Is it safe?

Posted , 4 users are following.

I found the forum today and from what I see Pregabalin makes a mess in your body, wityhdrawal symptoms are really bad and if a doctor prescribes Pregabalin as 1st time anxiety drug its a bad doctor because there are better and safer options.

I am autistic (Asperger Syndrome) and have anxiety related to stuff like looking for a job, moving out or even going on a trip by myself somewhere I have never been before. I am afraid of public trasportation and crowded waiting rooms so even doctor appointment is troublesome for me. And daily life such as shopping also causes me anxiety(I get afraid everytime mom says we don't have eonugh money to buy something I want - I return to thinking its lal my fault we dont have money and  should pay for things with my own money but if I spend my pocket money I won't have ny money in case we really need money for some unknown emergancy because mom doesn't have any savings anymore and dad yells at us when mom asks him for money).

2,5 weeks ago I had a meltdown/anxiety attack because my dad returned home after a long absence and started his regular abuse and I realized it will be like this again. I had other problems when he wasn't there (some job interviews and anxiety related to them) so I was already on the edge and the last thing I needed was dad yelling at me for being spoiled brat respecting noone and not even trying to get a job despite trying to get a job and being very stressed by being unable to get one. 

I freaked out, escaped the house and refused to go back and ended up in hospital emergency due to crying and not being able to calm down (mom took me there).

I am on Pregabalin since then. First week it was 75mg once a day, now it is 75mg twice a day(150mg a day) and I am supposed to go on 150mg twice a day (300mg a day). For the first week I was on both Spamilan and Pregabalin but Spamilan caused so bad side effects to me(diziness, headaches, loosing balance as well as tinnus and visual snow increase - getting worse and worse everyday) that I decided to go see the doctor a week ealrier than appointment date and she told me to give up on Spamilan and that Pregabalin will be enough because they are "all the same".

Pregabalin doesn't seem to cause any side effects to me except some green vision upon waking up (bright while lights and shining objects have green tint)-  but it disapears withoin half of second, some ocasional double vision on high contrast stuff (but I had it before so it might not be related to the drug) and itchy left eye (could be unrelated). I also found that my mental abilities dropped - I can't go into my hyperfocus mode anymore which is a bad thing. I get irritable and confused because of random focus drops.

I am afraid because the doctor isn't probably too good (free health service, you go there on start of day and wait for your turn, in a crowded room) and she didn't talk to me much before prescribing the medicine. And I don't see improvement. Spamiln was as bad as it was but while I was taking it I seen the improvement(or perhps it was because I was taking both Pregabalin and Spamilan at the same time?) - my emotions were dull and I fould it hard to cry and easier to think logically. I don't see the effect on Pregabalin alone. Actually I had an anxiety attack a few days ago and it went away after I took a 5mg pill of Spamilan. But unfortunatelly the calmness came with bad side affects again.

Now I wonder.

Is there a point in increasing Pregabalin dose? Does it even help? Does it do anything at all? What if it makes me a worse person? Hyperfocus and inteligence were always my best qualities and if I lose them there won't be anymore point for me to live because I will be totally useless as a person.

And what if I decide to stay on Pregabalin and then get withdrawal symptoms? Should I increase the dose like the doctor says? Or should I start withdrawing before its too late and try different medicine?

Next appointment with this doctor is 29.12 but mom signed me to another doctor on 22.11. It will be my first appointment with that one but it's apparently a good doctor (you need to book an appointment 2 months ahead and you go there on specific hour). Should I stay on my current dose of Pregbalin and wait for her/his opinion or should I increase the dose like the current doctor says and risk withdrawal symptoms if the new doctor says I shouldn't be on Pregabalin? 

I also got a "dirrecting paper" to "a" therapist/psychologist but I am supposed to find the therapist by myself and I have no idea how to find a good one because I dealth with many therapists before and noone ever helped me because they ask for stuff I don't understand, such as "How are you?" and "How do you feel about it?".

