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pregabalin withdrawal

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kim13481
kim13481

Hi there I am looking for some advice on stopping pregabalin cold turkey. I was admitted to hospital 24 days ago with severe vomitting and a few other symptoms. I was in hospital for almost a week and in that time I was unable to keep down my two daily 300mg doses at all. I was in a bad way when I came home but decided that because I hadn't taken the pregabalin for a week already that I should not take them again as I have been on the maximum dose for well over five/six years and didn't feel they were doing much good anyway. I didn't realise that it is normal to do a long de-tox from them until I just watched a documentary about pregablin abuse in Ireland!! It was an awful thing to watch and made me accept that I am/was addicted to them. Now I have not taken them for 24 days but feel so awful. Nausea and the runs, fatigue, itchy sore skin. Not sleeping. But now maybe I'm over the worst? Should I just keep going? Should I start taking them again but a smaller amount? I take them for nerve pain, arthritis, and four herniated discs in my back with sciatica in both legs. Pain has been unbearable at times but I just don't want to take pregabalin anymore. Can anyone please give me some advice? Many thanks xx

0 likes, 7 replies

7 Replies

  • elizabeth85938
    elizabeth85938 kim13481

    Posted

    Hi KIm,

    ​Sorry to hear of your hospital stay and the fact that you were unable to keep anything down leading to basically having to go cold turkey on Pregabalin. You have been on the maximum dose for a long time and this is going to take a lot of time for your brain chemistry and central nervous system to adapt to life without this drug. You have Hobsons choice here of continuing as you are in the knowledge that it could take up to a year for the withdrawals to subside, or to start taking Pregabalin again at a reduced dosage, say of 300mg daily allowing your withdrawals to settle down somewhat before starting to taper slowly off them properly. You could stay on 300 for as long as it takes for the withdrawals to be manageable and you stabilise. Only you will know when that is. Afterwards you can use the water titration method of taper which entails purchasing a,say, 150ml syringe from Amazon. As I do not know what size mg capsules you have been using it is a little difficult to explain this method, but basically if you have 100mg capsules you need to pull 3 capsules apart putting the powder into a small container - add to this 300ml of warm water and mix together. This is then your full daily dosage. With the syringe draw out 10% of mix and discard. This leaves you with 290mg which you can then split into 2 doses for the day of 145mg each. Take one dose in the morning and one in the evening. Carry on doing this for 5-7 days and if you are stable on that dose then you can reduce by another 10% and so on. It may sound a terribly slow way of doing things but this allows your brain and CNS to adapt little by little to less of the drug. Depending on what withdrawals you suffer, or you may not suffer much at all, this is the tried and tested way of coming off this awful drug. If you have any other questions that you think I may be able to help you with please post or pm me and I will reply. I hope very much that you are able to do this and wish you well.

    • kim13481
      kim13481 elizabeth85938

      Posted

      Thank you so much for answering elizabeth. And for your advice. After much thought I have decided to try and keep going without the pregabalin. Without your advice I would still be very worried and unsure what to do. I do feel less nauseous today and maybe i'm on the road to recovery :-) wouldn't that be amazing!! Thanks again elizabeth for your invaluable re-assurance. Best wishes xx

    • elizabeth85938
      elizabeth85938 kim13481

      Posted

      Yes it would be amazing Kim! You may find that you have good or better days and enjoy them - just be aware though that the bad days can come back with a vengeance, this is when the body is almost trying to trick you into starting the drug again. Just hang tight and don't give in to the craving because over time the brain and CNS will begin to accept that you are Pregabalin free. Gradually the good days will overtake the bad and you will see the light at the end of the long tunnel. Pregabalin has what is called a half life, which means that within 6.5 hours of taking your last dose it is out of your system. Bearing in mind that this drug has changed your brain chemistry it takes a long time for the brain and CNS to stop craving for it and bit by bit that craving will get less. You have chosen the hard way but having made your choice I am sure you will find the strength to continue being Pregabalin/Rewisca free. Information is power, and you have chosen to take the power back and the control that comes with it. I am always around if you need to chat further, or times get very rough and you need to chat. Best wishes, Liz x 

    • kim13481
      kim13481 elizabeth85938

      Posted

      Oh Elizabeth thank you so much for your support :-) bless you for being so kind. I do feel very strongly that I have made the right decision to stop completely and hope very much that I can rid myself of the horrible drug forever. I just wish I'd have known all the facts about it before I started taking it. Why can't GPs be open and honest about the drugs they prescribe? And why do they just keep on prescribing them on a repeat script and increasing them until you find out you're on the max dose? If I hadn't have watched the documentary a couple of days ago about them I would never have known how harmful and addictive they are. Lots of people in Ireland have died from abusing them. A really shocking programme but I'm so glad I watched it and then found this amazing help :-) Liz thank you again, Kim x

    • elizabeth85938
      elizabeth85938 kim13481

      Posted

      I didn't actually get to watch the programme Kim but many of my friends did and reported back to me. The information I now have has been researched along with personal experiences of my own and several friends on this drug - I guess it has become my mission to help people either not to take it at all even when prescribed, or to help them to taper off it when they realise what it has and is doing to them. However, I always try to just give information for people to make their own decision as personal choice must always be respected. There are some who experience little in the way of known side effects and feel the drug is helpful to them. They are in the minority but they have the right to argue that it is not all bad etc. There are some who come on this forum roaring like Lions about how evil and Toxic this drug is but I find the kinder informative approach works far better because people tend to listen to a calm conversation/debate on the subject. Perhaps you could stay on the forum to relate how things are going for you (that is where I started out) - It's hard to explain but it is a joy to me when I get feedback like yours.....I do hope that you start to feel your old self again soon, one down and thousands more to go! I will keep you in my thoughts, Liz x

  • antig
    antig kim13481

    Posted

    Been on 75mg twice daily of Pregabalin for 4 months now. Taking it for pain and anxiety. Also take Escitalipram 20mg daily.

    Decided to dump the Pregabalin. 2nd day, cold turkey and not feeling good!

    Very anxious indeed and sickly etc etc.

    I dont want to be on it anymore.

    I am now taking Magnesium, Cod Liver oil, Tumeric and will start 5-HTC next week. I want to come off the Escitalipram too.

    • elizabeth85938
      elizabeth85938 antig

      Posted

      I am sorry that you are feeling sickly etc. but this is, I am afraid, what going cold turkey does to your brain chemistry and central nervous system. It takes time for these to adjust to no longer having this drug and you will really know about it. If you are determined to remain Pregabalin free, yes do take the supplements you mention to help you and I will try to give you some others that have been tried and tested for you to consider as well. The Anxiety can be very draining and please seek help if you feel it becomes out of your control. If you feel that you cannot continue with the withdrawals you can go back on Pregabalin at say 50mg x 2 a day and use the water titration method to slowly taper down to Nil which will lessen your symptoms. I do hope you get through this well either way. Leave Escitalipram until you are over the withdrawals of Pregab before you start to come off that as well. The body can only cope with one at a time. 

       

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