Hi...my name is Diane and I'm new here...just signed up. I was led here due to wondering if Lyrica did have withdrawl symptoms and if that is why I've been feeling so nasty these past couple days. I've been taking Lyrica for Fibromyalgia and Diabetic Neuropathy for several years (6-7?) and all of a sudden, just over two weeks ago, my insurance co. told my HMO to have me try Neurontin instead. What a scramble! No notice...and I was down to my last week of meds. Took a little longer than that to convince the insurance company that the switch was not at all to my benefit, as although Neurontin might address my diabetic neuropathy, it is not approved for use in the treatment of Fibromyalgia. I was off the Lyrica for only two days, and really started feeling awful. By the third day, nausea, IBS, all the muscle and nerve pain back ten fold...burning in my lower legs, insomnia, headaches, bloating, and depression so dark and deep that I was crying steadily. I was almost ready to sign myself in to the psychiatric center, and I had never given it a thought to possible withdrawl, until after the pharmacy called early this morning and told my husband that the insurance company just approved and they had the prescription ready. I even had to borrow the money from my neighbor to get it, but just a couple hours after taking it and lying down, I am starting to feel a lot better and brain clarity is improving as the headache is subsiding and my mood has stabilized. Maybe I'll even get some sleep now. I tossed and turned all night, with going back and forth between freezing and sweating. I couldn't stand any of my dogs near me, not even my Service Dog. Poor thing got knocked off the bed twice as near as I can remember. Unfortunately, Lyrica is the only drug approved by the FDA for use in the treatment of Fibromyalgia. I will sure be glad when something just as effective but less addictive is found and approved.

So glad you are feeling better. It is amazing how you begin to improve after taking that first pill. You may feel totally worn out for a few days but that is to be expected as you have been put through the wringer. You will improve, relative to w/d symptoms, quickly.

BTW, I was not suicidal when I went in the hospital, just having mild auditory hallucinations on top of all of the imaginable w/d symptoms. Having worked for a Psych., I knew if I went to the ER complaining of the other symptoms, the ER doc would pat my hand, tell me to keep calling my Part D provider and send me home.
That was no longer acceptable so I said that magic words that will get anyone sent upstairs. The next day, my primary doc and psychiatrist gave me a mild lecture for being a bad girl and then kept me there for a week so they could run tests that Medicare would not cover on an outpatient basis. Take care.

my psychiatrist put me on Lyrica for sleep. I was on it for over a year and in September I got extreme vertigo. I found out after many visis with doctors of all specialties (from a pharmacist) that it was the Lyrica. I stopped taking the Lyrical the 1st of April and am still experiencing hot/cold, anxiety the vertigo, nausea and extreme depression. I won't touch another Lyrica tablet and just wonder how long it will take to get this poison out of my system????? I already suffered from depression and the w/d has made me suicidal.

I took Lyrica for a year. I had to stop taking it becuase I found it made me less sharp mentally . I withdrew slowly 3-4 weeks , no problem stopping it.

was taking 450mg for two months for sciatica. after two months dropped down to 300mn, felt withdrawal but also quit 350mg daily Tramadol at the same time.

Kept up 300mg Lyrica dose while suffering severe withdrawals form Tramadol. After one month, began to break down Lyrica dosage, like: 150mg at night, 75mg in the morning for a few days then cut that in half for a few days, withdrawal was very difficult and I felt I was just dragging it on longer by weaning, I was impatient with the process and had a week where I had little to no responsibilities, so I quit cold turkey.

I am now on day 11 no Lyrica. It has been very difficult but is getting better. I take 100-125mg Trazadone at night to sleep, this is not good sleep but will do for now, I go down for about 7hrs. Trazadone is fairly safe and non-addictive, I recommend it over Xanax, benzos or whatever, useless you want another struggle down the road.

The depression and anxiety were manageable after 7 days, not acceptable, manageable. I've dealt with insomnia for a month and a half now. Having come this far I can tell it is getting better, it is slow, but I know I will return to my normal self. In terms of sciatica pain I am better than ever, that might just be a coincidence, and my body is naturally healing itself, after a year of acute pain.

I do not condone the use of Lyrica or Tramadol for any reason. Find another way. It subtly creeps into your being and destroys your ability to get anything from life. These drugs to dirty things, and you do not realize until you quit. And quitting will be a nightmare. Your body converts Lyrica into Valium, Tramadol into Morphine--this is information from my pharmacist. I have also withdrawn from Methadone an Vicodin after using for two months and the withdrawal period was 3 days and then done, much easier for me.

