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Misc Lyrica Long Term Mental Effects (feeling dumber)

hydrocondor

hydrocondor

Greenlighter
Joined
Nov 2, 2010
Messages
29
Location
Somewhere Near Barstow...
I have been using lyrica about once or twice each weekend, and it seems like I feel much mentally slower. I have trouble recalling names and facts, and I have alot of trouble solving mathematical equations.

Does anyone else have this experience? I'd love to hear suggestions and tips in regard to "lyrica stupidity"

-Hydrocondor
 
Thoughts & Welcome!

Whilst I don't think mental acuity is affected so profoundly as to justify its own phrase suggestive of such (your so-called "lyrica stupidity"), I have been prescribed Lyrica for four months and have certainly noticed compounding deficits with cognition - memory storage and recall most in particular. Because pregabalin exerts its nerve pain dulling properties via blocking calcium channels & causing nerve cell hyperpolarization (making the cell 'more negative' and thus more difficult to conduct signals), it's possible - in my mind, probable - that this effect on the nervous system is not limited only to the peripheral nervous system [PNS]. That the central nervous system [CNS] may also be affected means that the brain's nerve cells - to whatever extent (and of this I am not sure) - may have more difficulty with the transmission of electrical impulses and this would strongly suggest that aspects of cognition like short- and long-term memory might be impaired with repeated use of pregabalin.

However, might I also suggest the possibility that other factors in your life may be contributing to your lessened cognitive agility? Although I can relate to your symptoms, I take a minimum of 450mg/day, every day, for four months, whereas you take lyrica once, sometimes twice per week in unstated amounts. How much Lyrica do you typically find yourself eating when you take it each weekend? Another factor contributing to your mental sluggishness may be your possible concurrent use of opiates (and I infer this from your username - hydrocondor - in my mind, a likely reference to hydrocodone), though please forgive me if I've jumped the gun in assuming your use of other agents known to cause mental fogginess.

Since you're new to Bluelight (and welcome, by the way!! =D) let me point you in the direction of the Lyrica Megathreads Version One and Version Two where you can have a look around and find more information pertinent to Lyrica and the effects other Bluelighters have found from it (Version 1 will have a ton more info; a new version of a megathread is created once the number of posts in the current version has reached 1,000).

Hope I could be of some help, and once more, welcome to BL hydrocondor :)

~ vaya
 
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yep. i feel way less cognizant on lyrica. i am prescribed 300mg a day but i started only taking 150 because i just feel retarded on it. typing is harder, i make more spelling mistakes, and i generally feel more stupid. ive heard of this side effect from a lot of people, as well.

im a pretty smart guy, at least i have a fairly high vocab and i find myself not being able to articulate myself in meetings. in writing, where i usually use very very high vocab i cant seem to get have proper sentence structure. i also cant seem to read as well. im getting really tired of this shit. it doesnt help with my anxiety much anymore either. you need to take breaks from it. thats the biggest thing.

im thinking i may have to go on a benzo and cycle on and off of lyrica. being on it everyday is not effective.
 
homey, I agree, but for me, the dumb effects kick in after the euphoria wears off. And like you, I have always considered myself rather intelligent, I can normally think quick, and do well in school/standardized tests (act test->33). So it is all the more annoying when I can't seem to think at the level I normally do.

And Vaya, I usually take anywhere from 700 to 1600 mg/weekend, and usually end up taking it about three times a week at 300 mg for nerve pain from 3 blown discs in my back. Good deduction on the name thing, I do indeed use and abuse opiates, all of which I get for back/leg pain(I try to keep the opiate use to once or twice a week). But I sort of wonder about the opiates causing my mental cloudiness, since I started on those awhile before the lyrica, and actually felt an increase in my mental capabilities/productiveness (since I wasn't constantly distracted by pain).

Also, I take tramadol on a pretty consistent basis (tops 450 mg per day, but usually around 150-300. With the tram, I feel a definite increase in concentration and motivation, likely due to the SNRI effects. Oh and I have read a lot of both of the lyrica mega threads, but couldn't find many specific answers to my questions.

I guess I'm wondering if I should stop abusing the lyrica completely (although I really would rather not) or if there is any way to continue using it.

Thanks for all your help, I'm glad to hear I'm not alone

-Hydrocondor
 
I got a DWI on drugs FOUR days after my last dose of Lyrica.. I had only taken it for 5 days prior to that at 150mgs 2x/day


as an educator, my career is in jeopardy because of this... and I was driving perfectly fine

The cops just happened to ask me a question while I was on the phone parked on a city street
 
Lyrica does eventually start making you dumb. I was on it for almost 2 years and could hardly form proper sentences by the end.
 
i found that taking it at night provides for clarity the next day. if i take it in the morning i feel retarded. im super happy about this discovery!
 
