Changed from Lyrica to Rewisca brand of Pregablin
Posted , 16 users are following.
Hi,
I have been taking Lyrica Pregablin for a year, slowly upping dosage from 25mg twice a day, to then 50mg twice daily. This is for the pain from Guillain Barre syndrome and Fibromyalgia.
I have had no side effects and decent pain relief.
But when I was put onto my 75mg twice daily, the Gp told me I was being put onto Rewisca as it was cheaper.
I've taken it for 3 months and my pain is going backwards, and everything else I had under some sort of control.
Normally when we up my dosage I have 2 days of tiredness, but immediate pain relief.
I didn't get any of this with the Rewisca, just fatigue getting worse, and pain escalating.
It happened from taking the 1sr rewisca tablet.
I know my Gp said it's exactly the same medication, just cheaper, but I'm not imagining this.
Sorry for the long post, it's my first time here.
0 likes, 20 replies
elizabeth85938 Charlied660
Posted
Yes, this is a familiar story to me. I have been on Pregablin for over a year and suddenly my script was changed to Rewisca. I must explain this to you: I know Pregabalin to be great for neuropathic pain relief and at the point I started on it I woud have eaten Mud if my GP had promised me pain relief. I did not even think to research it until 6 months in and was horrified to discover how toxic this drug is to the brain and body. So I decided it was best for me to come off this and knowing now that some people suffer terrible withdrawals decided to taper off slowly using a method called water titration. This means breaking out the capsule and putting contents into warm water to dissolve and using a syringe taking out between 10 and 25% of the dose to allow the body to slowly get used to less (it is very addictive). No problem on Pregabalin but when I opened up Rewiska it is full of fillers like talc and some form of grit. Yes it is cheaper but not the real deal. Are we of so little worth as patients that we are fobbed off with CHEAP? Also, like you, I started to get side effects on the changeover but thought the pain was back cos I was taking less.
?If I can give you any advice on this at all, it is that any chemical compound that tricks the pain receptors in our brains into 'feeling' no pain can trick our brains in other ways as well (logically). I suffer terrible memory loss and brain fog and do not even know if by coming off this drug I will ever get back to the person I was before. I joined a closed support Group called Lyrica Survivors (Lyrica is brand name in USA, Australia), and told the Admin why I wanted or needed to join, was accepted and then my eyes were really opened. I am getting the support I need to gradually get my life back on track plus a tremendous amount of information on group files about natural remedies, the need to take certain vitamins that Pregab strips out of our system without us realising etc. This may not be the path you wish to take and if the drug is really helping you without noticeable side effects then stick with it but insist that your GP gives you Pregablin and not Rewisca even though it is more expensive.
A lot to think about I know, but without knowledge we cannot progress. I wish you well and hope you get things sorted to your liking.
chris04199 elizabeth85938
Posted
Hi Elizabeth,
My most recent post on the subject of Pregablin and Rewisca that you replied to me on within the last couple of days is up for moderation which happens as you may know to various posts before posting.
I hadn't realised that there could be a difference in quality between Rewisca (generic?) and Pregablin, and if you recall our posts, I was placed on Rewisca as a first choice, never having been prescribed Pregablin in the past for my recently developed Neuropathic pain.
If you recall I was prescribed 50mg Rewisca hardcapsules three times per day, and advised after two weeks to take the last two doses last thing at night as a sleeping aid to replace Zolpidem, which could not be re-prescribed.
The side effects the next morning after a sleepless but "stupored and zombied" night were nothing short of horrendous.
Cant bring myself to take it again even tapering off and I feel better physically for not taking it.
What would you advise or comment on what I have said if you don't mind?
Thank you.
elizabeth_82410 elizabeth85938
Posted
i intend to visit my GP and request to be prescribed Pregablin?
chris04199 elizabeth_82410
Posted
Pardon me for interrupting but Rewisca is meant to be the same as Pregabalin. Rewisca apparently has fillers and other stuff included and is not pure Pregabalin. It is a lso a generic form of Pregabalin and cheaper. That's why they prescribe It here in the UK.
