Common questions about pregabalin - Brand names: Alzain, Axalid, Lyrica, Misabri

In epilepsy, it's thought that pregabalin stops seizures by reducing the abnormal electrical activity in the brain.

With nerve pain, it's thought to block pain by interfering with pain messages travelling through the brain and down the spine.

In anxiety, it's thought that it stops your brain from releasing the chemicals that make you feel anxious.

Some people can become addicted to pregabalin. If this happens, you'll have withdrawal symptoms after you stop taking the medicine.

When you stop taking pregabalin, you'll need to reduce your dose gradually to avoid withdrawal symptoms. Do not stop taking pregabalin without talking to your doctor.

You can also talk to your doctor if you're concerned you are becoming dependent on pregabalin.

If you're addicted to pregabalin, you may find it difficult to stop taking it or feel you need to take it more often than necessary.

If you stop taking pregabalin suddenly you may get withdrawal symptoms.

These can include:

• feeling agitated or anxious
• panic attacks
• feeling your heart beat (palpitations)
• difficulty sleeping
• shaking
• sweating
• feeling restless

Talk to your doctor if you:

• are worried about addiction
• need help with addiction
• want to stop taking pregabalin

Gabapentin (also called Neurontin) is a medicine that works in a similar way to pregabalin.

Like pregabalin, it's taken to treat epilepsy and nerve pain. It can also be taken for migraines.

However, there are other differences between pregabalin and gabapentin. Gabapentin is taken in different doses to pregabalin.

If you need to change to gabapentin, your doctor will explain how to swap safely from pregabalin.

If you have take epilepsy medicines, you're entitled to free prescriptions for all the medicines you take, not just your epilepsy ones.

To claim your free prescriptions you'll need to have a medical exemption certificate.

The application form for the medical exemption certificate is called FP92A. You can get this from your doctor's surgery.

You will need to fill in the form, then your doctor will sign it and send it off.

Pregabalin is a controlled medicine. This means there are strict rules about how it's prescribed and dispensed to make sure it's not given to the wrong person or misused.

When you collect pregabalin your pharmacist will ask for proof of identity such as your passport or driving licence. You'll also be asked to sign the back of your prescription, to confirm that you've received it.

If you're collecting pregabalin for someone else, you're legally required to show the pharmacist proof of your identity if asked.

Your pregabalin prescription will probably need to be hand signed by a doctor. This can take longer than normal repeat prescriptions.

It's best to hand in your repeat prescription request up to 5 days before you're due to run out of pregabalin. This will give your doctor enough time to sign it.

When your prescription has been written, you'll need to collect your medicine from a pharmacist within 28 days. If you wait longer than 28 days, your prescription will become invalid and you'll need to get a new one.

Sometimes, your pharmacist may not be able to give you the whole amount of pregabalin prescribed to you. If this happens, you'll need to go back to the pharmacy to pick up the remaining medicine within 28 days. Again, if you do not collect your prescription within this time, it will become invalid and you will need to get a new prescription.

Most people do not have to stay on the same brand of pregabalin as there's very little difference between brands.

Talk to your doctor if you have been asked to switch to a different brand and you're worried about it.

If your epilepsy has been hard to control in the past and the brand you are now taking is working well for you, your doctor may recommend you stay on the same one.

Pregabalin does not stop any type of contraception from working, including the combined pill, progestogen-only pill and emergency contraception.

However, if pregabalin makes you have severe diarrhoea for more than 24 hours, your contraceptive pills may not protect you from pregnancy. Look on the pill packet to find out what to do.

Find out more:

• What to do if you're sick or have diarrhoea when taking the combined pill
• What to do if you're sick or have diarrhoea when taking the progestogen-only pill

Pregabalin can make you sleepy, give you blurred vision or make you feel dizzy, clumsy or unable to concentrate or make decisions. This may be more likely when you first start taking it but it could happen at any time, for example when starting another medicine.

If this happens to you, do not drive, cycle or use machinery or tools until you feel better.

It's an offence to drive a car if your ability to drive safely is affected. It's your responsibility to decide if it's safe to drive. If you're in any doubt, do not drive.

Talk to your doctor or pharmacist if you're unsure whether it's safe for you to drive while taking pregabalin. GOV.UK has more information on the law on drugs and driving.

If you have epilepsy, you're generally not allowed to drive until:

• you have not had any seizures (while awake) for 1 year
• you have only had seizures while you're asleep

If you change your epilepsy medicine, your doctor will tell you whether you need to stop driving and for how long.

It's best to avoid drinking alcohol with pregabalin, because it may make you feel sleepy or make you lose your focus. It might also affect your breathing.

Pregabalin can intensify the highs of recreational drugs like heroin and other opioids.

If you use recreational drugs alongside pregabalin, there may be more chance of unpleasant side effects like panic attacks, anxiety and memory loss.

Taking opioids at the same time as pregabalin can also make it difficult for you to breathe.

Find out more about the side effects of recreational drugs on the FRANK website.