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  • BDD Moderators: Keif’ Richards

How long does it take to become dependant on Lyrica?

ZTurtle

Greenlighter
Joined
Aug 17, 2011
Messages
5
Hello to all. My as questions is as the title suggests.
Here is the situation:

I am a chronic pain patient. I will spare you the details, as all the patients I have seen seem to love brandishing their problems.
Every three to six months I will taper down to keep from building tolerance. I have stayed at the same dose for three years, and would like to keep it that way.
Every time I did, I suffered horribly from withdrawls. I seem to be worse than most - I will not sleep for 7 - 9 days, and have the whole range, just as if I was going C/T (which I have done as well).
My job is very competitive, so time off is not an option. The loss of performance that occured during the tapering sessions affect my job too much.
So, I found out about Lyrica. I must say, that for me, it has been a miracle.
However, I don't want to add another dependency to the list.
Thanks in advance for all answers.
Turtle
*Sorry, forgot the dosages.
Three times 100mgs of lyrica per day.
I am dropping from 2 20mg Opana and two 15mg Roxi per day to half the 20 Opana in the morning, half in the evening, no roxi.
Of course, I did three days taper to that, one day with one roxi, both opanas, two days both opana, then the half in the morning half in the evening regime.
 
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i took it for a year daily at 200mgs 3x daily, and do to finacial reasons, no longer have this luxury. i didn't feel even the slightest w/d be honest when i stopped abruptly. i've spoken to other bluelighters about this and most people agree that w/d's are minimal.

i would say you are on a light dosage. i know people taking 450mgs 3x daily
 
Thanks for the info. This has been a good experience for me. Serious answers, no trolling...nice.
 
You will never be dependent on Lyrica as strong as any enforcing narcotic. Lyrica is not a compulsive drug at all. If you don't think about it, you can even forget to take it. Does that sound very addictive to you? All other stuff aside... The scheduling is garbage for this drug. IMHO
 
I have been taking Lyrica 150mg three times per day for about three months and I become depressed and very irritable if I even miss one dose. I guess that means I'm dependent. I take it for pain and anxiety and although it worked great at the beginning its effect seems to be tapering off. Maybe it should not betaken on a regular basis.
 
You will never be dependent on Lyrica as strong as any enforcing narcotic. Lyrica is not a compulsive drug at all. If you don't think about it, you can even forget to take it. Does that sound very addictive to you? All other stuff aside... The scheduling is garbage for this drug. IMHO

You might not get compulsion, but I believe you can become dependent in the same way you can become dependent on benzos or zopiclone/zolpidem - you can develop a tolerance and suffer withdrawal symptoms when you stop. It is a problem with terminology (addictive/compulsive/dependent etc) but you certainly can suffer withdrawals the same as any GABAergic drug (eg benzos) and they can be very unpleasant indeed...

Havcing said that, I'm afraid I don't know how long it would take to develop a physical dependence to Lyrica, sorry..
 
I does not work like any other GABAergic drug we are used to. It will only cause significant WD in the case of abuse. If you are just a normal long-term user, it will not cause significant unpleasantness. It's just not going to happen.

I also take lyrica at 150 mg a day and have been for years now. If I run out, it's only my anxiety coming back to baseline. I have to wait to get money sometimes to refill. It's only slightly noticeable.
 
lyrica didn't cause any withdrawal or even slight emotional tension for me after abruptly stopping 200x3 a day. it really isn't like other drugs (besides gabapentin). i agree with jay on this one
 
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