Hi
@Jesshblackburn and welcome. I suffer with the symptoms you mention and can identify with with everything
@Looby69 has said. I'm now taking pregabalin again along with my own self care plan mainly to help with pain and spasms. However, pregabalin was originally given to me for GAD before my diagnosis, and although it helped me personally with my anxiety as well as physical pain, I did suffer side effects that worried me, so kept away for a while trying other things. However, nothing else seemed to work as well, so are back on the pregab (now for anxiety and fibro) at a dose that works for me, which is a low 50mg twice a day and below the recommend dose. But my doc agrees if it works along with the self care to keep to it.
However, I still suffer side effects of more frequent twitches and shakiness, as well as a slight speech issue where I occasionally miss a word when speaking, I seem to slightly hiss instead - which is very strange. But I've decided I can live with these side effects if it helps with my pain and anxiety.
Mood issues have been a big issue for me, as I've suffered with waves of depression and ongoing anxiety most of my life. Now it's mainly anxiety, but I went to a very dark place a few years ago, and by accepting help thankfully got through it - I can honestly say I never want to go back there again, and do my best not to - It's hard enough living with fibro, but having anxiety/depression to deal with on top of that can be extremely tough.
Someone once said to me that I was lucky to have my family around me as a lot of people have no-one - and I agree, I was very much alone for the first part of my life, and I know how hard it can be having no-one to turn to. Now I have a family of my own, I'm so grateful and love them very much - but I still have times where I can be sitting in a roomful of people that try and understand, and feel the loneliest person in the world.
The reason I'm sharing all this is because Looby69's post struck a chord with me, and made me think of how, even in 2022, with ongoing coverage of mental health, we can still find it difficult to speak about on a day-to-day basis, I confess, I know I do.
That's why this site is so important - so we can share experiences and issues like this with people who will understand. I know it's helping me, and by sharing like this, hopefully we can help each other. So thank you Looby69 for sharing.