Hi all. My husband suffers from CRPS. He was diagnosed in early 2009. He's been taking Lyrica for a little while now and unfortunately one of the side effects of blurry vision got worse and worse until the pain doc decided to lower the dosage. My husband's been taking the lower dosage of Lyrica for several weeks but the blurry vision problem hasn't really improved. He will visit the doctor end of this week.

I'm wondering if not Lyrica, what else is out there on the market that is similar to Lyrica? What could he take if he dropped Lyrica?

Thanks so much!

How can they tell if the blurry vision is from the Lyrica or RSD to the eyes ?

Neurontin is chemically closely related to Lyrica.

Cymbalta is an antidepressant than can also help calm nerve pain. Trycyclic (? sp) antidepressants are also helpful to some.

Anti-inflammatory meds can help people who's stomachs can handle it and if their docs don't mind risking the possible cardiac risk.

Narcotics......don't work on some nerve pain, but work for many of us. Many others can't take them because of side effects, esp GI upset

Hi Shivanna,
I had blurry vision when I first started with the Neurontin, but thankfully it subsided. My new pain doc will be discussing a switch from Neurontin to Topomax at my next appt in the middle of the month!
I hope this helps!
Hope4thebest

Methadone. at the lowest dose required, with Cymbalta, 60mg/day. diazepam 5mg / upto 20/day. muscle relaxer @ bedtime.

Pete

PS Been on this routine for about 20 years! Have had RSD since '83. If it's a REAL case of rsd, you can't fool around with the "candy" meds, get a real one that will relieve the pain, and the sanity.

PM me if you wish.....

Unfortunately, Lyrica can have many side effects. Weight gain and high blood pressure are the two most common. Your husband's doctor will need to titrate your husband off of Lyrica while simultaneously initiating a replacement medication.

There are many other medications available for the treatment of CRPS. Most CRPS patients do not take a single medication, but take a group of medications that work together. One of these, the "gold standard", which is the term that was used to describe it by a leading CRPS researcher and one of my physicians, is oral Ketamine. It is believed to be effective because it acts on the NMDA receptors in the spine that are thought crucial in CRPS.

Other medications frequently prescribed in the group include such medications as Neurontin, Cymbalta, Effexor, Topamax, Norco, Oxy, or others in the same classes as each of these.

We CRPS patients learn to continually need to adjust our medications. The important thing is to have a doctor who reacts quickly and creatively and has expertise in CRPS.

We hope your husband's vision is restored soon!

Thank you everyone! I appreciate the input. I have passed on your suggestions to my husband. Hopefully, next meeting with the pain doc will be productive and my husband will find combination of drugs that will agree with him more than Lyrica.

I don't have an official dx of CRPS yet...still working on it. But I also suffer from Depression and Fibromyalgia.

I have been on Cymbalta for the last year and a half and it has been quite helpful for the pain. I take 120mg daily; most take 60mg daily, but my practitioner increased my dose to help treat the depression. I'm still in a lot of pain, but about a month ago I was going to attempt a med vacation. Spent a couple weeks titrating down to 60mg and stayed there for a week and couldn't go any further. Not only did my mood tank, but the pain in my legs/feet and body in general increased ten-fold. I bumped myself back up to 120mg and after another few days the pain began to get better.

I'm scared now. I still hurt and have trouble walking which impacts my work, but I am scared that the Cymbalta will stop working and the pain will get even worse than it is now. I don't think I could tolerate feeling that much physical pain everyday.

Good luck to you.

Hi,

I took Lyrica, too, and had the same problem: blurry vision. I quit taking it and went on Cymbalta and Topomax. Topomax is in the same line as Lyrica. It's an anti-convulsant. I probably spelled that wrong. Cymbalta, on the other hand, is an antidepressant. It's in a bit different class than the typical SSRIs. It's more like Effexor in that it works on the serritonin and also norepinephrine. I believe it's considered a bit more 'heavy duty'. It is used for neuropathic pain. This has been helpful, but the helpfulness is wearing down. So, either I have become tolerant and need to adjust or do something else. But in any case, if your husband's doctor is good, that doctor should have a large tool kit of alternatives to offer to your husband so he can make an informed decision of the next step, and there are more options available to him. Good Luck.

Hi Maralyn. I'm so sorry to hear you are suffering so much! Thank you for your suggestion for the Cymbalta. I will pass it along to my husband. Unfortunately he's not much for browsing forums but I don't mind being the poster/reader for him. I hope you're in much less pain now!

Hi Enna, thanks! I've told my husband about Cymbalta & Topomax. I've seen those names around a lot on this forum. Hubby sees a new pain doctor next week and will bring those up. Keeping our fingers crossed that the new doctor will know what he's doing and that hubby will tolerate the new meds. Lyrica and Neurotin are both giving him really bad side effects.

Enna, my husband has a question for you. He would like to know once you quit taking Lyrica, did the blurry vision go away? If yes, how long did it take for it to go away?