Evening all.

Went to the doctor as the constant headache from the epidural (17th August) "issue" has not completely gone yet - instead it's starting to get worse.

He's decided that it's nothing to do with the epidural site leaking (good news) but is in fact caused by the painkillers I've been taking recently. A catch 22 affair where the headache causes you to take more aspirin causing more pain so you.... you get the idea.

Any way. To cure this issue he's decided that for at least a week I am to stop taking all painkillers. Oh yes - ALL PAINKILLERS. This includes (and I specifically asked about this) Lyrica.

Now all of the paperwork tells me that I am to come off this gradually, it warns you of the delightful side effects and generally does not paint a pretty picture. (Currently on 100mg x 3 a day).

Has anyone else come off Lyrica suddenly? What was it like?

Horrible!

Cheers!!

Should have had a dose at 16:00, it's now 21:12 according to the little clock on my computer so I'd normally take my last dose of the day in 3/4 of an hours time.

I can't stop crying (about three hours solid now) for reasons unknown and am sweating enough to drown a cat (and it takes some determination to drown a cat).
This is not good - I can't physically take on enough fluid to balance this out.
If this is my luck and I'm catching the flu as well I WILLIAM NOT BE HAPPY.

And a surprise maths exam worth 15% of my course is happening tomorrow. I'm stuffed if I stay on the drugs because the pain is killing my concentration and without them... I can't imagine myself being much better.
I can do the things that come naturally to me like writing and driving (I should get myself a job as a car journalist. For starts from this chair I make The Hamster look tall surely that's merit enough?) but when I actually try to consciously think.... I'm stuffed.

Spent an hour staring at the same maths question. Still haven't answered it. I know I should know the answer. Hell I've got an explanation of how to do the question in my own handwriting with an example next to it. But...
I'm having difficulty trying to remember what the numbers themselves are worth. (This might not be helping the crying situation).


Summed up in two words "oh dear".

Is it realistic to take your evening dose anyway and start off by just skipping the middle one? You may really find your sleep is disrupted by not taking your night dose and if you have a maths exam then that's not good!

How long have you been taking Lyrica for? I have had 2 separate occasions where I didn't take Lyrica for a few days, one was when I was in hospital having my appendix removed, I the other was during a nasty winter vomiting virus and I felt truly dreadful, although it wasn't just the pregab withdrawals there was baclofen as well.

Other options, if you are struggling, is to maybe try and persuade the doc for lower strength capsules, you can get 75mgs, 50mgs and 25mgs. If that fails then it is possible to split the capsules and dissolve the contents in water, if you dissolce 100mg in 10mls of water then each ml = 10mg, easy to reduce your dosage lower slowly.

A quick google just revealed this....

If you stop taking Lyrica suddenly, you may have withdrawal symptoms. Withdrawal symptoms include headache, sleep problems, nausea, and diarrhea. Do not stop using Lyrica suddenly without first talking to your doctor. You may need to use less and less before you stop the medication completely.

So as far as headaches go, it looks like you can't win!

Good luck, I feel for you!

Oh my goodness! i DO NOT RECOMMEND coming straight off of lyrica. My doc told me that it wasn't addictive and that i shouldn't be having ANY side effects. After being on it for as long as i was, i didn't need him to tell me it wasn't. I already knew it was very much stuck in my system. It was actually (besides fentnyl) the hardest med to ever get off of. However, i had to gradually do it. When i tried cold turkey I looked like some kind of junkie off in a corner some where in my house, just rocking back and forth. Pouring sweat, going from cold to hot, moody, and completely throwing up 'til i had nothing left to give. I shook so bad, when i would go through these changes i would simply disappear in my bedroom so my kids wouldn't have to witness mom spasing that hell out! It was horrible. I think i was on 75 mgs twice a day. And just as soon as the hour and min. came up that my lyrica was due, i would immediately get those feelings back. So it took me about 2 months total, to get completely off of it. But afterwards i found out that i could in fact live fine w/out it. I got off of it on my own, i didn't have a doctor telling me to. I just hate taking meds and didn't want them anymore. I would rather live in pain, than doped up half the time not knowing what was all going on. I didn't however do it while quiting my pain meds. I realized real quick that stopping them all even gradually was out of the question for me. I did one drug at a time. Although i was only on those two, they were strong enough. If the doctor wants for you to stop them cold turkey, i'm telling you right now, he doesn't have your best interest unless there's a much bigger bottom line i'm unaware of. I was also getting headaches after taking percocets in the beginning. They didn't do it for a little while, but then seemed to be giving them an hour or so after taking one. I have bad headaches allllll the time, and i really can't figure it out to be honest, but i know that what he's asking of you is INSANE IN THE MEMBRANE!!! Don't do it!! When i'm reading the warnings on most drugs that strong, they tell you now to quit all of a sudden. They say it for a reason. I'm sure that some people may be able to get away w/it, and if you can, then great. But it's not meant for everyone!! BE EXTRA CAREFUL GIRL!

