Gabepentin?

[Ganne]

I have Hashimoto’s and am on a low dose of thyroid. I took a drug called Gabapentin for three weeks. It caused swelling in my hands and feet. It is non pitting but very painful.
It has been 8 months since my last dose of this drug and my pain seems worse. I feel like I can feel my blood pounding in my hands and feet. Heat makes it 20 times worse, like hot showers etc. Could this have thrown off my thyroid? My numbers actually look good. My doctor wanted me on a salt restricted diet and I landed in the er with a sodium level of 135. I have tried everything to reverse this from GABA to progesterone. I do have a better day a day before my period but then it all comes back.
I drink OJ with salt and am lactose intolerant so no milk or dairy.

 

[CoconutEffect]

Do you cease use of gabapentin too abuptly?

 

[Ganne]

That may be. I am so messed up I hate to go back on it. I stopped as soon as the swelling got bad. It was really painful. I have seen so many doctors. They tell me it is not possible to still be from the drug. I am lost. Wondering if it is because I am hypothyroid. I have tried to play with my thyroid meds. T4 alone makes it worse. Have not tried t3 alone. Thanks for the reply.

 

[qminati]

im hypothryoid and had the worst experience of my life with Gabapentin. Took it for 3 months and it made me worse so i got off of it and had the withdrawal from hell. I learned from support groups how many people are damaged from gabapentin and all the doctors sing the same song, "gabapentin doesn't do that"

not to mention the sale of it for any reason is illegal as they were criminally convicted for off brand use of it. they just paid the fine and kept selling it.

I had to taper down to 25mg to get off of it safely. It was 6 months of hell. Go to a compound pharmacy and have them make 25mg pills for you that way you can taper because the lowest they make is 100mg commercially. You can also try the liquid route where some people found success going down by 1mg a day.

Gabapentin is exremely anti thyroid, the withdrawl is even worse. Coincidentally its one of the most prescribed drugs today. I would focus on normalizing a low dose then getting off of it.

 

[Ganne]

im hypothryoid and had the worst experience of my life with Gabapentin. Took it for 3 months and it made me worse so i got off of it and had the withdrawal from hell. I learned from support groups how many people are damaged from gabapentin and all the doctors sing the same song, "gabapentin doesn't do that"

not to mention the sale of it for any reason is illegal as they were criminally convicted for off brand use of it. they just paid the fine and kept selling it.

I had to taper down to 25mg to get off of it safely. It was 6 months of hell. Go to a compound pharmacy and have them make 25mg pills for you that way you can taper because the lowest they make is 100mg commercially. You can also try the liquid route where some people found success going down by 1mg a day.

Gabapentin is exremely anti thyroid, the withdrawl is even worse. Coincidentally its one of the most prescribed drugs today. I would focus on normalizing a low dose then getting off of it.

I stopped it immediately after I noticed the swelling as it wa so painful, so should I try to go back on it. It has been almost eight months ?
All the doctors I have been to have said to stop all thyroid meds because they can cause swelling so I stopped my NDT. Now I am in a bigger hole. I will try a little t3 to see if this helps.
Were you in thyroid meds at the time? Did you have to up them?

 

[qminati]

I stopped it immediately after I noticed the swelling as it wa so painful, so should I try to go back on it. It has been almost eight months ?
All the doctors I have been to have said to stop all thyroid meds because they can cause swelling so I stopped my NDT. Now I am in a bigger hole. I will try a little t3 to see if this helps.
Were you in thyroid meds at the time? Did you have to up them?

I missed the part where it has been 8 months. In that case I would not go near it again. You are blessed to not be addicted.

I personally got off of it using what I learned from the FPS course with Rob Turner. A couple weeks in we took a break from the course so I could withdrawal using what I learned. Gabapentin DESTROYS your metabolism, vitamins, and nutrients. Thyroid supplementation can easily backfire when you don't have the nutrition to support it. I would get bloodwork done and focus on nutrition. Supporting your thyroid function with food is how i got out of that whole. I do take a quarter tab of cynoplus every night. Its a small amount that is able to provide just a little support without backfiring. But ultimately, using cronomoter to ensure a balance of nutrients while eating metabolically is what got me out of that hole. Its not easy, but it doesn't backfire like a normal dose of thyroid can.

But I also wouldn't trust what the doctors are telling you. Your thyroid function is yours alone to evaluate. Trust yourself first. Doctors said it can cause swelling but did it cause swelling? Did you feel good while taking them? These are much more important factors than what a doctor said. Self experimentation is the only way i know of to get to the promised land, you can make mistakes, but you will learn from those mistakes. There will be no overnight fix for this. Only by trying things will you find your way. Read Ray Peats articles and listen to his interviews, trust the words that he writes himself or says himself before what you read on this forum. Maybe try emailing him...

