Weaning off 1200 mg gabapentin

[atwitsendd]

Does anyone know the proper dosing of Gabapentin weaning? Thank you in advance.

[SueJohnson]

Just take it slowly 100 mg at a time. If you have any withdrawal effects, go back up and stay at that dose longer. If you do it slowly you should have no withdrawal effects. Why are you coming off it?

[atwitsendd in reply to SueJohnson]

I actually just want to try a lower dose. The doctor that was prescribing it for me retired. She had me on a high dose 1800mg (600mg in the morning, 600mg midday and 600mg at night). I never questioned it because it helped with my RLS. I have not been to see anyone else yet and am running out but when I drop the dose my RLS goes into full swing. There are not too many doctors that like to prescribe it. I do have an appointment with a neurologist but not until July 19 so I am going to see my GP this week and see what I can get until I see the neurologist.

[SueJohnson in reply to atwitsendd]

Do you have symptoms during the day?

[atwitsendd in reply to SueJohnson]

Yes I have symptoms some days, some days worse than others but it was getting better until I started weaning the Gabapentin

[SueJohnson in reply to atwitsendd]

Since you have symptoms during the day you might want to try Horizant since it lasts 24 hours. It is expensive and insurance generally does not cover it however Horizant has a prescription savings card which if you qualify for makes it inexpensive. I don't know all of the qualifications. Go out to their website. It is similar to gabapentin, but people on the different formulations of gabapentin sometimes find the side effects they have on one, they do not have on the other. Pregabalin is another option. If you switch to that, divide the gabapentin dose by 6 to get the pregabalin dose and you can switch from one to the other without having to come off the other so it is easy to try.

[Hope61 in reply to atwitsendd]

I did the same thing I was up to 1300mg, didn't feel good on it

I was tired even after waking up late. Was sleeping until 10:30 - 11am , dizzy , had balance issues etc

I switched doctors and had virtual hour plus apt with a doctor at a RLS quality center and she right away took me down to 600 mg which worked for my RLS and had no side effects of withdrawal. So like you I got curious and thought what if I don't need this much even?

I went down 100 every couple of days until I didn't take anything for 3 days but during that time I had anxiety pretty bad , some dizziness and nausea. It took well over a week for me to feel good again. It was scary because I didn't realize it was the side effects of withdrawing.

At any rate I am pretty much symptom free with 200mg! Everyone says most RLS patients need so much higher but everyone is different and to me the less medication I have to be on the better. I was on Mirapex prior for about 15 yrs it took me from Aug 2021 to January 2022 to get off it and then towards the end it was brutal .

Go slow and see how you feel. There is a link around , I'll have to see if I can find it It is a RLS webinar a month or so ago when the RLS doctor at John Hopkins discusses a " Drug Holiday" . They always post a link afterward so anyone can reference it later. Listening to that is what made me to try to go down in the Gabapentin more than the 600mg. Anyway, yes there has been research , there are facts, there are recommendations but ever "body" is different and everybody is different. You have to be the ultimate captain of your ship.

You have to challenge doctors , yourself there is no 1 answer for all

My 2cents

[Maximus01 in reply to Hope61]

I have not been feeling well on the 1500 mg Gabapentin. I shared on this before. Tapering down and now am at 900 mg. Will be speaking with my doctor on the 25th and ask her to prescribe 100mg tablets. I don't know whether I will stay at a lower dose or go off completely. The fact is that my sleep disturbance has remained the same. The problem is PLMD, but also have been suffering from insomnia for a long time, probably before the PLMD started, I think. It is really miserable and sometimes I don't know anymore what to do. I am also taking Lorazepam, but am careful not to up too much. Eventually, that will not work either. Any thoughts are appreciated.

[atwitsendd in reply to Maximus01]

I wish I had a magic solution for you. I do have insomnia sometimes also. Just talk to your dr and hopefully she will have some answers. Good luck.

[atwitsendd in reply to Hope61]

I have had balance issues also but I did not associate it with Gabapentin until recently, and also fuzzy brain, like you said I just did not feel that great. I finally looked up side effects and those were some and that's one of the reasons I wanted to try and taper. I didn't see that with the John Hopkins doctor. I'm glad you are doing well on such a low dose. Like you said everyone is different so I will take it slow and talk to the neurologist in July and see what happens. Thank you for your response.

[passgo in reply to Hope61]

"I was tired even after waking up late. Was sleeping until 10:30 - 11am , dizzy , had balance issues etc" - I had this, too. Also, an inability to get my words out and to remember words for things.

"I didn't take anything for 3 days but during that time I had anxiety pretty bad , some dizziness and nausea." - I tried to come off it completely while my wife was away and drop the dosage way too fast. Anxiety attack, sickness. Horrible. Had to take some tablets to stop it.

This is a powerful drug.

[Hope61 in reply to passgo]

I must say I'm glad I wasn't the only one. Sounds exactly like what happened to me. I'm sorry as I know what you went through

[Nikos64]

I just stopped taking it. Granted everyone is different .. but it never had any effects on me.

[atwitsendd in reply to Nikos64]

You are very lucky. I already have withdrawal symptoms so Ik I won't be that lucky, lol.

[Nikos64 in reply to atwitsendd]

I wish you get over it quickly. There are worse dependencies to get over. Gabapentin should be a quick taper.

[grassgree]

Here is some advice from a treatment center; healthline.com/health/how-t...

I took 5 weeks or so to drop from a 600 mg dose, and I struggled with insomnia.

[atwitsendd in reply to grassgree]

Thank you for that info.

[SueJohnson]

The following are possible: insomnia, headache, nausea, anxiety, diarrhea, flu-like symptoms, pain, excessive sweating, dizziness, confusion, and palpitations

[Hope61]

Hang in there !!