David - Just a note on the Lyrica - sounds like you are hoping to take it like you would advil for a headache (relief from a single dose). I want to make sure you are aware that this is not how Lyrica works (from personal experience and conversations with my neuro). Lyrica can actually take 6-8 weeks to work fully within the body. For me when I first started taking it the effectiveness seemed to fluctuate and my doctor told me that yes that can happen. I have been on it for 6+ months now and the fluctuations are fewer and farther in between. It might work on first dose but there is a good chance your body will need to adjust for it to work fully. Also as far as side effects - day 1 and 2 of Lyrica I was pretty spacey and out of it but that definitely subsided. I still struggle with occasional bouts of sleepiness/brain fog feeling but not always and I am working with my doc to see what we can do about that (dose adjustment perhaps). Hope this helps - good luck to you!

Boiler, thank you for your note. I appreciate it. And you're certainly right. I was aware of this, so I won't be expecting immediate relief. I imagine my body will work similarly to yours and take some time to adapt. Perhaps my words were misleading, but believe it or not it can takes months, certainly weeks, for me to get in to see my neuro, if the pain comes on intensely, so I was thinking of such a timeline, and thought it would be better to get started immediately, if it came to that.

Thanks also for addressing the side effects of Lyrica. That's good to hear. Unfortunately, my brain is my meal ticket more than in most jobs, so I have to be careful and try to maintain optimal cognitive function, and as things stand for a few years now I've felt cognitive decline, which is troubling. I'm hoping to reverse that, but perhaps that's too optimistic.

I take Gralise which is time released neurotin. I take 1,200mg a day before bed so I sleep through the side effects. The down side is it's expensive and took me over a year to get the insurance company to approve it.

I tried Lyrica and would have considered taking it I just didn't have the time to fight with the insurance company to get the stronger dose approved. At some point I will try it again, when I have to time to fight the fight with the insurance.

Thank you all for your input.

Joanna, I appreciate the importance of the point you make. Is Tramadol the one to go with? Healthgirl, is this the one you use too? I can certainly ask for a prescription that I can then have on hand and fill in case things get very bad. This is an important point. I'm trying to keep it as pure and natural as possible, but if the pain gets excruciating, perhaps it's best to have something on hand rather than head to the ER and waste an entire day.

Mike, thanks. Unfortunately I have to stick to the cheaper options, if I do take anything, since I may not be able to have many or perhaps any meds covered, and may have to pay out of pocket.

Hey all, I take Cymbals which truely saved my ability to walk. Gabapentin never did anything for me but make me loose my memory.
Only recently my doctor moved me to carbomazapine, I take 600 mg. 300 in the morning and again at night. I'm finally able to have my wife touch me. That was really hard for us. I still have pain and flare ups but they are better and more manageable now.
I'm still quite fatigued but Nuvagill helped with that. I just wish I didn't sweat like I ran the Boston Marathon when just walking to my car.

Side effects will continue but having a more meaningful life has made me happy!!

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Thank you for sharing this with me/us. It's useful. I appreciate it.

More than that though I'm happy to hear that you are happy. That's wonderful!