# Gabapentin for Anxiety



## OrieLoo (Feb 16, 2012)

I went to my Psychiatrist to plead for some more Clonazepam. She took me off of it about 2 weeks ago and I've hard a very hard time dealing with my GA and SA in the last couple weeks. She declined, and prescribed me Gabapentin (also known as Gabarone and Neurontin) 

Has anyone had any success with this? It's an off-label use, but I saw a lot of good reviews about it on other websites for anxiety. I will be taking 300mg per day and she said eventually we can take me up to like 2700mg per day. I'm hopeful!


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## TheOutsider (Mar 4, 2010)

Yes, I was on it. It was part of a cocktail of meds I was on and I'm dying to get back on it. Its the only time my anxiety was low enough that I could function.


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## GotAnxiety (Oct 14, 2011)

let us know how it goes.


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## OrieLoo (Feb 16, 2012)

I definitely will.

: )


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## laura024 (Aug 11, 2006)

It's a pretty mild drug with minimal side effects. I'm on it for off-label use as a mood stabilizer. It has generally worked for my moods, but does nothing for anxiety. Sometimes I think it even makes it worse.


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## Under17 (May 4, 2010)

It will work for a short time if you take high doses. After just two weeks, even with 600 mg of lyrica a day I will feel absolutely no effects from it.


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## Krom (Jan 22, 2012)

Yes, please post how it goes for you!
I started this med last Monday. I've had good results so far, but I know with this med the early results don't mean much. I've seen where some people have taken it for many years and are pleased, while others say it peters out after a few weeks.
It's not a boring ride, this SA thing, is it?
(FYI- I have tried many SSRI's, to no avail. Don't want to take benzos. Doc felt it was time to try something off-label.)


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## metamorphosis (Dec 18, 2008)

OrieLoo said:


> I went to my Psychiatrist to plead for some more Clonazepam. She took me off of it about 2 weeks ago and I've hard a very hard time dealing with my GA and SA in the last couple weeks. She declined, and prescribed me Gabapentin (also known as Gabarone and Neurontin)
> 
> Has anyone had any success with this? It's an off-label use, but I saw a lot of good reviews about it on other websites for anxiety. I will be taking 300mg per day and she said eventually we can take me up to like 2700mg per day. I'm hopeful!


 I have used it and I would recommend gapabentin before a benzo. for sure. But pregabalin (lyrica) is considered gabapentins big brother. Pregabalin is used at a much lower dose and can be adjusted easier. Both are voltage calcium channel blockers but people tend to have more success with pregabalin. Also, gabapentin and pregabalin can cause moderately hard withdrawal if not titrated down properly.

Any way, tolerance is usually the main problem with this class of drugs. I forget what therapeutic dose range is for gabapentin and I'm to lazy to look it up. But I think the max is 1800-2400mgs. So, with Lyrica dose uasually starts at 200mgs and usually stays there as long as its anxiolytic properties and tolerance isn't a problem. But therapeutic doses is 200-600mg daily for fibromyalgia and off label for SAD. The key being is finding the right effective intial dose and hoping not to increase to fast or not at all. There are some ways to get around the tolerance. Some being not taking it 7 days a week but maybe 3-5. That all depending on if it still helps with your SAD enough. The less you take with enough positive benefits the better. Ask your pdoc, also you can try cycling between the two, though both being in the same class may not be all that effective for tolerance. There are also other meds to use in case of tolerance.

One last thing pregabalin can cause weight gain. You've gotta use alot of fortitude a willpower not to eat your self out of house and home at least I did.


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## Krom (Jan 22, 2012)

metamorphosis said:


> One last thing pregabalin can cause weight gain. You've gotta use alot of fortitude a willpower not to eat your self out of hose and home at least I did.


 So is it 100% an appetite increase thing, and not a metabolism thing?
I hope it's an appetite thing cuz I can control that.


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## metamorphosis (Dec 18, 2008)

From my experience you never feel satiated. Once I started eating, it was very hard to stop. and I am not naturally an over eater. I am not sure of the pharmacological reason for it. I haven't really done any research on it for some reason. But I don't think it is a metabolism issue because of the overeating aspect that I had. Now if you can keep your food intake stable and still gain weight, than yes we're looking at a metabolism issue with the medication. But from the anecdotal reports I've read it seems to be a problem with the area of the brain that naturally controls the natural reaction of feeling full and when to stop eating to put it simply. One lady said she gained 25lbs. in a month from eating on it.


