Lyrica - Am I on the right dose?

[emmielou92]

Hello everyone, my name is Em and I'm new here. Nice to 'meet you.'

I have obsessive compulsive disorder, depression and restless leg syndrome.

I was recently given 25mgs of Lyrica to take an hour before bed, 25mg for 2 weeks up to 50mg. This was after a sleep test told me I was very restless during sleep and had excessive day time sleepiness. I thought I'd give it a shot. Prozac was awful and scarred me a tad, so I've avoided SSRI's. I would like to go back on one perhaps due to my depression, but a lot of it is to do with my OCD thoughts and lack of sleep I feel, so thought Lyrica would help reading the positive reviews on various sites. I've been taking it for 5 days and have had a mild headache the next day and a little dizziness but that's about it.

I am even more awake at night than ever and have had awful dreams. I'd not mind the side effects if it sedated me but it really hasn't and I'm still tossing and turning, which is a little frustrating. I realize it takes a while to kick in, and apologize for my impatience, but at the same time I feel I'm on such a low dose that it may not be enough to work. I really want to talk to the GP and ask if I can up my dose. Is this reasonable? I also feel I'd prefer to take one in the morning as the half life isn't that long and I need some help during the day not just at night with my OCD thoughts and anxiety.. anyway..

How long did Lyrica take to 'kick in' for you?
At what dose do you feel is the best for results?
And how long did your side effects last?

Thanks so much. You seem a lovely, supportive community.

[Jakemje]

I have been taking it for about 2 months.. I started on 50mg x 3 a day (150mg) for anxiety/panic. It doped me up for about 2 days and then leveled out. The only side effect I had that was ongoing was constipation. It helped a little with my anxiety and my doc upped it to 75mg x 3 (225mg) and then to 100mg x 3 (300mg) which was WAY to much for me. I feel like I was drunk for the 5 days I stayed at this dose. I would say 150mg to 225 was the best... but yet it did not take my anxiety completely away... maybe 30%. I'm actually in the process of trying to find a different med.

Not saying it won't work for you, due to it has great reviews, but to me it is like a Valium. It just dulls your mind, but doesn't change your actual anxiety.

I do believe though, the dosage for Anxiety is 300-600mg a day.

---------- Post added at 19:06 ---------- Previous post was at 19:01 ----------

but SSRI wise... Lexapro/cipralex is one of the best I was on that for over a decade and it completely gave me my life back. No side effects and worked great. but like most meds, it pooped out over time. (but I was also going through a divorce when it happened, so that might have had something to do with it)

I have tried since the lexapro; prozac, paxil, effexor, zoloft, and a hand full of the older TCAs meds

I wouldn't give up on SSRIs yet due to prozac, but would try lexapro/cipralex

[emmielou92]

Thanks so much for the information Jake. I'm allowed to up to 50mg which seems nothing. I wonder if it's due to the high cost of Lyrica or just not being taken seriously. I'll see where I'm at and see if I can increase from there. I understand. I know it's been branded a wonderdrug by the community or a few, but it will depend on the person. I'm glad it helped a little anyway.
I will keep the SSRI's in mind. I was young when I took them so perhaps it'll be better now. I was given Mirtazapine because of my sleep troubles but I'll take your advice on the SSRI's. Good luck with everything!

[hanshan]

Hi Emmielou - Do you have anxiety? Pregabalin's main indication is for anxiety (and specifically generalized anxiety - it's also an anti-convulsant and relieves certain types of nerve pain). I don't know whether it is effective for OCD or depression, so a different med may be better for those. However, pregabalin has also been found useful for restless legs which should help with your night-time restlessness, but at rates of 150 mg per day and above (up to 600 mg), so you may need to increase the dose. Good luck.

[emmielou92]

Hi Emmielou - Do you have anxiety? Pregabalin's main indication is for anxiety (and specifically generalized anxiety - it's also an anti-convulsant and relieves certain types of nerve pain). I don't know whether it is effective for OCD or depression, so a different med may be better for those. However, pregabalin has also been found useful for restless legs which should help with your night-time restlessness, but at rates of 150 mg per day and above (up to 600 mg), so you may need to increase the dose. Good luck.

