Pregabalin

[Kingsley09]

Is there anyone out there that has had success with pain relief with this drug and not had to keep upping it my dr has given it to me but I’m am frightened to take because of all the bad things I keep reading about it on the internet I have been given it for nerve pain and it helps a lot but am frightened to keep taking it because of what I am hearing so would like to hear of some success stories please

[Hidden]

Been taking it for years. It's the only drug for me that is sooo beneficial. Yes lots of horror stories around but everyone is different and what suits one person doesn't suit someone else.

The only thing is that you can become dependent on it so never just stop without tapering it down really slowly.

Hope it's helpful for you too!

[Heltadelta in reply to Hidden]

Hi. Yes it is helpful for me, however I can only take 2 tablets 3 times a day or else I do get side effects with my bladder. I wish I could take more.

Heltadelta.

[Kingsley09 in reply to Heltadelta]

How much is that in total a day please

[Heltadelta in reply to Kingsley09]

That's 600mgs a day.

xx

[Kingsley09 in reply to Hidden]

How much do you take each day and thank you for replying I am going to give it a try as my nerve pain is getting so bad

[Hidden in reply to Hidden]

I have been taking pregablin for 3 months now, morning and night, nerve pain has subsided although I still get back pain, also co codamol and naproxen, I find pregablin alongside fluoxetine is a good aid for me, Now less anxious and can enjoy more things than I used to, have had some weight gain and tend to have a nap late afternoon, which I am learning to accept/enjoy. As most say it’s definetly a case of trial and error, what works for the individual? Best wishes

[MamaLamb in reply to Hidden]

I am so happy to read your reply as I have been taking pregablin for nearly a year now for a bad back (300mg three times a day). I have suffered from anxiety for many years and take sertraline for this which slightly helped but never enough to have a normal life and now combined with pregablin I am able to do so much more and am slowly beginning to enjoy life. I have had weight gain too but being overweight all my life I am able to handle this. I also took Naproxen to start with and that combined was like a sleeping pill! So I am happy to say pregablin works for me! Best wishes!

[Madlegs1]

Everyone reacts to medication in different ways- it's something you have to trial.

Most of what you get on the internet is bad mouthing. If something works nobody complains.

So take 86.35% of what you read on the Internet with a large grain of salt.

You say it works for you. You've got good advice above re a sensible approach- so stop panicking and get on with your life!😅

Good luck.

[Hidden]

I'm taking 200mg in the morning and 225mg at night. I used to be on the full doses of 600mg a day for a very long time but I lowered the dose last year until a level that my nerve pain is under control but don't take more than necessary

[Kingsley09 in reply to Hidden]

Thank you for your advice

[miked46]

I've gradually increased to 2 x 200 mg a day, over nearly 3 months. There are plenty of scary stories on here and pleased to now see some positive ones. I initially felt very drowsy but now have few problems. Back pain has improved.

[Lifeisapain]

I’m really sad to see this when there is scientific evidence of the damage Pregabalin/Lyrica does to the brain.

A few months ago I was happy with Pregabalin for pain relief and so would have sung it’s praises.

However, I also thought I had early onset dementia (I’m 47) and have asked many times for a brain scan to show what damage has been done only to be told that it is menopause. I can barely string a sentence together some days and get very simple words muddled up. I still have days I when am articulate and intelligent but find learning knew information excruciatingly difficult.

Additionally I developed sjögrens (causing serious eye damage) meaning that I have to put drops and gels in hourly even at night. My hearing in one ear is poor although there is nothing wrong with the ear itself. The woman testing me believes that the messages are not getting to my brain (i.e brain damage).

I’m tapering off from 225mg x 2 daily. This has been very difficult as it is very addictive and the withdrawal symptoms have been awful but I am determined to succeed. I’m down to 50mg at night but have hot flushes and sickness each time I take less.

I had to go through withdrawal years ago before I started taking Pregabalin. I was on tramadol and Butrans (morphine) patch. The withdrawal from Pregabalin/Lyrica is just as bad!

Yes we have to make up our own minds about the drugs we take but please do some more research. Losing your brain capacity is no fun at all.

I wish someone had warned me of the issues it could cause. However much it has helped.

[Kingsley09 in reply to Lifeisapain]

It sounds like you react badly to these type of drug I have taken co codamol for years and also amitriptyline and have had no side effects but I have friends who cannot take either of them and my daughter was given amitriptyline one time and started hallucinating even on the lowest dose but recently my nerve pain has got really bad and I can only take 10 mg amitriptyline as I have afib and higher dosage makes your heart race that’s why my dr has given me pregabalin to try, and like someone has said recently you only hear of the ones that it’s not working for so I hope I don’t come up with the problems you have had but thanks for your answer and good luck to you

[Hidden in reply to Lifeisapain]

Sorry it has affected you so badly, I have done research in the past and with everyone medication there is a risk of bad side affects. It's a choice of not having a quality of life right now or a small risk of not having a quality of life in the future. For me the benefits definitely outweighs the potential risks. Without the medication the nerve pain in my face and spine are out of control. It's a personal choice that I make.

I do agree that for people who take it and not see much improvement to their pain that it's not worth taking the risk. Too many people take a huge amount of medication that does not work for them and why have all the chemicals in your body if it's doesn't help. Have you seen an improvement in your symptoms now that you stopped taking the medication?