So, long story short, Lyrica withdrawal: severe 7days, but varying degrees of insomnia, anxiety, loss of appetite, depression, can last 2-10weeks based on my research. I did loose weight right away and my stomach was no longer bloated.

Of course some people say they had no problem quitting Lyrica, I find this hard to believe, perhaps they were taking other meds anyway, so withdrawal never really took effect I'm a healthy 30 year old male, besides my sciatica injury, I've never been depressed, suffered from anxiety or depression. These drugs had a profound effect on my psyche and wasted a chunk of my life. Pain Management folks had no words for me in terms of the potential withdrawal severity.

I hope this helps someone get through the early stages of Lyrica withdrawal, If you are starting today just remember that I was where you're at a little over a week ago and I am doing better now. The days will inevitably rack up and with each one you are getting closer to freedom. Give yourself a break and take it easy. Eat as well as you can and exercise--even walking or swimming, be as proactive as possible. Your life is not a wreck, Lyrica is just very powerful and holds a mean grudge when you reject it, making you feel things that are not accurate.

Take care. I'll let you know when I sleep again.

So it'll be six weeks in a couple days since I stopped Lyrica and over two months since I stopped Tramadol. Still do not really sleep, have mild anxiety, depression and trouble making plans for the future, socially awkward, etc. Issues that were never part of my existence until I meddled with Lyrica and Tramadol. My overall sense of well being seems to fluctuate somewhat. I am feeling much better than I did at 11 days however. I do not take any other medication, not even Ibuprofen. And if you have quit Lyrica and have not experienced withdrawal, I am almost certain you are on other drugs, SSRIs etc.

I exercise everyday, walk 3-5 miles and run at least 3/4mile, get the kidneys running etc. I do not drink, I eat extremely healthy, lots of veggies and fruit. I also quit smoking after 17years; it's been 3.5 weeks. I decided that I was going to get all that I could out of this struggle (lyrica withdrawal) that could last 4-7months, and make becoming a health individual my full-time job.

Pain is present and I will probably have my second back surgery in August--removing two ruptures, both on L5 S1 causing sciatica pain on both left and right sides. How do I run? well, it took a long time to get to that point, lots of walking, etc. I do not run on concrete. My surgeon said running was ok, I swim three times a week too, and do all I can to strengthen my core. Running just seems to shift things around in my back in a good way, it gets my heart and lungs working and releases endorphins that make me feel really great. I think all the work I do now will help prepare me for surgery in and make it easier to pick back up the routine post op, instead of trying to begin one.

Healing is a very slow process and meditation has helped me as well. I'm only 30 years old, too young for strong the meds I was prescribed and still optimistic enough that I can have another 30 years without pain and full of positive experiences and happiness, as long as I find the strength to take care now and make the necessary life adjustments. Looking forward to the possibility that I will sleep well again in a few more months, but also currently into the present moment and living mindfully right now, something that is impossible to do using these drugs.

Stay clean, keep your feet on the ground and head in this reality, bear it and find another way, to resolve your pain issues. These drugs are bad and will make you unhappy in the long run. All my love to all of you considering cessation, or going through the withdrawal process right now. I do not believe in drugs, even prescribed by doc pharmys. Stay sober folks, drugs are drugs no matter the context.

Let me first say that this has been the most invaluable information that I have been able to obtain. As soon as I am free from this beast, I intend to do a little more research into why the FDA would allow this on the market... That's here nor there, it is my hope that my story can help someone the way the others here have helped me.

I arrived here after my 3rd attempt to get the Lyrica out of my system. I had been prescribed it for my fibromyalgia pain and although there were times that it was very effective for that purpose, hindsight says that it was not worth this ordeal. I'm a bit peeved over not even being warned that any of this could occur. I took Lyrica because I did not want to take narcotics and run the risk of becomming addicted. I am fully aware that any type of withdrawal can be a very nasty thing, and this is worse than any street drug I've ever read about (as an educator or a psych major, so clearly not as a doc, but still!)

