This doc is giving patchy advice. He claimed that anticonvulsant dont work for mood disorders. Anticonvulsants were completely effective for my mood disorder.

It's good to hear that you had success, it's not that there is no evidence for the use of gabapentin in anxiety disorders, it's just not great evidence and it will work for some people. I appreciate the comment

@@ShrinksInSneakers Name a psych drug that effective for all across the board. You wont find one. Everyone is wired differently.

@@ShrinksInSneakers yea I know everyone is different. Hope everyone is able to find what they need!

I just started taking Gabapentin and it drastically helps me with my cyclothymia or bipolar disorder 3rd degree, bipolar disorder without the mania and hypomania. It definitely helps stabilize my mood. In addition it seems to fight my generalized anxiety disorder, PTSD, and depression more so than any anxiolytic or SSRI I have ever tried. I think this might be a lifechanging drug for me and my struggles against cyclothymia, GAD, PTSD, and major depression.

Goes to tell you how much knowledge most do not know...

Very interesting

I wish I'd known your story while my sister was still alive. Maybe she could have gotten better treatment for her MS.

I am trying to tell my friend with MS that takes 4800mg a day is not good 😳

@@jeanierailsback3327 wow that's awful. That's such an insane dose.

Good to know.

How much were you taking?

Wow that is strange. Me and husband are both on this md. I take it for restless leg syndrome, and fibromyalgia. My husband uses it for nerve pain from injury and restless leg as well. This md is very effective for fibromyalgia and nerve pain

@@kathleengivant-taylor2277 It was awful, my physician explaining that memory loss can be a side effect, but never saw a reaction to it as bad as mine. When I got home from the doctor that day, I looked up memory loss caused by gabapentin and was very surprised. All is well now and glad that it is over. Consider myself lucky.

@@skykitchen867 wow. Iam sorry too hear u went Thur that. Glad ur ok now

I've been on gabapentin 4 about 5yrs, works very well 4 me.

As always the abuse or overprescription of something ruins it for the individuals who may actually need it and whom it may really help.

Thank you appreciate the support

Please don’t let one KZfaqr decide for you. Do more research and then decide. Good points here though..

@@wendysherbert3257 I would never suggest a medication is right or wrong for anyone. as always my recommendation is each person should talk to their doctor and have a complete evaluation before making any decisions. Granted I am a board certified doctor and the goal here is to bring people evidence based information and interpretation of the literature which is often hard to understand without training. I appreciate the comment and support

Anything you prescribe can be addictive. Gosh... people irk me with lack of COMMON SENSE. and you're gonna be writing prescriptions. Lol. Great....

You months later and it’s still doing the same things for you?

@@frdm5774 Yes, I'm still happy with gabapentin. I'd say that the main benefit is that my brain is a lot less "noisy" now. Before, I had so many random thoughts, especially when I got stressed, that I couldn't even say what I was thinking. Now if I need to do something like run an errand, I don't overthink it with so many "what ifs" that it's paralyzing. I just go do it and deal with whatever comes up. I did have a hypomanic episode recently that got pretty bad, so I need a mood stabilizer as well (Lamotrigine or Seroquel) and the gab didn't help very much. I've had no issues with tolerance or addiction. I usually take one 300mg in the morning and night and more as needed. But if I forget to take it, there's no problem.

@@frdm5774 I wrote a long reply to this but now I don't see it. Yes, it's still working great for me. My brain's a lot less "noisy" now. Before my thoughts were so random I couldn't have told you what I was ever thinking. Now I have complete thoughts. I don't overthink simple tasks with so many "what ifs'. If I need to go do something I just deal with any problem as they come up. I had suicidal ideation almost every day from age 15 until I started on gab. It hasn't once entered my head since. I still have the occasional hypomanic episode and it doesn't do much for that. I've had no issues with tolerance or addiction. I take a 300mg in the morning and usually at night and more as needed. I can skip days with no problem.

Thank you for watching and being a part of the community

Me too.

