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Peoples experiences with Lyrica?

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Posted 6/14/2011 9:03 PM (GMT 0)
Hello,

I have been taking 50mgs twice a day, and have had great results with relief from nerve pain due to cysts in my sacrum. I am though concerned about taking the drug, and was wondering how others whom have been on it for a while are doing? Thanks!

Chris
Posted 6/14/2011 10:21 PM (GMT 0)
That's wonderful that you are having less pain by using the Lyrica!...

What are you concerned about by taking this?

If you have been on it for a week or two...it's most likely that you do not have any life threatening side effects or a specific allergy to this medicine...these would show themselves pretty soon within taking it..

Although I have not taken this medicine...I have taken nerve pain meds..There is sometimes complaint of fatigue...but this usually goes away within a few weeks to a month...

As well as some people report they 'gain weight' because of it...but it's really about it may make someone crave a carbohydrate or sugars...so if someone is aware of this and watches out for this and eats healthy....any weight gain can be avoided.

So is there something specific that is concerning you? Then others who have taken this medicine can help you as well..
Posted 6/14/2011 11:10 PM (GMT 0)
I guess it's just the cognitive effects. The changes to the chemicals in the mind. I am worried about long term effects that may leave me with permanent problems. I went on some Perscription drug review site, and there were so many complaints with Lyrica even compared to any other drug. I guess the internet is full of mostly complaints, but hey..................So, anybody using this stuff long term please chime in.

Chris
Posted 6/14/2011 11:31 PM (GMT 0)
I'm sure others will write in...but yes...as you said there is going to be about 100 to 1 complaints to praises about anything online unfortunately...so it can give a skewed view of something..

I think we all have concerns when we have chronic pain with taking certain medications...so we all have to decide for ourselves if the trade off for any side effects are worth it..

For me...even with medicine and the other modalities I use every day for pain...I live with a 5-7 on the pain scale...It's just my 'new' normal...But if I took away any of the modalities I use...like medication...then I would be curled up in bed daily...and that wouldn't be living my life...So for me..it's worth it...

The main thing is having a Dr. who cares about your total health...and will monitor you for any effects he sees relating to the medicine...and if they do...to go off this one and try another..

I'm not sure as I'll have to check the boards...but what your pain generator is and whether there are other treatments or surgery to help...
Posted 6/14/2011 11:58 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Searing, I dont take lyrica, but I do take neurontin, 300mg 3xday, I think they both are meds that basically do the same thing, although I think Lyrica is probably stronger.

You are right, with meds you have to make all kinds of trade offs, thats just the way it is.

Take care and hope you are having low pain days.

Posted 6/15/2011 12:04 AM (GMT 0)
My pain generators are Tarlov Cysts on my nerve roots in my sacrum. I have a 1.8cm cyst on the right descending S4 nerve root itself, and an adjeacent smaller cyst on the left nerve root. I also have a very small one on S3, left side. Basically my whole private area is affected by this. I also get residual buttock and sciatica pain. My sacrum also hurts most times, but the real pain is the burning of my anal region and the ache in my perenium. Sorry for the gruesome details. blush

Chris
Posted 6/15/2011 12:48 AM (GMT 0)
Thanks for sharing...no worries...we can handle gruesome...we are just sorry for your pain..

Can the surgically remove any of the cysts? I don't know much about those..so curious if you had already gone that route..or are they wanting to try medicine first to help..
Posted 6/15/2011 12:54 AM (GMT 0)
There is a surgeon in Kansas City that specializes in these cysts. I have sent all of my info to him, and await a phone consult. Most neurosurgeons will not touch them. I want surgery, but I know it is very risky!

Chris
Posted 6/15/2011 1:33 AM (GMT 0)
My wife was on Lyrica for over a year, taking two 75 mg doses per day and never had any problem with it. She would still be on it if it wasn't for the idiots who decide what medications to allow for our state's medicaid system decided to not allow it as a preferred drug, and in this state it is almost impossible to get a non preferred drug approved.
Posted 6/15/2011 2:43 AM (GMT 0)
Chris/Searing, if the Lyrica is working for you then wow...I can't take Lyrica at all due
to severe vommiting...which almost put me in hospital...I hope it continues to help you...
well wishes...
Posted 6/15/2011 3:55 PM (GMT 0)
I am glad Lyrica is working for you. Pain relief is #1.
I take Gabapentin (neurontin) ( 3000 mg/day) which works the same way for the nerves.
Once you get used to the side effects it is well worth taking.
Posted 6/15/2011 4:25 PM (GMT 0)
I used 125 mgs of Lyrica twice a day for over a year. It did not help with the nerve pain but I did gain 40 lbs.
cat
Posted 6/21/2011 4:38 AM (GMT 0)
Hello, I started by taking Lyrica, and then switched due to cost to the Neurotin (The way Lyrica worked on my Body, was 100X better than what Neurotin did. As I was on the max dosage for Lyrica (600 mg/day) and it enabled my body to relax more especially when it came to sleeping. The Neurotin, Not only did it make my mid section Swell where I felt like I was about to burst (or as I put it I felt like the good year blimp) but even on 1200mg a day of Neurotin, I was nowhere feeling any pain relief whatsoever, and I was'nt' able to sleep, I would wake up 6 times a night in Pain Looking for my pain meds to take the edge off. ) So now I have just had my doctor switch me back to Lyrica (however with some financial support of providing me with some samples to take the edge off of the cost..

Dx: Chronic Disc Degeneration (Neuroforminal and forminal stenosis), Osteoarthritis, Bulging and herniated discs (4 locations) where Nerve roots have been pinched.

