View Full Version : The Pregabalin Journey - what to expect?
Hi All,
I've just finished my first week on pregabalin and after reading all of the other threads on here I still have a lot of questions.
My first week has been on 25mg twice a day. The last 4 days my anxiety seems to have disappeared. Down to none at all! Best I have felt in months.
This morning I woke up in bed shaking with anxiety again and feeling quite on edge however. I'm hoping it's just a blip because for the first time in over a week I've just had to take a benzo.
So I suppose I'm interested in what to expect in the first couple of months of this med. Is it likely that I'll experience blips?
Or, is it likely that I will need to continually up the dose?
For those who have had to up their dose, how much stable time on one given dose did you get before needing to increase and how did you know that you needed to increase?
Is there anything else that I should know about the first couple of months on pregabalin?
Thanks :-)
I invreased (under GPs supervision) from 150 a day to 600 over 5 weeks.
You can increase pregabalin weekly.
The pleasurable effects you describe may have been the "mild euphoria" side effect that comes with pregabalin over the first few days.
I was on it 4 weeks before I felt any major stable changes.
I went up the dosage range purely because the effective dose for GAD is supposed to be 450-600mg a day.
Certainly that was the range that gave me the most benefit. YMMV of course. Some people respond well at lower doses.
Good luck, hope it works for you.
I invreased (under GPs supervision) from 150 a day to 600 over 5 weeks.
You can increase pregabalin weekly.
The pleasurable effects you describe may have been the "mild euphoria" side effect that comes with pregabalin over the first few days.
I was on it 4 weeks before I felt any major stable changes.
I went up the dosage range purely because the effective dose for GAD is supposed to be 450-600mg a day.
Certainly that was the range that gave me the most benefit. YMMV of course. Some people respond well at lower doses.
Good luck, hope it works for you.
Do I necessarily need to increase my dose?
I'm concerned because one thing I have noticed on pregabalin at this dose is [tmi] my erection strength has definitely decreased. It's still functioning fine for anything I may wish to get up to - but the strength is definitely less. My concern is that if I need to up the dose then ED will come with it..
hi,ive just been perscribed pregablin 50mg 3 times a day,only had one dose so far this morning and have a shocking headache,dizziness feel out of it and dry mouth ,has anyone else had these side effects and for how long ?
Hi Rachel
I had similar symptoms after my first tablet. This went away after a few days of taking it though.
Kelly xx
i hope so because i feel shocking at the moment cant do anything i feel that bad !!!:unsure:
I took my first one a few hours before going to bed, I woke up to go to the toilet and nearly fell over on my way there as I couldn't walk in a straight line! It really freaked me out but then I read some of the posts on here and saw it is quite common to begin with, it also makes you feel much worse if you take them on an empty stomach.
my head feels like its going to explode and i feel generally unwell ,feeling a bit scared with it all :weep:
---------- Post added at 14:50 ---------- Previous post was at 14:48 ----------
taken co-codamol for the headache but its not touched it!! im also on diazapam,fluoxetine,mirtazapine and beta-blockers sick of takin all the meds i just want the anxiety to go away and to feel well .
I the same and hate taking meds but I decided that I should and give it a go, I am constantly doubting myself over whether its a good idea or not though!
Have a read through some of the other threads on pregabalin-you will see your side effects are very normal and nothing to be afraid of.
yeah ive got to give it a good go, think because i had bad side effects when i went on fluoxetine im just scared of feeling worse before i feel better if you get what i mean with
another new tablet,ive got to stay strong and see this through,had 14 wks of extreme anxiety and i pray to god that pregablin is gonna be the wonder drug for me:shrug:
I think all we can do is give it a go really, keep us updated with how it goes for you.
One good thing about pregabalin is that I don't think it gives an initial side effect of increased anxiety (like the anti depressant drugs can). The physical side effects can be abit scary at first but do wear off.
what dosage of pregabalin are you on daily kelly?
The side effects WILL pass in a few days and as you up the dose they will come back again but not so severe.
In the first week on 150mgs a day I could not walk straight and was slurring my words....but my anxiety was gone!!!
Sarah
hi sarah,i had my first 50mg dose at 8.30 this morning and i should be takin another 100mg today in two seperate doses but because i still feel terrible from this mornings dose im very reluctant to take anymore today,not sure at all what to do !!
The side effects WILL pass in a few days and as you up the dose they will come back again but not so severe.
In the first week on 150mgs a day I could not walk straight and was slurring my words....but my anxiety was gone!!!
Sarah
How long have you been on 400mgs for, Sarah?
And how is the anxiety now? Is it still gone?
