How long does it take to work ?

[Lan69]

New to this so please excuse me if this has been asked before.
Iv suffered with anxiety for at least 11 years now ever since my dad died and have been on antidepressants on and off which have worked and enabled me to lead a ' normal ' life ie going to uni and working full time and having a good social life.
Since march this year the anxiety has returned with a vengeance! I have been unable to work and Iv become virtually housebound and have had 2 hospital admissions to my local mental health hospital.
Iv tried citalopram ( nightmare) mirtazapine which I currently still take (30mg)
sertraline was then added which sent my anxiety through the roof so that was tapered off. Now I have been given pregablin started at 50mg 3x a day 2 weeks ago and then increased to 100 mg 3x a day 4 days ago.
I still wake up with awful anxiety but I feel like a zombie! Some one please tell me that this will improve and this anxiety will leave me alone, I just want my life back. :confused::confused::weep:

[SmilingAlbert]

Sorry to hear your woe. I hope the Mirtazapine is proving of some use.

Preg often can work quite quickly in my experience

You should start to see an impact quite soon I'd have thought.

You are currently on 50% of maximum; if no impact soon, consider asking to increase this before giving up on it. It works for many, perhaps most people, but sadly not all.

Good luck

Albert

[Lan69]

I am praying that pregablin works, Iv read a few success stories about pregablin and mirtazapine combined
Just had a visit from nurse from crisis team as I am still under their care for now and he said I should give it a good go as it is good for anxiety but not to increase it until this zombie like feeling goes . He said it could be a few weeks until it starts working so I will just have to be patient and ride it out. All my negative thinking isn't helping but it's like a habit now, I'm stuck on the anxiety cycle

[Greenman50]

Theres some good self help books on amazon mate for a few quid might help you .

What was wrong with the citalapram they worked well for me no side effects .

[Lan69]

I've had citalopram in the past and they worked great but this time they were a nightmare ! 11 weeks of hardly any sleep couldn't eat ( lost 10 kg) and my anxiety was uncontrollable I ended up in hospital for 2 weeks and was tapered off them. I don't understand how they didn't work for me this time

[Greenman50]

Sorry to hear that :weep:

[Lan69]

Hopefully this pregablin will do the trick
I did have a choice between that and quetiapine but was a bit scared with it being an antipsychotic I just hope I made the right choice

[hanshan]

Hi Lan,

Nobody can tell you if any of these meds will work for you - please don't ask that of people. They can only tell you whether they have worked or not worked for them - but then you will get varying responses that will mostly cancel each other out.

I can say that pregabalin has achieved a response rate of around 50% for "very helpful" in a small poll on this website. That's probably better than most ADs, so a cause to be hopeful.

If pregabalin is not helpful, don't feel afraid to try anything labelled as an antipsychotic - it's been found that these meds have all been found to be helpful in a range of conditions, so the old terms are in the process of being replaced with ones simply describing the chemical group the med belongs to.

[Lan69]

Thanks for the reply
I think Iv scared myself into thinking nothing is going to work after my citalopram and sertraline experiences!
Today is the first day with no diazapam, I was on 10 mg a day in hospital and was reduced to 6 mg and this last weekend only 3 mg. so far I feel ok apart from being slightly shaky.
As for the pregablin I think it is sort of controlling my anxiety it's like I can sort of feel it bubbling away under the surface. I'm wondering if I should ask my psychiatrist if my dose should be increased to 400mg or give it a couple more weeks. I still feel slightly stoned but much better than last week, Iv even managed to go food shopping with a friend which is a major improvement for me

[hanshan]

Hi Lan,

If you are coming off diazepam, you may continue to feel shaky for a while. You can ask the doctor about increasing the pregabalin to 400 mg per day - it's still less than the maximum dose. Give the mirtazapine / pregabalin combination a while to bed in - it may take some time if you have had severe anxiety and been on different meds. Good luck - things will get better!

[Lan69]

Thanks hanshan
If only I could get rid of this awful morning anxiety, it's like it nudges me awake each morning ...I hate it.
I also need to work on my ' worrying thoughts' I was doing cbt but they discharged me when I was readmitted to hospital so Iv now been referred to a psychologist. I meet my cpn tomorrow for the first time and still under the care of the crisis team for now .
Does pregablin work like an antidepressant where you have to wait so long for it to build up before you see the results ? I'm so desperate to get my life back and return to work so if I do need an increase I'd rather it was sooner than later.

