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sherrybp4: Tapering Gabapentin


sherrybp4

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Hi my name is Sherry and I am on my second day of tapering off of Gabapentin 400 2x daily. I have been on it since last September. I have gained 28 lbs. on this jacked up medication. I just can't sit around and wait until it's even more out of hand. If anyone has already gone through it please leave me any helpful tips.

 

I have the capsules and I have cut down to 400 in am and 200 at night.

 

Thanks. :)

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  • Moderator Emeritus

Hi Sherry, welcome to SA. I am so glad that  you found us at the start of your taper. I and many others ended up here after tapering too fast and suffering withdrawal. You can avoid that by following a slow taper. People often look at the tapering protocol here and think it is far too slow but it is the best way to get off safely. To start we recommend tapering 10% of the current dose every 4 weeks. If that goes ok it can be a bit faster or slightly bigger cuts. Your body will tell you how fast to go. If there are any withdrawal symptoms the cuts are too big and should be made smaller, or longer holds between cuts. You will get used to listening to your body and be able to get off safely with minimal discomfort. 

 

Side effects are usually dose related and ease up as the dose lowers. I tapered effexor and my weight dropped as the dose lowered without dieting, hopefully that will happen for you too.  As the dose lowers your brain adjusts to the lower dose. When it is too fast it can't adjust and ends up struggling. The brain controls the nervous system, which controls everything and when they are out of sync so is everything else so it is much better to go slow and lose the weight slow. 

 

Here are some topics for you, but first, it will be good if you fill in your signature for us, we need start dates, doses  and any tapering of prescription drugs and supplements. 

The link will take you to the signature box, just fill it in and click save

 http://survivingantidepressants.org/settings/signature/

 

Why taper? 

http://survivingantidepressants.org/topic/1024-why-taper-by-10-of-my-dosage/

 

3 KIS

http://survivingantidepressants.org/topic/6632-the-rule-of-3kis-keep-it-simple-keep-it-slow-keep-it-stable/

 

Tapering gabapentin

http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/2309-tips-for-tapering-neurontin-gabapentin/

 

**I am not a medical professional, if in doubt please consult a doctor with withdrawal knowledge.

 

 

Different drugs occasionally (mostly benzos) 1976 - 1981 (no problem)

1993 - 2002 in and out of hospital. every type of drug + ECT. Staring with seroxat

2002  effexor. 

Tapered  March 2012 to March 2013, ending with 5 beads.

Withdrawal April 2013 . Reinstated 5 beads reduced to 4 beads May 2013

Restarted taper  Nov 2013  

OFF EFFEXOR Feb 2015    :D 

Tapered atenolol and omeprazole Dec 2013 - May 2014

 

Tapering tramadol, Feb 2015 100mg , March 2015 50mg  

 July 2017 30mg.  May 15 2018 25mg

Taking fish oil, magnesium, B12, folic acid, bilberry eyebright for eye pressure. 

 

My story http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/4199-hello-mammap-checking-in/page-33

 

Lesson learned, slow down taper at lower doses. Taper no more than 10% of CURRENT dose if possible

 

 

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  • 4 months later...

any update Sherry?

Thought for the day: Lets stand up, and let’s speak out , together. G Olsen

We have until the 14th. Feb 2018. 

URGENT REQUEST Please consider submitting  for the petition on Prescribed Drug Dependence and Withdrawal currently awaiting its third consideration at the Scottish Parliament. You don't even have to be from Scotland. By clicking on the link below you can read some of the previous submissions but be warned many of them are quite harrowing.

http://www.parliament.scot/GettingInvolved/Petitions/PE01651   

Please tell them about your problems taking and withdrawing from antidepressants and/or benzos.

Send by email to petitions@parliament.scot and quote PE01651 in the subject heading. Keep to a maximum of 3 sides of A4 and you can't name for legal reasons any doctor you have consulted. Tell them if you wish to remain anonymous. We need the numbers to help convince the committee members we are not isolated cases. You have until mid February. Thank you

Recovering paxil addict

None of the published articles shed light on what ssri's ... actually do or what their hazards might be. Healy 2013. 

This is so true, with anything you get on these drugs, dependance, tapering, withdrawal symptoms, side effects, just silent. And if there is something mentioned then their is a serious disconnect between what is said and reality! 

  "Every time I read of a multi-person shooting, I always presume that person had just started a SSRI or had just stopped."  Dr Mosher. Me too! 

Over two decades later, the number of antidepressant prescriptions a year is slightly more than the number of people in the Western world. Most (nine out of 10) prescriptions are for patients who faced difficulties on stopping, equating to about a tenth of the population. These patients are often advised to continue treatment because their difficulties indicate they need ongoing treatment, just as a person with diabetes needs insulin. Healy 2015

I believe the ssri era will soon stand as one of the most shameful in the history of medicine. Healy 2015

Let people help people ... in a natural, kind, non-addictive (and non-big pharma) way. J Broadley 2017

 

 

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