How can I recover from the medication Lyrica? I have lost my balance completely.

[keenly]

Came off Lyrica, only 5 days on this time, horrific problems. My equilibrium is totally gone. I feel as though I am about to fall even now, whilst sitting. How do I get back my balance? Lyrica must instantly deplete something in the brain?


I have no balance, what is going on? Any thoughts?

 

[YippeeKi YOW !!]

Came off Lyrica, only 5 days on this time, horrific problems.

How long were you on it before, and how long ago was that?

Lyrica has a reputation for being more potentially addictive than other options i the same drug class (gabapentinoids), probably because of its rapid uptake and onset of action, as well as its short half life, about 4 to 6 hours, give or take. So frequent dosing is needed, which also increases the risk of tolerance withdrawal as well as the potential damage it can do.

It's structurally like gamma amino butyric acid ((GABA), but doesn't actually bind to GABA receptors. It's believed to act by binding to pathways in the nervous system, tho even the 'experts', and this is HUUUGE warning that they never give you up front, even the 'experts' don't actually understand it's mode of action. They're just guessing. Heartening.

It's excreted as a whole drug thru the kidneys rather than thru any of the liver enzymes that process benzos.

If you;ve been on it for a while at some recent period, you may be dealing with a sort of extended protracted tolerance withdrawal, which is absolute hell, and which may be what caused you to start taking Lyrica again. Lyrica is strongly associated with pretty impressive discontinuation syndromes, something else they don;t mention when they're scribbling out your prescription and hustling you out the door.

VITAMINS AND MINERALS THAT MIGHT HELP YOU THRU THE PROCESS
You might want to google what minerals and vits pregabalin (generic of Lyrica) depletes. Replacing and or up-dosing on them may help you move thru that dark, scary tunnel a little faster, and with reduced symptoms. Magnesium is often the first thing that gets sucked out of your system, and you might want to see if fairly large amounts of mag might help you.

Magnesium glycinate works best for me, due both to it's very, very low level of bowel distress (glycine, the amino acid that it's bound to, is a large molecule, so it stays in the stomach rather than racing thru your system and hammering your intestines), and to the calming effects of the glycine. It's also pretty affordable, unlike heavily hyped versions of mag like threonate and, I think, orotate among others.

Boosting Vit C to much higher levels than usual can also help, as can zinc, calcium, the B-vits (if you can tolerate them ... they may have to wait til later in your withdrawal) .... and ginger (a cousin of turmeric) can also be helpful, as can Ceylon cinnamon. Avoid the Vietnamese and other forms, they're really high in coumarin, not something you need right now.....

If I can think of anything else, I'll be back. Right now I'm back to running on fumes, but I didn't want to leave you hanging ....

As a quick afterthought: one of the misconceptions about withdrawal generally is that once the drug itself is out of your systm, you'll be good to go. Unfortunately, that hypothesis doesn't take into account the amount of re-wiring and personal decorating the drug has done to your brain and CNS, which will take longer to recover.

It can be a bumpy ride, but it's usually of finite duration, which would vary from person to person based on their medical and medication histories, among other factors ....

 

[junkcrap50]

Your balance loss is likely because of B1 Thiamine deficiency in your cerebellum and posterior columns. Lyrica can cause B1 and Vit D deficiencies.

“Lyrica (pregabalin) is an anti-epileptic drug, also called an anticonvulsant –boosts potassium levels, depletes the body of thiamine(B1) & vitamin D“
https://mcvitaminshealthproducts.com/what-nutritional-deficiencies-can-medications-produce-2

I would look into Dr. Longsdale and his research into Thiamine.

 

[keenly]

Your balance loss is likely because of B1 Thiamine deficiency in your cerebellum and posterior columns. Lyrica can cause B1 and Vit D deficiencies.

“Lyrica (pregabalin) is an anti-epileptic drug, also called an anticonvulsant –boosts potassium levels, depletes the body of thiamine(B1) & vitamin D“
https://mcvitaminshealthproducts.com/what-nutritional-deficiencies-can-medications-produce-2

I would look into Dr. Longsdale and his research into Thiamine.

Yep I know about Dr L. Top man. So Alithiamine it is. Thanks.

 

[keenly]

How long were you on it before, and how long ago was that?

I have used it for; 2 days, 2 weeks, and 1 month on and off, at different times, never longer. 5 days this time. I took Nothing last night and today is by far the worse. A few weeks back I used for 2 nights.

 

[YippeeKi YOW !!]

“Lyrica (pregabalin) is an anti-epileptic drug, also called an anticonvulsant –boosts potassium levels, depletes the body of thiamine(B1) & vitamin D“

Often, psychoactive drugs can create intense sensitivity to B-vits, so if you decide to go this route @keenly, trial it low and slow, and watch for reactions like increased anxiety/panic, racing heart, muscle jerkiness, twitchiness, possible increased sensitivity to light and sound .... you know, the usual suspects, along with a few others I can;t call to mind ...

This can also be true of Vit D, but if you're not reactive to it, it would be a decent addition to your arsenal during this tough time ....

Keep in mind that no one size here fits all, and trial everything slowly and carefully .....

