cold turkey on Lyrica not a good idea
 

I have been on Lyrica for about 4 years to help with peripheral neuropathy side effects. I have been taking a 225 mg twice per day.
Last week I finished a bottle and went to get the next bottle but could not find it. Instead of rushing a prescription I decided to just go cold turkey and see what would happen. Within a day or so after taking the last pill I had 3-4 days of flu-like symptoms, restless legs at night and a poor appetite. I also was either really cold or sweating. I am now on day 5 and back to normal. I would not recommend going cold turkey.

Hi,
I'm new to this site and not sure how to use it so please forgive me if I make any unintended errors. I think that the withdrawal from Lyrica is individual without a definitive answer that fits everyone's situation. I wonder if the answer for you is not the withdrawal but whether or not remaining on Lyrica along with your new medication is possible. If there are no serious drug interactions between the two then perhaps a small dose of daily Lyrica may bethe answer.

By the way, I forgot to add that you should make this decision in conjunction with your treating health care professional.

How is the withdrawal from Lyrica coming along?
 

Hi guys,
Just wondering how the Lyrica withdrawal is coming along? You know cluster headaches is one of the top ten most painful conditions? Are you being treated with narcotic pain medication? If you don't mind me asking. It seems like Lyrica is not sufficient and if the withdrawal is that bad it seems like you could use narcotic medication. Sorry if you answered these questions already as I did not read the entire thread. Hope you are feeling better.
:hug:

Lyrica WD - day 45
 

hey everybody!

I took 150 mg per day of lyrica for about 6 weeks, for anxiety. It wasn't really like an anxiety disorder, more like a rough part of my life. I had psychosomatic pain, and that's why I got prescribed Lyrica, by a psychiatrist.

I had side effects of taking lyrica, and couldn't continue with it, (didn't want to either, because i went to psychotherapy, and broke up with my gf, - it was the relationship that caused my problems)

the first 1 and a half week off lyrica was pretty good, i had like 4-5 days of some insomnia, but nothing severe, and then I started to feel clean, with energy and really happy. And then, after 1,5 weeks, out of nowhere it started.. the lyrica withdrawal.

I feel constant chest pain, and burning sensation in my body. I have low energy, and i am not able to work, or do normal everyday activities. I drink lots of water, about 4 liter per day. (a bit more than a gallon). I do daily walks, but that's about it. I'm not really able to run or anything like that. When I have more daily programs to do, I get exhausted really quick, to the point where i have to lay down, and rest for the rest of the day. I try to force myself to do some daily stuff, but I can't really.

I don't feel anxios, i'm not depressed, I don't feel panic, don't have panic attacks, etc.
I just feel so week, and worn out, that at some points I feel like I'm dying. And I'm not.
Fortunately I can sleep. that's a good thing.

How long will this last?
I heart that in some cases it can lead up to more than 7 months!!! come on I only took it for 6 weeks.. please let me know, that it's not possible right???
Is there any way to speed up the withdrawal? I would try anything literally.

there are days when it seems like it's getting better, but all in all, it's not. for example the last 3 days were horrifying.
I'm 25 years old, I have to go to university classes, I have to work, it's not possible for me to be SICK for 3 months or so.

what should I expect? Any advice would be really really helpful!
thank you so much!

feel like dying
 

i know it's a silly question, but can anything serious happen during withdrawal? can you faint or die or whatever? because I feel like that currently.. ahh i would love to just read this when I'm feeling great, and have a big laugh on how stupid I was... but currently this is how I feel.

Yes withdrawal can be deadly
 

I don't know anything about Lyrica but I do know withdrawal can be deadly from certain medications such as Valium or any of the benzos. Can you call your doctor and ask them about this? I had a really bad experience with soma after just taking it for a few weeks but I stopped taking it abruptly because it was knocking out my speech and I ended up in the psych ward. I was delusional for awhile. I feel like I have some permenent damage from that episode. So yes I would not take it lightly. Go to the e.r if you have to. This Lyrica sounds like a bad drug.
Brain

Hi, I'm so sorry to hear you're experiencing the nasty side effects of lyrica withdrawal. I encourage you to please read all of my posts, which include detailed information of my painful withdrawal. I've been experiencing withdrawal for almost 9 months since stopping lyrica. I'm also in my 20's and am in school and working. The withdrawal has been devastating, and it ruined my first real job as an engineer. Ironically I stopped taking lyrica BC I thought it would impede my work performance if I continued to stay on it. Who knew stopping it would be worse. I've had many many tests done by doctors which has put me thousands of dollars in debt to try to see if anything else is wrong and the doctors say I'm "perfectly healthy"...the only problem is my body is still adjusting to the lack of lyrica. I understand your lack of energy. It puts me in bed for days at a time and I feel like a zombie. Some days are better than others, but the bad days are exceptionally bad. I tried acupuncture for a few months and it helped to manage the symptoms but it wasn't a cure. I have diazepam to help manage my chronic back pain, but I found it also helps with the lyrica withdrawal. If I have the energy I work out, which sometimes helps and sometimes makes it worse.
I don't know if all this helps, but hopefully you'll know you're not alone. Again, please read my other posts as it will give you a timeline of my withdrawal progression. I'm happy to answer any questions you might have. And I hope your experience isn't nearly as awful as mine has been.

On lyrica's official web page it actually lists some withdrawal side effects in small print on the bottom of a page. One of effects is : seizure. Scary stuff people.

thank you! so do you have any knowledge about how long this will last?
and I'm really scared now, that somebody wrote, it can even be fatal.. it has been going on for you, for 9 months??? that's true? and can you do your daily activities now? is it getting better? or it's the same? I can't believe how slowly it's improving, if it's improving at all. sometimes it seems like it's getting worse.