Do I necessarily need to increase my dose?
I'm concerned because one thing I have noticed on pregabalin at this dose is [tmi] my erection strength has definitely decreased. It's still functioning fine for anything I may wish to get up to - but the strength is definitely less. My concern is that if I need to up the dose then ED will come with it..
You don't need to increase your dose if you're gaining benefit at the level you're on. I just went up quickly because the recommended dosage for GAD is 450-600mg.
As regards ED it's difficult to say how prevalent that is with this drug. I already had ED before taking it. Fortunately (if you look at it that way) I get free Viagra because I'm diabetic.
But I'm middle-aged I can plan a little :) If you're young you don't want the ED that may happen with any AD.
I found the SSRIs, especially citalopram and fluoxetine by far the worst in that regard. No problems with mirtazapine.
TBH I didn't find that the side-effects of pregabalin were dosage dependant. They were the same for me throughout the range, mainly a "drunk" feeling if I took them close togaether and the same reason for double-vision, which would last a few hours.
Otherwise there were no other SEs I noticed.
Hi Rachel
I take 75mg in one dose each day at the moment. I'm meant to be taking 2 lots of 75mg but my mum is on holiday so I've been spending time with her and tackling my agoraphobia which I couldn't do for a few days if I increased my dose.
ive got social agrophobia as well cant go anywhere or plan anything its rubbish ,thats why im hoping the tablets kick in soon and will stop me from being scared of going out
I started taking my 75mg a day 23 days ago and after about 4 days and then up until this week I have been able to go out more than I have in a year. I've had lots on this week which has made me stressed and anxious again so havent been out much but I also think its because I should be on a higher dose. I'm not sure if its the pregabalin that's helped me or the fact my mum has been on holiday though!
hi sarah,i had my first 50mg dose at 8.30 this morning and i should be takin another 100mg today in two seperate doses but because i still feel terrible from this mornings dose im very reluctant to take anymore today,not sure at all what to do !!
When you say "terrible" what do you mean?? You could take another 50mg before bed and the SE's will happen when you are asleep!
Sarah
---------- Post added at 18:34 ---------- Previous post was at 18:31 ----------
How long have you been on 400mgs for, Sarah?
And how is the anxiety now? Is it still gone?
Been on 400mgs since April. Yes anxiety is 95% gone. Sometimes some Breakthrough anxiety which I take 0.5 mgs of Lorazepam for.
Sarah
sarah,i still feel really out of it and dizzy even when i lay down and when i walk about i have no energy and still have a fuzzy head and feel spaced out,i know its not the anxiety as there weaning me off diazapam and have been taking it today the way the physiacatrist told me to because there tapering it down( not that i was on a high dose only ever took 5mg in a day and that wasnt every day but was on it for 14 wks and she said its time to come off it)plus ive not had much anxiety since i took the pregabalin this mornin,thou i know it wont be working properly yet for anxiety.
---------- Post added at 18:52 ---------- Previous post was at 18:49 ----------
wonder if i need to just take 50mg for now then work up to the full 150mg daily,cant get in touch with anyone now though to ask till afte:shrug:r the weekend
Rachel,
If you are taking diazepam aswell as prgabalin then I am not surprised you feel like you do!
If the anxiety is starting to ease the you may have to put up with feeling drunk for a couple of days.
If you are not happy about taking another dose of pregabalin then dont or perhaps take 50mgs at bed time.
To be honest pregabalin worked pretty instantly for me and my first dose was 75mgs twice a day. I was happy to feel drunk if my anxiety was gone.
Take carer
Sarah
---------- Post added at 19:05 ---------- Previous post was at 19:02 ----------
Valuim and pregabalin work in the same way (so I was told in hospital) that's why I only need to take 0.5mgs of lorazepam (which is the equivalent to 2mgs of diazepam) if I get a little breakthrough anxiety,
Sarah
[/COLOR]Valuim and pregabalin work in the same way (so I was told in hospital) that's why I only need to take 0.5mgs of lorazepam (which is the equivalent to 2mgs of diazepam) if I get a little breakthrough anxiety,
Sarah
I didn't know that about diazapam and pregabalin! I have 5mg diazapam tablets to take when I need to but they basically just make me fall asleep so I cut them in half!
almamatters
16-08-13, 19:39
I have been on 400 mg of pregabalin since last October, I did not suffer a great deal with side effects, did get a bit of head pressure and dizziness but it soon wore off, my biggest issue with this medication has been weight gain but I don't think it applies to everyone who takes it. I increased my dosage pretty quickly as I did not seem to suffering too much with the side effects but everyone is different with meds and some people may need longer to get used to them. Hope you are feeling ok. xx
Pregabalin and benzodiazepines don't work in exactly the same way. Benzodiazepines help to reduce the effect of excitatory neurotransmitters, whereas pregabalin helps to slow the release of excitatory transmitters.
