1. < Neuropathy

Gabapentin

Posted by bugsplatterbeast @bugsplatterbeast, Oct 19, 2021

I've developed pins & needles, numbness along with sharp stabbing burning pains & a tightness in my soles. All of the above are in both hands & feet & have developed over the last six months. I'm wondering if it's caused by gabapentin which I started taking for a frozen shoulder two yrs back.

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lexilulu | @lexilulu | Oct 26, 2021
In reply to @lexilulu "I was put on Gabapentin for a pinched nerve in my pelvic area by the Spine..." + (show)
@lexilulu

I was put on Gabapentin for a pinched nerve in my pelvic area by the Spine Clinic dr. I took 3 capsules a day, 300 mg. About a year later I started having the burning pain in my feet. Went to several drs & ended up at the Pain Clinic where this dr put me on max dose of 4-4-4, 300 mg ea daily. I decided to try to wean myself down, but can only go to 3-3-2. I still have terrible burning pain. I had measles encephalitis when I was 4 yrs old, had a grand mall seizure & went into a coma for several hours. I was in the hospital for a little over a month, along w/ about 9 other children who had gotten this same thing. Three that I know of died. As a result, I was diagnosed w/ epilepsy & took Dilantin up until I turned 12 yrs old, so took it for 9 yrs. I had EEG’s every year & I stabilized & didn’t have to take it anymore. When I told the Neurologist about this, he said just from the Dilantin I would have lost 15% of my nerve function. At age 40 & every decade thereafter, you lose 10% of your nerve function. I’m 64, so I’d have 45% nerve function. He acted as if this was probably a big factor in why I have SFN. Wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy! I’m trying to restore my nerves by doing physical therapy w/ a Re-Builder and Infrared Calf & Foot wraps. I can’t use the massager that was also a part of PT, even w/ a pillow on top of it, within a minute my feet feel like they’re getting rug burn. So I have 1 1/2 hrs each morning & each night. It really helps, but then I got my 2nd Covid Vaccination (Moderna) & by afternoon, my feet were on fire. I thought it would be temporary, but it wasn’t. It’s been several months and somehow put me back to square 1. My regular dr said not to get the Booster.

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I have had memory problems, and I met a couple who told me to wean myself off of the Gabapentin, calling it Gabapentin brain. The husband was on it & he thought he was getting dementia. He weaned himself completely off of it & his memory problems went away. Anybody else experience this??

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tarmansbks | @tarmansbks | Oct 27, 2021
In reply to @lexilulu "I have had memory problems, and I met a couple who told me to wean myself..." + (show)
@lexilulu

I have had memory problems, and I met a couple who told me to wean myself off of the Gabapentin, calling it Gabapentin brain. The husband was on it & he thought he was getting dementia. He weaned himself completely off of it & his memory problems went away. Anybody else experience this??

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Yes, I agree. I felt my personality had changed and I was irritable and had trouble making my thoughts clear. A neighbor who knows me well noticed this. I was able to wean off and don't see that whatever it was supposed to do to help me is not evident. The tiredness and lack of motivation was evident.

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pkagarwal | @pkagarwal | Oct 27, 2021

How do you go about weaning off Gabapentin? Slowly decrease the dosage?

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3 replies
soberkat11 | @soberkat11 | Oct 27, 2021
In reply to @pkagarwal "How do you go about weaning off Gabapentin? Slowly decrease the dosage?" + (show)
@pkagarwal

How do you go about weaning off Gabapentin? Slowly decrease the dosage?

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Hi i was taking 3-800mgs a day. Then i went down to cut half of 1. If they are in capsule them skip a dose

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Mentor
Chris Trout, Volunteer Mentor | @artscaping | Oct 28, 2021
In reply to @pkagarwal "How do you go about weaning off Gabapentin? Slowly decrease the dosage?" + (show)
@pkagarwal

How do you go about weaning off Gabapentin? Slowly decrease the dosage?

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Good evening, please contact your clinician for assistance. Every taper may be a bit different depending on the time of day you have been taking the medication and the amount you have been taking. I also think you will need to taper after a certain period of time that you have been on the medication. I was not a fan of Gabapentin and could only take it at night because of side effects during the day.

I was at 1200 mg a night. I didn't like the fuzziness and nausea so by taking it at night I avoided those effects and had the benefit of going to bed without tingle tangles in my hands. By the way, I missed a dose one night and learned very quickly the benefits of Gabapentin that I didn't want to give up. And so it began......first I went slowly down to 900 mg and stayed there for quite some time to make sure my numbness and tingles were being taken care of with a lower dose.

Then, my PCP and I decided to take it one step further....down to 600 mg. It still works. I have given up some of the control of numbness and tingling while keeping the pain control.

May you be safe, protected and free of inner and outer harm.
Chris

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jetsetter | @jetsetter | Oct 28, 2021

For those of you who have weaned off of Gabapentin, did you have trouble with headaches or dizziness during or after stopping?

I also had crazy brain from Gabapentin, then at about a month of being on 900 mg daily after 300 a day, I started having my eyes moving in my head even when my eyes were closed - strange to describe but I was anxious and felt weird. So I started tapering off.

Now I’m at about 2 weeks completely off and I’m still having headaches. Hope it ends soon. The headaches could be from something else but I normally don’t get headaches.

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centre | @centre | Oct 28, 2021
In reply to @pkagarwal "How do you go about weaning off Gabapentin? Slowly decrease the dosage?" + (show)
@pkagarwal

How do you go about weaning off Gabapentin? Slowly decrease the dosage?

Jump to this post

My adult kids started telling me I was breathing heavily, paid attention a and I was, checked the insert and breathing issues are mentioned under side effects. I called the MD, he had me taper down and then off. I went on the PN Foundation website and followed a lot of links, found info on Mayo Clinic website (ha!) about use of visualization strategies for when the sledge hammer starts crashing on my leg in the middle of the night. It really works- if the cramping starts, I get up and walk on the cold bathroom floor in my bare feet, it really helps.

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jetsetter | @jetsetter | Oct 28, 2021

I hate that sledgehammer! I found out the hard way that I wasn’t drinking enough water. I had about 7-8 sledgehammers in a week in the SAME calf! Ended up with muscle tears.

I have neuropathy from Sjögren’s. We who have this auto-immune disorder have extreme dryness issues, eyes, sinus, all mucosa and salivary glands are affected.

So I started tracking my water intake a d made sure I was getting more water and I’ve only had 1 cramp since then, it’s been months.

So drink lots of water and don’t assume you do, as I did, keep track.

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1 reply
jetsetter | @jetsetter | Oct 28, 2021

I love the idea of walking on the cold floor.

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pfbacon | @pfbacon | Oct 28, 2021

Gabapentin takes away most of my neuropathy symptons. I don't know how it could be the Cause of symptoms since it is an anti-seizure medication. It relaxes the nervous system so that the nerves stop carrying false messages of pain. There aren't any pins sticking into my feet, so the feeling of pins sticking in my feet is a false message delivered by my dying/freaking out nervous system. I don't know why my nervous sytem doesn't send false messages of pleasure instead ... Peggy

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