Has anyone ever had a bad experience with Lyrica? Because I think I'm having one.

My neuro gave me samples a few weeks ago. (75mg capsules) I've taken them for 10 days. Since then I've been walking around in an apparent drug induced fog. I have more numbness in my hands and feet, and now there's a weird pain in my left leg from about mid-thigh to just below and behind the knee.

I talked to my aunt tonight about the leg pain. She didnt think it was a blood clot (I'm still suspicious of that. I sit around a lot) She thought that it was a neurological pain. (it's a burning sensation, but it also feels like a bruise, except that there's no obvious bruise!) She thought it was running along the pathway of a nerve...Which kind of makes a little bit of sense.

I didnt have that pain till starting the Lyrica. The pain started either over the weekend, or monday or tuesday. (cant remember exactly when the pain started, I've been walking around feeling really sick and stoned feeling) The lyrica did seem to be helping when I first started to take it for the first few days...now I think its what's causing me problems.

I did just talk to a pharmacist and she said there was something in her information that said that 9% of people might develop a neuropathy when taking Lyrica, but she thought that might be for people who were undermedicated with the Lyrica.

I'm probably going to stop the Lyrica tho, since I have felt like crap since starting this stuff and cant stay awake at all. I have 3 bottles of the samples left that I havent touched, think I'll give them back to the neuro. Either that or take them to the prescription "take-back" that a local grocery store is doing this weekend. (pharmacist told me that Lyrica is controlled, so I cant give them away to someone) At least if I take it to the "take-back", I can also get rid of the four boxes of Copaxone that I have (boxes are over a year old, they're expired)

At least the pharm told me that she didnt think I needed to taper down since I've only been on the stuff for 10 days. (and it hasnt been 10 continuous days. I skipped it a couple of times)

I don't think your pharmacist read the insert properly. Here is a quote from a copy of the Lyrica insert:

from http://www.rxlist.com/lyrica-drug.htm

In the table that follows on that insert 9 patients with diabetic neuropathy reported neuropathy in the lowest dose category.
As dose was increased, this dropped. (meaning at the lowest dose the neuropathy was not improved since they had it already).
That is my interpretation.

Lyrica is one of the commonest drugs offered to patients with neuropathic pain.

You might be having edema side effects which are common, and that can compress nerves by itself.

I'd report to the doctor in any case, since deep vein thrombosis is also possible with those symptoms.

a blood clot tends to be warm, red and quite tender to the touch. Those facts relieved my mind when I was playing the what if game.

I hope you feel better!

Many blood clots in the legs are silent:

http://neilbaum.wordpress.com/2010/0...eadly-disease/

Thank you!

I'm not sure that it's a blood clot. Since I saw pictures (ewww!) on a few of the websites my aunt looked up, where the entire leg was red. My leg isnt red like that at all. It is tender to the touch tho. But it's barely even pink, and only in one spot, and that's the spot that I've been rubbing with my hand.

I'm not taking any more Lyrica tho. It's really screwed around with my sleep...which was pretty much already screwed. I didnt fall asleep till after 530am, and only woke up about a half hour ago. (it's just after 1pm now)

I'm about to go call my neuro and hopefully he wont have left yet. (he's in his 80s, he seems to take a lot of half days)

edited to add: Yep, neuro wasnt there (he was off all this week apparently) so I left a message for him to call me back on monday.

Erin

Here's a thread about Lyrica side effects from a bunch of other people with MS. Might shed some light on your issues.

http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/sh...light=av8rgirl

Hi Cheryl, nice to see you again. We've missed you.

That thread you put up is sad, in a way. What happened to all those people that used to be on here?

Back to the topic: I had bad burning in 2005 in my feet and legs, I still do, with major swelling at the time, no swelling now though.

Anyway, my MS Dr switched me from Neurontin to Lyrica. I weaned down slowly, then switched. The Lyrica caused more burning and swelling. My feet cracked open and was bleeding from being stretched from the swelling.

I felt it caused me to worsen, for the problem it was to help. I went back to Neurontin. It was not for me, either one. On Neurontin 6 years, 3600 mgs.

Then weaned off Neurontin again myself after that, to take nothing, since it didn't help me.

Nothing works to this day. I know Montel Williams has the same burning problems I have, but he uses MJ. I drive so not an option. LDN helps some with the pain.

Also I am allergic to so many pollens, molds and weeds, I would probably be allergic to that weed. I have never tried it. Honest injun.

Thanks for that link.

it was an interesting weekend. Painful, puffy and now it's interesting.

I quit taking the lyrica sometime last week. Due to being stoned from that crap, I dont exactly remember what day I quit...wednesday or thursday?