I had Rewisca and it messed my life up, as will Lyrica for most people which is pure Pregabalin.
elizabeth85938 elizabeth_82410
Posted
Hi Elizabeth,
?You are on a maximum dose of 600mg a day and this concerns me.Would you mind my asking how long you have been taking this drug from the start and did you find side effects before being switched to the cheaper generic version, rewisca? The NHS is, as you know, struggling in the UK and most surgeries are switching to cheaper generic brands of every sort of medication. The brand Pregabalin is terribly expensive and GP's really should not prescribe it long term for whatever condition they think it suited to....which now covers a multitude of issues from Nerve Pain, to Anxiety and GAD. When you think that originally it was approved and meant purely for Seizures, patients need to look into why this has been presribed and research the side effects, addictiveness and withdrawals when attempting to come off it. No GP will tell you these things; to them it is the new Wonder Drug! From my own experience, the longer you are on it (whether Pregabalin or Rewisca) and the higher the dose the more difficult it is to withdraw from taking it. Certainly it should never be suddenly stopped causing the patient to go cold turkey...this in itself can cause seizures. This is actually stated on the leaflet. So before you go back to your GP to ask for a switch back, please consider carefully why you are on it, and do you really want to keep on taking it. Obviously if it is working for you without too many side effects and you feel it is of benefit to you it is your choice to stay on it. I hope this information is of some help to you in deciding what is best for you, but if I can be of further help feel free to pm me.
elizabeth_82410 elizabeth85938
Posted
Hi Elizabeth several years ago I experienced severe pain in my left bullock which I was diagnosed as nuropathic pain and was prescribed Pregablin and reach a total of 1400mg a day I eventually weaned myself of as the pain lessened. It then returned recently and stated myself again on 75mg a day increasing today of 600mg a day the changeover to Rewisca was roughly 6mnths ago. I have noticed that the weight gain for me is less with Rewiscs then Pregablinwhicj was one of the reasons I reduced Pregablin, I myself don't find the pain relief as great from Rewisca as Pregabalin. Elizabeth
UKSteve elizabeth_82410
Posted
that is the original braned pregabalin
The rewisca ia a generic brand of cheap pregabalin bit its fake in my opinion.
Dont ask your GP for just pregabalin, because they are all pregablin. Aso for Lyrica
Lyrica is to pregabalin as Neurofen is to Ibulrofen Good quality brands.
neurojohn Charlied660
Posted
hi charlied in the medication index the ingredients of pregabalin and rewisca are supposed to be the same. i don't know your diagnosis from your doctor . but if your condition is getting worse being changed over to rewisca instead of pregabalin then i would tell them that it needs to be changed back to pregabalin straight away if you have been diagnosed with (GBS) guillian barre sindrome which is a nerve disorder that effects the entire body this condition can be triggered by women immediatly after giving birth or if you have had a infection quite rare condition but needs hospital treatment so i would say fibromyalgia (GAD) generalised anxiety disorder . hope this was useful info for you and hope you feel better soon you can find out alot on here throu forums .
Charlied660 neurojohn
Posted
Hi, I was diagnosed with Guillain Barre Syndrome and spent over a month in Icu having treatment and in a coma and ventilated.
I do also now have Fibromyalgia which they say was triggered by the Gbs and Sepsis.
I do not have anxiety, my Neurologist suggested Pregabalin for my residual nerve pain from Gbs, as I couldn't tolerate Gabepentin.
I have begged my Gp to prescribe again the Pregabalin but he insists it's the same, and will only do it if I pay for a private prescription, even though I've paid into the Nhs like everyone else.
I got Gbs from HiB.
Thanks for your reply.
chris04199 Charlied660
Posted
Your experience is also my own experience. I was only prescribed Rewisca two and a half weeks ago for Neuropathic pain or Peripheral Neuropathy, but all I experienced in the way of treatment was fatigue getting worse.
Rewisca cannot be the same as Pregablin from what I have read and been informed by others here.
GP's sometimes do not seem to know what they are doing in terms of treatments and withdrawals, and esp' so with Rewisca, the generic version of Pregablin.
UKSteve Charlied660
Posted
Charlie I have raised this exact if you before many times on this forum I'm particularly with regards to Lyrica which I was on for several years and then got changed in the generic there are two I believe in the rewiscaand another one called Laecent I can tell you now that both felt like taking a poison compared to pfizer Lyrica no pain relief just sickness anxiety agitation Insomnia really bad side effects and went back to my GP and he gave me the usual spiel about generics being identical to the brand
rubbish . so went back to my pain clinic and the doctor's there confirmed that they are getting a lot of people saying that the generic pregabalin is not effective I think there is g the problem is these generics are madie in Pakistan and Lord knows what the regulations are but I believe there's a lot of fake medicine getting into the supply.
