I started Lyrica today
 

It's been a week since I saw my non-clinical trial neuro. I walked, sort of, out of her office with orders for 3 days of IVSM, a new rx for provigil, possibly an MRI, knowing I would have to wait for the IVSM to be approved by clinical trial doc.

It's been a week...of pure frustration. Unreturned phone calls. No information. And Sunday I woke up with a sore throat and now I have one of my quarterly (seems like) nasty head colds.

Today I emailed clinical trial docs nurse...told her I have a cold (which I am required to do per protocol and mentioned that local neuro had been trying to contact doc.) No response.

Call local doc and left message with nurse. He's a really nice guy, but yesterday he told me at 9:15 am that he would talk to doc and get right back to me. Today at 12:15, 27 hours later, nothing. I leave a message that says, this is my last phone call. I am sick, no one is returning my calls, no one cares that I am in pain and am sick. I am not calling anymore. Good bye. I did leave my name...probably didn't have to!

About an hour later, I get a phone call from him and he says that my doc talked to clinical trial doc....:eek:

MRI of brain from the trial shows no progression! GOOD NEWS!!! YEAH.
NO STEROIDS. Approved for MRI of the entire spine, w and w/o contrast. Start on Lyrica for leg pain.

Gee, last week, he didn't have the MRI of my brain. :rolleyes: Excuse me...it wasn't available to me. :(:eek:

Picked up the Lyrica rx..expensive stuff even through Tricare!!! Yowsa!!
I ask the pharmacist about side effects. Drowsiness. Great. I am supposed to take 1 capsule 2-3 times a day....sure. If it causes drowsiness for normal people, it's likely to put me OUT! Also may cause blurry vision. Just what I need...already having problems seeing! Drowsy and blurry....hmmmm....how am I going to tell? That's my norm lately! LOL!

So, that's my week...hope everyone else is doing better than me!! Wanna buy some flowers?

HUGSSSSSSSSSSSS so many HUGSSSSSSSSSSSS

Lyrica made me too loopy feeling..I had to give it up...and now fighting wondering if need to give up neurontin...I say fighting cause the neurontin does wonders with my nerve pain...but I am always a pretty upbeat person...and I keep getting downer type ideas and moods...

anyhow..glad dr called back...sorry it took such a call to get a call back hugsss,sarah

AWWW Cheryl~ Not another cold!! Sorry to hear you're feeling yucko again. What a run a round w/the Dr's! I took Lyrica a couple of yrs ago, but didn't stay on it, as it made me dizzy. My Rheumy did tell me that alot of his pts that take it, do well w/it.

It's probably just like anything else; some people tolerate certain drugs better than others. Hope it helps and keep us posted. Flowers??? You shouldn't have!!

Take care friend.....

Aw Cheryl, I hope the Lyrica helps without a lot of side effects. :hug: I'm glad your brain MRI was good and I hope the ones of the spine will be good as well. :hug:

rats cheryl :(
sorry you're getting sick again. this just isn't right.

i'm on lyrica (from neurontin) and it's working better for me. no drowsiness and i take 4 a day. of course tho, nothing makes me tired.

it is good news that your mri was stable.
i hope whatever you have takes a hike soon.

in the meantime .. :hug:

Sounds like you kicked some Dr. butt!:D

Now we need to get rid of that cold!

May I offer you some chicken noodle soup?

gag* Watching FG through my covered eyes eat her soup!

Seroiusly...we must get you well!

Maybe you have been over doing it. You know...vacation and opening the new shop!

Take the drugs and rest!:D

I had some tomato soup and a toasted bagel. Drinking lots of water.

Took one capsule and drowsy is what it is making me! Judy I cannot believe you take 4 a day...I'd be sleeping all day long! I can barely keep my eyes open and it does cause blurry vision. There is no way I can take this stuff during the day.

I hate colds. :mad:

Tomato soup is good!

At Halloween you can pretend that you are drinking blood!

:eek:

Did I just type that!:eek:

:eek:

See? I am fatigued!

Off to look up neuro's #!:eek:

Awwww, Cheryl..bless your pea pickin heart..:hug:

Nooooooooo, not another cold..:mad:

Glad you got some answers......finally......:rolleyes:

Take the lyrika for awhile...you need the rest anyway. Maybe your system will get used to it, after a week or so....I hope.

Take care..:hug:

Slaps on a HEPA mask and slides over and hugs you :hug:

I am sorry that your docs don't respond in a timely fashion! :mad:
Blast them with some spiny stems!

I am sorry you have another cold! :mad:
Curses on whoever gave it to you!

