How long before pregabalin starts to work?

[NinjaKitty]

Well i am a complete insomniac, I even find it hard to sleep properly on mirtazapine at the highest dose after a year and with temazepam and a dose of diazepam at night which seem utterly ludicrous considering what i take.
I just wish there was one generic pill that covered everything and made us feel instantly better, but,I guess that would negate the purpose of self help.

[hanshan]

Hi Kitty,

It is a bit of a worry that you are pretty much at the maximum dose of benzodiazepines and mirtazapine and still find it hard to sleep at night. Hopefully pregabalin will help, but it's not a sleeping pill as such.

How is your blood pressure? I actually discovered that the blood pressure medication prazosin also helps stop bad dreams - it's been used by people with PTSD to stop nightmares.

[NinjaKitty]

Hi Kitty,

It is a bit of a worry that you are pretty much at the maximum dose of benzodiazepines and mirtazapine and still find it hard to sleep at night. Hopefully pregabalin will help, but it's not a sleeping pill as such.

How is your blood pressure? I actually discovered that the blood pressure medication prazosin also helps stop bad dreams - it's been used by people with PTSD to stop nightmares.

I really should have made myself more clear, by insomniac i mean thats the term my Psychologist has givem me, my therapist is not the best and i could do with changing. My Psychiartrist on the other hand is very good, he has told me i can increase my doses of diazepam but i am reluctant to and my psychiatrist understands this, i am averaging around 6 hours a night at the moment, but when my anxiety flares i average around 2-5 hours a night, so in my opinion it isn;t my sleep that needs seeing to it is the anxiety, I will also add that when i take my night medication i am sleepy and dozy and do sleep but sometimes the anxiety creeps in creating broken sleep.

Personally i think my inability to maintain sleep is due to a really bad bedtime routine in fact i have no routine at all and everybody tells you that a good betime regime/plan is key to a good sleep, so I am now working on a bedtime plan, calming tea (i.e camomile etc before bed) a warm bath with relaxing oils such as lavander etc, no television/phone/pc/tablet etc for at least an hour before bed, i will go to bed and read ( i actualy love reading and it has a strange calming effect soi have no idea why i don't do it)

Yes i know my benzo doses are high but after many yrs (around 10) i have went from 2mg of diazepam 3 times a day to 5mg of diazepam 3 times a day (still below the max dose of 20-30mg a day for acute anxiety) yes temazepam is a high dose but max dose in UK is 30mg a night, some nights i only take 10-15mg, just depends how bad i feel.

Adding in the pregabalin is the recommendation of my psychiatrist instead of upping my benzos, and I have researched that pregabalin at higher doses helps aid benzo withdrawal (which to be honest is the route i really want to go down i hate being on benzos)

so Just to clarify I want off my valium and to decrease my sleep meds, I know pregabalin isnt a sleep med but the anxiolitic effects are what i need not the sleeping effects as when my anxiety is low i sleep perfectly fine, I really sould have made myself clearer, I am frustrated being on so many meds, I have succesfully withdrew from my benzos twice with minimal side efffects so i am not worried about being off them.

I see my Psychiatrist in a few days and will get my 1st prescription for pregabalin and i thinkonce i have got to a theraputic dose that works for me i will then gradually taper off my benzos, this time round i have been on them a year so it really is time to taper off and become benzo free.

Again Hashan thank you for all your input and concern over my medication, i am safe on it, i never take more than prescribed, i dont abuse my medication or "experiment" with it bar decreasing doses when i feel it's just too much to take at one time.

Just keeping my fingers crossed the pregabalin works for me, I really hope it does, i am quite tolerant to medication and it's side effects, only ever had one bad exerience on seroquel.

thanks again and like i sai i should have been clearer about my medication and my sleep routine.

