Pregabalin......at last!!

[SarahH]

I have a 13yr story which I will try to summarise...

2001 diagnosed PTSD after suffering symptoms for a year as a serving police officer.......breakdown......prescibed tricyclics,SSRI's, NSRI...all had VERY bad side effects....after 6 months citalopram worked but only in small doses (10-20mg).
11yrs later after various therapies, CBT,EMDR,relaxation, mindfulness I felt well enough to come off citalopram (under GP supervision). That was just over a year ago. For the first 6 months I felt great. Life was good. Part-time job. Small pension.Content.Zopliclone at night only.
As the winter set in my mood changed. I felt low,anxiety started coming in waves on a daily basis. But I "managed" the symptoms.
5 weeks ago I was hit with flu....proper flu...after a week in bed I developed a chest infection...antibiotics....a week later, one morning the anxiety could not be controlled. I truly felt like I was losing my mind. I called for help. I was admitted to a Psychiatric Hospital. The scariest thing that has ever happened to me and trust me I have been in some pretty horrific situations as a police officer!!!
After 4 days of intensive assessment in hospital I was prescribed the wonder drug Pregabalin My diagnoses ..Acute PTSD/GAD/Post Viral Fatigue....NOT depressed. My low mood was a result of constantly having to fight anxiety!!!
I started on 50mg twice a day. I was given a LONG list of side effects and told that this drug had to be introduced slowly. The side effects...basically I felt drunk...without the benefit of Sauvignon Blanc!!! It was not pleasant but I was in a safe place with wonderful kind staff who took care of me a kept me "safe" when I felt all was going crazy in my head.
After 4 days the dose was doubled (150mgs twice a day)...drunk again.....BUT NO ANXIETY!!!!!! But still the Consultant said it needed to be 200mgs twice a day. So 4 days later it was put up again. This time the side effects were not so bad.
So after 18 days in hospital I am home with 24hr support from the outreach team.Which will continue until I decide I am OK on my own.
How do I feel?.........calmer than I have felt in 13yrs...truly.
I have Lorazepam if I have a bad attack (It's shorter half life, less addictive than Diazepam)but I have not had to use it so far!
I have engaged with the quite brilliant OT team and re learnt relaxation, mindfulness and other coping strategies. And I have listened to the advice of professionals in hospital. I still feel spaced out but that is getting better everyday!

I will keep you posted on my progress.

Thanks for reading. Hope it helps others on pregabalin

[Mark13]

Hi Sarah

Glad to hear pregabalin is working for you.

I got some relief straight away, but it stabilised after 4 weeks.

I came off it for several reasons I won't go into here, because everyone acts differently to the drug, but one of the problems was weight gain - not huge but more than I could afford to put on, already being overweight. .

I'm trying duloxetine at the moment, and I've not been on it long enough (day 3) to judge yet, but till now pregabalin was by far the best drug I've ever found for GAD.

[hanshan]

Hi Sarah,

Good to hear that pregabalin is working. As Mark and other posters have noted, weight gain can be a problem. Monitor this if it is likely to be a problem.

Good luck, and keep posting.

[JT69]

Hello Sarah,

Pregabalin has been a huge help to me with general anxiety...I am so glad it is helping you too.

Long may it continue.

Jo.x

[SarahH]

Thank you for your support messages. They are really helpful.

I am nearly a week on the 400mgs. Still some side effects in the mornings. I noticed today that taking it on an empty stomach increases the side effects tenfold Wont be doing that again!

Can anyone let me know how long it takes for the side effects to wear off? I know we are all different but some ideas may be helpful.

Coming home has been a bit stressful, but I expected that.

How are the new meds Mark?

---------- Post added at 14:51 ---------- Previous post was at 14:31 ----------

OH ..and I forgot to say. Thanks for the weight warning. I was absolutely stuffing myself in hospital, never eaten so much in my life....I gained 1lb!!!!!!. However I have now gone back to my normal eating just in case. As long as I stay a size 14 I will be happy.

I will keep you all updated on this thread....it may help others new to the board. Everyone has an individual story and I found reading about it all helpful so maybe someone will find my story helpful too.

[Tufty]

Hi Sarah I'm Sam, I'm so pleased you have finally found relief from your anxiety. I have a similar history to yours on a similar time scale and have struggled to find the right medication.

I started Pregabalin 12 weeks ago, 150mg daily initially increased to 450mg over a period of 3 weeks and it was good but I had a low mood that wasn't lifting, I was putting on weight and just wasn't happy. So after 7 weeks I gave another SSRI a try, thinking that the side effects would be less with me taking the Pregabalin, my mood instantly dropped and the anxiety increased. I stopped the SSRI after 3 weeks and that was a week ago but my mood has plummeted and my anxiety increased. I am still taking the Pregabalin but it's not been very effective at reducing the anxiety this week but as it was so successful prior to my dabble with the SSRI, I will continue to take it.

I take it with food or I get a drunk feeling, that isn't unpleasant but can be a bit off putting, I can't remember having any side effects after taking them for 7 weeks, maybe a little constipated, bloated stomach due to the above and increased appetite. You said you gained 1lb? I gained 7lbs in the first 3 weeks but it didn't go any higher and like you I'll be happy with a size 14 and no anxiety.

I've spent time in a psych unit with anxiety, though yours sounds a lot more helpful and caring than my experience 10 years ago. Coming home is stressful after being in that protective environment.

I've just a couple of questions, you said you took a SNRI - which one and how bad were the side effects? I've not had EMDR but it has been suggested to me - was it any good and can you tell me more about it please. I'm happy to post on here or PM if you'd prefer
Take care
Sam

[SarahH]

Hi Sam,

Thanks for replying. The SNRI I tried was Venlafaxine. I took half of one tablet and within 10mins I was having a serious allergic reaction, rash visibly growing up my abdomen and chest, up my throat and face, tongue swelling. My mother drove me to the nearest hospital (5mins) and I was injected with adrenalin. Spent the night in hospital. I do have bad reactions to meds.

EMDR......had a great response to it and may try it again to help me cope with the sudden admission to psychiatric hospital, which can be a trauma in itself. There is alot on the net about EMDR I was lucky as my NHS Trust have trained psychologists. I live in Wiltshire.

I am quite happy to post on this site and answer any questions. The more open we all are the more we can help others and carers to undestand.

[SarahH]

Quick update for anyone interested

This is day 7 of 400mgs a day.

This morning I made sure I had breakfast and took my first dose half an hour later. Exactly 2 hrs later the side effects kicked in. They are not as bad as yesterday when I had to go back to bed because of somnolence. Today I just feel a bit drunk. If things pan out like yesterday this feeling will last about 4 hrs and then disappear . I take the second dose at about 7pm after food but dont seem to get any side effects in the evening.

Slept well with 7.5mgs of Zopliclone.

Have a good day everyone

[hanshan]

Hi Sarah,

It's good that you seem to be feeling okay on 400 mg a day of pregabalin.

My suggestion would be to try to fall asleep without the zopiclone. You can always have it handy if you can't fall asleep.

[SarahH]

Thanks for suggestion.......

Sadly I have been taking Zopliclone for 13yrs!!!!. I now have an addiction which will be hard to break until "they" come up with something new.

The good news is that before Xmas I was taking 18.75mgs to get to sleep so 7.5 is a great achievement I am going to try 3.75mgs tonight.

Thanks