I am sorry you are once again the guinea pig for yet another med :mad:
You should publish all your findings when you get old!(er)

Now get away from me, you germ carrying harbinger of illness, you!!:eek:
...rapidly pumping the Germ-X bottle and slathering it all over me :p

Seriously Flygirl, I AM sorry to hear you are sick again. Please get some rest and get PODH to take care of you! You are working too hard and not taking enough time to rest and build up your defenses.

This is a bad time of year as far as colds and flu go, so remember to sanitize after touching anything in public and get thee a fan to flutter and block the nasty germs from reaching you when dealing with the public!:)

Ever notice on the news when they do a piece on Japan that lots of folks are wearing surgical masks? I wonder if we could start a fashion trend here??:D

Feel Better soon!

Cheryl, I took Lyrica for some time, as for blurry eyes I have been off some time now and my eyes are still blurry, and with all i was on I have no idea what made me drowsy, but I will say this it did help the muscle pains a lot, one of the few meds I knew was working, congrats on the MRI, amazing what a diff a day can make:eek:

Sorry to hear once again you are sick with a cold! I hope you get some result with the Lyrica..... get some rest maybe someone is telling you that is what you need by giving you something that will make you tired! :hug:

I am sorry that you are going through this garbage.

Let's hope that the medication works and the side-effects are less than expected.

-Vic

PS: Check your flower store website for the orders going to Hilton in Pasadena, CA.;)

-Vic

Thank you Vic!

And your flowers have been taken care of! Thanks!!!

;)

Drowsy! No kidding...

No way can I take this stuff during the day unless I plan to stay in bed!

:eek:

It just doesn't work well for some, there is a variety of results from the TOS forum members that have tried it.
I don't recall if there was any adaptation time mentioned by the TOS members ... to see if side effects calm down or not..:confused:

I know the blurry vision was mentioned, weight gain, 1 or 2 thought their blood sugar was affected by it.{ they had no problems with blood sugar # before and even after quitting the Lyrica it was an issue}

I talked to the pharmacist about the weight gain issue. He said that when people suffer from pain, they tend not to eat. When the pain subsides, they regain their appetite. That is usually the reason for the weight gain.

I did some research about this drug a month or so ago when they tried to put me on it but the clinical trial doc said no. Now he has changed his mind and said yes. :confused:

I am such a lightweight when it comes to any meds that cause drowsiness that I hesitate to take them at all during the day. This one really knocked me out last night. I cannot imagine taking it during the day. Within an hour I was seeing double...not just blurry. Maybe it's because I have a cold, I am more sensitive so I will give it time once I am over this cold.

Cheryl, I hope the med helps without major side effects. Do they still have you on Sinemet? Jim's seems to be finding some relief with the combo baclofen, tizanidine and Sinemet. We like to call it his spasm cocktail. lol

Yes, I am still on the Sinemet. I cannot take Baclofen nor tizanidine. This is neuropathic pain. It was either this or neurontin. Also taking the klonopin.

They both don't think it's an exacerbation just increased symptoms.

Fatigue is taking it's toll on me but it isn't because I am working full time, I've been doing that for quite awhile, I just need to get a handle on this pain. It's causing more fatigue as we all know.

Thanks everyone :hug:

Sandy...what does of Sinemet is Jim on now?

He's on two 25/100 pills twice a day. He isn't completely cured of course but his legs are not as tight and seem to be more loose. He's also using mj to ease the symptoms.

He's having a side effect from Sinemet though. It's keeping him awake at night. We're trying benedryl at night to see if that helps. He did sleep better but didn't fall out until around 5am. Do you have this problem? The doctor doesn't want to prescribe another pill and we don't either. If he does it will be tamazapam. Ugh.

Really...not had that problem with it at all. Didn't even know it was a side effect! Wonder if it's something else!

MURDERER!!!!! :eek::eek::eek: How COULD you (1) offer her soup made of ch...chic....chick...ch....... oh.... I can't even SAY it <shudders in horror> and (2) watch her cannibalize a chi...chick....ch......ugh......

Not to worry CG...I don't like chicken soup. But it was the thought that counts!! It's the comforting part of Twiffy....she wants me well again. You gotta give her some slack!

I had tomato soup! (besides, that other soup has MSG in it!)

feel better flygirl. :hug:

"Oooooo" not again with a COLD!!!!! :eek:

hope that your body adjusts to this med. to help the pain
and that you get some rest.

I had to call my reumo to get a fast appt. to come in and get a
shot for the bursitis that I have on both sides of my hip. I have not
had a nights sleep for about a week because of the pain. The meds.
have seem to stop helping that pain.

rest, drink plenty of fluids and hide yourself under the covers and
forget about everything else HA!!!! :D:D

Jappy :hug: (don't get to close):Sick:

Yeah..No Chicken Noodle Soup! It will kill ya!:D Sorry about that! Don't want that!:o

Hey..seeing double? What is wrong with that? If you are eating a hamburger..you will think you have two!:D See...it does have a silver lining!

