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Question about past responses about lyrica??

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Posted 9/4/2008 5:55 AM (GMT 0)
In the past I have read different people talk about lyrica and there sucsess stories and thier failures.

Some people claim that it is an excellent drug that is working incredable for me.

Some other people say that it worked great for the first two weeks then stopped working, so I stopped taking it.

And even others say that it is the best drug I have taken and I'm having excellent results.

And then some people say It did toataly nothing for me and I stopped taking it after the first week.

Let me just say that I have been taking lyrica for over 3 years now, and at no point ever have I thought any of the above. My impression of lyrica is that it is a drug that slowly gets higher amounts taken over a short period of time, and that it is a drug that is supposed to be a long term

medication as far as woking up to the correct dose, then staying on it for at least sevral months before evaluating the ups and downs.........I dont know if it is or it isnt working for me because its mostly always the same, but my doctors assure me that it is a great drug to take for rsd and neurological patients so I continue hoping that the long term goals come thru.

Can anyone elaborate thier lyrica story? I just dont know what you mean when you say that the lyrica is working great and I'm having great results.....,Or when people say that it is working incredable for them and then it stops after 2 weeks and then I stopped taking it????

When you say it works great, what works great,swelling.stabbing pains,electric shocks,walking without a cane or crutches??? What makes a person start and stop lyrica within 2-3 weeks???

I'm just really interested on what level dose it work so great that you were so impressed???

I appreciate any comments,over a bit of time it's just somthing i have noticed and since were all here in hells kitchen together mabe we can get some opinions.

    Thanks for you time,

                Hope Everyone Has A Pain Free Day

                                 Kind Regards

                                                     mike

Posted 9/4/2008 2:50 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Mike. I'm new here, but certainly not to chronic pain. I was on Lyrica. At first it helped quite a bit. Then I began to have side effects that were frightening. First I developed a cough. The cough turned bronchial fairly quick. The I began to retain fluid. Lots of fluid. My feet, ankles, legs blew up to twicw their normal size. Then I began to have palpitations, then the fluid began to collect in my lungs. This is when I stopped taking it. I feared congestive heart failure, or pneumonia.

I was willing to live with the feet and ankles, because I could elevate them at night. The lung issues, not! The pain level also began to rise back up to normal. Since then I have attempted to try it twice more; due to pressure from dr's. Each time the cough and swelling appeared almost immediately.

All in all. To me this stuff is poison. I'm glad it helps you though!
Posted 9/5/2008 4:20 AM (GMT 0)
Thanks d2parrotperson I appreciate the story. Good luck!!

I cant believe nobody else wants to chime in on this lyrica. I read stuff about it almost every day??????????? mad shakehead

 

What makes it so good or so bad?????????????????????????

 

 

 

 

 

                                                    mike

Posted 9/5/2008 9:34 AM (GMT 0)
Mike,
I think I went off it because of fear of weight gain. I believe I took it for a month
and nothing happened. (Not even weight gain) Anyway, I stopped because
there were no results and I didn't want any more chemicals in my body.
Sometimes you must wrestle alligators in here to get a response.
Pamela Neckpain
Chronic Intractible Pain happened kinda over night for me. I was getting diagnoses,
and wrong diagnoses, and wild guesses... for about four year. Now in year 7, I
still look for a way out of pain. (A socially acceptable way, of course. : ) )
Posted 9/5/2008 11:53 AM (GMT 0)

I tried on Lyrica about a year ago and was on it for about 3 months.  I started taking 75mg at bedtime.  I stayed at that dose for 2 weeks, then added a 75mg dose  at breakfast.  And, 2 weeks later, I added 75mg at lunch.  At my follow-up appointment,  I didn't have any negative side effects, but no positive effects on my pain either.  My doctor titrated the dose up to 150mg per dose/450mg per day, using the same timeframe as the initial dosing.  I still didnt experience any positive or negative effects.

When I went for my next follow-up appointment, the doctor said he wanted to titrate to 300mg at bedtime, then 2 weeks later increase to 200mg at breakfast, and 2 weeks later increase to 200mg at lunch for a total dose of 700mg per day.  At that dose, I started having problems with dizziness, sleepiness, vertigo, headaches - and believe it or not,  it gave me chronic hiccups.  redface   

Since it still didn't have a positive impact on my pain, even at such a high dose, we opted to discontinue and try a different approach.   

