Lyrica withdrawal 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

Bumping up for any responses.

Hi Laura,

Having gone through Lyrica withdrawal, I know how much you're suffering. Just thinking about it makes me anxious.

I was taken off Lyrica COLD TURKEY. (It's a long story, with an evil neurologist as the villain.) Even the drug manufacturer admits that should only be done, in cases of emergency, and in HOSPITAL. Lyrica withdrawal can be DANGEROUS.

Well, I was on my own. To make matters worse, I wasn't given anything else for my severe pain. So, I found myself dealing with all my untreated, natural ouchies AND the agony induced by withdrawal. It wasn't pretty.

For quite awhile, things got WORSE each day. In the end, I think it was over two weeks before the nightmare was over. However, the good news is that, once it was over, it was over. Lyrica creates dependency, but not addiction. Once it was out of my system, I didn't crave it.

I noted, with interest, that you did find you longed for Lyrica's effects AFTER you'd ceased taking it the first time. Perhaps a member with a better understanding of pharmacology can explain if this was a biochemical and/or psychological consequence of your rather excessive dose. I never felt any sort of buzz from my prescription.

I hope that your efforts to get off Lyrica is tapered, and taking place under close medical supervision. It might be best to be honest with your doctor about your dosing. You might also want to talk with a psychologist to deal with the emotional issues of withdrawal and drug management.

Hang in there. :hug:

Hi Laura. I have been 28 days now without Lyrica but I tapered slowly for the last couple of months. I still have terrible problems but there is a slight improvement most days. Re anxiety & sleep, for me, when I worked out it was the Lyrica I was able to relax more because I knew I would get over it eventually. It was when I did not know what was wrong and I was imagining I had some horrible new medical development that I was most anxious. I tried Promethazine for sleep once and sometimes have a scotch before bed but try not to.