Misc Pregabalin pros and cons for anxiety?

[Mighty-oak]

Does Pregabalin really help with anxiety, if so how does it make you feel?

What are the negative effects of Pregabalin and is it safe to use with an SSRI and 2 different benzos as that is what my Dr has me on, 10mg Valium, 0.5mg Klonopin and 40mg Citalopram a day.

 

[Erikmen]

I know it helps the sort of anxiety you have during withdrawals.
There's a lot of negative side effects. One of them is swelling. Edema etc.
But it's very individual. Was it prescribed to you?

 

[modocmodoc]

I'd characterize it as disinhibiting, which has its own bad side, but that's the mechanism that relieves anxiety for most people. It can be really depersonalizing acutely, causes minor edema, but that's about it. 400mg/day and up will result in tolerance and a pretty bad withdrawal so if you can't take stuff as prescribed, don't put yourself through that. Sounds like not a problem for OP though, if your Doctor is stacking benzos. Is that a psych or a GP? The practice is getting rare amongst psychiatrists.

(edit) Also, ataxia, clumsiness and talkativeness is sometimes pretty bad for the first week after starting / bumping doses up.

 

[Mighty-oak]

Thanks for the replies.

It was prescribed for me by a Psychiatrist for severe anxiety/agoraphobia.......But I am also on benzos.....I dont want to end up like a zombie like some of these poor people you see in a Psych Ward! He has given me 50mg tabs (capsules) . Not even taken one yet as to nervous to. He prescribed them to me about 6 weeks ago at 50mg twice a day, since then he has done the script for 150mg twice a day but I am not taking them. Desperate to get over this agoraphobia and be able to leave my house but also incredibly scared of being hooked on to another drug like the benzos I am on, and scared that Pregabalin may make me feel strange or even more anxious.

 

[Hodor]

Personally I really like Lyrica.
There just seems to be a much lower abuse potential than with benzos - it feels more like they just dampen your anxiety, rather than compensate it with a "high" like a benzo would.
If you're suffering from a relatively constant level of generalized anxiety, they're excellent - when you're dealing with panic attacks, on the other hand, they're of limited value, as they lack the punch to actually neutralize a full-blown anxiety attack. Lyrica and benzos make a good combo in cases like that though - Lyrica for the "background" anxiety, and Xanax for those intense anxiety spikes.

 

[Znegative]

I find lyrica to be just a more potent version of neurontin, both are weird drugs, I just posted the same thing in the gabapentin megathread but GABA and Pregabalyn turned on me, at first they felt almost identical to alprazolam but more speedy and then it turned into a nasty sort of drunken while high on weed (which I hate sue me). I now find it only useful for withdrawals, not cause it makes me feel good really but it takes away a large portion of opiate withdrawal by making me feel shitty in another way lol.

 

[Erikmen]

Personally I really like Lyrica.
There just seems to be a much lower abuse potential than with benzos - it feels more like they just dampen your anxiety, rather than compensate it with a "high" like a benzo would.
If you're suffering from a relatively constant level of generalized anxiety, they're excellent - when you're dealing with panic attacks, on the other hand, they're of limited value, as they lack the punch to actually neutralize a full-blown anxiety attack. Lyrica and benzos make a good combo in cases like that though - Lyrica for the "background" anxiety, and Xanax for those intense anxiety spikes.

I agree. Although benzos have a potential for addiction. That cycle you don't really notice when it's coming.

 

[Mighty-oak]

I am addicted to klonopin and valium, so hard to come off......For some reason I am scared stiff of taking one of these Pregabalin capsules. Dr gave me 50mg ones and 150mg ones.....I keep thinking 'What if I loose control if I take a 50mg Pregab' My worst fear is being out of control or feeling dizzy.

 

[Erikmen]

Suggest you seek for medical advice. Consider your addiction and what you can do to get off of these meds.

 

[Mracid]

I find that lyrica is good for physical symptoms of anxiety and too high social inhibition. Other than that pregabalin doesn't do alot. In high doses on ocasionnal use it is quite entertaining, like a fake opiate mixed with cannabis.

 

[Hodor]

I am addicted to klonopin and valium, so hard to come off......For some reason I am scared stiff of taking one of these Pregabalin capsules. Dr gave me 50mg ones and 150mg ones.....I keep thinking 'What if I loose control if I take a 50mg Pregab' My worst fear is being out of control or feeling dizzy.

50 mg is really nothing, especially if you're tolerant to other GABAergics... with the advent of generic Lyrica here in Europe, I managed to get my dose bumped up to 3*300 mg/day, but I get nothing even resembling a "high" out of it.

Another thing I like about Lyrica: They go really well with Ritalin. Unfortunately we never got Adderall here, and you basically have a snowball's chance in hell of getting a Dexedrine script, so Lyrica is extremely useful for taking the edge off of high-dose Ritalin.

 

[cdigital]

Personally I really like Lyrica.
Lyrica and benzos make a good combo in cases like that though - Lyrica for the "background" anxiety, and Xanax for those intense anxiety spikes.

No that's what klonopin is for :D

 

[cdigital]

I now find it only useful for withdrawals, not cause it makes me feel good really but it takes away a large portion of opiate withdrawal by making me feel shitty in another way lol.

hahahahahhaha

 

[Mighty-oak]

Took 2 x 50mg today, 1 tab this morning and the other this afternoon......Strange kind of feeling, kind of a bit high as in happy....Although feeling normal now and last tab was about 10 hours ago. Ok, so not nervous about taking them anymore The Dr has also prescribed me 150mg Pregabalin tabs, I am meant to take 2 a day after being on 2 x 50mg for 2 weeks......Hopefully it will ease this anxiety as desperate to live a normal life again, being stuck in my house all day everyday is driving me mad, but cant go out as so anxious.

 

[Erikmen]

I find that lyrica is good for physical symptoms of anxiety and too high social inhibition. Other than that pregabalin doesn't do alot. In high doses on ocasionnal use it is quite entertaining, like a fake opiate mixed with cannabis.

The experience I have with Lyrica was limited to having them to ease the intense withdrawals I was going through.
I haven't really felt high or euphoric. After a couple of weeks when my physical pains were getting a bit better I stopped using.
I guess it helped a little. But it was mixed with other medications so I had never felt the urge to take it again.

But I do know some people not used to opiates who feel relaxed and sleep well after using them. So I can imagine that above the prescription dosages it may lead you to feel relaxed.