Pregabalin - just starting - help! [Archive]

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chl_hobbs

11-02-12, 14:06

Hi all,

Ive been suffering from severe health anxiety since september after my routine operation went seriously wrong and the surgeon accidentally cut my spleen and i ended up in intensive care.

Ive been in and out of hospital with pain etc which is made worse by the HA. Ive tried beta blockers, amitryptiline and escitalopram (which im still on 20mg). Nothing has really helped, and 6months on im at the end of my tether. I am feeling so so low and pretty panicky all the time.

Yesterday my gp asked me to try pregabalin. Im freaked out by the long, horrible list of side effects. I started on 25mg last night and already this morning i feel woozy and lightheaded. Im dizzy a lot of the time with anxiety anyway so feel so scared. Ive perservered and taken my next dose of 25mg and then have to increase to 75mg a day slowly.

Please is this ok? Should i keep taking it?

Charlotte x

JT69

11-02-12, 14:10

Hi Charlotte,

Sorry to hear about your operation.

I have been taking pregabalin for over a year now. The side effects you describe are normal for some people and will go away as your body gets used to the meds.

Along with 7.5mg of mirtazipine pregabalin has really changed my life, I suffer much less with anxiety now.

Hope they help you and you start to feel better soon.

JO.x

xtremx

11-02-12, 16:11

Hello , I have just started Pregabalin at 75mg and must say so far it has changed my life and only on my 5th day (could be in my head) but yes i found it made me a bit woozy but that has passed.

I am finding it has at the moment made me feel like a new person. Hopefully you can stick with it.

chl_hobbs

11-02-12, 20:14

thankyou so much for your replies :) Ive gradually felt better throughout the day. Although i am concerned that i am taking escitalopram aswell - is this ok? Obviously my gp knows im on the both but my Health anxiety takes over any rational thoughts. Im also supposed to take tramadol for my post operation pain...but ive googled tramadol and pregabalin and its come up with some odd and possibly dangerous reactions!!!!!! Does anyone know anything?

Sorry, i hope i start to feel better, this really is so difficult at the moment.
xxx

bignik

11-02-12, 20:31

I had similar problem with my tramadol ( protruding discs L1-L5 ) and had been taking for three years , I was put on mirtazipine last year for depression and these two are supposed to be very dangerous together as well so I would double check with your GP, I can only suggest when put on mirtazipine it was an oversight as the tramadol was on repeat.

It was changed after I got off tramadol to co codamol 30 500 if of help as an alternative. I dont feel any better or worse than I did on the tramadol , but probaly like yourself when in severe pain it tends only to take the edge off it

chl_hobbs

12-02-12, 21:01

Well today i felt awful when i woke up, like i was hungover. It took a few hours for it to pass and then i felt ok(ish). I had my first 50mg this morning and will have 50mg in a minute and then tomorrow i have to up to 75mg twice a day as directed by my gp.
Im in pain though because my operation has left me in quite a bit of pain long term. i used to take tramadol and paracetamol for the pain which helped a lot, but as i said above, ive read that i cant take tramadol with pregabalin on the internet and im scared to. My gp said that pregabalin would help with the pain, but so far it hasnt at all :(

Ive also read that escitalopram and pregabalin together has a 'moderate' reaction - and again im freaking out about that.

So all in all, not much difference. In fact im doing less due to the pain!!!

x

chl_hobbs

22-02-12, 09:06

Well, its ben 9days since i started this and i have to say i have been my health anxiety and panic has calmed down quite a bit. I havent had any major attacks, and have felt calmer in general. Ive spent loads of quality time with my daughter and have been out and about. Im on 150mg. My GP wanted me on 175mg but i havent gone up to that due to feeling ok on 150mg.

Well today ive had stabbing pains and a sore chest. Ive started to feel really really anxious about it and the bottom of my throat feels like its tight and aches. Im conviced AGAIN that i have a blood clot. This happened 2weeks ago and my D Dimer test was over the range (58 over which the DRS have said is insignificant). They treated me with blood thinners until i had a lung scan and leg scan which were clear.

