Claudia,

Many meds do take 2-4 weeks for your body to become used to, then the drowsy sx tend to be less noticible. I've been on Lyrica since late June and can't say that it does or doesn't make me drowsy, as I am on several meds that have a sedating effect in addition to overall fatigue from full-body RSD. Each of us reacts differently to meds, so I don't know if you would still have unacceptable drowsiness after a longer trial period, but if you can possibly do so, a trial of at least 3 weeks would allow your body to adjust to the med and allow you to better evaluate the drug's effectiveness as it often takes that long for it to build up to maximal level in the body.

I completely understand not wanting to fall again though! The thought terrifies me, what with having osteoporosis and thoracic outlet syndrome as well as RSD. I have plenty of pain already,don't need more or broken bones, and due to the RSD really need to avoid surgery as it can and has made my condition much worse.

Yet Lyrica (and Neurontin previously) helps reduce the burning, shooting nerve pain better than any other med I've tried - and that's quite a few. I tried increasing my dose to 150 mg 2x day at my Dr's suggestion though and soon started seeing the same bladder/urinary sx I experienced w/Neurontin(w/ Neurontin I eventually developed blood in the urine, although it took several weeks and tests to determine this med was the reason). I have gone back down to 100 mg 2x day and the problems vanished, I'll stay at this dose until I see the Dr and find out what he wants me to do. I am definitely concerned that over time perhaps the same effects will occur at the lower dosage, but I don't want to give up this bit of relief if it isn't necessary. So my Catch-22 continues

All any of us can do - ask the Dr, ask the pharmacist, research, weigh the benefits vs. the risks.....then make a decision we can live with and pray it's the right one, while we wait for something better to come along.

I am scheduled to have a SCS surgery Nov 3rd. The psych visit was not a big ordeal except for the written tests. If your arms or wrists bother you at all, try to break this up into 2 days or at least with a lunch break. There were hundreds of questions to be answered by filling in the circle with a #2 pencil - took me hours as it is hard to grasp and press down with a pencil for long. My hand was all red, swollen and very shaky when I finally finished, never again! But the SCS trial was amazing, pain was MUCH lower, slept like a baby 3 nights straight and felt almost myself, had lots of energy, could do so much more! I pray the surgery is a success, as the leads moved the last day, Dr will attempt to place them differently so there is less chance of this happening after implant. PM me if you have any questions, will be glad to answer if I can. Advanced Bionics is the SCS unit I will get, very impressed with the unit and the company rep.

beth