My doctor described it as a fuzzy head feeling. He warned me about it with both lyrica (pregabalin) and neurontin (gabapentin).
 
volp said:
My doctor described it as a fuzzy head feeling. He warned me about it with both lyrica (pregabalin) and neurontin (gabapentin).
Click to expand...

I definitely get a case of the stupids at higher dosages of Gabapentin. I find myself taking longer to complete tasks and mathematics become difficult.
 
holy...fucking....shit

guys, i dont know if i am retarded or a genius. probably the former. anyway, i have taken my lyrica at night before bed the last two nights and i feel like i used to when i first started it! its totally working again for me. i have no idea what the deal is but all i know is i feel waaaay better if i take a moderate dose at night. the next day i feel like a champ.


try it.
 
I can totally relate, it spooked me when I was feeling myself get dumber. We would call Neurontin (Gabapention, weaker older version), Moron-tin. I took it daily for a year -- so much more than you. Took about 2-3 wks for complete return of mind clarity.
 
It's nice to know I'm the only one. Although I enjoy the weird buzz that lyrica gives me, I think it's time to take a break from recreational use, and only take it therapeutically (for nerve pain) sadly, I think i've worked up so much of a tolerance that I don't know how well it will continue to work. Any experience on how long it takes for tolerance to subside? And, on a side note, I realized recently that my migraines have all but vanished since starting the lyrica, has anyone else had this happen?
 
I took it for a very long time and found that it takes 1 or 2 months to regain my creativity, intellect and be able to form comprehensible sentences again.
 
jesus. that really scares me. i fucking hate this shit. the one thing i could always pride myself in is my vocabulary and ability to use big sat words(see i cant even articulate an adjective! fuck) in writing. im too tired to write. jesus. i need some meth and heroin. that would be a nice way to start this day. i guess ill settle for coffee and suboxone, with a little pregabalin on the side. what a change from the cocktails im used to eg heroin xanax and taurine mmmmmmmmm i loved that combo at work. take a 2mg bar, a fat .2g shot and drink a green label monster. god im craving the taste of that monster. i just want the taste cause i associate it with that combo. so clear so relaxed so euphoric. i felt like a king.

maybe if i listen to krafterwerk enough ill metamorphose into a german. germans invented all the coolest meds! methamphetamine, dolophine....shit thats enough right there. zieg hiel!
 
Wow I thought I was the only one who experienced *significant* reductions/retardations in vocabulary retrieval and usage in speech (and in type)!

Lyrica's only been on the market since, what, 2004? 2005? We're all Pfizer's guinea pigs - watching our wheels go round and round is all that pregabalin has left us able to achieve.

I took 900mg yesterday evening and was frustrated (as usual) with the lack of behavioral response I used to get with it, and felt, in fact, annoyed by whatever description the experience last night deserves. I've been disappointed by Lyrica many times after having it not work like it used to. But never have I ever felt that I'd rather be sober.

:/

~ vaya
 
when was the last time you took it prev to this 900mg dose?

i got put on klonopin today. i put on 13lbs in one month from lyrica. i was like FUCK THIS. and i couldnt even form sentences. this is from just 150mg a day. plus if i ever got my girlfriend pregnant our kids would have birth defects. read the literature!

i would still like to use it about once a week out of the month to prevent developing tolerance to klonopin though.
 
I take from 600mg up too 2grams a day. I put on 80 pounds with this med, from rapid weight gain I have stretch marks all over my body. I have got two DWI while under the influence of this meds, not sure if I will be able to drive again, and in america especially where I live no transportation means you can not function like a normal person as there is no other transit. I Have not been able to work for the past 4 years, I am on welfare now and live at my aging grandparents. I lost my friends I cant see them because I have no ride. Four years ago I was doing well in school, close to getting an associates, the last four attempts to go back resulted in a total failure because of my lyrica induced dumbness now I will probably never be able to go back. Without lyrica I feel suicidal the withdrawal last forever, I stopped for 5 weeks and it was still going strong. But, with this medication i feel like my quality of life has been reduced, but since I can't get off it, I am damned if I do and damned if I don't.
 
i know man. i am fat and stupid on it but if it try to stop i cant function. thats whay i bit the bullet and got on a benzo. i tried ssris, vistaril, antipsychotics......benzos and lyrica work. lyrica not only stoppped working but made me feel worse and made me balloon up and not be able to think straight.

i still miss it though.i like it BETTER than benzos. its so much cleaner, when it first starts that is. after 3 weeks off im gonna use it for a week just to prevent benzo tolerance. if it works ill still use it once in a while to offset benzo shit but i would love to be able to take it everyday. whatever. aint happening.

ill be on suboxone and clonazepam for life. im fine with that. its either that or go back to shooting dope and killing myself.
 
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