I believe the best therapy for me would be chalenges such as "Go downstairs and ask for this paper than bring it to me", "Go to local libriry and borrow this book then read it" or "Travel to that city by train and visit that shop" so eventually I would gain confidence that I can deal with such things by myself. Mulling over feelings only makes it worse because the more I focus on feelings the more confusing the situation gets. I need to see there is nothing to be afraid of, not realize that I am afraid and find the reasons why I am afraid. I kow why I am afraid - because I was abused my whole life by peers and dad. But thinking about it only makes me want to cry and  am feeling hopeless. "They destroyed me. If only I had better childhood I would be allrigth now". It doesn't solve the problem. Focusing on it only makes me want to kill myself despite the fact I don't actually wnat to kill myself - I want to be capable and live a good life and I know I can do it if only I get a chance.

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  • Posted

    I went to another psychiatrist, told her whats going on, that I don't want to take Pregabalin because it doesn't help and I heard bad opinions about the medicine. I also told her about issues with Spamilan and that it was helping me but the side effects are unbearable. I forgot to say about LDN because she stressed me out by asking "what exactly is going on" and refusing to read whet I wrote about "what exactly is going on"(it is easier for me to write than speak) because she wanted to hear it from me.

    She said to withdraw Pregablin slowly and prescribed ParoGen(Proxetinum) saying "its a safe medicine with little side effects". After reading about the new medicine I discovered it has even worse opinions than Pregabalin and the side effects and withdrawal symptoms are really bad. But I decided to take a half of pill to give it a try anyway. (I also decreased Pregabalin dose from 225 to 150 that day but I did it a few times before and experienced no changes so I doubt it is related)

     

    The effect was similliar to Spamilan - I couldn't cry. But the side effects were way way worse. At first it wasnt so bad - highened senses, huge pupils. But after a few hours it started. Headache, upset stomach, insomnia due to highened senses, restless legs - I couldnt sleep all night. It reminded me of the slepless nights I experienced when I were a kid (I had huge problems falling asleep when I were a kid due to highened senses and restless legs back then). I couldnt fall asleep whole night and in the morning intense sweating started and I got a fever. It was terrible experience - my body apperently tryied hard to get rid of "a poison". It calmed down a bit after 26h since I took the drug but I experienced insomnia the next night too (I could fall asleep after a while but was waking up every 2h and had trouble falling back asleep) and muscle twitching started then too.

    It's a common sense muscle twitching is related to magnesium deficiency so I took magnesium and it stopped. It's currently my 4th day on the magnesium(and 6th day on 150mg Pregabalin). I experience upset stomach (I probably have to try different magnesium - the few magnesium pills I had in house didn't make my stomach upset but the newly bought ones of different brand do) but mentally I feel better. It's not matter of "My body wants to cry but I am unable to" like with the Spamilan and ParoGen. My body is actually calmer. I still feel like my body wants to cry but the feeling is half weaker and I am able to control it by thinking "just don't think about it". 

    I probably just have magnesium deficiency due to all the stress.

    Or perhaps Pregabalin was causing the crying.

    • Posted

      It is not necessary to get the GP to prescribe for LDN as you can get a prescription online for it as long as you know where to send it to get it made up for you. If you need any further infor its all there on the LDN site. Best wishes hun
    • Posted

      If a doctor prescribes it it will be 70% cheaper due to health insurance.
    • Posted

      all the more reason to download the information and just hand it to him/her and just ask for them to read it and consider it on your behalf and leave it at that. Thats what I did and two weeks later he phoned me to say he would prescribe it for me
    • Posted

      So LDN can be used for anxiety?

      Ive been given Pregabalin but Im too scared to take it.  Ive read so many horror stories about it.

      x

       

    • Posted

      Can you tell me what exactly you handed him? Because I found some files but they either don't describe enough or are too long to be worth printing.

    • Posted

      lizzie no LDN is not for anxiety and pregabalin isnt either so go back to your gp and get something like Amatryptoline for the axiety. The LDN is mostly for MS as it can stop or slow down any symptoms
    • Posted

      Hi Steven

      ​Ive been to 2 psychiatrists, one NHS and one private.  Both prescibed Pregabalin.

      ​I think they are at a loss as Ive tried countless antidepressants over the years and not one of them has worked.

      x

    • Posted

      Hi Lizzie.