However, today ive convinced myself that i must have had a clot and now it has gone to my lungs. If i didnt have these pains id feel ok in myself but its so hard not to just walk into a+e AGAIN.

Charlotte

xtremx

22-02-12, 09:20

Well today ive had stabbing pains and a sore chest. Ive started to feel really really anxious about it and the bottom of my throat feels like its tight and aches.

Hiya Charlotte (My daughter is called Charlotte).

Right stabbing pains and sore chest Anxiety, Throat feels tight and aches Anxiety.

Meds are as you know not a cure just an aid. You well still have attacks or waves of anxiety, But the meds are their to help you on your way to controling the anxiey and hopefully finding out what is causing the anxiety ie what is the root of the problam.

Stick with the pregabalin I am now on the 150 (was on 75mg for 2 weeks) dose have been for 3 days now and I still get the odd period of anxiety (but not as bad as before).

Take care Chris

chl_hobbs

25-02-12, 19:15

Hi all, thankyou for your support re:pregabalin. Ive been doing really well, and although i knew of the main side effects ive just come across one that scares the hell out of me, as i have a huge fear of it anyway... Internal bleeding. Ive just found on a few medical webpages that it can cause 'low blood platelets' which can stop your blood clotting and/or start bleeding!!!!!!!!!!!!It says to watch out for bruising....well my legs have had a lot of bruises recently (small black ones) and now im freaking out.

Sorry to go on, i just want to be better :(

Charlotte x

xtremx

25-02-12, 20:07

Charlotte Charlotte Charlotte, Stop looking up pregabalin i did that at first and it scared the hell out of me.

Than a funny thing happened to me I told myself to stop googling it, But that is not the funny thing it was i lost the little notes that came with pregabalin which ment i could not read that and worry about all the 1 in 10 , 1 in 100 , 1 in 1000 get this and get that.

i think most medication i have had somewhere on the net it has said could cause internal bleeding and a few have said could cause death now that scares me but thier are so many factors that could lead to the bad side effects happening ie being old aged and having major health problams.

Hope some of this had made sense.

Goodluck

dan1234

25-02-12, 20:56

Just been prescribed this by a private pdoc, cost £77.50 for 14 days supply. My pdoc faxed a letter to my GP to continue the prescription, just wondering do your GP's prescribe this med ? Apparently in some PCTs it is on the red list which means it cannot be prescribed.

xtremx

25-02-12, 22:26

hi dan1234. Not to sure on that mine was prescribed buy my dentist for nerve pain but my local mental health team told me if it works well for my anxiety they will contact my doctor to continue prescribing it and if the doc will not the mht will (even though i am no longer under their supervision was discharged).
Also discused the matter with my dentist and they said if my doctor will not prescribed it for me they will keep me on in if it haelps my anxiety.

Also £77.50 sounds alot have alook at http://www.lloydspharmacy.com/en/pregabalin-100mg-capsules-73913?utm_source=Google&utm_medium=Product&utm_campaign=Product not to sure how it works but 1.38 per tablet

robinbrum

25-02-12, 23:08

Hope this helps...
http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/showthread.php?t=106493

---------- Post added at 23:08 ---------- Previous post was at 22:44 ----------

http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/showthread.php?t=106105
Pregabalin is a "controversial" drug...make your own mind up...

chl_hobbs

26-02-12, 10:03

Thankyou so much :)

Ive been so over the top over the past 24hours... reading ALL SORTS about it. why i have just started doing it now and not when he first gave it to me i dont know! Im so worried about the fact it can cause bleeding, and im on escitalopram too which can also cause it! :( Then i read it can cause angioedema .... and it says if you have tightness of the throat go to A+E etc. Well ive had tightness of the throat for 3days now and 'phlegmy' stuff in the bottom of my throat/chest, so am now convincing myself i have that too. I know it may sound so stupid to you guys, i just feel so scared all of the time, about everything health related (after what happened to me 6 months ago) that when i find out stuff like this i worry so much that it preoccupies my mind. I end up trawling the web trying to find out how RARE it is to reassure me...and then it says 1 in 100 which is just 'uncommon'...which freaks me out even more!

