Pregabalin taper schedule

[akb]

Hello

I'm on 200 mg of pregabalin about 6 months now. I'm not convinced its helping me so want to come off it, its also expensive and my supply unreliable. Any help would be gratefully received. I don't have a doctor.

akb

[akb]

Looks like I'll have to answer my own question again.

I'll start by reducing by one 25mh capsule for one month at a time and see how it goes

[skymaid]

The actual Lyrica (Pregabalin) official prescribing info says:

"Your healthcare provider may change your dose. Do not change your dose without talking to your healthcare provider.
Do not stop taking LYRICA without talking to your healthcare provider. If you stop taking LYRICA suddenly you may have headaches, nausea, diarrhea, trouble sleeping, increased sweating, or you may feel anxious. If you have epilepsy and you stop taking LYRICA suddenly, you may have seizures more often. Talk with your healthcare provider about how to stop LYRICA slowly. "

and

"Taper LYRICA gradually over a minimum of 1 week rather than discontinuing the drug abruptly."

But you don't have a doctor so that doesn't help much - 25mg is the smallest capsule so I guess short of going to a doctor you can just try reducing it by that and see how it goes.

I've missed the odd one or 2 doses now and again and not really notice anything nasty (slight headache).

I wouldn't do too much internet "research" or you'll upon horror stories which will just scare you into psychosomatic symptoms anyway.

The internet is great for many things but medical advice from the general public isn't one of them.

My doctor says I might feel a bit "ugh" when i stop them but nothing too serious.

Can you not go to a doctor?

[akb]

Hi sky maid

Believe it or not I'm in a foreign jail which doesn't have a doctor
Lyrica seems to be unknown here.

Thanks for your reply
I am in no hurry to reduce anyway

akb

[hanshan]

I would reduce your daily dose by one quarter (50 mg) and see how you go. If problems arise on a particular day, you can always take the extra 50 mg.

Once you are stabilized on 150 mg daily, you can drop another 50 or 25 mg, and so on.

[akb]

Hi Hanshan

I was actually waiting for you to offer your expert advice. I will do as you say and report back in due course.

Just out of interest, is there a recommended minimum dosage for anxiety, or does it all depend on the person?

Thanks

akb

[beatroon]

I tapered off it and managed to go down in 25mg increments, but towards the end I found it a bit rapid, and ended up taking some of the powder out of the capsules. It was unscientific and probably not great but it did help. By the end I was literally just tapping a bit of powder back into the capsule and having that. Good luck. It can be done.

[akb]

Thanks beetroon

I'm in no hurry so I will be able to do it

akb

[akb]

This may be a silly question but how many days after reducing dosage can you be sure its been successful? Given that you may be feeling a little anxious about reducing in the first place.

Having gone cold turkey on benzos I know that withdrawal symptoms start around day 3 or 4 but obviously this is not the same

[hanshan]

Withdrawal rate from any psychoactive med depends a lot on the person. Some people can taper down to nothing in a few days with few effects while others need weeks or months.

Although pregabalin has a short elimination half-life of around six hours, there are still issues of the body stabilising at the new dose. As a rough guide, if a week has gone by at the new dose and you have been fine for the past three days, then you are probably okay at the new dose.

From that, there is no urgency for a further reduction straight away. It's a case of when you feel ready. As pointed out above by Beatroon, as you get towards the end, even small reductions become a large proportion of your dose.