Lyrica??
 

Anyone out there use Lyrica or know of anyone who does?? So far I have met two people who have had fantastic success with it to the point of getting off narcotics!

It is off label prescribing, but my fear is that is is closely related to the anti-convulsant drugs which I didn't do very well on. I tried both Topomax and Neurontiin with devastating results. I know other people with spinal injuries have had luck with both of those meds also.

Anyone have any stories or thoughts about Lyrica??

Thanks for any info,
Suzanne

Suzanne, Lyrica is a sister drug of Neurontin, so if you don't do well on this type of med then this isn't the one for you.

Hey, Suzanne!
 

I took neurontin for about a year and a half, and then switched to lyrica. There were some differences, but most were bad. End the end I elected to quit taking both of them. For me, the side-effects were far more noticeable than the benefits were. Good luck!

Idealist

Lyrica was great for me. Significantly reduced nerve pain. But the weight gain was unbelievable so I eventually had to stop because it was becoming unhealthy. I miss it's effect on my nerves.

Hi Shelley. I'm new to this forum. I have RSD and was given Lyrica. Taking 200mg twice daily. I see some relief but still in alot of pain. Gained 30 lbs in 3 months. But I started the Atkins diet 2 weeks ago and am now losing weight. Can exercise so its hard, but I think with watching what I eat, may help me stay on Lyrica.

What were your side effects? I take Lyrica 200 mg twice daily and only side effect is weight gain, which I'm trying to manage with Atkins diet.

Lycria
 

I Have Taken Neurontin And Take Lycria But I Don't Notice Any Difference. My Mom Knows Someone That Has Expierenced A Lot Of Relief With It So I Guess It Is Like Everything Else. Some Things Work For Some And Not Others. I'm So Darn Tired Of Being Tired And Being In Pain. I Haven't Had A Pain Free Day In Six Years. I'm Happy If I Have A Day That Is Tolerable. I Was Such A Doer And A Goer And Now I Feel Totally Worthless. Not Much Support At Home. My Husband Acts Like It Is My Fault Or Something. All He Cares About Is One Thing And I Won't Mention What That Is. He Is Such A Moody Person Anyway.

weight gain weight gain now take Keppra

Gambles,

I about ready to try Lyrica one more time. In the past I had been on Neurontin which I now term "Morontin". It is definitely a no-go for me. Then I was switched to Lyrica about a year ago. I had dizziness for the first 3 days and then that passed. However, after about one week or so I had terrible leg cramps. BUT...I also have spinal issues, neuropathy, and am on HRT. So, anything could have been going on to cause the cramps at that time. So, I quit the med and went right back to Vicodin and/or Norco.

Now, just the other day, my PM asked if I wanted to try Lyrica again. I agreed to do it but made it clear if I get cramps again, then Lyrica right along with Neurontin will not be the meds of choice for me. :)

I am holding off on starting this until Monday. I want 3 days where I can just stay home, go nowhere and not have anyone around just in case I end up sleeping my life away during that time. :) Oops, I forgot, I am also intending to wean off the Norco. I am only on one pill a day but have been on it for a long time. So, maybe it will be one more week before I start the Lyrica. I will post back again once I have actually started it. :)

Horrrible urination problms with LYRICA
 

Hi, I am new here and I am trying to post in the forum
about Lyrica, but I don't see a "New Thread" option

I am having horrible problems. I just started taking, for the first time,
50mg. of Lyrica last night and my urination has immediately DROPPED
by over 80% !! I drank about 5 large glasses if water this morning and
hardly anything is coming out 4 hours later.

I'm terrified my kidneys have been damaged by the Lyrica.
I stopped taking it. Extreme danger seems to be indicated.
I only took it one time ...50 mg. that's all!

I never had this problem with neurontin.
I pray to God my kidney function will come back.

Joe

Hello everyone,
I have PN along with BPH and started on neurotin for the PN over a year ago, then switched to Lyrica 75mg three times aday 6 months ago. When I started taking 100 mg of Tramadol two times a day it really has helped in the pain control department. One side effect is constipation, have to drink plenty of water and take fiber pills, but am able to sleep real well at night and that has been a big help. I remember staying up most of the night pecking at the keyboard and cussing the burning pain in my feet, hopefully those kind of nights are long gone. Seems there is some kind of pay off concerning any mediciation we take. Wishing you the best

Jospeh...I remember reading another post here about someone that had the same kidney problem. They went off and they lost the water weight and kidney's went back to normal. If I find the thread I will forward to you. Don't think you damaged permanently but you were smart to call doc. Don't panic yet give time for water to make it's way through your system.