Single Mom- (35 yrs) 3 children (2 Gradeschool, 1 jrhigh)
Posted 6/21/2011 2:11 PM (GMT 0)
Too expensive, gained 1/2 pound a day.
Posted 6/21/2011 4:32 PM (GMT 0)
Just wanted to throw out a suggestion that my PM has talked about with nerve pain and antidepressants....Because some people seem to have weight gain when going on these..as mentioned by many on HW...

The nerve pain medicines tend to have an effect of bloating because the body is holding onto salt more...The antidepressants can tend to make people crave more sugars along with other carbohydrates...

So...when first going on these or staying on them long term...It's best to change your diet to limit the amount of salt intake each day, to really count carbs and keep them limited to complex one's and not 'simple' one's...

As well as drinking anywhere from 10-16 glasses of water a day will help flush out the salt and keep the bloating down...

Most Dr.s don't talk about these side effects when going on and people just eat what they normally do and end up gaining weight when they don't need to if aware and make a few changes in the beginning...

Just a few thoughts to help:)
Posted 6/24/2011 5:07 AM (GMT 0)
I have been taking Lyrica for 5 years due to neuropathy from chemo and chronic nerve pain from bilateral mastectomy.When I first started taking it,it made me get up at night and throw my clothes on the floor,fall asleep on the toilet and run into walls but after about 3 weeks my body became accustomed and it helps tremedously with nerve pain.In fact,I prefer it to my methadone anyday because I was diagnosed Type 2 diabetic last year and it helps with that neuropathy also.I take 225 mg in the morning and 225 mg at night.The pros far outweigh any cons for me although I have gained 30 lbs or so at least I can still walk,painfully still but worse without the Lyrica.
Lisa
Posted 6/26/2011 9:37 AM (GMT 0)
Pretty big fan, early on I had some sleep issues(feel asleep in class, woke up with just my professor looking right at me. Luckily it ended up not meeting a requirement I was looking for, so I dropped it.

But now my body no longer feels any side effects. The effects are quite good, not as effective for short term pain, but it does a great job keeping pain low. Still I would have trouble replacing my tramadol with just lyrica. Of course everyone's body reacts differently, but from a personal experience, I'd recommend it.

Plus the low risk of abuse is a nice extra so we don't have to fear our meds which are designed to be part of the solution.(Still some risk). Also it helps to counter side effects of some of my other meds(edginess from tramadol in particular)

One quick note is it's also good for stopping opiates if you ever feel you are falling into their trap, at least it did for me when I wanted to break from them to make sure I wasn't getting sucked in.
Posted 6/26/2011 6:26 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Zap. It is crazy how powerful the sleep issues are at the beginning. I laughed a little at your school story, probably because I can relate to it. When I first started Lyrica I'd do pretty much the same thing at work. I'd be typing away and then wake up a little while later. All the more embarrassing since my desk is open on the floor where everyone can see me. Even worse when I'd wake up to find people standing nervously beside my desk trying to figure out whether they should wake me up to ask a question.

For anyone just starting Lyrica, I'd recommend making sure you can take it fairly easy the first couple weeks. Try not to start the medicine when you have something big on your schedule. And definitely get rides until you are sure you're ready to drive for several days in a row. Expect it to take up to six weeks for the side effects to even out and for the medicine to reach full strength. Although, at least in my case, both will change the most in the first two weeks and then slowly even out the rest of the way.

One thing I wonder about but haven't been able to find an answer to so far is if the whole weight thing eventually goes away or gets easier. I find that it does have an effect. I've been trying to lose weight and on Lyrica I find that no matter how hard I work at it, the process is much slower. about 50 times slower by my calculations so far. I do hope that gets easier with time.

Even if the initial side effects continued I don't think I could give it up though. It's the first thing that has ever given any kind of real relief and it works crazy well. I'm glad for the others it is working for too. Everyone I've heard from so far seems to either have it work exceedingly well, or pretty much not at all.

I really like that it's not a medicine that can easily be used to get high. The nasty first couple weeks are actually good in that regard. I cannot imagine anyone who doesn't have a medical issue they take it for ever trying a second dose. And I think because it's not on watch for being abused, I get to skip a lot of the troubles I've read about others having with their medicine on this board. For instance, I get a bunch of refills on a single script and don't have to go back to the doctor very often unless I have an external reason to. And I don't have to worry about contracts, my doctors are fine if I switch who does the prescribing to whoever is easiest for me. And I imagine if I had to switch doctors for a move or something that I wouldn't have to go through much trouble continuing on the medicine with a new doctor, judging by how all my current ones react.
Posted 6/27/2011 1:19 AM (GMT 0)
I gave lyrica atry for 1week ,I was like zombie and swelling up .Ihave TOS, the surgery is to take out a rib ,70% chance of working?the rib is pressed on nerves and bloodvessels ,so my onehand goes icecold and shooting pains in wrist,elbow,shoulder ect.My vascular dr said lyrica is the best meds going.Turns out not for me!I have been given pain meds.Everyday ,Iam still in pain everyday ,I think Ihave too much riding on the surgery solving the pain .I wish Lyrica would of worked for me.I plan asking dr ,if anything else will help ?Iuse iceyhot patches ,to ease pain as the pain meds make me so tired.Today,I was out for a few hrs and I was tired out so easy.
Posted 6/27/2011 7:44 PM (GMT 0)

           Good afternoon Searing!

               I think I missed your first post here on the forum...but wanted to give a quick shout out to you, and Welcome you to the CP forum! wink

      We hope you continue to engage this wonderful forum for support. As you quickly found, ....the members are very supportive, and we believe we are the best forum for CP support. I have been here for at least 2yrs....and the members have been more than wonderful, to say the least!

     Hang in there!

      Again...Welcome! ...and Enjoy! wink

    SE

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