Advice please (lyrica)?

Posted , 3 users are following.

Hi, I've been on antidepressants on and off for about a decade, and never found one that really fits.

Anyway, after a particularly bad reaction to one of them (can't remember which now) I came off them completely for about 18 months, managing my symptoms with diazepam and counselling and psychology.

Those 18 months were so rough... Very up and down (mainly down).

After my psychology ended earlier this year and my counselling was reduced (get it through a charity and basically there isn't enough appointments to go round) I started feeling REALLY awful.

This has culminated on me being put on Pregabalin (lyrica) 100mg a day, I did this for 3 weeks and I didn't feel any better but no worse either so me and dr agreed to increase to 150mg a day.

I was fine for about a week, but the past 10 days, utterly exhausted. Like the kind of tiredness you get with a fever or something, when you feel physically like every action is exhausting. My IBS has gotten really bad too.

I just don't know what's going on?

I know 150mg of Pregabalin is a small dosage, I don't know if this exhaustion/IBS thing is even related to the increased dose, but I can't think of anything else.

If this is going to pass and I will start seeing some benefit from the Pregabalin I will put up with it, but so far no improvement on any levels, other that I'm sleeping round the clock having previously slept about 3/4 hours a night.

Help please?

Thank you for reading.

xxx

0 likes, 5 replies

5 Replies

  • Posted

    Hi, Audrey....I take a Lyrica when I get really bad, and it doesn't make me sleepy or tired.  I have Fibro, and that is what makes me exhausted...Lyrica is my magical drug of choice for pain...hope this helps, sweetie...
    • Posted

      I just don't know what to do.

      I'm so exhausted and its like no amount of sleep is helping.

      I'm feeling so desperate but don't know whether to stop lyrica and see if I feel better or keep going and hope they kick in.

      I don't know if they just don't agree with me or what.

      Thank you for your reply, I'm just so so desperate cxxx

    • Posted

      Hi Audrey but I would never touch lyrica again, I was given it after one particular hospital stay. I have never felt so crap since my injury, it was not until a friend who has crps asked if I was on lyrica? I could hardly lift my head up to look forward, the little bit of balance that I did have went completely out the window. I was literally crawling on the floor just to get to the bathroom..I was a mess no energy but worst to come I did not have the energy but I had no thought capabilities of how to fix it..Thank goodness for my friend who got my G.P to visit. I was incapable of holding a conversation..A dreadful time I had on it even for that short time...Lyrica not for me..
    • Posted

      Thanks so much for your reply.

      It's so weird because my partner was prescribed Pregabalin in hospital for nerve pain, as soon as he got out I could see he was glassy eyed and doped up, so I immediately took him off them and he picked up almost immediately.

      I had hesitations when I was prescribed this drug as I had seen how my partner was whilst on it, but I rationalised that I was on a much, much lower dose than he had been given.

      But honestly this tablet is making me feel so rubbish, it's like you said, I feel like I almost have to crawl to the bathroom. I can hardly bring myself to sit up in bed, eat or anything.

      I'm just sleeping and crying.

      My doctor wants me to give it a go for a while longer but I don't know how I'm going to manage that, I'm exhausted.

      I don't know what to do.

      Persevere a bit longer? Or stop taking it now?

      So desperate and scared, I haven't felt like this from meds in a long long time xxx

  • Posted

    I cannot tell you to stop taking it....lets just say If it was me in that position now I would STOP then tell ur G.P that you don,t want Lyrica Gabapentin pregabalin which are basically all the same...I suffer from nerve pain related to my spinal injury and I saw my consultant in May and she was fantastic, she asked why I was,nt taking any nerve pain meds? which I explained..Then she suggested Amitryptaline ( think the spelling is wrong ) which I know is a antidepressant, then she explained that taken at a low dose one 10mg before bed and it has worked wonders for my nerve pain. I genuinely don,t have to keep getting up through the night because of my leg pain. I have,nt used it as an antidepressant so don,t know. The antidepressant that I have been on for a long time is Sertraline then I take up to 3 5mg diazepam at night alongside the Amitryptaline. So far so good as I have just finished detox from prescription pain killer for my spinal injury. Just started on the fentanyl patches for pain...Sorry waffled on a bit I definately would look into sertraline for depression if you have not already tried it.

    I genuinely feel for you it was one of the worst feelings ever, and I actually attempted to take my life not sure whether the lyrica or the fact I had broken my back made me do this stupid act...I wish you luck in finding something to help jx

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