dopetalk does not endorse any advertised product nor does it accept any liability for it's use or misuse

This website has run out of funding so feel free to contribute if you can afford it (see footer)

Author Topic: Gabapentin New Drug of Abuse?  (Read 26584 times)

Offline smalls (OP)

  • Jr. Member
  • **
  • Join Date: Oct 2015
  • Location:
  • Posts: 143
  • Reputation Power: 9
  • smalls is new on the scene.
  • Gender: Female
  • Last Login:October 08, 2018, 09:05:28 AM
  • East Coast Hermit
Gabapentin New Drug of Abuse?
« on: December 13, 2015, 11:15:49 PM »

Posting from my phone, sorry for any formatting issues....

Gabapentin New Drug of Abuse?
Fran Lowry
December 11, 2015
 
HUNTINGTON BEACH, California ― Gabapentin (multiple brands) is increasingly being used by patients in methadone maintenance programs to get high, and this can put them at risk for accidents, injuries, and even death, researchers say.

"Gabapentin is effective and relatively safe, but comes with the potential for misuse and negative sequelae," Joseph Insler, MD, from the VA Boston Healthcare System, Harvard Medical School, in Massachusetts, told Medscape Medical News.

"Increasing availability, infrequent drug testing, and potentiation of euphoria when combined with opioids have likely all contributed to gabapentin misuse," Dr Insler said here in a poster session at the American Academy of Addiction Psychiatry (AAAP) 26th Annual Meeting.

"Increasing clinicians' understanding of this dilemma and focusing on good prescribing practices will improve clinical expertise and patient care," he said.

Gabapentin is usually not one of the drugs for which patients are tested in treatment programs, Dr Insler noted.

"If the drug test shows positive for the drug of abuse, it can lead to somebody being dismissed from the treatment program, and patients are aware of that. You can use as much gabapentin as you want, and it will lead to euphoria and feeling sedated, but nobody will know if they don't test for it. This is definitely a factor that is driving this increasing misuse," he said.

Dr Insler presented the case of a 36-year-old male window washer who had a history of alcohol use disorder, opioid use disorder, and chronic back pain. The patient came to the emergency department (ED) with a fractured vertebra after falling down the stairs.

The patient denied recent alcohol or illicit opioid use. His medications included buprenorphine/naloxone 2/0.5 mg daily, alprazolam 2 mg twice a day, and gabapentin 600 mg three times daily.

The alprazolam and buprenorphine/naloxone were prescribed from visit to visit by his psychiatrist, and his gabapentin was prescribed by his primary care physician, whom he had not seen in months and who would give him a prescription for 12 refills at a time.

The patient denied gabapentin misuse. However, his parents expressed concern, citing six car accidents and three falls in the past 8 months.

"They recalled numerous times when the patient appeared sleepy and had poor balance, and they suspected that he had not been taking his medication as prescribed. They also reported finding several empty bottles of gabapentin that were not prescribed, and believed that gabapentin misuse may have been a reason for his accident," Dr Insler said.

Increased Prescribing

Drug Abuse Warning Network (DAWN) data show that ED visits involving the nonmedical use of gabapentin have increased by 90% in the United States since 2008. In rural Kentucky, ED visits from the nonmedical use of gabapentin have increased 3000%, Dr Insler said.

DAWN data also suggest that 20% of patients in treatment may misuse or abuse gabapentin, he said.

During this period, there has been a rise in gabapentin prescribing, Dr Insler noted.

"Clinicians should use caution when considering gabapentin, particularly with opioid-dependent patients or those with a history of nonmedical use of prescription drugs," he added.

"One of the downsides with gabapentin, since it is not a controlled substance, you can't work it into the prescription monitoring program and see if the patient has filled other gabapentin scripts from other clinicians. I would love that if we had that, but we don't. So right now, use caution. Don't necessarily avoid prescribing it, but be careful and prescribe it from visit to visit. Don't just give somebody six refills and say you will see them in 6 months, something I've seen many times," Dr Insler said.

