It's been a week since I posted last and although things are no worse, I am also no better.

I saw a pharmacist last week. I know him, and he is a really nice guy. He had never heard of Lyrica withdrawal symptoms and went through some of his pharmacy web data and could find no information.

My Dr. is concerned, she is open to it being Lyrica withdrawal or also a non specific virus. She is concerned that I have had such a lweight loss in a month. Secretly I am happy for that.

My Dr also put me on Welbutrin. I have been on it nearly 3 weeks and so far I don't notice any difference, but the pharmacist told me it would be about 3 weeks before I began noticing a difference and probably 6 weeks to feel the full effect of the drug.

I am hoping that everyone else who is going through this is beginning to feel better.

Take good care

D.

I've been off lyrica about 1 year and 6 months. I am pretty sure it caused damage that still lingers to this day. My sleep and happiness levels haven't returned to normal, i'm less patient, feel trapped and I worry about stuff a lot more, experience anxiety, etc. I have kept busy though and positive life experiences and incremental successes seem to be helping me rewire back to a pre-lyrica self, or maybe even better--a more experienced and gracious post-lyrica self.

I'm not a doctor by any means, but for myself, I would have taken a surgery over gaba drugs such as lyrica any day. I still have not yet had surgery, my sciatica inflammation comes and goes, and I can easily throw out my back as I did yesterday which is why I'm here writing this, obviously I haven't learned to sneeze correctly yet. I am looking forward to a possible surgery over the holiday. I've had symptoms for about 2.5 years and I had a first microdiscectomy in 2008, which was a total success, except I went back to doing labor work which ruptured the same disc more.

feel free to read my other posts as I was going through the severe withdrawal--they date back to the beginning. It's the biggest struggle I've ever faced, but it gets better. It just takes a while for some of us. I remember how it was one minute at a time at first, and a week, year, month seemed impossible. but time moves on and recovery happens when we let it i guess.

wish you all well.

Hello, Sorry both of you have issues with lyrica. This withdraw is worth it, if you can get off a medication you don't need. There will be an end to it. The Sweating is normal in most cases. I did this getting off another medication. Hang in there. One less medicine is a good thing...ginnie

Hi, Brand new here. I am on my 7th day, Lyrica free. I only took it for about four weeks, starting at 50 mg, and going cold turkey. I did switch to the Lyrica from Gabapentin (Neurontin), which I took for about nine months, though I have been on an anti-seizure medication for years to prevent migraine.
I have had nearly all the symptoms you describe, but the mind chatter and the hopelessness have been the most disturbing to me.
Here is my question, from your experience. If you have a good day, I mean when the mind chatter is less, and you can reason and remember, is this followed still by bad days?
Can I feel hopeful that at least one of the symptoms has resolved, or does it not work like that?
Thank you all in advance. I really thought I must be dying from some mystery disease until I read your posts.

BTW: I have not had a migraine since I stopped medication. What to make of that?

Hi packmommy, welcome.

Let's be safe and say it doesn't work like that for everyone. Hopefully, each bad day will be less bad than the last, but after all is said & done, everyone still has good & bad days—meds notwithstanding.

Hard to say; depending on how long it's been, it could be an after-effect of the med, it could be a permanent(?) change in brain chemistry, and/or it could be that you just haven't had a migraine... Depending on the type/cause of (chronic) migraines, some syndromes just get better with time.

Doc

[QUOTE=Dr. Smith;1021062]Hi packmommy, welcome.

Hard to say; depending on how long it's been, it could be an after-effect of the med, it could be a permanent(?) change in brain chemistry, and/or it could be that you just haven't had a migraine... Depending on the type/cause of (chronic) migraines, some syndromes just get better with time.

Thanks Doc, I am coming from 5-6 migraines per week on the Gabapentin and the Lyrica. It's been years since I have gone seven whole days without one. I was just afraid to quit them because I thought it would get worse. If I even end up with 1-2 a week I will be pretty happy. Plus, I will not be on Lyrica!

I know the feeling; I was... well, more than 15/month—that's the cutoff/definition of "chronic" with regard to headaches. Mine (most of them anyway) were due to something called "CTTH/migraine complex—sudden onset" which is caused by a reactivation of the Epstein-Barr virus. After several years (and countless treatment ordeals) they began to diminish on their own, which is known to happen with that syndrome. I'm down to 1-2/week, and that's better than what it was. Maxalt has been my godsend.

Doc

I had no idea you could get a relapse of the Epstein Barr Virus. Good grief...didn't know it stayed in the body. ginnie

Yup—just like chicken pox. You can also get mono more than once.

It was not a relapse in the usual sense—I didn't get mono again. I got a common rhinovirus, which in turn reactivated the EBV in such a way as to cause chronic headaches (both tension-type and migraine). I can't tell you why—that's what "the headache guy" (neurologist) told me. He was familiar with the syndrome and its cause—nailed it with 3 questions (after being bounced between other neuros for 2-3 years). Gave me an info sheet about it. That's why I encourage folks to find other "headache guys"—neuros who specialize in headaches only. They know more.

Doc

Thank you for the information. My T @ B cells have been out of wack my whole life. (29 years old) so I am a bit concerned as these illnesses have happened to me.
Sorry you get those headaches. I hope they go away, and stay away. We learn a lot on this site doc. Keep in touch. have a good night. ginnie