When my Dr put me on Lyrica and Cymbalta (for nerve pain and depression) I asked him about weight gain side effects from these drugs. He said they were caused by increased appetite, and to loose weight I should follow a low carb diet. I started that and have been loosing 2lbs a week. I hope it continues, I've lost a total of 30 Lbs and my goal is to loose 55 more. We'll see then if my back pain goes away, like so many have suggested.

I was put on lyrica and the Dr had the nerve to tell me weight gain was not a side effect! While I was sitting there holding the startup pamphlet that listed weight gain as a side effect! I do not find that Dr's are very sympathetic about concerns with weight gain.

I will not accept weight gain as a side effect. I suffer from poor body image when my weight is under control and I am not going to gain weight on medications like lyrica and gabapentitn(sp?) that do not even help my pain and make me gain weight and need to buy clothes that I can't afford! Its not fair and Dr's are really (in my experience) not prepared to deal with what it is like to be a woman in chronic pain and depressed because of that pain and then gaining weight on top of that and not even having their pain controlled. Maybe if the pain was gone! I could tolerate that, I could make a decision pain and no weight gain or pain free with weight gain but gaining weight and being in pain and having the Dr's just keep saying the need to "up the dose" and I "have to wait".

aargh!!!!

ok sorry for the rant this is just a really sore spot for me!

I have RSD and severe cervical spinal stenois. The first few times I received injections of vitamin B-12, my pain was reduced. After that, I did not feel better after the B-12 injections.

When I took lyrcia, I gained 2 pounds a weeks for two months. When I stopped taking the lyrica, I lost the weight.

The best drug for my RSD was thalidomide. It worked better than methadone. I have RSD in my hands. Thalidomide can cause temporary or permanent nerve damage. I felt like I was developing nerve damage in my legs, so I stopped taking the thalidomide.

I also found 10% topical ketamine gel helpful. It is complicated: you need a doctor who is very familiar with RSD to write you a script, then you have to find a compounding pharmacy to make it for you. Many insurance plans do not cover custom compounded drugs.

The Alpha Stim Tens 100 helps my insomnia, but not my pain. It is a battle to get the insurance company to pay for it because it cost almost a thousand dollars, which is much more expensive thna a typical tens unit.