Just starting Pregabalin

[Antenna Man]

Well Hello,
After being on Peroxitine for over 20 years I have finally got to see a consultant psychiatrist. After several appointments I have been prescribed Pegabalin. I am now on my second week of the prescribed medication regime having now reduced the Peroxitine from 40mg to 20mg per day and at the same time I am on a starting dose of Pregabalin 50mg twice a day. So far it’s been bearable and I have certainly noticed the positive effects of the Pregabalin. An example of this would be aches and pains that would have caused me a high degree of anxiety in the past are now just aches and pains without the worry. So that is the good news, however the side effects of the Peroxitine withdraw and starting Pregabalin are horrendous. The most noticeable side effects are prickly pains in my feet and hands and also burning sensations in the soles of my feet and palms of my hands. I am hoping that this will eventually pass as it can be quite uncomfortable and at times has woke me up at night. On the plus side I have found that walking has eased these side effects so I now have a little more motivation to exercise.
I would be interested to hear from anyone who has been in a similar situation in particular if you have come through the prickly feet and hands positively.


Thanks
Antanna Man


:welcome:

[Tufty]

Hello,

I've not been on Paroxetine but am on Pregabalin. I started Pregabalin in February after trying SSRI's with horrific affects, the Pregabalin was much better in comparison, it worked almost immediately even at 50mg and the anxiety was much less. Over the weeks I increased to 450mg a day which is the standard therapeutic dose I believe and it was OK, I didn't feel 100% but I felt more confident and was able to work and do everything I needed to do without a problem. However I had gained 7lbs and had to take the Pregabalin 3 times a day to maintain a steady state.

I started Sertraline (another SSRI) 4 weeks ago because I thought that with being on the Pregabalin the start up side effects would be less. The idea was to reduced the Pregabalin and increase the Sertraline slowly. It was not a good plan :blush:, after a week on Sertraline my mood dipped, anxiety increased and I started to feel physically ill with aching limbs. I stuck it out for 3 weeks but my mood had crashed by then and the Dr ordered me to stop the Sertraline and slowly go back to the 450mg dose of Pregabalin.

I believed stopped the Sertraline after 3 weeks wouldn't be a problem, I've stopped other SSRI's with a few symptoms for a couple of day but this has been quite different. I wasn't good before stopping them but in the 5 days since stopping the Sertraline I have a buzzing feeling over my head, arms and legs, prickly skin on my arms and legs and feeling sick amongst other things.

I believe the prickling feelings are from your Paroxetine withdrawl, Pregabalin does not tend to give those symptoms. Withdraw symptoms can be variable in their length, as I say I haven't been on Paroxetine so I can't comment but they will go. Drinking lots of fluid will help flush the Parox out of your system and as you have found walking is a great therapy for us all.

Good luck and keep us posted
Sam

[hanshan]

Hi Chris,

Sorry to hear about the pains.

I haven't experienced similar, but I haven't gone through the withdrawal that you currently are experiencing. My guess is that it is the withdrawal that is causing the pains rather than starting pregabalin.

Pregabalin works differently from antidepressants, so it is not an automatic shift from one to the other. If necessary, tell your doctor that you want to take your withdrawal from the antidepressant at a slower rate - some people recommend three months or even more to come off an antidepressant.

[Antenna Man]

Hi Hanshan,
Thanks for you reply and yes I note your comments about withdraw. The pain started from day 1 of taking the pregabalin. Maybe there is some interaction going on here as well.
Chris

[Antenna Man]

Hi Sam,
Thanks you for your detailed reply which is very helful. I will see how the symptons progress in the coming weeks as I am very keen to continue this path as I have noticed a difference even on the low starting dose that I am no now.

Many Thanks

Chris