The net result may be similar, but the different modes of action mean that a combination of the two is not just adding like to like.
You don't need to increase your dose if you're gaining benefit at the level you're on. I just went up quickly because the recommended dosage for GAD is 450-600mg.
As regards ED it's difficult to say how prevalent that is with this drug. I already had ED before taking it. Fortunately (if you look at it that way) I get free Viagra because I'm diabetic.
But I'm middle-aged I can plan a little :) If you're young you don't want the ED that may happen with any AD.
I found the SSRIs, especially citalopram and fluoxetine by far the worst in that regard. No problems with mirtazapine.
TBH I didn't find that the side-effects of pregabalin were dosage dependant. They were the same for me throughout the range, mainly a "drunk" feeling if I took them close togaether and the same reason for double-vision, which would last a few hours.
Otherwise there were no other SEs I noticed.
Thanks Mark.
I thought I was gaining benefit; the first week was brilliant and my anxiety disappeared, but the last 2 mornings i've woken up with my heart pounding, body shaking and convulsing with anxiety, stomach churning and feeling very on edge. Very frustrating because I thought I was getting to a point where all of that was taken care of.
I've doubled up my morning dose to 50mg today and haven't decided yet whether to double up the evening dose to 50mg too. I need to get this under control quickly.
Of course I'm still having doubts that I will ever properly recover. It's all rather scary.
Anxiety has been a lifelong thing for me. I don't know if I will ever recover as such, but I have noticed improvements over the years, plus I now have a combination of meds that work for me. There are side-effects but they are far easier to deal with than constant anxiety.
Pregabalin was only approved for GAD about seven years ago, and other anti-anxiety drugs are in development, so medical treatment of anxiety should have more options available in the future.
Good luck and don't lose hope.
Anxiety has been a lifelong thing for me. I don't know if I will ever recover as such, but I have noticed improvements over the years, plus I now have a combination of meds that work for me. There are side-effects but they are far easier to deal with than constant anxiety.
Pregabalin was only approved for GAD about seven years ago, and other anti-anxiety drugs are in development, so medical treatment of anxiety should have more options available in the future.
Good luck and don't lose hope.
Hi Hanshan,
How long have you been taking pregabalin for and what else do you take on top?
I gradually upped my dosage to the maximum over about two months. I was lucky and suffered no side effects. After each increase it took about a week to notice any change.
After I had been on the maximum dose for a while I was a great deal less anxious and suffering far fewer panic attacks, but Pregabalin wasn't quite enough by itself so Mocloblemide was added and that did the trick. My life has been transformed and I'm doing things that I never thought I'd be able to do again.
Hi Shedrain,
The two medications I take for anxiety are pregabalin (600 mg daily) and mirtazapine (45 mg daily). I have been taking pregabalin for three years, and mirtazapine for some years before that. I'm also on medication to control blood pressure.
5th day of takin pregablin,first 3 days i only took 50mg yest and today ive taken 50mg in 2 seperate doses,should be takin 150mg daily in 3 seperate doses but its just too much at the mo,can anyone tell me when the side effects will stop ? constant headaches all my face hurts,dizziness and generally feeling out of it not able to do much or go anywhere !! is it worth continuing with this med,heard its great for the anxiety when it kicks in but i feel the side effects are too much:huh:
5th day of takin pregablin,first 3 days i only took 50mg yest and today ive taken 50mg in 2 seperate doses,should be takin 150mg daily in 3 seperate doses but its just too much at the mo,can anyone tell me when the side effects will stop ? constant headaches all my face hurts,dizziness and generally feeling out of it not able to do much or go anywhere !! is it worth continuing with this med,heard its great for the anxiety when it kicks in but i feel the side effects are too much:huh:
Hi Rachel.
I'm on my 14th day of pregabalin now. I started for a week on 2 x25mg a day, then up to 2 x50mg a day and into my third day now on 2 x 75mg a day.
Each time I've increased (or indeed started) I've felt quite muzzy headed. For me the side effects when starting and when increasing the first time, the side effects went after about 3 to 4 days. On this higher dose it's just my 3rd day in and I'm still feeling a bit headachy and muzzy.
The first week on my lowest dose I felt great for the 4 days towards the end of the week and then the anxiety came back quite badly. As a result the dose was increased to 2 x 50, didn't get the same effect so now increased again. Maybe my first week was placebo effect but who knows.