"It's always a balance of trying to maintain your alliance with your patients and treat them well and not contribute to the problem of diversion or put patients at risk. I was taken by surprise when I first saw this case. It was my first but certainly not my last. I just want to increase awareness of the problem," he said.

Gabapentin Still Less Risky Than Other Anxiolytics

"We are certainly seeing some misuse of gabapentin, and available data are showing this," said Carla Marienfeld, MD, director of the Yale Psychiatry Residency Global Mental Health Program, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, when asked by Medscape Medical News to comment on this study.

"However, clinical decisions about the use of gabapentin for anxiety or other psychiatric indications should be balanced against the much higher risks and known adverse effects of other anxiolytic medications while we gather more data on the actual risk with gabapentin," Dr Marienfeld said.

"Once you start giving a medication to substance abusers, unless it's downright aversive, which gabapentin is not, it gets abused by substance abusers, and particularly in combination with other things. So gabapentin in combination with a benzodiazepine, for example, or in combination with an opiate, and potentially even in combination with alcohol will potentiate the effect, and they like that," Thomas R. Kosten, MD, Jay H. Waggoner Chair and professor of psychiatry and neuroscience at Baylor College of Medicine and research director of the Michael E. DeBakey Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Houston, Texas, told Medscape Medical News.

"It’s a generic, so it's cheap, but still, it's pretty safe. A standard dose is 600 mg twice a day. You can take 3000 mg, probably, and we've given people up to 6000 mg. They're still standing, although they are sleepy. It's the same thing with benzos. I don't think you can die from a benzo overdose, and I don't think you can die from a gabapentin overdose. But you could mix them together and manage to do it."

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/855819
friendly
0
funny
0
informative
0
agree
0
disagree
0
like
0
dislike
0
No reactions
No reactions
No reactions
No reactions
No reactions
No reactions
No reactions

Offline sprawlnod

  • Newbie
  • Join Date: Dec 2015
  • Location: SoCal
  • Posts: 15
  • Reputation Power: 3
  • sprawlnod is new on the scene.
  • Last Login:October 30, 2018, 10:35:41 AM
  • Kuffed
Re: Gabapentin New Drug of Abuse?
« Reply #1 on: December 14, 2015, 01:10:17 AM »
Interesting.  I've never understood the attraction to Gabapentin, though.  I've had it prescribed before and I'm also on methadone, so I should like it according to the article.  It's never really done anything for me.
friendly
0
funny
0
informative
0
agree
0
disagree
0
like
0
dislike
0
No reactions
No reactions
No reactions
No reactions
No reactions
No reactions
No reactions

Offline DeadCat

  • Deceased
  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Join Date: Jul 2015
  • Location:
  • Posts: 668
  • Reputation Power: 41
  • DeadCat is now getting very popular.DeadCat is now getting very popular.DeadCat is now getting very popular.DeadCat is now getting very popular.
  • Last Login:June 07, 2017, 04:01:37 PM
  • Welcome to our community forum ...
Re: Gabapentin New Drug of Abuse?
« Reply #2 on: December 14, 2015, 02:27:14 AM »
My sister was a very experienced opiate user but in the months before she died she had several near-death ODs and strange fluctuations in her blood pressure requiring hospitalization. Although her death was ruled a heroin/fentanyl overdose my thinking was always that her ODs were because some other prescribed medication was complicating her reaction to opiates.  She was a CPP patient and doctors were giving her varying amounts of non-narcotic and narcotic drugs for it.  Gabapentin was among them.

