# Anyone felt anhedonia or depression after being on lyrica?



## Under17 (May 4, 2010)

*Anhedonia and depression from lyrica (Under17's personal log)*

Since taking lyrica I've been feeling pretty strange, it feels like there's a "block" inside of my brain or something, like a wall preventing the release of sweet dopamine. Nothing excites me like it did when I was taking no drugs. For instance, music just seems so bland to me now, I really don't get it.

I'm also taking .25 mg klonopin BID, surely this can't be the cause so what gives?

I've been taking lyrica for over a month or two now, first at 75 mg once a day, then twice a day, then 150 twice a day, up and up until I got to 300 mg twice a day, the only dose that worked effectively for my pain. Well at that high of a dose, I really started feeling like crap, and I have bumped it down to only ~200-300 mg a day.

Nothing really seems to interest me for the past couple of days.

I can get a script for some type of ADHD drug from my neurologist next time I go, but would that help? Feels like I'm on a damn SSRI or something. Am I being "mood stabilized"? **** that I want my natural mania back!

Or maybe even amisulpride might help here?


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## A Sense of Purpose (May 8, 2011)

Im tapering down from amitriptyline (its been a long and painfull process). Just recently when i hit the 16.5 mg mark i started to feel my normal 'highs and lows' as how i remembered when i was pre meds.

Next up for pain im trying lyrica @ probly the 75++ mg mark.
Ill let you know how it goes and if it takes this recent yet familiar feeling of fleeting happiness away.

GL


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## Under17 (May 4, 2010)

In the beginning I felt like lyrica helped a little with depression and anxiety, it definitely helps social anxiety, but once I started taking the high doses it all went to ****, although it did help with chronic pain.

Hopefully the low doses work better for you than they did for me. Are you taking it for fibromyalgia by any chance?

Edit: nvm, didnt see your signature


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## A Sense of Purpose (May 8, 2011)

I see. Im on pain meds for chronic persistant daily headache with migraine. I have also been told that lyrica is great for anxiety as well as for pain. Since i was so out of it on the ami im starting only 25mg lyrica for 5 days then 50 for 5 etc etc until i notice some results.

Im definately feeling as 'normal' as i ever have in the past year and a half (all be it with pain) so i should be able to tell relatively quickly if the lyrica has any mind numbing emotion blunting / anhedonic effects.

I have never been on any benzos for long term so i cant comment on an interaction.
Ami + temazepam made me lazy and not care for much however.


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## Under17 (May 4, 2010)

Strange. I feel a nootropic effect from oxycodone, benzos, alcohol, and lyrica. I feel like Albert Einstein right now or some **** lol. Maybe alcohol + lyrica is the answer to my problems? 

(everything is low dose except the lyrica, 300 mg)

Strange thing is I don't really feel any euphoria, perhaps bupropion or lyrica is blocking it? Or perhaps I've finally developed the dreaded tolerance to opiates.


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## Under17 (May 4, 2010)

Guide 4 Dummies said:


> I felt the same on Alprazolam, but faded away later and left me with severely impaired memory. I remember posting a thread about this ages ago.
> 
> I think the nootropic effect is due to increased focus because you are too calm to give a **** about your surroundings. I also notice that I'm a whole lot patient on Alprazolam so I can tolerate the tedious chore of studying better.


Ah ****, I typed out a longer response but it got lost somehow by logging in or something, too drunk to retype it

How much alpralozam? I didn't notice clonazepam to impair my memory except at 4 mg, which basically turned my brain into a black hole but I guess memory impairment regardless of dose is common for anyone.


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## euphoria (Jan 21, 2009)

I find most anticonvulsant meds dampen my reward system, and "block" thoughts, worse than SSRIs/Nardil/Remeron. Going to cross-taper valproate with gabapentin, then look into adding Remeron for Nardil's apathy. Stimulants are one of the few things that break through the fog, partly. Even opiate euphoria is dulled.


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## Under17 (May 4, 2010)

euphoria said:


> I find most anticonvulsant meds dampen my reward system, and "block" thoughts, worse than SSRIs/Nardil/Remeron. Going to cross-taper valproate with gabapentin, then look into adding Remeron for Nardil's apathy. Stimulants are one of the few things that break through the fog, partly. Even opiate euphoria is dulled.


Yeah definitely, I think I can attribute the lack of euphoria from opiates to lyrica. I've taken remeron myself before and I can't really remember what it felt like being on it, but I do want to try taking it again. One of the pros is that it seems like it can be added to virtually any drug without much risk.

