Pegabilin - it helps!

Hey thanks, had a negative experience with the GP i saw yesterday (not the one who prescribed the pregabalin) it was the main one of the practice as their are about 5 of them. He wasnt pleased to learn I had requested the drug, and weaned myself off citalopram. Made it clear he did not want me on this drug, and I should not have asked to change my meds onto this! Said it was a potent drug and felt I was on too high a dose and that it wasn't the right treatment for me. Then proceeded to tell me I had no insight into my problems, and could not control what was happening to me like I thought I could. Said he would prescribe it again, but would be weaning me off them! I was shocked and angry! He dismissed everything I said to him, was really off and upset me. I left, and thankfully was seeing my psychologist for the first time yesterday which went well, and she was happy I was on this drug and confirmed it was a very good drug. Agreed that I should consider changing my GP.

I'm seeing her on a weekly basis now to work through things. Definitely looking to change my GP after that experience. I'v come down to 450mg daily and it is working well, although I have been off on annual leave so haven't had the added stress of work. So we shall see if it keeps me settled when I return to work.

Different GPs have their own view on things. I was prescribed Pregabalin by a Consultant Psychiatrist. He has worked as a doctor for 35 years and over 20 of those years has been as a Consultant. He told me he put me on the medication because he had given it to hundreds of patients over the last few years and he had seen that the large majority of patients had gained significant clinical benefits from using it.

The Consultant was recommended to me by a Clinical Psychologist I was seeing. If you are going to change GP ask the Psychologist for a recommendation. It might be worthwhile asking her for a letter of 'introduction'. Reading between the lines of your post, it would seem that your GP is annoyed because you have effectively self-medicated by increasing the pregabalin and reducing the citalopram. Before your next 'top-up' of pregablin is needed go and see the GP again and ask him if he will consider keeping you on a 450 mg maintenance dosage for a few weeks and then reduce it gradually. If he is not up to it then change GP. Remember - the NHS is there to serve us and give us the best possible care. If there is evidence that your condition has improved with a regime of pregabalin and there are no long-lasting side-effects I cannot see why he cannot prescribe it for you. What is reasonable for him to say, however, is that you should have consulted him about how to slowly reduce the anti-depressants. If you show that you are willing to work with him on that then he might be a bit more positive about the pregabilin. See how it goes but find out first how long it would take to change to another GP and that will allow you to ensure that you have sufficient medication before your first appointment. Hope it goes well. Let me know how you get on.

Hi, I am glad to hear that you have found that Pregabalin has helped you greatly. A little caution though Pregabalin (like all medicines that work on the CNS, or you could even wider that statement to "any medication that actually works!"), will have some degree of withdrawal symptoms.

My GP tried to prescribe me this drug for widespread chronic OA, but I flat out refused to take it, mainly because my Father had taken it for Neuropathic pain, and he found that it had very little pain relieving properties, and it totally altered his personality, he went from being an easy going quiet chap, to an argumentative, and sometimes verging on sheer nastiness towards close family members.

Many people use this drug and have no such symptoms obviously, but I`m afraid, I`ll steer well away from it, until it has been in circulation for some time more.

I would advise reading up on the side effects of this drug, anything that lists "Suicidal ideation" amongst it`s side effects is a no no as far as I am concerned.

Good luck with your future progress

Paddy

Paddy - you are quite right about the need to withdraw the medication at a sensible pace. If I am on a course of pregabalin my consultant reduces my medication in decrements of 50 mg. For example, if I am on the half maximum dose of 300 mg each day, I have to reduce intake over a period of six weeks: 250 mg daily first week then 200mg daily second week etc. I have had about 5 or 6 courses of treatment and have never experienced any withdrawal symptoms when reducing the amounts in this way.

As I said above, the only side-effects I have had are drowsiness in the first few days and weight gain the longer I am on it. My brother-in-law took it for neuropathic pain and did not suffer any side-effects. Unfortunately, he got no benefit at all with pregabalin. We are all different. Horses for courses. I am just very lucky it works for me. What I have found, though, is that as I get older I am able to tolerate lower amounts only so that I found 200 mg a day now was giving me the same benefit as 300 mg a day a few years back. I am surprised you list 'suicidal ideation' as a possible side-effect of pregabalin. I have never seen this listed and the Consultant who gave me the medication was already treating me for clinical depression as well.

I am happy to put up with the side-effects it gives me simply because it is the best drug I have ever taken to calm me down, feel better about myself and give me a good night's sleep. And that is better than winning the lottery.

