Coming off Gabapentin

[paul55]

I'm starting to decrease the dosage of 900mg a day to 600mg a day and I'm starting to feel the burning sensation in my arm increase, as I expected it might.

But I'm also starting to feel pain in the surgical area, maybe even the cord(so it feels) like a dull ache. Almost like a toothache throbbing.

And of course my legs feel a bit different also, a bit more stiff in the morning.

Has anyone else felt the pain especially in the back surgical area after coming of this type of drug?

[hairchik]

Paul,
I had surgery June 6, 2007 and came off my Gab. 6 wks later. I have some mild shocks down my left side daily, but they aren't horrible. I do also feel some mild pain at the incision site. I just decided I didn't like the way the meds made me feel and since I'm not in terrible pain, I didn't want to be on them anymore. I'm not much of a medicine person. I think if I were in a lot more pain I would choose to go back on them.
Hope you get to feeling better. Angie

[Joel]

Hey Paul:
Hmm, I've been on gabapentin and then Lyrica for 11 years now. Actually, it would be almost impossibe for me to even imagine NOT being on these pills. Yeah, it's terrible that I've got to daily take these things and put up with all the stuff we've got to put up with. But--I'm here, the drugs are here, and the pain is still here. So I use them. I'd say try it, but don't be a superman; if the pain is heavy, which I expect it will be, then use them.
Best,
Joel

[Tmasgio]

Paul,
Just out of curiousity why do you want to get of gabapentin if it helps with the burning in your arms? Does it make you feel to drowsy? I was taking gabapentin but I decided that it was not working and I was right so I quit the drug. It also made me gain weight.

Tony

[chickiet]

Good for you, Paul. I think it's definitely worth a try. Why did you start to decrease the gabapentin? Were your pain symptoms gone or was it a side effect issue?

I was on 2700 mg of gabapentin (900 mg 3times per day) and it was not helping much (or so I thought). I am now switched over to Lyrica - - but the switchover was difficult at best for me. I had to decrease my gabapentin down to 300 mg 3 times per day before I could start on Lyrica, and the Lyrica was started at a minimal dose.

For me, the biggest issue was the increase in pain in the feet and numbness from the mid-chest down, as I decreased the gabapentin. I didn't really have any incisional or cord pain, thankfully. So I guess the gabapentin was helping more than I had thought...

I hope you're able to deal with the changes in pain levels as you go down on the gabapentin. I'm not at that stage yet - as a matter of fact I've just been increased to the max dose of Lyrica! I'm hoping to be able to wean myself down at some point, but definitely not yet. My pain mgt doc is offering that we may need to add something else in if the Lyrica doesn't take care of everything.

I don't like the side effects, but I'm getting used to most of them. The weight gain is the most frustrating, but I'll take the weight gain over severe pain at this point.

Best of luck to you - keep us posted on how it goes!!

Chris

[paul55]

You all have very valid points for me to ponder. Especially the pain issue. Why live with it if I don't have to! I'm on so many meds now, beta blockers for a start which can cause other symptoms up the ying yang, I think the gabapentin has pushed me over the edge with some of them. The main issue is my weight! I'm tipping the scales at 300 lbs! That's about 60 more than I can handle. Weight can wreck havoc with your blood pressure, not to mention your joints, legs and feet in general. So the gabapentin is the easiest to drop to see if I can drop some of the weight without directly effecting my blood pressure meds. If I do, maybe it would be easier for me to walk to assist in weight loss. After a while, you sometimes get caught in a vicious circle and it's tough to get out.

I'll let you know if just coming off the drug, I start to lose weight, and how the pain effects me. Who knows, maybe I'll have to stay on it.

[Tmasgio]

Did you gain the 60lbs after surgery? I know I gained weight. Well, I lost 25lbs from surgery but put it back on after but I am at my presurgery weight again. Good Luck with getting of the meds. I hate taking them as well.

[chickiet]

I'm definitely at a higher weight than pre-surgery. Unfortunately, some of it was stress eating before the surgeries... But some of it is definitely Gabapentin- and now Lyrica-caused, combined with less activity post-surgery (even now).

It may be worthwhile to see if you could "grit it out" for a while without the gabapentin and see if you can drop some weight. If that was successful but the pain at an undesirable level, maybe then you could try to add it back in and see how much you'd put back on. Not an optimal solution, but maybe you'd end up with a net weight loss and still be at a tolerable/minimal pain level.

Best of luck - and definitely keep us posted on how the weight loss goes! I for one have my fingers crossed for you, Paul!!

Chris

[Tmasgio]

Paul,
You may want to consider going to a dietician. They may be able to get you on a regiment tailored to your level of activity.

Tony

[tc]

I am in the "wait and watch" mode and haven't had surgery for my tumor @ C-6/7, based on Dr. Jallo's recommendation. (He thinks it is an ependymoma.) I have nerve pain mostly in my fingertips and toes. I have pain in my shoulders and neck which might be muscular and not nerves; the doctors don't know. My neurologist gave me an Rx for neurontin (gabapentin) today. I read the above posts and don't know if I should even start it, if people are trying to get off of it! The neurologist said she used to prescribe Lyrica, because patients say it works better than neurontin for their pain. However, she has seen many patients with lots of swelling (water retention) from Lyrica (even very swollen faces from Lyrica). Should I give the neurontin a try? Is it habit forming? What side effects have people experienced from that? Tiredness? I already have a pretty low energy level and am weaker from this tumor.