I bought some CBD oil

sounds like the Gabapentin is causing those symptoms.  You may want to take to your doctor.  Side effects is drowsiness plus other stufF like headaches.   It’s why I didn’t take it because I was already having issues.   I hope you find some relief.   My mom’s friend started taking hemp gummy bears and her pain has greatly decreased.

hugs

Please be careful going off gabapentin too fast. 

I live in Ca so cannabis is legal here.  CBD oil can be great but you have to give it time. I don’t know much about it but a have few friends who are very knowledgeabl. I know the ratio of CBD to Thc is important for sleep. 

Cymbalta is an SSRI+. Klonopin is a benzodiazepine both are psychotropics but very different. It will be interesting to see what your new doc recommends. 

Im so sorry you are having so much neuropathy. It sounds terrible. I’m sending you good wishes for relief and healing. 

It is not uncommon to experience side effects when one stops using gabapentin. This is true of any substance that affects GABA levels in the brain. When someone wants to learn about getting off gabapentin, it is usually because they’ve developed a physical dependence on the drug. Physical dependence is distinct from psychological addiction. Physical dependence doesn’t indicate drug cravings or compulsive drug-seeking. Instead, the body is dependent on the presence of the substance to the point that stopping suddenly will cause physical symptoms known as withdrawal. Research shows that taking gabapentin even for just three weeks can trigger withdrawal as a person tries to stop taking it. Understanding how to get off gabapentin requires professional guidance because of the potential side effects.

The side effects of stopping gabapentin can range from mildly uncomfortable to deadly. The risks of withdrawal symptoms make it important to follow a gabapentin taper schedule as someone tries to stop using it. Symptoms of stopping gabapentin suddenly can include anxiety, agitation and irritability, restlessness and light sensitivity. More severe side effects of stopping gabapentin can include confusion, hallucinations, heart palpitations, and status epilepticus. Status epilepticus refers to a medical condition in which seizures continuously occur, and it can be deadly. The symptoms of stopping gabapentin and their severity can depend on a number of factors. Some of the factors that determine the side effects of stopping gabapentin may include the duration of medication use, the dosage used, and the potential presence of any medical conditions that could amplify side effects.

For someone interested in getting off gabapentin, the best thing to do is to follow a schedule of tapering off gabapentin. Getting off gabapentin should be done only under the advice and supervision of a physician. Even for people who aren’t abusing it, doctors will recommend weaning off gabapentin because it is the safest route to stop using this medicine. Tapering off gabapentin will include gradually taking lower doses, often over a period of weeks. Detox centers may also help people who want to learn how to stop taking gabapentin 300 mg or other doses of the drug.

While gabapentin isn’t a narcotic and isn’t considered extremely psychologically addictive, it is a drug that leads to physical dependence. For people interested getting off gabapentin, never try to do it on your own. Withdrawal from gabapentin can be life-threatening. 

Thank you for posting this, Eldri. You have a whole bunch of people who're curious and will log in tomorrow morning to see how you slept. You're a sleep study of one, and we're your observers HA. Best of luck and I hope it works as well as - or even better than - the Nyquil.

I had no idea gabapentin withdrawl could occur. I started taking it 6 months ago. It's 100mg to be taken 3x a day and I forgot to take the midday dose most of the time. So two weeks ago I stopped taking it altogether and just take alpha lipoic acid. Honestly, I never noticed an improvement with gabapentin but that's probably because I wasn't taking enough. I did have improvement from alpha lipoic acid, however. I take 250mg 2x a day and I no longer have the burning shooting pains in my feet and hands. I still have some numbing and tingling which I hope lessens over time. 

I sure do appreciate everyone on this discussion board. I've learned so much and have seen questions answered that I didn't even know to ask!

Had my annual physical Friday and my major complaint is my neuropathy in my feet. My primary immediately wrote a prescription for gabapentin. I researched it after I got home and was dubious of it. Then this morning is this wonderful information from so many of you. I don't have problems sleeping - it is getting comfortable with the tingling when I get in the bed. After reading these comments, I am not getting that prescription.  I love my primary doctor but think he was too eager to get me comfortable and not thinking how it might impact me. I, too, will see how ELZ does with the oil.

Eldri,

I just remembered that you are on metformin. Metformin lowers levels of B12 so
you have to continue to supplement to keep your levels in the proper range.

Vitamin B12 is needed for neurological function.  I test my blood levels of
B12 regularly, just as I test Vitamin D levels regularly. When I try to take less
of the Vitamin B12 supplement, I find that my levels drop alot from the metformin.

You need to get your blood levels to the right range then maintain those levels.

This could be another cause of your neuropathy.

Takingcontrol58

Wow very interesting . I only took gabepentin very briefly and it did nothing for me so i stopped. I didn’t know about tapering off which I didn’t but didn’t have any side effects. I’m thinking I probably had a very low dose.

EZLiving66 said:

This is the third time I have

This is the third time I have been on gabapentin and each time I've gone off it, nobody (MD, MA and NP) ever told me to taper off of it - what the heck??? The first time I was prescribed it was after my first chemo when my hands and feet started to tingle. I took it for about three months or so but the neuropathy just got worse. Then in 2017 my GP wanted me to try it again but told me to take it only when I needed it. I took two to three a day but quit after six months - again, cold turkey. In February the MD I saw wanted to start it again but take three pills at bedtime to see if it helped. Nobody said a word about weaning myself off of it slowly - YEESH! But I just read that some people have no symptoms from stopping it. I have not noticed any improvement and think the neuropathy, if anything, has gotten worse while I've been on it. The only thing I take that I notice big time when I don't take it is the Nyquil.

I do take B12, C, D3, magnesium, potassium and a multiple vitamin without iron based on blood testing. Those are in addition to my prescription meds. 

I used the CBD oil under my tongue last night but only used six drops. The woman that I bought it from said to start slowly and work my way up. She said it could take a while before I would feel any improvement. I knew it was going to be a bad night because my feet were already in pain by late afternoon. I iced them but as soon as I took the ice off, the pain came back. I was very tempted to just take an oxycodone but I'm really trying to get off that. 

Tonight I'm going to take the CBD oil, one gabapentin and the Nyquil to see what happens. I will report back later in the week.

Love,

Eldri

It's like CQs "Frustrated" thread. What we get from our doctors in the form of instruction when we get new diagnosis or meds is often token at best, like being given a pamplet or two, if we're lucky, when first diagnosed with diabetes. And then they have the nerve to charge our insurance for said "instruction"! When it comes to meds you seem to either have the worst or the best of luck, Eldri, and I'm so glad you were ok when you've stopped the gabapentin without issue. I was offered it, too, during chemo and said "No thanks, I'll try the other options first" after reading about it, so that's why I said "Whoa, wait a minute!" for you. I feel so bad for what you are going through and just can't bear the thought of even more going wrong for you. I'm stunned that your doctors have been so cavalier treating you with it. Finding out about it after a bad effect is not the way to do it!

NoTimeForCancer said:

Ma, I'll always be interested

Ma, I'll always be interested in what you have to say.  None of us are smarter than the others, we all collectively get us down the road in this education.  Unless it is absolutely needed, like chemo, maybe we can all learn a lesson to stop, do our homework, and then say if we are interested in taking a medication.

I had a benign lump removed from my breast is 2009.  The surgeon wanted me to take tamoxifen.  I said no.  Turns out it can cause uterine cancer and I didn't need any help with that.  PLUS she didn't do any kind of testing to determine if it would benefit me. 

There is clinical trials and then there are guinea pigs.  A good reminder to be our own advocates.

"We all collectively get us down the road". That is so true!