Here is my story. PN for 1.5 years. Lyrica for that time. I have not gained weight and it has not produced dental issues. I am on 100 mg in the evening. Yes, upon occasion it has made my feel "high" or spacey. It comes and goes and I try to just work anyway. But I wouldn't be sleeping without out due to the pins and needles. I would love to heal and get off of it but at present try to be grateful I found something that works with so few side effects.

Good luck to you in your med search.

Mary:

You said that you are consistantly taking 100mg per day in the evening, and have been doing so for some time.

That being said, do you still feel "high" or "spacey" a lot of the time, or did it pass once you had been on it for a few weeks?

Your experences are expecially important to me given your long-term but relatively low-dose 100mg / day exposure to Lyrica!

David

So, Cy! That was YOU in front of me in line at the Dollar Geneal who got the last tube of that bargain toothpaste!

No WONDER I'm having dental problems! ......

Actually, my mouth burns, lol.

(I was sneaking around Dollar General, hoping my greenie friends would not see me buying non-organic toothpaste...Organic, as in expensive baking soda with a fancy label, lol. I probably deserved to get lost. I also forgot my PIN....hubby is happy about that.)

I haven't spoken to the periodontist about it yet and cannot find any conclusive reports or evidence... other than a few people that could have been coincidental.
One poster says that it is an issue with all anti-seizure meds, but I cannot find any tests or results to that claim.
I really don't know if there's a connection. Pfizer would obviously deny it until someone other than them offered conclusive proof.
My age, previous perio issues before ever taking Lyrica, and being a smoker confuses the issue even more.

Hi. You may also want to ask your doc about increasing Cymbalta. I am on 120 and have been told some have to get to that dose for pain relief. Since you have found relief in the current you may have even more on a higher dose. I had bee o Lyrica but switched to neurontin. For me with most meds it takes awhile for the side effects to wear off. I get similar as you state with each increase of neurontin but with a few days to a week they go away. So if the side effects are tolerable but like nausea or spacy I try to give it a chance and stay in for those days. Of course if it is not tolerable then call the doc. Feel better

Yes, and it's pretty well-known that ANY med that causes dry mouth can be a culprit, so I reckon we'll never really know.
I've been on and off so many meds during the past, it would be too much of a long shot trying to pin it all on Lyrica, and I'd rather spend whatever remaining years I have on enjoying the good things in life!
Thanks for weighing in!

Yes, I agree.
But now I have to try to figure out how I'm gonna pay for all this dental treatment, surgery, and possible new full dentures. It could cost a 'pretty penny'. (and there isn't any really comprehensive dental ins to help me along with it significantly - I have a discount plan, but that's only about 25% of what my perio doc will allow).

I'm in the same boat basically. Have you spoke with Bryanna further on the full-denture issue? She's excellent at coaching us along. The full denture thing may not be as 'scary' as it sounds. Putting myself in your shoes, I would seriously consider opting for that.....it seems more cut and dry and
perhaps eliminating all that serious dental work you are facing right now.....may be a good investment for your future and saving you lots of $$ you'd currently pay out trying to save your teeth that are causing so much trouble....

I've recently heard several testimonies of those who ended up doing the full-mouth extraction and getting good dentures, had incredible improvement in their health issues.
???? Don't claim to know jack, but I'd certainly follow along a thread of Bryanna's on this issue if you pursued it.

Just my humble support and keeping your best interests to heart.... I know this is a huge issue for you....

P.S. to David .... didn't intend to 'hijack' your thread and turn it into a tooth issue! You are getting alot of good feedback on your thread, so I hope whatever you decide, it will work in your favor.....
best wishes!

Have idiopathic peripheral neuropathy and fibromyalgia. I've been taking Lyrica for about 4 years. Am up to 200 mg divided into two doses per day. Compared to Neurontin, Lyrica is a walk in the park. I ran out of Lyrica the other day and took 100mg of Neurontin and man oh man was I ever wiped out and dull-headed. Before Lyrica, I used to take Neurontin, about 900/day. I was taking it mostly for sleep disorder as my pain levels were not predominant. When I stopped taking Neurontin, I suddenly felt alive and realized that Neurontin had been sedating my brain way too much. Plus I found that I kept having to increase my dose in order to get the effect.

Lyrica is not like that, but I will say that I don't like the blurred vision I've experienced with this drug. And it is freekin' expensive.
BTW, I added Cymbalta to my Lyrica med program for about 4 months last year and it helped with the pain about 20 to 40%, but my memory was so bad--short term and memory lapses where I had no recollection at all of some events--that I could barely function at work. Also had terrible constipation which apparently is common. But the kicker is that I withdrew from Cymbalta over a week, which, evidently was to short. I experienced the most horrendous withdrawal: daily migraines, stabbing headaches, brain zaps, nausea which lasted over 6 weeks. My neuropathy is getting worse and I could increase my Lyrica, but I'm trying to hang in there for now.

I recently added 100mg of 5HTP and it is really helping me sleep--the more sleepy I am the better I can cope with pain--the less pain med I need. And I've lost about 8 pounds from taking 5HTP (and mood is better). Hope this helps.