I wouldn't normally write a massive post like this, but I feel I can shed some light on this from my experience as an opiate addict & pharmacist. My name might suggest I'm a big fan of Lyrica, but honestly I just liked the name lol but I am on it currently, having decided to quit opiates again after 2 years of daily, rapidly increasing (especially last 6 months) use of DHC. To put things in context, I am currently taking 15-20 30mg tabs 3 times a day. This doesn't get me high, it stops me withdrawing. I can't even get high nowadays (with DHC anyway), so quitting makes sense. I've even taken 28 30mg tabs (840mg) and had barely any high except drowsiness and a throbbing headache and nausea the day after.
So back to Lyrica. My previous attempts to quit cold turkey have failed miserably. By the evening of day 1 I'm in agonizing pain, really bad RLS, depression etc. (Not really too bad for diarrhea though strangely, maybe I'm just lucky in that respect). By the evening of day 2 I'm ready to throw in towel, and if I make it through the night I go back on the DHC on day 3. So 3 days ago i took 75mg Lyrica morning and evening along with 10x30mg 3 times a day (Felt fine), yesterday I took 150mg twice a day Lyrica and only 8x30mg in morning and 4x30mg last night. Took paracetamol, naproxen as well to help. Today I again took 150mg twice a day, no opiates and as I sit here now I feel absolutely fine. I have the slightest ache in my legs and my vision is a bit blurry (Due to lyrica) but nothing else and I know I'll be able to sleep fine tonight. So for me Lyrica works wonders for withdrawal, but my use is probably less than alot of you, so maybe it has a limit to how much WD it can ease.
Now here's my pharmacists assessment of Lyrica. So as ppl have mentioned, it is not a GABA drug directly (Which I will explain shortly). Lyrica binds to voltage gated Calcium channels (VGCCs) on neurons within the CNS. When a nerve fires, an electrical signal travels the length of the neuron until it reaches the end. The signal cannot cross the gaps between neurons, so neurotransmitters are required to continue the signalling. At the end of a neuron, the electrical signal opens a channel on the neuron that is just the right shape and size for calcium ions to pass through it. And when it opens, they rush INTO the neuron en mass. The calcium ions then bind to receptors that RELEASE neurotransmitters such as noradrenaline (norepinephrine), glutamate etc. These neurotransmitters then bind to receptors on the surface of adjacent neurons, trigger another impulse, and the signalling continues in electrical form again. So when Lyrica binds to these channels, it stabilizes them and reduces the amount of time they open (you basically need a bigger nerve impulse to open them than before). And knowing what these channels do, you'll see that Lyrica reduces neurotransmitter release and dampens down neuronal firing within the CNS. Everyone following me?
Now lets go back to GABA, which alot of ppl assume is the mode of action of Lyrica. Well it does have GABA-like effects, but that's not due to GABA but instead due to glutamate. GABA and glutamate are exact opposites in what they do. GABA slows everything down, glutamate speeds everything up. Their effects are exact opposite, because all GABA does is increase the size of a stimulus that is required for a nerve impulse. Glutamate allows stimuli that are weaker to have the same effect as a stronger stimuli. So by Lyrica DECREASING glutamate, you have the same effect as you'd get from INCREASING GABA.
So why does it help with WD? Think about drugs that ppl take for WD. They take Clonidine which blocks the effects of the massive increase in noradrenaline release that's triggered during WD. This is one of reasons you can't sleep, feel restless, sweating, palpitations etc. Then we have the benzos. Benzos help with WD even if they can't eradicate all the symptoms. They relax muscles, aid sleep, reduce anxiety (another noradrenaline symptom) etc. Lyrica reduces NA release and mimics effects of GABA drugs so helps with all these symptoms. Then there's the fact that Lyrica is used as a pain-killer. It numbs the senses and prevents neurons from over-firing. Thats all pain is fundamentally, nerves sending messages to the parts of the brain that perceive pain. And these neurons will also be dampened down, so you'll feel less pain during WD on Lyrica.
I can't figure out how it would stop diarrhea though, but I did read somewhere that Lyrica has some affinity for some of the opioid receptors, so maybe that's why it reduces diarrhea and would also be an extra explanation for its efficiency for WDs. I suppose the motion of the gut is controlled neuronally too so its effects may slow that down.
So thanks for being patient and reading my essay lol I wouldn't normally ramble on like this but I've yet to find a comprehensive explanation of Lyrica's effects and how and why it helps with WDs on any site, not just bluelight.
One final piece of advice to ppl. Yes tolerance appears to occur rapidly, but its effects are still present even if you can't feel them. Just cause you don't feel high or aren't nodding doesn't mean this drug isn't working. My advice would be to start on a low dose of Lyrica (50mg-75mg twice a day maybe) and increase it by 50mg-75mg twice a day every 3 days (Upto a maximum of 400mg twice a day to be safe), whilst simultaneously dropping your opiate dose by 1/3 every 3 days. After a week or so, or when your dose isn't stupidly high, you should be able to rapidly tapor whilst maintaining your Lyrica dosing. Its effects become more prominant after 1-2weeks, so building it up in your system before quitting will help LOADS. After 2 weeks you can then reverse the Lyrica dosage (Down 50-75mg every 3 days) slowly to reduce risk of any WD from Lyrica (Lyrica WD won't be bad but tapering down will be smoother).
So finally good luck to anyone wanting to quit drugs for good, with or without Lyrica I wish you all the best and hope you'll live a happy, drug-free life.
. What have you got to lose when you're in withdrawal?
... standard wd-medecine is Diazepam but i have only 40x10mg.