Posted 9/5/2008 3:16 PM (GMT 0)
You can do a search to find all threads that reference Lyrica.

Personally, I really like it. I've had a lot of problems from other drugs -- side effects. When I started Neurontin, for example, I was pretty happy in general. I did not become very depressed, but I definitely thought about doing something horrible almost all the time. One day I got a class action notice in the mail that the same thing had happened to a lot of other people. I stopped taking it "cold turkey", which my doctor approved but that's not recommended. Within 48 hours the thoughts were gone for good. I know a lot of people are helped by it & I'm happy they've found something that works but for me it was an extremely dangerous medication & at the time there were no warnings that particular side effect. As another example, I developed Seratonin Syndrome while on nortriptylene, so I'm not fond of that med either. The list goes on & on.

It's not that I feel incredibly fantastic on the Lyrica. It does help, but as you say, it's subtle. I sleep better & take fewer pain meds while on it. It doesn't do anything for swelling, but it's not meant to. That's what ice & anti-inflammatories are for. It does help quite a bit with nerve pain. Higher doses are even more helpful, but I rarely take more than 50-100mg because it makes me really sleepy when I take more of it. I used to take more & then I would take Provigil to help me stay awake, but I didn't like taking so many meds.

Good luck to you & take care,
frances
Posted 9/5/2008 10:29 PM (GMT 0)
Bionic Woman,
I have a talent. Yes! I can cure hiccups. I used to work with a lot of children and
assistants in a day care. When someone got the hiccups. They just sat down by
me and I'd tell them to breathe slowly and when they took a breath in to make it
go around the hiccup place. (There was more to it of course.)
We all have talents. Mine? BORN TO CURE THE HICCUPS.
Pamela Neckpain smurf
Posted 9/5/2008 11:07 PM (GMT 0)
LOL Pamela! I haven't had the hiccups since I stopped the Lyrica, but if I happen to get them again, I'll come looking for you. wink
Posted 9/5/2008 11:11 PM (GMT 0)
Pamela,
I'm going to try that next time I get hiccups! I think it's quite creative!

PaLady
Posted 9/6/2008 10:16 AM (GMT 0)
Thank you. Thank you very much.
Pamela Neckpain has left the building. smurf
Posted 9/6/2008 6:16 PM (GMT 0)
Mike, I tried Lyrica, I took the first pill then within 10 minutes started to feel better pain wise, helped with the burning pain, but then after 20 minutes I started to throw up...and I threw up quite a lot. It was very very horrible, but not as bad as what the Celebrex did to me...I threw up every hour on the hour after taking one Celebrex and almost ended up in the ER badly dehydrated.
I will never ever take another Lyrica ever even though I could feel it help with the burning pain, it's not worth throwing up!
Sorry I can't help...........
Hope someone can get some relief from this medication........
Posted 9/7/2008 4:56 AM (GMT 0)
Excellent stuff everybody. Thats the kind of info I was looking for. I know in my past I have tried everything thier is and alot of them worked well, but within a day or two I was puking my guts up along with vertigo and constant dizziness. Its amazing that one mans sickness is another mans perfect medication.

The one thing that heard is the weight gain? That one I could never or almost never get that adverse effect. I realize everyone is diferent, but thats the last thing for me is to gain weight. I eat maybe a can of soup a day or a ham sandwich a day and thats about it. Not that I dont have other oppertunities with my childerens dinner each night, like steaks on the grill with BBQ chicken and mashed potatoes and gravy and well etc................ You know what I mean. I just dont have any appetite these days while I'm in so much pain. The meds only work so well, and It's just the misery that keeps me from it.

Anyway I would like all to thank who wrote back, its definatly interesting how different things are. My pain Dr. told me soon they will know which recepters are responding to the meds and will right off the bat to be able to prescribe the correct ones the first time instead of going thru 5 or 6 to figure it out.

I Hope Everbody Has a Pain Free Day!!!!!!!!!

