Hello All,
This is my 2nd week now of starting Lyrica....going well, am gradually increasing my dose week by week.
But, it says on the info to take it twice a day.
Do any of you just take it once a day? Like at bedtime.
I'm wanting to stick with it till I reach the 250-350mg dose mark, but am finding it has increased my dizziness a lot during the day.
Is it ok to just take it at night?
Hope those of you on Lyrica can help me out with this one.
Love you all,
Lucy xx
I took 75mg twice a day once at breakfast and at bedtime when the dose increased I took 150mg twice a day I could not tolerate the higher dose because of weight gain and dizziness and confusion. My friend takes her dose at night but you need to ask your doctor she/he may only want you to take it twice a day. Some times the side effects will go away after a couple of weeks. I hope this works for you and the doctor can work out a way for you to take it.
Thank you,
My gp did say twice a day but I find the morning dose, just 50mg, makes me so dizzy, which is why I would like to just take it once, at night.....will ask her, I'm seeing her next week, with a view to increasing the dose.
Lucy xx
I take 150 mg three times a day. 7am 12pm 5pm. When I first started out it gave me night terrors and then he moved me up slower. But it has helped and I do have intense cravings for sweets.
I take 100mg of Lyrica twice a day. I worked up to it very gradually, and found that 200mg per day was all I could handle.
My doctor also wants me to take the pills separately. I explained to her that the bedtime pill was fine, but if I took the other at lunch I felt so sleepy in the afternoon I didn't dare drive and I often took 3 to 4 hour naps in the afternoon. I slept so soundly that my daughter dould not wake me.... Thanks everybody - warm thoughts and soft hugs.
So now I take one pill at dinner and one at bedtime. BTW, I take a Cymbalta at breakfast, This combo seems to be the best so far for me..
Don't take my schedule as anything to do without talking to your doctor. Heaven knows, every one of us with fibro seems to have such widely different problems and answers That's why this chat board has been a real mainstay for me...
I take 150 at night. The dr wants me to take 75 more in the morning but I have issues concentrating at work so I have 25mg to work my way up slowly. Maybe you can get them to give you a lower MG to work your way up. Good luck, Scarlett
Hi Scarlett,
I'm on 50mg at the moment, moving up to 75mg next week, but I left off this mornings dose and my head is so much clearer, less fuzzy and I'm less dizzy, so I just took it last night and I slept really well till 5.30, which is good for me.
I've found that my body doesn't need high doses of things, so maybe just a night dose will suit.
Thank you Scarlett,
Love Lucy xx
HI Lucy,
I have taken Lyrica for years now, I started with Gabapentin, and it was like being inside a spinning top, the Lyrica is the best of the 2 for me as far as tolerance. I take 225 mg 3x daily. The worst SE I experience is swelling, and sometimes I have to just stop taking it for a day or two, I do this with the permission of my Drs, my body releases it naturally, which is fortunate. My GP wanted to up the dose, but my Rheum said NO after seeing the swelling.
Not sure when 2 doses would be the most beneficial as it will only stay in your body for 6-8 hours. Probably will need to find out when your body needs it most until you reach the 3 doses daily. From what I understand, the Drs start you out on small doses, slowly increasing the dose to avoid such SE as dizziness, but it just may not be a drug for you. Only in time will you and your Dr know for sure. Keep an on-going list of things you want to talk to him about, it helps you to address everything when you get there
I hope you can tolerate Lyrica and it is beneficial to you, it is a great med for nerve pain.
Wishing you well,
SK
Thanks SK, yes I'm already finding, even at just 50mg that it's helping at night, those tingly restless leg feelings are settling and I'm sleeping better, so I think it's certainly helping me at night. xxx
Hi Lucy,
I'm sorry that I didn't see your post early - I must have had a bad fibro fog moment, because I literally forgot about this site! I was talking to my husband this morning and said I wanted to find an online support group or something for patients with fibro and he said, "I thought you already joined one!" Duh! I haven't been on here since November!
I am currently taking Lyrica and Cymbalta for fibro and I am cautiously excited to say that it's really helping quite well. It did take adjusting and increasing dosages, but I'm finally in a good spot. Right now, I take 300mg of Lyrica and 90 mg of Cymbalta in the morning and 600mg of Lyrica in the evening. I do take other meds for my thyroid and high cholesterol as well.
I won't lie - there surely are side effects with Lyrica. As you are getting adjusted on it, it's hard to decipher the difference between Lyrica fog and Fibro fog - I was constantly looking at my husband and wanted to tell him something, but I couldn't get the words to transfer from my brain to my mouth to speak them! The weight gain doesn't help, either. Thankfully, I am surrounded by my husband and other male friends who remind me that "Real Women Have Curves!!"
About the dizziness - do ask your physician if it would be possible to take a lower dose in the morning and then take the larger dose at bedtime. My physician did this with me and I found life to be much more bearable.
Okay, I'll stop rambling - chattiness is another thing I've noticed about the Lyrica - but my life is much better with Lyrica than without...MUCH better.
Take care,
Cyn