Tramadol for Gabapentin Withdrawal

[DrJon34]

I have found that taking Tramadol short term will help with Gaba Withdrawal. Take 1 50mg tablet every 4 hours. Take for no longer than 7-10 days. I am a pharmacist and by no means am I offering medical advice. Please consult your GP for advice. This is just my opinion and based on my own experiences.

[Madlegs1]

Great to have you on board.

In general - short term use of opiates help greatly for coping with those symptoms for any drug.

[Bananas5]

Unfortunately it takes a lot longer than 7 days to withdraw from Gabappentin and should never be done without consulting your GP first. Yes you did say speak with GP.

If done very slowly and properly there is no need to take another drug.

x

[Victoriapain]

I was given diazempam to help with my gabapentin withdrawl. Never took them. Went cold turkey. The doctor didn't want me to do this but I did. Best thing I ever done. Horrible nasty medication. Not saying to others do cold turkey just my experience. Hope you manage to get off them soon x

[PFKAAde]

Although I appreciate a pharmacist acknowledging that there is a need to withdraw carefully from gabapentin, I agree with Paton. Having just spent 2 years tapering off pregabalin 7 days is nowhere near long enough to taper off any gabapentinoid for some people. I don't know the figures, but for those that struggle to get off these types of drugs an extremely slow taper is the only way of avoiding or minimising withdrawal syptioms.

I would say that even done slowly and carefully it can still be extremely difficult, and some people do find a need for other medications to assist. Not sure tramadol is suitable for everyone as some people find it also difficult to get off and very addictive. Personally I find opiates easier to reduce than the gabas, SSRIs or tricyclics, but others don't.

Personally I will never take another drug in that class of medication, the side-effects and withdrawal have been hellish. YMMV.