Laurie...:welcome_sign: I am so happy you are losing weight that is great! The lyrica worked great for me. It helped me turn the corner pain wise. And now that I am off I can tell it helped my nerves. Originally the doc told me to give it 3 months for it to help the nerves and I gave it 5 and glad I did. Like Lanny it helped me sleep through the night and once we can get back to more normal sleep patterns the better the body feels and heals.

I do miss it but I gained 30 lbs and want to try to lose it. Plus I had surgery so I am hoping in the long run that will help my nerves and TOS. Maybe once I lose the weight and get on a routine exercise program I may try it again if I need it. Be careful to monitor liver and glucose on this med though.

Any success on Lyrica after a bad experience....
 

.... with either Topomax or Neurontin?? When I was on Topomax, I was still trying to manage the pain and teach first grade. I was taking grade level meeting minutes and literally couldn't spell the word read!!! Obviously not great for a teacher. Now I wouldn't feel great about feeling stupid as I already feel my memory weakening with age, but since I'm homebound, at least I wouldn't have people watching me feel stupid. The shakes and nausea weren't fun either though.

Has anyone heard of a case were someone did respond to one anticonvulsant well even if they had a previously horrible experience with a sister drug??

I would so love to lessen my pain and lower my narcotics, and if I'm really lucky, find a reason to live.

Thanks for any other info,
Suzanne

Lyrica
 

I took Lyrica and had relief for only about a month. I had none of the side effects that Neurontin caused me, which included dyslexic speech, walking sideways and constant brain fog.

Lyrica
 

Hi all,
My friend has been on Lyrica for 8 weeks now for pain in her feet. Her major side effect is strange forming of her words, and slurred speech. Is this normal?? Im worried about her.

Lyrica
 

Hi all,
My friend has been on Lyrica for 8 weeks now for pain in her feet. Her major side effect is strange forming of her words, and slurred speech. Is this normal?? Im worried about her.
Thank you.

I just started Lyrica today. I have lost 30 lbs recently and I FEAR gaining weight! If you do gain, is it noticeable quickly?

Memory problems
 

Yes that is very common. I have been On Lyrica for a year and a half. I have had a hard time speaking, my memory is horrible. I have gained weight and I am always hungry. When I first got on it my leg would jerk and my head would shake. It has been very frustrating. I am sure your friend is frustrated as well.

Lyrica
 

Hi, I am new here. I currently take 75mg Lyrica at bedtime. I did take Neurotin previously and could not deal with the side effects. I felt like I was in a horrible fog all day long. Lyrica's side effects are not quite as harsh however I am noticing the weight gain and also a very minor shortness of breath issue. It does help with the nerve pain but I had hoped for more astonishing results.

Good news,
My friend has been taken off Lyrica, and is now on Cymbalta (sp?). She is doing great! No more slurred speech, very sharp thinking and side effect? Weight loss! She also is taking a set of vitamins from Trivita that are for nerves. No more pain, and a changed woman.
:) :)

topamax
 

weight comes on quickly . If you dont want to gain weight I suggest you get off of it.

this reply is for Joe K.
 

Did your urinating problem resolve? I noticed that when I was taking neurontin, recently switched to Lycria that I too have little urine output. I am not too concerned yet. I hope that with time my body will adjust to the side effects. I just don't want to build up a tolerance and have the full pain back again. Are you still taking the Lycria?

Hi - I'm new to this site....and have been a TN victim for the past 6 years. I am now taking Lyrica, 300 mg a day. I believe it has helped ease the pain. My side effects: perhaps some memory lapse and slow short-term memory recall. When I try to get down to 200 mg a day, the pain comes at me hard. I am also doing acpuncture, once a month, and it has truly given me back my life. I pray that it continues to work. Acpuncture is an amazing alternative to surgery.