Kitty xx

---------- Post added at 12:54 ---------- Previous post was at 12:21 ----------

Also to answer your other question my BP is normally quite regular or a bit low due to having raynauds syndrome but that only affects me in the colder months, I have been on beta blockers before and unfortunately they make me dizzy and make my BP drop too low, i have been on bisoprolol for ectopic heart beats, atenalol and propranolol also, each time irritated my PVC's and dropped my bp too low, so beta blockers aren't a yes med for me.

Kitty x

[keggsy]

Can totally relate to the comments you made about getting the anxiety sorted and then better sleep follows!

[NinjaKitty]

Can totally relate to the comments you made about getting the anxiety sorted and then better sleep follows!

So true Keggsy, once the anxiety is less the better the sleep gets for sure, I sont care about the sleep, i can survive on a few hours and nap in the day if i have to I just want the anxiety levels to go down, I can't handle the physical symptoms of my anxiety and unfortunately i have many. If it's not a really painful knot in my tummy my arms and hands and shoulders feel like their burning the list is endless

Ktty x

[keggsy]

Sounds a bummer!
Been a bit edgy today and a long day at work didn't help.
I struggle on only a few hours sleep but often surprise myself at I can still operate the next day after a bad night!

[SmilingAlbert]

hi Kitty,

>>I even find it hard to sleep properly on mirtazapine at the highest dose after a year and with temazepam and a dose of diazepam at night which seem utterly ludicrous

You may know this already, but Mirtazapine is much more sedating at a LOWER dose than high. There is a complex explanation of why this is but it may be important for you to note - take a look on Google etc. on this subject.

The consensus is that Mirtazapine is most sedating at 7.5mg to 15mg. Any more than that and it may actually have an enervating/'wired' impact

Which is probably not what you want

There is quite a lot online about this subject so take a look - e.g. http://www.patient.co.uk/forums/disc...ne-40mg--19973#

So - what to do? Well I get round this by having 7.5mg at night, and 23.5mg in the morning, which works fine.

It might be worth discussing this with your doctor; all the other meds you take need to be taken into consideration.

I do know that the only time I ever had 45mg in one go at night I didn't sleep a wink, while 7.5mg settles me very nicely.

As I say, please talk to your doctor before making any changes, but this idea might might be worth considering.

Albert

[NinjaKitty]

thanks albert but to be entirely honest sleep isnt my biggest issue its my anxiety at the moment, i lost the sedative effects of mirtazapine at 15mg after a week, im quie tolerant to sedating medication and i do cope well enough on the sleep i get but my anxiety right now is the major factor, my morning/daytime anxiety is Hell, but by 8pm at night im okish, then by the time i go to bed my anxiety is very very low, so i sleep mostly for 6 hours 4 times a week and the rest is broken from 11pm-8pm, I just want the morning issues and the daytime issues under control, i am in therapy as well, have been for about 4 months and working on CBT so i am hoping that with the addition of pregabaliln i get the day time help i need along with therapy then hopefully i can wean myself off my medication, Im not med phobic really i just hate having to take pills to feel better. thank you for the iformation and i will definitly mention it to my psychiatrist (he deals with my meds i dont deal with my GP about my medication at all) and see what he say's as he is a very open and youngish psychiatrist and isn;t afraid of trying new ideas or methods to help me cope.

I'll read the link you posted and hopefully i can get soem relief soon

thanks

kitty xx

[hanshan]

Hi Kitty,

I understand all your worries and concerns with benzodiazepines - wanting to be off them but needing them to cope. Hopefully pregabalin will be effective for the morning anxiety. Mornings were the worst time for me, particularly waking up and feeling the anxiety load up like a computer booting up. Fortunately, pregabalin has worked quite well for me for morning anxiety - I hope it can do the same for you.

[maniekkrk]

Hi hanshan,

I've got same problem with morning anxiety. I started pregabalin (2x75mg) treatment week ago, but with still no effects. What is yours dose? How long before this med starts to work on you? Morning are the worst time for me

I'm also on Zoloft 100 (started 3 week ago) and 500mg Valporate twice a day.