Coming Off Lyrica
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I am a 40 yr old who has been on lyrica for 4 years now. I was in a car accident and due to nerve damage along my spine was put on Lyrica after surgery. I have tried to come off of it before but after day 5 i felt like i was in hell I could not stand anything touching me not even clothes i felt like I was on fire so i caved in and starting taking it again I could not stand the pain any longer. I have memory loss, live in a fog, gained alot of weight, sleep walk. I can't think clear there are times I have speech issues like I can't say what I'm trying to and have to stop slow down and try again. Due to new health issues I have chose to come off lyrica because I can't tell where I am hurting and by all rights should be able to because of physical symptoms. My Dr. has told me that I will never be able to come off this crap, but one way or the other I am going to do this. Today is day one with no lyrica and I can already feel the burning starting and i want to cry and scream. I do not have any support and no one will listen to me about whats going on with lyrica. I just want to feel normal again and function normal before lyrica. I feel like I am going insane at times. Can anyone help? Please!!

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Hi Lorrie,

I could not agree more with your assessment of the drug, Lyrica. My neurologist put me on Lyrica in September 2008 and I have been taking it since then without giving it another thought. I never questioned what it was or why I needed it. After all, I wasn’t the doctor – right? I have had two spinal surgeries – one in 2003 and the other in 2012. The latter involved laminectomies from T9 to the ilium. Since I seemed to be able to handle the surgeries without any other pain medication, I never asked for nor did my doctor prescribe any.

When I went to pick up my Lyrica refill, I was told my insurance would no longer cover the cost so, no Lyrica. I never noticed that it did anything for me before that I could tell, so why keep on taking it? Two days later, I felt like I was coming down with a virus. I was freezing one minute and burning up the next. I was nauseated and throwing up (once), had headaches (which I rarely ever have), felt anxiety and depression, was tired and didn’t feel like getting out of bed. I called my doctor (internist) and he also thought I had a virus. After a week and a half, I started to think my problem was something else. I saw my doctor who did blood work, etc., but still could not pin down a diagnosis.

Like so many others have posted, I thought I was going crazy not knowing what was going on in my body. Thanks to posts from online forums, I finally got a clue. My dr. prescribed a substitute (Gabapentin). I tried it and was allergic to it (bleeding gums, tongue sores, etc.) and had to stop.

So, Lorrie, I’m in your boat now. I, too, do not want to have to fall back and take Lyrica again – I really, really don’t. It’s been a little over two months and things are getting a bit better, now. It’s better if I force myself to get up, do some exercise, get something done – get some feeling of accomplishment even if it’s nothing more than doing the laundry. I think this is going to be an uphill climb, but just hope feeling “normal” again won’t take too long. I wish you the very best and hope you’re doing better.

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I have seen my pain management Dr. my pcp , neurosurgeon, and my onocologis. I am going on day 6 of not taking it al all. at points of the day i feel better then symptoms hit me all over again I am trying very hard to not have to fall back and take Lyrica

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Hello, Lorrie! How are you? I am very sorry about the problem that you're having.

If that is what your doctor told you, then you might want to consult a different doctor. There are plenty of people that have been able to successfully stop this medication, but there doctor needs to know how to help them do it.

The modern preferred method is usually to have the person start skipping doses of the relevant medication, rather than stopping cold turkey, to minimize the withdrawal effects…. then the dose can be gradually lowered to assist.

What type of doctor has been treating you?

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