I'm wondering if something like two weeks opiates / one-two weeks lyrica would work to keep anhedonia/suppressed mood at bay. Too bad lyrica doesn't seem to block out bad thoughts, its just mostly the good ones, ha.

Taking alcohol with lyrica really helped I must say... Each time I took a few shots of vodka it made the lyrica and oxycodone analgesia much more potent. Overall I just felt normal, I wasn't unusually euphoric but I didn't feel dampened by the lyrica. If I plan to keep this up my liver will probably be ****ed.

I've also just started memantine again and plan to stick to it this time. But I don't really feel like I'm on a good course taking so many drugs, but I'm a lot worse off without taking anything.

Gabapentin /w remeron is also a good idea in case remeron gives restless leg syndrome so I'll probably have to continue taking at least a small dose of lyrica no matter what if I plan to be on remeron, ugh.

On the plus side, taking lyrica or gabapentin only at night never produced any side effects at all.


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## Under17 (May 4, 2010)

Guide 4 Dummies said:


> I was on 1 mg Alprazolam when I noticed the nootropic effect. It didn't last for long, though. Memory impairment kicked in and I had to quit taking the drug. It's my second day on Pregabalin and so far I notice a definite mood lift. Keep on mind that I'm taking only 150 mg.


Ah, well I guess that is a pretty hefty dose. I think I'm going to try .25 mg klonopin BID for awhile because it seems to go with lyrica quite nicely, I guess I'll se if it's too much when school starts. And then alcohol on top of that seems to be more analgesic, I don't know if I've read an anecdote for your reaction to alcohol but if you start feeling some breakthrough pain just take a shot lol. Seems to work.

Also taking memantine (for fibro in combination /w lyrica) because of this, if you want to take a look: http://umaine.academia.edu/JillRecl..._novel_analgesic_and_neuroprotective_strategy

The combo of lyrica + memantine made me quite delirious at first, super delirious, "where the **** am I" delirious.


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## A Sense of Purpose (May 8, 2011)

Seems to be impossible to achieve adequate analgesia without severing most contact with reality. If only there was a way to remain functional and engaged while being free from pain.

I have yet to determine whether there really is a true 'anxiolysis' feeling *(for me)* because so far i have yet to experience it. Anything for anxiety just seems to either cloud thoughts (frustration = making anxiety worse) or sedate to the point of sleep (yet still anxiety persists).

Surely there has to be a sweet spot in between somewhere along the spectrum...


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## Under17 (May 4, 2010)

I was taking lyrica only before bed for a few weeks, maybe that helped me develop a slight tolerance to the alzheimer-like side effects. Even though lyrica helps only a little even at 300 mg, I see it as worth taking. It's probably going to be a key med in my regimen and I'll be taking it for some time, but on its own it just has too small of a therapeutic window. Last night I had just the right synergy between opiates, lyrica, benzos, alcohol to be pain free and also highly attuned with reality and mentally sharp. Right now I'm just plain ****ed up, too much lyrica and too much alcohol.

I also found it really really hard to come off of lyrica, not so much because of withdrawal but by the fact that all the pain it was helping came back. Because I'm still in a lot of pain even with lyrica (at lower doses) I underrated its efficacy, but I guess it's the difference between having severe pain and having moderate pain.

I don't know much about migraines though, the golden standard for treatment of pain, opiates, seem to cause headaches for people most of the time.. Same deal with fibromyalgia I guess, many say that opiates do absolutely nothing for them.
Mirtazapine is also good for migraines maybe it might be worth trying for you after you give lyrica a fair trial if you havent already tried it. Mirtazapine can be quite sedating though, but it's side effects don't compare to 'delyrica'. I'm coining that term, although it sucks and isn't as good as 'morontin'.

Overall I think usually people find mirtazapine to be pretty easy on the side effects though I'm sure it can have serious adverse reactions for some like all drugs. If your migraines are severe I doubt mirtazapine alone can handle it but perhaps mirtazapine + lyrica will so you can skip trying mirtazapine on its own if its really bad.


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## Under17 (May 4, 2010)

I'm starting to get a weird hearing side effect now, similar to when I was taking gabapentin. Damn. 

Probably need more benzos and less lyrica and alcohol.


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## A Sense of Purpose (May 8, 2011)

I see. So far its been quite hit and miss but you have to expect that with pain management. I will give the lyrica a solid shot, but im in final year so basically i need every cent of clarity that i can get... This often means being only slightly more functional with my brain yet at the cost of pain.