My doc and a pdoc with the intensive team have told me to give it time and it does build up slowly. The therapeutic dose is supposed to start at 150mg/day.
I'm still waiting for the black cloud of anxiety to just have dissapated one morning upon waking but I think it's difficult to know exactly what to expect from each drug as the solution (IMHO) is always a combination of meds and drugs.
If I were you I would keep going, keep your doc up to date about how you are feeling and what side effects you're experiencing and for how long. Use the docs advice as to whether you need to increase dose or not - and give it time.
I've also found that taking the med after a big meal is helpful in reducing the side effects.
Good luck :-)
thanks for that shedrain,think im going to carry on takin the med n hopefully the side effects will disappear soon!! think its hard when you just feel rubbish everyday while your waiting for something to work,lets hope its soon
Rachel,
I would say stick at it for now!
Hi Rachel
Stick with it-you need to take the same dose for a few days for the side effects to disappear.
Let us know how it's going xx
hi,now been takin pregablin at 50mgx3 a day but still having headaches but the phy is tapering down my diazapam usage from roughly 5mg a day (which i didint take every day only if needed) to 2x2mg a day for 2 wks then there tapering me down again!!does anyone think these headaches are due to diazapam withdrawl or not?i dont seem to have any other symptoms or maybe its still the increase in pregablin thats causing the headaches,having some anxiety again for the last 2 days but its mainly the headaches gettin me down and dizziness,im guessing the pregablin wont of built up in my system yet will it to start working on the anxiety ?????
It's hard to say whether the headaches are due to pregabalin start-up, diazepam withdrawal, a combination of the two, or some other cause. If they are due to either pregabalin or diazepam withdrawal, they should be temporary. Are you taking something like ibuprofen? It may help in the short-term.
Hi All.
I'm interested in those who have been on pregabalin long term - what happened for you with regards to tolerance? I'm keeping upping my dose at the moment (up to 175mg at the moment) and I keep have to up it after 5 or 6 days because the positive effects on the anxiety seem to dissapate after that amount of time. Was it the same for all of you - did you reach a dose where that stopped happening and you settled on a dose.
I'm concerned that I'll keep gaining tolerance and in the end I'll end up on a high dose of pregabalin that isn't doing anything for me.
I've read anecdotal evidence that suggests if it does occur you can taper off for a few weeks supplementing with a long half life benzo where needed in the mean time, and then when you raise the tolerance will have subsided? Any experience of that?
I was told in hospital (psych unit) that 400mgs is the theraputic dose for anxiety. I went from 75mgs to 400mgs in about 14 days and it knocked my terrifying anxiety on the head.
That was at the beginning of April. 2weeks ago I decided to drop my dose to 300mgs to see if it helped with some of the side effects which for me was the "foggy brain" (I think medically the term in "depersonalization"). The first few days of reduction I took Lorazepam (0.5mgs) when I had a little breakthrough anxiety. I was also told Lorazepam is better as it is short acting and is less addictive than diazepam. Now I feel less "numb", however I do get very tired and some muscle weakness.
If my anxiety gets worse I will happily up my dose again to 400mgs.
Hope this helps
sarah
I was told in hospital (psych unit) that 400mgs is the theraputic dose for anxiety. I went from 75mgs to 400mgs in about 14 days and it knocked my terrifying anxiety on the head.
That was at the beginning of April. 2weeks ago I decided to drop my dose to 300mgs to see if it helped with some of the side effects which for me was the "foggy brain" (I think medically the term in "depersonalization"). The first few days of reduction I took Lorazepam (0.5mgs) when I had a little breakthrough anxiety. I was also told Lorazepam is better as it is short acting and is less addictive than diazepam. Now I feel less "numb", however I do get very tired and some muscle weakness.
If my anxiety gets worse I will happily up my dose again to 400mgs.
Hope this helps
sarah
Hi Sarah,
That does help thank you :-) it sounds like you haven't had any tolerance issues at all which is encouraging! I also get really tired after taking the evening dose so I push that dose until just before I want to fall asleep (no sexy time if I'm all sleepy!).
It will be really interesting to see how you go on 300mg.
That's really interesting and also confusing about the lorazepam. I was under the impression that the shorter the half life of a benzo, the more addictive it becomes which is why xanax isn't prescribed in the UK (super short half life). I'm a little confused now as to which is best!!
Hi All.
I'm interested in those who have been on pregabalin long term - what happened for you with regards to tolerance? I'm keeping upping my dose at the moment (up to 175mg at the moment) and I keep have to up it after 5 or 6 days because the positive effects on the anxiety seem to dissapate after that amount of time. Was it the same for all of you - did you reach a dose where that stopped happening and you settled on a dose.