« Last Edit: December 14, 2015, 02:31:13 AM by DeadCat »
friendly
0
funny
0
informative
0
agree
0
disagree
0
like
0
dislike
0
No reactions
No reactions
No reactions
No reactions
No reactions
No reactions
No reactions

Offline theSWPK

  • Oxymorphone Overlord
  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • SA_Chat+
  • **
  • Join Date: Jun 2015
  • Location: Missississississippi
  • Posts: 818
  • Reputation Power: 36
  • theSWPK is working their way up.theSWPK is working their way up.theSWPK is working their way up.
  • Gender: Male
  • Last Login:March 16, 2023, 07:00:11 PM
  • Welcome to active addiction!
Re: Gabapentin New Drug of Abuse?
« Reply #3 on: December 14, 2015, 07:45:51 AM »
Great, just what we need, gaba to get scheduled from media attention.
friendly
0
funny
0
informative
0
agree
0
disagree
0
like
0
dislike
0
No reactions
No reactions
No reactions
No reactions
No reactions
No reactions
No reactions
Now fixing in a parking lot near you!







"And you dont know my complexity." - Riddick

Offline Snoop

  • Jr. Member
  • **
  • SA_Chat+
  • **
  • Join Date: Jul 2015
  • Location:
  • Posts: 189
  • Reputation Power: 14
  • Snoop is new on the scene.
  • Last Login:February 02, 2020, 11:11:54 PM
  • Welcome to our community forum ...
Re: Gabapentin New Drug of Abuse?
« Reply #4 on: December 14, 2015, 03:11:50 PM »
Gaba is already schedule V.....

Just saying
friendly
0
funny
0
informative
0
agree
0
disagree
0
like
0
dislike
0
No reactions
No reactions
No reactions
No reactions
No reactions
No reactions
No reactions

Offline Opus

  • Tech
  • Sr. Member
  • *
  • SA_Chat+
  • **
  • Join Date: Aug 2015
  • Location: long windy bumpy ass road
  • Posts: 542
  • Reputation Power: 31
  • Opus is working their way up.Opus is working their way up.Opus is working their way up.
  • Last Login:May 06, 2018, 01:21:20 AM
  • 110, 100, 90, 80, 76, 70, 64, 60, 58
Re: Gabapentin New Drug of Abuse?
« Reply #5 on: December 14, 2015, 03:15:57 PM »
The only times (like 2) I've taken gabapentin, all it does is make me strangely dizzy?

So far I don't see any appeal in it either.
friendly
0
funny
0
informative
0
agree
0
disagree
0
like
0
dislike
0
No reactions
No reactions
No reactions
No reactions
No reactions
No reactions
No reactions
No artist tolerates reality -- Freidrich Neitzsche

The word "republican" comes in the dictionary right after "reptile" and just before "repugnant." -- Julia Roberts

It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society -- Krishnamurti

Offline Snoop

  • Jr. Member
  • **
  • SA_Chat+
  • **
  • Join Date: Jul 2015
  • Location:
  • Posts: 189
  • Reputation Power: 14
  • Snoop is new on the scene.
  • Last Login:February 02, 2020, 11:11:54 PM
  • Welcome to our community forum ...
Re: Gabapentin New Drug of Abuse?
« Reply #6 on: December 14, 2015, 05:35:42 PM »
I had one good experience with Gaba (pretty recently too) mixed it in with my Alprazolam and Methadone in the evening before bed.

I was doing that 'sleeping standing up/in strange places/rooms' thing.

Reaching for imaginary shit... (reminds me of Maximus in Gladiator when he's dying and reaching for that doorknob in his dream) anyone else reach out for shit that isn't there when you're on a good nod?

Dropping cigs on myself left and right.

It was sorta enjoyable. Hadn't had a good nod in a solid millennium. At least.

But... When I tried to replicate this feeling the next few days I just felt that groggy over medicated feeling. Heavy. Lethargic. And dizzy as fuck.

