Pregabalin Support Groups on Facebook

[MrManners]

So I believe I’m suffering from a bit of a pregabalin withdrawal. I took it on and off for a couple of months. I probably did 4-5 days taking one dose in the evening then a week of not taking any. For the last 4 or 5 weeks I’ve been feeling a little rough during the weeks where I didn’t take any. I didn’t really even attribute it to pregabalin withdrawal. My doses started at 300mg and increased up to 600mg by the end of the two months. My weight has increased by around 14 pounds during that two months.

Anyway, I’m 9 days since last taking any and I’m having strange symptoms like a weird sensation in my head as if I can feel my skull touching my brain. I’m getting like a tremor sensation in my body and my hands slightly tremor from time to time. Plus some headaches and general malaise. A little anxiety too. But nothing too bad and certainly bearable. These symptoms come and go.

So I joined a Pregabalin support group on Facebook today to have a quick look and it’s scared the life out of me. It seems common consensus on there that withdrawals don’t even hit fully until two weeks after last dose and can go on for months. Are these just absolute worst case scenarios on these type of groups and a skewed version of what’s actually normal for the majority? I mean I suppose the type of people who seek these groups out will be the ones who are suffering massively. I only joined as I wanted to see if what I am experiencing is actually a withdrawal, I read a few posts then abruptly left! What are peoples opinions about this??

 

[Nurse Ratched]

Stay off of Facebook groups. They are an echo chamber and everything is doom and gloom.

Pregab WD is mild and short lived. If you feel like crap 2 weeks later there might be something else wrong with you. Were you also an opioid abuser? I seem to remember a thread where you were trying to quit a different drug I just can't remember which one.

Not saying pregabs can't cause WD's because they can. But a week at most and it doesn't go on for months. If you really want the skinny on pregab WD it's best to not trust Facebook or any other " group " as the stories on these forums can get kind of ridiculous.

There are many threads on here about pregab WD and although everyone is different in length and severity I have never heard of it lasting months. I was taking up to 1800 mgs. a day ( way too much ) and my WD was only 4 days. But that's all I was coming off ...nothing else. If you have been tapering any other drugs that might be why you feel so yucky.

 

[MrManners]

Stay off of Facebook groups. They are an echo chamber and everything is doom and gloom.

Pregab WD is mild and short lived. If you feel like crap 2 weeks later there might be something else wrong with you. Were you also an opioid abuser? I seem to remember a thread where you were trying to quit a different drug I just can't remember which one.

Not saying pregabs can't cause WD's because they can. But a week at most and it doesn't go on for months. If you really want the skinny on pregab WD it's best to not trust Facebook or any other " group " as the stories on these forums can get kind of ridiculous.

There are many threads on here about pregab WD and although everyone is different in length and severity I have never heard of it lasting months. I was taking up to 1800 mgs. a day ( way too much ) and my WD was only 4 days. But that's all I was coming off ...nothing else. If you have been tapering any other drugs that might be why you feel so yucky.

Yeah I’m also coming off codeine. I’ve been using loperamide to taper off. My last dose of codeine was 5 days ago. I must say that I’ve not experienced any traditional codeine withdrawal symptoms so far. These sensations I feel aren’t anything I’ve ever experienced with an opiate withdrawal before. These symptoms also started whilst I was still on codeine.

I’ve come off the Facebook group straight away. I lasted about 20 mins of reading a few threads before I left haha. The fear I got from reading them made me feel worse. Earlier in the day I had suspected that I was feeling a pregabalin withdrawal and my initial thoughts were that it was uncomfortable but mild and I could manage whilst it passed. After reading the Facebook posts I was much more aware of my symptoms and I was a lot more uncomfortable. Shows how powerful the mind is I suppose.

I have been reading a few threads about pregabalin withdrawals on here and one thing that confuses me is that Ive got the opposite of insomnia. I’m literally sleeping 8-10 hours per night. That’s better sleep than I normally get. That’s one sign that my loperamide dosage is working as insomnia is usually my worst symptom in opiate withdrawal. I’ve also not got any of the usual runny nose, body aches, shits etc. I did read on one of the threads a reply from yourself where you described pregabalin withdrawal to bring you to your knees. Did you mean lingering psychological symptoms when you wrote that? How long did they last for. Just the 4 days like you mentioned earlier? I do feel what I think is anxiety. Anxiety is always a hard thing to diagnose myself with. I’ve never suffered any MH problems prior to dabbling with opiates. What I’ve got when I describe anxiety is a tingly feeling in my arms and upper body, kinda like an adrenaline rush type of feeling. I never have feelings of panic or fear, but more like a low level worrying where I’ll just obsessively read about withdrawals and such online. I also clench my jaw really tight.

I think one thing that absolutely drives me mad is never being sure about what’s wrong with me. Is it opiate withdrawal, is it pregabalin withdrawal, is it some lasting damage from being an addict for 5 years, is it a malaise from not looking after my body for ages? Is it mental health symptoms caused by years of addiction. I hate not having definitive explanations.