I took 300mg of gaba for 5 months, came off it as it wasnt working for what it was given for, stopped cold turkey, its been 3 weeks now, and im having nasty mood swings, insomnia, vivid dreams, just feel overall hungover daily. I told doc and she says its my anxiety , that i was on such a low dose for such little time that the meds cant possibly be giving me side effects..
Interesting I was on it for about a month to 5 weeks at different doses 300-1200. I stopped a week ago (tapered over a few days) and I have these leg zaps and "feel" my heart beating. Do you have any of that? Not sure if it's from gaba or something else??
Nope it's definitely the gaba, those are classic discontinuation symptoms. So sorry you have to go through that nightmare please hang in there it does get better it just takes longer than we would like. The insomnia for me was the first thing to go down. So once your sleep starts to improve (even by a little bit) just know you are well on your way to improvement.
did you have the leg "pings" and "zaps" too?
Yeah everyday I feel like I'm in a constant hangover..anxiety through the roof..I hope this passes soon..I'm going crazy.
I did not, however I did experience the zaps when I took lexapro which is an antidepressant years ago so I know exactly what you are talking about. over time this went away while I was on the lexapro and so I'm sure with the gaba it will go away for you also with time 
thanks! yeah--it's odd, didn't start till i upped to 1200 mg and i have been off of it for almost a week and it's still going on. SIGH.
It will absolutely get better! I know that at times it may feel completely hopeless but that's just a side effect of discontinuation. Like benzodiazepine withdrawal getting your body used to being off the drug can be a roller coaster and the symptoms don't always improve at a steady rate where you can definitively see progress every day but if you look hard enough you can see your body improving bit by bit. For instance, try to track the amount of sleep you get each night (if any). Say you are only getting an hour a night all broken up, even if that improves to 2 hours a night that's still definitive progress you can see and track. Try to look for little improvements in all the symptoms and it will help you ride this thing out.
thank you benjamin, your words give me peace, i just want to be fine again...
Jesika I know the feeling! It's amazing how much suffering these drugs can cause some people. When I was enduring the worst of it all I could think about was getting that "normal feeling" back. It'll come back hang in there
Yep it feels like it's gonna last forever right? I know the feeling, try to track your symptoms on a daily basis I kept a log in my iPhone detailing my symptoms each day and it'll be easier to see the improvements that way because you can compare each day. It's gonna get better!
Going on 3 weeks off it....head pressure..feels nssty.
Thanks-you are really kind! I guess I don't know if my "issues" are from the gaba or something else?? Good call to track everything! I'm seeing my doc Thursday so I'm hoping she will have some answers. How long did it take you to move past symptoms? I was only on it a month.
That is such crap. You are experiencing the side effects of the drug. It is such a dangerous drug. It changes your brains chemistry and the brain has to recover. I have been off it now since August 22, 2016. I still have insomnia. It is 5:02AM and I have been up since 2:10AM after falling asleep at 10PM. The increase in pain you fell will continue and you will get used to some of it as your pain threshold increases. It will take time. There is no such thing as a small enough doe that it will not cause withdrawal..
For me this is a tricky question because I have generalized anxiety even before I started the gabapentin and I have bad flare ups every so often during the year that can mimic some of the gabapentin discontinuation symptoms. My doctor started me on a 300 mg dose which was too high (should've been 100mg) so I had a severe reaction after only 2 pills and then I discontinued it. A lot of people on here typically did not have any anxiety before starting treatment so that's a different situation than me I've been dealing with anxiety for years (I'm a recovering drug addict). I've also tried other anti anxiety drugs from my doctor and I haven't handled those well either. I have ADHD and oddly enough my medicine (which I have been on for 7 years) helped deal with some of the gaba side effects (got rid of the brain fog and some anxiety). But that first night off the gaba I had full blown insomnia, crazy dreams, panic attacks, heart beating out of my chest, etc.Going to work the next day I have no idea how the hell I made it there. After a week I felt like I was getting close to normal and by week 2 all physical side effects were gone, the mental ones have lingered but I see improvement every day. How long they will last I can't be sure but as long as I'm seeing and tracking my improvement I know I'm on the right track!
How long were you on the gaba for? So sorry you are going through this please hang in there it gets better
Jesika I never dealt with the head pressure but that may be because I just didn't notice it because my other symptoms were so overwhelming. Is the head pressure your worst symptom? For me it was the insomnia and crazy levels of anxiety
i too have anxiety. i am on zoloft. it's mainly sleep induced (if i am stressed i don't sleep and then it all happens). i want to be preg soon, so that is why the doc suggested the gaba because it is "safe" in preg. i still have anxious symptoms--feeling my heart beat, shakey hands. super frustrating!! it might not even be the gaba. no idea. i am glad you are feeling better! tough road!!!
Yes it is a tough road for sure! And thanks . I was on lexapro for 9 months years ago and i had horrible side effects on that in the beginning, it's similar to Zoloft. Glad the Zoloft is working for you though. My anxiety does also tend to get worse with lack of sleep but I wouldn't say it's what causes it for me
i dont really have bad side effects but i am still not 100% better. i mean hand treamor and still some physical issues. i also started trazodone for (hopefully) a bit just to get me through this hump. i still have those little leg zaps. fun stuff. so you only took gaba twice? that is insane that there are such crazy side effects!!