Pregablin instead of increasing fentanyl and morphine dose

[Jay_86]

Hi can anyone help me I suffer with chronic round the clock pain due to cystitis of the bladder I'm prescribed fentanyl 75micrograms morphine and gabapentin for pain among other things for toilet frequency I have been on the same dose of fentanyl and oramorph for six months and they are not working as well as they used to I would rather not increase the fentanyl or morphine dose as I'm close to the max on both someone has said to ask about pregablin instead of gabapentin has anyone been prescribed pregablin and does it work well for nerve pain thanks

[cazzyme]

I am on prevailing and have been for quite some time to help with diabetic neuropathy pain and have felt it very helpful. Also on fentaynl patch.

[cazzyme in reply to cazzyme]

Sorry meant pregablin

[misty14]

Hi Jay

Pregabalin is the newer version of Gabapentin and is slightly stronger because it gets into your body quicker. As with Gabapentin you start on lowest dose and gradually build up till you get right pain relief. What dose of Gabapentin are you on?. Hope I've helped. X

[Jay_86 in reply to misty14]

1500 mg a day for the gabapentin thank you for the reply

[misty14 in reply to Jay_86]

Hi jay

Good luck with reducing Gabapentin and trying Pregabalin. Hope it works well for you. So sorry about your bladder. Tough decisions. X

[andyglasgow2016]

I'm on pregabalin 300mg twice a day

Can leave you feeling a wee bit spaced out but does help me with the pain.

As stated by misty14 it's built up gradually by the doctor. It's a good one

Gabapentin can in some cases affect your bladder. I was told this as I was having issues going. So for 18 months they blamed gabapentin....

Went to urologist eventually after constantly being referred and never hearing, as they said it was meds. When I went and had tests... Bladder was not working and was too late to do anything so it's surgery eventually to replace it with a bag I'm 29.

Just shows that the doctors always use this disorder as an excuse for everything when bladder had no relation!

God bless

Andy

[Jay_86 in reply to andyglasgow2016]

I'm still trying to decide whether to have my bladder removed and a new one built from my appendix but it's a big op and lots of potential complications plus there is no guarantee that it will help my pain I wish you all the best in the future your condition and hope you find the right course of treatment

[Oma3 in reply to andyglasgow2016]

I am so so sorry.

[Jay_86 in reply to Oma3]

Thank you

[RAYJAYC]

I've been on Pregabalin for approximately eight months now, slowly increasing the dose up to 250mg twice a day. I find it REALLY helps with nerve pain. I hasn't disappeared but the change in severity is very noticeable!!

The max dose is 600mg in a day and obviously people get benefit from different doses but it's definitely worth swapping from Gabapentin. It does need slow increases though so you'll probably need to discuss how you'll manage in the interim period with your GP/Consultant.

RAYJAYC

[LRae221]

yes it works well for nerve pain well it does for me. alledgedly it has less side effects than gabapentin. I was on mst morphine tablets and oral liquid morphine as well and have now been able to cut out the liquid and reduce the tablets by 66% since being put on 300mg pregabalin twice daily. Best of luck.

[ginger31]

I've found pregablin helpful for neuropathic pain although its effectiveness reduced after a few months. The thing I've found most effective (on the advice of the pain clinic) was adding in a low dose of Duloxetine, currently 60mgs. I don't have bladder problems but the patient info says it's sometimes used to treat incontinence, I certainly need the loo less frequently.

[Jules_p]

Hi there

I suffer with chronic pain and I'm also on fentanyl, tramadol and pregablin, I must say since adding pregablin to my pain management plan it's been a big help and is very effective.

Best of luck, I hope it helps

Jules x

[Flamey49]

Currently I am on Gabapentin for nerve pain and I have put loads of weight on with it. My pain clinic has suggested Pregablin, can anyone tell me please if Pregablin has weight gain as a side effect?

[Sweetfa22]

I gained horrendous amounts of weight on gabapentine so I gradually switched to pregabalin. Unfortunately this turned me into a raging psycho sp I had to come off it. I'm now on 80mgs oxycodone per day plus diclofenac and Oxynorm for breakthrough pain.

[Jay_86]

Because I have been on the same dose for so long they aren't working as well as they used to the doctor said about going on 100 micrograms per hour of fentanyl but I would rather try something else because I have no idea what will have to happen when I have been on the maximum dose of fentanyl and oramorph and they no longer work as well as they do when a dose is increased I have been prescribed morphine for over three years now and fentanyl over two

[C1ue1ess]

Good luck with the Pregablin. I've been on it for 12 years & I've increased the dose twice in all that time. I am also on a lot of other pain medications & they all work together. It may be tricky getting dose right, but you'll get there. Do you see a pain management specialist?

To the person asking about increasing weight with Pregablin; I haven't had a problem, however I believe it is listed as a known side effect.

[Jay_86 in reply to C1ue1ess]

Yes I have seen three different pain management specialists so far

[Jay_86]

Yes I have seen numerous pain management specialist. I have no idea what will happen if I'm put on the 100 microgram patch and get used to the dose. But without asking a doctor I imagine that I will be put on diamorphine intravenously. I suffer with chronic cystitis of the bladder. I have had two operations so far and have been told that the only other operation I could have that might help involves. Removing most of my bladder replacing it with my appendix and re-rooting my urethra to my belly button. Where I would have a valve fitted to pass water from. It's about a six hour operation and there are no guarantees that it will ease my pain it will put strain on my kidneys and I might not ever be able to pass water normally again. So I'm still thinking about it for now. I'll have a look at the link you posted and thank you for the help and reply take care

[Jay_86]

I have never been on a corse the only technique I use is controlled breathing during pain spikes of 7.5-9. I was on 900 mg of gabapentin in 300 mg capsules I thought they were 500 mg till I just checked an old prescription. I was prescribed duloxetine in place of amitriptyline but had bad side effects either due to stopping the amitriptyline straight away or the duloxetine itself causing side effects. The specialist I was seeing told me to stop the amitriptyline for the duloxetine but other doctors and specialist I have spoken to since have said I should have been told to taper off amitriptyline. I still take amitriptyline to this day 50mg a day. In regards to my diamorphine comment in my last reply I said that because a friends mother was prescribed it iv. She had cancer though so if your saying I would have to go hospital for it perhaps that is the case unless you have a terminal illness. My pain specialist has never mentioned ketamine but I know from Googling my condition that there are a lot of cases that have been caused by ketamine abuse. Apparently it is highly acidic and damages the bladder so it would not be a good switch in my case. The dose of oramorph I take is between 80-120mg a day depending on how bad my pain levels are. I was put on zomorph tablets for a time but found oramorph more convenient in being able to take a higher or lower dose depending on how bad I was

[Tom87]

Hi jay as time goes by your body gets used to the drugs in my own opinion the higher you gobwith tje doses the longet it will take to ween off the drug.ibwould try and ask for a different pain med tbh rather than go higher once you get ti the highest and your body becomes used ti it you will have to ween off them and its not a nice place to be in its bad enough on codeine and pregabalin and tramadol.fentanyl is the strongest controlled i think.i hope this

helps