Thinking of trying again

[skymaid]

My psy's and I think my recovery might well be a bit easier on me if i try and bring my overall anxiety levels down rather than just trying to managed with the occasional diazepam.

I still have my prescription for Lyrica but i'm emetophobic (vomit phobia) so i daren't take most medication. (I realise diazepam has a nausea/vomiting side effect but it's never made me feel ill at all).

I took 1 and then panicked about side effects for 3 hours or so. I didn't really get any that i noticed. maybe felt a bit dizzy maybe? hard to tell through the panic attack.

So my question is: If you've taken 1 of these kind of meds with no ill effects does that mean you'll be taking them? So like if i take 1 and it doesn't make me sick then that medicine won't make me sick?

I've only ever taken 1 AD ever and that made me feel very nauseous (wasnt sick though) so i gave up.

[Cherryade]

Why not try taking the Lyrica before you go to bed? That way you will be sound asleep while it starts to do its work. Talk it over with your doctor. When I first started taking it I took it at bedtime for a week then started taking one in the morning as well.

[skymaid]

i'd worry about waking up and being sick in the night. which somehow seems worse than the day. i know my phobia makes no sense.

[SmilingAlbert]

hi Skymaid,

Nausea is not a listed side-effect of Pregabalin:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pregabalin#Side_effects

(this data comes from many clinical trials)

The NHS specifically note that Preg is less likely to cause nausea than SSRI/SNRI ADs:

http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Anxiety/Pages/Treatment.aspx

I appreciate that anxiety may be causing you nausea, including after you take this. But I hope this will help put your mind at rest that this is more about anxiety than a physical effect. As with all these things, they don't always work for everyone, but you can't really find out if they could help without trying and persevering for a bit.

Good luck with it and come back here for support. Preg can be very effective for anxiety and has helped many people, including on these boards and including me.

Best wishes,

Albert

[skymaid]

Wow thanks Albert. I really appreciate you digging out those links.

Im such a wuss about taking medication I know. I'll give this a proper go soon

[hanshan]

One aspect of health anxiety is increased anxiety about starting a new medication. Typical signs are delaying the first dose, trying to take the smallest dose possible (eg by cutting a pill into several pieces), and then, worst of all, having a panic attack soon after taking the first dose.

If you understand that all this is caused by anxiety, it can help you get through the first dose. As Albert says, pregabalin is not associated with nausea, and once the anti-anxiety effect kicks in will help you with your emetophobia. Good luck.

[MyNameIsTerry]

Nausea & vomiting are recorded as Common in the side effects section for Medical Professionals on Drugs.com. This puts them at 1-10%.

The section for Consumers has them listed as Less Common. So, that may mean they are closer to the 1% than they are to the 10% but I'm guessing there.

No one can say for sure but I think it's in your favour when you say you didn't experience them with that first dose. And remember, it peaks in it's distribution phase in 1.5 hours (3 if taken with food) so the dizziness was probably at peak time and you handled when such a symptom can lead you to feeling queasy. And also remember Pregabalin has an elimination half life of 6.3 hours and until you reached 5x those 6.3 hours, which would eliminate enough to make it clinically insignificant (<5% remaining), and another 2x the half life again for 100% elimination, you still didn't experience what you fear.

So, have some faith in yourself that you can deal with it. There are a great long side effect profile to this med, as there is to others, but how many of them do we experience? Not that many. Some people say they have experienced them all but I would dispute that as the side effects are quite varied with mental health meds.

And yes, nausea is a listed side effect for that Diazepam you are taking ok. It's in the Incidence Unknown list for Consumers but in the Medical Professionals section it doesn't have categories for commonality. Sadly, not all meds have such breakdowns on the drug databases.

So, you are facing your fear everytime you take one of those. How about that? Well done! :yesyes::yahoo: Even a rare side effect will still allow those "what ifs" to creep in and the catastrophizing to start so you have done really well taking them.

I've had nausea with Citalopram for the first few days but it wasn't bad. Duloxetine was different in that the nausea hit me within 20 minutes and it was worse. I know for Citalopram this is because of a specific Serotonin gut receptor hence it can come on very quickly. I'm not sure about Duloxetine. But in my case it came on day one for both and a lot of people I've seen tend to find nausea to be an early side effect with SSRI/SNRI class meds on here. So, there is a chance that you would have seen it on your first dose but you didn't and that's something positive to hang on to.

[skymaid]

Thanks for the encouragement guys.

