Coming off of Pregablin - side effects

[Lh27]

Hi I’ve been on pregablin for about 5/6 months and am currently on a dose of 300mg twice a day for the last 2 1/2 months. After speaking to the doctor and discussing the side effects I’m still feeling and the fact it’s not helping the pain I am changing onto a new medication. I have to wean off of the pregablin but I’m a little worried as have heard you suffer side effects and headaches. I understand everyone is different but would be lovely to hear that people haven’t suffered when weaning off of it.

Thank you x

[Kernowdot]

I’m currently on pregabalin and think I may be in the same boat as you.

What medication are you going on to?

I had side effects when coming of Amitryptiline

[Lh27 in reply to Kernowdot]

I’m actually going back on to Amitryptiline as the doctor wants to play around with the doseage (my previous doctor put me on a low dose and when that didn’t help put me straight on pregablin) nothing seems to help at the minute though. I hope you get your medication sorted too

[Cat00 in reply to Lh27]

I've come off both Pregablin and Amitrityline for pregnancy, several times. My advice is ignore the pace of removal the GP gives you and do it much more slowly. When I came off really slowly I had no withdrawal side effect at all. I would take off 100mg a week of Pregablin, so that would take 6 weeks and I was on 150 mg Amitrityline I came off that by 10 mg every week. Its slow but it worked well, whereas the GP gave me 2 weeks to come off both, which was horrible esp. the Pregablin. I don't sleep without Amitrityline so that was fairly unavoidable though!

[missvenus in reply to Cat00]

hi cat00, Sorry to interrupt your discussion on withdrawal just need to let everyone know that ran out of duloxetine for a few days and had really severe withdrawal like never before, so everyone on that medication please seek advice do not just stop taking them as really bad experience assume most meds for fibro the same when trying to come off!

[Fra22-57]

I was first told to reduce by 50mg a day which made me so ill.I was sick and my husband had to put arm around me to take me to bathroom.My go said hospital was wrong and gave me a plan to reduce by 25mg every other day in morning then the following week do same with evening dose then match the days up the next week.did take me a while to get from 450mg to present 350mg but was so much better.wish you well with what you do

[Lh27 in reply to Fra22-57]

Thanks guys, think I’m going to have a chat with my doctor again before I start as she said to just cut to 300mg a day (half of what I’m on) for a week and then stop altogether. She wasn’t my normal doctor.

[Stray]

Hi I was on pregabalin for 9 months I didn't like being on this medication, for a couple of months it helped with my back pain but after 2 months I felt strange on it as though I was going crazy, I was taking 150 mg daily, which I lowered to 100mg daily then to 50mg I stayed on 50mg for 3 months but made the mistake of just stopping it and I felt awful anxiety and panic attacks I also had a urine infection at the time so it added to my side effects, I was put on Sertraline and this helped me feel better but it was slow, I wont ever take that pregabalin again, it may suit some people but not me, good luck, remember these withdrawal symptoms will get better slowly you just take one day at a time

👍😇stray

[Jacjai]

Took me 6 weeks to taper from 600mg to 50mg, it was very difficult dealing with the withdrawal..aches and pain, feeling flu like symptoms, headaches, insomnia..I've been off them over a year now and I lost a stone without even trying, I was only 9st at the time and now I'm 8st..which I was always that weight from the beginning. My energy has a gone lot better and I'm sleeping a lot better these days too.

I would never recommend these medications to anyone to be fair because the doctors don't explain how addictive these medications are, it hard enough living with chronic pain let alone adding more problems to it..hope this helps, I was on them for 1 year before I came off them..all the best..x