Coming off pregabalin

[GerddwrEryri]

I've been on pregabalin for a while and recently had my dosage upped. However it made me feel so sick. I couldn't eat and I was frequently being sick. I stopped taking it as I can't handle the side effects. I stopped taking it a few days ago and still feel really nauseous. I also feel quite dizzy and light headed. Could this be the pregabalin withdrawal?

Does anybody have any success stories of coming off it?

I came off a high dose a few years back, I did it really REALLY gradually over a couple of months. I asked my GP for lower dose (50mg and 25mg) pills so I could take them in different combinations to very gradually reduce - I was taking it 3 times a day and I was especially worried about stopping my evening dose as I had noticed that if I ever forgot to take that one I would wake up in the night really stressed and tense and unable to go back to sleep. I think I reduced each dose gradually with the evening one the last to reduce/stop.

It is possible but I would definitely recommend the slow and gradual approach! Once I'd stopped completely I was fine, no side effects and I've been off it 3+ years now :) Good luck!

Thanks Snorkmaiden. That might explain why I've woken in the night a few times then. I was sort of hoping just coming off them I'd be fine in a few weeks as I thought that'd be better than a prolonged sickness.

Was there any particular reason to chose to come off at that point?

The sickness sounds horrid, I can see why you'd want to stop more quickly! I stopped at that point because I was in a much better place than when I was prescribed them, and because I was a bit freaked out by some of the side effects - I didn't have sickness but they really reduced my tolerance to alcohol (I accidentally got so so drunk/sick on 2 glasses of wine), they seemed to affect me physically - things like tingling hands and difficulty swallowing, and I didn't like how badly missing a dose affected my sleep. So as I was feeling a lot more stable, I decided to give coming off them a try. I still take escitalopram for anxiety/ocd and mostly get on pretty well with that :)