Help for Lyrica withdrawal
 

I have been Lyrica free since August 2014. I still have lots of problems from it.**

Long term user having WD symptoms
 

I have been taking Lyrica for about 7 or 8 years now. I am diabetic and have been since 1969. Before Lyrica I was having pains in my wrists and in my fingers. They were so bad I could not sleep very well. My fingers would go to tingling and then go numb anytime I held a pencil or an eating utensil. For a while Lyrica helped with the pain of my ankles. Now all that is gone with the help of Lyrica. Lately the pain in my ankles has returned with much intensity. I am now on three 75 mg pills a day. I can tell in a short while if I have forgotten to take my Lyrica. I get chills and I get irritable at anything or anyone. Even if I am taking it on time and don't forget to take it, I have memory loss and my common sense is awful. My book sense is still sharp but my life memory and immediate memory is unreliable. I am so forgetful. I can do something and in a moment do not remember if I did it or not. My memory is such that sometimes I can not tell between a dream and reality. The always sleepy thing is my daily life. I can fall asleep in a minute at any given time if I am not busy doing something. On occasion I find myself waking up here at my desk. I can be sitting here thinking of something and soon those thoughts are what I am dreaming about. I have paranoia spells once in a while. I had no idea Lyrica was the culprit to all this until I looked it up recently. I put up with these things because the pain in my wrists and fingers was incredible. Just recently my doctor told me my constant sleepiness could be caused by Lyrica.

I'm so glad some of my ideas helped. It gets better! Prayers to you both. Triviafriend

Preparing to taper....
 

Hello, I'm so happy to have found this thread. I am 42, diagnosed with fibromyalgia in June, but I'm not sure anymore that that is what I have. Anyway, a few months ago, I stopped lyrica, questioning the benefits. I didn't feel it was helping my pain.

I started going through horrible withdrawals, and for some reason, didn't make the connection to the Lyrica. I was off of the drug for close to 3 weeks, and thought I was losing my mind. i couldn't sleep for more than an hour at a time, muscle spams, nausea, severe depression...beyond depression. I couldn't do anything at all. I just laid on the couch all day and stated into space. I work from home and somehow didn't lose my job.

I started to wonder if it was the lyrica. I'm not sure how I even managed to have the thought...but I took my dose, and bam! Everything cleared up. I went back on it because I was about to get married and couldn't go through the wedding like that.

So, now that the wedding is over, I want to get off of this drug. As I said, it isn't helping with my pain, and I want to be rid of it.

This time, I will taper off. Hopefully my doctor is supportive. If he isn't, I will find one that is.

I just want to say, though, that I feel very deceived by the whole process. I was put given lyrica samples last June and at first, I thought it worked great. Then my insurance company wouldn't cover it until I failed gabapentin at 3600 mg a day. So, I was dosed up to that. Finally, I was put on Lyrica in December (200mg 3x daily), but never taken off of the gabapentin. So until March, I was on both. I have since gotten a new doctor, who told me I never should have been on both. I have been going through issues going off of the gabapentin as well. I will confess that at times, I've had to take some of the gabapentin I have left.

I'm going to try everything that triviafriend suggests to make things easier, plus I ordered the Gotu Kola as well. I will go down slowly and just do the best I can. I've been reading everything I can find, looking for hard and fast answers, but it seems like there aren't any. The withdrawal is different for everyone, I guess. The timing and severity vary greatly, from what I'm reading.

I'm not sure exactly when I will start, but I will post my journey here. I have found many people post when they are going through the withdrawals, but not when they end. I know for me, that would be helpful.

Wish me luck!

Hello imkelley1972,

Welcome to the NeuroTalk Support Groups. :)

All the best to you with your taper.
Look after yourself.

Hi imkelley,

Know that we will be with you as you set off on this journey. If you can bear to detail it here you will help those that come after you without doubt.

I trust, at least, your Wedding was a glorious occasion.

Dave.

Gabapentin instead of Lyrica?
 

I realized that, by accident, I only took gabapentin a few days ago. The next day, I had that lyrica-withdrawal zombie feeling all day, plus IBS, a few other symptoms. I stuck with just the Gabapentin, though, and the next day the zombie feeling was mostly gone. I've continued just on the Gabapentin and my symptoms are less and less.

I know the two drugs are chemically similar, but... would one completely take the place of the other? Today, I will go down on the gabapentin and see what happens. If I can, I'll not take any more lyrica and just taper off on gabapentin. My use of gabapentin has been sporadic and when i've taken it in the past and stopped, I didn't experience withdrawals.

Fingers crossed.

I was on a 50mg dose for about 8 months and have been tapering since December. I'm particularly sensitive to withdrawals on this med, so after a couple of failed attempts to drop by 25mg, I had my doctor call my pharmacist. The pharmacist compounded the powder into a liquid suspension so I could very carefully lower my dose.

At first we started with a 10% decrease every two weeks. I managed two steps down when I had a vacation from work. But I finally settled in at dropping 5mg every 4 weeks or so (unless I get sick, have a deadline, or a lot of travel). The worse side effects (fatigue, irritability, and increased pain) peak 2 days after the decrease and last for a few more.

While this pace is slower than I wanted, it allows me to keep working full time, and give me enough space between weeks of feeling like crap (from the decrease) that I don't get beat down by it.

I've seen other recommendations to try and compound it into a suspension yourself. I tried that and the dose was pretty irregular. Find a local compounding pharmacy and have your doctor write a prescription for the taper (ignoring what pill sizes are available from the manufacturer). The pharmacist will find a solution for you.

Cheers,
Chris

It's amazing, I've read so many negative issues with Lyrica and yet every other tv ad is lyrica it seems. I have posted around here on various posts about the great benefits of grape seed extract and I just posted some comments on another post here...

Google: Grape Seed Extract and Nerve Pain


I have a friend who tried Lyrica and got so sick with it, she had been on Neurtonin for 8 yrs with it's side effects and now off that one too.

She's on grape seed extract about 3 yrs and only wishes she knew about it a long time ago. I'm headed into my 20th year on this "miracle" antioxidant. Do some research...

Here's is one good link:

www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/263332.php
Medical News Today
Sep 8, 2014 - Grape seed extract is a supplement made from grape seeds, with a ... macular degeneration, poor circulation, nerve damage, as well as ...

Help with Lyrica Taper please
 

I have been on Lyrica for three years for neck pain from c5/6 fusion. I've been reducing from 150mg to 100 pretty well. I stopped cold turkey and had severe stomach issues, restlessness, and landed in ER for fluids.

Pain clinic says they are not aware of such symptoms when stopping Lyrica. They suggested a taper of 50mg for two days and 25mg for five days - that seems too fast. I restarted 50mg and don't have night sweats but have Gerd issues with nausea. They also said I could add back 25mg to see if that makes me feel better.

Has anyone been in this position? It's been a month since I've restarted on 50mg and I still feel sick. Should I go up and add 25mg? Or will the side effects go away with time and will I eventually stabilize? Concerned as I have a job interview next week as well as a move. I appreciate everyone's feedback on their tapers, I have never felt this sick or unwell in my life. I am a mom and am trying to keep it together for my kids. I'd so appreciate any advice!