@cdcc , I was on Gabapentin, which is the medication from which the maker developed Lyrica when Gabapentin was made generic. I was taking 600mg of Gabapentin 2x a day, and the pain doctor increased my dose to 900 mg 3x a day. The first day on the increased dose, I had a minor car accident as I became distracted. I suddenly couldn't tell where I was and when pulling into a strip mall, I ran headon into another car. Fortunately, I was going only about 10 miles an hour. I was very disoriented and felt like I was high. My husband picked me up and I decided right then that I was not taking Gabapentin anymore.

I talked to my pain doctor about getting off Gabapentin and Baclofen, both of which were prescribed along with Tramadol 50mg for my back pain after surgery. He questioned why I wanted to stop and seemed upset with me about it. He told me to just "stop" taking the Gabapentin, and when I said I had read that I could have withdrawal symptoms from going cold turkey, he laughed and said it wasn't an opiod so I couldn't possibly have "withdrawal" symptoms. I was shocked by his attitude. I then asked my pharmacist how to withdraw from it, and he was very helpful. I took 2 pills every other day, and 1 pill everyday for 4 weeks. Then I dropped down to 1 pill everyday for 2 weeks and 1 pill every other day for another 2 weeks. I think I was ok at that point, although I did have some anxiety for a week. What I discovered after coming off Gabapentin was that I had lost huge amounts of memories, even about a Christmas gift I had been given. I found the card with my registration information for a wonderful art museum membership my friend had bought me. I just had to register for my card. I have absolutely NO memory of receiving the gift, although my husband tells me I was excited at the time. I will NEVER take any medication like this for any reason ever again. Stopping Baclofen was not a problem for me.

I'm also still withdrawing from the Tramadol which has been much more difficult for me as I've been taking it much longer. I have experienced anxiety, panic attacks, and muscle tension that slowed down my withdrawal pace. Ive been working on cutting from 4 pills every 24 hours, down to 3, then 2 a day. It's taken me a couple of months, and I have had depression as well. I was thinking how sad I was that my Citalopram 40 mg/day was no longer working because it has changed my life. So, I slowed down my withdrawal. I'm still taking 1/2 a pill 2 times a day when I start feeling the tension in my muscles happening. I will go to 1/2 pill here in the next week and then nothing after 1 week. It has been incredibly hard. I purchased some CBD Living Water to help during the worst of the withdrawal, and it did help my anxiety. I'm no longer using the CBD. I'm happy to say my depression has gone away and I'm feeling good about that.

It's amazing how profoundly medication can affect us. I found that my pain decreased after stopping the Gabapentin! I am also getting ART treatments from mh chiropractor too. The Active Release Technique has helped me more than anything else I have done. I am about as pain free as I think I can be and still be alive, LOL. I have some pain, but it's tolerable, much more tolerable than the medications. I can't wait to see my pain doctor to tell him I'm drug free.

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