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  • BDD Moderators: Keif’ Richards | negrogesic

Lyrica Withdrawal

I really hope that I don't have any kind of serious illness, it's only the withdrawal...

One way to find out if it's Lyrica withdrawal, is to take a small dose of Lyrica to see if that brings relief.
If you absolutely do not want to do that, then I would suggest seeing a neurologist for a diagnosis.


What sort of sickness exactly were you experiencing from the Lyrica that prevented you from doing a taper, what side-effects were you getting?
 
hey!
i was feeling sick, didn't have enough strength (weakness), i tried to go to work, but I got exhausted really fast, basically I felt really ill. And when I stopped it, I felt great for about 2 weeks. and then the withdrawal kicked in. I suppose that was the time it took for lyrica to completely get out of my system. Today I felt a lot better than in the last 3 days. I hope that's a good sign! I hope it will only get better from now on! I really want to have my life back! :) thanks mate for answering! it really helps!

my neurologist insisted that my symptoms were not because of lyrica WD. She wanted to put me on anti-depressants. I believe she is a really bad doctor.
 
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So, I saw my psycologist and rheumatologyst yesterday, and they are taking me off SSRI's, but keeping me ON Lyrica. They said since it works for the nerve pain, they don't want to change it; And the psych said that it can be a very effective treatment for bipolar. :p

@marcell - GET A NEW DOC ASAP. Don't put up with any doctor who doesn't listen to you and just passes off your issues as "depression" and whatnot. I'm sorry you have a bad doc... Just get rid of her and make an appt with another one asap
 
i'm having an appointment on monday with a new doc. hope things will get better. thank you StarlaTheImmortal!
 
marcell - Glad to hear that it sounds like things are finally starting to go in the right direction for you. As said above, finding a good doctor to help you through this may be key in your recovery as well. Keep us updated as you have been, and I wish you the best.
 
thank you Bronson!

i have read that the withdrawal in the first phases (as in my situation) is gettin worse and worse, and it gets to the worst point and then there's a plateau. when it's not getting worse but not getting better either, and then slowly it starts getting better.

Was it like that for you guys?

And also another question:

Yesterday I went out for a 2 and a half hour period of showing around foreign people by car in the city (it's my job), and I felt really harsh throughout, but since then it's been a lot worse. So I got really really exhausted from that activity, and I had bad pain (chest, arms and back, and overall feeling of exhaustion, low energy), and I couldn't sleep well because of the pain, and now today has been pure hell so far. Probably the worst day ever of my withdrawal. The pain is almost unbearable, I drink incredibly lots of water, try to eat a lot, fruits and veggies, but I really feel that I should be going to the hospital.. I don't really know what they could do with it.
Now i took ibuprofen, because I really had no idea, what to do with this unbelievably harsh pain.
Did this ever happened to you guys, when you over forced yourself, did a lot more, than you felt like you can cope, and then got real exhausted for days because of the extra energy?
Should I be afraid?
I really regret now that I took that job yesterday, because this whole pain wasn't worth the money.

what's you guys' take on painkilling?
what can I use as a painkiller during the harsher parts of the withdrawal?
I took ibuprofen now, and I can't really feel anything yet, because I just took it, but I read somewhere that it's not a great idea to take any kind of medication... What can be used for painkilling during the withdrawal? because for me, the worst part is definitely the amount of pain I have to take. Other than that it would be "ok". thank you so much!
 
Probably the worst day ever of my withdrawal. The pain is almost unbearable, I drink incredibly lots of water, try to eat a lot, fruits and veggies, but I really feel that I should be going to the hospital.. I don't really know what they could do with it. Now i took ibuprofen, because I really had no idea, what to do with this unbelievably harsh pain.

How can you be so certain that your pain is caused by Lyrica withdrawal?

You have only taken a low dose of Lyrica for a short time (150mg/day for six weeks) and you stopped taking it nearly 50 days ago. Your symptoms sound very inconsistent with what others have experienced at such a late stage of low-dose Lyrica withdrawal.