Here is what I am enduring if it helps anyone else (or their physician):

It all started back in January when my MD did not refill my prescription after multiple requests from the pharmacy and several calls into the office myself. I ended up without any meds. I ASSuMEd that he knew what he was doing as he was in the office and is generally a pretty good guy! The long and the short of it was that I ran out of meds and went with through withdrawals. My BP dropped dramatically. I was having the shakes (though I do not suffer from any type of seizure disorder). I was sweaty and freezing cold. I could not remember how to breathe. My thoughts were jumbled. I was severly depressed and quite tearful even though I do not tend to cry a lot. It was a bad scene.

At that point, I went back on them (at the behest of my MD) and we decided that I would go off the meds more slowly over the summer when I had time to deal with it, (I am an educator so it seemed like a logical time to attempt it).

When school got out, I began the 3 week journey that brought me here today. If you read the Lyrica page or if you read WebMd or any of those pages, they tell people to go off slowly, like over the course of a week. You'll note that a week was not enough time... So I came down off the meds as slowly as possible. I would not reduce the dosage until the symptoms at the current level had become tollerable.

I had gotten down to 75 mgs every other day and was really struggling with nausea but at the time did not realize that some of the other things that had started happening were withdrawal related as well and I did not recognize them initially at all. It was only by arriving here that I got the straight scoop and that I figured out what was happening.

On my 3rd day drug free - it all went south way too fast! Keep in mind New Member's point about drugs are drugs even if they are prescribed by a doctor, Whilest in the E.R. two days ago, the ER doc restarted the Lyrica to calm the withdrawal and then told me to take it until I could be seen by my family doc... who refused to fit me in for 5 days even though I had been to the E.R. and really needed to be seen to figure out what to do. At this point, I am on my own and trusting that the information on this site is what will help me get through until Monday. (Note that at this point, the ER doc tells me to restart the lowest dose.)

Then two days after restarting the smallest dose I had been on prior to the hospitalization, I had a second fit in which the insurance compay nurse on call indicated that I needed to call 911 immediately and that I should not drive myself to the hospital. So, I ended up in the ER again. (This ER doc tells me not to take any of it all if I want to get off of it because it will just restart the cycle all over again.) I still don't know which one is right but am opting for never allowing that beast to cross my lips again. It appears that I am going to have a tough couple of weeks and maybe even months.

The tests run while at the hospital on both occasions bore out that I am as healthy as an ox. No heart trouble. No issues with my lungs, even though I could not breathe well. They even checked my electrolytes and said that everything was fine. However, everything is not fine.

Withdrawal Symptoms from this first week:
Tightness in chest
Awakened gasping for breath
Difficulty catching my breath once awake
Severe headache but not a migraine
Very severe nausea - no vomitting though
Convulsions of different muscle groups - I remember telling the paramedic that my stomach was contracting like when I had my kids. It was not painful per se, but the aftermath was very sore muscles.
My first ever panic attack and then multiple ones thereafter Are we having fun yet?
Tearfulness
Anxiety
Depression

Although I am anti medications, below is how I am attempting to get through this. My best is not getting me through at the moment and as I am a single mom, I have to do something:

-Anti Nausea meds (for the short term until I can handle it on my own)
-I am attempting to avoid pain meds but did take Motrin when the head was pounding pretty badly
-Magnesium for the muscle contractions
-Walk for 15 minutes twice a day
-Mega Fluids
-Gingerale and Sprite for my stomach even though I do not typically drink soda
-Darkened glasses and avoiding sunlight until the head calms a little.
-Reminding myself that the panic will subside and that I am going to be ok eventually.

If you have any further suggestions for the first two weeks of this, I'd love to hear them.

I wish any one well who is trying to get this monster off his back and if somehow you are lucky enough to have found this before you ever slip it between your lips, then I beg of you, don't do it. Whatever you are going through is better than what you will go through if you do. I know the desperation that pain can bring on, but this is not one of those things that you need to learn for yourself. Just read through these pages and know that this is a heinous beast.

Good luck to all and Thanks to those who took the time to put it all here.

HELLO EVERYONE!:

I just want to make an update since I'm 99% certain this is the place to come for accurate information on the side effects of discontinuing Lyrica. Please refer back to my prior posts to get a clearer picture of my recovery time, how long I used Lyrica, dosage, tapper period, other drugs I used, why, etc. This is day 74 of no Lyrica, that is, a few days shy of two and a half months. I do not take any other drugs. It's hard to believe I'm speaking from this position, having escaped this far. I remember how long the hours were and how I just wanted the days to rack up, welcome to the summer of 2012.

