Any suggestions for Pregabalin side effects?

[Brufax]

I have weaned myself off ropinirole. It was the perfect drug for me before augmentation set in. Slept all night and had no after-effects the next day. I am now on 75 mg pregablin which I take 2 to 3 hours before bedtime. I fall asleep easily but wake up after two hours with RLS, strong enough urges to have to get out of bed and walk around but not painful. Can get back to sleep for the rest of the night. The next day pregabalin leaves me feeling like a zombie. My doctor says I can increase my dose to counter the RSL but the increased dose will ruin my quality of life. Suggestions please. (My iron levels have been checked and are fine.)

[SueJohnson]

Two thoughts. You can get ritalin or adderal and take in the morning when you wake up. It will wear off by night time.

Or you can try switching to gabapentin. Although they are basically the same drug except you need to divide the doses, and the side effects are basically the same, some people find that the side effects that bother them on one don't bother them on the other. Multiply the pregabalin amount by 6 to get the correct dose. If you need more than 600 mg take the extra 4 hours before bedtime as it is not as well absorbed above 600 mg. If you need more than 1200 mg, take the extra 6 hours before bedtime. If you take magnesium, even in a multivitamin, don't take it within 3 hours of the gabapentin as it reduces the absorption of the gabapentin. If you take calcium don't take it within 2 hours for the same reason.

It takes 3 weeks to be fully effective so if you haven't been on pregabalin for 3 weeks wait a total of 3 weeks on gabapentin before increasing it by 100 mg every couple of days until you find the amount needed to control your RLS.

[Brufax in reply to SueJohnson]

I understand you saying that I need 3 weeks for pregabalin to be fully effective. I will stay it for the full 3 weeks before trying gabapentin. Do you know if the side effects will reduce over time?

[SueJohnson in reply to Brufax]

Yes they do although being tired the next day is less likely to.

[Brufax in reply to SueJohnson]

Hi Just to let you know. I am now on 100 mg of pregabalin. I am not having any side effects, and no restless legs symptoms for three nights. Many thanks for advice and running this forum. Definitely helped me get through those long nights while coming off ropinerole. 😃

[SueJohnson in reply to Brufax]

That's great! So pleased for you.

[Hidden]

As with all medications, people respond very differently to pregabalin.

The side effects you report may dissipate in time, or they may continue to be unbearable. 75mg is a very low dose and i'm not surprised to hear that it's not covering the RLS.

When i first started pregabalin, i felt extremely sluggish and sleepy in the mornings and it would take two or three hours for me to feel fully awake. Over time, this improved and i increased my dose to a maximum of 300mg. I still felt a certain daytime lethargy but being on pregabalin also meant that i could fall back to sleep if i woke in the early hours.

After two or three years of being on pregabalin consistently, i developed chronic daytime fatigue...i have seen multiple specialists about this and for the most part, they believe it may be the pregabalin causing it. I haven't managed to find anything else that i can tolerate / works, however i have managed to reduce my dose by 1/3rd.

[Brufax in reply to Hidden]

Thanks for sharing.

[Emmys_mum]

Following this thread, I am trying to taper off pramipexole due to severe augmentation and started gabapentin. But I am absolutely worn out and I have a job which needs me to be absolutely on the ball. Fuzzy eyes and by dinner time I need to go to bed. I'm hoping this will be a temporary side effect.

[joepublic]

No sorry.