Only one individual described pregabalin misuse as being directly related to the self-treatment of physical pain. Participant 1002 said that he had a prescription for pregabalin to help him cope with neuropathy in his extremities. He described obtaining pregabalin informally during time when he was in more pain than usual and he had already exhausted his prescription.

Why Substance Abuse is Prevalent in the LGBTQ Community

These practices raise concerns about the potential for increasing misuse of pregabalin, especially in light of the recent permissibility of lower price generic versions. As is seen in Table 1, pregabalin misusers in this study included men and women who identified as Hispanic, Black, or White. All respondents reported swallowing a whole pill and generally obtaining pregabalin for misuse by sharing or trading with friends or family members. One respondent also described pregabalin injection and obtaining pregabalin from a dealer.

Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.For more information or tips please see ‘Downloading to a citation manager’ in the Help menu. Large quantities of illegally-traded pregabalin have been captured in the UAE and Kuwait. Since being introduced in the US and UK in 1993, pregabalin has spread across the world. Between July 2021 and June 2022, pregabalin was seized by officers on 804 occasions. Taking too much of it – particularly when combined with other street drugs that also have a sedative effect – can cause drowsiness and breathing problems. Prescription rates are showing signs of levelling off across the UK, but doctors say it can be a very useful treatment for patients when taken correctly, and should remain available.

Sources of the Drugs

In another study, 4.4% of coronial cases in Australia between 2015 and 2017 were found positive for pregabalin 52. adult children of alcoholics screening quiz In a majority of these cases (58%), the cause of death was drug related and in 40% a mixed drug toxicity was described. Concurrent drug use was common and opioids were identified in 79% of all positive cases. During 2015, gabapentin was found in 22% of all drug overdose deaths, and 26% of those positive for opioids, in five US jurisdictions 53]. Gabapentin has been presumed to have no abuse potential historically (19–23), however, this review reports evidence to the contrary.

For example, pregabalin and gabapentin have been classified as a scheduled class C drug in the UK in 2019 110, meaning that the prescriptions do not allow multiple dispensions and prescriptions are valid for just 1 month. The medical profession supported this change despite an extra burden for prescribers, pharmacists, and patients 111. National e-prescription systems have also been proposed to prevent altered prescriptions or overlapping multiple prescriptions 112–114, especially prescription of central nervous system anti-depressant drugs from different prescribers 51.

Statistical Analysis

Pregabalin users had a higher risk for these outcomes compared with gabapentin users. Use of gabapentin and ethanol were commonly reported together; inaddition to the two toxicology studies discussed earlier (41, 46),another mentioned the misuse of gabapentin in combination with symptoms of roofied alcohol(50). An international review ofrecreational gabapentin misuse anecdotes described other substances thathave been reported in conjunction with misused gabapentin includingcannabis, SSRIs, LSD, amphetamine, and GHB (gamma-Hydroxybutyric acid)(50).

1. Behaviors that are markers of abuseliability, such as doctor shopping, exaggeration of symptoms, andfabrication of prescriptions, were reported in case studies from France andthe US (31, 36).
2. While no studies to date have formally assessed a history of orcurrent substance abuse (especially drug abuse) as a risk factor for gabapentinmisuse, it was the most common characteristic detected here.
3. Mounting evidence shows that gabapentinoids are abused and misused and that individuals with a history of abuse are at an increased risk.
4. In a small interview study among opioid users, augmenting the opioid high was a common reason for combining a variety of substances with opioids 71.
5. Using a mice model, they found that pregabalin counteracted both the reinforcing and withdrawal effects of opioids.
6. In addition, there is also potential for self-selection bias due to recruitment procedures and stipends were given for participants.

It is difficult to ascertain risk factors for gabapentin misuse/abuse excepthistory of or current drug abuse, particularly opioids, is likely one from reportsavailable to date. While no studies to date have formally assessed a history of orcurrent substance abuse (especially drug abuse) as a risk factor for gabapentinmisuse, it was the most common characteristic detected here. It is important to note, however, that this reviewmay overrepresent individuals who have abused substances, illustrating theimportance of examining gabapentin misuse in the general population. Further, greyliterature was excluded, which may have provided more information from which toinfer risk factors for misuse, along with other characteristics of gabapentinmisuse/abuse. Still, the present review emphasizes the paucity of peer-reviewedresearch on this important emerging topic, and provides key starting points forsubsequent examination.

This review sought to identify peer-reviewed, published manuscriptsdescribing cases of gabapentin misuse and/or abuse in accordance with PRISMAguidelines. Only those articles written in English thatdescribed occurrences of gabapentin misuse/abuse among human populations wereincluded. Studies describing only gabapentin toxicity, withdrawal, or dependencewithout misuse/abuse were excluded, as were articles describing only pregabalinmisuse/abuse. Considering the abovementioned data on the relative well-established abuse potential profile of the gabapentinoids, the aim of our maverick sober living study was (i). To detect pregabalin’s and gabapentin’s abuse potential in comparison with two controls, clonazepam and levetiracetam and (ii). Our group has recently published the methodology of combining these pharmacovigilance domains in order to detect safety signals (12, 13).