noah1111 Posted April 17, 2015 Share Posted April 17, 2015 Hello, I just wanted to thank you for having information in these forums to not only help me taper off my medications, but to also help me understand I am not alone in this endeavor. Unfortunately, like many of you, I ended up on these meds by doctors too quick to prescribe; and now I'm the one holding the ball. I'm currently on Lyrica 25mg twice a day (50mg total daily). Oxycontin 10mg 3x a day (30mg total daily). Clonazepam .25mg in am and .5mg in pm (total .75mg daily). My goal is to get off all of these. I am currently on a hold on tapering my oxycontin and would like to taper off the Lyrica because I believe it's making my tongue swell and I can hardly swallow. I've been on Lyrica for about the past 5 yrs and was originally taking 200mg daily. I weaned down to where I am now and have held here for about 2 yrs. I've read the post on tapering Lyrica. I am at the lowest capsule dose available for am and pm. I stopped tapering 2 yrs ago because I didn't know how to taper with opening casules. Of course, past doctors have told me that you can't get W/D's from Lyrica, but they have a mutual understanding with the big pharm companies/ or just ignorant. I finally have a great FNP who understands about withdrawls. I notice in tapering off Lyrica you mention going off 10% from last dose each month. I was just wondering what the best way for me to taper 10% when I'm taking Lyrica in 2 doses per day? Do taper 10% off the morning and 10% off the evening? Do I try to take one dose per day and taper from there? (although I don't know how my body would react trying to go to one dose when I feel W/D's within hours of not taking a dose) My prescriber had told me to open the capsule and pour a little out each day, but I'd like to be more consistent. Would it be beneficial to have her prescribe me the oral Lyrica from the pharmacy and then taper each the morning and evening? Sorry for so many questions, but I'm desperate, feeling like hell on earth from side effects and have no where to turn. Thank you so much for listening Lyrica 25mg twice a day (50mg total per day) Oxycontin 10mg 3 times per day (30mg total per day) Clonazepam .25mg in am and .5mg at bedtime Oxycodone when needed but am going to use it to try to convert my Oxycontin to IR. (Not currently taking) History: Was originally on Lyrica 200mg daily few yrs ago but have some allergic reactions and weaned down with bad wd's. Was on Oxycontin 30mg twice daily and weaned to 20mg twice daily in one jump (hurt), then to 15mg twice daily, now to 10mg 3x daily to try to convert to IR, then off totally. Link to comment
Pugknows Posted April 17, 2015 Share Posted April 17, 2015 Hi Noah, and welcome. Martina23 and Skyler are currently tapering Lyrica. You might want to visit their threads. I am in my 6 month CT off gabapentin. Older different drug than yours, but also an anti seizure med. January 2012 - Prescribed 900mg gabapentin and 30mg Norco for lower lumber spinal stenosis pain. September 2013 - Spinal fusion surgery, 6 levels. Hospital ramped up meds 1500mg gabapentin, 100mg Norco, 80mg Oxycontin, 25mg Fentanyl patch. January 2014 - Sever nausea daily and with back pain every 4 hours. 2 trips to ER. First endoscopy found ulcer. Treated with Sucralfate and PPI. Second endo in May found no ulcers. Doctors said it was the opiates causing the nausea. CT'd Oxycontin, Fentanyl patch. July 2014 - Lost 48 lbs. due to not eating because of severe nausea. GP prescribed Prozac 20mg and Ativan 2mg prn. Tried for 4 days, quit. Two week followup GP said keep taking Prozac. 4 days, quit again. Ativan taken rarely prn for anxiety and appetite. August 2014 - Went to detox. Off opiates. Still nauseous, helmet head, drugged feeling. Doctor CT'd gabapentin. Ended up in ER. Found 2 gallstones. Gabapentin reinstated at 900mg. Tried botched up and down taper to get off Gabapentin. No tapering advice from doctor. Said to just CT again. September 2014 - Coded on table during gallbladder surgery. Developed liver biloma due to CPR by doctor. Had bile bulb inserted for 2 wks to drain. October 2014 - Gallbladder removed. Still nauseous, 3am cortisol surging, drugged helmet head, vertigo, breathlessness, whooshing head, heart palps. November 8th, 2014 - CT'd gabapentin suggested by family and 4 different doctors. Was told no withdrawal is associated with gabapentin. Have been in hell ever since. No windows, just one big tsunami every day with same symptoms for 4 months. December 26, 2014 - Found SA. At least I know I'm not insane. My family thinks I'm doing this to myself. Akathesia has become unbearable. March 10, 2015 - In absolute daily hell with no relief. Currently taking magnesium 200mg before bedtime. Link to comment
