Tapering off Lyrica gave me panic, nausea, extreme anxiety

Posted by cdcc @cdcc, Nov 28, 2017

I have been taking Lyrica 150 mg two times a day for four years for trigeminal nerve neuralgia from shingles. Since I am now beginning to loose my teeth from this medication I decided to go off it. Folding my doctors withdrawal program I became very sick. Panic, extreme anxiety, nausea, could not eat and lost 17 pounds in 7 weeks, not good I’m tiny as it is. Ended in the ER for I’ve fluids, nausea medications. Back to the family doctor. He put me back on 50mg a day because he felt I needed a long withdrawal from the medications then also said you may have to go back on your full dosing which after all this suffering I am doing I don’t want to do that. I have even made an appoint with a psychiatrist to help with the anxiety although my family doctor gave me Ativan 0:5mg to take twice daily. I don’t even wan5 to go outside the house, haven’t driven in 7 weeks afraid my anxiety or panic will take over. Has anyone experienced these conditions with coming off this medication. Thank you

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@johnbishop

Hi @sped1, I would like to add my welcome along with other members here. Sorry you are having such a difficult time switching from Zoloft to Lexapro. I'm pretty sure you are not alone as this can be difficult for many people. I found an article that may provide some strategies that may be helpful.

Switching and stopping antidepressants
-- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4919171/

Has your doctor offered any suggestions for tapering?

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This is sure a welcoming group. Thanks for the article ! Glad I'm not alone on this experience ! When I started Zoloft so many years ago, there wasn't an internet to connect with others on ! I had only one teacher friend at work who was on Prozac and she shared her experience.

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@sped1

This is sure a welcoming group. Thanks for the article ! Glad I'm not alone on this experience ! When I started Zoloft so many years ago, there wasn't an internet to connect with others on ! I had only one teacher friend at work who was on Prozac and she shared her experience.

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Hi, I also was a teacher for many years. I struggled with manic depression which made life soooo difficult. I was having 4 panic attacks a day and went to my gp and said I can't manage anymore. He suggested prozac and it helped and I stayed on a low dose for 7 years. It was a life saver. And I am a person who takes vitamins and chooses life style over meds. But sometimes, when life is so demanding, you need a good medicine. After I retired, I slowly weened myself from Prozac and have been off of it for about 15 years. I'm 71 and my manic depression goes into remission and reappears at times. But I'm mostly ok.

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@healthytoday

Hi, I also was a teacher for many years. I struggled with manic depression which made life soooo difficult. I was having 4 panic attacks a day and went to my gp and said I can't manage anymore. He suggested prozac and it helped and I stayed on a low dose for 7 years. It was a life saver. And I am a person who takes vitamins and chooses life style over meds. But sometimes, when life is so demanding, you need a good medicine. After I retired, I slowly weened myself from Prozac and have been off of it for about 15 years. I'm 71 and my manic depression goes into remission and reappears at times. But I'm mostly ok.

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I have some mild anxiety and 10 mg cdb has helped a lot. I take it on an as needed basis. Omega3 1000mg helps with mood. I also invest in weekly massage. I traded eating out and buying lot's of clothes for massage therapy. I think that was a good choice on my part.

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@healthytoday I just had knee x-rays pain behind knee I treated myself to a hot tub

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@lioness

@healthytoday I just had knee x-rays pain behind knee I treated myself to a hot tub

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I got in touch with my doctor and we are starting the process of coming down the Lyrica today. I'm going on 75mg 2x per day . I know it will not be easy but I got to do this. I want to thank you for all the information and support it is helping a lot.

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@lillee

I got in touch with my doctor and we are starting the process of coming down the Lyrica today. I'm going on 75mg 2x per day . I know it will not be easy but I got to do this. I want to thank you for all the information and support it is helping a lot.

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@lillee Glad to hear this tough it out it worked for me this way on my smaller dose also

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@johnbishop

Hi lillee @lillee, welcome to Connect. I'm hoping other members can share their experience with tapering off of Lyrica. I know it can seem overwhelming but you are not alone. Here are a few links that may be helpful until we hear from other members who have tapered off of Lyrica.

Lyrica Withdrawal Symptoms + Duration
-- https://mentalhealthdaily.com/2014/08/06/lyrica-withdrawal-symptoms-duration/

Lyrica Withdrawal
-- https://www.recovery.org/lyrica/

Lyrica Withdrawal: Symptoms and Withdrawal Timelines
-- https://www.serenityatsummit.com/withdrawal/lyrica/

Are you able to get a second opinion to talk with another doctor?

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Thank you so much for the information. Just got back from my doctor and going on 75mg 2x per day. I hope I can do this but it was nice to know I can come here.

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@lioness

@lillee Glad to hear this tough it out it worked for me this way on my smaller dose also

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Thank you I am hoping it will be better than cold turkey. Hope your knee is feeling better

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@lillee

Thank you I am hoping it will be better than cold turkey. Hope your knee is feeling better

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It amazes me that Drs aren’t clearer abt side effects. They are miserable

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It seems like some doctors are starting to get the message about how difficult it is to get off anti depressants. I've been on 10-15 mg./day of lexapro for twenty years. I've attempted to get off several times and always had such terrible withdrawal symptoms that I ran back to the meds. There was an article in the March 5, 2019 NYTimes called How to Quit Antidepressants: Very Slowly, Doctors Say.. One doctor weaned himself off by opening his capsules and removing just one or two tiny pills at a time over a year. This is a huge issue that doctors and patients need to discuss and learn how to treat.

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