               Kind Regards,

                                     Mike  smilewinkgrin

 

             (GO PATRIOTS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)

Posted 9/7/2008 2:56 PM (GMT 0)
My neurologist wanted to put me on Lyrica but my insurance denied it because they stated that it hasn't been sufficiently studied in neuropathies. But yet it is used in people with Fibro and diabetic neuropathies. I just don't understand my insurance reasoning sometimes. I wish I could try it because even though I get some relief from Neurontin, I still have break thru "shocks" and pain during the day. :(
Posted 9/8/2008 2:56 PM (GMT 0)
Two more thigns I forgot to mention Mike. It blurred my vision and gave me extremely lucid dreams. So lucid, theywere discomfiting to say the least. Being so lucid, I didn't rest, even though I slept. Cymbalta did the same thing.
Posted 9/10/2008 9:08 PM (GMT 0)
Mike, I was on put on Lyrica for neuropathy in my hands and feet. It was a wonder drug for me. It helped with the pain especially in my hands and knocked out alot of the early morning arm pain. I was on it about 6-8 months then started noticing it was not so effective. We were not surprised by this because I have a goofy system that just does not tolerate medications of any kind well at all. I felt lucky lucky to get relief as long as I did. I once became toxic to my BP medications and had to hospitalized. I think its like any other drugs, may truly work for one but not another, how many are willing to put up with side effects, also the purpose of what the drug may be used for, the list could go on forever,lol. Susie
Posted 9/14/2008 8:34 AM (GMT 0)
Hello to everyone,

I'm new here, have chronic back pain from a horse accident, pain down legs into my feet; however, dr's can't find anything wrong. They only say I damaged all my nerves in my back, that's a fact they can say. Anyways, I also have Intercistial cystitis & cysts on my left kidney.

I'm a student, mom of 2, married; I can't enjoy some activities our family does and can never sleep at night due to pain.

I have taken Lyrica and was on it for a few months, my body swelled up like a balloon; if you have seen the old Charlie and the Chocolate Factory movie, then the girl who blows up like a blueberry, well that was me! Yes, I stopped it, my weight went down and vowed to never take the medicine again.

I also swell up with Neurontin, Celebrex, and a few others; go figure. Anyways, that's my story with Lyrica.

Does anyone know the best treatment for Osteoarthritis in their lower back???? Thanks
Posted 9/14/2008 1:32 PM (GMT 0)
Hi all,

I usually post in the anxiety forum, but because I have chronic pain as well, came to check out this forum. I
can't add anything about Lyrica except my Psychiatrist suggested it, Celexa(sp?) and a couple others.
The reason I'm responding here is because I was very slowly taking myself off all of my medications
(Lexapro, Trazodone and Klonapin (Clonozopam)) and finally realized that I need it still - the one that
helps with the pain for me is Trazodone (according to my doctor) which is an antidepressant and sleep
disorder drug. As I was slowly taking myself off of it, all the old chronic acute pain had come back.
Now that I'm back on the regular doses, the pain is again manageable. I just wanted to throw this in hoping
it helps in some small way. Doesn't completely take away pain, but sure helped with management of it
making it tolerable so I could function much better. (I herniated a disc/lower lumbar years ago and also
have degeneration arthritis there and in my C-3 in which one side is 1/2 the size of the other side).

~ Julie O.
Posted 9/14/2008 3:07 PM (GMT 0)
Hi,

I've been taking Lyrica for about 7 1/2 months now, though my dose has been upped since I first started. My doc did say it's more of a long term drug as it needs time to build up to a therapeutic level. At first, I wasn't sure if it was doing anything so one time I stopped it for a few days and my nerve symptoms did worsen some, even though i'd still been having nerve symptoms all along. I know this was stupid to do, and I don't recommend anyone else doing this. And more recently, I could no longer afford any of my meds, so I went without a few others for several days and I will be without my Lyrica for about a month. ( I have applied for prescription assistance from the drug maker but the whole process takes 3-4 weeks & I didn't know my prescription cap was met until a few days before renewal). Already I know that Lyrica was helping! I am starting to get more paresthesias all over and also more short episodes of shocking nerve pains. I was getting all this while taking Lyrica, but the pains were more dull and less often. Now my fingers are going numb way more often and for longer periods of time. SO I'm beginning to feel like a voodoo doll again.

When I first started it, some of the side effects were quite noticeable, such as my brain not being to focus correctly, feeling spacey, and weight gain. Over time, I still have the focus problem, but I dont' notice it as much. It seems I have stopped gaining any more weight and actually some of the edema looks like it's gone down some around my feet and ankles. However, I will take all this over having my pain get worse...

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