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    #1

    Latest gabapentin experiences?

    I'm just wondering if anyone here has managed to find gabapentin helpful in reducing alcohol cravings and/or anxiety on a long-term daily basis? I have heard it is limited due to tolerance, and found this myself during a few experiments with it, but the tolerance may only be to its sedative effects. What about it as an add-on medication, such as gabapentin plus low-medium dose baclofen? Gabapentin must retain at least some of its effects over time, as it is prescribed as an ongoing treatment for epilepsy and neuropathic pain.

    My doctor is suggesting this drug as an alternative to baclofen, mainly because he is reluctant to try bac at high doses, and it would be way cheaper for me to take something prescribed rather than having to order online all the time. I'm currently only on Antabuse, but finding the going tough due to cravings/depression/anxiety, and also due to not using cannabis at the moment as an alcohol substitute (I would prefer not to have to resort to it again if at all possible). I'm starting baclofen again at low doses until I see the doctor, and have to try and decide between it and gabapentin by the time I see him. I also had a lot of insomnia problems when attempting high dose baclofen last year, and am assuming this wouldn't be a limitation with gabapentin.

    Sorry to have started a new thread on this, as I know there was one some time ago, but I thought a thread emphasising new/latest experiences with this drug could attract more replies.
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    #2
    Latest gabapentin experiences?

    I've been advocating gabapentin for months, even Murphy got onboard. We both take it differently. I do find it very helpful for the depression/anxiety and I take it with baclofen. Check out Murphy's or my thread for dialog on it.

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      #3
      Latest gabapentin experiences?

      Thanks, glad to hear it's helping. I guess I should have done a bit more searching before starting a new thread!

      Comment

        #4
        Latest gabapentin experiences?

        Greg! I've got a lot to say on the subject. Currently going to try gabapentin and low dose baclofen. Short on time now, but I'll be back tomorrow. Glad you started the thread!
        "Yet someday this will have an end
        All choices made or choice resigned,
        And in your face the literal eye
        Trace little of your history,
        Nor ever piece the tale entire
        Of villages that had to burn
        And playgrounds of the will destroyed
        Before you could be safe from time
        And gather in your brow and air
        The stillness of antiquity."

        From "At Majority" by Adrienne Rich

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          #5
          Latest gabapentin experiences?

          There was this highway by my old house that had those yellow reflectors in the middle (about every 10 feet or so) and it also had a strip of those white bumps on the side (about 4 or 5 of them side by side six inches apart width wise and placed every foot or so length wise).

          The purpose of the yellow reflectors in the middle right on the yellow divider line was obvious, so you can see the middle of the road at night. The white bumps on the side were placed there because it was a long rural highway and I suppose they thought people were prone to falling asleep on it. As soon as you hit the strip of white bumps on the side your tires would make this loud grinding sound. If you were nodding off it'd promptly wake you up. You could obviously hear it, but you could definitely feel it too!

          I was driving a very good looking young girl to my house one day a few years ago to go hang out. I was feeling very lo0py and good and had an idea (or a devious plan ). I told her to close her eyes and just to listen and feel, I wanted to show her something.

          She knew me well enough at this point to promptly obey and did just that. I drove to the center of the road over the reflectors. They went "bump, bump, bump, bump". Then I swerved quickly to the side of the road and drove over the white bumpy things. And..."griiiIIIiiiiind".

          I switched back and forth a few times between the bumping and the grinding before I supplemented it with an actual verbal description, which consisted of nothing more than "bump, bump, bump, bump" and "griiiiind".

          "Doesn't that feel good?" I asked.

          "YeeeeAh...." She started out slowly with a slight upturn in her inflection as she voiced the "A".

          "Can you imagine what it would feel like if when we got back to my house we did that?"

          She let out slight moan.

          Stupid right? Whatever, the deal was sealed.

          I was high as f**k off of gabapentin when I did that. It was quite a departure from my normal personality. I think I was prescribed 300 mgs every 6 hours for neuropathic pain and I found out that if I took something like 1800 mgs (??) it felt really nice.

          I read up on it and found it stated several times that the "abuse potential is low", but I abused it.

          I just want to throw a heads up out there. I'm sure it's 20 times safer (less addictive for people like us) than something like xanax but there can be a dark side.
          :nutso: I take pride in my humility :nutso:
          :what?:
          sigpic
          Graph of My Drinking From July '09 to January '10

          Consolidated Baclofen Information Thread




          Baclofen for Alcoholism and Other Addictions
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            #6
            Latest gabapentin experiences?

            LoOp,

            Priceless analogy. LOL


            LL:l
            The hardest arithmetic to master is that which enables us to count our blessings.

            *Don't look where you fall, look why you slipped*

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              #7
              Latest gabapentin experiences?

              That's a story I won't forget, I haven't been quite as, er, lucky as you with gabapentin!

              Comment

                #8
                Latest gabapentin experiences?

                bump
                :nutso: I take pride in my humility :nutso:
                :what?:
                sigpic
                Graph of My Drinking From July '09 to January '10

                Consolidated Baclofen Information Thread




                Baclofen for Alcoholism and Other Addictions
                A Forum
                Trolls need not apply

                Comment

                  #9
                  Latest gabapentin experiences?

