Lyrica
 

Ok, who's taking it? Why? Side effects?

I just got prescribed Lyrica for my feet/lower leg pain - due to peripheral neuropathy.

I know I've seen this drug before. Maybe just on commercials during the evening news, but I think I've seen it discussed on MS boards too...

Tom

Sorry I can't answer your question but my Neuro suggested I take it.

When I got home I went online and researched it and it has some side effects I don't need. Weight gain, sleeplessness, swelling of hands and feet and a bunch of other bad stuff which is why I refuse steroids. :(

I called the office back and said "no thanks".

I don't need any more drugs and especially bad side effects thank you.

I'll just stick with my 10mg of baclofen and only one before bedtime so I can sleep without pain. It's the only drug I take so far. :)

Holding my hand up high - I take this medicine !

Just like AZJanie, I looked it up and I didn't like anything that I read about it. My Neurologist prescribed it for my foot pain that keeps me awake during the night. When she gave me the presciption, I had it filled before I came home and read about it. After reading, I refused to take it. Also - I tend to have reactions to medications so I am very careful with new meds. Months passed, my foot was even worse, I went to my GP who tried to prescribe Lyrica for me, I told her I had the drug but refused to take it so I got a presciption for pain meds also instead and I lived in misery. I had another Neuro visit, told her I wasn't taking the Lyrica - but I was complaining even more heavily about my foot at this point. She was probably frustrated with me at this point.

Are you still with me ???

By now, about 6 months have passed and a friend from out of town called, I mentioned my foot, low and behold, she has the EXACT same burning / freezing / stomped on pain - I told her that I had been prescribed Lyrica and refused to take it. She had been prescribed Lyrica, was taking it and said that it worked miracles in her life because her foot was now tolerable with little to no pain if any. She is a nurse also and I have a lot of faith in her opinion for several reasons. She asked me to just give it a try so I agreed.

OMGoodness - I hate that I have to take this drug, but I am thankful for the drug - my foot is mostly normal now and I am now able to sleep at night again. When I think about it, like now, yes, I feel the spot and there is still some pain/buring etc... but wow it is nothing compared to what I was dealing with.

I am overweight but have not gained any additional weight since starting the drug and I have had none of the other side effects - luck maybe.

There are now 2 drugs that I will never be without: Imitrex (for my migraines) and Lyrica for my foot !

So that is my experience, best of luck in whatever decision you make - I understand all too well what it is to decide on a new drug !

Snoods

Like Snoods said, Tom, Try it and maybe you'll like it. Watch the sides, to see if you have any of the bothersome ones and call me in the morning..:D

hey Tom, I have tried it for my numb/tingling pain...tingling pain anyhow like you have. I did not get any help from it, and was feeling the high as a kite effects...(which some may like, haha I dont)

try it, see if it helps after a month or so, give it time...if not I am on neurontin now, 300mg three times a day..and I feel numbness like before..but NO tingling pain. I had lived with the tingling painfully for far too many years. So when the neurontin helped WOW!!

either one watch for side effects and how you are doing...hugsss and good luck some have great results with lyrica while others have great results with neurontin.

hugss,sarah

Tom, baby Maddie wants to type you a message too

hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhbbbbgggggggggggggggggggggggggg ggggg:Dggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggg ggggggggggggggggggg gg ggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggg love, maddie

Tom,

A couple of years ago, my wife (has since passed away) had a lot of problems with the pain and discomfort caused by her MS leg spasms during the night. She went to the pain clinic here and the neuro prescribed Lyrica.

The drug has to be introduced slowly into your system, starting with a small dose and gradually building up to the optimum level. My wife, who was very sensitive to most medications, started with the small dose and remained on it. The results were very good with few side effects. After a couple of months on the drug, she was able to wean herself off it and the spasms and pain did not come back. The neuro said that in some cases, the nervous system needs a "jolt" from a drug like Lyrica and it can correct iteself.

As is the case with most drugs, they work differently for each person. One has to try the medication and see what results they get. What works for one person can be bad for the next. The best of luck whatever you decide to do.

Harry

Hey there Tom.......

Since Lyrica is prescribed for fibromyalgia which I have along with the nerve pain of MS, I asked my GP about it and he would not give it to me. He said it had too many bad side effects and I have a sensitivity to meds like others have mentioned.

The low dose with a gradual increase sounds like a good idea to me. Those doctors who say "NO", don't have to live with this excrutiating pain like we do!! Good luck with whatever you decide to do. :)

Tom

The best hallucinogenic drug I have ever tried. :D

Needless to say, I am not taking it. It's one of the lesser known side effects and not for me! And that was on 50mg and so I tried 25...same result!

I am taking neurontin now. Only 300 mg.

Yeah yeah yeah, I know...drug lightweight. :p

I don't have MS but have a condition that is fairly similar and I have taken Lyrica before for pain.

It didn't help for me at all and one of the main side effects I had was weight gain - I put about 30lb on during the 3 months I was on it which isn't good for anyone, let alone a then 12 year old!! Lots of the people I have spoken to that have been on Lyrica have also reported weight gain.

The other side-effect I had was feeling really fatigued - I couldn't get up at all and it was a LOT of effort to try and do the simpliest of tasks!! Eventually, my Pain Management Doctor decided that it wasn't work the side-effects so decided to take me off it!

Everyone is different though and I wish you the best of luck and really hope it helps you ... please keep us updated when you can!:hug:

Thank you DM. My wife died in Sept of 2007 after battling MS for some 35 years. Prior to meeting her, my uncle had the disease and I followed his health for many years as well. I've been looking at MS research for well over 40 years now and needless to say, the results have been quite abysmal. Still no cause, certainly no cure and more and more questions without answers. Take care.

