Psychiatrists Sound Alarm Over “the New Valium”: Lyrica/Pregabalin

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From The Daily Mail: “Initially, it was hoped the drug, and its milder ‘sibling’ gabapentin, could be a less risky alternative to addictive painkillers as well as benzodiazepine medicines – such as diazepam, also known as Valium and alprazolam, or Xanax. But this wasn’t the case.

Indeed, doctors have described it as ‘the new Xanax’ and even ‘Valium on steroids’ due to fears about its crushing side effects, including suicidal thoughts and weight gain.

Earlier this month, Public Health England warned in a report of its ‘increasing use and harm’, as prescriptions passed a record 7.5 million in the 12 months to May.

. . . When I mention pregabalin today, most people have still never heard of it. But [Harry Shapiro, director of Drugwise, an online drug information service] feels this may be about to change. If the economic situation continues a downward trajectory, with more job losses ‘we may soon see a huge rise in the number of people having problems with anxiety’, he says. And if lessons about pregabalin aren’t quickly learned, he warns: ‘It might push prescriptions up even more. We could be facing a nightmare.'”

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3 COMMENTS

  1. It’s not just pregabalin. Gabapentin is increasingly known to increase suicidality. November 2001, I was prescribed gabapentin along with multiple other drugs at a doctor visit. I would take this drug for the next 15 years. I was taking it during all four of my major suicide attempts. I had been taking it for about 6 months, and recently prescribed Effexor, when I made my first attempt.

    These drugs ruined my life. I was considered dangerous to self and others. My children were kept away from me. My heart is broken. It was like a wildfire swept through my life and devoured it. All I can do is try to keep repairing the damage that was done by psychiatry.

    I hope the CEOs of these pharmaceutical companies lay awake at night. I hope that somewhere, deep in their sociopathic heads, they are slowly being eaten alive by the knowledge of the harm they’ve done. How can there ever be adequate justice for the harm that’s been done?

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    • It would be better if you could get these individuals to adopt magnesium deficient diets, so they could experience panic disorder firsthand, while simultaneously treating it ineptly with their own “chemotherapeutic” drugs. Then, when they complained that their medications were ineffective, you could launch into screeds about “really wanting to get well” and similar “therapeutic” statements.

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  2. Apparently our pharma-employed chemists seem to be unaware that this entire class of drugs is addictive, and this is due to their basic chemical structure. In other (simpler) words- it’s impossible to make a benzo or a sedative that ISN’T addictive.

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