Next time i'm feeling "mentally stronger" i'll start. A row of rubbish sleeps isn't helping my anxiety levels right now.

Logically if I took 1 and didn't notice any side effects then I should be fine anyway. Not sure why i'm even worried. Well I am.. phobias don't follow logic.

[hanshan]

I'd go with the logic that you took one and didn't have side-effects.

But even if you have side-effects starting up a new med, they usually don't last, and aren't the end of the world.

[skymaid]

well i got my new supply of it along with a few diazepam to take before each of my first dose (so i dont get in a total panic this time).

I saw a really nice gp who said she was impressed with me even getting there (with agorphobia) and sympathized with the emetophobia (being unable to take ssri's) and that she's prescribed big doses of pregablin many times and has never heard of it ever making anyone sick (echoing what my psych said).

So i've got nothing to lose.. gonna try again on friday. hopefully its the miracle drug that ive read so many stories about. Even if it just makes a minor dent in my anxiety so i can go out, i'll take that.

Thanks for the encouragement guys.

[MyNameIsTerry]

Good luck with it.

If you did experience anything similar, do you feel you would be able to rationalise it as "just my own anxiety" and push through it?

I ask because I have struggled badly with both I've tried but kept telling myself "any day now, it will ease off and they will start to help". It was still very hard.

The first time I feel apart in two days and needed help with the mess the insomnia was causing me. The second time I was dreading it as I remembered what it was like and it was harder but I kept to the "no one can help, this is just how it had to be" attitude to keep pushing

I've never been on Pregabalin. And I don't have emetophobia but the increased anxiety & adrenaline rushes were test the second time. The first it was depression & insomnia. So, I understand it from my own point of view and think starting meds is a hard exposure exercise all in itself.

[skymaid]

thanks. I'm feeling pretty positive about it this time actually. if it gives me just a small reducing in anxiety so I can get over the agoraphobia more easily then i'll take that.

Seems to have a good success rate in GAD from all the reading I've done on it. I'm saying away from "side effect" research though.

Besides I took 1 with no bad effects already so I've got that large piece of evidence to rely on.

[skymaid]

well took one after a 5mg diazepam. felt nice and calm... took it and immediately felt anxious lol... im amazing how much you can fight diazepam if you really get anxious.

Anyway 30 mins in. no noticeable effects.

How long till i notice something good or nothing? an hour usual time im reading

---------- Post added at 16:12 ---------- Previous post was at 15:35 ----------

an hour in.. still just feel diazepam i think. hard not to examine every throat twinge and stumble rumble. think i feel vaguely hungry.

stop analysing... i know..

not quite the freaking out mess i was last time at least.

---------- Post added at 17:16 ---------- Previous post was at 16:12 ----------

2 hours in besides a minor panic attack i think i didn't really do anything.

guess im safe from side effects now (the one i'm worried about anyway)..

---------- Post added at 18:10 ---------- Previous post was at 17:16 ----------

and 3 hours in i've calmed down now. feel vaguely happy/calm/sleep.

might be the diazepam though. although that never makes me feel happy.

most importantly no noticeable side effects.

haven't gained any weight yet lol.

2nd does in err 3 hours i guess.

hopefully some other med-phobe will find this mini diary useful at some point

[skymaid]

Ok i took my 2nd dose 6 hours apart. Only a small diaz before this time.

I managed to distract myself from freaking out this time. 3 hours or so later i stood up and felt a bit wobbly and dizzy. I guess this is the side effect people talk about. Made me a little worried but hasnt done anything yet.

[dale12345]

I take xanax very similar it makes me dizzy sometimes to.

[MyNameIsTerry]

Sometimes I see threads where people have literally taken a med minutes ago and their anxiety is rising so they worry it's a reaction to the med. Allergic reactions happen very quickly, otherwise with meds it's about the gut digesting it and becoming irritated or it crossing into the bloodstream and from there even across the Blood Brain Barrier (BBB) to start seeing more cognitive side effects. That all takes time, unlike an allergic reaction which is very quick.

So, what it tends to be is the person's anxiety rising. I've been there myself. I've had real struggles with supplements and even food because of how my anxiety started. I know it's me causing it because I don't feel in control as it's now in my body.

So, other than the obvious allergic reaction (and that is very different to side effects, you wouldn't mistake it) try and accept you may feel worried about the situation as once swallowed, you feel like it's too late.

You will get past this problem.

[skymaid]

Thanks guys.

