Hi there. I was just wondering if it was ok to take Pregabalin and Codeine together. I have been taking Codeine for about three years now and won't be able to stop cold turkey. I am about to take Pregabaln for the first time tonight and usually take two codeine before bed as well. I'm worried I will like a complete zombie and not be able to function properly. Any help greatly appreciated.
Hi Jane
I take both Pregablin and Codeine and found that I am fine on both. If you are 3 years in on Codeine your body has adjusted to them - when you start Pregablin you may find that they make you sleepy and again your body should adjust after about 6 weeks. I sleep very well on these drugs combined (I have arthritis and neuropathic pain and am almost pain free now) and have noticed that I get less sleepy during the day the longer I take them. Everyone is different and maybe just note what side effects you have over the first 4-6 weeks and talk with your GP for reassurance or depending on severity of them discuss a change of drug. Hope this is helpful and wish you well soon
Hi Elizabeth
I cut my codeine down to 30mg as I was unsure of how they would react to the Pregabalin. I've only been taking the Pregabalin for two days so haven't seen any improvement yet in the amount of pain I am in. Reducing the codeine wasn't good so from tonight I will take my normal 60mg dose. I have found that the last couple of days I have felt a bit foggy and had quite a long nap in the afternoon. I'm going to keep going because I am expecting this to wear off after a few weeks. Thank you for replying to me.
Take care.
I am sorry Jane I can be of no help to you. If your doctor knows you take codeine he would have known if it was ok or not. I would phone him or ask your pharmacist . I hope it works for you.
Almost pain free? Really?
I'm a little unsure as to why you are questioning my self-assessment of being "almost pain free". But I will willingly tell you the before and after to allow you to understand. When I was 50 I was diagnosed with generalised Inflammatory Arthritis and was given various painkillers that did not help until I was given Codeine. 10mg/500mg paracetemol. This helped until about 5 years ago when my GP upped the dose to 20mg/500p'mol which I remain on 3 times a day. 2 years ago I developed sciatica in both buttocks and legs. This got gradually worse until 9 months ago I could no longer walk because the left side was so unbearably painful I could not put my foot to the floor. After trying Amitriptyline which had started to help the pain, I developed Sudden Onset Acute Angled Closure Glaucoma and nearly lost my sight within 36 hours of onset. Thankfully my sight was saved by emergency laser eye surgery but I was told never to take Amitriptyline ever again as this drug was the trigger causing my type of Glaucoma (very very rare indeed and the Eye Consultant in his late 50's or early 60's had only ever seen one other case.) When this was over I was put on Gabapenten which had too many side effects. At this stage my GP sent me for a DEXA scan which revealed I have severe Osteoporosis and my lower 3 vertabra had crumbled trapping sensory and sciatic nerves. Still on Codeine at dosage mentioned above, Pregabalin was tried. After 5 weeks on a dosage of 100mg morning and another at night (200mg total) I am "almost pain free". I am used to pain in different forms and levels but the sciatica completely floored me to the point I actually begged my GP for help. It would seem Pregabalin alongside Codeine for the Arthritis was the answer for me. I hope this answers your question(s).
No no I didn't mean it like that I was amazed I am in terrible back pain and anxiety and finding it terrible getting the day time dose to not make me feel terrible I am really happy to hear such a story I have lost 10 years of my life to pain.
Hi Minnimoo
I did eventually phone my pharmacist when it was open, and it is fine to take both. I really needed to keep taking the codeine as well because I am in so much pain. I'm not sure how long until I feel some benefit from the Pregabalin but I'm keeping my fingers crossed.
Pregabalin comes in doses as low as 25mg. If you are having problem with side effects at a higher dose you could request a lower dose for daytime. Maybe over time you will be able to increase your dose.
I personally had amazing results for both anxiety and pain with the addition of this medication, enough that I am reducing and discontinuation other drugs like opiates.
Good Luck
Thank you for this reply I have suffered pain and anxiety for ten years and am trying to get the daytime dose in me, but I am alone and it's hard going. One question at the moment the side effects last about six hours if they subside do you get relief all day? Does it build up ? Has your anxiety gone
Hello
The anxiety was the first to subside, but it took getting up to a therapeutic dose that worked for me.
How long have you been on the drug? What is the dose?
I have been on 200 at about 7:30pm and out of desperation now trying the daytime dose of 50mg this is 3rd day, it been compounded by being alone as days are long and I have no appetite
The 200 I have been in about eight weeks
I take it three times a day. My GP told me to take either two or three times a day to keep a balanced amount in my system at all times. He started me on a nighttime only dose to get use to the medication, so I would not be sleepy in the day until I got use to the side effects. I actually did not like taking it at night, because I overslept and missed my very early physical therapy. I took in the day, since I was not working. Later I started both day and night. I started to see anxiety relief at 200-300mg and complete control at 450mg. I take 150 every eight hours. The pain slowly improved over months.
I am not a medical expert. This is just my experience. Everyone is different. Everyone reacts differently.
Thanks
I have a question I am taking the progablin quite early in the day but I am noticing the pain gets worse around 4, could this be when it's wearing off? Thanks
Good luck Jane , I hope it kicks in for you soon.
Sorry this is probably a bit late to be of any use to you but yes it does start to wear off. I have to take mine 3x a day for the same reason and I take a slightly higher dose in the morning to try to stop that happening. I hope your pain is greatly reduced by now x
Sorry this is probably a bit late to be of any use to you but just in case anyone else is looking for an answer I thought I'd reply. I think it varies depending on the person. I can tolerate both drugs on their own but when I take them together I get a serious adverse reaction. For me it causes flu-like symptoms such as blocked nose, thick throat, headache, severe muscle pain all over my body, fever even though I feel freezing and severe fatigue and lethargy. I also get a sore tongue and my muscles start to twitch until I cannot control my limb movements and this usually lasts 2-3 days. My GP is baffled as there are no 'known' interactions. I'm not sure he would have believed it if he hadn't seen it for himself. I suffer from fybromyalgia so I'm several medications but I know it's the pregablin and cocodamol 30mg/500mg that cause this reaction as the first time it happened these were the only meds I was on.
I have seen somewhere that there are known interactions between tramadol and Pregablin but nothing on these 2 meds. If anyone else has experienced problems with these meds could you let me know please? Hope everyone who reads this finds some degree of relief from they're on. Living with chronic pain is a constant battle.
Dear Jane1959 I have same problem as you. I also have fybromyelgia and ongoing health problems. I also experience headache pain and flu like symptoms especially twitches. Only way I can explain it. I've been advised not to take Cocodamol