What side effects do you suffer with taking Pregabalin

[scunny278]

I am on 300mg twice daily pregabalin ,I am constantly cold, my eyesight has altered dramatically. according to my eye test yesterday hey ho new glassesx2 . I am up at anywhere from 4 30 to 6oclock in the morn no matter what time I go to bed . When I get up I stagger around like a really bad drunk I cant open my eyes properly for about half an hour they feel like a bucket of pebbles in there.The worst one is weight gain I have put on 15pounds in as many weeks.I think I feel worse than before they put me on any medication,I am so depressed I don't think I can cope much longer xxxxx

[Morwenna]

awww hugs yes on pregabin I am one 450 mg daily ....thats 150 mgs 3 times a day sorry not clear :/ ......( I am told i can go to 900 mg daily before the pain clinic is open to me ) . that will be the next step if and when i reach there ) and have exactly the same as your self but i was like that before i started them it takes me around 1 to 2 hrs to dress and wake up :/ but i just swing with it or i would go mad ... I find not fighting it and sleep when you can it best. Hubby cant understand a night where you dont sleep but stay stress free with it sending love look after yourself xxxxxxxx PS if i am going out i do nothing until the outing seems to work for me

[scunny278 in reply to Morwenna]

Hi Morwenna my psyco doc thinks cos 600 daily was helping a bit he is going to reduce dose 550mg daily to help me lose weight duhhhh couldn't make him see that by reducing it I would be in more pain again I think he thought I was losing it cos he upped my trazadone to 500mg daily.He sed he would see me in three weeks to see what I thought about it a month later and still no app problem is I am losing it.My hubby is fab bless him I don't know what I would do without him.Thanks for the hugs and may I return them with love xxxxxx

[Morwenna in reply to scunny278]

aww bless you yep have lots of lose flabby bits especially around the tummy .....so glad you have a partner that understand a bit it does help .. I am stuck what to say now re weight as it is the eating is a issue shall i eat no dont feel like it so I had very little and often .. tummy dosnt like big helpings :/ say every two hours I am sure a dietitian may help you also see if you can be referred to them unless you have already tried it big big big megga big love xxxxxxxxxx

[Morwenna in reply to Morwenna]

oh oh oh forgot to say you must be in charge of it .. you ring for the appintment dont leave it to them you stay in charge here good luck xxxxxxx

[charlie_red]

Hello,

I'm taking 200mg of Pregablin 3 time a day, just started it around 2 months ago. I was at the pain clinic today and he is wanting to increase it. I'm having problems with sleep too, I can't get to sleep because of the pain & when I do I wake around an hour later and then I'm up for hours, no matter if I go to my bed at a reasonable time, with relaxation music & reading my book. It's starting to become a big problem, I can hardly function and have just started a new job!

C xx

[haribo36]

Hi there,since I've been taking pregabalin,I take 150mgs three times a day I have put on 2 stone.I have lost some weight through going to slimming world but I've been over eating over summer and I've put some weight back on again.I used to have aweful sleep problems but I find that the dosulepin I take at night helps me to sleep.Dispite this I still feel so tired during the day and like a zombie sometimes,probably down to the side-effects.Its hard to know what is fibromyalgia and what is med side-effects!I suffer with depression as well and have periods where I feel like I can't cope any more as well so I can understand how you feel.Just take each day at a time,discuss your worries with your g.p,get as much help as you can,lots of rest when you can and try to do nice things for yourself.Iam going to look into doing an adult course maybe floristry and some voluntary work.Ive also just joined a gym as I would like to try Pilates and aqua aerobics.Dont know if I can manage any of it but heck iam going to try.I do hope that you get some relief,sending you lots of gentle hugs xxxxxx

[Maladjusted]

I didn't get along with Pregabalin. It changed my eyesight, which was often blurred, I felt hungover, had dizzy spells, and also gained weight.

It did help me sleep, but did little for the pain. My doc told me to stop taking it, but didn't advise cutting down first. The withdrawal symptoms were hell, much worse than the side effects, but I stuck it out, however then had no medication at all, other than codeine, which did little to help.

A couple of months later I lost my mother and went through a really painful flare up. I saw a different doctor at my group practice, who gave me Duloxetine, which suits me far better. My eyesight is fine again, unless I am tired, and I am slowly losing the weight I gained with Pregabalin.

You should go back to your doc and insist on a medication review, tell him how you are feeling, and ask what he can suggest instead.

Good luck

Em x

[Marky]

I take pregabalin 600mg daily and have put on over three stones in weight over the last couple of years. But it does help with pain.

[Tibby3a in reply to Marky]

Yep I have too. My GP say's it's because I must be snacking and if she followed me she would see I cheat. More weight = worse pain, more pain = more weigh.

