DOSE:

600 - 6000 mg

oral

Pharms - Gabapentin

(daily)

BODY WEIGHT:

160 lb

[Erowid Note: Because opiate use can lead to significant tolerance (requiring higher doses for the same effects), the dose used by a first time user is significantly smaller than that used by a regular user. It can be extremely dangerous to choose ones dose on the basis of the amount taken by someone else. Overdoses of opiates can be fatal.]
After reading every Neurontin for opiate withdrawal experience Google has to offer, me...the absolute worst opiate addict I have encounterd, decided to try it. It began at 15 years old when my best friend, the son of a famous orthepedic surgeon, handed me percocet he had taken from his father. It was all over from there. Amazingly, I made it through high school, college, and even grad school as a somewhat functional addict with a habit of 30+ percocet a day. Please, keep in mind Oxycontin wasn't out yet. I moved to South Beach at 24 years of age due to a fortunate signing with a top model agency. I was still functional with a worsening habit. I was doing well and even experiencing a taste of fame. It was about a year later when Oxycontin came out that things started to go down hill. A habit that has gone on all the way from 25 years old to today, 36 years old. A horrific, controlling habit of 240mg/5 times a day. Oxycontin took the habit to the next habit.

After many, many of failed attempts of staying clean through and after the morbid withdrawals, I am determined to do this! No Suboxone and cold turkey! My thorough research on Neurontin has given me some optimistic hope.

Well...Day one, only three days ago, I took 600mg and no success. I was sure I was going to die. Withdrawals were simply not tolerable to my body nor mind. I took 1200mg and withdrawals were beginning to get tolerable. Tolerable in the sense that I was somewhat comfortable laying down. Not walking or performing any activities, but in bed watching tv. I actually even caught some shuteye. Wow! I was unsure whether the Neurontin was delaying the withdrawals or actually making this experience tolerable. I am on day 4 and things are stable for the most part but the need for my Neurontin dose has become more frequent. 1200mg every 6 hours. Yes, at first the dizziness was severe enough where I couldn't walk to the bathroom, but now that has subsided. It beats feeling the full extent of withdrawal.

Today, I am feeling only moderate withdrawals on the Neurontin. I fear the withdrawal of the high dose of Neurontin and plan on tapering in three days or so. Keep in mind, I went cold turkey from 720mg of oxycodone up my nose. A severe habit and ridiculous doses. I have gone through withdrawals maybe a hundred times in the last 20 years. My problem is that the withdrawals don't last for 7 days but they linger for over a month. I am unsure what will happen this time but I would rather stay on Neurontin than on a narcotic. I can only say from all that I have read, Neurontin helps opiate withdrawal, Neurontin doesn't help opiate withdrawal, I am giving you my present experience. A habit that has consumed over 20 years of my life.

No, I am not feeling high in any way from the Neurontin. It is getting me through this horrific, unexplainable withdrawal. I have almost made it to day 5, and can bear it as long as I am lying down watching tv. I am even able to eat without vomiting. I am able to type this. This is a huge accomplishment from the withdrawals I am use to. Is Neurontin a magic bullet? No, but it is as close to one that I have experienced and I have experience! I am taking one day at a time with a more piece of mind then I have ever had going through withdrawal before.

A Little Further Down the Road -- Three Days Later

WoW! Did I jump the gun...I thought Neurontin was curbing, subsiding, easying or whatever word sounds better for helping my opiate withdrawals, coming off of an embarrassing 300mg+ of oxycodone a day. A twenty year habit that I am not proud of but own it with humility and responsibility.

The first 5 days were relatively easy compared to the countless other times I went cold turkey. I thought the Neurontin was actually getting me through. No magic bullet but definetely curbed the withdrawal. I am now on day 7 opiate-free and I am almost out of the Neurontin and hating life! Hating life is an understatement. My life is crippled at the moment. The Neurontin has apparently delayed the withdrawal. 1200mg-2000mg ever 8 hours I believed was getting me through this nightmare but now on day 7 trying to cut down since I only have 2 days worth left. My hands are tremoring while I make every effort to type the right key in writing this, as my adrenaline pumps my heart out of my chest, and I keep the laptop only inch's from the toilet. I should be over the worst but it feels like I am on day two of withdrawal. I couldn't have been more wrong. Neurontin is not my friend after all.

There is no way to describe this experience. Twenty years of an insane dose of oxycodone has screwed me up! Neurontin only delayed the misery. I don't know if I'll get through this but it is quite evident there is no way out unless one has a lifetime supply of Neurontin and a golden liver.

Exp Year: 2011	ExpID: 91185
Gender: Male
Age at time of experience: 36
Published: Feb 26, 2020	Views: 2,002
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Pharms - Gabapentin (183) : Addiction & Habituation (10), Therapeutic Intent or Outcome (49), Medical Use (47), Unknown Context (20)