Hi there; I'm new here, but just had to comment. I just went off Lyrica after being on it for 5-6 months. I also had trouble with putting the wrong words in the wrong place while speaking. I recently started swelling in my feet, ankles, and legs so bad, I decided to go off of it; I also gained 15 lbs within a week. Within a few days, the swelling was gone & the weight also dropped off. This was about my only route to take, as I'm already somewhat overweight & can't exercise due to all my chronic pains. I've also read, although rarely, about people who tolerate Lyrica well. I just couldn't stand having my normally small ankles look so huge, and was very uncomfortable with the extra weight. Hope this helps! Chlobert

Just wanted to bump this up. In case anyone didnt catch it. The FDA this past week approved it for on label use for FM. Not sure if I really care. Does anyone else have the same reaction?

Lyrica
 

I am a diabetic (T2) and have extreme pain from neuropathy in my feet and legs. I was previously on Elevil but the pain soon returned. My primary care doctor started me on 150mg of Lyrica daily (50mg at dinner time, 100mg at bed). Results were excellent with only slight dizzyness that subsided after a couple of weeks. The Lyrica has been increased to 300 mg per day (50mg around noon, 100mg at dinner, 150mg at bedtime) so I could have an all-day low pain level from the neuropathy. I have been taking this for over six months now with no foreseen side-effects.

BUT....I have started an abnormal blood test showing a lower than normal platelet count. (Spleen is not enlarged.) Has anyone run into any blood effects since starting on Lyrica??

Ray

Lyrica - do you need blood work?
 

OK - I am pretty frustrated with this lyrica. This is my 2nd try at it. On it for over 2 months 400 mg. a day. I must say that my back pain is improved. However, that could or could not be related to lyrica as it seems to have brief periods of remission. It has done nothing for my TMj pain or facial muscle pain thus I suspect the lesser back pain is just a coincidence.
I just lost 30 pounds and now put back on at least 10 of it thanks to the lyrica. Dr. wants me to continue it anyway. ZI am unable to walk or exercise so this is a double whammy.
I know people on 700 - 900 . I have never found a drug for pain relief - tried 40 at highest doses.
Do you need blood work for lyrica? When should you get it?
I have terrible veins and the BW triggers of FM pain in arm.
Sydney

My son has bulged discs in both his neck & back.He gets injections in his back every 4 months or so.He has nerve pain mostly in the back of his neck and it goes up the side of his face making it numb and immovable at times.Sometimes it affects his arm.Tramadol made him have a seizure,neurontin made him foggy and sleepy.And Topamax is out of the question because he's 25-30 lbs.UNDERweight.He was hoping to talk to his Pain Management Dr. on Monday to try him on Lyrica.He is a student taking Surgical Tech and drives himself to class.A friend told him that Lyrica has helped his nerve pain and he should try it.I've been viewing the side effects and he can't afford any of them except the weight gain,30 lbs. would be welcomed!!!.He'll be 20yrs. old this month.Do you think he's a candidate for Lyrica?He needs all of his faculties-being tired won't cut it for classes.

Im from Australia and have been on Lyrica for well over 12 months and prior to that Neurontin, with a combination of either Lovan or now weaning off Paroxetine, whats up with about 20kgs weight gain cant seem to stop eating once it starts a hold of me, can be okay all day and when night comes after some 300mgs of lyrica dont feel full and pain still there I have been suffering from chronic regional pain syndrome for over 10 years now after many work related acute injuries and continuing to work, but now over 18months have given up because of my declining health, everything seems to be suffering. Even on top of this, Ive recently fallen over quite badly and affected my sacrum and spent a little time in hospital meds upped and pain elevated. Life seems fruitless dont worry im not suicidal but all this intervention feels stupid and time wasting i know we are all at different places in our health lines and I know mine is not all consuming but my family are concerned and Im sick and tired of being all consumed with my health my pain my worries please someone does this get any better and please no more medications to add to mix Ive had enough of those. I want to enjoy life again and deal with pain on a day to day basis. Ive reread pacing yourself so you dont overdo jobs or things around the house and it makes me want to do things even more. R4P

hello
 

Hi there..

Welcome relief4pain from Australia.. I too have CRPS and I do so hear the pain in your post I sure hope you are feeling better, have you been to the RSD forum yeat? :hug:

I was on 150mg twic a day and after a month of feeling drunk and disoriented had the Lyrica changed to.. (my choice of these 2) either 75mg three times a day or 75mg in the Am and 150mg before bed I am gonna go for the 75 X 3 doses to try loose the ucky feeling it gives me... pain relief is pretty good.. not looking forward to weight gain again either.. and I am hopeing that my experience controlling munchies may help me here:rolleyes:
I like the pain control from lyrica and it is for me far better than the gabipentin was but still not enouph.

