Newbie on Pregabalin. Need Reassurance Please

[nutteetart]

Hi All

I am a newbie and im not really sure if i should be on here because sitting at the computer all day doesnt give us the answers but here i am.

I have just been prescribed 150ml Pregabalin a day and i feel a little wierd. I feel sort of depersonalisation particularly when i am out because i get agorphobia with my GAD. I feel like i am being held back inside. Does this make any sense to anyone? I am so scared because as you probably all know, we are so tuned in to ourselves that an escaped fart could send us panicking! but seriously, i look for things on the net to reassure me and i find horror stories. Not healthy.

Also, i have this awful tension in my head, like a pressure. It stops me from getting involved in anything because i feel anxious and uncomfortble about it. It affects my neck and jaw too and makes my nose feel numb. It interferes with my recovery. Any ideas?

Thanks guys

[sarah jayne]

hi, i started pregabalin last week for pain relief and anxiety. It doesnt seem to be working yet for the anxiety but it has helped with my headache but ive spoken to my doctor today and hes told me to stick with them...x

[nutteetart]

Thank you Sarah Jane, I know it takes a week or so to kick in and i must admit that when i have searched this drug, there is quite a positive response and my psychiatrist and therapist have both reported good results. I just get scared of anything i take. It gives my mangled brain something else to be anxious about. Its ridiculous but i just cant get a hold on it at the moment. Hang in there kid, i'm right with you. x

[manuruth]

Hello I am new to the site also and stumbled upon as I was researching experiences of Pregabalin. I too have also just been started on Pregabalin 150mg a day split in to morning and evening meds, it is only my second day of the Pregabalin and as of yet haven't really experienced anything different but at the mo in a pretty low state of mind. But I too have read the positive responses from medical exsperts and the general user of Pregabalin. But i would like yourself like to know more personal experiences of the drug. Lets hope we will be able to have some more insight into this. x

[nutteetart]

Thankyou for your reply. I am on day 4 of pregab but i must admit i too was very low at the beginning and i woke this morning feeling more positive so hang in there. Lets hope its kicking in. I have to see my psychiatrist in two weeks and i think he will double me up to 300mg a day so i am a bit scared of that but maybe i will be better equipped to deal with it then. Its hard enough just getting to the docs for me but one worry at a time. X

[manuruth]

You sound very much like myself, I find it very hard attending my appointments too. I was supposed to go to my psychology app on tuesday just gone but really couldn't face it and she phoned to speak to me but just couldn't face the phone either. I also have an added pressure/worry as I had a nasty fall in June which resulted in a stay in hospital 2 ops to fix 3 breaks and a dislocation to my ankle tib and fib. I am stil in cast and not mobile which makes attending apps. very difficult. So I am with you on that. I really hope that this is a wonder drug for me as I've been on so many. I hope you don't mind me asking, but are you on any other meds as well as the Pregabalin? As my psychiatrist has added it onto my daily meds of Venlafaxine,Quetiapine and Zopiclone and I just wonder how the concoction is going to work,these meds I have been on for about2 years now. Fingers crossed that you are able to tolerate this dose and if your GP ups the dose it will be beneficial for you! x

[nutteetart]

I am not on anything else at the moment apart from diazepam if its all too much but i try to avoid it. I sometimes have a couple of units of alcohol which i am extremely careful with, and my psych knows i do it. He would prefer i used diazepam if i really have to but i think they are both pretty bad and i get frustrated that i have to use extra help.

I was on venlafaxine for years but i have suffered for 10 yrs to varying degrees. At one time i was in a day hospital where we did occupation therapy and relaxation etc. I found this helpful because i was with others who understood. We all helped each other. There is a stigma to mental health yet there is a huge pandemic sized problem out there. My local hospital now doesnt offer this care.

You mention getting to appts. This is a huge problem for me. I have to see my psych in 2 weeks and this time he wants me to go to him. Its obviously to see how i cope but thats the thing. When i go to appts, i am so anxious that i cant sit comfortably, i feel like i am going to pass out and i grip the table or anything infront of me. The room spins and i think i am on my way out. Complete terror. I hear of self help groups, but i cant go because i can get there without panicking. Im even envious of the people on here that say how awful they feel on their way to work. I wish i could go to work. I wish i could take my son to school. I wish i could join in my life again. I was fun once, i was confident and funny and busy. I would like to be like that again soon with as few meds as poss. I cant comment on your meds because i dont know what they all do but i suppose we have to trust the experts. X

[manuruth]

I really understand how you feel about going out! When I attend my apps. I shake uncontrolably and my mouth become so dry I hardly can talk and keep taking gulps of breath...it truely is a horrrible infliction. I also am unable to work and that is under my psychiatrists say so, I did have a very good and responsible job. I was in total off work around 18 months and while a long in-patient stay at the local Mental Health Unit I was forced to resign from my employment. And at the moment I can't say when I will be able to seek employment yet all I know it certainly isn't yet. I sincerely hope you too can get a hold on life and be able to participate in normal every day life! And I only said to my partner this morning, I wish that there was 1 tablet that could help rather than taking the concoction I do. Well take care, it would be very helpful if you feel up to it if you could let me know how you get on with regards to the Pregabalin and I will try to do the same for you. You probably feel the same as me that sometimes it's very difficult to communicate, and I just want to let you know in advance that if you choose to reply to me and I don't reply straight away it is for that reason only and I am not being ignorant, so I apologise in advance just in case that is ever so. Chin up and hang on in there, your not alone Ruth x

[nutteetart]

Thank you Ruth, i will offer and take support where i can but i am the same as you when it comes to communication. Sometimes i fear i cant talk. I always can but its a fear that terrifies me because i cannot ask for help. I dont like talking on the phone anymore and at times its even hard to speak to my family. I can become so low that i cant look someone in the eye and hold any kind of conversation. So i know. Just think, every day, we are one step nearer getting well. X

[manuruth]

All the best, hope we can speak again on here. x

[nutteetart]

No problem. Take care X