Hi , I have been taking Pregabalin for 10 days now. I was started off on the 25 mg dose. Before I took these( recommended by pain consultant) I said I was really,really worried as I was very sensitive to drugs,and got side effects on very low dosage. He said he would not move up the dosage for a month( consultant said 5 days) and if I had problems I am in no way forced to take them.fair enough! I was still actually frightened to take the first one, I even cancelled appointments. The next day I could not believe it,not much difference in pain but wow what a difference in mood. I suffer from anxiety and I was very chilled.no side effects at all! Next day same again, I felt like I imagine most normal people feel. I was lovely to feel. Wanted to do things! Alas it wore off! I still felt better mentally,slight pain reduction( but is that because I could cope?) I would have settled for little pain relief at25gm as I felt so much brighter and able to cope. BUT last 2 days I woke with blocked ears,headache all day,much more achy,the desire to keep peeing all the time and generally feel pretty awful. I know I'm only on 25 gms ,but now I'm really concerned. Can I just stop taking these? Do I need to taper off after just 10 days? Should I stop at all? Fed up! And any advice would be great....thank you.
Hi Lynda, I am on 300mg twice a day which is the maximum dose. I started on 75mg once daily and it has been increased over a period of about 18 months. It's difficult to know if the symptoms you mention can be attributed to the Pregabalin. I think if I were you, I would give it a few more days and see what happens. I wouldn't advise that you stop them without seeing a doctor. And I personally find that the benefit I get from the Pregabalin outweighs the side effects, which do lessen over time. Good luck. xx
Thank you, I know how silly this must seem perhaps(?) to anyone ,as I know 25mg is a very small dose,but I do react quite drastically to drugs,so I was expecting something...but not these particular something's!
wouldnt stop straight away ,and not without advice
hi, this is the reason I'm worried. Neither consultant or Dr says they are addictive. Dr said if I have side effects to just stop taking them? And how do you cut down when your on the lowest dose?. I only know about withdrawal through Google! I was told by the consultant they aren't addictive. Thanks for reply.
I was prescribed it many years ago for a different condition not fibro and had headaches and weight gain. The headaches went after a while once my body adjusted to the medication. Would not suggest you stop without consulting a doctor. You may find once your body gets used to the drug the feelings ease but please talk to your doctor before doing anything hasty.
I don't think what you're describing is due to the tablets or FM. It's difficult to remember that we can and do get other infections/diseases and not everything is attributable to FM. It sounds like you maybe have a sinus or ear infection, keep taking the Pregabalin, give it a couple of days then, if you're no better see your doctor.
feel better soon
S x
Yes,it's difficult to know what is fm and what isn't,that's very true!
Hi Linda; I know what your are getting at. I've never taken Pregabalin...but have the same problem with another drug that I have recently been prescribed....I thought this was going to be "my wonder drug", as it is recommended on all Fibro Sites.....but it had the adverse affect, too. What I have done, and you could think about, is firstly...ring your doctor/pharmacist..(I actually think the Pharmacist, if they prescribe all your other medications, as they will know of any adverse inter-actions).....and ask for another appointment with your prescribing doctor??? I think we already take enough medications, and certainly don't want to take another, especially if not working....let us know what the outcome is for you.....Bron
Hi lynda40659 I have tried these only for them to render me virtually immobile due to the advancement of agonising pain to every trigger point in my body but especially my feet I would wake some mornings unsure whether I would be able to put my foot on the floor let alone walk. As I am under a hospital pain management consultant as well as a senior occupational therapist and just been guinea pig to another prescribed medication called gabapentin which has caused me to go from a size 16/18 to a size 26/28 waist measurement and again served to give no pain relief again whatsoever just advanced again to especially my feet once more and worse still my shoulder blades so sleeping is a struggle now for me too. I am now coming off all my medication as have been told because all my body is in 24/7 agony in truth no pain relief will help with a body that is full of his dreadful illness and all that comes with it I have everything brought on from a major trauma accident and two troubled pregnancies. I do my best to push through all day everyday as for me to sit down just cripples me yet to further bring my life down CAB say I do not qualify for PIP I also have antidepressants with some element of pain relief but get none from this medication too my dr has offered to pay for me to go to Slimming World but walked away with him being unable to listen to reason. I asked for e removal of my stomach and bowel as have no quality of life to carry on for and no highs from all the experimental medication he out me in I will go back to grinning and bearing it before I am in a state of shutdown and everywhere seized up so believe me pregablin can prove detrimental to this illness.
