lyrica withdrawal brutal need help

[Indiedawn]

I too suffer from chronic pain, a doctor put me on lyrica, now mind you, I was allergic to gabapentin, lexapro, and cymbalta! I actually called Eli Lily first and they told me you wouldn't give me any problems! Well I got dyskinesia within two weeks, jerking of the body, hazing in and out not able to read unable to walk.

This lyrica withdrawal is brutal, all the other ones took just a couple of days I'm almost up to 30 days and I thought I was getting better and today I'm sicker than ever! Any help for anybody with be greatly appreciated, and if anyone has gone through this does it end? Thank you I'm going crazy

[Indiedawn]

Thank you so much for your quick response, my brain is in a haze, I did not mean to post in addiction, I do not have any addictions, I do suffer from chronic pain, from a traumatic accident, I have lived a whole holistic life due to my severe allergies, do you work for this board, I'm confused and would love to have it moved to the withdrawal section if that would help, it's just eating me up alive! Thank you for your encouragement, it just feels like it's never going to end, I have severe allergies to drugs, but this is brutal it's beyond anything I've ever faced before thank you for your help and if you can move th the previous post to withdrawal I would be so grateful thank you!

[Stonepumpkin7]

I too was put on Lyrica 150 per day for chronic back pain from stenosis of the lumbar region in spine.Stopped cold turkey in March 2018 .I am still having dreadful withdrawal symtoms not to mention constant back pain.Feel my whole body is shivering and shaking, terrible depression,nausea and its nearly end of July.Gave up this a.m.and took 75mg .Has eased the symptoms slightly, think I will have to continue with the 75mg twice a day.Honestly felt dreadful .Good luck .Thats all I can wish for you.I have been on them for 4 years apart for the last 3.5 dreadful months.Never felt worse in my life .

[nursegirl6572]

First, did you mean to post this in the Addiction community?  Do you have a problem with addiction?  If not, it may be better suited for the pain management community.  If so, we can easily have it moved.

I'm sorry you're going through this.  No doubt coming off these kinds of meds can be rough, and Lyrica has a bit of a reputation as being one of the tougher ones.  Of course, everyone is different, but it sounds as though you're definitely one of the unlucky ones in that regard.

For starters, unfortunately, the manufacturer really had no business telling you you would have no problem.  There's no way to predict that sort of thing to begin with, and being that you state you are allergic to meds that are VERY similar in nature to the Lyrica, it probably wasn't the best course of action IMO.  In the future, I would recommend discussing those kinds of things with your doctor, or your pharmacist....as well as doing your own homework.  The manufacturer really isn't going to be to the best "go to" person if that makes sense.  Was this prescribed by a neurologist?  Do you see a neurologist or a pain management doctor?  If not, I would definitely recommend asking your PCP for a referral.  It's always better to have a specialist handling your chronic illnesses/conditions.

Now, to the symptoms you're having from the discontinuation syndrome....did you taper off the Lyrica, or stop taking it abruptly?  Did you discuss the side effects with your doctor, and if so, what did he/she recommend?  What dose were you on, and what dose did you come off of?  How long were you on it, and when did the side effects start?

Unfortunately, there is no easy "fix" for something like this...it truly just takes time.  I'm sure, as lousy as you feel, a month seems like a lifetime, but with this kind of situation, it really isn't that long.  It may take several months before you're feeling much better.  There ARE some things you can do, the big one being to keep in close contact with your doctor.  At this point, you can be treated symptomatically.  Your doctor may be able to prescribe you some medications to ease some of the symptoms until they resolve.  Other than that, again, it's just going to take some time.  I know that's the last thing you probably wanted to hear, and I'm sorry there isn't a more obvious answer.

If you didn't taper off, and stopped abruptly, that would explain the severity and duration of your symptoms.  What you describe doesn't sound like an allergic reaction, but rather more of a sensitivity and intolerance, with severe side effects.  Did you have similar symptoms on the other meds that you state you're allergic to?  

I wish you the very best and hope you're feeling better very soon.  I cannot stress enough to you the importance of working closely with your doctor...don't try to do this all on your own.  The doc needs to know you're feeling this bad anyway, and there are always things that he/she could try to attempt to minimize your symptoms.

Hang in there!!