From what ive read and heard about mirtazapine, it would KO me, but i;d give it a shot, failing lyrica. 

Would the hearing thing be tinnitus by anychance? A very annoying ringing that doesnt seem to go away?


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## Under17 (May 4, 2010)

Dang do you got have tinnitus too? I have that (but not from these meds) but what I was referring to was sometimes my hearing is sort of flat and distorted, probably related to tinnitus but I've only felt it on gabapentin, and ever so slightly on lyrica last night. Gabapentin really screwed with my hearing, but just feeling so high from the lyrica changes my hearing too but its not as bad. Tinnitus is not bother me either right now and I haven't taken any benzos.


But as a matter of fact, I can barely type now because I'm so high! It almost seems like the words on my computer screen are moving or something. The only thing I took today was lyrica, I'm high but I'm completely unfunctional, ****. Maybe some of the alcohol or benzos from last night is still in my bloodstream or something, perhaps bupropion too is interacting, **** I don't know but hell this is kind of good. I'm also not in much pain either. Ah wait, I did take memantine this morning too.

And yea taking lyrica during school is baaaad, in fact my neurologist had me wait until the spring semester was over before trying it. He told me to come in before school started I guess to check up and perhaps augment it but I couldn't get a freaking appointment 

My neurologist who gave me lyrica also prescribed bupropion, but it's giving me a hives rash on my hands so hopefully I can get something good like vyvanese or adderall but I'll probably get provigil or strattera first.


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## Under17 (May 4, 2010)

And yea for tinnitus I think memantine + lyrica and prn benzo and alcohol use can be of quite benefit. High dose benzos prn by themselves can work but then you cant take it as often. Although when schools starting is not the best time to experiment unless you're just taking the easiest classes like me. I used to have a full scholarship to university of miami but dropped out of school almost immediately after getting fibro (I didn't know what was wrong with me at the time but I was basically bedridden and it took three years just to get a freaking fibromyalgia diagnosis) and now I'm just going to a local commuter school.

Mirtazapine didn't really affect my cognition during school though which was great, and its one of the few meds that doesnt have the potential to make tinnitus louder, I guess because its antiserotonergic and higher levels of serotonin are correlated with louder tinnitus although ssris can still help somehow.


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## Inshallah (May 11, 2011)

Is that you in your avatar Under17? If so I would be interested in marrying you :yes


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## Under17 (May 4, 2010)

Inshallah said:


> Is that you in your avatar Under17? If so I would be interested in marrying you :yes


HAHAHA no I'm a guy, I almost felt like putting "I am not a cute asian girl" in my signature. But I probably wouldn't mind if I was.

here ya go lol
http://i56.tinypic.com/zkpniu.jpg
http://28.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lkbryqNHVb1qh35jlo1_500.jpg

http://www.tumblr.com/tagged/ne+rou

Edit: okay I did put it in my signature lol


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## Under17 (May 4, 2010)

I can't feel any freaking euphoria from opiates when I take them anymore.. I'm pretty sure lyrica is to blame. Oh well. But now alcohol seems to work even better than opiates haha. I'm finally becoming an alcoholic, hats off to lyrica!

There was something much cooler about having opiates as a choice of recreation, now I feel like a cast member of Jersey Shore, a *******, or a balding blue collar abusive husband.


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## Inshallah (May 11, 2011)

Under17 said:


> HAHAHA no I'm a guy, I almost felt like putting "I am not a cute asian girl" in my signature. But I probably wouldn't mind if I was.
> 
> here ya go lol
> http://i56.tinypic.com/zkpniu.jpg
> ...


Major disappointment :|


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## Under17 (May 4, 2010)

Inshallah said:


> Major disappointment :|


If I wasn't 6 feet tall with an athletic build I could probably dress up as a convincing woman. I've been told I would look like a cute girl if I put on some makeup, and I had a girlfriend one time that people told me I looked like her twin lol.


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## Bacon (Jul 4, 2010)

Nope lyrica didn't do jack for me.


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## Inshallah (May 11, 2011)

Under17 said:


> If I wasn't 6 feet tall with an athletic build I could probably dress up as a convincing woman. I've been told I would look like a cute girl if I put on some makeup, and I had a girlfriend one time that people told me I looked like her twin lol.


That's some huge compliments right there!!!


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## Under17 (May 4, 2010)

Inshallah said:


> That's some huge compliments right there!!!