Thank you ,I will let you know how it goes. Trying to stick them out until I go back to the Drs on 5 th June. I really don't know what's side effects and what's fibromyalgia. Wouldn't it be nice just to feel good for a change!
Really sorry you feel so bad Julia. I get very fed up with the state of myself sometimes,but I know there are people much,much worse than me.
i hope you can find some relief from what you are going through,it sounds terrible. Wish I could say more to help.X
You certainly CAN claim PIP. I and many others on this forum do get it, so apply now. Good luck. xx
Hi Linda; sorry, but after replying yesterday; I went onto the net to find aout info on Pregabalin, and found that here in Aussie (or at least my drug,)went under the name of Lyrica.....and yes I have tried it, and NO it nothing for me either. I do know someone who takes it, and she has said "she has no pain now", but also know that she only had pain in 1 her shoulder blade, and no diagnosis of Fibro: hence I don't know if it's any good for Fibro.....I take Gabapentin and valium, Endep (Amitriptylline) for my Gibro.....perhaps an earlier trip back to Rhuemy/GP may be needed? Bron
Hi, very short not - Gabapentin and Pregabalin/Lyrica both work in the same way. I take Pregabalin which is very expensive so isn't prescribed lightly, they will normally try Gabapentin first, I had a really bad reaction to Gabapentin, blood pressure dropped so low I was passing out. Pregabalin/Lyrica is fine but not sure it's helping.
Julia, I don't know why CAB would tell you you don't qualify for pip, it isn't their decision! You would qualify for pip if you fill in the form right! See if you have a Welfare Rights team in your area, it will be part of your council. There is an excellent website you can look at, I'll try to give you it but do a search for "disability rights" and it should pop up.
take care
S x
like isaid i wont take anything because i just cant bare the thougth of
feeling any worse
try using fightback4justice there legal eagles and no how to fill out your
pip form its free
i read all the information on the drugs used for fibro
and decided not for me .i already felt awful and the pain at times
would have me sobbing.i knew risking worsing my condition wasnt the answer for me . so iv always done natrual .
i am not cured and at times the flares have been absolute agony but i have narrowed down things that help , after years of trial and error
but for me defo the fatigue that is the worse for me theres no relif from that and that is what ia m suffering from now the worse .6 weeks i have been sleeping the clock round and still feeling tired i wish there was a cream or potion that could fix that .
you can claim it ,but dont hold your breath
when i went for my so called medical i got a women firing questions
at me ,as i am suffering with chronic fatigue at the moment i was struggling
to answer ,and started crying with frustration
because i suffer every day ,but its so hard to explain to someone who just dosent suffer , she asked can i wash my hair i said yes in a shower she didnt ask how often i felt up to it ,which is about once a fortnight , the rest of the times i just let the water run thru it,
she asked if i could see to my toilet needs which is yes , she asked if i had a computer have a family one then she asked what i did on it
i said home shopping, she didnt ask how i managed it
like one week i ordered enough cake for a street party ,
and another week i ordered two lots of shopping for the same day .
she also didnt ask how long it took me to do most people will
take a hour once a week it takes me hours over several days
and i still get stuff wrong and forget things
fibro is about pain and fatigue and how it effects us one of the ways it effects me is lack of concentration , because i am so tired all the time .so iv said yes to most of the questions which will mean a fail and a apeal
which i will do but hopefully with support from our local disability action group. and i will try to have stuff written down for him to work from
the thing that upsets me the most is they just dont get it. they ask if i can dress myself well yes i can because i only ever wear dresses or leggings
that are very streachy i cant do buttons or zips icant get a pr of tights on
or socks or boots and shoes unles they are mules,you adapt to this you can manage. but it still dosent take away the constant pain, and fatigue
dizziness, constipation bouts,direeh , skin itching etc etc