Fuck Gaba.
friendly
0
funny
0
informative
0
agree
0
disagree
0
like
0
dislike
0
No reactions
No reactions
No reactions
No reactions
No reactions
No reactions
No reactions

Offline St. Theresa

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Join Date: May 2015
  • Location:
  • Posts: 633
  • Reputation Power: 0
  • St. Theresa has hidden their reputation power
  • Last Login:April 06, 2018, 09:37:13 PM
  • Welcome to our community forum ...
Re: Gabapentin New Drug of Abuse?
« Reply #7 on: December 14, 2015, 06:50:12 PM »
I had one good experience with Gaba (pretty recently too) mixed it in with my Alprazolam and Methadone in the evening before bed.

I was doing that 'sleeping standing up/in strange places/rooms' thing.

Reaching for imaginary shit... (reminds me of Maximus in Gladiator when he's dying and reaching for that doorknob in his dream) anyone else reach out for shit that isn't there when you're on a good nod?

Dropping cigs on myself left and right.

It was sorta enjoyable. Hadn't had a good nod in a solid millennium. At least.

But... When I tried to replicate this feeling the next few days I just felt that groggy over medicated feeling. Heavy. Lethargic. And dizzy as fuck.

Fuck Gaba.


Lol the imaginary grab

Yeah with gaba I get that first time good feeling and then not so much after that. Same with seroquel (sp?)...

Speaking of gaba...anyone hear from jega?
friendly
0
funny
0
informative
0
agree
0
disagree
0
like
0
dislike
0
No reactions
No reactions
No reactions
No reactions
No reactions
No reactions
No reactions
I'll show you politics in America. Here it is, right here. "I think the puppet on the right shares my beliefs."
"I think the puppet on the left is more to my liking."
"Hey, wait a minute, there's one guy holding out both puppets!"
"Shut up! Go back to bed, America. Your government is in control."-BH

Offline Narkotikon

  • Honest
  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • SA_Chat+
  • **
  • Join Date: Jun 2015
  • Location: USA
  • Posts: 1141
  • Reputation Power: 50
  • Narkotikon has got loads of potential.Narkotikon has got loads of potential.Narkotikon has got loads of potential.Narkotikon has got loads of potential.Narkotikon has got loads of potential.
  • Gender: Male
  • Last Login:March 28, 2016, 11:31:11 PM
  • Keeping Them Honest
Re: Gabapentin New Drug of Abuse?
« Reply #8 on: December 15, 2015, 05:52:01 AM »
Jega's going to hate this.

This article will only increase attention to gabapentin and make it more likely to have tighter prescribing protocols.

The thing I don't like about articles like this is that they tend to generalize. "If prescribed to substance abusers they will abuse it."  That implies every single addict is automatically going to abuse gabapentin if they're scripted it.  That's bullshit.

It also mean addicts might loose yet another medication that could effectively help them by easing their suffering, whether it be during w/d, for anxiety, for sleep, etc.  Addicts already have a hard enough time getting effective treatment.
friendly
0
funny
0
informative
0
agree
0
disagree
0
like
0
dislike
0
No reactions
No reactions
No reactions
No reactions
No reactions
No reactions
No reactions
Transparency is necessary to ensure decent staff members get elected. Members need to know when staff are misbehaving, so members can be informed voters.

Offline Zoops

  • Filius non bonum de canis femina.
  • Deceased
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Join Date: May 2015
  • Location: Nodsville-on-Patawomeck, Virginia, USA
  • Posts: 1684
  • Reputation Power: 58
  • Zoops has got loads of potential.Zoops has got loads of potential.Zoops has got loads of potential.Zoops has got loads of potential.Zoops has got loads of potential.
  • Gender: Male
  • Last Login:September 29, 2017, 04:49:02 AM
  • Keeping the wolves at bay with a sharp stick.
Re: Gabapentin New Drug of Abuse?
« Reply #9 on: December 15, 2015, 11:39:43 AM »
OMG the imaginary grab! You mean I'm not the only one who does that? The other night, while in a semi-nod on PST, I reached for something that I was seeing in a dream. Can't remember what it was, but that wasn't the first time. I usually wake up right after doing it.

Wow.