I'm concerned that I'll keep gaining tolerance and in the end I'll end up on a high dose of pregabalin that isn't doing anything for me.
I've read anecdotal evidence that suggests if it does occur you can taper off for a few weeks supplementing with a long half life benzo where needed in the mean time, and then when you raise the tolerance will have subsided? Any experience of that?
This is exactly what happened with me, I had to increase the dose every 5 days or so to maintain efficacy. I have been on Pregabalin for 7 months and it doesn't seem to be effective now, but until I stop it I can't be sure. It did work well for the first 5 months, I have been on varying doses over this time and dropped from 450mg to 300mg when on Mirtazapine because of the tiredness with taking both medications. Three weeks ago I increased from 300mg to 450mg and unfortunately it hasn't done anything for my anxiety. I am now decreasing again with a view to stopping it.
Like all these drugs everyone is different and what works for one may not for the next. Some people seem to find 75mg a day effective whilst others need 600mg, some people find it more effective when given alongside an antidepressant. Have faith and hope in Pregabalin Sam, there is evidence that it works and it should for you.
Sam
This is exactly what happened with me, I had to increase the dose every 5 days or so to maintain efficacy. I have been on Pregabalin for 7 months and it doesn't seem to be effective now, but until I stop it I can't be sure. It did work well for the first 5 months, I have been on varying doses over this time and dropped from 450mg to 300mg when on Mirtazapine because of the tiredness with taking both medications. Three weeks ago I increased from 300mg to 450mg and unfortunately it hasn't done anything for my anxiety. I am now decreasing again with a view to stopping it.
Like all these drugs everyone is different and what works for one may not for the next. Some people seem to find 75mg a day effective whilst others need 600mg, some people find it more effective when given alongside an antidepressant. Have faith and hope in Pregabalin Sam, there is evidence that it works and it should for you.
Sam
Hi Sam.
Thanks for the lovely post :-)
I'm day 3 into my new dose so I expect I'll know by Sunday or Monday whether this is going to work. If not i'll up the dose again and hope I settle.. I suppose the only good thing is that right now my anxiety is fine and I'm still on a relatively low dose - I suppose it's feasible to expect that if I up the dose to 300 or 400mg in total I might totally settle on that. But who knows!
I'm learning how to use mindfulness techniques so I'll keep on that and maybe, just maybe, if the higher dose doesn't work, I'll have the skills by then to manage it a lot better and not let it interfere with my life so much. But... Fingers crossed I settle!
Also sending you a pm :-). :hugs:
16th day on pregablin but 9 of those om 50mgx3 daily still feeling anxious!!do the tablets still need time to build up in my system or does my dosage need upping,still having headaches daily and dizziness but think this is due:huh: to the anxiety
Hello Rachel,
Pregabalin can work quickly or take a few weeks to have an effect - it depends on the person taking it.
Also, the effective dose depends on the person taking it. Although the relatively few studies published put the effective dose per day at around 100 mg to 400 mg, there are people posting to NMP who take higher or lower doses. If pregabalin seems to be working, you may need some time to work out what dose works best for you.
Most initial side effects go in the first few weeks.
on 200mg pregablin daily now,had my diazapam tapered down from 5mg daily to 2mg a day ,has anyone suffered diazapam withdrawl affects and if so what were they like ? Not really feeling myself at the mo feeling anxious again ,headaches,my face aches!!does anyone think this is withdrawl? Wonder if i could do with my pregablin upping
Hello Rachel,
Sorry to hear that things aren't going so well.
Increasing pregabalin may help. You can go up to 400 mg or 600 mg per day.
Your symptoms may also be due to benzodiazepine withdrawal. If that is the case, symptoms do reduce over time. Some doctors recommend a very slow withdrawal over three months or so to reduce withdrawal symptoms.
Lillypup2010
24-09-13, 22:12
Hi I'm new to this but I also have been prescribed 50mg twice a day and I am having headaches too but I was wondering if you can take flouxatine with them as I've been on those for years just been diagnosed with GAD.:)
Hi Lillypup,
I take pregabalin with mirtazapine. I think it can be taken with SSRIs and SNRIs generally - the mode of action is different.
Of course we are all different in our response to these medications, so you need to see how it affects you. Most of the side effects of pregabalin start fading in the first week or so, but some can persist.
hi lillpup,yes you can take pregablin and fluoxetine,im currently taking 200mg pregablin,40mg fluoxetine,2mg diazapam,30mg mirtazapine and 120mg of a beta blocker a day :)
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