First day on Gabapentin... am i supposed to feel almost drunk?

I took my Gabapentin this morning (300m every 8 hours), only my second dose. Am i supposed to feel almost drunk? I didn’t go to rehab to get off alcohol only to get high/drunk from a prescribed med… can i drive like this? Work? Seriously, I’m drunk from one 30om gab? Is this normal? Is this addictive? I didn’t want to trade one addiction for another.

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no idea but maybe you should read the patient info leaflet of the meds to see what kinda side effects are common and if you can drive. if in doubt take a sick day from work.

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Luckily, i work from home for now… we have to go back one day a week starting in November. So I’m good for a while but… this is nuts. I didn’t day drink until last week, hence the rehab, but… im alone most of the day and if i don’t take this, will i go get a bottle at lunch? Smh

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well I would not rely on some medicine to keep me sober or my anxiety in check (nothing wrong with psych meds if they are needed, calibrated and that’s what works for you and your life, but they should not be used solely to deal with anything and relied upon as our only tool, imo). I deal with anxiety too and mental health struggles, so, yeah, that is part of life for a lot of sober folks. there is plenty info on here on how to deal with lots of stuff in early and later recovery. use the :mag_right: up top to search for anything, dealing with anxiety for example.
otherwise: welcome here and it’s time for you now to start putting the work into your sobriety to be able to live your life and enjoy it, without needing to check out any longer. here are some threads I can recommend:

Resources for our recovery

Welcome to the forum! 2022

Advice for the Newcomer and Constant Relapser

Mental health memes and discussion (Part 1)

enjoy. it can be done. but only by you. :dizzy:

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Gabapentin can have that affect on people. You should contact your doctor and try a lower dose. It comes in a 100mg form as well. If you are feeling loopy I wouldn’t drive. It is considered addictive and is a control substance in some states, meaning you need a special prescription to get it.

I wouldn’t reply on a medicine to help you stop drinking. Do it for you :blush: Welcome!! Happy you are here, Have a good day!!

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I’ve taken that and pregabilin and both had the same effect on me. I was not a fan of either and stopped taking both. They were prescribed to me for back issues. You begin to get used to it but with pregabilin at least, stopping all of a sudden is dangerous as well. Created wild mood swings and thoughts of suicide even.

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Yeah. I didn’t take it because i want a drink or anything. The doc prescribed for continuing withdrawal symptoms… im just worried… i am calling Monday to get an appointment with a psychiatrist (since the one who prescribed was the rehab doc) to get everything on track. I’ve never really had anxiety before so experiencing it recently is pretty scary, increasing the anxiety. Catch 22. Thanks.

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I haven’t had a craving since i tried to cold turkey last week… but the fear/anxiety is scaring me. I’m making an appointment Monday with a psychiatrist so… hopefully i can get this adjusted right

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I’ve heard that. I hate taking pills but fear of drinking again has me willing to follow docs orders (if they sound reasonable)… im always checking medical sites to get the info the docs don’t tell you

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I take it for MS/Neuropathy but hate how it makes me feel. So yes, that feeling is normal but unpleasant. I feel particularly stupid lol. I would not drive until your body adjusts. I only take it right before bed instead of 4 times per day now. I wanted to go off it for that reason. My doctor said to take it before bed so I could at least sleep better because I would be in less pain. That’s been working well and I just deal with my pain during the day. The shit feeling was not worth the minimal pain relief.

I would talk to your doctor about it. It’s not a controlled substance, and as far as being addictive, it’s not physically addictive, but I guess anything can be psychologically addictive. Are you taking it for nerve damage?

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Im taking it for alcohol withdrawal i guess. I went into rehab almost 2 weeks ago and they gave me Gabapentin for the anxiety feeling from withdrawal. Im seeing the doc Monday. I tried to take it as needed but then the anxiety was bad and i worried that i would relapse before the pill kicked in or before i take it.

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It will ware off after a week or two when you get used to them I take 4 300 3 times a day they do hit hard when you first start them

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Oh, wow that’s interesting. I’ve never heard of it being used for that before. But let ok’ing it up, I see that it has a many helpful uses outside of MS. Who knew haha. I learned something today, yay! One of the many reasons I love this place :heartpulse: I was on diazepam when I was in the hospital with DTs.

Glad you’re getting to see your doctor so soon. This is such a lonely and confusing time. I’m sure you want to make sure you’re doing everything right, and you’re doing a great job by asking questions and talking to your doctor. Be kind with yourself, these dark days will slowly lift as your body detoxifies.

How are you feeling emotionally and physically today?

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I took 2400 mgs of Gabapentin for years. The nurse at my rehab freaked when she called my pharmacy and found that out. I don’t think I ever felt altered when I was taking it hard to say since I was on 30 mg of Morphine Sulfate ER twice a day and vaping gobs of weed. When I got home from rehab my daughter and I were reading up on it and the first thing we read was it could lead to ideation of suicidal thoughts. I threw it all away on the spot. I do not think it was helping my chronic pain/neuropathy. Taking a different approach now. Reprocessing my brain to look at pain stimuli differently. Doing this with my therapist we previously dispensed of my p.t.s.d. using emdr,using it now on pain and it is working.

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I have been on this for almost 4 years from my sober date.
It does get better. I take for nerve pain, but also for mental health issues. I do take the highest dose. 900mg four times a day. Max dose.
But now it helps so much!
I could not go out in public and this helps!

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Interesting topic! I use gabapentin to calm my cats before going to the vet because they are so anxious and nervous. It apparently helps with that condition in humans and animals.

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In feeling better every day. Im taking the gab as prescribed because I’ve had a few panic attacks and… its not good. The tipsy feeling has lessened for the most part.

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They told me i can’t drink or smoke pot on Gabapentin… so I’m not going to. And please don’t term me it’s ok to, because i really don’t want to know that. Lol

As to pain, i have tried to get my husband to do something similar with his pain. I have had needless sick in my back for fun… Ave you can mentally transcend the pain. It’s a cool feeling

I’m glad you’re doing better

Aparantly. :slight_smile:

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