Hi guys,

I just wondered if anyone has been refused a pregabalin prescription as I am rather confused as to why my GP wouldn't prescribe me it.

I have been suffering from depression and anxiety for 4 years now. Although the anxiety is something I have suffered for the majority of my life. I have managed to get over the depression through lifestyle changes thankfully. But the anxiety is still well and truly there and it is severely restricting my life.

I am currently on trazodone 100mg per night and have been on them for about 2 years. I tried citalopram but after 2 days I had to stop taking them as they made me feel like I was on some illegal drugs and I couldn't poweer through the side effects, they were way too much in my case. I have been prescribed propranolol a few times which seems to help with the symptoms but only on a temporary basis. I was prescribed ten 2mg diazepam once because I was in a total state, and the doctor wasn't happy about it. I had a 5 day script of zopiclone for sleep once as I suffer badly from insomnia at times. And again the doctor was not happy about me asking for this and said never to ask for them again. Then it turned out they had given me the recommended dose for an elderly person! Needless to say they didn't work.

So recently I have been in touch with an old friend and he suffers from similar issues to me and he has been on pregabalin 300mg and trazodone 50mg which he says works wonders for him. I had never heard of it so I psent weeks researching it and it seemed ideal for me. I have tried CBT, exercise, aromatherapy bath salts, self help books and so on but none of it has helped me. And I am SICK and TIRED of being controlled by this ridiculous anxiety. I have read of soooo many people from the UK being on this drug so I thought I would ask my doctor to give me a script. I even found an NHS document that says if you have tried at least 2 other medications for anxiety then doctors must prescribe this is the patient asks for it.

I went to the GP yesterday morning with so much hope. But I was shot down the second I mentioned the pregabalin. He said it wasn't really licenced for anxiety and said he would prove it with his medication book. He found it in the book and then evidently found that it is prescribed for anxiety so he wouldn't show me. He just said "look at all these side effects". I'm sorry but the side effects of the citalopram and fluoxetine he wanted me to go on were SO BAD! I thought I was going to die. I understna dpregabalin is expensive to the NHS when compared to SSRI's etc so I tried to negotiate and said I would come off the trazodone gradually. He still said no even when I calmly told him about the comparison reviews I read online. I left the GP crying. I am so tired of being the way I am. He gave me the same list of websites for CBT talk and counsellors. But on the NHS it takes so bloody long to get anything and as I have said, I tried it already and paid for it myself.

What are other peoples experiences in this? Pregabalin seemed like a way out for me, a way to be free. I am devastated and just want to live my life and be able to leave my flat and enjoy my life without worrying. I am fed up.