Hello - New & Need Some Advice
 

I'm brand new and like your site very much!

I have diabetic neuropathy in my toes, both feet, right foot is worse.

Eight months ago I took Lyrica, for two months [150mgs/bedtime]; I didn't notice a weight gain because I weighed over 300 pounds, now it's been taken off the formulary of my Medicare D insurance provider and they refuse to pay [denied my request 6 months ago, and today they denied my PCP's request to pay for it again. I had my podiatrist send a letter to them requesting it as well. I take Tramadol for arthritis and had a total knee replacement in April of 2007, but this med doesn't touch the nerve pain at all.

My PCP put me on samples of Lyrica 75 mgs/bedtime one week ago. He wants to work me up to 150/bedtime like before. Oddly, the pain has returned with a vengeance.

I've tried Gabapentin - 900 mgs, which made me irritable and sleep only 3-4 hours a night for six months. My friends and family said I was too nasty to be around, so I stopped taking it.

Tried Cymbalta with Avopar-300mg (blood pressure medicine) which made me sick as a dog with diarrhea, nausea, severe headaches, and more sleeplessness after just 3 days on it. I stopped it and within one week I began to feel better, but my blood presure spiked even higher.

I'm taking Hawthrone Berries in capsule form for the blood pressure and it's below 117/76 now. Thing with this is you have to take a lot to get it down. My PCP says he doesn't care whether I use herbs or prescription meds to get it down--so long as it's down. That's why I like him.

Back to the toe pain. I don't know what to do about it. It's well, painful. Since being on the sample of Lyrica for one week, I've noticed a 7 pound weight gain, from 250 to 257 pounds. My vegan diet hasn't changed. So it's got to be the Lyrica.

I used to weigh 430 pounds and I'm not going accept a weight gain of 7 pounds! It's taken the Lord 2 years to give me a gradual weight loss of 180 pounds as I asked Him to reduce my appetite! No pills, counting carbs or calories.

So I need some help.

I need a medication that I can take for the neuropathy without weight gain, damage to my liver, or will cause me to be irritable or not sleep at night. Any suggestions?

Well, amethyst--
 

--that's a tall order, I'm afraid: A neuropathic pain medication that will not cause weight gain, has little effect on the liver, not cause irritability or sleeplessness--and will be effective.

Welcome to the boards, by the way--and please come over to our peripheral neuropathy section (very active and lots of knowledgable and empathetic personalitites):

http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/forumdisplay.php?f=20

The med that comes to mind is Topomax, another anti-convulsant (same class as gabapentin/Neurontin and pregabalin/Lyrica) that many have reported weight loss on, as it seems to curb carb cravings. But, it's not without its own side effects (chief among them a greater tendency to develop glaucoma--not something you probably need as a diabetic). And, not everyone who has tried it has had success; some have even reported symptom upticks (of course, this can be said for any medication used for neuropathy--we're all experiments of one).

You've mentioned not having had a good time with Cymbalta--I wonder if another of the older anti-depressant/neurotransmitter regulators might be worth a shot for you (such as Elavil), but these also tend to be hard on the liver . . .

Perhaps an attempt to find some non-pharmaceutical agents? Many with diabetic neuropathy have had good results with alpha lipoic acid or R-lipoic acid. It's sold as a dietary supplement in the US, but is actually considered a prescription substance in many parts of Europe, especially Germany, where it has been a mainstay substance for diabetic neuropathy for decades.

There are also the possibilities of Anodyne/infrared therapy or the Rebuilder device (which is sort of like an advanced TENS unti combined with an ionic foot bath).

I'm sure you'll get other suggestions over at the neuropathy board.

Welcome to NeuroTalk Amethyst...I see that you are in good hands with a brooding glenntja! :D this is a wonderful place to find support.

Hi, Amethyst! :Wave-Hello:

Welcome to NeuroTalk!

Congratulations on your weightloss, that is a magnificent accompishment and I'm certain that you can keep it up! Kudos!

I see that Glenn has graciously provided you with a link to get you started. Do let us know if we can help you with anything.:)

Hello and welcome amethyst to NeuroTalk. Nice to see you have come here to be with the rest of us. There are a great number of people willing to help as the can.

Again welcome, looking forward to seeing you around.

Darlene:hug:

Hi

I can give you a little more information on topamax. It is a good drug for things little pain that feels like headaches. It helps my migraines a lot.

I'm not sure about a med for pain in the toes though. Hopefully it will do
some good.

Have you ever tried neurotin. Its a med that is a lot like lyrica.

It might be one to go to.

I will think on this one. I'm very familiar with the class of anti seizure meds.

And lots of them are used for many pain type meds.

Donna

Hi Amethyst Welcome aboard!:)