Hi there Hanshan. I do have anxiety. I know OCD is an anxiety disorder and some have said it's helped with their intrusive thoughts, well reduced which seems hopeful. The issue is I'm taking it at night and I'd rather have a few in the day to keep me going, as I know on a lower dose and the half life isn't so long.. it's not helped so far with my restless leg syndrome sadly or helped me sleep in any way. I know it's only been about a week though, but do you think it'd be worth increasing to at least 75mg to start with? Perhaps 2 at night, 2 in the day? And go from there? I have GAD and I really feel I need some help. I have considered an SSRI but would prefer to try this first as I am a little scarred by SSRI's and so far have very few side effects on Lyrica, unlike the SSRI. How long did it take for you to 'kick in' ? I'm feeling a tad disheartened sadly.

[hanshan]

Hi Emmielou - As far as I know, the rationale for starting at a very low dose is to minimise start-up side effects, and also because some people do respond at a low dose. If you are not having major side effects but otherwise no response, it's quite reasonable to increase the dose by around 100 mg per day each week, up to a daily dose of around 400 mg. Also it's best to take pregabalin twice daily because of the short half-life. Discuss this with your doctor - something similar should be in their dosing guidelines. That is not to say that pregabalin will work for you, but it's worth a try.

[KK77]

I take PRG x3 daily due to its short half-life. I agree that your dose should be increased significantly due to non-response. I would guess 150mg x 2 daily should produce a favourable response re your GAD and perhaps RLS too. I'm not aware of PRG's efficacy re intrusive thoughts/OCD as it works more like a benzo than an SSRI. Perhaps a low dose SSRI might be appropriate once you have settled on the right dose of PRG.

Re side effects, dizziness could be an issue at higher doses but generally only lasts a week or so. Other more stubborn side effects like constipation might require changes to diet though.

[emmielou92]

Hi Emmielou - As far as I know, the rationale for starting at a very low dose is to minimise start-up side effects, and also because some people do respond at a low dose. If you are not having major side effects but otherwise no response, it's quite reasonable to increase the dose by around 100 mg per day each week, up to a daily dose of around 400 mg. Also it's best to take pregabalin twice daily because of the short half-life. Discuss this with your doctor - something similar should be in their dosing guidelines. That is not to say that pregabalin will work for you, but it's worth a try.

Thank you for your advice, I've been told now I can increase to around 100-150 mg a day for a few weeks and to go from there, so fingers crossed I see some improvement. Thank you for your advice!

---------- Post added at 05:45 ---------- Previous post was at 05:43 ----------

I take PRG x3 daily due to its short half-life. I agree that your dose should be increased significantly due to non-response. I would guess 150mg x 2 daily should produce a favourable response re your GAD and perhaps RLS too. I'm not aware of PRG's efficacy re intrusive thoughts/OCD as it works more like a benzo than an SSRI. Perhaps a low dose SSRI might be appropriate once you have settled on the right dose of PRG.

Re side effects, dizziness could be an issue at higher doses but generally only lasts a week or so. Other more stubborn side effects like constipation might require changes to diet though.

Thank you for your advice, I'm aware of the short half life so think an increase would be best yes. I'm going up to 150 mgs for the time being so fingers crossed, can always increase yes I'll see how I get on with Lyrica but an SSRI is an option. Surprisingly a few I've spoken to have said it's really helped with intrusive thoughts so that's positive. I may not need the SSRI but shall see. Thank you!

---------- Post added at 05:46 ---------- Previous post was at 05:45 ----------

Hi Emmielou - As far as I know, the rationale for starting at a very low dose is to minimise start-up side effects, and also because some people do respond at a low dose. If you are not having major side effects but otherwise no response, it's quite reasonable to increase the dose by around 100 mg per day each week, up to a daily dose of around 400 mg. Also it's best to take pregabalin twice daily because of the short half-life. Discuss this with your doctor - something similar should be in their dosing guidelines. That is not to say that pregabalin will work for you, but it's worth a try.

Oh I was wondering also, how would you space out 150mgs? 50mg thrice a day morning afternoon night or? Thank you!

[CJN]

Hi Emmie, I'm on 300mg now, my dose was slowly increased as I struggled with side effects. This med has really helped my anxiety. Good luck, keep us posted if you can

[emmielou92]

Hi there, I'm now on 150mgs a day, they've said they're reluctant to increase due to addictive qualities. Meh. I'd like to go up so I'll request soon. It's helped my sleep dramatically, but anxiety not much. Will keep trying. Thanks!