I do not abuse meds. I do not understand how a med can give you a feeling that would lead to abuse because I personally have never experienced it. But I know that I am unusual: for instance, I can stop any med cold turkey and have done it many times, including with benzos, and I do not experience any withdrawal. Withdrawal, like abuse, is something I read about a lot but cannot understand because I have never personally experienced it.

When i need to up, reduce, stop, or change a med, I just tell my psychiatrist and he respects that. The only time he advised me to be careful was when I stopped Gabapentin cold turkey. I do not remember why I did that. I probably believed that it was contributing to weight gain. So he told me that sudden cessation of Gabapentin can lead to a seizure and that I need to be careful. I am back on Gabapentin and for now I plan to stay on it for life, both because it ameliorates AP-caused EPS and because I was told by the a hospital doctor almost 6 years ago that Gabapentin improves sleep architecture.