noah1111 Posted April 17, 2015 Author Share Posted April 17, 2015 Thank you Pugknows. Before they put me on Lyrica about 5 yrs ago, they gave me Gabapentin. I reacted so bad from it that I literally was flopping off the walls like a drunk (and I don't drink). It got worse each day to the point I was laying on the floor looking at my wife. She didn't know what was happening to me and I was feeling like I was in a stupor. We went to urgent care and they told my wife to get me to ER because I was having same symptoms as stroke. I went to ER and they told me my TSH was 56.94 and had hypothyroidism. 3 to 5 is considered high TSH and I never had a thyroid issue. My wife noticed that on the side effects of Gabapentin there was a rare chance for hypothyroidism. Now it's progressed into Hashimotos disease. Thank you doctors. Lyrica 25mg twice a day (50mg total per day) Oxycontin 10mg 3 times per day (30mg total per day) Clonazepam .25mg in am and .5mg at bedtime Oxycodone when needed but am going to use it to try to convert my Oxycontin to IR. (Not currently taking) History: Was originally on Lyrica 200mg daily few yrs ago but have some allergic reactions and weaned down with bad wd's. Was on Oxycontin 30mg twice daily and weaned to 20mg twice daily in one jump (hurt), then to 15mg twice daily, now to 10mg 3x daily to try to convert to IR, then off totally. Link to comment
Pugknows Posted April 17, 2015 Share Posted April 17, 2015 What are the symptoms of Hashimoto's disease? Now that you're off the gabapentin, maybe your thyroid is back to normal. January 2012 - Prescribed 900mg gabapentin and 30mg Norco for lower lumber spinal stenosis pain. September 2013 - Spinal fusion surgery, 6 levels. Hospital ramped up meds 1500mg gabapentin, 100mg Norco, 80mg Oxycontin, 25mg Fentanyl patch. January 2014 - Sever nausea daily and with back pain every 4 hours. 2 trips to ER. First endoscopy found ulcer. Treated with Sucralfate and PPI. Second endo in May found no ulcers. Doctors said it was the opiates causing the nausea. CT'd Oxycontin, Fentanyl patch. July 2014 - Lost 48 lbs. due to not eating because of severe nausea. GP prescribed Prozac 20mg and Ativan 2mg prn. Tried for 4 days, quit. Two week followup GP said keep taking Prozac. 4 days, quit again. Ativan taken rarely prn for anxiety and appetite. August 2014 - Went to detox. Off opiates. Still nauseous, helmet head, drugged feeling. Doctor CT'd gabapentin. Ended up in ER. Found 2 gallstones. Gabapentin reinstated at 900mg. Tried botched up and down taper to get off Gabapentin. No tapering advice from doctor. Said to just CT again. September 2014 - Coded on table during gallbladder surgery. Developed liver biloma due to CPR by doctor. Had bile bulb inserted for 2 wks to drain. October 2014 - Gallbladder removed. Still nauseous, 3am cortisol surging, drugged helmet head, vertigo, breathlessness, whooshing head, heart palps. November 8th, 2014 - CT'd gabapentin suggested by family and 4 different doctors. Was told no withdrawal is associated with gabapentin. Have been in hell ever since. No windows, just one big tsunami every day with same symptoms for 4 months. December 26, 2014 - Found SA. At least I know I'm not insane. My family thinks I'm doing this to myself. Akathesia has become unbearable. March 10, 2015 - In absolute daily hell with no relief. Currently taking magnesium 200mg before bedtime. Link to comment
noah1111 Posted April 17, 2015 Author Share Posted April 17, 2015 Symptoms of Hashimoto's are: Fatigue (very severe in my case), Increased sensitivity to cold, Constipation, Dry skin and hair, Muscle pain and stiffness, Pain and stiffness in joints and swelling in knees, hands, feet. Muscle weakness, Depression. I have had most of these symptoms worsen lately and had my bloodwork done for thyroid and antibodies. My antibodies are way up like 146, which means my body has been attacking my thyroid. It has actually gotten a little worse than it was. I'm hoping that coming off the Lyrica will put things back to normal, seeing that Lyrica is the same type of med as Gabapentin. They put me on Lyrica when Gabapentin gave me issues, but I still have issues, just not as bad. I'm wondering if I should just buy the liquid oral Lyrica and try to wean. It's 20mg/ml, so I would really have to get a small increment syringe to taper down the dose. Either that or try to dissolve the lyrica in water but I don't feel comfortable doing that. I feel trapped. Lyrica 25mg twice a day (50mg total per day) Oxycontin 10mg 3 times per day (30mg total per day) Clonazepam .25mg in am and .5mg at bedtime Oxycodone when needed but am going to use it to try to convert my Oxycontin to IR. (Not currently taking) History: Was originally on Lyrica 200mg daily few yrs ago but have some allergic reactions and weaned down with bad wd's. Was on Oxycontin 30mg twice daily and weaned to 20mg twice daily in one jump (hurt), then to 15mg twice daily, now to 10mg 3x daily to try to convert to IR, then off totally. Link to comment
