"I take my pain meds when it happens but they take 40-60 mins to work"

When I first started taking Lyrica I was under the impression that it worked like a pain med ie, Take more if pain increases when in fact it wasnt that type of med. Nobody mentioned it had to be built up in the blood over time.

I used to swing from my initial dosage of 150mg to 450mg daily if the pain was chronic. I was in LALAland

what pain meds do you take?