I would just push back me taking a lyrica for an hour, then 2, then 3, then i would realize i had gone maybe 6 hours or so before i needed one, so just keep pushing it back further and further, 'til it's non-exsisting. Okay, sorry, that's my long post of advice, hope it helped....be safe w/ the drugs, people like us take them lightly sometimes, because we are so used to them, but they are dangerous things to play around w/.

best of luck,
april

There are some fantastic reads out there. I've had to stop reading I was scaring myself.

I've been on Lycria since September last year. And before that was on Gabapentin since the end of 2004 so this poor brain must be so used to having those chemicals coating it in good stuff!

I asked the doctor about coming down gently - he just seemed the "gentle" approach as a waste of time and that it was better to get it over and done with quickly so that (insert patronising tone) the pain would go away quicker.

Still it does mean I'll be back on them quicker!

Clara, i know i'm no one to you, but if you don't want to go through all that pain, you don't have to! He doesn't have a clue what you're going to have to go through. And even if he's a great doctor, he really doesn't care probably about how hard it will be. I hate saying that, but it's true....don't let the reads scare you. Just take my advice on coming down easy. There's no sense in doing that to yourself. You will go apeshit crazy, and for what reason will you be putting yourself through all that drama. Not to mention the strain on you body. That's the last thing you need right now, more strain. You're right, those chemicals have been in your mind and body far too long to do this cold turkey. I's tell him to shove off and let you do it your way. I'm telling you, i couldn't do it cold turkey, and you're taking a lot more than me, so no way jose....we have all been through enough struggles and pain, and this is completely unnecassary chica.....

I think I'd try a chiropractor who uses the Thompson Technique before I went cold-turkey on the lyrica.

What is the Thompson Technique?

Day one - not dead!!
The withdrawal shock is starting to wear off a little now. Either that or it is actually possible for your stomach to escape out of your backside!

Look HERE

What it is NOT is where you're bent around like a pretzel then body-slammed into submission. Generally, the Thompson technique is mild to moderate pushing to adjust the vertebra. The last time I went in with a head ache my Dr. used some kind of clicking thingy that felt like someone tapping my neck with their finger.

Day three? Still not dead!

Can anyone suggest something (other than duct tape) that'll help keep food down? I'm living off flat coke and cous cous and have pretty much emptied my stomach to the lining.

Mobility wise I'm pretty much confined to the sofa. Or the bathroom floor. My house isn't accessible so the chair is confined to the car boot and my action man shuffle across the carpet is starting to burn my elbows - my back REALLY aches, not only because it can but because every time I up chuck my muscles go into spasm.

Greybeard you'll be pleased to know I've managed to get dressed.

Every thing comes in waves, so during the lull I don't feel too bad. Except that I'm SO BORED.
I'm also really hungry during said lull - and can't help but think ordering a chinese meal isn't going to be the best of things despite the cravings having seen what mess everything else comes out as.

Come the wave however I'm near passing out.


Four more days to go!

I should damned well thinks so too. Rolling around on the floor stark naked at your age indeed.
You should just hear the tales postman and the window cleaner are telling about you!

You really are having a rough time, have you tried Ribena, I always seem to be able to keep that down.

Hope you feel better soon

Jules
xxx

You cheap skate! You could have at least brought the photographs! They're funding his children's way through university!

And there's nothing wrong about being starkers at this age.
Except for carpet burn.

Oh I did! They're an early Xmas present just for myself. Tell me, just how did you get that carpet burn there? I won't tell anyone else, honest.

Trying to think of a positive.
The only one I can think is that we've confirmed the drugs do work!!

One question though, I've always had stupidly sensitive knees. Hated people going near them when I was little and even now only the select few (i.e. my boyfriend and my blanket) are allowed any where near my knees. I can barely stand my trousers touching them.

So is it just irony that the "pins and needles" are worse in my knees than the rest of my legs? Has anyone else noticed that sensitive bits (alas not that sensitive bit) remains sensitive after your injury?

Or have I just had too much toilet hugging and not enough sugar this week?