I am under a doctor’s care, but my next appointment isn’t until sometime in March. I am especially interested in personal anecdotes of dealing with switching these meds.
I have been taking ever-increasing doses of gabapentin since I finally confessed to my doc that it feels as though I was being randomly stung by bees in my feet, sometime around 1998.
Last month, I told the doc that the gabapentin really isn’t working any longer. He asked if I had heard of pregabalin, and I said of course. He asked me if I wanted to try it. “Sure do”, I told him, and so he wrote me a script for 150 mgs to take twice a day. I asked him if I needed to be titred off the gabapentin, (3,200 mgs) and he told me no, to just stop taking it.
The pregabalin works well so far, for the most part. I am pleased. I have been feeling breakthrough withdrawal symptoms, such as hot flashes/chills, some vomiting, and other symptoms. The worst is that, while the pregabalin at first slapped the restless leg syndrome* down, but now it is back, worse than before.
Any thoughts? I know that taking gabapentin and pregabalin at the same time may be a pain, and would probably make my brain fog worse. I just want to have some thoughts when I see my doc again, although I may need to have a teleconference with him over this.
*I know that most people who are not either afflicted with restless leg syndrome or have a close family member often don’t believe it’s a thing. It’s a thing.
Also, while I do have Diabetes, in Alaska I was also diagnosed with both spinal stenosis and degenerative disc disease, and have been told by the Neurologist at Providence Hospital in Anchorage that my neuropathy stems from my spinal issues, not the Diabetes.
Thanks in advance, I appreciate your input.