No problem glad it helped

I. Walked to the bathroom in middle of night left leg went through door and right hit wall banged my head.Santa clause in a pill ceos pharmacitical companies must laugh at docs gullibility

No problem glad it was helpful

I've been taking exactly that, gabapentin and baclofen for my four ruptured lumbar discs for about a month. Some days I find myself walking around so pain-free that I forget that I'm injured.

I am in the process of tapering off of 2 mg of Clonazepam (generic for Klonopin) I am now down to 1.5 mg a day. Do you think it would be safe for me to go down to 1 mg a day and then start taking 600 mgs of Gabapentin with some Baclofen?

@@BrianSmith-lo3mj I think that is EXACTLY the approach I would take, but not yet. You need to get lower on that dose first. Gaba and Baclofen are the 2 drugs I use the most when coming to the END of the taper and in the beginning when transitioning them from a shorter acting benzo (I.e. Xanax), to Valium or Klonopin, until they are comfortable with their equivelamt dose of the new longer acting med. Here is the thing; tapering, despite what people thing will begin to get harder as you go lower and lower. Let me first give you the speech that I am not your doctor, nor do I know anything about you or any other conditions you may have, so this would be my standard in a healthy, normal, mam or woman below 65 and nonpregnant woman. First I get them on a long acting benzo that is the equivalent of what they were taking in the other drug. In this case clonazepam is a fairly long half-life drug, so step one is done. Now, I would prescribe 1 mg tablets (for now), because you can pretty easily break them into 4's, making 0.25 doses. If you have been at 1.5 a day for 2 weeks (without cheating at all), and you are comfortable, decrease by 0.25 and hold there for 2 weeks or until comfortable, then again. If that works out you will be at 1 mg a day. Now, I would prescribe the gabapentin. First off, I would be prescribing as much as 1,600 mg a day. (90- 400 mg capsules, up to 4 times daily as needed, for a month supply). That should make you plenty comfortable enough until you are down to 0.5 mg a day. Now, if you feel good....great, if not, I would add in the baclofen at 10 mg, Up to 3 times daily as needed. Now going from 0.5 to nothing is the most miserable and I think part of it is psychosomatic because this shit starts getting real when you realize you are going from "some drugs" to "no drugs". From 0.5, you may be able to jump down to 0.25, or you may need to start slowing down more. (For example 0.4, 0.3, 0.25, 0.20, etc.). I know this takes a long time and is frustrating but the thing to understand is if you go too fast, one bad day and you are going to say " fuck it" and take 2 mg, and that will disrupt the whole flow of the taper. So it is important to do it right. My longest patient took over 4 years, and there were a lot that were between 3 and 4. So, now, I realize you can only break a pill so small, so at some point you will need to drop to the 0.5 tablets so split 4 ways will be 0.125 mg a piece. If you must, you can even crush them, measure weight and dissolve in water and drink. Once you are at the 0.5 stage, risk of death is over and the risk of seizures is next to nothing, but you aren't quite out yet. Once you are comfortable on 0.125 a day for 2 weeks, now you can start doing it every OTHER day if you need, then every 3rd day, or just stop at that point if you feel ready and rely only on the gabapentin and baclofen. Add in OTC stuff if necessary like benadryl, melatonin, exercise, sleep well (if you can). Do not take any Z-Drugs to sleep (Ambient, Sonata, etc), as they are virtually benzos themselves except for a tiny molecular difference. After 7-14 days free of clonazepam, now you can start coming off the baclofen first, then the gabapentin. You may feel that a little, but it will be a day at the spa compared to benzo detox. Good luck and hope this helped. One thing I can't stress enough is don't push yourself too fast (unless you have a medical reason, or you are facing imminent jail, or whatever) because it will catch up, cause a backslide or a "fuck it". NEVER REVERSE for any reason. Do it once, do it right, and put those things in the rearview mirror.

The blood pressure medication Clonidine can be quite useful at mitigating benzo or opioid withdrawals. This class of medication (Clonidine/Guanfacine) specifically target the sympathetic nervous system (fight or flight response) to calm it, so they're gaining popularity as off-label treatments for anxiety, sleep disorders, and other issues. They're FDA approved as non-stimulant ADHD medications.

