Hello again Mrs D,

My doc put me on Lyrica about 3 weeks ago: first, 150 mg at night to 'graduate' eventually to 75 mg in the morning and 150 mg at night for PN pain mostly in feet: it worked well enough that I would forget about the PN most of the time...

While the night pill was OK, the 75 mg in the morning blurred my vision, a problem, as I make a living trading stocks and made me feel drunk, which is ironic, as I gave up drinking alcohol completely some 7 weeks ago...

Then, I read:

http://www.askapatient.com/viewrating.asp?drug=21723

... and was horrified when I realized the long term implications of a drug I was committing to for the foreseeable future:

SAMPLE OPINION: "50# weight gain. "bugs crawling" vision is horrible this last year. Longer you take it your body adjusts and docs increase dosage. 300mg per day for 4 years. dizzy. blackouts. lose train of thought frequently. unable to verbalize thoughts. vertigo. day"nightmares". thirst is overwhelming."

I told my pain doc that it had to stop. on day 4 of withdrawal. this drug is horrible and should not be on the market. FDA MUST step in and Pfzier MUST help the people whose lives, eyes, have been ruined by this poison."

I'm already tapering down and out and wondering what to do next, as I have already tried supplements, magnetic belt, TENS, etc... without real success.

I imagine that Tramadol will be similar to Lyrica, but Hydrocodone derivatives (+Ibuprofen) are tempting, bearing in mind that one will become addicted. I also checked Iherb and came up with the following list of potential natural remedies to fight inflammation and/or nerve pain to be used singly or in combination:

Natural Care, Nerve Fix
Europharma, Terry Naturally, Curamin
Natural Factors, Turmeric & Bromelain
Source Naturals, Boswellia Extract
Now Foods, Astaxanthin, 4 mg
Now Foods, Cayenne, 500 mg
Now Foods, White Willow Bark, 400 mg
Now Foods, Devil's Claw

Any guidance/suggestion would be most welcome...

You bring up a good point. Antioxidants are very valuable for nerve pain.

This antioxidant is also in Krill oil, which you can substitute for fish oil. I just finished my first bottle of 90, and do like this version of EPAs + Astaxanthin

The cayenne pepper is supposed to block Substance P which is a pain signal cytokine mediator, but I don't know how effective this is orally compared to the topical form. Capscascin.

Curcumin should be done with a special form that is easily absorbed. Here is a thread that discusses this:
Curcumin is especially useful for central neuro disorders, like MS and PD etc. But it can help other nerve issues too. It is not well absorbed and most stays in the GI tract:

This thread has a long discussion about absorption and which brands work and showed improvement in studies:
http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/sh...light=curcumin

Willow bark is a source of natural aspirin.

I don't know what "nerve fix is"
The boswellia and devil's claw always turn up in anti-inflammatory suggestions.

You might also find a good quality grapeseed extract more useful when taken in 300mg or more, than all that, that you posted so far. Antioxidants are helpful to quench free radicals.
I take 300mg a day for my allergies, and find it helps the burning in my feet as well. Antioxidants are basically also good for cardiovascular health and brain protection.

But whatever you choose, antioxidants are the way to go IMO.
Just do some research on them before you buy. Some are better than others. Esp...curcumin needs special formulation to be absorbed at all.

We are getting some patients on PN who have had terrible reactions to Lyrica, which they feel is decomposing their TEETH...rotting them in the mouth, crumbling away, etc.
So if you can find a natural way to go, that could be in your favor. Just research the companies you buy from and get quality products.

Thank you for your comments and suggestions, helpful as always...

Few doctors and pharmacists seem to realize the side effects of what they prescribe/sell and are astonished when told that Lyrica is addictive, loses effectiveness after a while and has some terrible side effects...

They should be made to read patients comments on the specialized threads, such as WebMD or 'Ask a Patient'...

Here are a couple links to Nerve Fix, Curamin and Turmeric/Bromelain:

http://www.iherb.com/Natural-Care-Ne...ules/4725?at=1

http://www.iherb.com/EuroPharma-Terr...les/11303?at=0

http://www.iherb.com/Natural-Factors...ules/2688?at=0

The always useful clients commentaries seem to show some efficacy for the 'Nerve Fix', even though it's homeopathic...

Anyway, I bought and will try them all: I will report if any work as well as reported by previous users...