Help weight gain with pregabalin,or amitriptilyne, or both

[stenosis49]

hello, ive been taking both these meds now for about a year for nerve pain but I was wondering if anybody else has gained weight taking either or just one of these meds. I used to weigh 10 and a half stone but have ballooned up to at least nearly 12 stone I bet. I carnt bear to look in a long mirror at myself as my stomach is so bloated all the time I look 8months pregnant though ime not pregnant that's for sure. The meds help with the pain but would like to hear from any other members who also have had this same problem and what helped to try to reduce this unsightly weight gain. ime battling against the odds hear as exercising and eating healthy don't change anything, not that ime a keep fit fanatic. if I lost a pound in weight I would gain 2 with the meds ime taking. How can we feel good about ourselves , glamorous and sexy with a big but and belly, feeling like a summo wrestler ha ha. HELP PLEASE SOMEBODY.

[celtic2746]

hi there im on.amtriptilyne i have put on a bit of weigh since ive been on it but when i saw the doctor he just said to watch what i eat because its the meds that makes you eat more ! unless.its a lot of weight youve gained i would see if cutting down would help if it doesnt go back to your doctor and ask him if he can put you on something else ! take care david !

[stenosis49 in reply to celtic2746]

Hello celtic2746, its good to know that men reply to my posts as I am female, yes these meds can and do cause weight gain ime aware of this. my dr first prescribed gabapentin but this takes a while to work and needed something that would work sooner, but he wasn't willing to put me on pregabalin at first because of the cost, and I wasn't going to wait and see. thankyou for you reply

[talgarth]

Like you, I have been taking Pregabalin for around 18 months. I too have gained in excess of 2 stone in weight the majority around the abdomen, it makes me look pregnant too, trouble is I'm a bloke!! Other side effects I have include muscle jerks and hallucinations. I think its time to really look at the effacy of this medication with a view to having some other, over the years though there's not many I havn't tried. I have heard of many people with this 'weight gain' taking Pregabalin and no apparant way of avoiding it, so cannot give any worthwhile advice other than letting you know you are not alone.Take care.

[stenosis49 in reply to talgarth]

Thanks talgarth, I have a good friend and he's male and for as long as I have known him he to looks pregnant but doesn't take pregabalin or amitriptyline but we just laugh this of. so when we are put together side by side we just look like a pair of summo wrestlers. Afraid to change meds as my pain continues with these ime on now and have nerve blocks etc. etc. feels like nothing will stop this constant pain caused since female surgery back in 2012,but hey thanks for your post and its good to know we are not alone.

[Katemeg36 in reply to talgarth]

I really worry my mom’s on pregabalin and her stomach is sooo swollen her arms too and legs,,she takes 300 mg.she looks like pregnant it makes me worry also excessive gas

[Copper283]

Hi I have just been through what you are going through. I was on pregabalin for 5 months for chronic back and leg pain but I had to tell my Consultant I was coming off it as the side effects were horrendous particularly the weight gain I was just ballooning. I do exercise every day but I'm not as active as I used to be due to my present condition but as soon as I stopped the Pregabalin the weight fell off. I also take Amitriptyline daily and had no side effects with that other than feeling sleepy which is why I take it. Hope this helps, go back to your GP

[gailmlear in reply to Copper283]

Hi, I know this post from you was from a year ago but I am in that place right now. I've been on Pregabolin & Amitriptylene for 18 months and have gained over 2 stone! You say in this post that you were going to come off the Pregabolin. If you did please can I ask what you are taking now and if coming off the Pregabolin enabled you to lose the weight? I am fighting a losing battle, trying to eat healthily and exercise as much as my body will let me with Fibro. I've been following this for 2 weeks and I've only lost 2 pounds  I'm so low and pissed off with being so uncomfortable and disgusted by my fat! Can you help please? Thanks Gail x

[Pippins2]

Yes Pregablin is well known for weight gain ,also water retention which leads to swelling and weight gain too.

