Connect
Gabapentin it doesn’t relieve pain for me- can I stop cold turkey?
I have taken it for about 8 weeks for help to ease neuropathy in my feet. 300mg. initially did nothing so it was increased to 600mg. per day. Which I have taken for 3 1/2 weeks- No pain relief in fact the pain seems worse.
Severe heartburn,
Brainfog and balance issues,
Weight gain, irritability
and more difficulty sleeping are side effects. So I am stopping it- I am cutting down to 300mg. for 4 days then 200 for 3 days then 100 for 3 days. I took it for a short period so would prefer to go cold turkey as the heartburn is really bad. Input appreciated!
Like
Helpful
HugInterested in more discussions like this? Go to the Neuropathy Support Group.
Connect
Nooooo!! You'll feel like $h!t!!
-
Like -
Helpful -
Hug
1 ReactionI would not recommend that you do that. Consult with your health care team about a dose reduction schedule to gradually wean yourself off gabapentin. If you attempt to quit cols turkey, the side effects can be pretty serious.
-
Like -
Helpful -
Hug
4 ReactionsEven though you were on it a short amount of time. Get tapered off of it. The side effects from going cold turkey may make everything worse. Contact the physician who prescribed it. And I was on it a year they kept increasing it. Made everything worse. I demanded to be taken off. They tapered me off and the side effects from that were horrible. Good luck hope you feel better.
-
Like -
Helpful -
Hug
3 ReactionsThe short answer is NO, don't do it.
-
Like -
Helpful -
Hug
5 Reactions@aileenredding Did you feel any relief from pain after taking Gabapentin?
I didn’t have any luck with Gabapentin either. If you’re on a high dose, you shouldn’t stop cold turkey because it may cause seizures even if you don’t have a history of seizures, per my doctor.
-
Like -
Helpful -
Hug
4 Reactions@mirra I only take it at night to help me sleep.
I went direct from GabaPentin to Pregabalin with nary a problem.
My Mayo doctor had me on Gabapentin 100mg 3xd. I took this for a couple of years thinking it must be doing something. In the end I realized it might be part of several cognitive issues I had been having since Covid in 2021. I researched a bit and decided to ween myself off. I went from 3 to 2 for 2 weeks, then down to 1 for 2 weeks, then down to 1 every other day for a week, and then I stopped. After a few weeks I was seeing remarkable differences. While Im still not normal self, I still have Post Covid Syndrome... I am much better than I was while taking Gabapentin. It never helped with anything for me... I just thought it was supposed to. I would never take it again, it or Lyrica. That's how it worked for me. People are different.
-
Like -
Helpful -
Hug
1 ReactionDecrease VERY VERY VERY SLOWLY. Ihad painful, very PAINFUL ITCHING by going cold turkey from 600 mg total. Otherwise you have yo go back on...I figure i will lower the dose by 100 every 2 weeks, once i get everything calmed down for a full month. Horrible.