I got put back onto Lyrica but now there's another problem emerged in the European Union called parallel distribution and repackaging this allows anybody basically to get a government licence to by Lyrica in countries where its cheaper like Greece and Spain and importing it back to the UK repackage and sell it on at huge profit . They are not supposed to change the Lyrica in the capsule and then cancel it as Lyrica but of coursr many of them are actually adding fillers & rubbish in order to dilute and sell more of the original product.... so again if you get parallel distribution you'll know because it will say on the box ..or though it says Lyrica it may be a generic or diluted and dangerous.
you need to insist on a prescription for Lyrica Pfizer Brand and then go to Boots the chemist or any chemist that deals directly with allied suppliers direct from Pfizer and not parallel.
This has become such an impossible task to get the real thing now that I moved to gabapentin that is so much cheaper and the generics really work and I find it more effective than Lyrica with fewer side effects
elizabeth85938 UKSteve
Posted
I think I have to agree with you UKSteve, my experience with both Lacent and Rewisca is quite simply the ingredients slipped in alter the efficacy of the drug Pregabalin. How and why is difficult to explain but the difference is quite marked as far as side effects go. Apart from the fact that I now believe after much research and listenening to patients' stories of how these Generics alter the original medication and their side effects, the original drug should NEVER be prescribed in the first place. Originally Lyrica (USA) was approved by the FDA for Seizures, followed by the discovery that the drug actually turned OFF pain receptors in the brain (not a big leap if you think about it) it was then prescribed under the radar for pain....then Anxiety....then depression....then GAD and so on. Anyone who is currently being told by their medical team in any Country should, please, do a lot of research before taking the first capsule. Information is power and who knows, a lot of new patients may decide never to take this drug at all. Everyone is different and some get side effects and some do not. Some become dependent on the drug, some do not. Some suffer terrible withdrawals when trying to come off them (Never go Cold Turkey, the leaflet tells us that this can result in seizures) and others minor w/d's. At the end of the day it is the personal choice of the patient but I do hope every single one of you who come on to this forum will arm themselves with research before filling their script.
hosstifa Charlied660
Posted
Hi there
I have taken Lyrica for the past three years, 150mg in the morning and again in the evening. I take it along with 20mg of omeprazole in the morning and finally 30mg of amitriptyline in the evening to combat a hypersensitive oesophagus. On this combination my pain has been managed. Previously I would have horrendous pain in my oesophagus all day everyday no matter diet, I actually don't have much reflux as various tests have proven. However I was switched to generic brand pregabalin 7days ago and my old symptoms have returned with avengence. I am planning to go back back to the doctor's and insisting on going back on Lyrics however I am very nervous about my future now. I just hope going back on Lyrica sorts this out otherwise I will be lost with no idea how to cope such is the pain. Also I am not sure what to think now in terms of long term management.
lorraine9497 Charlied660
Posted
I have just started a switch from Lyrica to accord. Changed the nighttime dose first and today the first morning dose. Absolutely noticing a difference. More fatigued, anxious feeling. (This is waking me an hour after going to sleep) not so effective on the general pain, no change with spasm.
having compared ingredients i think it may be more about what the generic brands dont have.
Anhydrous colloidal saliva is in lyrica, this is marketed
lorraine9497
Posted
Marketed as stabilising the free flow of powders.
Charlied660 lorraine9497
Posted
I have tried Accord too.
Still not as good as Lyrica.
My Gp won't prescribe lyrica anymore unless I pay for a private prescription even though my Neurologist reccomends it for the lasting neuropathic pain after Guillain Barre Syndrome.
Thank you for replying.
mark17202 Charlied660
Posted
Hi There - Just wondering if this thread is still live? ... I have been on Pregab for about 9 months for muscle twitching and facial ticks. Its been a god-send but switched to Alzain about 6 months ago and I have been over using, gradually getting worse as its very hit or miss. I'm on the full dose of 600 mg and supposed to take 200mg 3 times a day but I've been taking about 1200 - 1400 mg and still not getting the full bennefit. (we can tell when this stuffs working or not.... right!) Docs have clocked that I'm over using so I'm going in to see the Dr that originally prescribed in 2 weeks..... not sure whether to try Gabapentin ?
Charlied660 mark17202
Posted
Hi Mark. I still cannot convince my Gp to prescribe Lyrica, so it's various prescription of different pregablin makes. Some make my fatigue worse, some I'm sure are making me tremble.
I did speak to a pharmacist about the different brands, he was vague but said it wouldn't be the "pregablin" ingredient, but could be the generic brands are using different mixer ingredients.
I honestly don't know, but I do not get the same pain relief with any brand except Lyrica, but can't get my Gp to believe me.