[paulapips64]

I'm on pregabaline and ive put on nearly 2 stone too I am dieting now so hoping to lose it if not I am coming off the meds x

[CWG2210]

I hate to be the party pooper but I am on both amitriptyline and pregablin as well as many others including codeine, low dose morphine for neuropathy that is not still isolated but is under control and I have not put on weight, actually lost a little!! That might be my hyperactive lifestyle as a teacher, never sit still! I have been on for well over a year. Hope that gives some people hope! Calvin

[Hidden]

Hi I have been on 900mgs of pregabalin and 200mgs of amitriptyline for 4years and I have stayed the same weight because I have watched the food that I eat and I cannot exercise because I have CRPS in my right foot,

[Chawner in reply to Hidden]

I'm on about the same meds and have CRPS also but have put a shit load of weight on. I'm wondering if it's just one of those things for some of us that we can't avoid. But should be able to it really is depressing.

[shoulders]

Hi , I do sympathize with you, I'm on gabapentin and zomorph and the old belly looks like I'm a heavy beer drinker ! Not being able to exercise due to the amount of back pain, I wish I had an answer for us all. Must admit my appetite doesn't help, but you've got to eat. I hope you find a way , good luck and best wishes, pete

[LynnB18]

Hi stenosis 49 I've got the same problem with weight....can't bear to weigh myself but I can feel it and tell by my clothes. I was put on pregabolin but had awful reaction so am now on 2,100 per day of gabapentin plus duloxetine and sertraline. Pain still absolutely terrible. I have got multiple sclerosis and was finally diagnosed in Feb last year. Went privately as my doctor insisted for years that it was osteo arthritis and totally ignored me when I said I had MS. I go for physio weekly at the MS therapy unit but, if I'm honest, that's about it for exercise. I am now trying very hard to stick to my gluten free, whey free, wheat free and lactose free diet but its a bummer! I wear jeggings which stretch! Please let me know how you get on.

Best wishes and good luck, Lynn

[Chawner]

Hi there un fortunately I have had the same problem , I was about the same weight as you and in just around 3 1/2 years u have doubled in size ! I feel gross ! I did try coming off my meds and it didn't help at all,the pain was so great that then the stress put the weight in.

Sorry it wasn't a positive response but I'm still looking for a way out of the sumo suit too ....

[Suem1960]

I've been on pregabalin ,oxcarbazepine, venlaflxine and others for 13/14 yrs now and my weight has increased by about 40% I have Trigeminal neuralgia oxcitital bone neuralgia and other back/knee/neck problems I find that when I go to pain clinic they just say I need to lose weight ( no shit Sherlock! ) but every time I try and reduce the meds I have a flare up ??

My Neorologist is sending me to see a surgeon re; Gamma knife brain surgery and if it works I would be off meds, but I've already had a mvd and it didn't help?

Sorry to vent,

[Hidden]

I'm coming off pregabalin, partly for this reason. I also had horrendous bloating and weight gain. Have been on it 5 years for chronic neck and back pain and it helped initially - particularly with referred nerve pain down into my hands and arms - but I think I mustve become tolerant to it. If Im gonna be in pain anyway it might as well be off the meds rather than on. I'm going to be withdrawing gradually, as I've heard it can have bad side effects if you stop taking suddenly! So no advice really I'm afraid other than trying to come off it, but if it helps with your pain then it's a tough decision to make

[stenosis49]

hello loufoy, i feel the same way as you do. despite taking pregabalin and amitriptyline i continue to have rectal pain and have since a rectocele repair back in 2012. ive had 2 ultra sound nerve blocks and a ct guided nerve block but they haven't helped at all. i believe the surgeon who did this repair along side a bladder prolapse and a tot procedure was clearly in experienced and i have suffered ever since. ive been thinking about trying to reduce the meds partially because of weight gain and still have pain anyway with the meds. i just wonder if the pain is worse without the meds. please keep in touch i would like to know how you are feeling when you reduce your pregabalin. may be we don't think this is helping until we stop taking this . begin to wonder myself if we have become tolerant to it. ive had nothing but pain pain pain for 3 years now and it so gets you down. i feel like telling the consultant who does the nerve blocks to inject the anal sphincter rather than my buttock as this is where i feel the pain.