Surely after 3 weeks on it i would have had this angioedema thing? Oh i give up am so cheesed off with the whole thing. I felt mentally much calmer on pregabalin, and now am worrying about what that can cause now!! :( Sorry to go on and on and on...

x

dan1234

26-02-12, 13:27

haz

26-02-12, 14:02

I was prescribed this by my psychiatrist on the NHS.

I couldn't tolerate the side effects so was only on it for a few weeks.

Haz

chl_hobbs

27-02-12, 08:06

Well ive been reading and reading the internet like an idiot still, but i did read this from someone which im clinging onto for dear life:

The reason most of these meds have such long lists of often bizarre and scary side-effects is that they are so well tested, which is really a plus. Every negative effect that is noticed gets reported and they write them down, mostly to avoid any liability and to protect themselves but also to inform that 1 in 10000 person that this could happen. I've seen severe side-effects that are only writen down because at the time of them happenenig the person was coincidentally taking the med. So don't worry that much about side-effects, it is more likely that you won't observe any and that the ones you do get are mild and will pass. Meds are getting safer by the decade if not faster and the risk/reward ratio is looking pretty good for a lot of them.

Anyway, can't really give you any specific information on Lyrica as I don't know about that med to well but I wish you all the best and try to look at the frequency with which the side-effects are reported to happen, to get a clearer picture on what they mean. As a fun thought, I think the side-effect list for bacon would be worse then the one for any SSRI's for example...http://www.depressionforums.org/forums/public/style_emoticons/default/smilingteeth.gif

Trying to take some comfort from this. Im so close to stopping it all together which is so bizarre as i was feeling so much calmer. My GP would be so cross!
x

---------- Post added at 08:06 ---------- Previous post was at 08:05 ----------

I was prescribed this by my psychiatrist on the NHS.

I couldn't tolerate the side effects so was only on it for a few weeks.

Haz

Hi Haz, what type of side effects did you get? How long were u on for and what was your doseage? x

haz

27-02-12, 12:22

I think everybody on NMP should read the above post! It should be "highlighted" or something. Another reason they have to list so many "possible" side effects is to stop them being sued, so they're covering their backs that way too.

I was meant to take 3 x 50mg daily but I could only manage two as they were making me feel so "spaced out", izzy and confused that I didn't trust myself to cross the road.

BUT, and this is quite a big BUT, I was also on escitalopram (either 10mg or 15mg) and diazepam (15mg daily I think) as well!

Good luck with them. :)

---------- Post added at 12:22 ---------- Previous post was at 12:21 ----------

I lasted a week on them and was then hospitalised and had my meds changed. x

dan1234

27-02-12, 13:15

Every medication has side effects.I haven't experienced any yet, and I hope I wont but its early days. I only started on friday.

robinbrum

27-02-12, 13:28

haz

27-02-12, 13:43

I think Pregabalin is now licensed for anxiety. Might have the PIL still lying about. Will have a check. Even more reason not to pay for it.

dan1234

28-02-12, 12:06

I can't believe you're actually paying for this med. If your GP is reluctant then get an appointment with a psychiatrist as they are more likely to prescribe it in my experience. It is an expensive drug so I'm not surprised that some GPs are reluctant to prescribe, especially for what they would term as "off-label" uses.
Sometimes you just have to dig your heels in with doctors and demand your rights.

I saw a NHS trainee psychiatrist and she couldn't have cared less about me and my problems. She point blank refused to prescribe medication, despite me having tried Fluoxetine, citalopram, propranolol and amitriptyline prescribed by my GP. She discussed my case with her team and decided that CBT on its own was appropriate. No option to see consultant psychiatrist for medication. I have had 2 courses of CBT already. Me being desperate went private, saw a consultant psychiatrist who was great. Diagnosed me and prescribed me medication. He has sent a letter to my GP, so hopefully from now on the medication will be prescribed on the NHS. I want the CBT, but i'm not sure if I should complain about the trainee psychiatrist.

---------- Post added at 12:06 ---------- Previous post was at 12:01 ----------

I think Pregabalin is now licensed for anxiety. Might have the PIL still lying about. Will have a check. Even more reason not to pay for it.

It is licensed.