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## metamorphosis (Dec 18, 2008)

Krom said:


> So is it 100% an appetite increase thing, and not a metabolism thing?
> I hope it's an appetite thing cuz I can control that.


Of course if someone is also taking an amphetamine, than it certainly should nullify that issue!!!


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## metamorphosis (Dec 18, 2008)

The most troubling about pregabalin that I have forgot to mention is it's negative effects on cognition. It can cause the "dumbing down" effect that is dose dependent. The higher you go; The more issues you will have with cognition and memory. This is due to its effect on the reduction of glutamate transmission and the transmission of electrical impulses. These show problems of it being neurotoxic. Here are some of numerous studies on this issue. Note that the dates on most of these are quite recent!!!

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2654626/
http://www.prohealth.com/library/showarticle.cfm?libid=15202
http://www.neurology.org/content/74/9/755.abstract
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20194915


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## OrieLoo (Feb 16, 2012)

Thank you so much everyone for your reply. 

I'm sure it's way too early to tell.. but I do feel less anxious. It probably has a lot to do with the fact that I feel very mellow (and yes dumb) on it. I am noticing a definite slowness in my thinking. I don't mind, because I would rather be slow then anxious and miserable. About an hour and a half after I take it, I feel much calmer then before.

I should mention that I struggle a lot more with generalized anxiety then SA. I don't get panic attacks, I just have a constant anxious/derealization issue. So, that may effect how I perceive this medication's efficacy.


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## Krom (Jan 22, 2012)

OrieLoo said:


> Thank you so much everyone for your reply.
> 
> I'm sure it's way too early to tell.. but I do feel less anxious. It probably has a lot to do with the fact that I feel very mellow (and yes dumb) on it. I am noticing a definite slowness in my thinking. I don't mind, because I would rather be slow then anxious and miserable. About an hour and a half after I take it, I feel much calmer then before.
> 
> I should mention that I struggle a lot more with generalized anxiety then SA. I don't get panic attacks, I just have a constant anxious/derealization issue. So, that may effect how I perceive this medication's efficacy.


 I wonder if Ginko Biloba can help with the dumbing down.
One of the reasons I recently sought treatment is that I need to do some job interviews, and my anxiety is crippling in interviews. But I can't go to interviews dumb as a sack of hammers either!


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## metamorphosis (Dec 18, 2008)

Krom said:


> I wonder if Ginko Biloba can help with the dumbing down.
> One of the reasons I recently sought treatment is that I need to do some job interviews, and my anxiety is crippling in interviews. But I can't go to interviews dumb as a sack of hammers either!


Ginkgo does increase blood circulation and to increase the supply of oxygen to the heart and brain along with the rest of the body. So it definatley helps with memory and in one study was shown to slow the progression of dementia and memory decline in the elderly. Some more supplements that would help.

Phosphatidyl Serine at 300mg is really amazing for cognition. It has to be used everyday and it takes about a week or two before you notice it actually working.
It is a phospholipid that is crucial for the maintenance of healthy cell membranes. Production in the brain slows as we age or take crazy psych drugs (pregabalin) and the deficiency results interfers with cognitive function.. It has been studied and shown to reduce symptoms of depression and Alzheimer's disease, and to enhance memory and learning abilities. It is expensive.

Fish Oil that is molecularly distilled and high in DHA helps prevent brain cell damage.

Huperzine A or vinpocetine in conjunction with acetylcholine work synergistically in the brain to improve brain cognition. But the most interesting and important aspect of Huperzine A is that it is a natural NMDA antagonist with the same mechanism of action of pharmaceutical drugs such as galantamine and donepezil used to treat Alzheimer's disease. Therefore it reduces possible excess glutamate neurotoxicity.

So, we could throw in mematine which is also a NMDA antagonist.

Magnesium glycinate pwd also binds to NMDA postsynaptic receptors.
Here's a good paper on NMDA agonists and antagonists:

http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?pid=S0004-282X2000000300030&script=sci_arttext

Other brain boosting supplements include acetylcholine, lecithin granules,
and
my favorite
NADH: One third of all the energy we produce in our body is used up by our brain. Due to this an energy deficiency is first realized in the brain with symptoms such as lack of concentration and alertness, or mental fog (Newsweek Dec 17, 2001). NADH provides the brain more ATP energy in the same way as it does with heart cells.

