Shortness of breath and feeling of obstruction in nasal passage on Pregabalin

[MrCrow]

I bit the bullet and started taking pregabalin 75mg about a month back. Have been sleeping better though RLS symptoms haven’t changed a whole lot.

For the last couple of days I get this feeling like I’m out of breath or as if there’s some obstruction in my nasal passage when I am about to fall asleep. I immediately wake up and my heart races a little before the cycle repeats. This happens for what feels like an hour before I finally fall asleep.

I was wondering if this is because of the pregabalin.

I was given pregabalin to use for about a month anyway and then asked to stop after taking it every alternate day for a week.

[SueJohnson]

Shortness of breath is a known withdrawal symptom from pregabalin. The usual reduction schedule is 25 mg every 2 weeks.

75 mg was too low to help with your RLS. The usual effective dose according to the Mayo Algorithm is 200 to 300 mg.

[MrCrow in reply to SueJohnson]

I am still on the pregabalin so it may not be a withdrawal effect.

Can pregabalin cause shortness of breath?

[SueJohnson in reply to MrCrow]

If you are taking it every other day, then you are withdrawing from it on the day you are not on it which can also affect the day you are on it.

However - yes it can be a side effect.

You might want to 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 nor calcium-rich foods within 2 hours for the same reason.

[MrCrow in reply to SueJohnson]

I quit the pregab and knock on wood the snoring and feeling of obstruction have died down.

This tells me that it may have been cause by it.

I hear that opioids also have respiratory effects. I am worried about my options for treatments now.

[SueJohnson in reply to MrCrow]

Another one to try is dipyridamole. You might want to discuss this with your doctor. It has helped some people on this forum and another forum I was on and has completely eliminated RLS in some. In the winter 2022 edition of Night Walkers, the publication of RLS.org there is an article by Sergi Ferre about dipyridamole discussing the effectiveness of it in a 2 week double blind placebo controlled study showing it completely ameliorated all symptoms. The study was by Dr. Garcia Borreguero movementdisorders.onlinelib... sciencedirect.com/science/a...

Take it on an empty stomach. (fats inhibit absorption) about 1-1/2 to 2 hours before bed. If you have headaches they tend to disappear or lessen after around 5 days. Coffee can counteract its effects by blocking the same receptors that dipyridamole aims to enhance.so the advice is to avoid it 12 to 24 hours before taking the dipyridamole. It is possible you could take it in the morning or it is possible you can't take it at all.

[MrCrow in reply to SueJohnson]

I take it back. I have been off it for some time now and am still facing the same issue with breathlessness. I wonder what the problem is.

[SueJohnson in reply to MrCrow]

Strange. Ask you doctor.

[amrob123]

I don't understand why you are taking pregabalin on alternate days. If it was on your doctor's advice, i'd be questioning the competency of the doctor.

Psychotropic meds should be taken as consistently as possible. This is so as to maintain a steady amount of the drug in your system so that you're not going in and out of withdrawal (and in very basic terms, confusing your brain, as well as other potential withdrawal effects).

[MrCrow in reply to amrob123]

Looks like i might have miscommunicated.

I was prescribed to take pregabalin for a month and then stop. When I asked how to taper the lowest dose available (75mg) I was told to take it every alternate night and then stop it completely.

I has been about 25 days. In the last couple of days, I have been facing the mentioned problem. There is one other time I have had this and its when I took gas station gummies for sleep a long time ago. It went away when I stopped taking the gummies. Was only for a few days anyway.

I was told to come off the pregabalin after a month of use anyway. I wonder if I should stop earlier now that this breathing issue has started.

[amrob123 in reply to MrCrow]

I see. Even still, taking it every second day isn't recommended. Given that you've only been taking it for one month, i don't expect you'd have any major withdrawals if you were to just stop it. Ideally you'd titrate down to a lower dose eg. 25mg

[MrCrow in reply to amrob123]

I quit the pregab and knock on wood the snoring and feeling of obstruction have died down.

[Simkin]

I had severe symptoms on pregablin so had to change to gabapentin

[Eryl]

Difficulty breathing can be caused by the same thing as causes RLS and that is systemic inflammation. This inflammation is commonly caused by foods in the diet. Google 'foods that cause inflammation.