Pregabalin(Lyrica)

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j.j.

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Hi Has anyone had trouble sleeping when starting pregabalin, I know its supposed to make you sleep but since I've started it 4 weeks ago I wake up after only 3 or 4 hours sleep and then can't get back to sleep.
Janet
 
I've been taking Lyrica for about 5-6 months 75mg 3x's a day for nerve pain. I sleep like the dead. In fact, I will drop off in front of my computer and often just make a big old face plant right on top of anything sitting there, mail, nail clippers, make-up, bowl of snack chips almost every night!

My sleep is so deep that it's difficult to hear my alarms, so the girls often end up missing the school bus.
 
I take 50mg in the morn and 75mg at night,I have only recently started it as an add on to 500mg zonisamide and 250mg phenytoin and may have to increase but this change in sleeping has happened with starting this med. All literature I've read does say I should fall asleep but I go to bed wide awake!.How do I explain this to my ep nurse?.
Janet
 
It may be that your sleeping will improve after the "break-in" period is over and your body adjusts. That's what happened to me with Lamictal -- very restless, brief sleep the first few months I was on it, but now I sleep 8 solid hours a night. You can check in with the ep nurse and let her know what's going on -- a dosage increase may also be in order.
 
Pregabalin/Lyrica

The lack of sleep has resulted in multiple sz yesterday morning, my husband had to give me buccal midazolam to stop them.This is the first time in months I've had to have this administered.I'm seeing my nurse in a fortnight so hopefully things will settle. These drugs are so difficult to deal with I think this is the 7th one I'm trying.
Janet
 
I Also Have Had Sleep Problems with Pregabalin

Hi,

I have read that Pregabalin is supposed to improve sleep, but I have found the opposite. When I first began taking Pregabalin, about 3 years ago, to help with seizures brought on by hyperventilation during panic attacks, it seemed initially not to work. Our of desperation, I quickly raised the dose to 600mg. For a while, I seemed reasonably okay, but then I began to have what I can only describe as mini-seizures in my sleep. The sensation was identical to the beginning of a seizure but went away after 1-5 seconds. My neurologist offered no explanation, saying only that it could not be epilepsy because I woke up from it.

Again out of desperation, I began very gradually reducing my dose of Pregabalin. For a long time, the mini-seizures during my sleep went away, and I thought I had cracked the problem; however, recently, they have returned, and last week - because of sleep deprivation - I had my first full seizure while asleep.

On top of all this, I seem to have another sleep problem, which I again suspect may be related to Pregabalin. Some nights, I fall asleep, but immediately jump awake and take a sharp intake of breath. I can immediately fall asleep again, but the same thing happens, and some nights I do not sleep at all. I do not smoke and am not overweight, and - from what I have read - I do not believe this is sleep apnoea.

Has anyone else had any similar problems either with or without Pregabalin? I am almost suicidal with this because it seems to be so random and no one seems willing to offer any kind of explanation or help for it.

Kind wishes, Patrick
 
Hi Patrick, welcome to CWE!

Have you had a sleep study done? that would give the best sense of what's going on. You might also think about getting a second opinion on your seizures from another neurologist. There are all different kinds of seizures and auras, and his take that it can't be epilepsy because you "woke up from it" seems a bit dismissive.
 
Hello,

I haven't had a sleep study done. I am hoping I can get one soon. The problem - which is a problem I suspect many on here face - is that my symptoms are entirely random, or at least have no pattern that I can identify. So I might get an appointment for a sleep study and find I sleep like a baby that night. This happened when my heart was checked for 24 hours; I didn't even have a panic attack, which is almost unheard of for me.

I have tried getting a second opinion from a different neurologist, and it was a complete waste of money. The problem is that my normal neurologist is extremely highly regarded in her field, so no one will even entertain the notion that she might be wrong for once.

Thank you for your suggestions.

Kind wishes, Patrick
 
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