[Hidden in reply to stenosis49]

Hi,

You asked me to let you know how pregabalin withdrawal went... Here's a link to my new post about it. It won't make cheerful reading though!

healthunlocked.com/painconc...

[Hidden]

If weight gain is a problem with those two drugs, then you need to switch over to another class of drugs. I did Savella... it's a good drug to wipe out pain but I had some other problems with it so I ended up on Lyrica again. I could eat a lot on that... so I have to diet and write down all foods that I eat to hold myself accountable. My choices are diet or pain.

[Hidden]

Savella doesn't cause weight gain.. it's a little hard on the tummy but works great on pain.

[gailmlear]

Hi, I know this post from you was from a year ago but I am in that place right now. I've been on Pregabolin & Amitriptylene for 18 months and have gained over 2 stone! I am fighting a losing battle, trying to eat healthily and exercise as much as my body will let me with Fibro. I've been following this for over 2 weeks and I've only lost 2 pounds I'm so low and pissed off with being so uncomfortable and disgusted by my fat! Are you still taking both meds or have you found something else that works? And have you managed to lose your weight? I would be so grateful if you could help me with any advice please? Thanks Gail x

[stenosis49 in reply to gailmlear]

Hi there gailmlear, thank you for getting in touch its nice to know there are fellow followers still reading the old posts I wrote. I am still on pregabalin and amitriptyline unfortunately. Think I will be on these meds for life due to nerve damage back in 2012.What you say in your post is exactly the same as I feel. I can not shake of this weight gain and despise looking in the mirror at all costs. Ime sorry I carnt be more positive but as someone once wrote weight gain or pain and there's no way ime gonna suffer in pain for the rest of my life.I to am discusted by my fat and it seems to me that whatever we try to do we have to accept the fact that the meds have caused us to look and feel the way we do. I am disgusted how I look 3yrs on but family and friends have to understand why we look this way and accept us being this way.

[Yolzy]

Funny how everyone says they look pregnant. ..look at the name if the drug "preg"abalin 😯😊😁

[stenosis49 in reply to Yolzy]

hi there yolzy, what a surprise u reading this blog from 3months ago. where I work we have a pregnant lady first time mum who is due in sept and I look bigger than her and ime not pregnant. ime out for a meal on sat coming with my so called family ,brothers and sisters and there partners. this is a rare occasion as I never see them or hear from them its only because my mum died in 2014 and then my step dad in 2015,so have no living parents now and this is the reason we are meeting up on sat just to say one final goodbye to them both. because of the pregabalin and ammitriptylene I feel conscious of this weight gain and my look alike pregnant stomach although I have a nice loose top to wear. ive been dreading this meal with them as they haven't seen me in a year. not since the funeral a year ago.

[hele22]

I have gained 4 stone in weight as same you with a large belly.i was 8 stone all my grown up life ,I was only 9 stone when I was fully pregnant .then dropped ,back down to 8 stone,untill I was given lyrica for nerve pain,my weight within a month.shot up to ten stone,then the pain got stronger my weight now is twelve stone.im really worried br=ecause my highth Is only 5 foot one inch.never in my life have I ever been this weight.i don't want a heart attack because of these pills. all I want is drs to sort out why I'm in chronic pain since my 40s.i twisted my neck at a job at work I did,drs theh and now shrug it off,

[stenosis49 in reply to hele22]

Hi hele22, thanks for your reply ,wow that's a big weight gain. I know this has a big impact on our daily lives as we struggle to juggle weight gain v pain.

[Mango07]

I have put weight on , my stomach and upper body feels swollen ,, it not nice, I have never been 11 stone!!!!!!!!!! Help what can I do, I exercise watch what I eat etc........ Can't exercise like I used to spin running just can't do it with fibromyalgia. Like I said before consultant diagnosed you then, don't tell you all side effects,

[Madball]

I have just came across this and now I think I may have found out why my belly has went massive I dont take amytripiline but I take high doses of pregabalin, I as always getting water retention in my legs when on gabapentin but when I switched it wasnt really bad but suddenly my belly has went huge just my belly though I have an appointment with the dr incase it is something else but now I am thinking it is those the only thing though I have been taking them for a long time and its only recently its happened.