Pregabalin/Lyrica

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My psychiatrist has suggested maybe I try this Pregabalin/Lyrica for severe anxiety.

Is anyone on this med? what are their experiences of it?

most likely side effects are dizziness, fatigue, swelling, tremors, and weight gain.

I'm on Gabapentin/Neurontin & from what I understand Lyrica is kind of a more potent version of Neurontin. I'm taking it for OCD but I'm taking Buspar for anxiety. It is helping my OCD a lot & my anxiety is a little better than when I was just on Buspar but just taking Buspar helped my anxiety out alot & I'm only taking a low dose of Buspar. I'm not on a high dose of Neurontin either. The main side-effect I notice on it is that I have a a harder time focusing & feel kind of out of it & zone out more; I did that stuff alot before thou & Drugs.com Interaction Checker with Buspar says to watch for central nervous system depression so it may be due to the combination with Buspar. The only other side-effects I had with Neurontin were when I started it or when I increased the dose or when I forget to take it or when I forget I've recently taken my dose & took the dose again; try to stay consistent with when you take Lyrica. I have read about Lyrica being used off-label to treat anxiety; some take it occasionally as needed but others take it regularly. If anxiety is your only reason for taking Lyrica(you don't have other things Lyrica might could help with) I would suggest that you look into Buspar before trying Lyrica; Buspar seems to be a hit or miss med with side-effects & effectiveness. Lyrica seems a little extreme to me to be a 1st choice anxiety treatment but it could potentially be helpful for anxiety

Thanks for your replies.
It was suggested by my psychiatrist as my anxiety has increased so much since stopping SSRIs. I hope I won't need to go on it...

Consider Buspar 1st. The way it works is kind of similar to an SSRI but it's just for anxiety & doesn't have the other mental affects SSRIs do. It has to be taken regally thou; it an take a few weeks to build up & have the full effect & the dose might need to be increased a bit too

Thanks Nick007.
Is Buspar a short-term med? or for longer term?
My psychiatrist said if I went onto Pregabalin it would only be for 6 months.

It's not short-term like benzos are recommended for but the withdrawal affects are probably better than them & sSRIs. It wouldn't hurt to ask your psych about it or do some research if your curious

My friend takes Lyrica, but because she has epilepsie.
She sleeps a lot, sometimes nearly all day, but not just because of the Lyrica.
But she doesn't have weight gain.

I can't tell if it helps for anxiety.