I`m afraid weight gain is a common side effect with many of the newer drugs. I take Mirtazipine for Depression, and I`ve found it remarkably effective where the other tricyckic and SSRI drugs just didn`t touch my depression. Unfortunately, when you begin on Mirtazipine you are liable to develop a sweet tooth, something which I never had before, hence I put on around 20ibs .

But I`d prefer to be a bit chubby and happy, than thin and depressed any day of the week !

Paddy

"Suicidal Ideation" along with a long list of other side effects is listed in the British National Formulary (or BNF) this is the book you will occasionally see your GP or a nurse flip through to check, interactions, side effects and of course the net price of any medication available by prescription in the UK (Scotland does tend to differ a little from time to time).

Unfortunately I can`t post a link as membership is required, also it is worth noting that practically all of the Anti Depressants, and especially the SSRI`s and newer drugs all have a note warning of the risk of suicidal thoughts, especially with teenagers (for some reason). I don`t know if you have heard of Paroxatine (Seroxat), this SSRI anti depressant caused me to be so suicidal that I had to be stitched back together by a Plastic Surgeon one time, it made me so impulsive that I had done the physical damage before I had even finished thinking about what I was doing.

Then again, some people swear by it, as you say, horses for courses.

All the best

Paddy.

I've never taken SSRIs but you are not the first person I have come across who has demonstrated suicidal tendencies after using it. I am a lifelong user of Ametrypteline. It's a very 'old' medication but it is solid. It kicks in after a couple of weeks and you get full benefit after a maximum of three months. It has an hypnotic effect so for 360 days of the year I have no trouble getting to sleep. Yes, it does have side-effects. I get a dry mouth and the first pee in the middle of the night or in the morning takes ages. I time it occasionally - one pee took two minutes to empty my bladder!

I have seen my GP refer to the BNF but neither he or my consultant said to me that there is a very small chance of suicidal ideation. When I first took pregabalin I was lucky enough to get the 'euphoria' side-effect. Sadly, I've never had it again when it has been prescribed for later episodes of anxiety. Good luck with your future.

I sometimes get the feeling that some of the new drugs are partially tested on the patient, Amytryptaline has been about for yonks, and the pluses and minuses of that drug are well known.

Nowadays I get the impression that they design a drug, and then go looking for a use for it! (Pregabalin and Gabapentin were designed for epileptics originally). But everyone has different reactions, I take Morphine for my Arthritis, surprisingly, it keeps me awake at night, and doesn`t cause me any constipation.

Perhaps I am just an "Atypical Patient" :-)

All the best

Paddy

Atypical? Perhaps. But I would say a little unlucky. Interestingly, my brother had to have an operation on his bowels about 3 years ago. It was a success but he told me that the morphine they gave him for the pain had no effect whatsoever. I cannot remember what they gave him as a substitute but that did work.

Can you do me a favour in the future and tell anyone who asks you about pregabalin that it did not work for you but you have seen posts in which it stated that it can work (very well) for others. I would not want anyone who might gain from the medication to lose out. Thanks.

Yes I`ll do that for you no problem, it goes to show how any drug can have vastly different effects on differnt patients.

Also, you may be surprised to hear that Morphine has never caused me any Euphoria whatsoever, the first time I took it, (when I would expect the Euphoric effects to be at their strongest), the main thing I can remember is having an extremely itchy face for hours!

Best Wishes

Paddy

Really interested in your experiences on Pregabalin. I have been on Pregabalin for five years and have found it very helpful. But, please let me give a word of warning. Once you have been taking Pregabalin do not stop it abruptly or let your supply run out. The withdrawal effects are terrible. If you had anxiety before startingPregab you are likely to have terrible anxiety when the drug runs out. I have run out several times and the symptoms have been terrible. Palpitations and crippling anxiety much worse than he original anxiety. It was so bad at times I found myself drinking alcohol at six o'clock in the morning to alleviate the anxiety and I never normLly drink at all. Please do not let your supply run out because you will regret it. I am not trying to stop people taking the medication just a waning.

so glad to find this post makes me really hopeful

just started 150mg daily (75mg x2/day) pregabalin / lyrica for GAD and panic attacks

CBT, counselling, relaxation and mindfulnes, SSRIs + beta blockers have all been unhelpful. Benzos, (Diazepam) has so far been the only thing to help with my panic attacks

they deffinately do prescribe pregabalin as one of the last resorts. i had to do my own research for GAD treatment and request pregabalin myself.