My lyrica journey

Good morning folks. This is my first post and here’s my story. In 2013 I had a lumbar fusion and immediately started having neuropathy in my feet. Gabapentin was prescribed initially and then switched to lyrica with an eventual dosage of 150mg twice a day. About a year ago I started having extreme nausea every morning which I later learned was “inter-dosing withdrawal” because my body had reached a level where it needed more. That’s when I decided enough was enough and that a little hot foot could be tolerated. My pain doctor refused to help me with any tapering so I went to my GP. I gently suggested a regimen of drugs currently used to help with the taper but all that he was willing to prescribe was Xanax. Yep. Another highly addictive drug. I eventually had to explain the nausea and beg for some zofran. (I’m a RN so I did my research). I started tapering 6 weeks ago and I’m down to 25mg in the morning and 50mg at bedtime. I’m decreasing by 25mg alternating between mornings and nights. Every single decrease has brought the same horrific withdrawal. I notice the first sign in my breathing which becomes deeper and more frequent. Then comes the sweaty hands and chills. During all of that mix in waves of nausea and anxiety. I explain it as feeling like someone took a hand mixer to my brain. I usually decrease on Sunday and suffer the worst for 3-4 days until I level out and then I have a few halfway good days until the next decrease. I’m expecting another 4 weeks of doing this until I can totally jump off but then it’s dependent on whether I can manage the symptoms. Also I have found that where cannabis is legal it has incredible benefit with decreasing the anxiety and nausea. It has helped me avoid the Xanax which is important in my opinion.
If I had known about the incredible addictive properties of lyrica I never would have taken it. And the fact that I’ve had one medical doctor refuse to help me and another who is obviously uneducated about it makes the situation even worse. Combine that with the medical community touting this medication as the answer to the opioid crisis and you have the perfect storm. The public will cherish the help that they will receive from this platform. Thanks for taking time to read this and good luck with your journey.