Pregabalin anti-anxiety drug in the news

[Scurrilous Rumour]

Over the weekend I've noticed several scare stories about the anti-anxiety drug Pregabalin (brand name Lyrica in the US). The stories all have horrifying headlines about death and addiction. "Inside UK's battle with Pregabalin" screams The Daily Mail in a typically alarmist article. If it was just The Daily Mail I might not have paid too much attention, but The Telegraph, The Metro, LBC and The Times have all run Pregabalin horror stories in the last 2 days.

This quote from The Telegraph is typical:

Eight million people are on pregabalin. Now, new figures from the Office of National Statistics reveal that the result of people abusing it has led to nearly 3,400 deaths in the last five years, up from nine in 2012. In the UK, pregabalin is only behind opiates, benzodiazepines such as valium and cocaine, for the number of fatalities to which it is linked.

And The Metro:

Pregabalin – an anti-anxiety and pain medication linked to a third of British drug-related deaths – left users ‘losing their minds’ and wanting to kill themselves.

So what is your opinion. I'm not familiar with Pregabalin myself, but as it is described as an anti-anxiety med and also "like valium on steroids", I wondered if any of you had any actual experience of this drug or if you know anyone who has. Are these just clickbait headlines or is Pregabalin genuinely as bad as they say. What is your opinion?

Below are links to some of the recent articles.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/a...s-anxiety.html

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/health-f...-side-effects/

https://metro.co.uk/2024/03/04/mum-t...drug-20395674/

https://www.lbc.co.uk/news/pain-drug...-woman-claims/

[sophie79]

Very much click-bait scare stories. Pregabalin can be addictive but it's far from "valium on steroids". The benzodiazepines and Z drugs (such as zopiclone) are far more addictive, more quickly and with more dangerous withdrawals.

The problems are two fold. One is people abusing it by mixing it with copious amounts of other depressants such as alcohol and benzodiazepines, in which case the most likely cause of medical emergencies is what they mixed it with.

The second is that doctors should know it is addictive over time, and does have withdrawal symptoms which are really unpleasant. That means tapering patients off very slowly, not prescribing it for too long and ensuring repeat prescriptions are filled in time to prevent sudden cessation.

I think a lot of issues with anti-anxiety medication is that they are often not prescribed with the care they should be.

[Merry]

I recognise the name from the long covid groups I'm in. In the US I think it seems to be common to prescribe it for long covid, among a host of other drugs. My feeling from being in these groups for such a long time is that the people being prescribed such strong medication don't seem to follow the same timescale of recovery as those of us who weren't really given anything. I think the US has a massive problem with over prescribing overly strong drugs, I don't think it should be prescribed for anything except what it was originally licensed for.
Reading the withdrawal symptoms, they sound similar to some of the neurological symptoms of long covid, so I can imagine people thinking that the drugs are helping, when in reality after a while, what they're experiencing if they don't take them is withdrawal, not what they were originally prescribed for.

[Shy_pretty_Angela]

I was taking pregabalin briefly for nerve pain but I came off it due to it having little effect. I never really noticed any chance in my mood or mental health.
I think the stories are from people abusing the drug.
I had / have more problems with steroids.

[Hopeforme]

Did absolutely nothing for me, not even get me "high" but I took it as prescribed not recreationally, although my daily dose was fairly high so you could of expected some psychoactive euphoric effect because that's what these papers claim. Found valium to be the real "valium on steroids" lol and pregablin to be...mild.

[Ben]

I have been on 600mg for ages. If you really go for it - it can leave you feeling stoned. It's not a nice experience, but neither is it horrible. I think it has been OK for my anxiety, but like everything your body develops a tolerance to it so any positive benefits diminish over time.

[Hopeforme]

Ben, have you tried the closely related drug gabapentin? Could be worth having a chat with your psychiatrist with by discussing the stoned feeling you are experiencing.

[arrested_development]

This will probably be unhelpful but I knew a psychotic woman who took 600mg per day for back pain. I can barely go into how much of a mess her situation was (tablets everywhere) and it's difficult to explain. I think she would often take to much of it (and source it from others) because she'd lose it or think it's been stolen from her and she didn't follow dosages. She was often a different person.

They never did anything for my mother's back pain.

I heard a discussion about pregabalin on talkradio the other night (Petrie Hosken, 4th march) which is on catch up.

And I was spiked by the psychotic woman once. She gave me alcohol which she later said had all sorts in it. Like pregabalin, tramadol, night nurse and possibly speed. I honestly felt the best I ever felt when I left her house and at the time I didn't know. I thought it was just alcohol.

[biscuits]

^ you were spiked? That is not okay - hope you shopped her?!

@the OP Those stories are really sad.

Personally, I'd steer clear as I wouldn't ever want to take anything that's potentially addictive. Plus it's a short term medication and anxiety is foreverever. Also I would feel weird not experiencing anxiety because it's a big part of who I am, debilitating as it can be.

It wouldn't surprise me if NICE quietly suggests other medications to prescribe instead.

[arrested_development]

Originally Posted by biscuits

^ you were spiked? That is not okay - hope you shopped her?!

I only told my GP and some mental health services that she needed help and what she was taking herself. They said she was on their radar but that's about it.