@andyseaview 1 second ago I had a really bad Benzo addiction and Gabapentin saved my life I was able to stop my Adivan cold turkey while going right on high doses of Gabapentin, yes there was some anxiety but there were no Benzo withdraws with the Gabapentin, this was not some placebo effect either, the gabapentin really worked, and I'm still on it three years later for anxiety, yes it may not work as good as benzo but it is working really well for me without that horrible benzo addiction so can you explain this

It's highly prescribed but the truth is this medication failed in randomized controlled trials to work as a mood stabilizer. It's a common misconception that the entire class of anticonvulsant medications are mood stabilizers most are not. Hope this helps

@@ShrinksInSneakers it's helped me severely with my anxiety and mood. I was capable of being off benzodiazepines.

​@@benjaminharding6386better for mood, Def better than being hooked on Benzo's

Please note: you do build up a tolerance to Gabapentin over time. It will stop working, and as you increase the dose, you increase the side effects. Eventually you will max out and end up worse off than you started. I’m not a doctor, but a person with real life experience. Do the best you can for yourself by finding and addressing the root cause instead.

I know that this doctor claims otherwise, but anticonvulsants cleared ALL my mood disorder issues. So they do work for mood disorders and bipolar disorder.

Lamictal can be quite nice. It's the only anticonvulsant that isn't well know to cause grogginess, brain fog, and the rest of the issues common with those kinds of drugs. It's a good one.

You know it can also cause RLS?

Like we said in he video there is some evidence for its use in anxiety specifically social anxiety and panic disorder. With such limited evidence it would be difficult to offer this as a first line treatment. Things like cognitive behavioral therapy and other FDA approved medications for anxiety remain first line. For people who have exercised all other available options, gabapentin can be considered but as I said pregabalin has more evidence in GAD. Hope this helps, if you haven't subscribed to the channel please do and spread the word about what we are doing here

😊

@@ShrinksInSneakers All health care professionals need to realize, "limited data does not = an ineffective treatment, nor should it be viewed with excessive suspicion." As far as anticonvulsants not working for bipolar and as a mood stabilizer. YES THEY DO! Anticonvulsants cleared *ALL* my mood disorder issues. I could finally think clearly with no intrusive/self replicating thoughts or emotions. Everything became balanced, the negativity was gone and it made me the prosocial person that I had always sought to manifest but couldnt. Please stop telling people that anticonvulsants dont treat mood disorders and bipolar disorder because they do treat those disorders.

@@stephencarlsbad I'm not saying that anticonvulsants do not work, certain ones clearly do work well depakote for example and lamotrigine. The point is that it's not a class effect, not ALL anticonvulsants are mood stabilizers. It's very hard to communicate these things in the context of a video or a single point. I stand by my statement that gabapentin would not be a first or second line option for the treatment of bipolar disorder and you would find very few doctors who would say otherwise. Hope this helps clear things up

@@ShrinksInSneakers You're right. It's very difficult to communicate context particularly without full clarification. The use of the word "class" is somewhat bare and unfortunately, misleading because the lay person wont typically understand your meaning. And simply put, KZfaq is a layperson forum. For every 1000 views you might be receiving 1 or 2 professional doctors who understand precisely what you mean. For the rest of the viewers, almost none will recognize the distinction made with the use of the word class as in "class of drug." Had you used "class of drug", I would have made the distinction in meaning, however, the bare use of the word "class" caused it to slip past especially since an emotionally emphatic point was being made after the brief use of "class". This puts the responsibility onto you to clarify the meaning. Without clarification, your statement's main takeaway is most often, "You can't rely on anticonvulsant as effective mood stabilizers" because of the understanding with the reference to class of drug. So you definitely know what you mean, but WE dont know what you mean. So aside from that, I agree, and you make an excellent point that Gabapentin is not likely a good stand-alone choice for treating mood dysregulation for most people.

