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Gabapentin and effexor withdrawal

Posted by jillguidry1 @jillguidry1, Feb 11 8:31am

Per My Dr I am tapering off gabapentin and effexor. I was on them for fibromyalgia and didn't seem to help and they want to try new meds but must get me off these first. It's only been a few days but i can not sleep. And my body hurts. Can withdrawal happen this soon? Or is the pain from the fact that the gabapentin was actually working? I'm so confused and tired and hurting and feel horrible.

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merlek2a | @merlek2a | Mar 2 1:47pm
In reply to @emo "Both Effexor and gabapentin (and Cymbalta) can cause nasty withdrawal symptoms within a few hours of..." + (show)
@emo

Both Effexor and gabapentin (and Cymbalta) can cause nasty withdrawal symptoms within a few hours of missing a dose if you try to stop cold turkey, but everyone is different, so some people are more affected than others. My physicians warned me about this when we considered medications because I tend to react to medications.

You mentioned you’re tapering—could you maybe try tapering more slowly?

I’ve never been on any medications like those for my chronic pain. It’s not that it’s a bad thing, but I’m very sensitive to medications so I tend not to do well with systemic medications. Even my Neurology NP warned me to be cautious with Cymbalta because she had multiple patients who struggled to taper off it, and with my sensitivity I’d have to be willing to take the risk.

I hope maybe with a slower taper, you’ll be able to transition off? Best of luck to you.

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It’s certainly true that many medications should only be tapered under strict medical supervision. Some people will react to missing a dose when they’ve forgotten to bring their meds for a weekend away. For that reason, I always carry a little pill box tucked away in my purse, with one of each of the meds I’m taking, so as not to be caught short when I’m out.

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emo | @emo | Mar 2 2:26pm
In reply to @johnbluffside "It is horrific even slow tapering. Took me a month to get off of it. I..." + (show)
@johnbluffside

It is horrific even slow tapering.
Took me a month to get off of it. I went with my pharmacist slower suggestions vs my dr much faster. And still made it slower than my pharmacist suggested and still horrible!!
Rx are needed by many you just wish mediation, therapy and exercise would work instead of the need for these rx.
I have had horrific stomach pains since getting off these 4 years ago.

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I’m sorry that happened to you, but I appreciate you sharing. I know there are people who have positive experiences too. It just feels such a risk so I never went through with trying a medication like this. I’m so sensitive to medication that it seemed likely I might have a similar experience.

I’m glad you were able to listen to your body and slow the taper further than what your care team originally proposed.

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carol1024 | @carol1024 | Mar 4 2:10am

I've never had issues stopping gabapentin. Right now I take just 1 capsule close to bedtime. The effexor, my neurologist gave me sample of that to see if it would stop my internal vibrations and after reading about it I decided to not take it. It could very well be the effexor, because that works on the neurological part of the body as xanax does and I had withdrawals from xanax after 3 days after confusion from the doctor. It affected my smell, I couldn't sleep for over 48 hours, I didn't eat for 5 days and went to hospital twice in 24 hours. It was horrible but after finally get the rx the symptoms immediately went away. I'm at a quarter mg now because I want to stop daily use but keep rx as I need it. Then again, if you're tapering off of the medication you shouldn't really have any withdrawal symptoms unless you're doing it too fast so the gabapentin could have actually been working.

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carol1024 | @carol1024 | Mar 4 2:16am
In reply to @merlek2a "It’s certainly true that many medications should only be tapered under strict medical supervision. Some people..." + (show)
@merlek2a

It’s certainly true that many medications should only be tapered under strict medical supervision. Some people will react to missing a dose when they’ve forgotten to bring their meds for a weekend away. For that reason, I always carry a little pill box tucked away in my purse, with one of each of the meds I’m taking, so as not to be caught short when I’m out.

Jump to this post

I do the same thing. I have an aspirin bottle with about 5 different meds in it. I take my 7 day pill container with me but the bottle has the ones I need 2 a day. I'm always thinking, if I get stopped and they find this bottle, they'll probably keep it because there's no way for them to know what medication it is, such as the rx bottle itself. Luckily though I've never been stopped. 😊

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