I'm am chiming in here to tell you all that I am pretty sure that the past few days I have felt more like myself. I still toss and turn at night for a while, and my sleep pattern is really messed up, but there are times when my body actually shuts off I think, this is just in the last couple days. I am also feeling more positive, my memory is improving, I can remember words, I have ideas, articulate stories--I am not as tongue-tied, I am more relaxed. It is very difficult to quantify the Lyrica recovery period because it happens so slowly and sometimes you think it might be getting better and it does not, it's up and down.

Through this period I have suffered from many things I don't normally deal with like: social anxiety, insomnia, depression, etc, lack of feeling. For the past months, all I have been in-touch with is how bad I feel, I have been very self-centered in a way, because how I feel has been as the forefront of my existence, it's terrible.

Lately this is changing a bit and I am able to have feelings beyond how I feel physically and emotionally. I exercise, do not drink, smoke, etc. This Lyrica deal has been the most challenging thing I have every gone through, I hope that it has humbled me and made me a better person.

I am not fully recovered by any means. I have heard from others who are not taking other drugs in place of Lyrica, or drugs that work in similar ways, that recovery time can take 4months. During the past months I have done lots of work on myself, like running, eating healthy, quitting smoking, and it felt like I was getting nowhere for so long, that it wasn't making a difference. I just kept saying to myself that when this passes and my body and mind recover, when the chemistry in my brain resumes normally, I will be able to access all of the strength and integrity that I am currently building but cannot feel.

My love is with all of you who have stopped Lyrica, stay strong, be a steward of your own body. Go easy on yourself as you go through the depressions and anxiety, remember that it is not reality, it is that you have been poisoned, and as illogical as it may seem, this one takes a long time to get over.

My appetite came back after a few weeks, but I was depressed so it was hard eat, but I just did it. I created a rhythm for myself and stuck with it, it became all I had really, I trusted in it, it was kind of amazing, maybe even spiritual as I was so empty, felt so abject, hopeless, and helpless. Listening to music was really helpful and gallons of water each day, and enough can't be said about walking, that's what I did, it became the option, I must have walked hundreds of miles during the past two months.

It will go up and down and you'll think the damage is permanent, but peace comes. Peace comes and this will ultimately unravel.

You may always PM me (if that is possible) if you want more information about my experience or need support with your own.

I'm feeling some happiness folks, regular, old-fashioned, simple, run of the mill feelings of happiness and well being I never thought I would feel again.

Thank you and take good care, I will update again.

i was given lyrica when i was first diagnosed with CRPS
i took it for 1 day,,it knocked me off my feet, i passed out for 1/3 of an hour, and couldnt remember my daughters phone number when i came to.
I was covered in a rash over my chest......Obviously, i didnt go near them again...and please god never will.
I attended a pain clinic/trial, where the doc's told everyone that as we suffer chronic pain..NO pills will make you better,,just maybe numb the pain, if your lucky, untill you take so much, you have to be weaned off anyway,,,the point of the pain clinic trial was to get us to manage our pain without drugs, if possible...with other therepies, i have to say, as far as the leg/foot pain i suffer, i felt a huge relief after having cognetive therepy, hypnotherepy...working with the concious/unconcious mind....Worked for me anyway,,not a miracle, but better than any meds,,,
My message here is to sugest to people,,,'Try Alternative therepies'...what can you lose?!!!
And find a good pain clinic,,which offers these therepies,,also physio/phycho therepy, relaxation, light excersise.....all together, they help you back on your feet.
hugs
ellen
,,,P.S. NOW, AFTER A THUMB FRACTURE I HAVE CRPS IN MY WHOLE RIGHT HAND,,( ONCE YOU GET IT IN ONE EXTREMETY,,IT SPREADDS TO OTHER EXTREMETIES IF INJURYS HAPPEN ) ,,HERE WE GO AGAIN...

After being on Lyrica for 6 months, I have been off for 3 weeks tapering down from 450mg per day. My withdrawal symptoms have been just awful with migraines, nausea, diarrhea, loss of appetite, and extreme fatigue, just to mention a few. I honestly feel as if my body has been poisoned and often wonder if there isn't anything else wrong with me. All of your posts have been so helpful to let me know that I'm not truly crazy about my symptoms but honestly, when I read how long so many people are suffering from the withdrawal it's down right depressing. Again thanks to all of you.