How Effective Is Pregabalin for Fibromyalgia?

Pregabalin is a prescription medication that helps to treat nerve pain and is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to treat fibromyalgia pain. Fibromyalgia is a chronic pain condition that causes people to experience burning and shooting pains in trigger points throughout the body. Many patients find that using pregabalin for fibromyalgia is an effective treatment for managing pain. Doctors may choose to prescribe pregabalin for fibromyalgia as a patient's sole treatment or as part of a group of treatments.

Patients with fibromyalgia have nerves that are overactive. The use of pregabalin for fibromyalgia is an effective treatment for a lot of patients, because the medication can send signals to the brain helping to calm the overactive nerves. There is no cure for fibromyalgia, as of 2011, so it can only be treated and managed. Some patients may respond better than others to using pregabalin for fibromyalgia.

People interested in taking pregabalin for fibromyalgia pain should talk to their doctors about potential side effects. Possible pregabalin side effects include, but are not limited to, dry mouth, fatigue, weight gain, constipation and nausea. It is normal for a patient new to taking pregabalin to experience some minor side effects at first. If a person experiences serious side effects — such as hives, chest pain or wheezing — then he should seek medical attention right away.

Many patients are given instructions to take pregabalin for fibromyalgia twice a day. Many people also are initially prescribed a daily dose of 150 mg of pregabalin, split into two doses. Depending on how a patient responds to the medication, a doctor may raise his dose over time. Many patients take up to 300 mg of pregabalin a day. The maximum dose for treating fibromyalgia is 450 mg a day.

It is important for fibromyalgia sufferers to follow their doctor's instructions for taking pregabalin, a long-term treatment that should not be stopped abruptly. Some patients need to be on pregabalin for a couple months before they begin to experience relief. If sufficient time has passed and a patient still feels that pregabalin is not the right medication, then he should get a doctor's help in ending the treatment. If a person stops taking his dosage of pregabalin cold turkey, then he may experience head pain, insomnia and nausea.