Pregabalin dose increase?

[Moonwalker1967]

Hi,

I am on Pregabalin 150 mg and still struggle with RLS, PLMD and twitching toes plus grinding teeth.

Fortunately I have managed to get a super job and starting work tomorrow. Yippee 😁 Unfortunately, I will be starting work @ 7.00 a m. and it's full time. In the UK for some reason it's super hard to get part time jobs and if you work part time then the job centre wants you to find full time employment.

I am 55 years old and weaned off Pramipexole which I have taken for more than 30 years till augmentation. Both my kids also have RLS and PLMD.

I really don't want to loose this job because of sleep struggle.

Should I up my dose of Pregabalin 150 mg to 165 mg? Is there anything else I can take on top which I can just buy from the chemist?

I am German and living in the UK btw.

Thanks in advance for your help.

PS: I have done all the usual things that were mentioned here before, food watch, no caffeine, iron and vitamin c and Pregabalin intake 3 hours later than magnesium.

[Flora-Rose]

Hello - soo pleased to hear about job - do hope it goes well. The advice I was given when I started to take pregabolin was start low and keep going up until you get the relief you need. The recommended limit for RLS is 450mg which I am taking. The positives are that I sleep very well and that I am mostly free of symptoms, and those I do have are much milder than I have previously suffered. The downside are the side effects which you will have to weigh up for yourself. …. Well done for watching diet etc, I’m sure this makes a difference.

[SueJohnson]

Yes you can add 25 mg every couple of days until you find the dose that works for you. 150 mg is still a low dose. 200 - 300 mg is usually needed.

[Whymelord]

Hi,congrats on your new job,like you I got a job at 55,i was very happy as I thought I was too old to get the position,luckily my RLS wasn't as severe then as it is now,I'm on Pregabalin, I have upped the dose from 75mg.to 150 which is not helping, sometimes I take 2 cocodamol just before bedtime which does help but not all the time.Im reluctant to take more Pregabalin but that's me personally, other advisors on this forum will be of great help.I wish you well.

[Moonwalker1967 in reply to Whymelord]

I am reluctant to take more as well. Will try as you suggested. Thanks so much for your advice! Will carry on with prayer and meditation as well.

[Hidden]

I second SueJohnson's reply. One thing to note with pregabalin is that the more you take, the sleepier you might be in the morning, so increase slowly. I take 300mg and find it difficult to awaken/get up in the morning.

[Moonwalker1967]

That's not going to be useful then, as I need to be up @ 6.00 a.m. See how it goes. Thanks for your help!

[Hidden in reply to Moonwalker1967]

It may just mean you need to take it earlier in the evening so it's effects have lessened come morning.

[SueJohnson in reply to Moonwalker1967]

I take 1500 mg gabapentin and am not sleepy in the morning. You can always try it and see on a weekend.

[67Waterman]

Hi Moonwalker. As Flora-Rose says, the recommended limit for RLS for Pregabalin is 450mg, which I am also now taking, together with 0.125mg of Ropinirole. It manages to control my night time RLS at least until the early hours of the morning. Good luck with the job and enjoy!

[Nikos64]

Congratulations on your new job. I’m also in my late fifties and know how important it is to keep a job despite RLS especially in our 50s.

Like yourself I was also on pramipexole for RLS and came off it due to augmentation. Additionally, I was on 150mg of pregabalin and 50mg Tramadol. However, that was not enough to control the symptoms. Later, when my dosage was increased to 300mg my symptoms went away and I was able to sleep.

However, waking up in the morning became a huge struggle! My energy level dropped and I gained 10kg. The pregabalin did not help with my PLMD either, in fact, based on my wife’s observations made it worse. After being late to work several times, I dropped pregabalin and went with straight Tramadol.

My experience may not be the same as yours with regard to pregabalin. After all we are all different in the ways we react to medication. But I only bring my experience up to alert you to potential issues you may face with pregabalin. Personally, I would not go on it again. Also, I am not advocating Tramadol. There are problems with that as well. Some of the side effects can be serious. It’s a difficult decision..

Best wishes for your career and struggle with this exasperating illness.

[Meta-Anne]

Hi there

Totally understand your predicament but I wouldn’t like to advise you to increase the pregabelan even though my doctor really left it up to me to increase by 25mg staying on it for one week. I am now on 225mg and it is helping my RLS. Every couple of days my legs ache terribly,so I sit with,legs elevated with,a,heat bad,under,the,knees. This does help,although at bedtime I have a frozen gel pad I place under my knees which are raised on two pillows. I have found these two things helpful and maybe you could try them for a couple of weeks and see what happens.

Congratulations on obtaining employment. Things are certainly not easy these days sp good luck.

Cheers from Meta-Anne 😊

[Moonwalker1967]

Thanks, Meta-Anne! Nice name btw: 🙂 I had a great night, yipppeeeee! Heat pad on etc. All set up for work. Decided to stay on Pregabalin 150 mg for another month and see how it goes.