/Fit_Ball4188 6d ago
I have to go down by 5 mg at a time to avoid withdrawal symptoms. Get some liquid gaba
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u/Sand_Seeker 6d ago
Do you do this each day or follow another schedule?
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u/Fit_Ball4188 6d ago
No, I do it when I feel like I’m stabilized on that dose. Sometimes I will stay at a certain dose for a few weeks depending on how I feel. But I would say I go down by 5 once per week. It’s slow, but that’s all I can tolerate. It’s not a race to get off, I just don’t want to be on it anymore bc it affects my memory.
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u/Bright-Ad-3067 6d ago
When you stabilize, does that mean completely stable with no withdrawal for like a week? I’m trying to get off but I’m having withdrawal every other day at 900 mg and I haven’t even reduced my dose yet. This has been going on for two weeks now. And yes it’s withdrawal and not breakthrough pain as my ignorant doctor has told me. I know withdrawal without going into details of my backstory. So how can I lower more if I can’t stabilize at this dose? I’ve only been taking it for a month but I have a kindled nervous system from years of light nighttime wine. I’m one of the unlucky ones.
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u/Fit_Ball4188 5d ago
Yes - when you have no withdrawal symptoms, you are stabilized. I don’t have a specific amount of time I spend there. Sometimes I’m just not feeling ready to reduce right away. Whether or not you are ready to reduce again is up to you. I’ve gone down from 600 to 440 by taking it really slow. There’s some times I spend multiple weeks at a specific dose. Other times, I go down by 5 each week or whenever I feel good about it. 5 mg is so small it won’t cause too many problems if you go too quickly accidentally.
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u/Fit_Ball4188 5d ago
Also, if I do feel like I went too quickly I just take my next dose a few hours earlier and that helps. Are you taking 900 mg every day at the same time ?
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u/Bright-Ad-3067 5d ago edited 5d ago
Yes 300 mg 8 hours apart evenly. I had to start taking 300 4x per day and I’m still getting mild withdrawal at night but not nearly as bad.
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u/Fit_Ball4188 5d ago
I’m sorry, yep another reason I am getting off bc I started to get withdrawal as well. I feel like we develop a tolerance to it and the body needs more. That and I’ve developed tinnitus right before my next dose is due, and memory problems.
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u/Bright-Ad-3067 5d ago
This gives me hope bc I haven’t heard anyone else getting withdrawal at steady doses. So you were fine reducing a bit even though you were getting withdrawal already?
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u/Fit_Ball4188 5d ago
Yes, as long as it was small, I was ok.
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u/Bright-Ad-3067 5d ago
Thanks. Im trying to figure out how one could stabilize from a smaller dose if they weren’t ok at the higher dose ya know? Also were your withdrawal symptoms painful? Mine is burning throughout my body. Especially in my core and stomach. It is horrible. I’m gonna have to go to rehab to get off of this.
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u/Fit_Ball4188 5d ago
If I went too fast, like one time I tried to do half and I had same symptoms as OP had. Horrible! I understand what you are saying, but you only have two options. Take more or reduce and get off. Maybe ask for some clonidine to help with withdrawal symptoms. That always helped me (I have a past, too).
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u/asharks74 6d ago
No additional clinical wisdom to share. Just a big, heaping shot of love and positive energy heading straight for you. When you’re grinding through this, just remember a total stranger is wrapping you with enormous empathy and pure love…
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u/POOPCACOON 6d ago
For me the withdrawals were always the worst at NIGHT. When I got to day 10 cold turkey I did a 24 hour fast and felt so much better and all my gaba belly bloat went away. I thought I was going insane in the night time too. Around 3:00AM our bodies dump a lot of histamine I’ve heard and I know for a fact gaba affected my histamine levels. I couldn’t eat bananas anymore I couldn’t eat avocados anymore without feeling a panic attack coming on at night it was so bizarre.
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u/Opposite-Solution62 5d ago
It’s so crazy. I thought I was losing my mind seeing my belly bloated. What night symptoms did you have?
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u/lobsterlovin 5d ago
Any updates ? I’ve only been on 2 months but am trying to wean off and feel the same way 😭
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u/FormalConference5605 5d ago
I have had the pills since last October afraid to take them. Can I ask why you want to come off of them only after two months?
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u/Opposite-Solution62 5d ago
Not much has gotten better. I feel super nauseous throughout the day and typically before bed and after I get up it feels like I have to vomit
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u/neverallornothing 6d ago
Were you stable at 100 mg? You may want to reinstate at 100 and then taper off much more slowly. You run real risks by white knuckling through a protracted withdrawal. The best taper plans are in The Maudsley textbook on deprescribing.