Well I had a great sleep and woke up feeling really relaxed. Could be the diaz or lyrica. who know?

Day 1 down. So I guess its easier from here. I'd have had anything nasty I was gonna get side-effects by now I suppose

[hanshan]

Hi Skymaid,

Congratulations - you've made it through day one and still feeling okay. Good luck and best wishes for the next few days.

[skymaid]

thanks. I had the best sleep in ages and I feel fairly mellow today so far. next dose coming up soon. think my fear of it is getting less

[dale12345]

I am very happy for you

[skymaid]

just a quick update for it it helps anyone else starting who's nervous.

I actially had a mini anxiety attack last night (3am) but it was WAY easier to calm down from and lasted only a little while. fell back into a nice sleep easily. So thats pretty good.

During the day i feel kinda almost normal now. Tiny bit drunk/drowsy but not too bad.

Permanently starving! I can see why people gain weight on this.

Since i'm almost over my initial fear of the meds i've only had a mini diazepam today (2mg). So this is more of a real test of the Lyrica. Seems good so far, i feel almost chilled.

Tomorrow. No diaz. just the lyrica.

If you're not someone who likes the feeling of a 2-3 drinks then you might find the side effects a bit strange but they not too bad for me.

Certainly nothing stomach related which is what i was worried about.

[hanshan]

Hi Skymaid,

Thanks for the update - it's so good to hear that pregabalin seems to be working out for you. Don't worry if you have blips / bad days etc when you might have to take some diazepam, so long as the general trend is one of improvement. Hopefully the slightly tipsy feeling should fade soon. Other side-effects may persist a while. I had a dry mouth and less coordination for several weeks at first, but not any more. Effects and side-effects vary from person to person, so you need to take things as they come. The best thing for you is no stomach troubles and they are unlikely to develop from here on in.

[skymaid]

oh I just messaged you lol. thanks hanshan for the encouragement. the wobbly feeling is a little disconcerting. but after 5 days I guess this is as bad as it will get

[skymaid]

day 6. ventured into the outside world.

felt vaguely dreamy but anxiety was still spiking by the time I got to golf club. my ibs was making me feel a bit floated which didn't help.

It didn't feel like diaz but I did feel a smidge of anxiety reduction.

early days and 50mg x2 is low but at least I know it doesnt make me ill from side effects.

[skymaid]

Day 8

Weirdly its interfering with my mindfulness meditations since i keep falling asleep lol. Drowsiness is still there a bit although the dizziness and spacey feeling seems less.

Its definitely reduced my anxiety a bit. No panic attacks yet. I seems to have a dip in the late afternoon so im guessing thats a mid-dose thing maybe. Dose increase in a week or so. No needed any diaz anymore at least.

[hanshan]

Hy Skymaid,

Hang in there - things should even out fairly soon. It's good that you are not needing diazepam.

[skymaid]

Well I tried an experiment. Going to the local shop about 10 minutes away and by the time I made it to the carpark I was a panicky mess.

So I can safely say its not a strong enough dose (50mg twice a day) or it hasnt started to work yet. It's still giving me good sleeps at least

[hanshan]

Hi Skymaid,

100 mg per day is still a low dose. 200 - 400 mg per day is an average therapeutic dose.

That said, individual blips may still occur. Anxiety does not give up so easily!

[skymaid]

day 10.

Ive come to the conclusion that these ARE helping even at this dose. Its similar to being on a small dose of diazepam. Not enough to face your worst fears but enough to remove a few anxiety symptoms.

The wobbly dizzy thing has just about gone now. It wasn't that bad anyway.

Dose increase in about a week

[MyNameIsTerry]

If you're not someone who likes the feeling of a 2-3 drinks then you might find the side effects a bit strange but they not too bad for me.

I'd buy that for a dollar!!! :yesyes:

You are doing really well. This is a massive boost to your mind over taking meds.

[dally]

Well done on conquering your fear of taking mess. I have that problem too, so I am following your success with interest

[skymaid]

day 12

no noticeable side effects. I think it takes the edge off my days at least.

still have a bit of morning anxiety but I guess the pregabalin from the night before had probably worn off by then.

upping the dose on monday. not sure whether its best to go 50 50 50 or 75 75.

maybe its giving me constipation. maybe its making me tired? hard to tell since I have both those things with anxiety anyway.

[skymaid]

did anyone else get constipation with this? maybe I need to stop having complans in the morning and try and eat more real food.

hard when I have no appetite still. I wish I gained the weight everyone else did on this