PREGABALIN REACTION

[PIRATE185]

Hi just to say that after roughly 4 weeks of a daily 3x100 mg PREGABALIN I find that I am having problems when going to the toilet in that I am constipated and as a result have to press. because of this I am reducing my daily dose to 1x100 pill. and already after one day my legs are starting to get sore again. Just when I thought that with a combination of Pregabalin and the Tens machine was the answer. We all live in hope dont we that this pill or that pill will do the trick but at what side effects.

[stampede187]

Just a thought, but maybe a regular laxative could be provided to help with constipation rather than having to be in pain? During my last flare up I had a similar situation after increasing both tramadol and cocodomol to help with the pain and was prescribed a laxative to help.

And yes, side effects can have a way of kicking you when all seems to be going well; when also on pregablin I unfortunately had water retention in my legs as a side effect which led to other issues and had to come off them.

I hope you find a good balance for the pain. Take care.

[teadrinker]

had similar gut-related problems with pregabalin (& most other pain meds, espcially those with codeine). As a result I have become the world's biggest consumer of dried prunes & apricots taken daily with breakfast. I also drink plenty of fluids and move about as much as possible - all these things help with constipation and you might find that you don't have to reduce your pregabalin dose. Problem solved!

[Hidden]

Hello

One of the worst medications that I remember is Codiene phosphate, I still have memories of them,

When I had an operation a couple of years ago they lost my script and gave above to me I had them before and was bad and refused to take them so I got told off so I took them, no happy memories

All the best

BOB

[gullwing]

Hi, I discovered your question quite by chance, I hope that the details I shall reveal will be of some comfort to you and all those who read it........I have been taking pain killers on a daily basis for over a decayed. Currently, alongside other analgesic and opoid drugs I take prescribed Pregabolin at a daily dose of 600mg.............Prior to Pregabalin I would have been taking Gabapentin................Through-out the time I have been taking the daily doses, I too reported the constipation and after discussion with my consultant I was prescribed "Fybogel" which is a fruit flavored gentle remedy to the discomforts of constipation those common side effects

[PIRATE185 in reply to gullwing]

Hi Gullwing and thanks for your reply, In order to try and get back on my usual toilet visit I am going to cut my medication to 2x100 mg a day and will see how this goes.

[hamble99b in reply to PIRATE185]

lactulose is very good.

[Mavismac]

Prune Juice is the answer. Might not be to everyone's taste but it does the trick. I'm on 2 x 75 mg which I know is less than a lot of you, but I've had a fair few stomach issues and with those and the pregabalin, well suffice to say as long as I take the prune juice, I'm fine!

Has anyone else had a side effect of aches and pains? Knees have pains, back has pains, and I can't wear my rings anymore, my knuckles seem to have swollen. On the plus side, I don't have a lot of the symptoms of my complaint, chronic regional pain syndrome, anymore, although I'm told it will take a long time on pregabalin and amatriptalyn (spelling) before I'll be anywhere near being out of pain on walking. I wonder too if you should really cut it down without seeing your doctor?

[Mavismac]

And I should have said drinking plenty of fluids too!

[Hidden]

Jeeze but dealing with this drug Preabalin is a nightmare if you ever try to come off it ,the stomach problems are just the beginning because they kill the pain well enough but you swell up and problems get worse due to extra weight which is in my case what escalated the symptoms so much more that I have tried to come off loose weight and hope the lessening of pressure on back and knees will somehow compensate, and it's a battle alright and boy is it hard and although I still take one strong opioid like stuff that helps for about 4 hours .

But if you get benefit from them then don't stop , but I'm just at the stage where I have lost some weight and I do think it is helping stopping Pregabalin due to other side effects and my legs are not as swollen which help's in moving.

I wonder if anyone else has tried to stop taking them , or cut right down and I wonder if they have managed , or was the pain too bad again, finally the psychological problems of stopping taking them is something I would not advise and as i'm certainly no doctor and can only speak about my personal issues with trying to cope with the up's and down's of very powerful side effect's on an already suffering psychological shock ridden psyche.

But in my case the pain from extra pressure on spine and all other joints made me want totry something that doesn't just mask the pain and loose my already failing leg's to so much weight on my body that was never more than 10 and a half stone and up till about 13 stone and maybe more.I mention all that not just for vanity, you do get a lot of benefits from stopping eating and eating just snack stodge.