In short the main difference is SNRI work as both norepinephrine and serotinin while SSRIs are only serotonin reuptake inhibitors. As a whole the research tells us that SNRIs are slightly more effective than SSRIs (effect size of 0.33 Vs 0.36) if someone has failed an SSRI trial many doctors will consider a trial of SNRI at that point. Hope this helps and you can help me out by subscribing to the channel and spreading the word about what we are doing here.

@@ShrinksInSneakers thanks for your reply doc. Really appreciated. Im subbed and have shared your videos to a few friends. Keep them coming! :)

@@harness84_29 thank you appreciate it

Perhaps you're like me, and your depression responds to dopamine, rather than serotonin. This would move into the realm of Wellbutrin, Mirapex, Amantadine, etc.

Edited to add: This was a very effective medication in helping fibromyalgia ( chronic lower pain back) at the time, as well as neuropathy in LOW LOW short term use. Coming off cold turkey is horrendous ( imo and experience). Cymbalta is my perfect medication for fibromyalgia as well as depression. The gaba made me gain weight but did help to sleep when taken at night but not a medication I ever want to take again. I have been to many lectures about this medication ( heavy on Evidence Based Medicine) when I worked in the academic medical arena. Good lecture Dr. sneaker 😀

@@jenniferstepps I must be taking a very low dose, because I regularly come off it for a break because after being on it a while I start "feeling stupid" like forgetful and confused about things, and I dont have any withdrawal symptoms. The only symptom I have is that my neuropathy comes back and so my feet burn and sting..

@@jeffchastain2977 wow that sounds amazing! I wish that was all I had. It is a fantastic medication for what it’s typically prescribed for. Glad you have great results.

For fibromyalgia, you MUST go on a low tyramine diet. High tyramine levels along with poor tyramine clearance as we age are the drivers behind idiopathic chronic pain and inflammation aka fibromyalgia. To treat this they give patients prednisone which... "Blocks tyramines from interacting with muscle receptors." Lower tyramines, exercise regularly to help the liver function better and you will cure your fibromyalgia on your own.

@@stephencarlsbad Thank you for the information. I had weight loss surgery so I have to already be careful of what I can and can’t digest (dietary and medicinal)- I’m also a kidney stone prone person so I stay clear of oxilates 95% of the time……I do enjoy peanut butter which is high in oxilates but also in protein which is vital for weight loss ( exact opposite for non patients…they get protein to add)

Highly addictive

Zero effects. Did absolutely nothing on me.

I like pregabalin better for fibromyalgia and it has approval for use in that disorder

I totally know what you mean. I have been on Oxycontin(low dosage) for 15 years because of a bad accident injury of my spine that even the surgeon that operated on me gave me a 50/50 prognosis of ever walking normally again. I take gabapentin with that for diabetic neuropathy and it made it so I could lower my dosage on my Oxycontin. But now I take 2 "drugs of abuse" so the pharmacists are going be even more judgemental. Another drug that I have to hide in my safe, and not talk about.

Best wishes on getting off gabapentin. It's the worst drug to take. It kills your brain snaps. The VA gave it to me and when I was on it , it made me gain so much weight. The withdrawals are way bad with brain snaps and fog. I quit all meds and went to thc/cbd

I’ve been on 2 mg of Abilify for 10 years. No depression 👍🏻and increased energy

I would say once someone is free of cannabis withdrawal symptoms and cannabis use disorder is well treated its best to taper off gabapentin (this should be done by your doctor as stated by another comment here to avoid withdrawal). I have a whole video on treatment resistant depression, a 5 step process check it out in the video playlist. What we know from the reproach is that augmentation with medications like abilify is more likely to result in remission of depressive symptoms than switching medications or augmenting with another antidepressant. This has become my preferred strategy. Hope this helps, if you haven't subscribed to the channel please do and spread the word about what we are doing here

Get back on Nature's Medicine 🍁 Best Wishes

Two SSRI medications? Have you ever experienced Serotonin Syndrome?

Seek counseling before you explode.

@@rahrahrobbbieee Seek experience and understanding before commenting.

Are you okay, Katherine? No one has replied to you yet, and I just wanted to reach out to check on you and see how things are for you two months later.

