Mental Health Does anyone have a positive long term experience using lyrica for anxiety?

[Transcendence]

A bit of history: For the last few years I feel like I have tried every psychiatric drug that is normally used for anxiety. Now obviously that's not actually true but it probably is true that I've tried every class of drugs used for depression or anxiety. SSRIs, SNRIs, DRIs, tricyclics, buspar, benzos, clonidine, gabapentin. Probably 20-30 different things. Other non prescription legal things like phenibut, kava, valerian, l-theanine. Experimented with several arylhexamines in my spare time and eventually extensively self medicated with opiates when nothing worked. I'm smart enough to know I'm following the path of countless friends and acquaintances who are now in the grave due to that shit and it should scare me. I'm finally getting off of opiates soon (weaning down on suboxone and doing well).

Let's face it, psychiatry is not a science. It comes down to a guessing game when treating these common disorders. They have a list of meds they just go down. You could go to 20 different doctors with the same symptoms and they'd probably start you on 20 different things. When glyx-13 comes out I think we will finally have by far the best drug for depression and anxiety but that's a few years off unless you work at a custom peptide company and can do a little overtime.

It got to the point where my psychiatrist was telling me she was "shooting from her hip" because nothing was working and was giving me a choice between an anti-psychotic or lactimal (which seems to be useless from all acounts and is not even indicated for anxiety). I asked for lyrica and after some persuading she prescribed it. I was the first patient she ever prescribed it to despite her admitting that one of her colleagues praised it as the holy grail for anxiety. Go figure. She started me off at a useless 50mgx3 dose and I just moved up to 300mg per day. At this dose it has significantly improved my intense somatic anxiety and my mood in general. I still have some discomfort remaining so I'll try to get her to bump it up to 600mg per day next visit.

The first few times I used it I felt a little euphoria but that seems to have mostly vanished even now 3 weeks later and at the higher dose. But really, I don't care because it still seems to be relieving my anxiety just as well even though the light GHB-like sensation is gone. But my worry is that the anti-anxiety effects will vanish after a few months or whatever and then I'll be back at square one, suicidal from feeling so constantly uncomfortable. Those who have been on lyrica for anxiety for a long time (let's say > 6 months at least):

1) is your anxiety still at bay? 2) what dose are you on and which dose do you find most effective? 3) Do you have to keep increasing dose ala benzos or can you stay on a constant dose for long term?

 

[Rybee]

x

Hey, did have a quick flick through your profile but can't see where in the world you're from?

I've been in a similar position to yourself with regards anxiety and can appreciate the frustration at almost being treated like a lab rat with regards to anti anxiety drugs. As you say, it does come down to a guessing game so I don't hold any grudges towards my Doctors/Psychiatrist. In short, I'll answer your 3 questions having been on Pregabalin/Lyrica for 2 years. I've also been taking Agomelatine/Valdoxan for my depression for 3 months, just so you're aware.

1) Nope. It's literally melted away. What plagued me throughout university has come completely under control and allowed me to continue on to my masters degree with no anxiety issues.

2) 300mg. I try to take the minimal therapeutic dose of every medication I take. Pregabalin does make me a bit cognitively constipated... just a bit slow so the less of it I can get away with, the better.

3) Nope, apart from the first few months acclimatising I've been on 300mg for the whole 2 years, and because of that, daily doses of Diazepam/Lorazepam/Clonazepam/WhateverElsezepam are a thing of the past.

If there's anything else you want to know about my experience please feel free to quote me and I'll get back to you as soon as I can.

I honestly wish you the best of luck, success rates for Pregabalin/Lyrica are really quite high with regards to anxiety so I'm sorry to hear it's taken you so long to try. What I will add though is it took me about 6 weeks to really feel its effects so if you feel that it's not working, try and hold on in there buddy.

Best of luck!

 

[Transcendence]

I'm from MA, USA where it's not approved for anxiety so I really had to try several doctors and then finally twist her arm to let me try it. I don't get what the hold up is with the FDA.

I suffer mainly from somatic anxiety and the studies I've read indicate improvement for somatic anxiety up to 600mg and improvement for mental anxiety up to 300mg and then it becomes less effective.