Your neurologist thinks that it is not Lyrica-related. You refuse to go to the hospital for it because you "don't really know what they could do with it". Obviously you are hurting badly, and I'm not saying that your problems are totally unrelated to Lyrica, but:

I honestly think that you should get a meaningful official diagnosis from medical specialists so that you can receive proper treatment, instead of asking us to recommend stronger painkillers. I hope you get it figured out soon.
 
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i went to see a good doctor yesterday, and he said, I have the symptoms of depression. it may be caused by lyrica in my opinion, but I had anxiety issues prior lyrica. Which I thought I ended due to the fact, I went to long psychotherapy and broke up with my girlfriend, who caused nearly all of my anxiety.

but this is probably not how depression works I guess. I sorted out a lot of thing in my life, still the symptoms are present.
I had all blood test, heart rate, and everything diagnosed, and everything was perfectly okay. That's why it's kind of obvious, that it's not an organ-related illness. Well.. of course we can call depression organ-related.

What do you guys think, should I start anti-depressants? Or do you guys have perhaps any other good tips, to ease depression related physical symptoms?
I try walking and some gentle activities everyday, but if I push it over a certain point, my symtpoms get worse, not better...
thank you Lurching!

(the most common symptoms of lyrica-withdrawal is depression) - i don't know for how long, and for what doses though. i have no idea.
 
Take it from someone who's been through pregabalin withdrawals dozens of times, the depression can linger for months or even a year. It will resolve sooner or later so don't jump on the anti-depressant train without giving it time. Take magnesium daily which is similar to pregabalin as it's a calcium-channel-blocker. Exercise, engage in social activities, overcome the agoraphobia that's attached to this withdrawal. Sooner or later you'll feel better.

With all due respect to the poster above you, but some people refuse to acknowledge that these drugs have withdrawal symptoms. I would attach case studies but I'll probably just put a link to the thread which they're in to once again clear the ambiguities regarding this awful withdrawal.

Good luck!
 
With all due respect to the poster above you, but some people refuse to acknowledge that these drugs have withdrawal symptoms.

I definitely acknowledge that, in fact I'm going through Lyrica withdrawal/taper at the moment.

However, in marcell's case it's not proven or even very likely that Lyrica is the main cause of the depression (or pain). So this thread is not exactly improving the ambiguity issues in the literature on Lyrica WD...
 
thanks for your post. The problem is, that my depression symtpoms are so hard, that it's super hard to engage any social activity, because if I push myself with the pain, it gets worse. every single time. That's why I'm staying at home, not because I feel down, or sad, or don't want to go out. And in order, to get myself into a better mood, I must go out and do stuff. And I can't. and that's a huge problem, because staying at home for as long as 60-70 days or even more, can develop depression... how much magnesium do you advise i should take? I take 130mg now, and took 200mg for about two months but without any really good results... I had similar symptoms before lyrica.. that's why I think It could be a relapse. I have no idea. Probably, the part of my condition, which is caused by the lyrica, will get better, but whats up with my tendency to have psychosomatic pain? you know. that's why I think that my case is very difficult, because I had very similar condition before lyrica. And been to psychotherapy, and solved a lot of problems that were causing my anxiety and stress.
so it's hard, and I definitely need to be more patient, and need more time, but during this time - because it's so long, I need a lot of patience, and I have started to lose my patience, due to the fact, that my new doctor told me, we could try something, that speeds this process up.. I have no idea, I don't want to "jump on the anti-depressant train". I just don't know exactly how much time should I wait, and the things that I should be doing in my life can't really wait anymore, and I'm slowly going crazy in this condition that I am in.
 
So this thread is not exactly improving the ambiguity issues in the literature on Lyrica WD...

Ambiguity issues in medical literature? They're case reports. I don't see what's so ambiguous about that. The only thing that remains vague is how these withdrawals work. Yes, it hasn't been proven (many things can't be), but one can attempt a quick differential in your head, and apply the host of people that have had every scan/test done during pregabalin withdrawal with everything coming back clean, and people complaining of extreme hyperalgesia upon cessation, and long lasting depressive symptoms, you could pretty much apply the same logic to him. Is it absolutely certain that it's the pregabalin withdrawal, no. Is it a likely scenario, yes. Thanks for belittling this thread which has almost 10,000 views, which shows that it can certainly serve as support, and clear up a significant amount of ambiguities to people suffering from the same thing.