Have they tried you on Tizanidine for your pain and anxiety? This class of drug calms the body's "fight or flight" response, and Tizanidine is also a muscle relaxant.

I think there are better options for opioid withdrawal. I always go back to the evidence based treatment for opioid use disorder but I agree opioid withdrawal can be vey difficult to get through. I do want to point out I have used his medication in alcohol use disorder so it's not a blanket statement that everyone abuses gabapentin or Lyrica.

@@ShrinksInSneakers Absolutely, not every does. I was stating in my first hand knowledge that it is abused by quite a few in the street but not as many in a controlled setting like detox or rehab. Quite a few stated they were prescribed Lyrica for anxiety and that it did help in that respect.

The blood pressure and ADHD medication Clonidine is the gold standard for opioid withdrawal, but perhaps you're taking a different class of blood pressure medication and your doctor didn't want to have them combined in your system.

@@Dulcimerist Funny you mention this, after I finally came off the Lyrica, I was prescribed Clonidine for as needed use.

Yep. I now have guinea pig brain syndrome. Doctors should experiment on themselves.

Restless legs are tough to treat. The blood pressure medication Clonidine can help with that in some people, plus it can reduce night sweats and hot flashes. I take its sister drug, Guanfacine, plus Cabergoline to treat my restless legs.

@@Dulcimerist thanks for the suggestion I've never heard of it before

You must wean off slowly under a doctor's supervision.

I am currently using 900mg a day for sciatica pain.. How many months were you on it and did you have to taper off?

@@bktrinity1 I was on it two times. The first time I felt dizzy and confused. That lasted three weeks then the following year I was on it for about six months with great effect. I stopped because I was concerned about developing dementia, so I stopped and I believe I just went off it in one day. My sciatica is so painful right now I was actually thinking about asking my doctor for some gabapentin for short time use. It comes and goes I really don’t have many episodes of sciatica. Right now my pain relief medicines aren’t helping. Good luck.

I would be careful basing any medical decision off a single persons personal experience. I appreciate people sharing experiences with treatment and it does have value but we need to look at the entire evidence base and apply it to the situation.

@@ShrinksInSneakers I would be careful basing any medical decision off a doc that relies on the "lack of studies" instead of clinical evidence and hands on experience which this doc is lacking, compared to most, clearing. A legit doctor wont write off therapies by conflating the lack of studies as being a lack of evidence of therapeutic effectiveness. A great number of studies are poorly done and are flat out wrong or fraudulent. And whats your pettiness/warning? I'm not advising anyone to take anything, so save it!😅 Im just sharing my experience. Didn't they just watch your video and therefore are "informed"? Lol. So we give you legit criticism that you shouldnt be taking personally and you retaliate out of, what? Ego and spite? Not a good look for your image. Your information, btw, is not only wrong but very misleading. I dont see your channel going anywhere with his kind of attitude. Sorry.

Tinazidine is super good! I take its sister drug, Guanfacine, for other health issues.

No kidding. They've lost all credibility. Big Pharma, too.

Holy snikey! Who's your doctor? Wild......

@@jasonthomas7414it’s not a good thing 😊

You need o smoke a little weed.

Gabapentin doesn't help my pain. Trazodone doesn't help my sleep problems. Tramadol helps maybe 10%. Maybe.

I have to say I would concur with that statement and they really need to find something that actually works for folks because truth is opiates are the only thing that really works for people with real pain issues and it's unfortunate I understand that there have been some problems with opiates however what I've seen is that they are the only thing that actually brings some relief and comfort since the doctors won't operate to fix the issue for there pain

Sounds like it, appreciate the comment

does the medical marijuana help?

@@lulzak2591 certain types (indica/CBD), to a certain degree, does help, but I can’t expect to go drive around, take care of my young child, or do higher-level thinking, like my job in finance. It’s a double-edged sword, in that respect, but seems to be safer than gabapentin, opioids, or benzos.

