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Old 06-07-2013, 09:27 PM
lyricahelp lyricahelp is offline
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Join Date: Aug 2012
Posts: 21
10 yr Member
lyricahelp lyricahelp is offline
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Aug 2012
Posts: 21
10 yr Member
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jimac View Post
Hello and thanks to all on this thread,
I was taking Lyrica for around 6 years with the last 3 1/2 at 600 mg a day. Last year I started to taper off very slowly over many months. When I got to about 300 mg I started to notice the withdrawal symptoms. Last fall I was down to only 100 mg a day and it was terrible so I decided in December to stop. Well long story short, December through March were h*ll. I am still dealing with the withdrawal symptoms and the increased nerve issues from my cervical problems. When will the strange physical feelings go away! I am always cold and feel like I have a fever but do not. I still have a strange numbness. The anxiety is almost all gone now after 5 1/2 months.... but I am still not myself at all.

Thanks to all for posting their experience with stopping Lyrica. I will never take it again.
Hi, so sorry to hear you're suffering from the awful Lyrica withdrawal, but sooo glad to hear you made the choice to stop taking it. I have said the same thing, that I will never take it again!! You could not pay me to take it again.
I've posted often on this site; read through my posts to learn about my experience coming off Lyrica, which was absolutely horrific.
I understand the strange physical feelings, and weird temperature sensations (cold but feverish!) and increased nerve issues.
I found that that in the initial stages of withdrawals (if you can call months and months "initial stages") There was an increase in nerve agitation from my original pain problems (that for which I was on Lyrica), but eventually those nerve sensitivities decreased. I felt like my nerves were super inflamed and irritated without Lyrica, but I think it was part of the withdrawal phase...like it's trying to trick your body into taking the medicine again. My original chronic back pain hasn't disappeared either, but I think the extra agitation from Lyrica withdrawal is gone.
I've been off Lyrica completely for 10 months (after weaning for about 3 months). My last really bad withdrawal day was about 2 and half weeks ago and it's really amazing it's been that long!! This past week I felt like my old self again, probably in the first time since over a year when I first started the weaning process. I just hope it continues to get better. I did have a few days or a week or so that I would feel close to my old self, but always relapsed. I'm hoping this time is different. It certainly would be nice to be over this completely.
Hang in there!! Those first six months are the worst, but the next six months get better, at least for me they did.
If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask. I found it helpful to reach out to those on this site who really understand what we've been going through.
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