-----------------------------

marcell, take chelated magnesium only, as it's well absorbed. It's said that doses of up to 1000 milligrams are safe, but I wouldn't go that far. Just stick what's on the label. I personally take 200 milligrams 3 times daily.

In terms of managing your pain with something that has less of a dependence issues, I would highly reccomend tizanidine (zanaflex). It's a muscle relaxant but It's proven to work exceptionally for neuropathic pain and fybromylalgia.

I'm not really discouraging you to get on anti-depressants, all I'm saying is that if you can even feel a 0.01 improvement daily, that means the issue will eventually resolve itself. I've been in your exact situation, it's difficult to go out, it's difficult to socialize, but you have to force yourself. As you said, patience is your best friend in situations like this, just take responsibility for your psychological well being, the only way you're going to reach homeostasis faster is through exercise, diet, social activities, and exercising your cognitive functions.
 
Ambiguity issues in medical literature? They're case reports. I don't see what's so ambiguous about that. The only thing that remains vague is how these withdrawals work. Yes, it hasn't been proven (many things can't be), but one can attempt a quick differential in your head, and apply the host of people that have had every scan/test done during pregabalin withdrawal with everything coming back clean, and people complaining of extreme hyperalgesia upon cessation, and long lasting depressive symptoms, you could pretty much apply the same logic to him.

I'd be very interested to read about extreme hyperalgesia and long lasting depressive symptoms that were caused solely by the withdrawal of a small dose such as 2x75mg/day for six weeks, with withdrawal which did not start until after being clean for 14+ days and did not begin to resolve until 50+ days later. Could you actually post a link to those case studies?

The low dose, the unusual WD-timeframe, and marcell's own remarks such as those below, surprised me so much that I doubted Lyrica being the main cause, but I don't think I belittled or denied his problems.

Quoted from marcell's posts:

"I had similar symptoms before lyrica.."

"my case is very difficult, because I had very similar condition before lyrica."

"when I stopped it, I felt great for about 2 weeks. and then the withdrawal kicked in"


I tried to point marcell towards getting a clear picture of the symptoms and the causes (which is also a form of support IMO). It's your loss if you can only see that as "belittling this thread".
 
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^ You should really try searching gabapentin or pregabalin withdrawal, and you'll see that there are thousands of people if not more in the exact situation, complaining of hyperalgesia, depression, and a myriad of other symptoms.

If you really have been through withdrawal from any drug, you'll know that as a general rule of thumb, although there are exceptions, the symptoms are the exact opposite as the properties it induces. Hypoalgesia is a proven clinical property of pregabalin.

I tried to point marcell towards getting a clear picture of the symptoms and the causes (which is also a form of support IMO). It's your loss if you can only see that as "belittling this thread".

marcell attempted to get a clear picture, has had clinical examinations, and he seems in good shape. Don't try and convince him there is something intrinsically wrong with him, his doctors have more knowledge than you.

http://www.bluelight.ru/vb/threads/...action-benzo-cross-tolerance-dependence/page2

My posts in that thread have about a half dozen case reports. Make sure you go through the thread Toz posted a link to, so you can get an idea of the 'long lasting depression and hyperalgesia'. Have fun.
 
Genuine thanks for your contributions to the Lyrica withdrawal threads, Chromophobia, and thanks for linking to the case studies.

I have looked at all those publications (that I could access), but in all cases there was a substantially higher dose of pregabalin or gabapentin used than with marcell (he was taking 2x75 p/day for six weeks) and a different timeframe (marcell felt fine for the first two weeks after quitting).