[Tibby3a in reply to Tibby3a]

I was weighed in 2009 and I was 14 stone (891kg). In 2011 I was 16.5 stone (105kg), in 2012 I was 18 stone (115kg), in 2013 I was 19 stone (121kg) and two weeks ago I was/am 21 stone (133kg). I asked for a tablet called Duloxetine and was told no as a psychiatric doctor could only prescribe them (wrong information and another GP fight), this has helped many people to lose the weight.

[Sookie]

I was gradually putting on weight with Gabapentin but now I have been put an amytriptaline and I can see the weight piling on. I am so fed up, I now feel like giving up. There is no help. I tried changing doctors and got a worse one. I really feel I have come to the end now. I can think of nothing else now other than suicide. My life is just not worth living anymore.

[Tibby3a]

Hi. I take 300mg of pregabalin in the morning with my breakfast along with four 50mg of tramadol, two 500mg of tranexamic acid to help with the chronic endometriosis and paracetamol to control the heat through my body. I get cold at around 12.30pm and at work I have to put on my coat and gloves (I am a teacher and it looks very strange that I am fully dressed in my sessions. After 2.30pm I get stiff and I can feel the medication wearing off, my eyesight has deteriorated so much that my prescription glasses cost me £800 in April this year.

During the day I can drift and it takes a lot to keep me focused on one task at a time, I feel like I am a walking zombie. I forget more than I can remember now and concentration some days is nil. I tried for two days to come off the medication and oh my God I have never been in such pain in my life, even if I try to cut down on Sunday and Monday my days off work again the pain is more than I can cope with. Flare ups are a part of life and I have shouted into my pillow on a few occasions for God just to take me.

Lack of sleep at night causes fatigue throughout the day and on more than one occasion I have had to get into my car at lunchtime and have a sleep or else I would be useless during the afternoon. I have been with students and have forgotten what we are doing, I try and make a joke of it but inside I feel like I've eaten broken glass.

I have tremors in both hands and I have lost count of students who have asked me and I scared due to my shaking again I make light of it but the devastated feeling I have in the pit of my stomach and heart burns.

The double vision is worrying as I drive for my job as a peripatetic teacher, being stuck in the most horrible traffic jams in London I fear the worst on my good days and I can't explain it on my bad days when everything is multiplied by 100 (sorry I am a math teacher).

It's not the symptoms as such as the lack of relief I get from taking so many tablets. At night I take 300mg of pregabalin, four 50mg tramadol two 500mg of tranexamic acid to help with the chronic endometriosis, 100mg of amitriptyline and paracetamol or co codamol to control the heat through my body.

So daily life as I know it changes like the weather...

[nanaber]

I'm on 300mg x 3 daily I've put on over 2 stone in the two years I've been taking it. I have thought often of stopping the drug. When I try to cut down the symptoms I was taking it for come back much worse than before I started. Maybe I'm addicted to them now. There's not much I can do about it. I'm also taking an anti d.

[Yorkshiregirlie]

Firstly, I am so sorry to hear of all the difficulties, pain and weight problems everyone seems to experience on these drugs. I was exactly the same and went from 10 stone up to 16.5 stone! All I was ever told was that the weight gain was an acceptable downside to the benefits. In my case, totally wrong! I felt even more lethargic, seriously depressed and wasn't getting any relief from the pain, while my sleeping was almost non-existent. Eventually, I decided enough was enough and against my Rheumatologist's and GP's advice, slowly came off all prescription drugs. It was hell and for the space of about 3 months I really did want to die. However, now I am free from the drugs and their effects, every bit of excess weight has dropped off. My joints don't hurt as much, my sleep has improved slightly (on a good night I can now get about 4 hours), my depression has lifted although I still have bad days, my eyesight is no longer deteriorating and I seem to have more regularly occurring periods of lucidity (ie, the fibro fog isn't with me all the time now, just a few times a day). So, while I still suffer rotten bouts of pain on a daily basis, I self-treat using a positive mindset, positive affirmations relating to my general health and well-being, meditation, accepting help from wherever and from whomever offers it and research, research, research to find new ways of dealing with my condition naturally. I know what I'm doing is a drastic solution but if, like me, you are fed up taking powerful drugs that don't do what they say on the tin, it may be worth a punt.

[scunny278]

thanks to everyone who took time to answer my question,thankfully my doc listened and is taking me off pregabalin I started reducing the dose age yesterday he has done it so in 12 days I will be off them but what he will put me I don't know I am on 250mg trazadone so don't have any problems sleeping I did wean off tramadol cos I had been on them 10yrs so doc decided I should just use them as and when II needed a bit extra but now I am on full dose again and not helping so don't know what I will be like coming off pregab and they have effected my eyes just got my new glasses on Saturday but I think I will take the advice of a lot of members and start slimming world tomorrow will let you all know how I get on love and bubbles to you all xxxx