Nearly a year on Pregabalin, my experience

[Leopardess]

I know this is my first ever post on this forum, but I have been lurking on occasion for a while. I found this website because I was trying to find out about Pregabalin and in particular the weight gain associated with it. What I gathered was that no I was not unusual to have my weight go up *massively*, but also I found no stories about weight gain slowing down or better yet levelling out.

But hark let my story be one of hope :P

Right, so I'll post two picture attachments. These are graphs of how my weight has fluctuated over time.

The first one with the grey dots is for reference to my previous weight, and stability of said weight. I weighed about 66kg and what was particularly interesting for me was the effect of various life events on my weight. For example in the runup to my wedding, I was continuously losing weight, then I had some job interviews and I levelled out, then I moved flat and I spiked upwards. The pink dots are when I started seeing a psychiatrist. First he starts me on fluoxetine (weight starts trending downwards). Then because my mood had lifted, it became obvious that I was also exceedingly anxious, he started me on pregabalin (weight increases oh so rapidly).
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B4OUEzXA9efoeTkzX25hclJJdkE/view?usp=sharing

The second one breaks down the last year in more detail.
purple dots = fluoxetine only, starting on 20mg going up to 40mg
pink dots = fluoxetine 40mg, pregabalin settling on 150mg at night and 50mg in the morning
red dots = 20 mg fluoxetine, 150mg + 50mg pregabalin
I was getting really worried about the weight gain, so we agreed to start experimenting... yeah that didn't work. I was also incredibly sleepy.
orange dots = 40mg fluoxetine, pregabalin 50mg in the morning, and 150mg the night before a day I predict to be stressful, or 50mg on other days.
This confirmed that my psychiatrist is a genius, this finally led to a plateau!
yellow dots = weight after a field trip, I think I ate more/worse than normal
grey dots = very stressful time, lots of deadlines, starting dissertation, job interview...
green dots = low carb diet
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B4OUEzXA9efoamVCTWVvaWt4NVU/view?usp=sharing

I've been on my full dose of pregabalin since the stress ramped up and yet this low carb diet means I'm actually losing weight. I'm still eating a lot, but it's no longer sticking to my bum thank goodness. :Yesyes:

I hope this helps, I know I'd have found this useful to hear someone else's detailed experience, especially regarding weight.

[Leopardess]

OK try again with the graphs, maybe this works?
2430

2431

[SarahH]

My weight went up a lot too. But since January I have been careful and lost 21lbs. So it can be done. Thanks for the info

Sarah

[ricardo]

I took Lyrica for about a year , about 5 years ago when I lived abroad and despite being a smoker, meaning eating less and being in a pretty hot country,I still gained about a stone and a half, which is more than any other weight gain I have had on any other medication, and it didn't help my anxiety.

I have recently started taking it again but for nerve pain, and I only take 100 mg a day and it has helped with that condition but as I had to stop smoking 6 months ago, I am eating more even though I try not to and the pounds are piling on.my GP says that I will adjust to not smoking, but it takes time and I really am far more hungry than before.
I would say as I have said many times before that no one pill suits all, but lyrica for me does have the effect of gaining weight.

[SmilingAlbert]

Thanks for this useful analysis.

When I first started taking Pregabalin, I was a wreck, having lost approximately 31% of my bodyweight through rampant anxiety, associated nausea and lack of appetite, over a few months.

During that period, I would look at the scales with the exact opposite feeling most have: dread at having lost still more weight (due, i felt, to some dire illness the doctors had somehow missed).

When I went on it, it transformed my life for the better, zapped my anxiety, and yes, I got my appetite back. My malnourished body got the food it wanted and I put on perhaps 10% back on very quickly. But I was happy and confident, and delighted to feel hunger again after 6 months not knowing the meaning of the word.

A year on, and still on it (150mg/day). However, recently in an effort to counterbalance the inevitable weight-gain from my upcoming summer holiday, I have dieted aggressively, and have lost perhaps 5% over a few weeks. I have spoken to a psych about this and he says that this drug, like many others, certainly gives you an appetite, but in his view does not change your metabolism etc. IE: weight gain does not have to be inevitable. And it is possible to lose weight while on it.

You just have to get used to feeling a bit hungry sometimes, fight off the pangs, and if you do need to eat, eat healthy, non-fattening stuff, fruit, salad etc. Never ever drink sugary drinks, including supposedly 'healthy' orange juice. You might as well scoop up mounds of sugar from the bowl... And most experts think 'diet' drinks are a no-no too.

