Miss

I'd recommend you look to the manufacturer rather than the NHS. Your GP will have looked at your symptoms and believed that these were the right pills for you. I gained weight within a month of starting to take them and now, 3 years later I have finally requested to be taken off them and my GP has found me the right way to do it slowly. Did you request to be taken off them, or ask for an alternative?

Hello Natalia

I'm afraid that many patients have tried and failed to sue the NHS over this drug. You can only sue your doctor personally if he did not advise you of all the possible side effects, inform you that this drug alters your Brain Chemistry and Central Nervous System, and that coming off this drug cold turkey can cause Seizures or inform you that there are possible withdrawals when you come down on dosage. Did you read the leaflet accompanying the drug when you first started to take it and decide to take it anyway? 

You are one of thousands caught in the Pregabalin trap right now, many have awful side effects and have found their lives altered in an unsuspecting way. I am one of them but to me the only way forward is to make the decision to come off them and then do it very slowly and carefully over what may be a long period of time. You do not say what dosage you are on but if it is the maximum of 600mg daily the only way to get your Life back is to research how to come down slowly, i.e. using water titration (you will find a video on YouTube explaining how to do this) and perhaps finding a group on Fb offering information and support on how best to taper down and eventually off Lyrica/Pregabalin. Few GP's realise that patients should not be taken down, say, 100mg at a time and then off as the withdrawals can be as bad as, if not worse, than coming off Heroin. Research and inform yourself is the best advice I can give you I'm afraid. Once you are free of this drug and have stabilised you can then make a choice whether or not to confront your Doctor on the lack of information and support if you still wish to. This drug was originally passed by the FDA in the USA for control of seizures - later it was found to be helpful in shutting off the pain receptors in the brain as a control of chronic nerve pain. Now it seems to be given out for other reasons as well. It is a powerful chemical compound that changes the brain chemistry and central nervous system within 1 week of taking it after which the body becomes dependent on it. You may have been told that it is not Addictive but in my opinion that is splitting hairs. Here in the UK it is approved by NICE and various generic forms of Pregabalin are now on the market as the original Licence to produce has now expired. Pfizer, the drug company in the USA will lose their Licence to be the only drug company to make this sometime quite soon and then generic version will flood the USA. It is known that the original trials of Lyrica in the USA were falsified, along with I think 8 other drugs, and the gentleman responsible served time in prison for this. Yet that trial is still accepted as gospel and referred to by the medical profession. You can research all of this for yourself, which you must do if you are going to use it when you confront your Doctor. You need fact based studies and information if you wish to 'sue' anyone. There is a study that confirms that Pregabalin stops the brain making new synapses which I believe is detrimental to brain health. Pregabalin is now the drug of choice to give to patients because of the Codeine crisis caused by abuse of the few. Taking patients off Opiates as the NHS is instructing Doctors to do has to be replaced with something else and Pregabalin seemed to be the new wonder drug. 6 years is a long time to be on such a drug and perhaps your doctor has not monitored your side effects sufficiently to advise you to slowly come off it. 

Again, research, research research Natalia - find all the fact based information you can before confronting your GP or the NHS. Otherwise I am afraid you will just meet with a brick wall.

I wish you well in your quest and hope very much that the future is brighter and better for you.