Lyrica

[Njbva]

I have been given lyrica for restless legs. Not sure I like thus drug. I have some questions... I am still having brain withdrawals from dopamine. My legs react to this every night. Before I was given requip my rls was not very bad I went weeks without symptoms. Now because of withdrawal I am 100 times worse then before. Will this calm down as my brain resets itself? Is the lyrica a bridge while I get better? Or will I have to take it forever? Trying to ask my doctor this but in the meantime you all might know.

[Madlegs1]

It will take a few weeks or months to get over withdrawing from the requip, and the Lyrica won't help with this..

You would need some sort of opioid to calm things down.

Eventually the Lyrica should help.

Have you got your iron checked? Serum ferritin number??

What triggering medications might you be taking? Antihistamines, antidepressants, statins and others.

Check food/ drink triggers-- alcohol, sweetener, ultraprocesssed foods, msg and loadsa other gunk can all trigger the fizzies.

Good luck.

[Njbva in reply to Madlegs1]

Thanks . I've been off about thirty one days. I was shaving it down up until the day I stopped. My doctor , who is supposed to be the expert on restless legs ,put me on Lyrica. I just had my levels checked the doctor had not seen them yet. I am a little afraid of lyrica... after the requip nightmare who can blame me.

[Joolsg in reply to Njbva]

Lyrica ( pregabalin) does not cause drug-induced worsening like Requip (Ropinirole).Lyrica takes at least 3 weeks at full dose to cover RLS. Average dose is 150 to 200mg. The side effects of drowsiness etc will settle after around 2 months.

But- if pregabalin doesn't cover your RLS after 2 months- ask your doctor to review you. You might need methadone or Buprenorphine ( long half life opioids).

Many patients do not respond to lyrica or gabapentin after years on requip. Dr Buchfuhrer thinks it's due to permanent damage to dopamine receptors.

And unless you respond to an iron infusion- most patients need to take meds for life.

[SueJohnson in reply to Njbva]

Don't be afraid. As the others have said you are still suffering from withdrawal and the lyrica side effects may go away. If they don't 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 within 2 hours for the same reason.

And don't give up on either as not working until the withdrawal effects have gone away and you have reached the average effective dose.

If that happens and you switch to an opioid, to come off the pregabalin (gabapentin) you need to do so very slowly to avoid withdrawal effects. Reduce by 25 mg (100 - 200 mg) every 2 weeks. If you do so you will have very few or no withdrawal effects. If you do have any, slow down even further, In very very rare cases you still might have withdrawal effects