I heard so many horror stories about moderately bad cognitive decline, worse than even benzos, but I haven't noticed anything either. I'm not in school or anything but seems to have no effect on my memory really. I'm starting to feel stable for the first time in years, physically and emotionally. I don't even necessarily need 600mg perhaps maybe 450 but it's good to have extra on hand.

I'm encouraged that it took you 6 weeks to really feel it. I've only been on it for 3 weeks so far. I was under the impression that it worked to it's full extent instantly and did not build up in the body. Maybe I can stop the countless benzos for good now before I get really addicted to them. Last thing I need.

I'm actually starting to look forward to the rest of my life instead of looking forward to the end of it. Maybe I'll go to grad school after all...

 

[vortech]

I recently got a script for 150 mg a day as well, and we have a similar story but I was never prescribed lots of stuff, but I have self medicated the past few years on and off with opiates and MXE. After two months of having my Lyrica script I also need 300 to serve my nerve issues well, so I ran out early and had kind of a rough time for a week before refilling my script today. Took 300 and I am admittedly high as a kite. As for long term, I wish i could tell you how it will serve me in the future. I've taken it in past years too but eventually I run out and I experience bounce-back nerve issues, so if you do take it it really is best to take as prescribed steadily, I just need to get my doctor to up my script to 300/day.

 

[Transcendence]

I recently got a script for 150 mg a day as well, and we have a similar story but I was never prescribed lots of stuff, but I have self medicated the past few years on and off with opiates and MXE. After two months of having my Lyrica script I also need 300 to serve my nerve issues well, so I ran out early and had kind of a rough time for a week before refilling my script today. Took 300 and I am admittedly high as a kite. As for long term, I wish i could tell you how it will serve me in the future. I've taken it in past years too but eventually I run out and I experience bounce-back nerve issues, so if you do take it it really is best to take as prescribed steadily, I just need to get my doctor to up my script to 300/day.

Do you like your current psychiatrist? If not, you should probably switch. I say this because any psychiatrist should be seeing a patient two weeks after prescribing a radically new treatment. I too took 300mg when I was first prescribed 150mg per day because the 150mg did not help and I couldn't afford to put my life on hold. Luckily, two weeks later she increased the dose, necessitating a new prescription and it was not a problem. You shouldn't have a problem getting your doctor to increase up to 300mg if she's at all aware that the dose for anxiety is significantly higher than the dose necessary to nerve pain.

 

[vortech]

I don't have a psychiatrist, I am prescribed it through my primary care physician. I love her! I had an appt. today and mentioned that I'm taking 300/day and she was cool with it. All good!

 

[kittyinthedark]

I have very treatment resistant anxiety/depression/PTSD, and I wouldn't hesitate to call Lyrica a wonder-drug. I was first prescribed it during an inpatient psychiatric stay because I had been on so many other drugs that didn't work, and they didn't know what else to give me. The first day or two, I felt really weird and high on it, but after that, I felt much more calm and level, and when I did have emotional issues, they were a lot easier to deal with. To answer your questions kind of all at once, I was on it for a few years, but I tapered off of it almost a year ago now in favor of treating my symptoms with diet/supplements, exercise, acupuncture, and therapy. I started off at I think 300mg daily (150 2x/day), but a month or two later, I dropped down to 200mg (100 2x/day) because I was feeling too "doped-out" on it (I didn't have outright memory issues, but I felt stupid and slow to the point where I wanted to decrease the dose as much as I could). I stayed at that dose for the rest of the time I was on it and never needed to increase my dose. There was even a while where I was only taking 100mg a day because I kept forgetting to take my nighttime dose. That's the point when I decided to get off meds completely and tapered all the way off over about a month and a half. Basically, Lyrica was what allowed me to keep my symptoms in check so I could get my life in order and get off meds after about a decade of trying every medication out there with minimal success.

During the time I was on Lyrica, I was also on Wellbutrin, but Lyrica was what made the noticeable difference in being able to handle anxiety issues. I also have a number of pain issues, and it definitely helped with those. I will say that the rebound pain after getting off of it sucks, but I'm glad not to be a slave to meds anymore. The Lyrica was highly addictive for me, and if I was even late taking it in the morning, I'd get terrible headaches and joint pain.