And sleeping standing up? fuggedaboutit

« Last Edit: December 15, 2015, 11:42:50 AM by Zoops »
friendly
0
funny
0
informative
0
agree
0
disagree
0
like
0
dislike
0
No reactions
No reactions
No reactions
No reactions
No reactions
No reactions
No reactions
"The future ain't what it used to be."
"When you come to a fork in the road, take it."
"You can observe a lot just by watching."
- Yogi Berra

"Drugs are so fucking good....that they'll ruin your life."
- Louis C.K.

Offline smalls (OP)

  • Jr. Member
  • **
  • Join Date: Oct 2015
  • Location:
  • Posts: 143
  • Reputation Power: 9
  • smalls is new on the scene.
  • Gender: Female
  • Last Login:October 08, 2018, 09:05:28 AM
  • East Coast Hermit
Re: Gabapentin New Drug of Abuse?
« Reply #10 on: December 15, 2015, 02:11:43 PM »
Jega's going to hate this.

This article will only increase attention to gabapentin and make it more likely to have tighter prescribing protocols.

The thing I don't like about articles like this is that they tend to generalize. "If prescribed to substance abusers they will abuse it."  That implies every single addict is automatically going to abuse gabapentin if they're scripted it.  That's bullshit.

It also mean addicts might loose yet another medication that could effectively help them by easing their suffering, whether it be during w/d, for anxiety, for sleep, etc.  Addicts already have a hard enough time getting effective treatment.

That quote stood out to me too. "Once you start giving a medication to substance abusers [...] it gets abused by substance abusers." Utter bullshit indeed!
friendly
0
funny
0
informative
0
agree
0
disagree
0
like
0
dislike
0
No reactions
No reactions
No reactions
No reactions
No reactions
No reactions
No reactions

Offline Zoops

  • Filius non bonum de canis femina.
  • Deceased
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Join Date: May 2015
  • Location: Nodsville-on-Patawomeck, Virginia, USA
  • Posts: 1684
  • Reputation Power: 58
  • Zoops has got loads of potential.Zoops has got loads of potential.Zoops has got loads of potential.Zoops has got loads of potential.Zoops has got loads of potential.
  • Gender: Male
  • Last Login:September 29, 2017, 04:49:02 AM
  • Keeping the wolves at bay with a sharp stick.
Re: Gabapentin New Drug of Abuse?
« Reply #11 on: December 15, 2015, 02:58:09 PM »
I used to be prejudiced against gabapentin, but an about 4,000mg dose that I took shortly after getting out of the joint had me a believer.

Gabapentin is NOT schedule V, but its close cousin pregabalin (aka Lyrica), is.
friendly
0
funny
0
informative
0
agree
0
disagree
0
like
0
dislike
0
No reactions
No reactions
No reactions
No reactions
No reactions
No reactions
No reactions
"The future ain't what it used to be."
"When you come to a fork in the road, take it."
"You can observe a lot just by watching."
- Yogi Berra

"Drugs are so fucking good....that they'll ruin your life."
- Louis C.K.

Offline corlene

  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Join Date: Jul 2015
  • Location: Ft. Lauderdale
  • Posts: 371
  • Reputation Power: 12
  • corlene is new on the scene.
  • Gender: Male
  • Last Login:September 30, 2016, 08:32:51 AM
  • I alternate morphine and dilaudid in my PCA
Re: Gabapentin New Drug of Abuse?
« Reply #12 on: December 15, 2015, 03:53:10 PM »
You know what's a half decent combo? Lyrica and ultram. Even on top of all the opiates it had me feelin pretty good. Im scripted Lyrica 150 am and lunch 300 at night.

