pregabalin, has anyone any comments on it?

[dawny]

hi guys been to docs this morning due to massive flare up n been described pregabalin, anyone else on it and are there any effects i should watch out for? cheers guys, my love to u all n plz tc xx

[chorley]

Hi Dawny

I have been prescibed Pregabalin to help with my RLS, my gp told me they are used to help with epilepsy as well as help with fibro sufferes, at the moment i am taking 100mg 3 times per day but we are still working on getting the dosage right for me, i have been on these for around 5 months and havnt noticed any side effects, however as i am not a Dr i cant say that there are no side effects with this medication.

Hope this helps, sorry for the long winded answer

Keep your chin up

CHORLEY

[dawny]

hey there chorley thanks for yer answer and no it wasnt too long winded lol xxhave they helped with the pain?

[chorley]

Hi again, no they dont help me with the pain, i am taking 100mg of tramadol 3 times per day for the pain, and so far so good they are helping

[dawny]

glad u r finding some comfort, tramadol didnt work for me, just had dihydrocodiene prescibed today, fingers crossed, tc and all the best hun xxx

[hellsbells52 in reply to dawny]

hI I have been on dihyrocodiene FB they are ok for the day time but at night i am 60mg morphine nothing seem to help if they dont help get your doctor to get in touch with the pain clinic as they can have a better unstanding of FB good luck

[Frannyfrog]

I was given Pregabalin last year for almost 18months with the dose gradually creeping up until I was 600mg a day, whilst I found it helped the fibro I gained easily two stone on it weight which I could ill afford to gain as obviously extra weight doesnt help with the fibro, It also left a foul taste in my mouth. Good luck with it

[vals in reply to Frannyfrog]

hi frannyfrog, im new to this site,but find that you live within my area,

i have been on it for about 3 yrs,i take 400mg twice a day and if needed another 200 before bed, i have recently lost a stone, as i also put on weight, but i think its down to not being acttive and depresion,. i eat more to try to make me feel good,choclate is my worst nightmare.

[Marky]

Yes, I am on 200mg twice a day. Main side effect is weight gain. I used to be on 300mg twice a day.

I have read articles which say weight gain is more likely when taking over the 150mg dose.

[Betty67]

I also gained weight I think for two reasons one I retained fluid and two I felt hungry all the time. I do sometimes still take one but not every day. Specialist said that was OK. Did not notice an improvement with sleep but I did feel hungover in the morning. So all in all would not recommend!

[ZoeH]

I was on 150mg a day for years before i was diagnosed with Fibro. It didnt help (to be honest i noticed nothing different) and when i was diagnosed the dose was (slowly) increased to 600mg. I hated it. I had awful migraines, i gained near a stone and half in just over a month and i would get the trembles in the morning. On top of that it did nothing to help with pain or sleep so i have been slowly coming off of it. Im down to 75mg and about to switch to Gabapentin. Both drugs are used to help fibro symptoms. Pregabalin is suppose to be the lesser of the evils. Most people wont have side effects on pregabalin but will on gabapentin, but the likelihood is one will work so if you don't have any luck don't worry, there is another option!

[lillylouise]

This was the first treatment my doctor tried for me, I was taken off it after only eight weeks as I was having breathing troubles ( gasping for breath) I also had severe swelling of my ankles and legs as well as weight gain due to feeling hungry all the time. We are all different, it just wasn't right for me!

[KEH85]

Hi this helped a little for my nerve pains in my legs and arms but the weight I put on by taking this drug didnt help my right knee which I'm waiting for a replacement. I put on nearly a stone and a half. I have heard you can put a little bit of weight on but thats alot for me as I am only 5ft 2".

[Louise09]

Hi Dawn, I have been on Pregabalin for a few months now and can honestly say it works for me. I am only on a small dose of 75mg, but can increase to 150mg when I feel ready!. I am also on Amitryptaline and Sertraline. I still get twinges and drop things when I'm bad.

Anything is worth a go if you are offered it and you are in pain.

Good Luck

Lxxx

[ginge]

me to. but they doubled my dose and i couldnt keep my balance, i was falling sideways.....it doesnt do a lot for me either.....good luck on it.....

[retiredpharm]

I was prescribed pregabolin at a pain clinic. I started at 50mg and then was supposed to build up to 300mg. I started off fine and it seemed to help but as the dose got bigger I found various side affects. My brain was in much more fog than before, I put on a stone in weight and I became very clumsy, my brain wasn't co-ordinating with my hands and sometimes my legs. Strangely enough , to cope better with visitors or going out I find two paracetamol work quite well. All the anti inflamatories I am allergic to or have side affects and the only other thing I take is 75mg of amitryptiline at night.

I hopr you have better luck than me

[fairycazzie]

Hia Dawny, Yeah i been taking them for about 6 months now maybe a bit longer, to flare ups not even being able to use my hands and the heads like time bombs.. They took a while to start working like wks! but they took the 'edge' from the nerve pain but have not cured it, I run a small business and was desperate, as i have tried Amitryptiline and Neurontin. I was taking the Pregabalin with codeine, the codeine does not mix for me so i take co-dydromol with them, you have to persavere with them and try put the side effects aside which i always have side affects, people think am drunk half the time! (Obviously not) You cannot drink with them either really i have no more than about a glass and half of wine now a days and so i do quite regular because if go out and drink say 2-13 glasses you get lots of side effects and the head is herendous!! so thats my advice. I still have really bad flare ups and non of the medication works at all and in tears sometimes (not just cos of pain but because it takes its toll on you) trying to play happy families with your kids and hubby and do household chores is hard sometimes.

