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[Closed] developed double vision on anxiety/depression meds..still problem after stopping
At the beginning of last year i was going through a particularly bad patch and the doc prescribed pregabalin and venlafaxine ( fairly low doses iirc ) anyhow to cut a long story short I had several unpleasant side effects initially including blurred /double vision which i was assured would abate. As time passed things improved but i still experienced periods of poor vision .My presbyopia became worse than ever and I had the occasional frightening episode of dipoplia ( horizontal/binocular ) particularly worrying if it came on when driving. I informed the doc who felt it unlikely to be the meds but I felt otherwise . Eyes were tested at opticians and supposedly relatively normal. These bouts of intermittent dipoplia continued to be problematic and really started to get me down . I decided at the end of last year to come off both meds and was put on 50mg of sertraline which I've now been on for nearly four months.Things did improve noticeably and the dipoplia reduced in intensity and frequency but I'm still having episodes of several days when it's very stressful and obviously it affects many aspects of my life so getting rather fed up although I'm hoping it'll eventually disappear. Just wondered if anyone else had experienced similar ? ( please don't tell me to google as i already have ) It does seem that quite a number of people experience unpleasant side effects long after discontinuation ..in some cases for years or even permanently which is rather worrying.
cheers
Bill
Vision impairment does seem to be a recognised side effect. Really you need to chat to your GP about this as I'd imagine that they'd be best placed to help.
I've never taken pregabalin or sertraline but I have been on a number of antidepressants (now on long term Anafrinil for OCD).
Did you just stop the pregabalin or withdraw slowly? Whenever I've changed medication it's been a gradual reduction in dosage over several weeks to ease the process. A number of the antidepressants I've been on have tended to hang around in my system for some time after withdrawal (6 weeks feels about right if I remember correctly).
Again though, I would recommend chatting to your GP or whoever prescribe the pregabalin (the internet can be a bit of a double edged sword sometimes).
I do hope that it sorts itself out.
Thanks PJ..GP doesn't seem much help tbh hence posting on here.My bros a GP and he also is somewhat puzzled ....he spoke to an eye specialist who only suggested dry eye but I lube them several times a day with little improvement.
I did withdraw slowly off both meds btw .
Maybe other folk on here will have had some personal experiences that they can share that will help or shed light on this for you.
The internet can be a bit iffy as a self-help resource but the NHS' own page on Pregabalin lists the Healthunlocked Pregabalin Forum as a resource; I don't know if this might be of use (it does seem to have a specific forum for side-effects.
Loads of info here including an interaction checker.
www.rxisk.org/