 

[Ganne]

I missed the part where it has been 8 months. In that case I would not go near it again. You are blessed to not be addicted.

I personally got off of it using what I learned from the FPS course with Rob Turner. A couple weeks in we took a break from the course so I could withdrawal using what I learned. Gabapentin DESTROYS your metabolism, vitamins, and nutrients. Thyroid supplementation can easily backfire when you don't have the nutrition to support it. I would get bloodwork done and focus on nutrition. Supporting your thyroid function with food is how i got out of that whole. I do take a quarter tab of cynoplus every night. Its a small amount that is able to provide just a little support without backfiring. But ultimately, using cronomoter to ensure a balance of nutrients while eating metabolically is what got me out of that hole. Its not easy, but it doesn't backfire like a normal dose of thyroid can.

But I also wouldn't trust what the doctors are telling you. Your thyroid function is yours alone to evaluate. Trust yourself first. Doctors said it can cause swelling but did it cause swelling? Did you feel good while taking them? These are much more important factors than what a doctor said. Self experimentation is the only way i know of to get to the promised land, you can make mistakes, but you will learn from those mistakes. There will be no overnight fix for this. Only by trying things will you find your way. Read Ray Peats articles and listen to his interviews, trust the words that he writes himself or says himself before what you read on this forum. Maybe try emailing him...

How do I email Ray Peat?
I have had tons of blood work. I am low in about everything. B12, B6, C, magnesium, sodium, potassium, calcium are all on the low range. All other blood work looks pretty normal.
I am lactose intolerant so I eat meat, eggs and fruit. No appetite… I have to force myself to eat.

 

[qminati]

How do I email Ray Peat?
I have had tons of blood work. I am low in about everything. B12, B6, C, magnesium, sodium, potassium, calcium are all on the low range. All other blood work looks pretty normal.
I am lactose intolerant so I eat meat, eggs and fruit. No appetite… I have to force myself to eat.

theres a whole section here on ray peats emails. Find the section and they should have the email address.

i would look into fresh squeezed orange juice for some potassium and magnesium and some parmigiano regiano cheese for calcium and sodium. Those are the 4 protective electrolytes Ray Peat says are protective. Being low in all those is definitely a big issue. If you are low on calcium and eating meat then you probably have a bad calcium to phosphate ratio which is also not helping you. Cronomoter is free and can help you see a picture of whether your needs are being met and change things accordingly.

Learn how to raise your temperature also. This will speed up the recovery process, which wont be quick no matter what.

 

[Ganne]

theres a whole section here on ray peats emails. Find the section and they should have the email address.

i would look into fresh squeezed orange juice for some potassium and magnesium and some parmigiano regiano cheese for calcium and sodium. Those are the 4 protective electrolytes Ray Peat says are protective. Being low in all those is definitely a big issue. If you are low on calcium and eating meat then you probably have a bad calcium to phosphate ratio which is also not helping you. Cronomoter is free and can help you see a picture of whether your needs are being met and change things accordingly.

Learn how to raise your temperature also. This will speed up the recovery process, which wont be quick no matter what.

Thanks, I will give the above a try. I just read the attached by Danny Roddy. I have all those symptoms with the edema being the major one. Maybe the Gabapentin lowered my thyroid. Amd the swelling is coming from that. But every time I try to take it again I seem to get worse like more swelling and lower temps!

 

[Ganne]

here is the attachment

 

[xeliex]

Perhaps what you are describing can be histamine related as histamine tends to increase blood flow per se with heat sensations. Try benadryl to mitigate those symptoms.



Of course, work on a good foundation for health. Frequent meals to avoid stress responses, enough carbs and protein, etc..

 

[Ganne]

Perhaps what you are describing can be histamine related as histamine tends to increase blood flow per se with heat sensations. Try benadryl to mitigate those symptoms.



Of course, work on a good foundation for health. Frequent meals to avoid stress responses, enough carbs and protein, etc..

Would the gabepentin cause this to happen? I never had a histamine issue before taking it. Would taking GABA help reverse this symptom? I am trying to figure out how the gabepentin can cause this. I have not been able to figure it out. Some say it works like a CCB but in CCB edema
Diuretics often resolve it. In my cause they made it worse. The drug also caused me to have problems with my electrolytes. I can no longer tolerant alcohol or diuretics. I drink salt potassium and magnesium enhanced water all day. Without this I quickly melt down and feel cramped and emotional. What ever did this drug do to me?

I am on a Facebook page with others who have used this drug. So many of us have this painful edema in our legs and hands along with so many other issues. It has now been 9 months.