Side Effects Pregalin

[MFNS]

Has anyone experienced vision problems with this drug ?. After less than two weeks I began having double vision, Also insomnia.

[Doversoul]

What dose of Pregabalin are you taking,.?

[Sampsie]

Hi MFNS, blurred vision can be a side effect of Gabapentin and Pregabalin. You may find it lessens with time, but it might not.

Are you taking any other drugs with it? Pregabalin usually makes you sleepy rather than awake, but that doesn't mean it isn't causing your insomnia. I find opiates do this, so when I used to take codeine with the Pregabalin it could keep me awake, but it wasn't always the case.

[MFNS in reply to Sampsie]

I have an appointment with a Doctor who treats RLS but not until Dec 21stin the meantime, I am afraid to continue taking Pregablin due to the vision issue and insomnia. I have little or no sleep at night and have sent a message to my Primary to give me something to help me sleep. RLS sets in every night. I am miserable ! Would you continue taking Preggablin with these side effects ?

[Sampsie in reply to MFNS]

If I knew that it was only short term until my next appointment, and I wasn't coping with the RLS which was really impacting my everyday wellbeing, then yes I actually would, as a short term solution. I've been in this position. The stress from this will be making everything worse so I'd also be looking at some self care such as taking relaxing baths, listening to some guided meditations, if it was safe getting a leg massage and grabbing some crosswords and books to distract me at night.

[Sampsie in reply to Sampsie]

If your GP does prescribe you something for sleep, it might be helpful for you to check Dr B's website which lists many sleep medications, and how they interact with RLS:

rlshelp.org/

All the best.

[Hidden]

As Sampsie says, pregabalin or gabapentin can cause double vision and/or blurred vision. I found that I only occasionally have double vision with gabapentin, but blurred vision almost daily, usually worse in the morning.

It can be worse during the first few weeks of taking it and can then fade.

The only time I've had a real problem after starting gabapentin was an eye test. I had an eye test just before starting on it and it hadn't changed much in over 12 years. 3 months after starting it my prescription it had apparently changed signficantly. When I got the new glasses, (varifocals) my distance was really poor. I had to have two more eye tests and two more prescriptions before they got it right. The right precription was more or less the same as the one I had before starting gabapentin.

So I'd say if you have eye tests, have it as late in the day as possible and if TELL them that pregabalin can cause blurred vision.

As for the insomnia. It's usually accepted that pregabalin promotes sleep, not prevents it. A very common side effect is drowsiness. Note however that pregabalin doesn't really begin to work fully for 3 to 4 weeks after starting it.

Were you taking some other medication before and recently stopped it? This may be the cause of the insomnia.

Overall, it's best to persist with the pregabalin for another month or so, to see if things improve.

[wantokporo]

With pregablin I have vision problems in the morning, but fortunately only for a half an hour or so. Also I find that maybe once a week it will make me nervous (instead of sleepy) at night before I can get to sleep. I did get one anxiety attack that landed me in Emergency when I was at 300mg. Again, fortunately, when I do get nervous occasionally, after that wears off I can get some decent sleep. As others have said, give it a chance before quitting. And less is always more with these drugs if they are working.

[Ikeeptrying]

I have double vision also. I take gabapentin for MS. I wonder if there is another drug that doesn't have this side effect.

[Joolsg]

Yep. Double vision for 3-4 months for an hour in the morning. It then eased off. I only used to take it at night.

[Suberino]

Hi, I take pregablin and it can cause insomnia for me, too. Trying different timings for when you take it / not taking the whole dose at once can help, I find. But usually the better the RLS control the worse the insomnia.