Moderator Emeritus mammaP Posted April 17, 2015 Moderator Emeritus Share Posted April 17, 2015 Hi Noah, welcome to SA. You seem to have done your homework and worked out how you are going to taper the drugs you are taking, which is good to see. You are right in wanting to be precise with your taper, simply tipping out some of the drug is not going to be precise enough to avoid withdrawal symptoms. If you can get the oral suspension it will be much easier. It would be best to stick with 2 doses per day when that is what you are used to. , and I would make them the same. Cutting 10% of the current dose will mean cutting 5% from each dose. Sometimes people can have some symptoms switching from capsules or tablets to the liquid from the pharmacy and choose to make their own liquid as it is from the same capsules and be consistent. There are instructions for making a liquid in the topic for tapering lyrica. http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/2381-tips-for-tapering-off-lyrica-pregabalin/ Many of our members make their own liquids for tapering. How long have you been taking 50mg per day and how long did you taper to get from 200 to 50mg? Are you still experiencing any withdrawal symptoms from tapering either the lyrica or oxycontin? If you are still feeling withdrawal it would be best to hold until stable before restarting the taper to avoid any further withdrawal. It's natural that you want to be off as soon as possible especially when you feel so ill but we don't want you to become any worse! I am guessing that you started the oxycontin for the pain that is a side effect? So many times we are prescribed one drug, then another for the side effects and another for the side effects of the drug for the side effects and on it goes........ it makes me so angry! We will help all we can, any questions just ask, or you can search the site easily by using google, just type in survivingantidepressants then whatever you are searching for for instance, 'withdrawal symptoms' and it will give you better results than using the search box here. **I am not a medical professional, if in doubt please consult a doctor with withdrawal knowledge. Different drugs occasionally (mostly benzos) 1976 - 1981 (no problem) 1993 - 2002 in and out of hospital. every type of drug + ECT. Staring with seroxat 2002 effexor. Tapered March 2012 to March 2013, ending with 5 beads. Withdrawal April 2013 . Reinstated 5 beads reduced to 4 beads May 2013 Restarted taper Nov 2013 OFF EFFEXOR Feb 2015 Tapered atenolol and omeprazole Dec 2013 - May 2014 Tapering tramadol, Feb 2015 100mg , March 2015 50mg July 2017 30mg. May 15 2018 25mg Taking fish oil, magnesium, B12, folic acid, bilberry eyebright for eye pressure. My story http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/4199-hello-mammap-checking-in/page-33 Lesson learned, slow down taper at lower doses. Taper no more than 10% of CURRENT dose if possible Link to comment
Pugknows Posted April 17, 2015 Share Posted April 17, 2015 When you came off the gabapentin, did you have any WD symptoms? January 2012 - Prescribed 900mg gabapentin and 30mg Norco for lower lumber spinal stenosis pain. September 2013 - Spinal fusion surgery, 6 levels. Hospital ramped up meds 1500mg gabapentin, 100mg Norco, 80mg Oxycontin, 25mg Fentanyl patch. January 2014 - Sever nausea daily and with back pain every 4 hours. 2 trips to ER. First endoscopy found ulcer. Treated with Sucralfate and PPI. Second endo in May found no ulcers. Doctors said it was the opiates causing the nausea. CT'd Oxycontin, Fentanyl patch. July 2014 - Lost 48 lbs. due to not eating because of severe nausea. GP prescribed Prozac 20mg and Ativan 2mg prn. Tried for 4 days, quit. Two week followup GP said keep taking Prozac. 4 days, quit again. Ativan taken rarely prn for anxiety and appetite. August 2014 - Went to detox. Off opiates. Still nauseous, helmet head, drugged feeling. Doctor CT'd gabapentin. Ended up in ER. Found 2 gallstones. Gabapentin reinstated at 900mg. Tried botched up and down taper to get off Gabapentin. No tapering advice from doctor. Said to just CT again. September 2014 - Coded on table during gallbladder surgery. Developed liver biloma due to CPR by doctor. Had bile bulb inserted for 2 wks to drain. October 2014 - Gallbladder removed. Still nauseous, 3am cortisol surging, drugged helmet head, vertigo, breathlessness, whooshing head, heart palps. November 8th, 2014 - CT'd gabapentin suggested by family and 4 different doctors. Was told no withdrawal is associated with gabapentin. Have been in hell ever since. No windows, just one big tsunami every day with same symptoms for 4 months. December 26, 2014 - Found SA. At least I know I'm not insane. My family thinks I'm doing this to myself. Akathesia has become unbearable. March 10, 2015 - In absolute daily hell with no relief. Currently taking magnesium 200mg before bedtime. Link to comment
Administrator Altostrata Posted April 17, 2015 Administrator Share Posted April 17, 2015 Welcome, noah. At what point did you notice the tongue swelling? This is not medical advice. Discuss any decisions about your medical care with a knowledgeable medical practitioner. "It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has surpassed our humanity." -- Albert Einstein All postings © copyrighted. Link to comment
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