Exhaustion and pain influences your mental capacity as well

[Jayjay46today in reply to Lifeisapain]

I really wish u would not post such a worrying message it's like u want to scare people associated with pregablin we are all different

[Lifeisapain in reply to Jayjay46today]

I’m not trying to scare anyone. Yes everyone is different. However, there is increasing evidence that Lyrica may cause significant problems that many doctors aren’t aware of yet.

Being one of the people who has had issues with Prefabalin (Lyrica) even though at first I thought it was the best thing I’d tried; when opinions were asked for, I gave it.

When I became concerned I joined a Lyrica survivors group on fb. It’s highly addictive (they don’t tell you that) and Can cause irreparable damage. Yes the weight gain was tolerable but the damage to my eyes and memory, less so.

[flamenca1]

I have been taking Pregablin for years. It helps with nerve and back pain. When I tried to stop my back pain came back. I just take 75mg in morning and 150mg at night. I also take 1 Baclofen. I don't seem to have a problem.

Everyone is different, you should try it and see how it works.

Good luck.

[MrsM7]

You have received some good advice. But it comes down to seeing if it suits you. I could not manage without it. I ran out recently and that proved to me how much it helps me. Of course I don’t like the side effects but they outweigh the benefits. That’s what it comes down to in the end. Good luck

[Kingsley09 in reply to MrsM7]

Thanks for your advice

[Emma2017]

Hi there, yes I take it and after switching from gabapentin to pregabalin I am happy with it. I do not get total relief from my nerve pain but find it helps to take the edge of it and as I take a higher dose at night it does help me sleep (if not all night)

[Kingsley09 in reply to Emma2017]

It’s so good to hear positives thank you

[numps]

I have been taking Pregabalin for 10 years now and it has helped me a great deal! I take 100 mg three times per day. I did try decreasing the dose once, but the pain in my back/leg was awful.Along side that i take cocodamol four times per day and also Duloxetine for the nerve pain.I think it`s just a case of giving it a go. We are all different.Good luck anyway.

[Scotspain]

iv been taking lyrica now unbranded pregabalin (bloody expensive stuff 120 euros for 56 50s when i ran out in malta) i am on 4x100mg a day which works miracles on ny sciatica even my 240mg of oxycontin and 4 x 20mg oxynorm dont dull nerve pain as much as lyrica iv put on a good bit of weight thats a side effect im willing to put to the side benefits far outweigh the belly compared to old script of 3600mg a day of gabapentin 400mg pregab is much more effective

[Jayjay46today in reply to Scotspain]

I take it u purchase Ur meds online (fellow Scot ). Ps not Avin a go just curious

[bob1616]

Kingsley09,

I suffer from deteriorating discs w/arthritis beginning affecting L1-L5 & T12 and I've had 2 cervical disc extractions with a metal plate inserted in their place and another deteriorating cervical disc still with arthritis in it as well. I think the 2 removed were C5 &C6 and C7 is the one causing pain. Along with this I also suffer from some fibromyalgia along with peripheral neuropathy caused by nerve damage. Because of the deteriorating discs, I suffer from chronic pain and constant pain from he peripheral neuropathy. The neuropathy causes both extreme burning and jolts of electrical pain shooting through my feet, legs and hands. I also suffer from chronic migraines-cluster headaches-headaches. I've gone as long as 9 1/2 months of daily headaches of one of the 3 listed ranging from a couple of hours to non-stop for 96+ hours straight. Because of all of these conditions combined I have to take an assortment of meds. I've been through injections, physical therapy, massage therapy and long term pain management.

Now you asked about Pregabalin. I'm currently taking Lyrica (Pregabalin) 150mg twice a day along Nortriptyline HCL 25mg 2 @ bedtime for the neuropathy and fibromyalgia and the nerve pain. For pain management, I also take 500mg of Naproxen twice daily and Hydrocodone-Acetaminophen 7.5-325 twice daily. I also have another batch of meds I have to take daily as well for other things.

But back to the Lyrica, I was on it about 5 years ago at the dosage (2 x 150mg) I'm currently taking again. At that time, the only side effect I had was weight gain. I was on it for about a year before a change in insurance companies and they put me on gabapentin eventually 3300mg daily. That however didn't work anywhere as well as the Lyrica. Back in Jan. '18, my current insurance carrier has again put me back on Lyrica 150mg twice daily in lieu of the gabapentin. I'm having both good and bad results this time around.

First the good news. With the Lyrica (Pregabalin), the constant stabbing pain in my feet and hands has for the most part disappeared. Also, the burning during the daytime while wearing shoes has decreased significantly. But for the not so good news on Lyrica (Pregabalin). While the pain is less than 10% of what it was, during the night time while sleeping, the burning in my feet and legs is significantly greater to the point of waking me up and forcing me to walk the floors to calm down the burning. But I've noticed that I'm having vision problems to the point of not being able to read a newspaper or book. It also affects my being able to make out the computer keys. The also causes me have more headaches from the eye strain. I see my doctor in a week so I'll have to discuss this to see what she feels we should do.

Why it is affecting me this time around whereas it didn't the first time I was on it, I don't know. I wasn't on the Hydrocodone-Acetaminophen nor the Naproxen so I don't know if they are affecting how the Lyrica works. There's the possibility the side effects will lessen in time but that remains to be seen.

Personally I think it's worth trying. It may take some adjusting of dosages to find the exact dosage for you.

Good luck.

PS: My vision is being affected now so I hope that what I've written makes sense without missing words or spelling errors.