Doesn't help me either

Santa clause in a pill,big pharma must laugh at docs gullibility

The risk for withdrawal symptoms can be mitigated with an appropriate tapper and avoiding abrupt discontinuation. While there is some risk for abuse it's usually when much higher doses are used, and the risk is much less than medications like benzodiazepines for example. Although GABA is in the name this medication has no activity at GABA A or B receptors and does not function in the same manner as benzodiazepines Hope this clears some of those points up

1800mg per day for pain. Does nothing

And it's more additive than Percocet.

Makes me twitch when taking in the a.m. otherwise I couldn’t differentiate any effects or difference.

@@samanthahonaker1315 It makes me super hungry too

Yes it’s very similar

U know what is weriod iam more awake and function better after taking my dose of hydrocodone then my dose of gabapentin .

I take it & never ever did it make me high. I don't know why

Sedation is a potential side effect. This is due to the effects on GABA neurons. It increases synthesis of GABA which is the main inhibitory neurotransmitter in the brain. Hope this helps

@@ShrinksInSneakers thank you.

Any off label prescription should be prosecuted

You are not going to be around much longer...unless you change your ways.

I'm very healthy , thank you, I had 2 major back injuries, I don't take all that now, the Dr. Switched me apon my request

Because there are no options for the treatment of cannabis use disorder gabapentin remains an option but like I said in the video I would not universally recommend it to all patients and more randomized controlled trials should be done to confirm the early positive results. If you haven't subscribed to the channel please do and spread the word about what we are doing here.

It worked for me and several of my friends. All of us were heavy smokers since a very young age. Pregabs stop the cold sweats the nightmares the loss of appetite the low mood and the hypomania that comes with weed withdrawal like no other drug did. I have experienced it first hand and recommend it to all my friends who struggle to quit too. The stuff just works Doc.

@@Hamza23792 It sounds good and I'm certainly not opposed to using it in these cases

@@ShrinksInSneakers glad to hear that; it can help so many people who struggle with cannabis addiction. Give a try with patients who are serious about quitting and whom you trust the feedbacks, I would love to hear some success stories from you in your channel. Keep up the good work Doc. Your work is appreciated.

@@Hamza23792 I'll keep working to find new innovative things, I appreciate the support

Not for me either

It's not. There are always going to be people who will try to abuse ahything and everything, even benadryl, but neurontin is not addictive.

I would say it's addictive in the way benzodiazepines are for example. There is risk for abuse but it does not effect GABA A or B receptors and does not function the way benzodiazepines do. It can be abused but this is generally when doses are well in excess of what is normally prescribed. I've seen people abuse Zyprexa and Seroquel but I would call them addictive

@@ShrinksInSneakers and Wellbutrin too has been abused.

@@ShrinksInSneakers I'm actually I recovered heroin addict. I'm still on methadone. My story goes back to when all started in college with oxycontin. I'm 39 now. I went through the oxy phase, which stopped in 2009/2010 due to abuse, then the heroin and into the fetynol stage the as t we're in right now. If you'd ever like to know more I have a wealth of knowledge and am also trying to learn more now as I'm getting into the addiction field.

@@benjaminharding6386 yes it has, I've seen people have seizures when abused and end up in the ICU

I would not recommend that but to the main point of the video there are not many good psychotic reasons to use gabapentin.

Sounds like a great doc! 😑

On an individual basis this medication may have a benefit depending on the symptoms targeted. I'm not suggesting that this medication is never usefully, it's more to caution the overuse and point out that most of it is off label prescribing based on limited evidence. Hope this helps

@@ShrinksInSneakers But does that mean the Government should make it a controlled substance? As a patient under pain care for a back injury and diabetic neuropathy, this dismays me. Why make it harder for the people who benefit from this drug because some doctors mis-prescribe it, and some irresponsible people decide to abuse it. I understand the restrictions on opioids and opiates, but I would hazard a guess that not many people have died of a Neurontin overdose.

Cool

not the place for this. dont do that to us

I have been on it for many years for back pain with no success. I discovered video of side effects which I seem to have all of them, but discovered very painful withdrawals. I reduced from 1200 to 900 mg, and found it depressing. Tapering off takes a long time, and I am trying.