Pregabalin for anxiety - does it work? side effects?

thanks so much for the reply!

yay that sounds promising. this is literally my last bit of hope for ever being "normal"

whats your dose and how long have you been taking?

are the side effects bareable? i couldn't bare the side effects from ssris so really hoping these arent as bad? do you remember how long it took for them to go away? and did you gain weight? lol 

thanks again

I tried 38 different medication before I found Lyrica.  I had paradoxical reactions to SSRIs.  I had tried antipsychotics, Klonopin...everything.  Lyrica stops anxiety dead in it's tracks!  I would highly recommend.  Side effects for me is tiredness (goes away after a while, but may never completely disappear) and appetite, which has never gone away.  I actually take Adderall to counter the sleepiness and subsequent lack of motivation.  Not the ideal solution, but it's the best I've found after 9 years.  Withdrawal from Lyrica is no easy chore.  You've got to do it slow - preferably in 25mg increments.  I found that 300mg is what did it for me.

thanks so much for the reply. oh my gosh 38! I really really feel so sorry for you. I was so fed up up and just mentally a physically exhausted from putting my mind and body through only 6! SSRI side effects are truely dreadful, i became MORE anxious and psychotic! Now i'm even more anxious about every new med i try.

i'm so sorry you had to go through such a long journey but glad after 38 meds in 9 years you've finally found something that works. such a shame about the side effects but i gues its a price we have to pay? 

Before taking Adderall, did you find that the tiredness and loss of motivation impacted your ability to get things done properly? i'm worried about work. i've lost 2 jobs due to my anxiety preventing me from showing up and have been unemployed for 5months now. so i really kind of need this Lyrica to work! i'm generally very restless all the time so i'm HOPING it will actually be good for me in that sense. thoughts? 

i also struggle with my weight so am REALLY terrified of appetite changes. did you notice your weight increase much? is the hunger manageable for you? anything you can suggest?

is your anxiety gone? obviously everyone has normal anxietys but apart from that? or does it just make the anxiety more manageable?

thanks so much again 

SSRI's gave me off the charts anxiety, mania and depression.  I responded like I was bi-polar, but I am not bi-polar.  I ultimately found out that I can't handle anything that touches the 5HT1 receptor, which most anti-depressants do.  I had luck with two anti-depressants that work a bit differently and they may help you.  Remeron worked fantastically for my anxiety, but it sure knocks you out and it does increase your appetite.  I have also had luck with a German medication called Insidon.  I'm in the US and have to order it online, so I'm not sure where you are.  It's been a rather good one for me.  I just take it at night instead of the twice a day recommendation.  Zyprexa worked for me too, but that really can make you fat.  

Yes, Lyrica (among a cocktail of 4 other drugs) did affect the way I could get things done, but I was worse off with debilitating anxiety.  It's a little bit of a lottery with the side effects.  They seem to be different for everyone.  I would give it a shot.  I take 300mg all at night - no need (for me) to take it twice a day, so the tiredness usually wears off in the morning, but I do end up sleeping about 9 hours.  Again, your mileage will vary.  

I have probably gained 10-20 lbs because of the Lyrica.  Taking the herb Berberine with meals may help you keep the weight down or the prescription of Metformin.  It helps get glucose into the cells so you don't have excess glucose in the blood.

My life was a living hell for about 6 years, but I wouldn't take it back because I have learned so much about medications, herbs, essential oils, supplements and vitamins.  I'm not a health coach for people with anxiety, depression and ADD.  If you want to try some natural things before you try lyrica, I have some suggestions for you 

1) 200mg of Theanine in the morning or at night if it make you sleepy.  This can be as powerful for some as Xanax or Klonopin

2) Tryptophan 1500mg at night.  It basically does the same thing as an anti-depressent without the side effects.  If that doesn't work, try 5-htp in the mornings.

​3) A good B-Complex taken in the morning (Vitamin B12 needs to be methylcobalamine and there should be Folate (Vitamin B9) in there instead of the synthetic folic acid.

(You'll know if this following list of stuff works in about 2 days, so it's worth a shot)

There are several other things I can suggest, but I would give those three things a try.  Feel free to reach out to me anytime if you have questions.  Don't give up hope whatever you do.  There is a solution for you.  Believe that is what got me through feeling like a guinea pig with those 38 medications.

What country are you in?