Hope this helps.. Do not give up on them after say a couple of wk you must go longer, unless you get any severe side affects which you consider not normal. I also have worked in pharmacy for 8yrs so kinda have ideas. xxxxxxxxxxx( and i not got a diagnosis yet lol) huh

[fairycazzie]

blimey correction!!!!!! i do not have 13 glasses hahaha .. if you go having 2-3 glasses this is when you get bad issues! .. xx

[fairycazzie]

also yeah to all above, the weight gain. nearly a stone. Does not help sleep either and when flare ups it just pierces rite through and has no effect if you keep relaxed and do not do much physical then maybe more likelty to help. easier said than done, since i have to be on the go all the time! x

[CCShorty]

Hi Dawny, Ive had fms for 4yrs now and have had a range of meds for this. I was taking Pregabalin for 2years at quite a high dose, it did control the tremors I was having but did nothing for the pain. I did put on almost 3stone whilst on it. The only other side effect I had was that it affected my bladder and I was under the Urology department for water infections and ended up having to catheterise for a while. The Urologist said that it was down to the condition and that Pregabalin can make bladder problems worse. I'm now taking Duloxetine for the fms which I find suits me better and I'm on morphine patches for the pain. I hope that you find some help from this and wish you all the best,

x Claire x

[tish]

Hi was on them for about 2years did'nt take away the pain and put on loads of weight... coming of was horrid the worst side effects I have ever had.... Just hope you get sorted..x

[ShazzaN]

I tried gabapentin for my fibro and HS but found it made my head feel fuzzy more than usual and affected my concentration levels (im trying to do a degree), I also suffered palpitations and panic attacks as well as dizziness, so I stopped taking it. Please do not let these comments put you off though as they may work ok for you. Let us know how you ge on with them

Shazza N

[cherrypie]

hello all, im on pregablin and have been on it for about 18 months.... its good stuff for me and has helped my symptoms at night in particualar. i havent had much in tersm of side effects except a bit of weight gain but its not too bad, id rather be abit curvier than b in so much pain i cant function...... gabapentin made me a gibbering reck aswell as a gabbling one.

[dawny]

thanks for everyones comments and honesty, i will give them a go, i wish u all well xx

[66Amanda66]

Hi, i have been taking Pre Gabalin for about 5 years,before that i was on Gabapentin which is an older version, i dont think they helped much with the pain, My pain specialist is now trying to wean me off them slowly, and im having a really hard time coming off them, im getting anxious and having the shakes and loads of other side effects its really difficult to stop them and very dangerous to stop them abruptly.

While i have been on them my weight gain has been about 5 Stones !! they really do make you feel hungry so i would definately say proceed with CAUTION. From what i have read they dont really help that many people with pain and just contribute to feeling drowsy etc...My pain is definately no worse and im down to 50mg twice a day now.

Hope this helps, but obviously im not a doctor and neither are any of the pther people on here so id say go with what your doctor reccomends

[Marky]

Weight gain is the biggest side effect.

[mojoman]

I was under the impression that Pregablin can adversely effect libido in some people.

Am I correct? Or have I got my wires crossed?

I find it certainly helps me and usually helps the pain and makes me feel better all round.

I would be grateful for any info regarding the libido effects of this drug.

Thanks.

[dawny]

my doctor never warned me about the weight gain, about the libido, i havent felt in the mood prior to being put on pregablin, but actually felt fruity yesterday, suffering now though, good luck n all the best x

[paularose]

It's really interesting to read that so many people experience side effects and weight gain on pregabalin. I've been taking it for 6 months now. I've just built up to 400 mgs a day. I haven't had any side effets and my weight has remained stable. I've only been on the 400 mgs for a week though so I'll see if there's a difference in terms of weight gain in the next few weeks. My pain isn't so bad compared to others but the fatigue has been awful at times. I'm not sure that pregablin is really helping with that but maybe I just need a higher dose. Reading these blogs just confirms that everyone's different, will respond to different drugs differently and we all have to experiment in order to get the condition under control. I want that to happen now though and that's the frustrating part. I need to go back to work but can't while I'm having such severe fatigue crashes. Keep soldiering on xxxxxx

[Milynda]

I agree with the wicked hunger. I have been on pregabalin for 4 months. It helps my pain a great deal but I have balance problems and my muscles aren't coordinated. My hands are numb as well as my tongue and my vision is decreased. I do seem to have a constant mild headache but it is not bad.

[Jan101]

Yes just been on it for a week and it has reduced my pain. I was on gabapentin before and all it did for me was make me very tired and put a lot of weight on. But the change to this medication has helped a lot. I have just undergone injections in my spine and had vertoplasty that is where they put cement into the fractures in your spine. In October I am due to go back into hospital for another operation to cut the nerves in the lower part of my spine and also inject steroids where they cut the nerves. I know someone who has just undergone the same operation and they are completely now out of pain. But everyone is different so here's hoping that I also get out of pain. On top of this I have fibromyalgia and This medication has also help with that. I wish you all well and hope that you also can reduce your pain or be pain-free. 😄😄

[Steve49]

Hi.

Yes I take Pregabaline 2 * 300mg per day. I tried to come off it last year via the pain clinic.

This took 3mnts to do I the end, but I hit the roof.

Hence I'm back on it, due to my poor health I had to knock the reducing my meds on the "head"

Not a good "idea"

Steve