Harry

i switched to lyrica from neurontin a few yrs ago.
i take it for neuropathic pain in my feet. it helps a lot but not 100%.

they are touting lyrica for fibromyalgia muscle pain. i have fibro but the lyrica does nothing for it.

hope it helps you.
it's more expensive than neurontin but worth it if it works.

Um, is this bad or is this a bennie?

Seriously - I took 50 mg last night and actually slept thru the pain. Either a fantastic placebo effect or it might actually work. I'll give it a month. I did feel kinda groggy this morning but still woke up without the alarm clock.

I had to tell my boss and she said it's prescribed for folks with fibromyalgia. Ok, how she knew I'll never know.

I'm suppoed to increase dosage gradually.

Tom

Tom,
I too began at 50 mg - stayed at that dosage for a month then increased it to 100mg because I was seeing benefit. I have stayed at 100mg and as I said, I do still feel some burning. My friend went up to 150mg. I will stay at 100mg unless it should get a whole lot worse because this is a HUGE relief to what I was experiencing and the lower the dose the better.

Av8rGirl -- On a side note - please explain your hallucinations - were they at night or during the day - how did they occur.

The reson I ask - I have recently begun having really bizarre dreams that terrify me and wake me almost hysterical. I wonder if this could be related to the Lyrica ???

Harry - I am so sorry for the loss of your wife. Several of us here have lost our spouse and it is so very hard after many years of marriage. :hug:

Snoods

This explains my crazy dreams:

Uncommon (affect between 1 in 100 and 1 in 1000 people)

Mood swings, depressed mood, personality changes.
Abnormal dreams, hallucinations.
Agitation, restlessness.
Changes in sensation such as burning sensations or numbness (hypoaesthesia).
Visual disturbances such as difficulty seeing fine detail, decreased peripheral vision.
Increased heart rate.
Hot flushes, sweating.
Dry nose or eyes.
Shortness of breath.
Abdominal swelling, acid reflux, increased salivation.
Rash.
Pain, stiffness or twtiching in the muscles.

I have also been "unusually" sad lately, I am generally happy and upbeat - that was another of the side effects...

Now I am re-thinking this drug but it is helping so much with the pain !

They were at night. I started the drug at night and since the hallucinations were so vivid and pretty darn scary, after 3 nights at 50 mg. I took 25 mg. 3 nights at 25 with no let up, I decided it was not the drug for me. I don't need any help with weird dreams, I can have them all by myself!

Seriously, I had people walking around the room, taking my covers off me, talking to me, moving things around the rooms, opening and closing doors and curtains...no thank you! On the second night, I actually got up to check to see if the garage door was down and locked, checked the front door to make sure it was locked and checked on the dog. She was sound asleep. It then dawned on me that if there was someone in the house, Holly would be barking her head off and not sound asleep.

I never got past taking the drug more than about 6 or 7 nights.

:eek:

Av8r after reading your post - it was amazing - I was having very similar dreams about people breaking in, one night I got up and turned the lights on thinking whoever was breaking into my bedroom from my deck would leave if they saw the lights. I was confused because my 3 cats and dog were all sleeping. LOL
Mine did not get quite as scary as yours, I didn't actually have hallucinations but I was having extremely wild dreams - multiple times !!!!

After reading your post and the literature on the drug - I have now STOPPED taking Lyrica - after all the bragging about how much it has helped me. My foot is already getting bad again and here I go again -- but I'm hoping that maybe it won't get as bad this time. The dreams were so disturbing and I had not put together the dreams with the drug and I didn't want to risk having the hallucinations since I was already experiencing the extreme dream state. BUMMER

This post has really assited me though and potentially saved me from more prolonged fearful nights.

Harry, I am anxious to hear an update from you, if you are on the drug and how it is working.

Snoods !

Hi, Im taking 300mg Lyrica a day very effective but very expensive. What would be the equivalent dose if I bought neurontin?

Ask your pharmacist!

:ROTFLMAO:

Tom, I took Lyrica for a few months. It didn't help my pain but then again I never did find anything that helped :rolleyes:

I didn't have hallucinations like Cheryl but it definitely made me loopy. A Loopy Snoopy is not good :p

I see you have tried it so I won't tell you to try it :D although I hope it does help with your pain.

Between being a lightweight and allergic to almost everything, it's no wonder I stick to Jack Daniels! At least I know I am safe with that! LOL!

:D

I used to take Lyrica for Lhermitte's sign (this weird electrical shock feeling I would get by bending my head down...yeah, that should NEVER happen to a person :winky:). At any rate, I didn't have any issues with the medication. My only issue came when my insurance refused payment once (on accident)...it is an expensive medication!

I took Lyrica for a while a couple years ago, and it did not affect me at all the same as neurontin. I would suggest to anyone who has tired one to try the other if needed.

At a lower dose (I started with 75mgs 2 or 3 times a day), Lyrica made me feel stoned. No other way to put it. But within a couple days, the pain was better. And for a while I even had extra energy.

It wasn't till my doc made me taper up to 150mgs 3 times a day that I had trouble. It stopped helping the pain, I felt tired and my hands and feet started swelling. The doc was so sure going back to the lower dose was not going to help that he just pulled me off the med altogether.

I did gain a couple pounds, but I was eating a lot - I had the munchies all the time.

:D

To me, gaining 8lbs was totally worth feeling good though. But it would have been better not to feel quite so stoned. I did not feel okay to drive. I'm wondering how long I'd have had to be at the lower dose to not feel like that?

Let us know if you try it, how it works for you. Good luck.