Pregabalin?

DevonClimber

Anyone on here on it? Taken it before? Still rode cycled on it?

I am on day5 of this med, well, for anxiety and it has made me very drowsy and drunk like for that whole time, problem is it is stopping me getting out on my bike due to the uncoordinating effects, which is begining to take its toll on me...I have to cycle.

Sorry to pose such a question on here, but the specific sites for this kind of thing don't really deal with meds and cycling.

Will value any response, thanks.

p.s before you say it, I will always take my GP's advice but just want some opinions.

dw300

I heard that stuff is pretty brutal to take .. I had talked to a physio about it for a sporting pain which I believed was caused by pressure on nerves. I never asked the GP though as it was a hand-eye coordination game, so it would have been pointless.

Would there not be other things you could take instead of that?

DevonClimber

dw300 wrote:

I heard that stuff is pretty brutal to take .. I had talked to a physio about it for a sporting pain which I believed was caused by pressure on nerves. I never asked the GP though as it was a hand-eye coordination game, so it would have been pointless.

Would there not be other things you could take instead of that?

Thankyou for the reply dw.

I am already on a SSRI med which was recently altered in dose, that was/is working quite well for me however, GP suggested trying me on this as I have been suffering for so long, I think she may have forgot I am a cyclist as she has known me so long but heh they are busy people. Side effects awful, so seriously contemplating stopping it before i become to loaded on it.

team47b

I was prescribed Lyrica, pfizer name for pregabalin, then Gabapentine (excuse spelling, no idea how they are spelt in English) for Neuropathy (nerve damage in hands feet knees etc) caused by long term diabetes, they had no effect on the pain, but was taking 600mg twice a day for about 6 months, cycled when the pain let me, felt a bit sick/woozy to start with, stopped taking them as they made me physically sick and that's not a good idea when you then still have to eat carbs to balance the insulin taken.

I didn't notice any 'uncoordinating effects' when cycling, spent a lot of time on the exercise bike first so perhaps my system was prepared, did fall off that once once though!

About 10% of people experience drowsiness with it, effect is much worse if you add alcohol!

Moved onto amitryptiline ADT which helped with the pain and in low doses didn't make me sick.

None of these had any effect on my anxiety levels, but we are all different.

Withdrawal symptoms if you stop taking it suddenly like I did are just a few headaches.

These are only my opinions and probably not worth the paper they are not written on.

gasman_dave

I'm not a pain expert, but I am an anaesthetist and I do see a lot of people on each (pregabalin and gabapentin). They are very similar, in that they have anti-epileptic, anti-pain and anti-anxiety properties and they are supposed to be better for pain caused by nerve damage.

These drugs have had a big increase in their use over the last few years, but cause a lot of sleepiness. One of my colleagues was on gabapentin for his sciatica, and he looked a lot like Dylan from the Magic Roundabout.
I don't think cycling on any form of public road would be in your best interest as you might not appreciate your surroundings very much. It has been described as being wrapped up in a lot of cotton wool, with the added benefit that you may worry less about your pain.

If you are on day 5, you shouldn't get too much in the way of withdrawal if you did stop, but they won't have any great effect on your symptoms unless you take them for longer. I would think if anxiety is your problem and the SSRI has improved things, then pregabalin may not be your best bet. Maybe suggest something else to your GP, such as a low dose beta blocker like propranolol. Propranolol can cause wheeze or tiredness, but often not too bad. If side effects outweigh the benefits, it is time to think again.

team47b, since gabapentin and pregabalin are so similar, I don't really see why you had your meds changed. Amitriptyline works well on nerve-induced pain like yours, so this may also help DevonClimber as it also works on anxiety symptoms, though doesn't combine well with SSRIs.

Not a specific answer I know but it may be a bit of a step in the right direction

team47b

gasman_dave wrote:

team47b, since gabapentin and pregabalin are so similar, I don't really see why you had your meds changed. Amitriptyline works well on nerve-induced pain like yours, so this may also help DevonClimber as it also works on anxiety symptoms, though doesn't combine well with SSRIs.

One was 75 Euros a box so they changed them to save the health service some dosh,

DevonClimber

gasman_dave wrote:

I'm not a pain expert, but I am an anaesthetist and I do see a lot of people on each (pregabalin and gabapentin). They are very similar, in that they have anti-epileptic, anti-pain and anti-anxiety properties and they are supposed to be better for pain caused by nerve damage.

These drugs have had a big increase in their use over the last few years, but cause a lot of sleepiness. One of my colleagues was on gabapentin for his sciatica, and he looked a lot like Dylan from the Magic Roundabout.
I don't think cycling on any form of public road would be in your best interest as you might not appreciate your surroundings very much. It has been described as being wrapped up in a lot of cotton wool, with the added benefit that you may worry less about your pain.

If you are on day 5, you shouldn't get too much in the way of withdrawal if you did stop, but they won't have any great effect on your symptoms unless you take them for longer. I would think if anxiety is your problem and the SSRI has improved things, then pregabalin may not be your best bet. Maybe suggest something else to your GP, such as a low dose beta blocker like propranolol. Propranolol can cause wheeze or tiredness, but often not too bad. If side effects outweigh the benefits, it is time to think again.

team47b, since gabapentin and pregabalin are so similar, I don't really see why you had your meds changed. Amitriptyline works well on nerve-induced pain like yours, so this may also help DevonClimber as it also works on anxiety symptoms, though doesn't combine well with SSRIs.

Not a specific answer I know but it may be a bit of a step in the right direction

Thanks very much for your reply.

After much deliberation(anxiety as usual), and gut instinct, I have now stopped this medication. As you say, there are other things I can try, and the use of this particular drug is not really necessary for me at this time as the ssri change of dose was already taking effect. Should also save the GP practice some money too, not the cheapest of medication.

Thanks again everybody.

fossyant

I was prescribed Gabapentin last autumn for nerve pain, soon stopped it - like getting smacked in the head. Then moved onto pre-gablin, and it's also got a nasty long list of side effects. Binned it pretty damn quick as neither helped with the nerve pain, just made me feel ill. Decided to put up with the pain.

I'm much better now - the nerve pain was down to trigger points in my left trapezius and it was swolen. pressing on my nerves. That's been fixed with steroid injections, but with the weather change it's coming back. At least I know the cause. Sat here right now with a tens machine on the offending muscle.

fossyant

Oh and I've been on Amitriptyline for about 4-5 months prior - nothing for pain but knocked me for 6 as the dose was just increased and increased.

I just don't think I was tollerant to any of these medications. Drug free now !

LiamW

I've ridden with gabapentin, co-codomol 30/500 and arcoxia 60mg, to be fair i needed just that to get me out on the bike. Sadly it doesn't do the trick anymore.

DevonClimber

I'm aware of gabapentin and co-codomol, not sure about arcoxia. Just the 30/500 co-codomol would floor me, 7/500 usually does.
You must be in some pain there and hope you find relief from something else, I understand we can build a tolerance, all the best.

LiamW

Arcoxia (etoricoxib)is a anti inflammatory, similair to diclofenic but you only take on a day instead of 3. I'm due a hip replacement before february, that'll will the only pain relief anytime soon.

I was taking the 7 and the 15 co-codomol but they did nothing for me, so the doc put me onto 30s, 1st time out i was buzzing but now i take them like smarties before they do me any good.