Gabapentin

[JDizzle]

Gabapentin

So that night went as planned... Very bad and to the wee hours of the morning. I talked to my doctor and he said taking antacids within two hours like the label said will make the drug not work. So that's a shame, but also a reason to not get down. I'm not at 1800 mg and was taking antacids.

Anyways, no SEs, so I am jumping to 1800 mg tomorrow.... Which is the high dose of the study that had success.

Also, I didn't fall off or crave booze the other night. I did drink them later that night to go to sleep. On Bac (when it worked for me), I didn't have cravings for addictions other than booze either. So, I am hoping gabapentin works with that too.

I'll update on SEs in a couple days. Honestly, I have always been on the train that wanted a pill that I could drink normally. At this point, I'm not sure. If gabapentin removes my desire to drink, I think I may jump on the abstinence thread ... As long as they stop talkin about workin out cause u can't nap and work out at the same time.

[JDizzle]

Gabapentin

Well I have been doin 1800mg a day. No SEs. In fact it feels like I'm not taking medication. I guess I'm sleeping better at night... Not tired during the day.

Anyways, I'm the type of alcoholic (the only type there is) that is NOT capable of having a beer without having 100 like 99.999999999% of the time. I had a friend over tonight, had 4 beers, then stopped. I wouldn't have drinken the last one if I didn't have company. I really didnt want it. It worked about the same as bac did for me. I had a decent buzz, but no mental euphoria. There was no fight to stop...I just didnt want another. I actually just walked about a mile to the store in the ice to rent a movie.... Mucho staggering

I'm pretty much sober now and making something to eat for the movie.

Some negative points.....

- I craved the holy hell out of that first beer.
- still having mild coke cravings but lightened enough to ... Well fairly easily not indulge. In fact, I think the few beers kept me off the coke. And I was with my friend/dealer, so I put myself in a bad situation.
- when bac worked for me, there was zero alcoholic activity in my head when I stopped. With gab, there was a very small amount of activity in my head .... Maybe a slight fight but not really. Also, I have only been on 1800 a few days and gab altogether for a couple weeks.
- this was only one night. But, as I said, I am Never capable of stopping once I start. Bac stopped working for me after a few weeks of being exactly like this, so I have a ton of fear this will stop working too. I'll keep posting. I'm pretty overly honest about shit, so if it stops working, or tonight was the 2nd time in 38 yrs I quit after I started, I will surely post that.

Anyways....wooohoooo. At the least, these times in our lives when alcohol doesn't control us and ruin us are so huge. For me, I remember days that I win against alshole my entire life.

[JDizzle]

Gabapentin

No cravings past 2 days. No SEs. When I wake up in the middle of the night for a drink or restroom, I'm super tired...maybe that's good though.

[skullbabyland]

Gabapentin

Very interested to hear how Gaba works for you JD... glad to hear of your success on quitting after 4 beers. I'm almost never able to do that. Thanks for updating us all as you go. Best of luck man.

[JDizzle]

Gabapentin

Thanx skull. I still haven't had any cravings. I will be put to the test this Friday. I'm traveling to Reno for an office party. TON of drinking going on last year.... Boy I heard I had fun . So hopefully I can post more success Saturday. I can say the coke cravings were more often than alcohol. I haven't had one recently. I am a lot more comfortable around people though. I feel a little bit more leveled out. As I said, Friday will be a big test. I am going to have a few drinks. That is not recommended but in my personal situation, it seems the tell all is when I can drink and then stop.

Hey merry Christmas to u all in case this doesn't work out and I disappear for a few months

[crawling_key]

Gabapentin

A few interesting effects I've experienced with Gabapentin. I usually only take about 400mg at a time - once a day in the late afternoon.

1) For me, it does reduce anxiety, it sort of turns down the "background noise"

2) It made me less inhibited in social situations - makes sense since I've heard its used for social anxiety.

3) It seems to reduce inhibitions in general - which at times may be bad since in my case it sometimes turns off the "Do not drink" sign in my brain.

4) It gives me the munchies. There have been times when I couldn't satisfy my appetite.

5) Resistance builds up fast. Not taking it for a few days seems to increase its effectiveness the next time you take it.

5) It made me sleep more soundly but also made it harder to wake up in the morning.

[JDizzle]

Gabapentin

I really liked ur response. I though I could just respond below ur points.

crawling_key;1597743 wrote: A few interesting effects I've experienced with Gabapentin. I usually only take about 400mg at a time - once a day in the late afternoon.

