Gabapentin vs Diazepam

[whiteraven]

What was your dose?

I was on 600mg/day.

 

[MrMoonlight]

Has anyone taken Gabapentin? What have been your experiences?

For me, it has been extremely helpful in reducing my anger, anxiety, and explosiveness. I take several regular doses through the day and am also able to use it acutely in case of a panic attack. The regular dose also helps with my migraines.

It was a terrific alternative to benzos in my experience. I don't get knocked out or zombified as I would with benzos. I am more laid back on gabapentin.

I know you are going through some terrible things right now and I wish you peace.

 

[barefoot]

I don't have many diazepam left so will need a new prescription for something fairly soon. My therapist said in this week's session that she'll speak to her partner and find out more about it and whether it might be a good option for me to try. She said it can be used for acute spikes, rather than for regular daily doses, so I'm interested to find out more. She's also happy to contact my GP if he is reluctant to prescribe anything else at this time. Though, as a couple of you have said, he knows my current circumstances are challenging -– with my mum recently having passed away very suddenly – and he can see in my records that I don't have any dependency issues with the diazepam as the prescriptions have previously been infrequent.

Will see what T says this week and then have a GP appointment later in the week where I will be asking for something, just not sure what!

 

[barefoot]

Went to see my GP today as I was down to seven Valium and didn’t want to wait until I ran out.

He knows my mum has recently passed away and the first thing he said was he asked whether the funeral had taken place and how that had been and he asked how I was feeling.

I said I still wasn’t sleeping well. So, we had a fairly confusing and stressful conversation about that - he seemed to want to try to treat me for long term insomnia even though I said that wasn’t the issue and that this was just about me struggling to get to sleep and stay asleep in the past month since my mum died. He tried to give me an NHS insomnia leaflet and then said perhaps I could do a CBT course for insomnia and then was talking about giving me Amitriptyline, which should help me sleep. And I just kept saying that this wasn’t about long term insomnia....I was struggling to sleep at the moment because my mum has just died very suddenly and unexpectedly and it has been a huge shock and a hard thing to process. And that my anxiety was spiking more than usual. He then said that, actually, me laying awake thinking about my mum was probably much better for me than taking a sleeping pill because it would “help me to think about things form different perspectives” (?!) and help the grieving process.

Then he asked if I felt depressed. I said no. He said depression usually triggers more anxiety and insomnia. I said yes but I’ve had depression several times before so I know what that feels like and I do not feel depressed now. He tried to give me an anti-depressant anyway.
I said very clearly that I didn’t want any anti-depressants.

Then I started talking about my anxiety and the diazepam and the fact that the last few weeks (my mum dying, stressful things around that and all the triggery stuff in the news at the moment) had meant that I’d taken more than usual so I only had a few left. I got the usual lecture about benzos being addictive so I said again how 28 tablets usually lasts me six months and it’s for acute anxiety episodes (usually when I’m badly triggered or sometimes when I’m too wired at night time) and I explained why I had taken more over last few weeks than usual.

Then I said my therapist had mentioned gabapentin and suggested I speak to him about that. He said that it isn’t licensed so he wouldn’t be able to prescribe it to me. Said he could prescribe Pregabalin but I’d have to take it every day as it takes a while to build it up in your system. And I don’t want or feel I need to take a daily dose of anything.

So then he suggested I take a beta blocker, but didn’t say that much about it.

So, after a long and quite frustrating conversation, where I didn’t really feel heard or understood, I came away with a prescription for two more weeks of temazepam (with a clear instruction that he absolutely wouldn’t give me any more after this), 14 diazepam (so mission accomplished on that front) and some propranolol.

When I went to collect them, the pharmacist said she needed to talk to me as I had a new drug - the propranolol - and she wanted to book me in for an appointment in a few days time to monitor how I’m getting on with it and whether I’m experiencing any side effects.

She said that the most common side effect tha lots of people have is nightmares and other sleep disturbances such as some people start sleep walking or talking. This seems crazy to me - I’d only talked today to my GP about my night terrors and hallucinations and gave him an update on where I’m at with the sleep clinic. So, with my parasomnias in mind and the fact that I’m telling him I’m not sleeping well, it just seems ridiculous to me that he’s prescribed something that commonly causes sleep problems and disruption.

And the pharmacist also said that taking propranolol is nothing like taking diazepam - that it eases physical symptoms of anxiety but doesn’t really do anything about “mental anxiety” in the way that diazepam does. So, I don’t think that’s even what I need. Especially if it might potentially mess my sleep up even more.

Feel very frustrated and very anxious about not feeling heard or understood - I took a diazepam when I got home!

 

[blackemerald1]

Hi @barefoot - have read the whole thread and I completely understand why you would be needing a little bit of helping hand during this time. I have a number of friends and relatives whose gp's offered them Diazepan at times of bereavement so it isn't unheard of and it's not a big deal to cut back quickly when you are not under so much pressure.