                  AND....
                  :nutso: I take pride in my humility :nutso:
                  :what?:
                  sigpic
                  Graph of My Drinking From July '09 to January '10

                  Consolidated Baclofen Information Thread




                  Baclofen for Alcoholism and Other Addictions
                  A Forum
                  Trolls need not apply

                  Comment

                    #10
                    Latest gabapentin experiences?

                    :dunno:

                    What do you want, a cookie?
                    Better Living Through Chemistry

                    Switched at 180mgs of Baclofen on 1/31/11, and again on 10/8/11 at 200mgs.

                    Could've been a swan on a glassy lake, could've been a gull in a clipper's wake. Could've been a ladybug on a windchime, but she was born a dragonfly.
                    ~Clutch

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                      #11
                      Latest gabapentin experiences?

                      You know how much I like cookies!!! MMMmmmMMmmm! Mixed in Ben & Jerry's!!

                      (she does too... :blush
                      :nutso: I take pride in my humility :nutso:
                      :what?:
                      sigpic
                      Graph of My Drinking From July '09 to January '10

                      Consolidated Baclofen Information Thread




                      Baclofen for Alcoholism and Other Addictions
                      A Forum
                      Trolls need not apply

                      Comment

                        #12
                        Latest gabapentin experiences?

                        Excellent story, Lo0p. You have more game than Kobe Bryant.

                        Now please PM me your workout routine
                        Knowledge of what is possible is the beginning of happiness.
                        George Santayana

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                          #13
                          Latest gabapentin experiences?

                          Lo0p;1183555 wrote: You know how much I like cookies!!! MMMmmmMMmmm! Mixed in Ben & Jerry's!!

                          (she does too... :blush
                          Careful there, or Chunky Monkey and Chubby Hubby will be more than just Ben and Jerry's flavors! :H
                          Better Living Through Chemistry

                          Switched at 180mgs of Baclofen on 1/31/11, and again on 10/8/11 at 200mgs.

                          Could've been a swan on a glassy lake, could've been a gull in a clipper's wake. Could've been a ladybug on a windchime, but she was born a dragonfly.
                          ~Clutch

                          Comment

                            #14
                            Latest gabapentin experiences?

                            SlipperyPete;1183558 wrote: Excellent story, Lo0p. You have more game than Kobe Bryant.

                            Now please PM me your workout routine
                            I certainly hope so, because I can't afford the lawyers he hired to get him out of that Colorado scandal a few years back!

                            A lot of workout routines will get you there (as long as you hit The Big 3 nice and heavy and consistently), you need to focus on your diet. Martin Berkhan has the easiest one I've come across so far.

                            Which brings me to my next point:

                            Isolde;1183562 wrote:                             Careful there, or Chunky Monkey and Chubby Hubby will be more than just Ben and Jerry's flavors! :H
                            It's already becoming a reality! Go$da&n post-Burningman binges!!! :upset:

                            I might be able to expound on the specifics of the workout/diet stuff later (in a more appropriate thread, sorry for the hijack :blush but I've got to clean the house before work!!
                            :nutso: I take pride in my humility :nutso:
                            :what?:
                            sigpic
                            Graph of My Drinking From July '09 to January '10

                            Consolidated Baclofen Information Thread




                            Baclofen for Alcoholism and Other Addictions
                            A Forum
                            Trolls need not apply

                            Comment

                              #15
                              Latest gabapentin experiences?

                              Have been on gabapentin for a while. I think my MD wanted me to use it both for sleep, as an alternative to lorazepam, and in the afternoon to reduce craving for alcohol. I used it at night but not during the afternoon, so maybe I didn't get the benefit. I was concerned about drowsiness. It did seem to work for sleep, although I didn't taper off the lorazepam. Also, alleviated symptoms of sciatica, or at least those symptoms seemed to go away after I started to take gabapentin.

                              Did everyone keep up with that?

                              My MD has now prescribed baclofen in another attempt (after Naltrexone didn't much alter my bottle-of-wine-a-night habit) to reduce drinking. Started about 10 days ago and am up to 60 mg a day after trying 80 mg, perhaps too quickly, and getting my ass kicked. Traded off potential gabapentin-induced drowsiness for baclofen-induced somnolence. I am finally tapering off the lorazepam. Then also tried getting off the gabapentin -- although she hadn't recommended that unless needed to reduce somnolence. Turns out that going cold turkey off gabapentin may not be the best idea.

                              Why am I telling you all this?

                              First, to reaffirm that some MDs do believe that gabapentin can reduce craving, as it is can help reduce anxiety for some people. Second, for folks who may be on other meds (particularly with psychoactive properties), and who may be getting their baclofen from offshore pharmacies, my experience may affirm the need for medication reconciliation. The one thing I regret about the baclofen transition is that I didn't spend a wee bit more time talking with my MD about the various transitions in more detail, which I'm not blaming on her. I think my transition to baclofen is definitely getting a bit more complicated by all of the juggling, and weird things like my experiencing more short-term anxiety (I hope only short-term) because of the gap between what is now a reduced gabapentin and lorazepam dosage and the hoped-for ultimate good results from the baclofen.

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