Thursday and friday, my left leg felt so painful. There was a painful line thru my inside thigh that hurt and burned when I touched it or walked. (I nearly became a nudist. Clothing made it hurt!) It went from about mid-thigh, just above the knee, to behind the knee and into the top of the calf.

Friday morning, I started having withdrawal from the lyrica. Was only on it 10 days, 75mg capsules. I woke up after being asleep for about an hour to go use the potty, and was in the potty, about to go back into my room when I had a sudden feeling of YUCK! hit me. I thought was going to be physically sick, and felt like I was going to faint and was really really really warm. I never did get sick, but had to sit with wet washcloths on my back and shoulders and head to cool down. My dad thinks from my description that was my blood pressure suddenly dropping for some reason. Lasted about 20 minutes.

And friday afternoon my leg hurt really bad, my feet had this weird tingle to them and were more numb. Talked to my aunt, and she was going to get me the ever-attractive edema-wear stockings. Store was out of them, so she said she'd get me some later this week. (might not need them...hopefully!)

Friday night, I didnt really sleep well, but in desperation what sleep I did get was done with my feet elevated. Which triggered an apparent improvement. All that fluid started coming off. (it's TMI, there was a bathroom involved.) The pain in my leg started to go away yesterday afternoon. Some of the numbness started to get worse in my feet tho.

Saturday night/sunday morning, I didnt sleep at all. Maybe about 20 minutes worth. Slept with my feet elevated again. Got up around 8am to take a shower since I wasnt sleeping anyways. After I took the shower this morning, at some point all of a sudden my feet felt lighter. Still have tingles, but holycrap the numbness went away like it got washed off! (knock on wood that I didnt just jinx my improvement by mentioning it!)

I had been numb from the right side of my head all the way down to my toes. I can still feel the numbness in my head, but it's not what it had been. My right hand feels almost normal. I still have numbness in my ribs and stomach on the right side. (cant have everything I guess, but my leg and foot...yay!

I've been getting rid of that fluid like crazy all day. I do not know what was going on. I'd had that swelling in my ankles for months and it got really bad after I started using the lyrica. Really bad. I was freaking out about it. I think I'd been having the problem with whatever this edema was for a few months, the Lyrica just made it even worse tho. Which made the numbness worse.

I'm guessing that after I stopped the lyrica, and started laying down on my back with my feet raised on pillows the past couple of nights, that helped trigger the release of all that fluid into the usual escape for waste fluid in the body.

Really freaked out about the edema issue. I'd been feeling like total crap for months. That edema was apparently making my MS symptoms worse! I felt so bad last week on the lyrica that I really felt like I was dying. I hadnt felt that bad ever. Not even when I had mononucleosis back in the pre-MS days.

I'm going to my regular doctor tomorrow to get blood tests to see if my kidneys and other innards are still working normally. I might be asking to get my heart checked by a cardiologist because having all that fluid on me couldnt have been good, and since I think I'd had it longer than the time that I was taking lyrica, I dont think the lyrica caused the edema. I do think taking the lyrica exacerbated whatever my problem was and was responsible for feeling so sick the past 2 weeks. I think it made the edema worse and was making me crazy.

Something had to be causing that edema and I want to know what it was. I'm never taking the lyrica again, but if it actually made me notice that something was really wrong, it's probably a good thing that I took it and went thru all that crap this weekend to find out there was something going on that should be looked at. I can feel my toes getting puffy again, so I probably need to go to bed in a bit and put my feet up. Plus I'm really really really really tired.

It just scares me. My dad has cardiomyopathy, and his brother died from that. So, it's apparently genetic. I want to make sure I didnt inherit my dad's heart, and I want to make sure my kidneys are ok. (my sister has kidney problems...so yay, there's family history there too)

I am going to bed now. (it's almost 3am, I'm actually starting to feel tired. I hope I still feel as good as I do right now in the morning. Cant wait to talk to the neuro about this and go to my doctor and get a blood draw. (and probably a UA to make sure my kidneys are working)

Hi -- I have been treated for peripheral neuropathy for 3 years with IVIG but had numbness, tingling and shooting pains in my feet & legs. Tried neurontin at first, but it made me depressed and seemed to slow me down mentally. Then tried Cymbalta which I didn't like but honestly can't remember why -- I got off it quickly. Then doctor prescribed Lyrica. I LOVE it! No side effects that I can detect, altho I must avoid alcohol. (If I drink while taking Lyrica, yes, I do get a little dizzy.) It has really stopped the weird nerve pains for me even tho I take a minimal dose (50 mg/day.) If I am especially active & discomfort increases, I take 2 pills/day instead of 1 and it takes care of the pain. I take the Lyrica in combination with ropinirole, which controls "restless leg syndrome."

Glad it works for you. It didnt for me, and the side effects are still bugging me. (the edema hasnt gone away yet. Going to the doctor in a few hours)