Pregabalin

[Orangesandlemons77]

Has anyone experience with this please? I'm on it for pain, but think might want to come off it.

I've had clients take it.
It has lots of side effects and some people hate it. It works very well for others. Communicate with your doctor.

Sorry, written down that is not very useful.
Go on your gut instinct, talk to the prescribing doctor.

My DM had it and struggled. Please talk to your doctor about any issues you think you're having, there's really no need to suffer with it. Be open and hopefully they'll be understanding.

My ex was prescribed Pregabalin as a 'miracle drug' for nerve damage/pain after an accident. He remained on it for more than a decade. It is horribly addictive and totally destroyed his memory and mental health, causing suicidal ideation, paranoia, catastrophic thinking and rage. If you search Facebook and online forums you will find many support groups for people whose lives it has ruined.

Coming off Pregabalin needs to be a very slow and careful tapering process. He had to be supported to do so over a significant amount of time. People have experienced fits from going cold turkey so finding a supportive doctor to guide you through the withdrawal journey is important.

Our pain specialist told us that many GPs are trying to discreetly move people off Pregabalin and described it as a death sentence to anyone with pre-existing mental health issues. Those years he was on and off Pregabalin were the most scary and unpredictable of my life and we eventually learned that it had been masking his recovery too. Please follow your instincts and come off it. Good luck.

(We were repeatedly told that the drug was not causing any of these symptoms and his dosage was even increased until we finally found a specialist who was familiar with the notorious side effects and told us the truth about them.)

I am on a very low dosage for nerve pain along with muscle relaxants.

The muscle relaxants made me feel v weird and spaced out when I first started taking them but not really noticed that with pregabalin.

I ran out of my prescription and didn’t take it for a couple of days and didn’t have any side effects.

TBH don’t think it is doing much pain wise either!

I was on pregabalin for years for nerve pain. It dealt effectively with the pain for me. I eventually decided I would stop taking it, and I weaned myself off it very very gradually. It was only when I stopped that I realised how clear my thinking was without the drug. I hadn’t realised how fuzzy it had made me feel. By the time I stopped my nerve pain had decreased to being manageable without any regular medication.

I'm on a low dose for neuropathy. I took it previously for a year then weaned myself off it by missing out dosages which was probably stupid without GP guidance but I survived. Clarity increased. Back on it as Covid sent the neuropathy haywire. Think medical marijuana might be better for pain, will see. It's been banned in northern Ireland maybe due to 'Gabby' abuse or addiction. I had some initial wooziness on it but no other problems.

Thanks for the replies. I'm on it for neuralgia from shingles. I also have depression which I'm on prozac for.

It's making me quite down and sedated and think the headaches are as bad as the pain (which incidentally is still there just dulled)

I've only been on it a month or so but increased to the max dose of 4 X 150mg going to reduce and have got 75mg capsules also.

Ouch that must be very painful. I think it comes in 25, 50, 75, 100 & 150 mg doses. That's quite a short period of time to be pushed up to the maximum dosage of 600 mg but the GP must know what they're doing. I'm on 100 x 2 but did titrate myself down from 150 x 2 over a couple of months. Maybe ask GP for some 125 (or 100 plus 25 mg doses) and replace one of the 4x150 dosages for a while, see how you go & ask for another dosage reduction so you're on 2 x 150 & 2 x 125 then 1 x150 & 3x125 and keep going down like that slowly down in 25mg decreases. You need to find the balance between pain reduction and feeling zonked out! Good luck op.

My ex's problems began about six months after being put up to 600mg so I think you're being really sensible to reassess and begin to taper. He was already quick to anger so the rage was just an escalation of that but the depression he suffered after going up to the maximum dose was new.

By the end - when we discovered it was all connected to Pregabalin - there were so many antidepressants added in just to keep things vaguely balanced that it had become ridiculous. Please do get advice and support for your taper and be really gentle with yourself as you drop doses. Take care.

I thunk it has been me getting it pushed up quickly as the pain has been pretty bad and I told them how it wasn't managing it so they kept putting it up.

(I have had recurrent shingles most recent on the nerves in the face but also all down right side, arm, side etc)

I now realise at the highest dose it may not get rid of the pain but just dull it a bit / take the edge off.

I was quite pleased as someone with a history of MH problems I was having my pain taken seriously. Now I'm feeling a bit worried.

The main side effect is lethargy and I'm not motivated to do things like swimming or even a walk which I would previously use to help with MH.

And feeling zombified / fuzzy headed, oh and weight gain. My appetite does seem to be going down though maybe that was just to start with.

My GPs are very quick to respond which is good, I asked for the lower dose yesterday via the online prescription service and within an hour it was with the pharmacy and I was able to get it yesterday.

I asked for the previous dose of 75mg as I have only been on this higher dose for about a week so hoping I can just go back to it. I will see how it goes and maybe speak to them next week.

One thing I have noticed is I have been waking up with a fast heart beat almost like a panic attack and it takes a while to calm down. I'm wondering if as it wears off in around 6 hrs as we sleep for 8 it has worn off causing this perhaps.

I do have a history of psychosis when under severe stress so need to be quite careful. I didn't realise it could be a problem, felt it was for pain rather than MH.

Hopefully this post herpetic neuralgia will improve with time and I can come off it.

'think' oh and mistakes like this another side effect.

Not sure why MN has hid my post to look at it. Oh well.

Oh palpitations too are a thing like you can feel your heart beat and flutter more, sometimes pounding feeling.

And like a kind of tension and anxiety (but I thought it was also used for anxiety) and forgetting what you are doing, staring into space while doing dishes for example. I was a bit like that anyway but now it is worse. Doing simple things like showering has become a thing to think about whereas before you would just well, do it.

Oh and short term memory is terrible, yes overall it is not good is it.

I've managed to reduce the dose for several days now and feeling a bit better / more human.

Thanks for the replies again it was really helpful

That's great @Orangesandlemons77. Sensible move

That's wonderful news, @Orangesandlemons77 , really admirable that you've come so far. Good luck with the rest of your taper.

Thanks. Yes I have gone back to the 75mg capsules, spoken with the doctor, it has been quite hard this week but getting easier.

I think it has helped that I have co-codomol for pain and fluoxetine for depression as well as both of those have risen up - moods to start with but that seems to have improved.

It is good to not feel so much like a zombie though.

they have said could then start to space out doses more so from 4 to 3 then two morning and evening then go from there.