Bwahahaha yeah let's just keep this a secret, okay? :b

My parents might not be so proud as I


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## Under17 (May 4, 2010)

Currently took a break from lyrica (one day so far), I feel chills and such, to deal with the pain I took a percocet and now I'm feeling the warmness that was missing whenever I took percocets with lyrica, still unsure as to why lyrica blocks out this effect from opiates to such a degree, waiting for a John Barleycorn to PM me back. Ahhh I just love this warm feeling, I am not an addict though or abusing it, I only took 5 mg lol. Suddenly everything in life seems like it's going to work out fine and dandy.

Overall though lyrica wins since it doesn't make orgasm impossible like opiates do. Nothing like a good orgasm, that "Ahhh I'm hooome!" feeling.

But to deal with the pressures of having a job and standing all day, or sitting down all day depending on what I do I think I'll go on tramadol + lyrica for a short period of time until I get used to a new environment. I've never had a proper job so I need to starting making them greens!

I don't know why this thread is my personal journal but no ones reading anyways right guys? :b


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## Under17 (May 4, 2010)

Weird, since I ran out of cyproheptadine I haven't been feeling as good, maybe it was having some sort of antidepressant effect or it could be coincidence.

I forgot to take lyrica last night before bed and I woke up feeling like total **** and basically lied on the ground shivering until it starting working.

Taking lyrica and going to school is going to be very difficult.. I am crossing my fingers to get some adderall and not mess around with other stims lol. I may mention it by name if I have to but I think my chances are good. With lyrica I am thinking at a snail's pace, and I've been confirmed to have ADHD and either one would be bad enough but now I'm just gonna say **** school until I get to see my neurologist lol. It'd be impossible to come off lyrica at this point. I'd need at least a week for the withdrawal and then see if tramadol works or perhaps tramadol with a really low dose of lyrica.


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## Inshallah (May 11, 2011)

"Just wondering", does your penis still work? Lyrica always made me impotent/anorgasmic after a few days. Any suggestions on how I could fix that other than stopping it?


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## Under17 (May 4, 2010)

Lol yea sort of, sometimes it can be frustrating getting an erection. Add bupropion and cross your fingers, thats what I did basically. At 600 mg of lyrica a day getting an erection is an impossibility but I cut down to about 300mg a day and everything is working about 75% normally. Anorgasmia has not been an issue, but getting an erection can be quite difficult but not impossible.


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## Under17 (May 4, 2010)

If I ever get a prescription for adderall I can add my experiences with that in combination with lyrica too.


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## Inshallah (May 11, 2011)

Adderall is known to cause amphetamine- d i c k so I don't know if you want to add that to an already problematic erection situation :teeth


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## Under17 (May 4, 2010)

Inshallah said:


> Adderall is known to cause amphetamine- d i c k so I don't know if you want to add that to an already problematic erection situation :teeth


True, I just hope it will help maintain my libido. Maybe I'll just have to bite the bullet and get a prescription for viagra. Or maybe my grandpa has some I can ask for. I've look at icariin extracts but they seem to cause more eye side effects.


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## Under17 (May 4, 2010)

Hmm I took 300 mg today and right now I'm not having any problems getting an erection but its quite difficult to maintain it. What does are you taking Inshallah?


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## Under17 (May 4, 2010)

Alright this sucks I just added clonidine (treats ADHD, migraines, high blood pressure, sleep aid and maybe some other **** too) and I can't get it up at all.


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## Under17 (May 4, 2010)

Holy crap I'm getting some pretty intense euphoria. No idea what from or why but probably lyrica. Maybe its beause I started taking it on an empty stomach.

Maybe bupropion is finally working? But I feel kind of high..


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## Inshallah (May 11, 2011)

That's the Lyrica for sure. Did you stop taking it and restarted? Because you usually only get that the first few days.


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## inVis420 (Jul 15, 2009)

Lyrica is a weird med. Sometimes it does nothing and other times it seems to heal everything. Doesn't matter how much I take either...I still get the same inconsistent effects.


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## Under17 (May 4, 2010)

inVis420 said:


> Lyrica is a weird med. Sometimes it does nothing and other times it seems to heal everything. Doesn't matter how much I take either...I still get the same inconsistent effects.


Yeah.. today it didn't seem to work much for me, and taking more hasn't worked for the pain and just makes me feel dull and depressed. I think taking more than 300 mg is what makes me feel depressed. Of course I would like to blame it on the lyrica, maybe there is an underlying depression, but lyrica definitely makes it worse when I take too much.