About 900 of Lyrica and 400 of ultram, gets me every time
friendly
0
funny
0
informative
0
agree
0
disagree
0
like
0
dislike
0
No reactions
No reactions
No reactions
No reactions
No reactions
No reactions
No reactions

Offline Snoop

  • Jr. Member
  • **
  • SA_Chat+
  • **
  • Join Date: Jul 2015
  • Location:
  • Posts: 189
  • Reputation Power: 14
  • Snoop is new on the scene.
  • Last Login:February 02, 2020, 11:11:54 PM
  • Welcome to our community forum ...
Re: Gabapentin New Drug of Abuse?
« Reply #13 on: December 15, 2015, 10:08:00 PM »
I stand corrected.... I thought that Gaba was the generic version of Lyrica.

But I look at Wiki and its staring at me right dab between the eyes... So it must be true.

I love wiki
friendly
0
funny
0
informative
0
agree
0
disagree
0
like
0
dislike
0
No reactions
No reactions
No reactions
No reactions
No reactions
No reactions
No reactions

Offline theSWPK

  • Oxymorphone Overlord
  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • SA_Chat+
  • **
  • Join Date: Jun 2015
  • Location: Missississississippi
  • Posts: 818
  • Reputation Power: 36
  • theSWPK is working their way up.theSWPK is working their way up.theSWPK is working their way up.
  • Gender: Male
  • Last Login:March 16, 2023, 07:00:11 PM
  • Welcome to active addiction!
Re: Gabapentin New Drug of Abuse?
« Reply #14 on: December 16, 2015, 01:01:25 AM »
I stand corrected.... I thought that Gaba was the generic version of Lyrica.

But I look at Wiki and its staring at me right dab between the eyes... So it must be true.

I love wiki

Neurontin - gabapentin
Lyrica - pregabalin
.

From what I have heard from people I've spoken to about it, and read in forums, it seems like a majority of opiate "enthusiasts" (addicts) prefer Lyrica for wd's over Neurontin. I feel like many folks trying out gabapentin, and not just for wd, just haven't tried a high enough dose. When you get to a good enough dose, gabapentin will blow your hair back. You can get really fucked up on the stuff, and it's got really long legs. The only downside is that the tolerance is steep and quick. Exponentially so.
friendly
0
funny
0
informative
0
agree
0
disagree
0
like
0
dislike
0
No reactions
No reactions
No reactions
No reactions
No reactions
No reactions
No reactions
Now fixing in a parking lot near you!







"And you dont know my complexity." - Riddick

Tags:
 

Related Topics

  Subject / Started by Replies Last post
7 Replies
12192 Views
Last post August 17, 2015, 10:29:53 AM
by Narkotikon
0 Replies
5421 Views
Last post August 28, 2015, 07:11:58 PM
by Chip
47 Replies
33577 Views
Last post December 31, 2017, 06:59:51 PM
by Chip
0 Replies
6322 Views
Last post September 12, 2017, 06:03:21 AM
by Chip
0 Replies
4631 Views
Last post November 06, 2017, 08:43:21 PM
by Chip
0 Replies
4089 Views
Last post November 14, 2017, 03:29:02 AM
by Chip
8 Replies
8700 Views
Last post March 30, 2018, 11:41:47 AM
by limerence
1 Replies
5836 Views
Last post February 13, 2018, 02:43:47 PM
by Mr.pooper
0 Replies
4613 Views
Last post May 05, 2018, 07:13:55 AM
by Chip
1 Replies
4894 Views
Last post November 08, 2019, 11:40:32 AM
by limerence


dopetalk does not endorse any advertised product nor does it accept any liability for it's use or misuse





TERMS AND CONDITIONS

In no event will d&u or any person involved in creating, producing, or distributing site information be liable for any direct, indirect, incidental, punitive, special or consequential damages arising out of the use of or inability to use d&u. You agree to indemnify and hold harmless d&u, its domain founders, sponsors, maintainers, server administrators, volunteers and contributors from and against all liability, claims, damages, costs and expenses, including legal fees, that arise directly or indirectly from the use of any part of the d&u site.


TO USE THIS WEBSITE YOU MUST AGREE TO THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS ABOVE


Founded December 2014
SimplePortal 2.3.6 © 2008-2014, SimplePortal