 

Thanks so much for all this info!

i've gone through so many periods where i've just lost all hope thinking the doctors don't understand, nothing works, everything just makes it worse, nothings ever going to work, maybe it's me maybe it's something else, i'm gonna be stuck like this for the rest of the life only worse, if i have days already where i can't leave the house one day i wont ever be able to.

this has really given me some hope that it's not the end if this lyrica doesn't work for me.

i've tried a small selection of herbal options that had no effect on me: rescue remedy, bach flower remedies, valerian root extract, calms and 5HTP. Do you know if it's safe/wise to try any of the herbal options you listed whilst taking lyrica? i'm eager to try them if you can tell if they're effective so quickly. however i dont want to make things complicated and not know which or the 2 was actually working..  

do you remember how long lyrica took to take effect? this will be my 6th day and i feel generally more relaxed and my boyfriends said the same because i haven't kept him up at night  the last 2 nights trying to talk about everything and anything haha . i'm wondering if its placebo? because my doctor said it can take a week or 2 to kick in and he'll need to up my dose in stages

deffinately watching my weight so will give Berberine a go if i notice anything i'm not happy with! unless it's safe to take it anyway?

im in the uk by the way! thanks so much again for your replies, it's really reassuring that there is something out there although it really makes me sad hearing what you've been through but i'm glad you've come out of it positively.

Hi could I pick your brains on this?

thanks so much for your reply

i'm sorry to hear you had quite bad side effects. i'd literally be so scared to drive and take them again if that happened to me! how long were you on it for before you stopped taking them? do you think maybe the side effects were worse because they weren't quite settled yet? maybe it takes a while for them to settle?

are you on diazepam daily now then? i've found so far it's the only thing that's worked. i'm in the uk and only 21, my doctor prescribes me small amounts for emergancys because i have panic attacks also but wont give me them for my day to day GAD and anxiety attacks because of the addiction side of things

 

Try theanine instead of a benzodiazapine

I was only on them for just over a week. I read up about the side effects and worried myself, it seemed like they could get worse. It seems to be a powerful drug and is also used for epilepsy and nerve pain. I was concerned about weight gain and as I am borderline diabetic, increased weight affects my blood sugar levels and I couldn't risk it.

I only take diazepam when needed, maybe 1 or 2 times a week, it stays in your body for a while so is somewhat effective for a couple of days. I'm using an old pack I saved and not sure if I will be prescribed any more, as under the psychiatrist now who doesn't seem too keen on them and the GP doesn't want to step on their toes.

I seem to be having the same thing sleepiness is killing me

hi thanks so much for your reply!

do you remember noticing the change in yourself? did you notice you were becoming like that or did people tell you? is it something you think happened because youve been on it for so many years now or did it happen quite quickly towards the start?

i've read and heard lots of stories about how hard it is to come off, my doc also warned me to obviously never stop taking myself. how are your anxiety levels now your dose is much lower and you're coming off? do you feel "cured" or is it all coming back? do you think if once it was working and you lowered your dose you wouldn't have been so different in yourself?

sorry for loads of questions! reading it, i think hey i dont mind that at least the anxiety will be gone or reduced, i'd do ANYTHING for that. but i remember not feeling myself on ssri's and i truely hated it.

Hi again,

I noticed the changes quite quickly and i was concerned but my doctor aat the time said "if its helping the anxiety - keep taking it". It wasnt until about a year ago when i started seeing a new GP in the practice that i mentioned it and she encouraged me to try reducing and see how it goes. To be honest the first 200mg drop was really difficult and my anxiety got really bad but after a few months it settled down and my GP thinks it was due to the withdrawal off of the Lyrica. To be honest i am really angry that a medicine taken in the precribed way can be so addictive. It has taken me a year to half the dose and i still have a long way to go. On the plus side the weight i gained has really started to come off. People did notice the change in me and my husband definitely did. My short term memory was awful i am so glad that has improved and i feel more like myself. I still get anxious but maybe because i am a bit older now (42 years young) i feel i can handle things a bit better. I guess what i'm saying is you have to weigh up one against the other while it will help your anxiety - no question - dont let yourself get "parked" on it which i think happened to me. While your taking it for your anxiety try and come up with other ways to deal with it and dont think of Lyrica as a long term solution - it most definitely isnt that. I noticed i'm a bit more emotional but i think its a good thing because if you cant cry (i dont think i shed a tear in 5 years) you cant really laugh either and i guess i missed that. I dont think i'm cured but i do know i decided that the price was too high for me to continue on Lyrica. I also think the dose was way too high for me and i wish i had been a bit more forthright witth my first GP - but i guess i trusted his judgement when i should really have trusted my own. As i say i know everyones experience is different so you might get none of the side effects i did - but judging from some of the things i have read and identified with the withdrawal of this i would class it in with drugs like diazepam purely for the fact i dont think they should be given long term and they are difintely addictive in the sense that although you dont crave more, as anyone who has accidentally run out of these will tell you your body definitely misses it big time!

I hope this helps.

That is so similar to my situation. i was prescribed this medication after severe neuropathic pain as a result of severe shingles and one of the bi-products was that it totally obliterated my anxiety , which had been a major issue since childhood. As with any medicines though there is a price to pay - my short term memory has deteriorated to such an extent that i find myself struggling to recall every day words such as lorry ( not specifically that word just an example) and i became emotionally very numb, almost robotic and unable to feel anything that i would ordinarily .

I have tapered from 600 mg to 450 daily with a view to switching to Gabapentin as the side effects scare me long term .