Re: Changed from Pregabalin to Gabapentin
Originally Posted by
Greycylinder
In an effort to shift weight, I have switched from Pregabalin to Gabapentin. 900mg over 3 doses. I feel awful. Depressed, tearful, nauseous and hopeless.
I'm not surprised as 900 mg gabapentin is well short of an equivalent dose to 500mg pregabalin. Not only is the dose likely to be ineffective, but there are probably some withdrawal symptoms too.
At low doses 50mg pregabalin would be about equal to 300mg gabapentin, however, gabapentin bioavailability drops rapidly as the dose increases. At 100mg about 80% of the med makes it into the bloodstream, but at 1,600mg only 27% does. So it is impossible to specify how much gabapentin you'd need to take to equal 500mg pregabalin, but it's almost certainly a lot more than 900mg. I think 2,100mg/day would likely to be the minimum starting point in finding the optimum dose and my guess is you'll need 2,700-3,000mg/day. I'm also not sure that switching to gabapentin will help that much in reversing weight gain, particularly at high doses.
How long should I wait to gauge how I am doing on Gabapentin?
Gabapentin usually begins working quickly, within a day or two, but it's going to take you a while to find the optimum dose. Frankly, I think the better option is to stay on pregabalin and to tackle the weight gain by other means such as exercise (which is also great for anxiety and depression) and diet changes.
I am very worried and don't want to go back to being suicidal.
Were you generally doing okay without mirtazapine and quetiapine until the current problems from switching between pregabalin and gabapentin?
__________________
The opinions expressed above are based on my observations and, where applicable, interpretation of cited data and are general in nature. Consult your physician before acting on anything stated.
Reply With Quote
