Need Advice: Lyrica Withdrawl + Psychiatrist Resisting Reduction

[PawaPawa]

As for the guy who says lyrica has no WD's, I beg to differ. I was informed the exact same thing whilst getting it prescribed for anxiety and sleeplessness (I used it for opiate WD's as well, which I told the doc and she didn't seem to mind) and thus took it everyday. Not because it made me high or anything...alright well, the first week it did, I have to admit. Somekind of weird drunk/opiated/stoned feeling, but not at all the same anyway...somewhat unique high, tho def. a downer...made me drowsy as hell, though not too drowsy as to not enjoy wathcing, say, Creepy Canada on youtube all night long. Hehe...

But as the weeks flew by and I got another box prescribed, this time stronger, I did notice it's positive effects. Kept me off the opiates, made me sleep well, stabilized my mood, made it possible for me to get back to writing (I'm an author and already have one book out on autobiographical book out on legal drugs and the like, though it's in Danish so unf. I don't think you'd understand a word hehe) so I just continued daily for over a month.

Then I had no pills left (I liked to overdose if in opiate WD), and a family trip was coming up to Rome, Italy. Hey man, the WD's absolutely wrecked that vacation, completely. Not so much physically (I did get chills and achy bones, nothing too bad tho) but I have NEVER felt so goddamn depressed in my life, not even in the throes of opiate WD. It's all individual I suppose, and someone with a stronger psyche might not even feel this. But I was afraid of losing my mind, man, because except for the depression I had this extreme derealisation/depersonalisation as well, and it was intense enough to almost throw me into a panic attack. In the middle of a foreign, crowded major city in a totally foreign country. My sister and mother wondering what the hell was wrong with me, being unable to recognize me in my then-state. That depression went on for maybe a week or two, so not that long, but it was baaad.

However, keep in mind I am an opiate addict and have never liked benzos. I get no value for them, not even when out of dope and sick. So in other words, someone with a major benzo habit (or as I wrote earlier, someone with a tougher mind than I) might NOT get this reaction. But just my two cents about lyrica.

Ahd I am not demonizing it, either. I would rather get thru with a box of lyrica than any other pharm (except Ketogan...mmmm!) in tough times/trying to get clean...just saying I was very suprised the WD's could be so intense.

 

[laCster]

sorry for my post, it seems i was a little intoxicated then hahahaha, people are different. i never went through serious wd, i only had trouble sleeping and eating, which weed greatly helped. the symptoms lasted for 3-4 days and then i was fine.

 

[PawaPawa]

sorry for my post, it seems i was a little intoxicated then hahahaha, people are different. i never went through serious wd, i only had trouble sleeping and eating, which weed greatly helped. the symptoms lasted for 3-4 days and then i was fine.

No worries man, as you said yourself, people are very different. I believe in my case, it had to due with my history of mental breakdowns and whatnot, so in fact the WD's might only have triggered/made worse an underlying problem. Plus, it was a scary experience to suddenly be abroad and with no drugs in my system whatsoever. Sounds pathetic yeah, but you know how it is once we get used to something in our bloodstream.

 

[Magenta22]

No Withdrawals?

Dude lyrica doesn't have any withdrawal. If u feel anything it will be nothing compared to opiate wd, and you arent even on a high dose. I think you might have trouble sleeping and eating but nothing serious. You are overreacting. And I LOVE pregabalin, I think it is a wonder drug, I love the way it makes me feel ( stoned feeling Iwith talkativeness ). It's amaZIng for sleep IMO too because it does not disrupt sleep architecture or REM sleep. I'm on some right now and I feel amazing. You should be honored to have tried it because it is soooooo rare on the black market, but it has great recreation "
With all due respect, it has terrible withdrawal effects, if you take just 5 mins on Google, you will see that this has very seriously damaged peoples' lives. I have had the displeasure of being on Lyrica for over 10 years and I am just beginning the very slow process of coming off it. I take it that you have not been on the stuff for long periods of time...there is nothing recreational about Lyrica, you are either having an unusual reaction or it is reacting with something else you are taking. The OP wrote in absolute distress & is now much better plus the web has oodles on the problems of being on and coming off Lyrica. It's made to prevent seizures but you can get your very first seisure if you w/d CT after a prolonged period on Lyrica.
I've got 600mg a day to come off, it's anticholinergic so I don't fancy Alzheimers (I'm no spring chick, lol!)

 

[jammin83]

As a general guideline, a slow taper is recommended. Some as little as 10% month until you see it how it affects you. As you work your way down to lower dosages even small cuts can have profound effects. These medicines are generally prescribed for nerve pain, but it is often used off-label as a psychiatric medication and given for anxiety, etc. Psych meds can have some of the worst withdrawals including lyrica and gabapentin. Some consider it worse than opiates, which is entirely subjective, but every type of withdrawal is its own hell. While physically it may not be as bad as heroin, it has a mental aspect to it that is very troubling especially if you have been on it for any extended amount of time.

According to the 'professionals' it has no withdrawals but sadly this is not the case. Many doctors are unaware of withdrawals from some of these medications so just take it slow and don't let them pull you off without weening you down and don't let them do it too quickly. It can take several months and it can be very difficult. I started taking it as an alternative to benzos for anxiety and I thought it was great because I wouldn't have to go through the whole wd process. It can get nasty though so don't let them fool ya! Also, magnesium is supposed to help ease some of the withdrawal. Hope this helps!

EDIT: Just wanted to add that going too fast with some of this stuff can shock your nervous system resulting in effects that will stick with you for quite some time, so take it slow!

 

[lyricabuddy]

Yes, Pregabalin (Lyrica) is basically the far superior version of GABAPentin. Lyrica is WAY more stronger mg for mg than GABAPentin. Only problem is Lyrica is a pricey drug, and a lot of insurance companies do not cover it. In Canada here, there is no generic for Lyrica yet as Pfizer still holds the patent. Not sure about the U.S. or UK though. IMO, GABAPentin is garbage and makes anxiety worse. Neither of the two are really meant for anxiety, doctors usually just prescribe Lyrica off label for Anxiety, but it can be abused quite easily, and quite addicting.

EDIT: Lyrica also has an oral bioavailability of 90% or >.

Phizer has a program in the us where if you can claim you net less than 24k/ year you can get your script for 90 days filled FOR FREE check it out on their website. super easy. all you need are a photocopy of your tax records, drivers license, and script from doctor. I was paying like 6$ a 300mg pill until I figured this out

 

[Snake_Eyes]

Phizer has a program in the us where if you can claim you net less than 24k/ year you can get your script for 90 days filled FOR FREE check it out on their website. super easy. all you need are a photocopy of your tax records, drivers license, and script from doctor. I was paying like 6$ a 300mg pill until I figured this out

I don't know if it varies state to state but where I live for a single person it was between 22-23k.