With more NADH the brain cells function better. This has been demonstrated in a study performed at Cornell University in New York. When you suffer from sleep deprivation your cognitive performance goes down and the consequences are negative.
heres the link:

http://www.nadh.com/site7/SYSact20.htm


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## OrieLoo (Feb 16, 2012)

Thanks for all the info! Looks like I may need to take some of your advice, since this medication looks like it may really help me. But I don't want my schooling to be affected either.. Oh man, I can't remember is it's "affect" or "effect". 

It's affect. See? It's happening again!


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## Krom (Jan 22, 2012)

*Neurontin*

Well, I just finished week 1, at 100mg 3x a day. First few days I could tell anxiety was down. After that I had 1 day of hypo mania and racing thoughts. Then not much of anything after that.
Next I do 1 week at 200 mg 3x a day, then a week at 300mg 3x a day. Then I go back to the doc. Will be interesting to see where it goes.


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## OrieLoo (Feb 16, 2012)

Pretty much the same here. First few days it really helped. Now, I don't feel so certain. It could be that it's been 3 days since I have taken Clonazepam though, and I am getting some rebound anxiety. I don't know that it's significant enough to post, because it could be anything - but I have gained 3 pounds. I'm not eating more then usual. In fact, I think the Prozac is killing my appetite.


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## Krom (Jan 22, 2012)

OrieLoo said:


> Pretty much the same here. First few days it really helped. Now, I don't feel so certain. It could be that it's been 3 days since I have taken Clonazepam though, and I am getting some rebound anxiety. I don't know that it's significant enough to post, because it could be anything - but I have gained 3 pounds. I'm not eating more then usual. In fact, I think the Prozac is killing my appetite.


 My understanding is that it is normal for it to kinda "quit working" early on when titrating up to a therapuetic dose. And finding the therapuetic dose is tricky cuz it's a moving target with this med, which is why some folks do staggering with it( X number days on the med/X number days off). And for some, they never find the therapuetic dose and it just doesn't work for them. Fingers crossed that I'm not in that group.
In terms of weight, I started eating less just in case. Again, fingers crossed 
Good luck OrieLoo.
I'll keep posting my progress in this thread.


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## baranok (Nov 17, 2011)

these two personally gave me opposite effect i didnt want to eat at all, perhaps because it felt more stimulant when hungry (it isnt painful to be hungry on these meds), when i ate something i needed bed very badly


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## OrieLoo (Feb 16, 2012)

I think it's probably helping somewhat.. but I am probably inadvertently expecting it to help like a benzo, which it won't. Nothing will. :cry


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## Krom (Jan 22, 2012)

OrieLoo said:


> I think it's probably helping somewhat.. but I am probably inadvertently expecting it to help like a benzo, which it won't. Nothing will. :cry


 My days go by really quickly on this med- time flies. You experiencing this?
Maybe it will be better than benzos in that we won't feel all sluggish and what not.


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## The Professor (Jul 31, 2011)

OrieLoo said:


> I went to my Psychiatrist to plead for some more Clonazepam. She took me off of it about 2 weeks ago and I've hard a very hard time dealing with my GA and SA in the last couple weeks. She declined, and prescribed me Gabapentin (also known as Gabarone and Neurontin)
> 
> Has anyone had any success with this? It's an off-label use, but I saw a lot of good reviews about it on other websites for anxiety. I will be taking 300mg per day and she said eventually we can take me up to like 2700mg per day. I'm hopeful!


I was recommended this as an option but I opted for Remeron instead. Keep me updated


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## Ash09 (Apr 27, 2009)

I can't talk about gabapentin, but I am prescribed pregabalin and it helps about as much as the benzodiazepines when it comes to anxiety if it's taken in large doses, however it has more overt psychoactive effects, sedation, disinhibition, dissociation and dizziness.


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## wildhog (Mar 11, 2012)

I went to the doc because I started having trembling. He diagnosed it as "essential tremor" which means "You tremble, no big deal". But he prescribed gabapentin. i didnt know it was used for anxiety. As a coincidence, I have problems with social and general anxiety.