Be well folks,
:grouphug:
Sandra

taking neurotin
 

Ijust began taking gabapenti for burning feet.I'm glad to see I'm not crazy about the sideeffects.Sometimes I think I'm a big baby but this burning is something has anyone ever had it stop....Can I look forward to any improvment

lyrica unknown dangers
 

Suzanne,
I have done extensive research on Lyrica. My fiance was taking it for nerve pain due to a spinal cord injury. I also was prescribed it for fibromyalgia. I quit taking it rather quickly as I became depressed. With my fiance, he began having blurred vision; confusion; amnesia; ataxia just to list a few. He had to take massive amounts for it to touch his nerve pain, just as it had been with the neurontin. I have been in the pharmacy business for 13 years. Number one, I am very leary of trusting any new drugs to start with, but more specifically drugs made by Pfizer or any of their subsidiaries. They are known for withholding information from the public on the dangers of medications that they put on the market. Vioxx and bextra to name two. What I have found is alarming. First, this drug is extremely hard on the kidneys. If you have even mild kidney problems it could be deadly. Two, and more worrisome A shocking new study shows that they block the formation of new brain synapses, drastically reducing the potential for rejuvenating brain plasticity – meaning that these drugs will cause brain decline faster than any substance known to mankind.
The above quote is copied from http://www.wellnessresources.com/fre...rain_synapses/

Yes, I personally found that the drug helped with the pain, but the risks far out way the benefits for myself. I hope what information I have given you has helped. You are right to be hesitant to try this new drug. It will be years before it is truly known to what degree this drug is damaging the brain, and who knows what else.

I for one, will be watching closely to see if the studies on Lyrica continue concerning its damaging potential.

And also, Vioxx was not a Pfizer drug. It was marketed in US by Merck. Bextra was a Pfizer me-too drug, and Pfizer also markets Celebrex (after merging with Searle). All 3 are Cox-2 specific inhibitors. Vioxx was the most potent of the 3 and Celebrex the weakest.

if you dont mind I was wondering what side effects you had from neurotin.I take gabapentin and I don't like it either...

neurontin/gabapentin
 

I have had diabetic neuropathy for a few years, however according to my neurologist it's reversing which nearly knocked him over because he's never seen it happen in any of his patients before. This is hard for me to talk about because of what the Neurontin did to me, I mean the Lyrica was psychologically damaging just as Cymbalta was I became very suicidal on Lyrica and Cymbalta but the Neurontin nearly killed me and I'm only learning now that I wasn't just in ketoacidosis, I was in either metabolic or lactic acidosis which according to some recent research I've done is exactly what happened to me a little over 2 years ago, I'd been on the starting small dose of neurontin for a few weeks and it made me so tired and sick all the time, I was forgetting things and could barely get out of bed to see the doctor who prescribed me the medication, but I did go I told them what was going on and they lowered the daily dose but upped the nightly dose but when I tried to explain that I just didn't feel right that something was wrong they ignored me completely, with in 24 to 48 hours I was laying on my bedroom floor literally dying, the medication had severely dehydrated me and yes I was drinking massive amounts of water, I woke up my heart was pounding I was so sick to my stomach and I had a horrible headache, when I finally threw up I got much worse I really thought I was going to have a heart attack or a stroke. I was lucky to live through it, especially with out having a massive heart attack, my sodium and potassium levels had dropped so low the doctors were very scared and told me if I hadn't have gotten to the hospital when I had I would have been dead. I wasn't allowed to eat for several days because there was next to no water in my body at all, I could hardly breathe I felt like I could feel my body shutting down and dying. The next day it hurt just to breathe, my whole body hurt so bad from going through what it had because of that medication that even my family who saw what I went through and how hard I had to fight just to survive were surprised that I lived. I had to take huge doses of potassium while I was in the icu and was talked with about changing my doctors and never taking the medication again, which at the time I was on tramadol as well which that caused issues with my heart murmur so they told me to stop that as well. But the main culprit was the neurontin. For a little over 3 weeks I had badly blurred vision because of what had happened, it did go away eventually and my eye sight is fine now but it was still a very scary ordeal for me. I think these days especially because of the economy that doctors look for the bigger pay out for prescribing a medication then what's best and safest for their patient. I've been doing a lot of research lately because of something a specialist said to me this past week and I'm not liking what I'm seeing, in some cases yes it can help some people, however neurontin and several other medications including anticonvulsants that doctors are using to help treat nerve pain as a whole, not just neuropathy, are in consideration for being recalled because of how dangerous these medications are especially when they don't know what the effects of long term use are in these patients. I may not be a doctor or have a medical degree, but that was on a website a real doctor had put up to inform people. I was even told by the specialist I had seen this past week that he hasn't even researched a medication he was trying to give me and I really felt like he was trying to push it on me by saying if it were them they'd be begging for it. The same specialist also said that nerve conduction study's and emg's are bogus, which obviously I don't believe him other wise there would have been no basis for the carpal tunnel release operations I've had. At this point until doctors can not only be honest with me but do the research and understand fully what it is their giving me then why should I trust them? I trust certain ones but lately it seems like I'm being yanked around when they can't even do the research to back themselves up, if your a doctor it's your responsibility to know what your giving to a patient and essentially our lives are in your hands, if you don't feel right and your on neurontin I strongly urge you to seek medical attention and request that medical professionals or a hospital do blood work immediately to check your sodium, electrolytes, potassium etc., like I said I'm not a doctor but speaking from what I went through it's not something to be ignored even if it's just your gut feeling that something isn't right if you at least get the tests done at least you'll know and make sure your doctor checks them frequently.