My gp told me to move more but I could only move so much , but I do think I'm at last beginning to feel the benefits, I hope my selfish rambling may help others to maybe weigh up the benefit's of trying to change a little and if you get something from it then I will be glad, but it is early day's and I still have a long way to go but it's a start

[MysteryIllness]

In addiotion to always having a bottle of water at hand to ensure i drink a lot of water, I also have bran mixed in with my breakfast - not the most exciting taste on its own, but mix in a reasonable serving and that also assists with a regular 'soft' stool? (having a bottle of water is effective way of ensuring you drink more than just getting a drink when thirsty)

[kebsa]

i take pregabalin and i am on a number of other medications that all have the same issue of constipation- its made worse by the fact i am heelchair dependant and lak of mobility also causes constipation and i have MS problems that affect both bladder and bowel function so i cannot afford to get consipated unless i want to end up requiring a manual removal!! but if i get to happy go lucky with the laxatives i have no control so i tread a fine line to say the leasat!!

keeping you fluid intake is essential and is a good general health thing anyway then i make sure i have a decent intake of fibre in my diet to start with, so wholemeal bread instead of white- a good bowle of porridge or muesli in the morning ( there are laods of qute yummy high fibre low fat cerals these days, you know the rest with high fibre diet (assuming you have no problems that stop you taking hihgh fibre of course. fresh fruit, vegetables are always a help

then when it comes to meds once you have worked out whay you respond to best the ideal thing is to have a set plan of action for instnace, under normal circumstances going to the toilet daily is my normal so that is what i aim for - others only usually go every 2nd day so that would be where to aim. there are lots of different products so it can be a bit of trial and error working out what you respond best too lactulose was mentioned and that is very good and very reliable. it works by drawing fluid back out of you body into you bowle to soften things and it is not something you body will come to depend on (as can be the case with some laxatives)

i sue a product that is used by a lot of people with disabillities but i am not sure if the same brand name will be available in the UK. the product name is MOVICOL, it is a powder that comes in sachets- the active ingredients are mainly macrogol with some sodium bicarb, sodium chloride and potassium but the macrogol is the thing that does the job! it comes in lemon or chocolate flavor and is not unpleasnt and is ok for diabetes. if i havent gone today i will take one sachet, then if still noti will go to 2 sachets the next day if not then i wil go to 3 up to 4 sachets. if your a person is completley blocked (impacte as medically diagnosed) they say that up to 8 sachets can be used under medical supervision but to be honest i have rarely had to go above 2 and that was when i had had higher doses of morphine after i spilt a jug of boiling water in my lap and had quite severe burns

some find they feel a bit bloated with it but only initially although i had one person i knew who had irritable bowel syndrome and he uses it because it really does work better than other things he has tred but he says he always feels bloated when he uses it

its worth checking out anyway

[PIRATE185 in reply to kebsa]

Kebsa Hi thanks for all that you wrote as my dosage of Pregabalin can change owing to the extent of my leg pain ie a hard busy day at work realy takes it out of me today so far I have had 2 x100 mg Pregabalin and 2 Cocodamal 30x500 mg and my legs are still sore so I will have another Pr and 2 co tablets later. Other days 2 Pr and 2 Co would do me> I hope that today for you is a good one we all deserve a good day from time to time .

[kebsa]

thanks for the kind thoughts- . I was not familiar with the brand Cocodamal when i posted first but have just seen that its codeine and paracetamol(acetiminophen) that 30mg/500mg is something that will very definately affect constipation, far more so than pregabalin- its not so much the paracetamol (500mg) its the Codeine part. Codeine like morphine is a derivative of the opium poppy -in fact that combination of 30mg/500mg is equivalent to approx 5mg of morphine. I would strongly suspect that that is more likely to be the culprit for the constipation.

it does seem tough to have to take less pain relief medication from fear of constipation if the pain is bad enough that you needed to consider taking the dose. have you tried taking a simple over the counter laxative on the nights that you have had to take the meds rather than waiting to you run into problems- you should be able to find a fine line so that you can treat your pain without having to add the other discomfort of constipation.