      Pregabalin is not an anti-depressant.

      It is a nerve stimulant to stop nerve pain.

      As Steven has also told you, it is not an anti-anxiety medication either.

      It is not a good medication to be on or to get off, so you would be much better off finding an alternative.

      Surely there are other doctors and/or opinions you could get.

    • Posted

      Lizie, I am sorry to say that they (your psychiatrists) are completly out of order. DO NOT Take pregabalin if is only for anxiety, even your gp should be able to tell you this and to advise of something else. Some specialist doctors push various drugs because they get paid enormous amounts of money to sell it.
    • Posted

      Thank you.

      I havent taken any yet.

      I did ask my GP and he said it was a mood stabiliser!

      Im at a loss on who to ask really.

    • Posted

      I didn't see doctor yet but I visited my aunt thatwas depressed sometime ago and she still has a 25 pills of her old drug (she was taking it for a half of year but apperently it helped her right away and she didn't have any side effects) "just in case" and I convinced her to borrow them to me.

      The drug is called Coaxil (Tianeptine) 12,5mg and she was using it - with doctors advice - "1 pill every 2 days" although the description says "3 pills a day".

      I read on wikipedia it has similliar mechanism as LDN:

      "low-affinity full agonist at the µ-opioid[note 1] and d-opioid receptors with negligible effect at the ?-opioid receptors.[12]"

      (while LDN is "antagonists at the µ-opioid receptor (MOR), the ?-opioid receptor (KOR) to a lesser extent, and to a far lesser and possibly insignificant extent, at the d-opioid receptor (DOR)"wink.

      And it's easier to get in my country than LDN. And according to Polish wikipedia it is experimentally being used to cure autism symptoms.

      I know it is no good to use medicine that wasn't prescribed for yourself but I think it cannot be worse than the medicine idiot doctors prescribed me so far and it has the same "fors"(depression and anxiety) and "againsts"(don't use with MAO) as Parogen I got prescribed recently so it should be allright.

      Also aunt has similiar neurology as me - she is not autistic(although she fits "broad autism phenotype" if you ask me) but she has sensory processing disorder with the same level of sound and textures sensivity as I do - so it is very possible her medicine will be good for me too, right? 

      I am feeling a little better now so I put the medicine on hold but I will try it next time my poor mood returns. Hopefully it helps and doesn't give me side effects. If it ends up helpfull I will ask a doctor for prescription.

    • Posted

      Yes, even I knew that!

      ​Im on a Facebook group about Pregabalin and what people say about it is just awful.

      I really do not know what to ask for.  Any ideas?

      Clomipramine was the only med that ever helped and its not produced any more.

      x

    • Posted

      Hi Lizzie.

      If you're asking about anxiety meds, i can only really give advice on benzos because they are the only things that have helped me, basically because they are rather quick to act.

      If this is the case, clonazapam is a good one, although i find xanax to take effect more quickly.

      A lot of people don't like benzos because of the reputation recreational users have given them, but if used correctly, they can be a miracle med.

       

    • Posted

      Hello

      Are you in the US?

      Im in the UK and doctors do not give out benzos for fear of addiction.

      ​I did manage to get 28 Lorazepam in January this year and still have a couple left, but they wont prescribe me any more.

      ​Im trying to seek a new antidepressant that has a calming effect.  My GP put me on Mirtizipine and it didnt do a thing.

      ​Did you ever take Lyrica?

      x

       

    • Posted

      Hi Lizzie.

      I'm in Australia.

      The doctors here are the same but i think they're beginning to realise all over the world that benzos are best for anxiety.

      I understand it's hard to find one that is changing views, but they are out there - scarce, but there.

      Don't give up hope.

      I did and saw no-one at all; no doctors, no people, no-one. I was a hidden hermit. Then one day i found a doctor who gave me clonazapam for my restless leg, which i use more for anxiety, but i realised there are some out there.

      Yes, i have been prescribed lyrica and even after being off them for a couple of years, i still suffer from what they did to me.

      I advocate against this poison. There is no other way to describe it.

    • Posted

      well the only way is to try it but I dont really advocate using someone elses prescription as the dosage could be wrong but good luck hun

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