neurontin
 

I did stop the medication but these days what I deal with is hard to explain, according to the neurologist my nerves are waking up and not only am I hypersensitive to everything where the neuropathy pain is concerned but I've become highly sensitive to medications as well and even requested to see an allergist to make sure. I think everyone's body's and problems with nerve pain are different as well as their response to treatment but I think if doctors listened more to their patients and researched the medications and their effectiveness rather than drug companies that a lot of people wouldn't be having these issues, to be honest according to what I've seen there weren't that many people in the trials that actually experienced complete relief and if long term use of these medications hasn't been studied properly then the FDA should have never approved them, as many recalls as there have been on a lot of these kinds of medications because of all new dangers it makes me understand why so many people these days don't even want to see a doctor let alone go to an er for a true emergency. For now I have bigger concerns, the hospital my mom was taken too Tuesday released her with out telling us her head cat scan showed she has had a stroke, with everything going on with her and the reason she was taken by ambulance being that her doctor thought she may have had a stroke first off why didn't the hospital tell us and secondly why didn't they keep her over night? We only just found out through a letter from her doctors office, no one called and the er didn't inform us what so ever and it's quite possible it could have been caused by long term use of an anticonvulsant that I recently found out has caused the same problems in other patients, even patients on it just for migraine prevention. I guess it's time to make a trip to the medical board my mother wasn't treated properly in that hospital in my opinion, they told us her cat scan was perfectly normal and maybe I should go see a lawyer.

I am one for whom Lyrica seems to be working quite well. Some of the side effects are really annoying- weight gain, yes. appetite, yes. Aphasia and word replacement, yes. But considering that only a few weeks after starting it I was doing things like rearranging bookshelves and making fudge, we're all willing to deal with it. I also get roaming patches of numbness.

I might ask about trying Neurontin instead at my next appointment, but I'm afraid to mess with something that is really working.

I"m a lyrica user
 

I've been on Lyrica for about 6 months now. It works on my nerve pain but I still have some breck threw pain. I was taking 50mg and had to get it reduces to 25mg because one of the side effects is depression. Well I got depressed and now I'm on an anit-depressant meds now. I dont have any other side effects. Thank god

I take Lyrica
 

I've been taking Lyrica for about a year now, 300 mg daily. I also took Neurontin, but I was up to 2400 mg before it even touched my nerve pain. The Lyrica works better for all over pain, including Fibro. I don't know what I would do if I didn't take Lyrica or Neurontin for the nerve pain??

So, what do you take for the nerve pain if not Lyrica or Neurontin? I wouldn't be albe to get out of bed, and I am on a fentenyl patch as well...