This was probably a bit of a mistake...

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SilentAssassin1642

SilentAssassin1642

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but I made the decision at work today to cut down my gabapentin tablets. Only by one mind. But I had no idea the effects would be this severe. Its not really anything to do with foot pains either, but I think I've gone into slight withdrawl...

anxious, headachy, feeling sick, so tired i just want to curl up in a ball and sleep forever..........

the problem being is that i HATE HATE HATE these tablets and really want to wean myself off them. Doc said they were addictive. Obviously he's right.....but surely, 3 tablets is such a low dose that just missing one out shouldn't give me these sorts of effects?

My feet are sore yes, but half of that i think is because of how cold its been today at work.

This is wierd and i don't like it. But I'm refusing to take a third tablet today. I've had 2, and that will do nicely
 
Hi Sam,

I'm on pregabalin, a derivative of gabapentin, but don't have any of the issues, nor have I heard they are addictive. I know if I miss a dose (300mg twice a day) I suffer pain pretty quickly.

Might be worth speaking with your GP or specialist to see if there is any advantage to switching - clearly there is some significant advantage to them, it pain control for neuropathy it's so easy to think they're doing nothing until you miss a dose or two! Then you discover what's working for you.

Hope you're soon sorted out, seems with your pain of last week, perhaps the time isn't right to be coming off them anyway? Certainly time to discuss the options with your doc.
 
thanks. I'll defo be having words with the doc when i next see him. I started taking 3 tablets again a few weeks ago due to a few pains whilst at work - but is that just the cold? I seem to be ok now, having taken pill 2. I just hate them so much, I don't want to be on any form of drugs really for it because it makes me feel like i have a problem.

It says on the leaflet inside the box that you shouldn't come off them on your own, because you may suffer withdrawl. And a bit of research tells me that it is indeed slightly addictive, though not a narcotic.
 
I think all drug companies cover themselves against everything. One day one of them will exempt themselves from the drug doing what it's supposed to do...

Worth the discussion with your doctor, I think they are certainly on the milder side of drugs and their effectiveness for treating neuropathic pains, some of the drugs will leave you missing day after taking them, well they did me! 😱
 
Random musings from the drug elf ;-) Hope this might help.

Pregabalin is quite a bit more expensive coz it's still patented/copywrited/liscenced/whatever to Pfizer, where as anybody can make Gabapentin. With both drugs the dose should be increased and decreased slowly. My books are mysteriously unhelpful on the subject, but i reckon (and i could very well be wrong) that since GABA is a neurotransmitter and Gabapentin works on or with GABA, that it's likely to unbalance the brain chemistry if you either take a load to start with or reduce the dose too fast. Pregabalin is supposed to be a pro-drug version (not that that means professional) which i think means it's a drug that is changed into Gabapentin the body (the liver, i think...sorry without a pharmacist on hand i'm a tad stuck). What you're describing, Sam, does sound a lot like the kind of symptoms you'd get from a rapid withdrawl, although i'm suprised at the dose, i'm suprised that one tablet (or capsule) could make that much difference.
Addiction's kind of complicated, people can get addicted to anything, even paracetamol, and i don't think that Gabapentin is the kind of drug that creates a sense of "need". Opiates, for example, block pain receptors so that an addict needs to take more and more of them to achieve the same high. Gabapentin's given to people for years at a time for nerve pain or epilepsy (which is what it was developed for). We don't limit the ammount we give to patients prescribed it like we do the drugs we might invision patients becoming dependant on. Have a word with your doctor or friendly pharmacist about it (probably not the guy from the big shop beginning with B, he didn't sound that friendly anyway....)
 
What's fascinating with neuropathic pain is just how the pain is managed, and the combinations of pain relief you need at different times. I found Gabapentin to be of little if any assistance and didn't miss it when I stopped taking it, pregabalin (Lyrica) on the other hand offered a far greater level of pain relief, but being on the maximum dose it began to become less effective, various other epilepsy medications gave great pain relief but even at their lowest dose I was missing 12 hours between it and the next dose - not a lot of good.

Eventually for neuropathy and other pain I've ended up on BuTrans patches, the effect of drowsiness is limited, the patch I tried before I was zonked when they upped the strength to the next level.

My bus stop arrives at the point when the pain relief leads me with no life I can remember - seems no point being on the bus if you don't know what the journey is about.

Part of the problem with playing with the pain control of the central nervous system?

I must admit I get some limited relief from accupuncture and more so from regular use of my TENS machine - what a fantastic little device and probably only the cost of a few months pain killers, still the NHS can't see past the end of it's nose when it comes to alternative therapies. Much happier with a little trickle of current passing through me, or a few needles applied for 20 minutes each week that pumping myself full of drugs day in, day out.

One day they will let me run the NHS, sure with some common sense and a radical review the resources within it could be maximised for the good of everyone, except maybe a few of the additional layers of management there for people to report to and then for them to report to the next and so on... :D
 
I hope you are feeling better. I can only endorse what others have said and say speak to doctor.
 
I think I have mentioned this before. If I miss my evening dose of gabapentin then I suffer from withdrawals, I feel agitated and axious and can't get to sleep, tossing and turning, it's really not nice at all. I knwo that I am sensitive to withdrawing from meds that work in this way (had much worse from venlafaxine though).
I am considering asking for a switch to pregablin (but that might be me falling for the Pfizer rep's marketing skills!). I would mention it to your doc, would be interesting to see what they say about withdrawals.
 
All I can gather Nikki is the two drugs are similar, but dramatically one works for some people, the other works for others and for a happy group they can have either.

Lyrica for me all the way :D
 
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