1) For me, it does reduce anxiety, it sort of turns down the "background noise"
-Me too

2) It made me less inhibited in social situations - makes sense since I've heard its used for social anxiety.
-Yep

3) It seems to reduce inhibitions in general - which at times may be bad since in my case it sometimes turns off the "Do not drink" sign in my brain.
- havent had this yet, but I am new. I haven't had the thought to drink since I had the 4 beers

4) It gives me the munchies. There have been times when I couldn't satisfy my appetite.
- hahaha dude I was born with the munchies, so I don't know.

5) Resistance builds up fast. Not taking it for a few days seems to increase its effectiveness the next time you take it.
- that is a fear of mine. I hope that doesn't happen I suspect that's what happened with bac

5) It made me sleep more soundly but also made it harder to wake up in the morning.
- my family works at my house so my alarm clock is the first person to ring the doorbell. I've been getting up pretty easy. Big thing is it cured my restless leg syndrome, so I am sleeping all night for the first time in years.

Amazing we have so much similarities at such different doses. Are u taking anything else?

[crawling_key]

Gabapentin

The eating thing is really strange. It doesn't seem to be consistent but I definitely eat more and gain weight if I take it daily.

I don't use it to cut down on my drinking per se, but the fact that it reduces anxiety helps.

The only other thing I take for my drinking is. L-Glutamine. It helps me a lot. Its not bulletproof but for me, but it really seems to cut down on cravings.

I've taken Naltrexone in the past and it definitely cut down on my drinking at the time. When I tried to take it recently, I had trouble with side effects. Maybe a lower quality than last time? Just a guess.

Everyone is different but I've read that tolerance is a known issue with Gabapentin. I try to not increase my dosage even though I may feel particularly anxious. I think that helps keep me ok with staying at the same (relatively small) dosage. And, like I said, I take it maybe 3-4 times a week and not every day.

[crawling_key]

Gabapentin

I haven't found it to be habit forming. If by that you mean some level of mental or physical distress when I don't take it. Like I said, I don't take it everyday and when I was prescribed it years ago and eventually stopped taking it, I didn't have a problem.

I don't think tolerance necessarily indicative of a habit or addiction. I've also never seen it described as habit forming in any medical literature.

I'm not endorsing it or saying that it can always be taken safely, I'm just recounting my experience. People should always talk to their doc about these things.

Is_there_any_hope ?;1597872 wrote: What you call 'resistance' I simply call tolerance, stuff like gabapentin & neurontin is sooo known to be habit forming.

But what else do I know, apparently I'm a troll.

[JDizzle]

Gabapentin

The medical community doesn't think it is habit forming. It doesn't produce any kind of physical effect so u would be an idiot to develope a habit with it. Also gabapentin and neurontin are the same thing. Gabapentin is the generic. U should have googled more. And to think.... I stood up for u in another post. Hahahah live and learn Dizzle. Maybe it's addictive if u snort it or something. I'll give it a whirl and let u know. If I don't write back, my arms fell off.

[thomas m]

Gabapentin

JDizzle;1597882 wrote: The medical community doesn't think it is habit forming. It doesn't produce any kind of physical effect so u would be an idiot to develope a habit with it. Also gabapentin and neurontin are the same thing. Gabapentin is the generic. U should have googled more. And to think.... I stood up for u in another post. Hahahah live and learn Dizzle. Maybe it's addictive if u snort it or something. I'll give it a whirl and let u know. If I don't write back, my arms fell off.

I've tried Pregabalin recreationally in massive doses and to be honest I couldn't really tell the difference between 600mg and nearly 4 grams. You definitively catch a buzz though, some folks love it. Its definitely recreationally. From what I gather this is stronger than Gabapentin as well.

Regarding snorting it. Don't do it I snorted a 300mg pill. That's a lot of powder and was not a nice experience.

I'll say this though. You sleep like a baby on it.

[JDizzle]

Gabapentin

Hahaha dude I was kidding.

I can't make fun though. I snorted pot one night. I was 18 and very drunk with friends egging me on.... Well that's my excuse hahahaha.


Adding a disclaimer

Snorting pot is bad... M'kay. Not sure if it worked cause I was going in and out of a black out. I know it made my nose bleed pretty bad. Or maybe that was the fight I got in earlier.... Not sure.... just dont try it!!! Oh alcohol.... U r so good to me.