I agree 100% that no-one should convince marcell that there is something 'intrinsically wrong' with him and that his doctors will know most. That was exactly my point in my previous posts! And of course I also agree that pregabalin withdrawal can be grim. Another question: what seems to be the 'typical' onset time for WD when quitting abruptly, when do first symptoms appear?
 
the new doctor gave me a new diagnose, which states that I have depression. The cause of my depression is now eliminated, and we will never know what lyrica added to this whole process. all in all It's pretty clear, that it did not help. based what I've read on depression, it's a condition of chemical imbalance in the brain. as for this fact, it takes a long time to heal from it. So I might have gone to psychotherapy and broken up with my GF, and basically with that I eliminated a huge amount of stress and anxiety of my life, but the imbalance had already been there in my brain. And then I took lyrica, which was a bad treatment for that, IMO. So for now, I'm taking VegEPA which is a fish-oil based capsule, which can be a treatment for depression (check out vegepa.com) . I take it spreaded out during the day, 4 capsules. every 4-5 hours or so. It definitely helps, but it needs time. If my improvement in the next few weeks is not going to become more significant, I'm thinking about starting somekind of a "light" antidepressant. If there's such a thing. My mood is now more balanced thanks to vegepa, and I can stay more positive, and I'm capable about 1,5 times more physically. That's still very far from going to school or work, but at least there's a positive change. I only doubled my dose of Vegepa 3 days ago, and it's already improving. I'm not expecting miracles, but I really hope it will help.
Because I didn't really know what I was fighting against, I didn't know the right treatment. I'm definitely getting a B6-B12 vitamin complex too, and I'm already taking multivitamin. (and magnesium sometimes, which I don't feel it helps at all.. but dunno).
I try to force myself to go out for longer walks, but after a short while fatigue kicks in, and I can do nothing with that. I just hope to extend the period of time, which I can go on with more energy. That would be great. To feel energy again! after such a long time.
 
There's something but it's a fucking party compared to benzos or opiates withdrawals.

Now I've been through all 3 I think I'd still say the Lyrica WD was the worst. It can combine some of both if you really abuse them. Even though I've been through benzo WD several times since before Christmas, and the last time I had to go to a hospital when I ran out of benzos on Easter Eve and couldn't get any more. I was a mess, and the doctor prescribed me 25 Sobrils after trying to get me to check myself in somewhere. I was really ill, talking to the shadow people, and feeling close to death the whole time.

But it was no worse than Lyrica where I think I was even closer to death. I just didn't know what to look for, but I was very close to a seizure or heart-attack, and the brain-zaps would knock me out all the time. But definitely not "nothing" compared to benzos and opiates - if I had to choose I would choose opiates first, then benzos, then Lyrica.

You don't need to feel like you're quitting both at once and no others take 10 full days before they allow you to feel better, in my experience. Normally I'm over the worst in 3 days, but Lyrica didn't let me feel better before 10 days, but then it was like I was well again suddenly over night.
 
As said before:

Lyrica is only an issue if you are a poly-drug user. Specifically gaba agonists.

You will not have any issues if you do not quit the gaba agonistic drug before the lyrica.

If you do wish to use lyrica as a tapering program to end benzo, alcohol, or barb withdrawal, you must be closely watched, as lyrica is just not strong enough in some cases.


You will not have any trouble beside the return of the same anxiety you had before... Lyrica is fine exactly where it is in scheduling...

Just because certain people have idiotically jumped to abuse brand new drugs, you cant label it anywhere near benzos or barbs. It is significantly less toxic, and in most cases will not endanger your health to any extent even in abuse.
 
As said before:

Lyrica is only an issue if you are a poly-drug user. Specifically gaba agonists.

You will not have any issues if you do not quit the gaba agonistic drug before the lyrica.



You will not have any trouble beside the return of the same anxiety you had before...

How did you arrive at these conclusions? I'm interested to know.
 
How did you arrive at these conclusions? I'm interested to know.

All or most of the reports of this “withdrawal” were from people looking to replace or withdraw off of gaba agonist.

Some were also abusers of opiates. Most if not all were stopping the other drug intake.

It looks like people are damn near forgetting that they have other addictions.

Lyrica still has till this day has caused me no WD upon years of on and off usage within 1-5 thousand milligrams...

What most are saying doesn’t make any sense.
 
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