The worry I have is that ill people get put off taking drugs that could improve their lives because of this factor, though I acknowledge that some people are anxious and depressed in the first place because they have body-image/weight worries (and I'm guessing that for societal reasons women have this much more than men do, and they have my sympathies).

Indeed, I once told a couple of women that I would prefer to be well and fat than ill and thin, and they actually disagreed with me!

But to summarise, I don't think weight gain from this or other 'weight gain' drugs is inevitable: but it does take a lot of self-discipline. As in any healthy diet, on these drugs, "Eat food, not too much, mostly plants (http://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/20090323/7-rules-for-eating)."

I personally find carbonated water an excellent stomach-filling appetite-suppressant that has zero zero zero calories.

Albert

[ricardo]

Thanks for this useful analysis.

When I first started taking Pregabalin, I was a wreck, having lost approximately 31% of my bodyweight through rampant anxiety, associated nausea and lack of appetite, over a few months.

During that period, I would look at the scales with the exact opposite feeling most have: dread at having lost still more weight (due, i felt, to some dire illness the doctors had somehow missed).

When I went on it, it transformed my life for the better, zapped my anxiety, and yes, I got my appetite back. My malnourished body got the food it wanted and I put on perhaps 10% back on very quickly. But I was happy and confident, and delighted to feel hunger again after 6 months not knowing the meaning of the word.

A year on, and still on it (150mg/day). However, recently in an effort to counterbalance the inevitable weight-gain from my upcoming summer holiday, I have dieted aggressively, and have lost perhaps 5% over a few weeks. I have spoken to a psych about this and he says that this drug, like many others, certainly gives you an appetite, but in his view does not change your metabolism etc. IE: weight gain does not have to be inevitable. And it is possible to lose weight while on it.

You just have to get used to feeling a bit hungry sometimes, fight off the pangs, and if you do need to eat, eat healthy, non-fattening stuff, fruit, salad etc. Never ever drink sugary drinks, including supposedly 'healthy' orange juice. You might as well scoop up mounds of sugar from the bowl... And most experts think 'diet' drinks are a no-no too.

The worry I have is that ill people get put off taking drugs that could improve their lives because of this factor, though I acknowledge that some people are anxious and depressed in the first place because they have body-image/weight worries (and I'm guessing that for societal reasons women have this much more than men do, and they have my sympathies).

Indeed, I once told a couple of women that I would prefer to be well and fat than ill and thin, and they actually disagreed with me!

But to summarise, I don't think weight gain from this or other 'weight gain' drugs is inevitable: but it does take a lot of self-discipline. As in any healthy diet, on these drugs, "Eat food, not too much, mostly plants (http://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/20090323/7-rules-for-eating)."

I personally find carbonated water an excellent stomach-filling appetite-suppressant that has zero zero zero calories.

Albert

It's a shame that whilst trying to get rid of extreme anxiety most anti depressants I have taken always make me put on weight and of course being agroaphobic that reduces the amount of exercise, but my main point is that age is a big factor as I believe, and have been told that ones metabolism does slow down with age. Hence I take a very low dose .

[SmilingAlbert]

>>but my main point is that age is a big factor as I believe, and have been told that ones metabolism does slow down with age.

That I think is indisputable. Until I was 30 I could have 3 huge meals a day, and remain thin as a rake (indeed thinner than I would like to have been). After 30, that all started to change quite quickly, and I can no longer eat like I used to...

[hanshan]

I think a person has to adjust their food intake to their metabolism. If metabolism slows with age, then it does mean eating less (or start training for a marathon). The same is true if a medication slows metabolism - food intake must go down or activity go up (or a combination of both). I don't know of any other magical way out - perhaps switching to a different kind of diet may help.

[ricardo]

I think a person has to adjust their food intake to their metabolism. If metabolism slows with age, then it does mean eating less (or start training for a marathon). The same is true if a medication slows metabolism - food intake must go down or activity go up (or a combination of both). I don't know of any other magical way out - perhaps switching to a different kind of diet may help.

I am not proud of it but I was quite a heavy smoker until the HA and that makes it twice as hard. I have been told that it takes a good 6 months for the digestive system,bowels etc to get used to not having the poison drawn in every 40 minutes to then adjust to normal.

Most people who stop smoking regardless of age,seem to put on weight purely as they eat more.