My Pregabalin Journey

[NinjaKitty]

Ok so I removed my old post as it was long winded and now not important.

On day 4 of pregabalin, 50mg x2 a day
here is my experience so far

Day 1 only took one in the pm, slight feeling of dizzyness/drunk went to bed slept well

Day 2 1 in the morning felt dopey all day but less anxious took night time dose was staggering like a drunken lunatic

Day 3 mroning dose taken at 11am, bit groggy but it wore off as the day went on night time dose made me sleepy as hell by 10pm, went to bed read till around 10.3/11pm took night meds slept for 12 hours straight

Day 4 today took my Morning dose at 11am not feeling so groggy today, woke up with no anxiety what so ever, none at all, felt it creeping up on me around 10am, took my pregabalin and my diazepam anxiety poof its gone,so tonights dose will be at around 9pm so i can at least go to bed at 10pm and read a little

So all in all after 4 days and 7 tablets i feel at least 50% better than i did this time last week, no horriible anxiety symptoms, only issue is my IBS is acting up, I can now drink a coffee in the morning and not feel like im fleeing out my head.

Will DEFINITLY be continuing the pregabalin and slowly reducing my benzo intake.

I see my Psychiatrist on the 22nd of this month and he has told me he will up my dosage to 75mg 3 times a day, but if after 4 days I'm feeling the side effects wear off so quickly i have high hopes for this med, I didnt even want to take my diazepam dose this morning but because i am in tolerance withdrawal i took it as i need to taper slowly.

So as of tomorrow i will decrease my diazpepam by 2mg and continue the pregabalin.

I understand why people take this med for a day or 2 then stop, the drunk groggy spacey feeling is unsettling but i pushed through it, and it get's better every day

thank you to EVERYONE who gave me words of encouragement and information I will keep this thread going with regular updates on my journey

1 question though to anyone who has been or is on pregabalin, when you updosed from you initial dose did you experience the " settling in period side effects again"?? Or was it easier than the 1st few doses?

Kitty xx

[PartyTime]

Good for you Kitty. Was wondering how you were doing. Offers me some encouragement too.
Thanks

[NinjaKitty]

Good for you Kitty. Was wondering how you were doing. Offers me some encouragement too.
Thanks

Seriously on day 2 I was ready for throwing them down the toilet I felt that detached from reality, but, my inner logical side won me over and said keep taking them this is only natural side effects and nothing serious has happened. ... So i took my daughter to the park and had lot's of fresh air which definitely made me less drowsy etc.... so my conclusion about this Medication is if your sedentary and just sitting about the drowsy feeling etc is more prominent, the more active you are the better you feel for sure..... today i did lots of active things round the house cleaning and playing hide and seek with my youngest who is 2, when she went for her nap i didn't sit about wallowing I did some cleaning in my room and made dinner prep. Now i feel a bit tired but it's a good tired not a medicated tired.

I say give them plenty of time.... take the updoses to a therapeutic level (my psychiatrist recommends 300mg minimum) and ride out the 2-3 weeks of groggy feeling..... the benefits in my opinion definitely 100% outweigh the minimal side effects...... but that's just my opinion and obviously I'm not a Doctor but i definitely think its worth tryin to get over the settling in period..... prozac made me feel way worse than this for the 4 weeks it took to settle in my system.

Stay positive PartyTime and how about we support each other through the stages of getting used to the meds.

Kitty xx

[keggsy]

Well done kitty, am on day 8 of 1 x 75mg taken at night.
It is helping with my sleep, taken with 15mg mirt.
Anxiety not too bad but not too much different from before, as my anxiety hits me at night over not sleeping.
May up to 2 x 75mg in due course, with one of them being taken in the morning.

[PartyTime]

Yeah , mutual support is good.
I know I've got to put some effort in here but scared to go out in case I bump into anyone I know (particularly from work, or neighbours). It's a vicious circle i have to break. Only I can do it but I'm so worried about having to explain myself in a coherent way and my brain is hopelessly out of gear!

EDIT : I'm grateful to have a job but that has complimented to this this recent trough. I won't bore you with the details but it has been the seed - or perhaps the way I have mismanaged myself and burnt out

[NinjaKitty]

Ok day 5, woke up this morning with that Oh so comfy feeling of I dont wanna get outta bed im so snuggly and comfy........... but ............. had to get my butt out of bed my daughter was on a rampage lol

feeling good taday and no stoned groggy feeling, taken my morning dose of pregabalin and feeing much more positive.

So today is pro-active day, gonna go do the shopping housework etc etc and get my daughter off to nursery and what not, for the 1st time in ages i have actually taken time to look "normal" got dressed in nice clothes unlike my usual joggers and sweats and put make up on etcetc (all boring to most but a big plus for me)

So yes Day 5 is looking good and I'll be back with another update soon

Kitty x

[keggsy]

Well done kitty

[PartyTime]

Nice one Kitty
Hope you progressing nicely too Keggsy

[NinjaKitty]

Thanks guys hope your both doing well cyber hug (((((hugs)))))

Kittyx

[SarahH]

Pregabalin is a great substitute for Valium. If I up my dose I need no Lorazepam at all

Sarah