Lyrica(Pregabalin)

[Tuxicon]

So this has been bugging me for a bit, and I can't seem to get a straight answer out of the internet or anybody in meat-space.

 

Why is pregabalin a controlled substance?

 

I've heard that it is a "Cocktail drug" so there must be something in it that constitutes it's C-V rating. I've heard that pregabalin itself is a "powerful pain reliever" and also that it is a metabolite of Gabapentin, which is not a control. Every answer I get hasn't exactly cleared my confusion.

[Eclogite]

Given its wide ranging and sometimes serious side effects can you think of any reason it should not be a controlled substance?

[Tuxicon]

Well absolutely, I've been prescribed it myself and almost immediately experienced balance and locomotion issues before dropping it(no pun intended). But I thought controlled substances were classified as such due to their potential for addiction, not their side effects? I suppose my question might rather be, if pregabalin and Gabapentin are so similar, why is the one controlled and the other not? And if the former contains something to make it controlled that the latter doesn't, what would that substance be?

[CraigD]

Welcome to hypography, Tuxicon! :)

 

Why is pregabalin a controlled substance?

...

I've heard that pregabalin itself is a "powerful pain reliever" and also that it is a metabolite of Gabapentin, which is not a control.

I’m little familiar with Pregabalin (Lyrica), and only anecdotally familiar with Gabapentin (Neurontin) (my wife used it briefly to treat diabetic neropathic pain) but my guess as to why, in the US, Pregabalin is a schedule V controlled substance, (schedule V drugs are deemed to have a low potential for abuse, an accepted medical use, and a limited potential for physical and psychological dependence) while Gabapentin is not(but does require a prescription) is that clinical trials for Pregabalin showed it had a small potential for dependence, while trials for the older Gabepentin didn’t.

 

Practically speaking, I don’t think there’s much difference in the two drugs legal status or black market presence. I’ve never heard of anyone getting either drug other than via a doctor’s prescription. After reading your post, Tuxicon, I found a couple internet claims of recreational use of Pregabalin, but am skeptical of them, because they’re not very psychotropic.

 

Both drugs have practically no toxicity, and little or no psychotropic effect, so poses little danger of death due to overdose or impairment. Since they’re rapidly excreted unmetabolized in urine, long-term overuse of it could cause kidney damage, so it seems sensible to continue to require an prescription for them, rather than being available over-the-counter.

 

Pregabalin isn’t a metabolite of Gabapentin. Neither drug is much metabolized, as show by studies showing nearly all of a dose of either being excreted chemically unaltered in the urine.