pregabalin

[gingerbirdrosie7]

am having same problems with pregabalin, which I understand is same as gabapentin, only took 28x 25mg caps over 21 days in july and I was addicted, , withdrawing slowly, down to .75 of 1 ml. its a killer ,have never felt so ill in my life, know what I want to do,but havn't got the guts to do it, have already lost my life to this Edited By Admin

[rosewine]

I am so sorry to hear about your struggle with Pregablin. Have you ever had trouble with extreme withdrawal symptoms on any other drugs? Do you feel open to explaining what your main withdrawal symptoms are? I am on Pregablin and did once try to come off it but it was the increased pain more than anything that made me go back on. I did feel rather nauseous and had a bad headache and a bit of a funny tummy but I hadn't done it very gently so that was probably my own fault. Did you want to come off it because it wasn't working with pain relief or did you not like the way it made you feel with bad side effects?

Many years back when they dished out Ativan as though it was Smarties for sleep problems I was advised to come off it when I was rushed to hospital with something totally unrelated and of course they didn't know much about coming off things like that then and I went Cold Turkey and boy was I ill. I learnt later that that was one few people managed to successfully come off but I did in the end but I honestly don't know how I got the courage to do it and that is one drug I wouldn't touch with a barge pole as they say. I have recently come off DHC Continus within a 2 week period which was a bit rough but not unmanageable so I know that i do not have an addictive personaility so with the Ativan it was the drug not me.

Because of the abovedan I say that I can wholly commiserate with you. I sincerely hope that you manage to keep on reducing the dose. Have you been given anything else to take in the mean time or has this frightened you off taking any drugs.

Soft hugs.x

[gingerbirdrosie7 in reply to rosewine]

hi lovely lady, I just want off it, I knew after the first cap I didn't want to take it, it freaked me out, was just about jumping around the bed so agitated, but was told I had to take it or else, had read all the side effects, but was told its very rare for people to have the side effects, so I took it, was supposed to help me sleep, but it made me worse, reducing the dose has made me feel worse than ever, mainly abdo pains and general aches and pains where I never had them before. plus I am like a drunk andy pandy and horrendous burps, feel like I have run a marathon. can hardly stand. back up is paracetamol, not a lot of good, also addicted to 1mg valium 3 times a day, doc prescribed, then for some reason a psychiatrist came to house and said I had anxiety, this would help me sleep. was anxious after abdo op had been cancelled 3 times was addicted to ativan back in 1977 after heart attack. no smoke, no drink, taken off, like you cold turkey, finished up in hosp for 6 months, weighed 5.st 9lbs when went in 9st 5lbs when came out saw esther rantzen thats life, someone questioned about these little tabs, recognized myself in same position, went to see doc and transferred to valium, came off quite easy , addicted again in 2007 after same recurring abdo op. adhesions on bowel after hysterctomy, in 1978 , bowel and colon damaged during op. same thing january this year. pregab comp different, can't see an end to this, , hope this makes sense am so agitated right now, when you get to my age they expect us all to be stupid and senile, hence the ps.trist, I was outgoing person, enjoyed life with my family and friends, smart, well dressed,loved driving my suzuki jimny, jumble sales, car boots, I'm a people person. have lost everything, physical and mental wreck. I don't look the same, my speech is different,slurred, at hosp a couple of weeks ago a nurse asked me where in Ireland I came from, I was born and bred in yorkshire. asked for doctor appt 2 weeks ago, first appt sept 26th .tks for caring to contact me, please keep in touch, it's comforting to know that someone cares. xx rosie

[TheAuthor]

Hi gingerbirdrosie7

I am so sorry to read that you are suffering with this issue, and I genuinely hope that you can find some resolution and relief to the problem. I have pasted you a link below from NHS Choices relating to addiction, so I hope that you find this useful:

NHS Choices

nhs.uk/Conditions/Addiction...

The particular issue has been quite big recently and many medications are now classed as restricted medications and only available after regular consultation with a GP and / or not available on repeat prescription. With this in mind, it may be a good time to discuss this with your GP or Medical Specialist and see what help they can offer you with overcoming particular drugs and being prescribed alternatives that you will not get so addicted too?

I want to wish you all the best of luck.

All my hopes and dreams for you

Ken x

[gingerbirdrosie7 in reply to TheAuthor]

it's been a really bad day, freaking out, meds not helping, am more legless than usual, so much pain, have eaten, but had to force myself, feel so sick, belly bloated and full of wind, mega burps , can't help thinking they missed something when they did keyhole, had this twice before, exactly same symptoms. drinking peppermint t. have been thinking of calling 111, but it's not life threatening, just drugs related, just so painful. doc should be in surgery tomorrow will try for a home visit. tks for taking time to message me, it helps to know that someone cares x rosie.

[TheAuthor in reply to gingerbirdrosie7]

Hi rosie

I am so sorry to read that. I was wondering if you have access to the 'out of hours' GP service? As you could get a GP to visit you tonight to see if there is anything that they can do to help you?

Please do not suffer in silence, as nobody should be left in pain this way!

Please take care

Ken x

[Michelle88]

I work for a drug and alcohol treatment agency and see an increasing number of referrals (mainly from GPs) for people having problems with prescribed medication. I questioned whether the pain clinic would be better placed to assist but they don't have the experience of addiction and withdrawal that we can offer. It may seem like an odd place to go for help but may be worth finding out if your local provider can help.

I wish you all the very best of luck. I too would like to come off pregabalin and nortriptyline but fear the pain increase likely to follow.

[gingerbirdrosie7 in reply to Michelle88]

can you tolerate this drug and any side effects?, I have lot of s.e. listed plus a lot more not listed, have spoken to drug company but they don't offer any help, I knew straight away it was not for me, but felt I was bullied into taking it, withdrawal is on a par with side effects, a dose does not give any relief. hope we can find the answers we need, .x rosie

[Mdaisy]

Hello gingerbirdrosie7,

So sorry to hear you are so low and experiencing such issues. Please know we are here if you need to talk but also if you need the Samaritans are at the end of a telephone [phone]. If you feel distressed please do not hesitate to ring them to discuss how you are feeling. Have you spoke to your GP about your problems?

I do hope you feel better soon and sorry you have not had any benefit from Pregabalin in fact the opposite.

Hope you feel better soon

Emma

FibroAction Administrator

[Mdaisy]

Hello All,

Just some information about Pregabalin & it's use for Fibro;

Anti-convulsants used in the treatment of Fibro include Pregabalin and Gabapentin. Pregabalin (Lyrica) was the first drug to be officially approved for the treatment of Fibro by the American Food & Drug Administration. It was originally developed as an anticonvulsant and is the more modern form of the similar medication Gabapentin (Neurontin). This kind of medication was then found to be useful in the treatment of neuropathic pain. As well as helping pain levels, some Fibro patients have found that it can help with sleep and some other symptoms (Lindsey Middlemiss, FibroAction founder & chair 2009)

fibroaction-public.sharepoi...

The article below also talks about studies involving people with Fibro, which may be of interest;

journals.lww.com/anesthesia...

More information for all members

nhs.uk/medicine-guides/page...

I thought it was worth mentioning I have taken Pregabalin 300mg twice a day for many years, I've had a baby and stopped the medication as per GP instructions and had mild withdrawal symptoms.

I think it does depend on the person and I'm sorry to read others have had such awful experiences but to be a balanced discussion we must remember some people take it without adverse effect.

Best Wishes

Emma

FibroAction Administrator