Needing advice on dr to help with Lyrica titration

[stillbelieving]

I was put on Lyrica after going cold turkey off xanax 28 months ago. I have been on Lyrica for 2 years. I was on 225 mg a day and have slowly used water titration to taper down.  I have gotten down to 25 mg a day and the symptoms are too high so I have up dosed back to 37.5 mg total. This has happened twice now.  How long can I stay at 37.5 mg?  I don't want to go higher but I don't feel I'm mentally strong enough to come off right now. I'm frightened and don't know what kind of doctor to seek help with.  My DO admitted yesterday that this is totally out of her medical field. Should I seek help with her referral from a neurologist or a psychiatrist or what kind of Dr?

I don't understand why this is under substance abuse for I have never abused Lyrica nor Xanax. Both were taken as prescribed. I am frighten and need to know what kind of Dr I should seek that knows about getting slowly off prescription medicine. Cold turkey off xanax was too dangerous and harsh, my former dr had suggested I do it.

Thank you for your help.

[stillbelieving]

thanks for admitting the truth to me.  I never took extra xanax, nor even had a drink while on it.  I did cut it in half at times so what i understand with that it messes your GABA too much.  I should have just stayed on the .25 mg instead of going to .125mg sometimes.  

I'm glad you are doing good now.  That gives me hope.  Our brains will heal I feel but it takes a long time.

Good support to you to continue to be free.

[stillbelieving]

atthebeach - I have nerve burning, heart palpitations, anxiety, weakness as though my blood sugar is low but it isn't when I test it with a glucose meter and wasn't when I had labs.  I have tapered very slowly over the pass 18 months holding for several months at a time.  I use water titration to go very low changes at each cut.  It has been tolerable until I get down to 25 mg then I can't do it.  get intrusive thoughts and burning too bad. I had to up dose back in April and it took a while to stable out.  I'm hoping I will stable this time too.
I had fibromyalgia for 20 years - use to take Darvocet as needed then FDA took it off market. It wasn't hard to come off, but then I didn't take it daily.

Good luck on Lyrica

[Yesidid]

I am doing better thanks for asking. I happen to be an addict who took way more medication  than I was prescribed for many years.  I am very careful to accept responsibility for this - always. But I am aware of the fact that my addictions started by first taking as prescribed. I became physically addicted, then slowly increasing on my own as the meds lost effectiveness.  I am drug free today and Never want to be addicted again'

[atthebeach]

What kind of withdrawal symptoms are you experiencing?
I was just put on lyrica a month ago for fibromyalgia.

[Yesidid]

We have two posts going here for some reason. As I explained in my other response - you are correct about treatment and ignorance of the mechanisms being affected by these drugs. I sought addiction help for Lyrica and was treated for opiate addiction! You Can do this though doing it without the help of a doctor may not be a good idea since you seem to have long term sleep and anxiety issues. A good psychiatrist who will listen to you may be your best bet.

[stillbelieving]

thank you for responding.  I agree with you, the doctors write this stuff but have no real idea how it physically works.  I went from one prescribed addiction that I was put on xanax for PMS - to another one Lyrica.  Are there no doctors that understand and help with this?  I don't understand there are so many places and programs for opiates and heroin and meth why not benzos and lyrica?  
hope you are doing better.

[Yesidid]

This is under substance abuse because doctors and pharmaceutical companies conveniently do not have terminology or classifications for addictions they cause. The marketing and prescribing of Lyrica and gabapentin are downright criminal. Your doctor got you on but is not qualified to get you off and that's okay with the regulators, and suddenly the addiction is somehow your fault and it's your responsibility to find a solution.  I was addicted to these drugs for years and could find Nonody in the medical community to help me. Painful and slow tapering is all I could do, finally stoping completely and taking roughly another few months before I began to feel normal again.