 

[xebex]

Lyrica could be ototoxic, damaging the inner ear causing balance problems.

It might be worth getting steroid in the ear. I’m no expert and of course it may not be the issue but I thought I’d mention it.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.soundrelief.com/list-of-ototoxic-medications/amp/

 

[YippeeKi YOW !!]

Hi @keenly ....

Your response was enclosed in a quote box, so I cant re-quote it here. Here's a copy/paste of what you wrote:

"I have used it for; 2 days, 2 weeks, and 1 month on and off, at different times,
never longer. 5 days this time. I took Nothing last night and today is by far the
worse. A few weeks back I used for 2 nights."​

Wow !!! That's a very intense response, you're obviously pretty sensitive to Lyrica/pregabalin ....

This could mean that you might have the additional sensitivity to B-vits, so be careful in trialing them ....

Even tho we're told that Lyrica doesn't attach to, or work thru, GABA receptors, withdrawals from it are very similar to withdrawals from benzos, so really really small cuts at fairly wide intervals could be the least painful, and in the long run, most effective, way to go .... your brain has already been battered, and the slow taper gives it intervals in which it can catch up and heal. In the long run, it's faster and more effective.

If this keeps getting worse or not getting any better, you might consider hitting up YouTube .... there are some excellent videos on how to do very, very small cuts using water as the base for that titration. It's a simple process, and it'll save you a fortune in compounding costs. A very thoughty member on one of these threads posted a link to one of them, but I can;t recall where. Google 'Water Titration for Benzo Withdrawal, YouTube', and that should get you there.

Good luck, and be careful about diving in too deep, too fast, no matter how harmless the substance seems to be. The body/mind are strange and unpredictable beasts .....

EDIT ... typos, the bane of my existence ..... should have taken a typing course somewhere alone the line ....

 

[junkcrap50]

Even tho we're told that Lyrica doesn't attach to, or work thru, GABA receptors, withdrawals from it are very similar to withdrawals from benzos, so really really small cuts at fairly wide intervals would be the least painful, and in the long run, most effective, way to go .... your brain has already been battered, and the slow taper gives it intervals in which it can catch up and heal. In the long run, it's faster ad more effective.

Ah yes. The balance problem could be a horrible withdrawal symptom. Never heard of that being a possibility, but weird symptoms can arise with withdrawal.

 

[YippeeKi YOW !!]

https://mcvitaminshealthproducts.com/what-nutritional-deficiencies-can-medications-produce-2

Very good link, @junkcrap50 .... thank you for it !!!!

 

[YippeeKi YOW !!]

Ah yes. The balance problem could be a horrible withdrawal symptom. Never heard of that being a possibility, but weird symptoms can arise with withdrawal.

I bumped into its mention as a side effect of pregabalin withdrawal a while back. Until then, I had;theard of that one.

It's always something new. And usually horrible ....

 

[dannybex]

Came off Lyrica, only 5 days on this time, horrific problems. My equilibrium is totally gone. I feel as though I am about to fall even now, whilst sitting. How do I get back my balance? Lyrica must instantly deplete something in the brain?


I have no balance, what is going on? Any thoughts?

Lyrica lowers B12.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21246600/

 

[heapsreal]

Lyrica lowers B12.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21246600/

Interesting. Im on lyrica and have been for awhile, probably best drug ive had for pain. But over 12 months ago i had my homocysteine levels tested and they were through the roof. Have been on a homocysteine formula since.

 

[lenora]

Hmm...Must be why my neurologist has me on B-12 injections (which I constantly forget).

@dannybex I seem to recall asking if you had stopped immediately or were slowly reduced by your physician? That can make all the difference in the world. Sometimes even a stop-gap drug is used.

@heapsreal I've never had homocysteine problems, and I've been on it for years. However, I think each of us can have different side-effects to meds.

Yes, Lyrica has been the best thing ever for my pain (and I still have pain, but at least I can work around it...for the most part). Before that I was on the original Gabapentin, the introductory doses were too high, but even with losing my mind for 3 mos., I stayed on it because the pain levels were that bad (due to nerve damage from neurological illnesses I had). Lyrica was definitely a step up from Gaba when it was finally introduced.

I hope you all soon find your levels that you can tolerate. Yours, Lenora.

 

[dannybex]

Hmm...Must be why my neurologist has me on B-12 injections (which I constantly forget).

@dannybex I seem to recall asking if you had stopped immediately or were slowly reduced by your physician? That can make all the difference in the world. Sometimes even a stop-gap drug is used.

@heapsreal I've never had homocysteine problems, and I've been on it for years. However, I think each of us can have different side-effects to meds.

Yes, Lyrica has been the best thing ever for my pain (and I still have pain, but at least I can work around it...for the most part). Before that I was on the original Gabapentin, the introductory doses were too high, but even with losing my mind for 3 mos., I stayed on it because the pain levels were that bad (due to nerve damage from neurological illnesses I had). Lyrica was definitely a step up from Gaba when it was finally introduced.

I hope you all soon find your levels that you can tolerate. Yours, Lenora.

Stopped what immediately? I've never taken Lyrica. I hope you can slowly taper off of it if you increase b12 and possibly thiamine -- of course under your doctor's guidance.