[hanshan]

Hi Lan,

I think you said you are on 100 mg three times a day (= 300 mg per day) - is that right? When do you take them? Pregabalin has a fairly short half-life of 6 - 7 hours, so if you suffer from wake-up anxiety, it's worth trying taking your doses more towards evening. You could try 100 mg at lunchtime, 100 mg at 5.00 pm and 100 mg at bedtime, or even 100 mg at lunchtime or afternoon and 200 mg at bedtime.

I had wake-up anxiety, and take my entire dose of both mirtazapine and pregabalin in the evening (and usually in bed pretty quickly after that). This is not a recommendation, however! Nevertheless, it did stop my wake-up anxiety.

Pregabalin can work quickly for some people and others take more time. If you have had anxiety requiring hospitalization, then it will probably take longer to settle, so please give it some time. Good luck.

[Lan69]

Yeah I'm on 300mg I take my first one on waking ( 7-8am) then second dose at 2 then my bedtime one about 9.30 with my 30mg mirtazapine.
Was rather anxious last night and this morning my anxiety was quite high again and the agitation is rearing it's ugly head again!
Meeting my cpn this morning for first time, I may ask them to askmy psychiatrist if I could increase my dose or maybe taking one dose in the morning and other 2 together at bed time. My side effects were feeling stoned for a few days so I'm not worried about a dose increase

[hanshan]

Hi Lan,

The maximum dose for pregabalin is 600 mg and for mirtazapine 45 mg, so the possibility of increasing both is there. Because you are not long after stopping diazepam, the doctor may want to wait a while, however, because there is often some rebound anxiety - hopefully only short-term if you weren't taking diazepam for a long period.

[Lan69]

Hi hanshan
I was on diazapam for 4 weeks.nearly 3 weeks at 10 mg then that was reduced to 6 mg for about a week then 3 days at 3 mg and had my final dose on Sunday so this will be my 4th day with no diazapam.
I still feel tired and and dopey but I'm still anxious too if that makes any sence. I'm hoping in time my anxiety lowers and I start to feel more alert.
I was on 45 mg mirt for 4 weeks before I went into hospital but they reduced it back to 30 mg. been in mirt since end of may so about 3 1/2 month. I don't feel depressed as much as I used to but I'm still anxious like I'm waiting for something to happen and the worry thoughts are still there !
LAN

[hanshan]

The dopey feeling caused by pregabalin should reduce over time. An increase in dose may be helpful - you need to discuss it with your doctor. As I said in an earlier post, taking it all at night helps me wake up without anxiety, and that feeling lasts through the day, but that's just what works for me. Good luck with your next doctor appointment.

[Lan69]

Can I ask how long you were on it before you changed to taking it all at night ? And did it work immediately or was there a bedding in period before you started waking up anxiety free ? Sorry or all the questions it's just my anxious mind needing answers. I may try taking my morning one and missing out my 2 pm dose and taking it with my evening dose. I'm so desperate for it too work I can't help worrying about what next .

[hanshan]

Hi Lan,

I've been taking pregabalin for about five years now, so I can't really remember exactly when I switched to the night-time dose. For me, pregabalin worked fairly fast, but by the time I started taking it, I think I was already over the worst of my anxiety - and I'm talking about it taking years to settle from its worst point (worst point was around 2005, and started taking it in 2010).

Do be patient - things do get better, but it can be a slow process. For me, I was able to go back to working full-time and take up a job working overseas in 2011, so there's always hope.

[Lan69]

Thanks for sharing,
Had a really bad day yesterday high anxiety, but I know I bring a lot of this on myself. I worry about money of should I say the lack of it. My car is broke and lots of bills to pay and I'm only receiving ssp at moment ( £80 a week).its so frustrating as I have a good job which pays well and I know by going back all my financial problems will be sorted but the thought of going back terrifies me cos I know I couldn't cope with it at moment. I have my PIP health a assessment next Friday too so also chewed up about that !

[opalakia]

i hope it works for my anxiety too!! good luck to everyone!!

[karenp]

I have asked for Preg so many times but they always tell me it's not for anxiety (lyers!!) and though Citalopram is the only AD that works for me it takes about 4 months to make me 100% better. I get every start up effect going including panic attacks so we are all different I guess. I wish it didn't give me nay side effects but it is like hell at first and my old doctor used to let me have Citalopram or Zopiclone until I got well, but my new GP is not willing o help me get back on the Cit.