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## Under17 (May 4, 2010)

300 mg lyrica this morning didnt do jack ****, maybe im tolerant to it or something, i'll give it a few more days, then go up until I hit 600 mg if it still doesnt work then im going to quit taking it

Okay, 1 mg of klonopin seems to make it work but thats not really what i'd like


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## Noca (Jun 24, 2005)

Under17 said:


> 300 mg lyrica this morning didnt do jack ****, maybe im tolerant to it or something, i'll give it a few more days, then go up until I hit 600 mg if it still doesnt work then im going to quit taking it
> 
> Okay, 1 mg of klonopin seems to make it work but thats not really what i'd like


is the Lyrica at least helping your Fibromyalgia pain?


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## Under17 (May 4, 2010)

Dr House said:


> is the Lyrica at least helping your Fibromyalgia pain?


It was helping quite a bit. For only about.. two weeks maybe? From From like last Saturday to Friday it worked great. Yesterday was the first day since I felt it working that I was in pain again, and today it didn't do anything but taking a klonopin seemed to help with regard to pain (tension headaches, tmj). I've also been drinking and found that it helps with any breakthrough pain, but today drinking just made me feel like crap so I think I'm done with that.

Maybe I'll try 400 mg in the morning instead of 300 and then 200 at night or whatever.


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## Under17 (May 4, 2010)

Okay its working again this morning (for pain) but mildly,about 50% and at 300 mg,so I guess I just need to up the dosage and hopefully find a dose that will continue to give relief

with opiates,junkies for instance, can usually take the same dose to get a hit for quite some time according to what I've read although most hardcore addicts won't nod.

my uncle takes morphine and oxycontin for severe back pain (he was nearly beaten to death by Miami police in the 1980s) and has been on the same dose for years somehow, although he wants to come off due to the side effects

Is Dr House on a stable dose of fentanyl? You became tolerant to hydrocodone then oxycodone right? Is it just because your pain is extremely severe? Can you differentiate the fibromyalgia pain? I guess since you are taking lyrica and some people say opiates arent helpful for fibromyalgia and actually make it worse (the latter is just a theory based on a small number of people I think)


i see no reason why lyrica should gain tolerance so rapidly, someone told me it had nmda antagonistic activity but I can't confirm that, in trials it worked for some time and lyrica has been found to be superior to gabapentin for long term pain relief

the other good option for males with fibromyalgia (since snris alone dont work) is tramadol which shouldnt have rapid tolerance so i may just switch to that if it doesnt kill my libido.. actually if it works I wonder if it would be better than lyrica although both would probably be best. getting off tramadol seems difficult atleast according to some people, maybe i can just switch to bupropion, prozac, and kratom and then taper each individually lol i dunno

So I guess it is decided, tomorrow I will ask for tramadol!

...oh **** and I need adderall too, wonder how that will go over.


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## Inshallah (May 11, 2011)

With lyrica, especially at more than 300 mg's, I have an improved libido, but worse erections and at 600mg also anorgasmia.


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## Under17 (May 4, 2010)

Inshallah said:


> With lyrica, especially at more than 300 mg's, I have an improved libido, but worse erections and at 600mg also anorgasmia.


That sucks, it does say in can increase libido though, I'm not sure if I experienced anorgasmia or not, sometimes you have an orgasm and you're like what thats it? Like its not even you thats having it you're just watching someone else orgasm. And then other times its like holy **** I died and went to heaven.

But I usually associate anorgasmia with the inability to ejaculate, can you still ejaculate but not have orgasm? I think I noticed this to a lesser degree back when I'd take benzos daily.

Also I think I get a significant boost in the feeling of an orgasm from bupropion, thats the only reason I even still try to take it, but with lyrica my libido is too low to care about sex now. I don't see myself getting much tail this semester at school with no sexual desire and a soft erection.

This is miscellaneous but I also had anorgasmia a few years ago back when I hadn't even taken any meds. I'd orgasm and it just felt like a sneeze. Something must have been whack with my hormones or neurotransmitters.


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## Under17 (May 4, 2010)

Guide 4 Dummies said:


> Pregabalin used to be dysphoric and generally unpleasant a year ago.
> 
> Recently, I've been going through Baclofen withdrawal which is causing a many intolerable symptoms. Pregabalin has been a life saver; it is able to fend off most of those withdrawal symptoms remarkably.
> 
> Needless to say, Pregabalin indirectly activate GABA B receptors so symptomatic relief and consequent mood boost is expected. Hopefully, my GABA B receptors upregulate soon before I become tolerant to Pregabalin.


Interesting, hope it keeps working. Did you try Lyrica before going through DAWS?


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