Pregabalin

[Memmy]

How long does it take for pregabalin to work. Im taking it for 7 days and Im up to150mgs but at night my legs are still very bad. Should I persevere?

[Hidden]

It should work in a reasonably time - say a week or two, but don't hold me to that. It may be the case that the dose needs to be increased. My GP reckons that Lyrica only starts to be effective at the 150mg mark. I'd give it another week then see about upping it. I had a bad habit of racing through drugs very quickly moving up the dose before claiming them as useless. I take a slower approach now.

If you are able to source and use without harm then you could use cannabis to get you over the titration period.

[Memmy in reply to Hidden]

Thank raffs, I feel as if Im in a cloud not a nice feeling and Im already on 150. I'll try for a bit longer

[Hidden in reply to Memmy]

Most side effects go after a few weeks, it can be tough but worth persevering. Good luck.

[Memmy in reply to Hidden]

I dont know what to do as I am getting no relief at night from the legs and Im like a zombie in the day. I dont think I can carry on like this for more weeks. Its as if Im not taking anything. How much do I have to take to feel relief? Thank Raffs. Should I take tramadol or codeine with it as maybe that should help. However I dont want to keep on taking extra medswhen Im completely on pregabalin.

[involuntarydancer in reply to Memmy]

I was going to suggest you take an opioid on a temporary basis to boost the effects of pregabalin while you wait for it to kick in when I saw you are contemplating this anyway! I would definitely give the pregabalin 6 weeks or so and would probably try going a bit higher to see if you can get a dose that works. Judging by a lot of the posts on here, it can take quite a bit of tweaking before pregabalin hits the right spot. You sound at the end of your tether though and need to get some sleep - lack of sleep will actually make your symptoms more acute. Therefore I would look for a temporary opioid prescription. Don’t forget to ensure your serum ferritin remains high - at least 100 if you can.

[Memmy in reply to involuntarydancer]

Thank so much

[Memmy in reply to involuntarydancer]

What dosage of pregabalin should I go up to. Im on 11 0 at the moment and I feel like a zombie

[involuntarydancer in reply to Memmy]

I'm not really qualified to advise about dose. I seem to recall I did not go past 150mg but I think there are others on here on higher doses. I did feel like a zombie when on pregabalin initially. It's a long time since I took it but I think these symptoms did improve after a while. I imagine it's not really what you want to hear but it is early days yet as pregabalin can take a lot longer to really become effective.

[Shumbah in reply to involuntarydancer]

Hi involuntary dancer what do you take now ?

[involuntarydancer in reply to Shumbah]

I returned to mirapexin about 18 months ago BUT I would not advise this for others. I would much prefer to be on something else but pretty much nothing worked for me for one reason or another. I keep the mirapexin to a maximum of 0.088mg per day and I concentrate on keeping my iron levels as high as I can. I take breaks from time to time when I use kratom which works up to a point for me (better than oxycontin). I also use kratom for the odd time that the mirapexin needs a boost.

I have no scientific basis for this but I think that I am probably slightly less prone to augmentation than others. Typically I need a high dose for any drug to take effect (both for rls and non-rls conditions) and I took a long time and a very high dose of mirapexin before I augmented previously. I have no idea how long it will work for me ...

[Hidden in reply to Memmy]

+1 on involuntarydancers remarks - in both posts and add that you may need to top up on your sleep, (may you say MAY need to top up on sleep!!!!), OK so you WILL need to top up on your sleep.

If you can, put off any major decisions for a few weeks - apart from a new mind altering substance floating around your system which may or may not be effecting your decision making you are going to be sleep deprived and that will be negatively impacting on your ability to think.

Sleep when you can. This may feel like an insult or a stupidly obvious thing to say depending on where you are coming from but when things were bad for me sleep wise I pushed myself to stay awake during the day/evening, (until that option was taken from me!), the erroneous thought being I would be tired enough to sleep through the RLS - I have been too tired to open my eyes or stand up yet not tired enough to get away from the restlessness. Grab an hour or 5 minutes where and when you can - dinner/tea breaks at work, going for a poo, waiting to pick some one up. Like with meditation and mindfulness there are a huge number of opportunities to do this (if your body allows) when you really look.

If you work can you take some leave days? Can you jig your hours around so you can sleep when things are better? Maybe change what tasks you attend to. Explain to colleagues what you are going through and ask for a little extra understanding while going through this, (when I worked my boss and co-workers were fantastic in helping me adjust my chaotic moving to the work environment).

Finally read like f**k! When you can sit at peace read through this site and gather all t he info you can to help you through this period and beyond. Use the search engine to look for Gentle Iron, Cannabis, Kratom, Magnesium, Relaxis Pad and other treatments and check out posts by myself where I have put down a plethora of info on what to do other than prescribed drugs - look for names of some other reprobates who have great info - Madlegs1, involuntarydancer, nightdancer are just some of the names who pop to mind although there are many, many more who I just can't think of at the moment, (ok nightdancer isn't a reprobate but that Madlegs1 fella is for sure). I am too tired to type out all that info again!

And more finally than that last finally - you can always fire me a PM if you need to rant about how unfair it all is - sometimes just off loading how sh1tty you feel about this to someone who knows (unfortunately) can ease things... if only a little.

Take care

PS Don't forget to pee.

PPS DO NOT forget to read about how orgasms can help RLS

PPPS The soap stays in the bathroom AT ALL TIMES!

[Memmy in reply to Hidden]

Thank Raffs. You also made me smile. I certainly dont forget to pee 😍

[Memmy in reply to involuntarydancer]

I want to add you on to the people who answered me and helped me get through those awful few days Thank you so much

[Joolsg]

When do you take the dose? Timing can really change results.

I only take pregabalin at night about an hour before sleep and this really helps BUT I also take OxyContin twice a day.

Pregabalin caused drowsiness especially if taken during the day. It can take up to 3 weeks to become effective so stick with it. If you’ve previously been on any dopamine agonists it can take longer.

[Memmy in reply to Joolsg]

I do take it just before bed. I'll persevere. I dont seem to sleep at all though. I have a problem getting opioids from the doctors here and I dont want to overuse them. Thanks for the advice