Posted , 5 users are following.
There appear to be numerous scare stories about the "dangers" of pregabalin/lyrica. as I've been prescribedv this drug fairly recently by my psychiatrist(I have GAD and mood disorders, plus ocd)I'm concerned.Is it true that I should be worried?
0 likes, 9 replies
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nstar elizabeth112
Posted
Hi Elizabeth,
I took this for my neck/nerve pain and I didn't have any mood issues really until I took it. It made me a bit dizzy, forgetful, and didn't really help with the pain. I was on it for 1.5 years and even though my dr. said it wasn't addictive, it was VERY hard to get off of. I wonder why you were prescribed this - was it for OCD and mood?
N
elizabeth112 nstar
Posted
elizabeth85938 elizabeth112
Posted
Hi Elizabeth
I can only suggest that you do as much research as possible on this hard hitting drug before deciding whether or not to stay on it. I am struggling to get off it after 2 and a half years and tapering down very slowly because the withdrawal symptoms are just awful for me. Pregabalin changes your brain chemistry and central nervous system within one week of taking it. I lived in a permanent brain fog, suffered loss of memory, language, balance, excess sleeping or insomnia, mood changes, anger outbursts, anxiety (never had this before) and many more side effects. But I took it for chronic nerve pain and it did take it away - I just couldn't live with the side effects. I was only on 200mg x 2 a day, some are on the maximum of 600mg a day. I know that Consultants, Psychiatrists etc. think this is a wonder drug, especially as the Opoid crisis means taking people off Codeine etc., but they do not have to take it and I firmly believe that if they did they would not give it to their patients.
Please do your own homework on this because once you are on it it is extremely difficult to get off. If you do make the choice to stop taking it please be aware that going cold turkey can cause seizures (the reason this drug was given out originally was to control seizures)! Whatever choice you make for yourself I hope it is the right one. I just know I will never take it again however much pain I am in, and would not allow any of my family to either. Some people I know of took it for Anxiety and thought it was working for the first few months, until their anxiety came back with a vengeance worse than before.
elizabeth112 elizabeth85938
Posted
I know it's most often prescribed for nerve pain/fibromyalgia, but my Psychiatrist prescribed it to me as I suffer from severe and constant anxiety symptoms/Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and I have OCD too. He told me it was also effective for severe anxiety like mine, which SSRIs haven't been effective in controlling (I have also had numerous courses of CBT which have failed - and I must say that I have felt "bettr2 on it, in terms of panic attacks not occurring so often, but am concerned about the long term effects so will certainly discuss it on my next appointment.
elizabeth85938 elizabeth112
Posted
I know many people on this drug Elizabeth and in most cases it actually causes depression and anxiety - these are now known to be side effects along with memory issues, brain fog etc. It literally stops the brain making new synapses - these are essential because as we get older and parts of the brain do not cope as well this wonderful grey matter of ours still manages to find new routes (synapses) around the problem. Lyrica stops the brain functioning normally and is powerful enough to stop our pain receptors working - if they do not work we do not know we are in pain. However anxiety is a totally different matter and Lyrica should not be given to sufferers of this and panic attacks. This drug is now given out for so many different issues it is amazing to me that the powers that be keep on allowing it. The trials of Lyrica in the USA were based on falsified trials - the trials never took place and the guy that said he had done them ended up serving time in prison. Yet still this non existent trial is quoted and Doctors/Consultants have yet to wake up to the fact that we are the guinea pigs really but we are not being listened to when we report the dire side effects to them. This happened in the USA and I can't remember the man's name (thanks to this drug) but can find it for you so that you can google this for yourself. Please be careful and whatever you do, please do not allow your Psychiatrist to up your dose each day. He may be unaware of these things, drug companies do a very hard sell on Lyrica and also offer great incentives to medics to use it. You will probably be told not to believe a word of what I have told you, many of us have tried and failed to get our experiences across. I honestly thought I had Dementia setting in after a few months of taking Pregabalin (I am in the UK) but now I have tapered down to a much lower dose I am starting to get back to my old self so it is reversible if you come off slowly and carefully. The withdrawals are different for everyone but I have suffered less because I have dropped the dosage at 5% at a time and waiting to stabilise in between each drop.
Be your own advocate, ask questions and do not feel that your fears are silly - they are valid and you have a right to be concerned.
elizabeth112 elizabeth85938
Posted
Thank you very much.I'll research, and discuss this with my doctor.I'm so thankful to have found you!
elizabeth85938 elizabeth112
Posted
DanHAus elizabeth112
Posted
I should stress I am not a doctor, nor a medical professional of any type, but have had a fair degree of experience with pain.
Lyrica has some very worrying side effects, notably dementia, and although this is not empirically proven its listed as a side effect. It stops synapses forming in your brain. This is the way it blocks pain.
I have 4 prolapsed or bulging discs between c4 to t3 as a result of a whiplash injury. It started to ratchet up in my 40’s.
I was on this drug for around 4 years with 5 or 6 sells over the time, with daily doses of 75mg and 15mg. I found myself getting angry and frustrated as the main side effects.
The way out of pain personally was*
*weight loss and exercise.
*if pain spike i would put a bag of ice in the bath and get in there for as long as possible, or get into cold water at the beach.
*using and inversion table to treat spinal nerve pain.
*meditation, and anything which would treat the mental and emotional side of pain.
*Turmeric. Bio Curcumin plus and Thompsons pain manager.
But corrective exercise or physiotherapy is the best. Show your body a way to fix itself. Changing my posture helped relieve pressure on the brachial plexus, and therefore I had less radiculopathy in my left arm.
But yes, Lyrica is a rabbit hole, as is most modern medicine. Staying on it long term could dramatically increase your chance of developing early onset dementia.
Let us know how you go, and what works best to relieve your pain, which i have found is mostly in my head.
Good Luck.
maureen_25289 DanHAus
Posted
I agree with everyword you written DanHAus.
I too was given it by my GP for nerve pain as in AO or fantom tooth pain its a bit like suffering toothache and trying to come off it is hideous. I tried doing it too quick first time and it created anxiety something i dont have or wasn't taking it for either. So i had to go back to my start dose and try again only this time doing it in increments of very little. I did manage to stop it eventually but like youself it never helped at all with my pain in teeth created anxiety which i didn't have before starting it. My advice would be you need to be very careful about your decission over going on it and it is addictive other wise why the need for small doses to get off it you would be able to just simply stop it but you daren't.