Pregabalin (Lyrica) for anxiety. Anyone st...
BlueCloud
21 Nov 2016
There are a couple of old threads about pregabalin for anxiety, but no follow up. Is anybody still taking it, is it still working for you in the context of generalized anxiety ?
BlueCloud
28 Nov 2016
well I got a script for it from my doc, and so far it's the strangest substance I've ever tried....
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psychejunkie
29 Nov 2016
well I got a script for it from my doc, and so far it's the strangest substance I've ever tried....
Yep! its definitely a different drug!
Pregabalin increases both Slow-Wave Sleep (SWS) and REM (Dreaming Sleep), Doesn't even make a lot of tolerance or dependence.
Personally, I love Pregabalin as it doesn't make hypnotic/sedation state when taken or the morning after.
BlueCloud
29 Nov 2016
"Doesn't even make a lot of tolerance or dependence." Well actually it's been quite the opposite for me. I've developped complete tolerance for it after just ONE day ! I did some more research and I've read many accounts of individuals having the same issue, which they seems to have solved by taking it one day on / one day off. And this is not because it takes time to start working like SSRI..
I'm going to restart it soon but this is quite disappointing.. However when it did wok, it was pretty amazing, better than any anti-anxiety med or herbal I've taken.
Mind_Paralysis
29 Nov 2016
"Doesn't even make a lot of tolerance or dependence." Well actually it's been quite the opposite for me. I've developped complete tolerance for it after just ONE day ! I did some more research and I've read many accounts of individuals having the same issue, which they seems to have solved by taking it one day on / one day off. And this is not because it takes time to start working like SSRI..
I'm going to restart it soon but this is quite disappointing.. However when it did wok, it was pretty amazing, better than any anti-anxiety med or herbal I've taken.
I suggest you try and get Tiagabine instead, if available in your location.
It's a GABA-reuptake inhibitor, and doesn't seem to have the same kind of tolerance-issues as Gabapentin and Pregabalin.
However, science has proven that SNRI's are the currently most effective anti-anxiety meds in use. I recommend Duloxetine, since science has also shown that it's better at combatting Generalized Anxiety than Venlafaxine.
Efficacy of treatments for anxiety disorders: A meta-analysis
https://www.research...A_meta-analysis
(see figure 2 in the above analysis)
BlueCloud
29 Nov 2016
However, science has proven that SNRI's are the currently most effective anti-anxiety meds in use. I recommend Duloxetine, since science has also shown that it's better at combatting Generalized Anxiety than Venlafaxine.
Efficacy of treatments for anxiety disorders: A meta-analysis
https://www.research...A_meta-analysis
(see figure 2 in the above analysis)
Duloxetine for the treatment of generalized anxiety disorder: a review
https://www.ncbi.nlm...les/PMC2695226/
SNRI work on norepinephrine ( among other things ) and that's a big no-no for me. I've been on duloxetine, and it was a horrific experience. One of the worst things I've been on ( venlafaxine as well). Take any one of the current SSRI/SNRI in the market, and I'll bet you'll find plenty of studies and meta-studies proving each one as being THE best option for anxiety/depression .
"Clean" SSRIs like escitalopram are often considered as the gold standard for GAD, or at least is the one that seems to have managed to get the biggest number of studies on its side proving that. And indeed escitalopram was the most efficient substance I've been on for anxiety, but it came at a very high price : complete lack of motivation and serious loss of libido, partly combated by adding buspirone ( which itself comes with its own bagage of sides) but only helping up to a point..
Pregabalin on the other hand, when it works, beats escitalopram hands down. All benefits of the latter with almost none of the cons, even at the low dose I've been on ( 50mg x 2 ). It's too close to being a magic wand for me to not give it another chance ...
Edited by BlueCloud, 29 November 2016 - 11:03 AM.
Mind_Paralysis
29 Nov 2016
However, science has proven that SNRI's are the currently most effective anti-anxiety meds in use. I recommend Duloxetine, since science has also shown that it's better at combatting Generalized Anxiety than Venlafaxine.
Efficacy of treatments for anxiety disorders: A meta-analysis
https://www.research...A_meta-analysis
(see figure 2 in the above analysis)
Duloxetine for the treatment of generalized anxiety disorder: a review
https://www.ncbi.nlm...les/PMC2695226/
SNRI work on norepinephrine ( among other things ) and that's a big no-no for me. I've been on duloxetine, and it was a horrific experience. One of the worst things I've been on ( venlafaxine as well). Take any one of the current SSRI/SNRI in the market, and I'll bet you'll find plenty of studies and meta-studies proving each one as being THE best option for anxiety/depression .
"Clean" SSRIs like escitalopram are often considered as the gold standard for GAD, or at least is the one that seems to have managed to get the biggest number of studies on its side proving that. And indeed escitalopram was the most efficient substance I've been on for anxiety, but it came at a very high price : complete lack of motivation and serious loss of libido, partly combated by adding buspirone ( which itself comes with its own bagage of sides) but only helping up to a point..
Pregabalin on the other hand, when it works, beats escitalopram hands down. All benefits of the latter with almost none of the cons, even at the low dose I've been on ( 50mg x 2 ). It's too close to being a magic wand for me to not give it another chance ...
There IS NO other chance with GABApentinoids, or any GABAergics - you know this... there's an entire giant, humongous post by Scienceguy on this very forum regarding this...
Still, ok, I'll give it a go, to let you try and get some more out of it:
*Cycle it one day on, two days off
*Fasoracetam - through modulation of adenylate cyclase, Faso causes upregulation of GABA-B-receptors, use it on the off days to try and get more GABA-B, it might bring some of the kick from Pregabalin back.
*Magnesium-L-Threonate - use heroic dosing (2-3 GRAMS!) to hold back on tolerance, and to receive ADDITIONAL anxiolytic effects, through its effects on hippocampal NMDA-receptors - it would appear as if there are at least two mechanisms behind anxiety - NMDA-hyperactivity and Serotonergic hyperactivity.
Another thing you could do, is to also start using Duloxetine WHILE using this stack, start low and work yourself upwards, in theory, this stuff should keep the terrible initial effects off of you, while in the long-run, Duloxetine will downregulate your NE and 5HT -receptors.
(SSRI's downregulate 5HT-receptors, that's how they, EVENTUALLY, help with anxiety - but first they have to make it many-fold worse, until the receptors simply collapse and shut down, giving effective relief)
If you want to be certain that you get NMDA-antagonism which truly gives anxiolytic effect, then swap out the MagLT for Memantine - then you've got some definitive NMDA-antagonism going.
BlueCloud
29 Nov 2016
I've started pregabalin today after one day of abstinence, at just 50mg and it seems to be working back again. So cycling it one day off/one day on seems to be the way to go for me...
there are reports of people who made it work for years by cycling it like this.
Edited by BlueCloud, 29 November 2016 - 12:08 PM.
Dinohead
01 Dec 2016
It feels for the last 2 years I've been stuck on 150 a day, and if I go lower I get the most awful withdrawal and I've been on most drugs.
There's Facebook pages for survivors and the net is littered with others stuck on it.
I'd stay away from this one.
