How do I taper off this last 100mg ? Every time I try, I get horrendous internal tremors, blurred vision, tightness in the chest. I have spoken to my GP, who says it can't be the gabapentin, but looking through the internet, many people are experiencing these symptoms trying to get off gabapentin?
I have finally got down to just 100mg of gabapentin a day which is in a capsule form.
Question posted by JuliaW2 on 23 April 2023
Last updated on 25 April 2023
4 Answers
kevinb1953
23 April 2023
Hello.
When tapering off any "adictiing-possible/likely" drug like benzos and pain medication(s) and you want the best possible chance/results without experiencing withdrawal effect(s) or relapsing... Here's the answer: have your perscribing health care professional (Doctor, Pa, etc.) Write a prescription to taper 10% to 15% for 10-14 days, then another 10% to 15% for another 10-14 days and so on until you feel like you can take the final last days of the medicine. Your perscribing health care professional should write that dosage(s) schedule precisely and take the prescription to a COMPOUNDING Pharmacy where they will compound the EXACT amount. Trying to guess or devide dosage by days and/or amounts by yourself is just not precise enough. Let the experts do it for your best results.
Compounding pharmacies are in most large towns and all major cities. Google it. You will be surprised. I was told by my compounding pharmacy that darn near every medicine can be compounded.
This is how I finally kicked my 20+ years of Xanax use without relapsing.
Remember, you first took the drug/medicine for a reason so you just might need to stay on a small dose or replace with a different medicine.
The reason I say 10 to 15% and 10 to 14 days is because everybody is different and a lot depends on length of time you've been on and amount of dosage plus how you are feeling personally. You and your health care professional should discuss this first.
Best Regards,
Kevinb1953
JuliaW2
23 April 2023
Thank you Kevinb, will try to talk to my GP but its a 3 week wait to get an appointment. I agree very much with what you suggest and appreciate your advise
kevinb1953
25 April 2023
You're very welcomed. I know how difficult it sometimes can be. I was absolutely going bonkers back in those days of addiction. A lot of doctors & other perscribing health care professionals aren't that "up" on stopping a medicine but if you really need to know all about drugs the best practice is to talk to your pharmacist. He/she is their soul job to know all about medicine(s) and it doesn't take an appointment or money to avail of their services. In fact I find that they are happy to talk with you! Imagine that, good free advice available anytime...
Best regards,
Kevin
WildcatVet
23 April 2023
Hi, Julia!
Taper off very slowly... 100mg for several weeks, then 100mg every other day, etc.,etc. Whatever you do don't open the capsules as per some internet advice. You'll have no idea what dose you're actually getting besides it being messy and time consuming.
Regards, Wildcat
PS, Don't let anyone tell you differently... gabapentin can, in fact, cause discontinuation symptoms in some people especially if you've developed a dependency on it.
JuliaW2
23 April 2023
Hi Wildcat Vet Thank you ! this is what I needed to know . It was my thought but I have read so much about Gabapentin in the last few days and was concerned as some say going back on it makes the dependance even worse, and harder to get off. Have you tried getting off Gabapentin ?
WildcatVet
23 April 2023
No, my sister was taking it for a neuropathy but it wasn't working well for her and her doctor changed her medication.
She discontinued the gabapentin over just a couple of weeks by following the taper without much of any problem after the first day or two.
b48o50r4
23 April 2023
I was in the same boat. However I was taking for C6/7 bulging disc that caused severe pain and numbness down my right arm. 11 months later I'm free of pills. Still have pain and numbness but less severity. When I reduced down to 100mg a day, I waited about 6wks before reducing again. Then I would wait until days when I felt really good and just push myself to not take it that day. About 3 wks in and I was noticing I was down to 100mg only 2 or 3 times per wk. So from there I decided to again only take it when I was in high pain levels. I quite that week and never desired to take it again, regardless of pain. In all it took about 5mo to reduce to nothing. Yes, Doctors know nothing about how hard it is to get of this drug.
JuliaW2
23 April 2023
Thank you b48o50r4 , again it confirms what Wild Cat Vet said, I have not taken it for 3 days now and feel awful, internal tremors feel like my legs have turned to jelly. I had no idea of the issues with this medication, it seems to be, being handed out now for just about everything.
b48o50r4
24 April 2023
Only you can say for sure , but it sounds like one of those days I would take 100mg again for a day or 2 and then try again when feeling confident and normal. Until it is no more. Good luck!
JuliaW2
24 April 2023
Thank you, agree, I have to go away for a couple of days tomorrow so I will take Gabapentin tonight, and try twice a week, for a month then try once a week until I can get off it.
TKMarsh711
23 April 2023
I’d like to ask how you did it? I’m on 1200 mg daily for anxiety and I’d like to get off. I know the doctors think it’s easy but I guess they haven’t tried. How much did you start on and how fast did you go? As far as the last 100 I’d take it really slow. I’ve heard of opening the capsule and putting it in a little bit of water and only removing a small amount with a syringe and drinking the rest.
JuliaW2
23 April 2023
I am very sensitive to many medications. My doctor put me on 300mg x 3 a day which seems to be the normal amount to start. I very quickly realized I could not handle that amount as I could not stay awake, so the doctor dropped it to 300mg x 2 after just 2 weeks, I had no issues with that. There seems to be resistance from my doctor that the drug was actually causing issues. I was on 300mg x 2 for about 2 months, but I also take Oxybutinin for overactive bladder and I am in my 70s which again from what I have read compounds how the drug works. I started to get very bad retention and struggled to urinate, and blurry vision ( the urine and vision issues are also known side effects of OXybutinin) so it seems the 2 drugs together were compounding the side effects. The doctor dropped it to 300mg x 1 per day.
Each time it was dropped, I had horrendous internal tremors, which would last for weeks, yet at the same time, I felt good on the drug, a feeling of well-being, and felt this need to increase the amount back up again that's when I knew I had a major issue with this drug, so resisted any suggestion of increasing the medication again. All has been fine for almost a year now on the 300mg x 1 a day. I then started putting on quite a bit of weight and have horrendous bloating, and gas causing burping. Again I must say my reactions are probably different from other people's due to the fact I take Oxybutinin. I decided then I needed to get off this drug. I started alternating the dose, one day 300mg, the next 200mg. I did that for about two months, gradually moving to 200mg 2, then three days a week until I was down to 200mg x 1 a day. Then I did the same until I got down to 100 x 1 a day.
JuliaW2
24 April 2023
I started on 300mg x 3 a day, reduced to alternating days 200mg or 300mg then down to 200mg alternating to 100mg x 3 a day, then slowly reducing to 100mg a day. It has taken many many months to get where I am now. Sadly at these low levels I have found the bladder frequency has returned. Very difficult situation
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Further information
- Gabapentin uses and safety info
- Gabapentin prescribing info & package insert (for Health Professionals)
- Side effects of Gabapentin (detailed)
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