What Causes Confusion After Gabapentin Withdrawal?

Posted on Fri, 20 Jul 2018

Question: My dad is 89 and recently underwent surgery for spinal stenosis after surgery he experienced a lot of confusion and delirium that lasted about a week and seemed to clear up. He has been on 600 mg of gabapetin for over 2 years for facial nerve pain. His primary doctor suggested that he stop taking the medication because he seemed tired and he thought the gabapentin might be the cause. After being off gabapetin. For 24 hours he became confused and almost catatonic he has been off for 2 weeks now and has improved but still is so quiet and confused and just out of it. Is this caused by just stopping gabapentin?
YYYY@YYYY

Answered by Dr. Ajay Panwar (58 minutes later)

Brief Answer:
Metabolic causes need to be ruled out.

Detailed Answer:
Hi,
Thanks for being on healthcaremagic.com.
I am Dr.Ajay Panwar,a neurologist, here to answer your query.

No, it should not be like that due to stopping Gabapentin. If he is still delirious, he should undergo blood work including serum electrolytes, blood sugar,calcium, kidney & liver function tests.Metabolic abnormalities may be the cause.If everything comes normal, a brain imaging(MRI) might be required to rule out any intracranial abnormality.

Hope that helps.If you have any further questions,I shall be glad to have you in follow-up.'

Regards

Dr.Ajay Panwar,
MD,DM(Neurology)

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Vaishalee Punj