Help/advice needed please: 450mg to 600mg

Hi guys,

Sorry to start a new thread but currently going through a really bad time. I increased the pregabalin from 300mg to 400mg in January after doing so well over the last couple of years; I found the anxiety creeping back in over Christmas hence the increase.

That levelled things out for a while but over the last week I feel as though I've had a full blown relapse and the pregabalin has stopped working. I agreed with the psychiatrist last Tuesday to go up to 450mg but I'm fearful that the medication may have just stopped working for me altogether. I was just wondering if anyone thought it may be worth going up to 600mg from 450mg in an attempt to feel better or whether it's time to try something else? I'm really scared at the moment as I haven't felt this way in years since starting on pregabalin. Any advice/help would be massively appreciated!

Did you discuss potentially going up to 600mg with your psychiatrist?

Hi AMomentofClaity, thank you for replying :)

I emailed him on Thursday raising the idea but the Easter weekend has delayed things a bit so will hopefully hear back from him tomorrow. He's always been quite reluctant to go too high with pregabalin, 300mg is a high dose in his opinion which I always thought was a normal dose for anxiety, with the range going up to 600mg based on the individual and how they respond.

I see. Do you have a GP you could discuss with, as a bit of a second opinion?
im not familiar with this medication but it sounds like what you’ve researched and your psychiatrists beliefs are a bit different. Maybe another opinion could help?

I've always gone through the psychiatrist who's advised the GP, although whenever I book an appointment it's never with the same GP due to the restraints on the NHS at the moment it seems. But a second opinion is a good idea so I'll see if I can see someone asap to talk things through.

The psychiatrist emailed back this morning thankfully saying that it's feasible to go up to 600mg and is happy to write a new prescription. I've managed to book an appointment with him tomorrow as I think it's better to have a more in-depth chat to consider the options rather than base a new dose over an email conversation.

As you say, research suggests the most effective dose for anxiety is 400-600mg. For other conditions 300mg may be high but it would appear it’s low for anxiety. It’s worth going all the way to 600mg to see if it works. It’s safe enough as you know you tolerate Pregabalin. You’ve got nothing to lose, but if you don’t try you’ll always be wondering if it would have made a difference.

Hi miracleboy,

I've just replied on the other thread but thank you again for the reassurance! I have my fingers crossed on the increase in pregabalin based on talking to the psychiatrist but will probably introduce an SSRI alongside it at some point.