LYRICA WITHDRAWAL - a true nightmare!
 

Hello everyone. I sincerely pray that you are all doing well and congratulate those who have made it to the other side.

As I write this, I am so desperate for help. If you can offer a couple of words of support and advice I will be eternally grateful.

Let me introduce myself. I am a 37 year old female, professional, wife, and mother to a 3 year old boy. I have been on Lyrica for over 3 years on and off. This had been prescribed to me for neurogenic pain. I was diagnosed to have fibromyalgia plus had a traumatic back injury due to a faulty epidural during my c-section three years back. And several doctors believed that Lyrica would be the solution for both problems. They started me on 75 mg, increased to 150, then 300....etc.

I must admit that that even though it didn't do too much for the pain, it made me "care less" about the pain. It also helped with my anxiety which wasn't at a morbid level, only part of my slightly anxious personality. By this I mean that I would feel anxious if giving a presentation , going to crowded places, meeting new people for the first time, etc. Otherwise was completely normal. I found that Lyrica would help me feel more at ease and talk easier to others...kinda give me some courage I guess. I also must admit that it gave me a bit of a head-buzz that I enjoyed. I have never smoked, drank alcohol, or ever experimented with any recreational drugs whatsoever. My whole life I have been on the straight and narrow, even during high school and college. So I never knew what it meant to have a head buzz or feel "high". But I enjoyed the feeling that Lyrica made me feel.

I started to up my dose by myself as I grew tolerant to it. Towards the end I would be taking around 10 capsules of 300mg per day!!!!
I know this is a ridiculous amount and I don't know what got into me?! I feel like the Lyrica in my system made my judgment go bad and I would accept things I usually would never accept.....like taking dangerously high doses of Lyrica!!

I did get off Lyrica once in January and the withdrawl lasted for maybe 10 days and wasn't that severe. So I guess I didn't learn enough of a lesson and went back on it when. My back pain became worse.

Now I have made a firm decision to stop Lyrica once and for all. I didn't really taper off properly. My last capsule of 75 mg was on June 29 (58 days ago). And I still feel like I am not myself. You will not believe the roller coaster of a nightmare I was on! I was admitted to the hospital initiall for 2 week with a diagnosis of "Acute Confusional State". I was disoriented to person, place, and time. I had amnesia, dyskinesia, total insomnia, and hallucinations. I couldn't even use the bathroom by myself or bath myself. I was completely dependent on others. Incidentally they discovered that I was extremely low in Vitamin B1 which I believe was depleted by the Lyrica. Apparently I had Beri Beri and Wernicke's Encephalopathy (sever B1 deficiency leading to both physical and mental consequences). This occurs in alcoholics but I have NEVER even had a sip of alcohol. So I my best bet is that this was caused be the Lyrica!

A month after I was a bit better but as of today I still have the following symptoms: insomnia, anxiety, PANIC ATTACKS, a sense of depersonalizations and derealization, depression, and a general sense of uneasiness and tension, and memory problems. I always feel Iike I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop, absence of impending doom. I'm too frightened to go out of the house where there are crowds for fear that it will be obvious that I am "abnormal". My close family who knows about what happened to me say I appear completely normal on the outside, but God knows that's NOT how I feel on the inside. On the inside I'm SCREAMING and my heart is racing and find it difficult two breath. But on the outside you wouldn't have a clue.

In desperation I started Cipralex (an antidepressant of the SSRI group) and am on day 8. Unfortunately things get worse on it before they get better ( it takes anywhere from 2-8 wks for a positive effect). My panic attacks are worse at night when I try to sleep and they keep me up FRIGHTENED TO DEATH with palpitations. I also would wake up repeatedly drenched in sweat and having panic attacks throughout the night. Again in desperation I added on Seroquel (an atypical antipsychotic/antidepressant which helps with anxiety and insomnia and actually augments the effect of Cipralex). This helps only at night when I'm unable to sleep from the panic attacks. It gives me only 4 hours of sleep (both when I tried 100mg and 200mg). And I know I NEED TO SLEEP because I noticed my panic attacks get worse when I'm sleep deprived.

I apologize for the lengthy message but I feel an obligation to let others know what Lyrica has done for me. I'm not a psychiatric patient, but had so many mental symptoms due to severe B1 (Thiamin) Deficiency brought upon by the Lyrica. So if ur having mental symptoms PLEASE INSIST THAT YOUR DOCTOR CHECKS YOUR VITAMIN LEVELS, ESP B COMPLEX!

In addition I was hoping, really praying, that someone...anyone...could chime in and say that they felt the way that I did and came out the other side. I'm desperate to feel "normal" again. Can anyone tell me how much longer it will take? I never expected to feel this way 8 weeks out!!

PLEASE PLEASE HELP ME IF YOU CAN. IM DESPERATE!

God Bless You All,
Laura

I feel bad that no one has replied.
I know this forum is full of true angels so plz help me.
Words can not describe how awful I feel.
Please lend a hand my friends... PLEASE.

I'm so sorry for what you are going through.
It must be horrible. :hug:

If I may suggest ... try posting over on the
Medications & Treatments Forum

There are other posts there regarding withdrawal from different medications.
In fact if you scroll down on this forum - Chronic Pain - you'll see many threads already there about Lyrica withdrawals.

Another idea is to try searching the forums for "lyrica withdrawal".
http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/search.php

edited to add: try this

forum search - lyrica withdrawal

There are several posts about having problems with Lyrica withdrawal and if you read through them you will find the info you are looking for. You are probably not getting responses for that reason.
I wish you the best....I know it is not easy.
Diandra

This is a very hot topic on NT.

I was on Lyrica for nerve pain. My evil neurologist stopped me cold turkey, so I know the hell you're going through. The drug really should be tapered off, under medical supervision.

Lyrica nightmare
 

Dear Laura, my story and experience with Lyrica is similar in some ways. I was on it for over 10 years and my withdrawal has been hell for over 18 months. I have joined this forum because I want to raise awareness of how dangerous this drug is in the long term. I am not sure how to navigate this website yet, but I would love to talk/share more with you to help you and others through this. It is very real and dangerous but very gradually I am starting to return to "normal".
Regards McKenzie

Thank you all for your replies and suggestions. Sometimes we don't need the answer but just need to know that there's support out there and we're not going through this alone. God bless each one of you.

I did write in the Medication & Treatment forum but unfortunately didn't receive a response yet.

Hello McKenzie,
Thank you for your reply. I'm so sorry that you are still suffering but I can relate to you. Please tell me your exact symptoms, treatments used that helped, and duration of symptoms. Will I ever feel "normal" again? I don't mean to be perfectly fine, but at least free of the anxiety and panic attacks that have made me a prisoner in my own body! :(

McKenzie,
Pls share your experience with us. I'm still pretty bad after stopping Lyrica for 10 wks!
Thank you.

Hi Hope
 

Have been off line or I would have said hello way before now. So sorry you are dealing with the withdraw of lyrica. I do indeed know about getting off a drug that you have taken for years.
My hope is that your doctor will go slowly for you. Also there are other temporary meds that can take the edge off. Ask.
There really is light at the end of the nightmare.
I took morphine for years for my spine. Two spinal fusions later I got off it. Most awful experience I ever had. So I sure know what you face. These medications we receive in such good faith, sometimes can turn to be our worst enemy. One day and a time, One step, and keep your friends and family close to you. Hope your doctor is compassionate. ginnie:hug: