l new and need help! Lyrica withdrawal
 

hi I am suffering from pins and needles and burning sensation in both hands. this started my journey with gabapentin initial dosage of 300 milligrams 3 times a day gradually increased to 3600 milligrams by the end of March. the pain was spreading and increasing so I decided to wean myself off. after this is very fuzzy.I had been off of the gabapentin for a month suffering miserably with increasing pain do 2 pins and needles and burning sensations in both hands now extending down right leg and foot. I was desperate feeling very anxious, suicidal, crying uncontrollably, throat tightening dry mouth. two weeks later was admitted to the hospital because I could not move my motor sensory was depleted. test revealed that I was low on potassium but was kept in the hospital for further testing. inconclusive. while I was in the hospital they gave me lyrica which I continue to take increasing the dosage to 450 milligrams within 2 weeks and the pain has steadily increased. so I decided to wean myself off as best as I can due to the fact that I could not afford to refill my prescription. my taper off from 450 milligrams was done in 5 days and now it I am withdrawing severely with my throat tightening.I need to hear from someone who has survived withdrawing from lyrica. please is anyone out there to offer some support?

Hi Kweebs,

Welcome to the NeuroTalk Support Groups.

There are many threads about Lyrica withdrawal in the
Medications & Treatments Forum

Try using the
Forum Search Feature
using keywords - Lyrica withdrawal - and that will bring up other threads.

I'm sorry you're having such a difficult time.
I hope you're feeling better fast!

I took a bunch of medication until a brilliant doctor found out that I have occipital neuralgia, looks like trigeminal as wee because my face is all messed up.
During this time of trial and error, I had many secondary effects from different meds I tried, looking back, because the insurer ended up denying me to see a psychologists too, I was left by myself and don't think came across this awesome forum.
I can tell you by experience that fear and panic will get you over the edge , been there too, and surely my experience will not be yours, but try to read about positive affirmations, it might help you with your anxiety.

I had burning feeling in my face and it feels sometimes like needles are pinching me, but I know i have occipital neuralgia , that's because I have a pinched nerve caused by an accident, and the nerve is shooting signals constantly.
How do I know this?
cause my brilliant anesthesiologist doctor listened to my complains, and injected me nerve blocks until l we found the area in question. Then he did nerve ablation, and it works too. :) Sharp pain is mostly gone, I have dull pain that wears me out everyday, but the sharp pain is mostly gone. My eye is sore, and i will have to rest my eyes after i type this...

this is very nerve wrecking, debilitating, and still painful, so my life is almost a wreck, but at least I know what i have. I am not a doctor, but I heard that some people with other nerve injuries also have similar symptoms you describe, some of which I might be familiar with.

About your meds secondary effects: Some medications are awesome. I took topiramate and it decreased immediately the amount of burning feeling I had in my face. With that said, other medications did not provide relief and I never took them again because I was feeling weird with some with crazy thoughts. Reading about positive affirmations helped me and still helps me to cope with life.

Welcome Kweebs. :Wave-Hello:

Nice to meet you!!
 

Kweebs,

:Wave-Hello: Hello and welcome, happy to see you have come to be with us, it a great place to be. As you can see we have a great number and caring fellow members here, where you have find a supportive and relaxing place. Have fun looking into the different forums. Our shoulders are here for support in many ways.

Please keep us up to date on your condition. Again welcome, looking forward to seeing you around. My thoughts and prayers are with you. :smileypray:

Darlene :hug:

Hi Kweebs,
Go to the top toolbar and under SEARCH put in LYRICA WITHDRAWAL. There are many threads started about it because many of us have or are dealing with it.

It is awful, I know. There are many stories here. Your withdrawal was very fast but I understand the cost issues. I personally think very slow tapering is the least painful. one suggestion I can make is, when I had issues with the cost, I was honest with my pain doc and he gave me 4 months worth of samples.

Welcome to the forum, sorry for the reason you are here. Lots of supportive folks here.
Diandra