My Pregabalin & Anxiety mini story!!

[ISLASMUMMY]

Hey guys,

I want to post to see if my experiences can help anyone else

I have chronic anxiety spanning about 15 yrs, diagnosed with Generalised anxiety disorder, Chronic health anxiety, and elements of OCD.

I am married with 2 young babies, and have a job with the NHS......but have had so much time off work with anxiety its unreal, and also seen more 'standard' counsellors than ive had hot dinners.

Ive also been on every SSRI, eventually settling slightly on Citalopram 20mg.

My main worry was palpitations.....I had them so bad, and they scared me daft.

Anyhow I swapped my GP a few months ago because i was fed up of getting nowhere with my own......and what a difference

I have eventually seen a CPN, a Keyworker, and had an assessment done by a consultant phychiatrist.

I was put on Pregabalin 75mg Twice a day and felt imediate improvements, but not great! Side effects I felt were a drunk feeling, my balance was shocking, I ate like food was going out of fashion, and generally I couldnt co-ordinate sentances.

I went back to GP and they wanted to increase, but I was scared about increased side effects but to be honest they didnt last as long, and were no worse than the first time.

After 8 weeks I have reached the maximum dose (recommended by consultant) of 300mg Twice a day. The consultant said that for anxiety in general the max dose is needed, and the lower dose is grossly misused


Anyhow my anxious state has gone, my palps have gone, and I have stopped overeating and now am actually losing some weight (i think because I feel less stressed)

I still feel nervous & anxious, but only when 'normal' people would, and it subsides like in everyone else.

I dont know if this is the end of my story......or just the very beginning, but by god I recommend going up through the doses before gving up on it!

To me its a life changer!!


Hope this helps anyone, and if anyone wants any help either pm me, or ask away on ths thread. Pharmacy is my trade, so I may be able to help.

Lisa x

P.s I do still take the Citalopram 20mg along side these

[sunset30]

Glad its worked for you lisa really positive chick. It didnt for me so much. Wish it did but i suppose everyones different and its all trial and error with meds.

Really pleased for you though chick!x

[Spidergirl]

Hiya Lisa,

Really good outcome for you. I tend to take myself off medication if put on something I have to take every day. For now I've settled on a low dose betablockers, it's better than nothing. It's great that you feel more normal now

Hope it works for you

[kt23]

noticed an immediate positive effect in a friend when started on pregs. Hopefully he'll be put up to the full dose then!

[Belleblue]

Hi - I am still enduring very bad anxiety due to particular circumstances at the moment.

My GP recommended Mirtazapine or Pregabalin. I am (probably foolishly) concerned about the side effects of both these meds.

My main concern regarding Pregabalin is the cognitive side effects - being incoherent is not an option for me at the moment - I need to be able to string my sentences together. Can anyone tell me if this side effect remains or does it go in time - if so how long does it usually take?

Thanks all
BB

[JT69]

Hi Bluebell,

Where did you read that about pregabalin?? Cant say that I had noticed much at all but I guess now you have mentioned it sometimes find I cannot think of the word I need to say?? Maybe thats a side effect?? Just thought it was an age thing!!

I have been taking pregabalin along with mirtazipine for over a year now and both have helped me so much...especially the pregabalin with my anxiety. I am currently weaning off the mirtazipine and on 15mg/7.5mg. The mirtazipine made me gain so much weight but it does come off in the end!!

Go for it!!!

Jo.xx

[Belleblue]

Hi Jo,

Thank you for replying. I read it on a couple of other sites. Pregabalin is supposed to be a derivative of Gabapentin (Neurontin) and apparently some people on Neurontin call it Morontin LOL because of this side effect. I suppose it would stand to reason that these side effects would apply to the derivative also (with some folks).

I find it encouraging that you have not as such experienced this side effect. I certainly get the "age thing" trying to retrieve words also!!

I really would prefer to try the Mirt - but I am so scared of the weight gain to be honest. I believe it's really hard to control your appetite on it - sounds like agony to me

So pleased the pregabalin is working so well for you

BB x

[JT69]

Hi Bluebell,

I re-read your post as I thought your GP had suggested you taking both....out of the two I think the pregabalin is more useful in anxiety...I found the mirtazipine helped me with the depression but not as helpful with anxiety.

You will hopefully get some other responses around this.

Good luck with whatever you decide to do and keep us posted.

Jo.xx

[Ali.R1234]

Hi all I have just started on pregabalin and am really paranoid about the side effects. Does anyone know how long before the anxiety starts to go away.???

[hanshan]

Good luck to all of those on either pregabalin or mirtazapine or both.

I'm taking both, and they have pretty much banished the anxiety monster. He's hanging around outside somewhere, though, so best not to get complacent.

I went through the physical coordination problems of pregabalin for several months before they settled. However, I always felt mentally quite sharp - even better than when I was suffering from anxiety.

Based on posts to NMP, pregabalin works quickly for some people (within a few hours), but can take one or two weeks for others. Some people report a patchy working/not-working period when they first start taking it, particularly if they are in the process of increasing the dose to the maximum. Finally, unfortunately, some people report no change, or discontinue due to side effects. It's a bit of a lucky dip, but worthwhile if it works.