I was just recently taken off Lyrica after 3 years because of the side effects I was having. Yes, it helped the chronic nerve pain i'm suffering from after a double fusion thanks to a drunk driver, however the side effects changed my whole personality. I went from being functional, happy and physically fit to non functional, severely depressed, suicidal thoughts, major weight gain, rages, and blurry vision. I was taking 300mg a day, started in Dec 2009 and barely left my bedroom after that. I kept it dark and slept almost every day. I was dying inside. So now, since my doctor did not taper me off the drug, I am having major withdrawals. Panic attacks, vomiting, severe pain, crying over nothing, legs feel like I am walking with concrete boots, insomnia and burning. The good news is the depression seems to be lifting (no suicidal thoughts), my eye sight is back, and I've dropped 6lbs in a week. I feel like i've lost 3 years of my life because I did not know what was wrong with me. I will definitely be more resourceful next time before I just trust a dr and let them put me on a medication. I told all of my drs about the depression and suicidal thoughts and not one of them attributed it to the lyrica. I felt great for awhile, I think it took 6 mo to start the downward descend. My new dr thinks it could take up to 3 mo for the withdrawals to stop because it is such a powerful drug. My prayers go out to you if you are struggling with this.

I feel like I lost 3 years of my life too, my high school years. Going off cold turkey has been so hard, 3 weeks in and it is still hard. The only thing that helps me for the w/d and pain is cannabis, which my state does not provide yet, and doctors yell at me for telling me it doesn't help, when the only time I've truly eaten these past weeks was after using it, ha doctors just want your money and for you to use their medications. I feel so much more clear in my mind, but the w/d is really starting to take it's tool. I cannot control my emotions any more, my anxiety is off the charts, I have terrible IBS (never had stomach problems in my life) my nausea seems to consistently linger, I can't keep a comfortable temperature (wake up every morning DRENCHED in sweat) and I'm in a great deal of pain since I'm off the drug now. Aleve doesn't do much for the pain. Been trying Tagamet (otc stomach drug) for the IBS, but it doesn't seem to help much. I just want to get better! I just feel depressed now and was wondering how long it took for everyone else to get over this withdrawal??? I had to quit school, take time off work until further notice, and now all I do is stay at home and try to keep myself stressfree (as stress makes symptoms way worse). I can't put my life on hold for, forever. I'm 19 and should not be living my life like this. I am weary of going on any long term drugs as of now, going to do a ton of research before this happens. Best of luck to everyone, I feel your pain (literally)

I'm going through the exact same nightmare that you described and I'm 10 weeks off Lyrica. I'm having terrible anxiety, panic attacks, and insomnia. I feel nothing like myself.... Like I'm going crazy, literally!
I'm am getting really discouraged feeling like this nightmare will never end. I read your post and was hoping you could plz tell me in retrospect how long it took you to feel like "yourself" again? =(
Thanks in advance.

Welcome Hope floats.

I'm so glad I found this forum. It felt like I was losing all control of my life and its direction while going off Lyrica but knowing that there is an end in sight is giving me hope to keep going.

I, like many on this forum, had decided several weeks ago that Lyrica was causing side effects that I no longer felt were worth the amount of relief of the nerve pain I am suffering from a back injury.

I had worked up to a dose of 150 mg in the morning and 150 mg in the evening by the beginning of my third month on this drug but I'm of very small stature. 5 ft 2 in and a little less than 100 lbs. It wasn't long into the third month where I was starting to feel the side effects. Just to name a few, insomnia, depression, changes in mood, diminished functioning in both my body and mind, constantly feeling short of breath even though my O2 would be within an acceptable range, changes in appetite, nausea, diarrhea, changes in vision...it was just going badly...the worst part was that I had no idea why it was happening. I couldn't quantify these conditions and I didn't know it was the Lyrica causing it until I really paid attention to the commercial for it. I am lucky enough to have a very supportive girlfriend who recognized it for what it was as well as a psychologist who suggested Lyrica was the culprit behind these things.

A week ago, I started to bring my doses down to a 150 mg per day and only if I legitimately could not tolerate the withdrawal. I'm on my 4th day of no Lyrica. The first two days of no Lyrica, I was thrown into full fledged withdrawal with the likes of those heroine addicts in movies. Cold sweat, burning up under the covers but freezing without them, delirious dreams if I even fell asleep for a minute, chills, nausea, vomiting, tossing and turning in pain and agony the whole time. I couldn't keep down water and I couldn't even think about food. I spent all of yesterday in the ER hooked up to an IV (had 3 liters total), had some morphine to take the edge off of my desperation, some zofran to take the edge off the nausea and tolerated a little bit of food by the end of it.

I am not nearly as bad a condition today thanks to all the fluids they pumped into me and I went to the pain management doctor who had put me on Lyrica. I was absolutely amazed at the level of his dismissals of my claims. He said that Lyrica barely had a 24 hour half life and that it wasn't a narcotic so there's no way my body could be going through what it's going through due to it. He said that the Lyrica has been long gone out of my system and of the thousands of patients that are successfully on Lyrica, I was the first one who claims these things. He said that it had to be some other underlying condition that is causing these symptoms.
I feel as if I'm tight roping over hell going through this wicked withdrawal and for him to spit on my misery was just unbearable. He was decent enough at the end of it to write a script for zofran so I can continue to keep myself hydrated enough to survive but I'm just at a point where I need to know that the end of this suffering is near. Anyone out here have an idea when the sun will break through the clouds for me?

You can also use the search tool to find other posts on Lyrica and tapering here.
We also have a Medications forum-
http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/forum72.html

Welcome Kdj13.

Hi Had exactly the same reaction from my Doc who made feel as if I was an idiot. It's 4 weeks on since I stopped and stuff is still going on. Worst of all is my neuropathic pain suddenly returning worse than ever, but I understand it's all par for the course.

Nick

I am thinking of all of you who have had to go through withdraw of a medication. I so understand that, and I have great empathy for you. Someday, and in not too long of a time you will feel better. These drugs can do us much good, but when you get off them, OMG all hell breaks loose. I remember standing in the hall way and screaming. Actually I had no idea at all why I was screaming at all! Mood was just over the top and I was out of control.
I will keep all of you in my thoughts. There will be an end, and that medication will no longer have that power over you. ginnie

I am so sorry for what you have endured. So many of us have had horrible withdrawal experiences.

My pain doc acknowledged there was withdrawal but when I explained to him, what I considered bizarre and unexpected withdrawals symptoms he listened but seemed skeptical. He is an open minded guy and I brought him in copies of the same complaints over and over again on this forum and others and showed him the huge numbers of responses. He at least said he would read them.

I am now firmly convinced that Lyrica radically changes our brain chemistry and I don't know what has to be done to change it back, this is my own personal theory, my own belief from what I experienced while getting off Lyrica and for many weeks afterward. I had to go back on because seizures kicked back in (but I had them before from a brain infection. ) I am in the process of writing to Pfizer with copies of all these withdrawal nightmares and asking for their advice on how to get our brains functioning normally again. I am not expecting much of a response but I want to ask before I go the next step of contacting attorney general or FDA.

I know with opiates we have to get our endorphins to kick in again and sometimes that can seem agonizingly long, but it does get better. Lyrica is doing something to our brain that needs replacing, just don't know what that is. I was actually thinking of maybe trying Neurontin to see if it will help with the Lyrica's horrific withdrawal symptoms.

I pray for all of us that experience terrible withdrawal symptoms we are able to get off this drug and feel ourselves again.
Bless you all, Diandra