On only 100mg twice a day I noticed I felt spacey. I wouldnt want to feel that way all the time, but it wasnt too bad. Feels about the same as Xanex. It did nothing for my shakiness though so the doc told me to try 2 pills twice a day. I took two 100mg pills at 8 AM one morning and by lunch time I was so spacey/foggy I wasnt fit to drive. I was at work (corporate job); I sat at my desk just totally spaced out.

That night I didnt take any more. I talked to a friend on the phone at 10 PM and was telling her about the stressors of my week. Well that stirred up all my anxiety and I couldnt calm down. I was still a ball of anxiety when I went to bed 2 or 3 hours later. I dont know if my anxiety attack was a coincidence or a result of "coming off" the gabapentin I took that morning, but that was only 2 days ago and I havent taken any more since. These are low doses that are making me so spacey so I cant imagine doing the doses that others here are doing.


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## OrieLoo (Feb 16, 2012)

Yeah, I actually stopped taking it because of the spacey feelings. I was only on 300mg in the evening but it actually gave me more anxiety because the spacey feeling is what I am trying to avoid. I suffer from Derealization/Depersonalization when I get anxiety. That's the main issue for me, so anything that makes me feel spaced out is not good for me.


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## wildhog (Mar 11, 2012)

OrieLoo said:


> Yeah, I actually stopped taking it because of the spacey feelings. I was only on 300mg in the evening but it actually gave me more anxiety because the spacey feeling is what I am trying to avoid. I suffer from Derealization/Depersonalization when I get anxiety. That's the main issue for me, so anything that makes me feel spaced out is not good for me.


How long did you take it?


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## Krom (Jan 22, 2012)

I felt really hypo manic, which is kind of an anxious feeling, the first few days, but it ended after that. I start week 3 tomorrow, and I'm still titrating up. So, it's still up in the air for me. 
If this doesn't work for me I'm thinking about asking to try Lyrica.


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## Noca (Jun 24, 2005)

Krom said:


> So is it 100% an appetite increase thing, and not a metabolism thing?
> I hope it's an appetite thing cuz I can control that.


Lyrica can also cause Edema, a severe swelling of the legs from a build up in fluids. This can cause a significant weight gain in a short amount of time, as well as other complications.


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## super (Sep 9, 2009)

Dr House said:


> Lyrica can also cause Edema, a severe swelling of the legs from a build up in fluids. This can cause a significant weight gain in a short amount of time, as well as other complications.


can edema only happen from daily use?
or is it pretty much impossible if i use it 2-3 times a week?


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## poof (Mar 13, 2012)

*stay away from Gabapentin!*

I recently quite taking gabapentin cold turkey and the withdrawl was horrible. The doctor never told me gabapentin was physically addicting, even at the prescribed dose. I also gained a lot of weight on it.


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## Krom (Jan 22, 2012)

poof said:


> I recently quite taking gabapentin cold turkey and the withdrawl was horrible. The doctor never told me gabapentin was physically addicting, even at the prescribed dose. I also gained a lot of weight on it.


 Can you share how long you were on it, and at what dose?


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## wildhog (Mar 11, 2012)

poof said:


> I recently quite taking gabapentin cold turkey and the withdrawl was horrible. The doctor never told me gabapentin was physically addicting, even at the prescribed dose. I also gained a lot of weight on it.


What were the withdrawal symptoms? It caused your anxiety to go up?


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## cvoor (Nov 22, 2013)

*You have to wean yourself off slowly*

I am on gabapentin, I have tried in the past to go off cold turkey, bad bad mistake, it was terrible. I went back on and slowly weaned myself off, and it wasn't bad at all. I was on 1200, weaned down to 900 for a while. Stayed there a few days, then weaned down to 600, one in the morning, one in evening, stayed there awhile. Then went down to 300 stayed there a while, then took it every other day, until I went off, and stayed off awhile, until I realized my anxiety was just too bad on Wellbutrin by itself. I had the sweats, hot all the time, couldn't sleep, extremely irritable, easily angered, no patience. What finally made me go bk on was, when I tried to open my gate, and couldn't, and got really made, and slammed the gate open, and ended up falling down, and screaming, just going crazy mad, raging, until I closed the gate, and looked over, and saw the look on my dogs face, they were scared to death of me, and thought what if my husband had been home, and seen me lose it like that. That's when I knew, I needed to be on something for anxiety, and went bk on gabapentin, and felt so much better, more calm, and relaxed. If I ever want to go off it again, I know how, and that I can do it again. But for now, I'm staying on Gabapentin.


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