Look at the bright side! Eh?:D

Good thinking Miss Smarty Pants! :hug:

Call the doctor...or you'll be seeing double (trouble)

:eek:

I don't know but he's sleeping better adding Benedryl. He's still waking up in the night though. I moved his Sinemet to 5pm to see if that helps. It's a hit or miss at this point. It is listed as a side effect and this started about two weeks after starting Sinemet. Ugh. His doc almost took him off it as soon as I said something and Jim said no. If he's not sleeping in a week then he'll have to try something else. :(

Dang Sandy, if it's helping the spasms you'd think he'd want to try a different dose or let Jim figure it out! The only side effect I had from it at the beginning was an upset stomach. Funny thing is now that I am back on it this time, no problems with the stomach...weird. I am so med sensitive that you'd think I'd have that problem, but I don't. Wonder if it's the combination of the other two drugs...you know, an interaction. When you are on so many drugs, you just never know what they will do altogether.

I know the baclofen and the tizanidine knock me for a loop. I've now been on lyrica for two days. Since I am down with this cold, and stuck in bed, I thought I would go ahead and try it during the day yesterday. Good think I didn't have to go any where except kitchen, bathroom, bed. I was pretty funny...drunk would be a good visual. I guess it's only at night for me.

If the benadryl works to help Jim sleep while he is getting used to the Sinemet, is there any harm in him taking it? My doc tells me to use it when necessary. It's not habit forming. It's cheap. You can take up to 75mgs with no problems.

I hope something works for him. I know what he's going through. My legs are getting weaker all the time.

I am scheduled for an MRI on Tuesday. So we shall see what it shows. I haven't had a spinal MRI for 3 years.

Jim had a horrible reaction to Macrobid back in the day and now doesn't have that problem. It's weird how meds work like that. Here's what's weird, the 100 mg Macrobid we got from our local pharmacy made Jim less sick than the 50mg from the VA. I am thinking different manufacturers of the generic version? Jim noticed with the one from the VA he has to make sure he eats or drinks milk more so than the one from the local pharmacy. Weird.

We're going to hang in there and see what happens. Jim's doc wont take him off Sinemet unless Jim agrees to it. There isn't much left out there to try you know?

Yes I do know....:hug:

Hope you are feeling better soon. I was on Lyrica for sometime, the only side effect I had was swelling in feet, and caused my BP to stay up around 152/101. When I stopped taking it, my BP came back down. It did work really well, haven't found anything better.

I hope that nasty head cold goes away soon...
Remedy from back in the 30's
2 tsp honey
1/4 cup of whiskey
1tsp of baking soda
2 tsp of lemon
1 asprin
Mix until all is dissolved...
Guaranteed to cure or wish you were pushin daises...
Drink first thing in the morning...my dad still uses this when he gets a cold...it is very nasty tasting, but it seems to help him a lot.:hug:

Thanks! :hug:

I am feeling a little better, the cold is getting better...at least my head isn't trying to explode!

I found that I cannot take the lyrica during the day. double vision and very very drowsy. So I can only take it at night.

Have no idea if it's affecting my BP as my BP is very low anyway. So I doubt it will be a problem.

My dad always used to say "honey, whiskey, and lemon juice. Throw the honey and lemon juice away and drink the whiskey. It'll cure what ails you." ;)



I'm thinking, Twiffy, that even IF FG saw TWO hamburgers that she's still only eat part of one.

Oh CG knows me too well! She just goes to dinner with me for my leftovers! :p

I figured it out Cheryl! I talked to the pharmacist last night. It was more than likely the Singular making him sleepy and dizzy during the day and the Sinemet keeping him awake at night. We switched the Singular to night time and the Sinemet to morning and 5pm. He's back!! For now. lol

Glad your cold is getting better! Maybe once it goes away you will feel better ms wise. Sorry you can't take the Lyrica during the day but understand big time after watching Jim sleep the entire day yesterday. He left me alone with the MIL!!!!!!! I almost left him there. lol

I take singular only at night for that very reason!

Still very stuffed up but I feel better, not so achy. My legs are still very weak and I can't walk very far. Stiff and feel bruised but my body isn't all achy like I was earlier in the week.

I hope Jim gets better and gets some sleep. :D

Right back at you. :hug:

i'm glad you're a bit better cheryl.
how's your calf btw?

I'm with CG...drink whiskey until you feel better!:D