[JDizzle]

Gabapentin

I have some very positive results to post on my trip. Just got home and I have a lot to share. Gonna unwind for a while. I still need to watch part 2 of Bonnie and Clyde.

The short is gabapentin is working for me like crazy.

[spiritwolf333]

Gabapentin

JDizzle;1599099 wrote: I have some very positive results to post on my trip. Just got home and I have a lot to share. Gonna unwind for a while. I still need to watch part 2 of Bonnie and Clyde.

The short is gabapentin is working for me like crazy.

JD -What are you trying to do to us? Jk. Looking extremely forward to your report. Now hurry up unwinding and get the keyboard fired up. And B&C can wait.

[JDizzle]

Gabapentin

B&C wait for no one. Cool to watch. A lot of B&C happened in towns all around me here in Dallas.

Anyways, there was a lot of drinking, but there were so many positives and the drinking was consesual.... Al didn't rape me. First, I am not sure this time where I stand on continuing to drink post indifference or abstinence, in my case. I am kind of on the fence, but don't feel like I want to get drunk all the time with control.

Drink Time 1: So yesterday, I got on the plane and was very tired (didn't sleep good). Had a perfect row-mate with good conversation. It was a morning flight, she ordered a Kahlua coffee, so I ordered a bloody mary. It was very good and produced a very slight buzz, but I had no interest in another. We talked for about an hour after and then I got tired (vodka and lack of sleep), so I closed dozed for the rest of the flight.

Drink Time 2: About 6 hrs passed since that drink. We finished work and met up to eat (coworkers I flew there to see). After that, I went and played some slots and had 2 vodka and cranberry juice. They were ok, but I really didn't want a 3rd, so I didn't. The effect of those wore off and hours went by without any craving.

Drink Time 3: 4 hours after the last drinks I went to the party and had one beer. I really didnt like it (dont like beer too much), so I switched to coffee after that. The party was kind of a bummer for me for outside reasons. So about an hour and a half after that beer, I went to have some fun in the casino for the night. I rarely get to go to Nevada.

Drink Time 4: I pounded the holy hell out of crown and coke. I think I had 14 of them from roughly 9 PM to 3 AM. I had a lot of fun and I KNEW that I could stop at anytime...it was weird. This time was the most important of the 4 for me. I get crazy as fuck when I drink. I talk to everyone I see and if they dont want to talk, I talk to them more. I am loud and very obnoxious. None of these things happened. In fact I was very mellow and kind of just talked to a couple that was playing next to me for hours. We were all having fun. Also, the waitress remembered me from the last time I was there (not sure that is a good thing since it had been 6 months ... hahaha). So she kept bringing me rounds I didn't ask for, but hell I intended to have fun and I did. So, she came back around 3:00 and told me she was going home, asked when I was coming next, and said bye. At the same time, the couple was calling it quits too. So I went to another area. The new waitress came by and asked if I wanted a drink. I didn't even think about it and said no that I was alright. Now me turning down a drink after one is a freakin miracle, but after 14 is ... well it must have been a dream because it is not possible. OHHHH.... also one hour after drinking that much I felt sober. I found Family Guy on the tv, drank some water, smoked a cigarette and passed out. I was physically hung over this morning until I ate, then I felt fine. This is HUGE too... I have really bad paranoia and panic attacks when I am hing over. It's hard for me to really be around people... not in a weirdo way, but I am just very uncomfortable with my mind racing around. Anyways, I had none of that. My mind was calm this morning... I even asked someone to get out of my seat on the plane.... MY SEAT BITCH!!!

So, I don't know. I have read the studies on gabapentin, but I haven't seen success stories. There are the couple posts at the beginning of this thread saying it doesn't do anything. If this continues to work as it is, it will change my life 10,000%. I am also not condoning drinking at all. My personal journey is mine alone. I know a lot of people don't ever want to touch another drop of alcohol ever again. I not only commend them, but I have been there. I guess I am going to just take life as it comes and hope this keeps working. I would like to go back through my old posts and see how long bac worked for me, but I think it was like 2-3 weeks maybe. Oh, also this morning before the sandwich saved my life, I was thinking about a bloody mary on the plane again to fix me up, but when the attendant got to me, I figured I drank enough last night and I just ordered a milk. I will keep posting and that will be the last scheduled drinking until spring when I have my annual reunion with 3 high school friends. I'm sure I won't stay completely dry until then, but that will be the last blow out until then.