The consult with your GP was very confusing. I mean ...just wait a minute..!! :confused:

I'm glad the pharmacist told you about the propranolol so you could consider what you wanted to do before it did something strange to you.

Have you got a tablet cutter? @5 mg a day - would it be of benefit to cut the Diazepan in half and split your intake into a half dose twice a day leading up to the funeral?

 

[Abstract]

""Sorry Barefoot. Been there done that or seen others do so. I think you have hit up against the standard NHS approach to "sleep issues" and diazepam. In my experience. And of course total and utter lack of understanding of ptsd. The CBT sleep thing makes me want to scream. Amitriptilyne does crazy things to me and my hypervigilance.

Can you try to insist on seeing a pdoc? Hopefully the symptoms will ease by the time these run low.

 

[barefoot]

The consult with your GP was very confusing.

Yes, I found it very frustrating. When I talk to him, he looks and feels like he’s listening. Then he speaks and it’s like he hasn’t heard/understood a word!

I think I’m going to have to look into changing GPs. I haven’t really had a regular GP up until about a year or so ago - I used to just see whichever doctor was available soonest. Then I started seeing this guy as my norm because he seemed to get this idea that I just wanted to have a pack of Valium for as and when so I could keep some in my bag, some in my desk etc for when needed during an acute spike.

He has good intentions, I think, but he has a tendency to be say things quite awkwardly or to be very blunt and graphic or to be quite pushy and I don’t feel heard - and often after I’ve seen him I have to take a Valium when I get home because the appointment with him triggered high anxiety. A year or so ago I had thought that maybe it would be good for me to try to build a bit of a relationship with a doctor and see the same one over time so that we got to know each other. But it hasn’t helped...it hasn’t been the “find a doctor I feel safe and comfortable with” outcome that I had initially hoped for. So, I think I won’t see him anymore. I’ll probably go back to Just hopping around whoever has the best availability when I need an appointment.

Have you got a tablet cutter? @5 mg a day - would it be of benefit to cut the Diazepan in half and split your intake into a half dose twice a day leading up to the funeral?

The funeral took place two weeks ago. I don’t have a tablet cutter but was started on 2mg or 2.5mg tablets initially but they had no effect at all.
And, again, this isn’t about me wanting or needing to take a daily/consistent/regular dose of anything. I just want something effective that I can take whenever I have a really acute episode (which isn’t that often) so it can calm me and help me regulate more quickly.

Can you try to insist on seeing a pdoc? Hopefully the symptoms will ease by the time these run low.

Is a pdoc a psychiatrist? GP hasn’t mentioned me seeing one. Therapist mentioned it right at the start of our work together to see if I was open to an initial assessment (I wasn’t!) about four years ago and again about two years ago when I was in the middle of a severe depression. I suppose I’ve just never thought I needed to see one because I don’t want or feel I need to be taking anything regularly. Do they do anything else beside diagnosing and prescribing meds?

Do you have any experience with NHS pdocs @Abstract ? I know if I really wanted to, my therapist could recommend someone who she thinks is good, but that would be private and I just don’t have the spare money available to pay to see a psychiatrist.

I texted my therapist after this GP appt to update her and she said we’ll regroup in this week’s session. So, I think she meant we can discuss next steps medication-wise. But I think I feel ok at the moment so, to be honest, I think I’m just going to leave it at that. I have about 20 diazepam now, which should last me a few months.

 

[Abstract]

Hey @barefoot Sorry. Yes. pdoc = Psychiatrist. Im afraid I gave up on NHS offerings early with a lot of things. I barely had the ability to discuss things in a good setting let alone fight to speak in one. Fight for care. The counselling I got via them was totally lacking for me. If you don't feel you need it then there is no need. I have done charity, done without and then used NHS as much as I could working around the deficits.

Sure you know this already but the amount GPs know about psych health meds is very limited. When you get to more complex considerations like you were describing here it becomes especially challenging for them. A pdoc has the credentials to easily go off licence when prescribing and has diagnostic understanding of the conditions.

I had 1 good NHS GP (who have now lost) who I told the most too (and who still made mistakes) but have handled it by doing the research myself feeding them what they need to hear and managing it myself. Or going private when I have been able to. Did a bit of that abroad at times. My way = not ideal.

Pdocs do a full doctorate, then a speciality consultant training in mental health and brain conditions - treatment, diagnoses and meds. Some counsel but thats rare here. GPs touch on mental health and related meds. Some of their effectiveness is reliant on if they have done any further studying in that particular area or have an interest in it. Clinics often have a dr that is a particularly knowledgeable in one area or the other if you ask.

If you don't have the spare finances and feel fine then it sounds like there is no need. People do get them through NHS but I think one needs to fight a bit depending on situation.