I also tried Lyrica. I had more pain, weight gain, loss of muscle control and started having delusions. My father had the same reaction to it. The doctor took us both off immediately. The side efffects from Cymbalta and Neurotin were worse than the benefits. I will not take any of them ever again. Check out this web site. I found it interesting and am going to talk to my doctor about it. Thank You! | Envita Medical Center Go to home page and click on Fibromyalgia. Good Luck!
Lyrica caused me to have severe headaches and did nothing to help the pain. I was taken off after 1 week.
I found it interesting to read that all the posts except two had found that Lyrica did not help significantly and that withdrawl and weight gain were major factors. I too have tried all standard meds for fibro and it took a visit to emerg to finally wake me up to the fact that the Lyrica was causing most of the overwhelming problems I was having. I've been 'drug free' now for two years. I still struggle with the Fibro every day but at least I know that that is ALL that I have to deal with and not spend all my time trying to figure out what is drug reaction and what is Fibro. Please be very careful with weaning yourself off - take it slow. And good luck!!
I only know that Lyrica makes you gain weight , but it seems to be one of the top drugs to help with Fibro. "Cymbalta"
is what I was put on because I have already gained so much weight being so immobel from arthritis, and yes that did help.
I would think you'd want to talk again with your Dr. about your symptons.
I hope things get better for you with the right meds!
I had head aches also ,I wonder if you had a hrdtime finding words,simple ones I would be talking fine then come to a word like igoing to put the milk in the : then I found that refridgerator was like on the tip of my tongue and I couldn't find it ,I could say that big box that keeps things cold in the kitchen or for cat the four-legged that meows it was really scary it happened to me taking Lyrica, gabapentin, and neurotin all at about three-weeks
I can understand that you don;t want drugs and there side effects I do suggest B6 and B12 but I want you to know that even though the are just vitemens they can have side effects ,the side effects can be really strange however we now know what to do about them to supplement with any of the Bvitemins you must take the whole B complex as they need to balance each other Bcomplex comes in tablet and sublingal liquid you put under your tongue. The sub-linguel works the best and you absorb it directly into your blood. My husband had peripheral neuropathy as a complication of AIDS it worked wonders so I started using it for the fibro, artritis and sciatica it helped me go without drugs for several years till it progressed. The research was done by Dr. Lark Lands she did the studies on diabetics withperuphral- neuropathy, she found that although they may have had normal levels that treating them with Bcomplex lessened or eradicated their symptoms. A geriatic physian tha my mother worked with in Luckey Ohio,started using it on his pain patients and some of them were the kind that are found in almost every nursing home screaming all the time ,he gave them shots of B-complex,and wrote it up as dealing with mal-absorbtion sydrome to get it paid for by medicare,as that is the basic problem the enzymes that are used to metabolize it from our food are made by bacterisa in the intestines and they can be killed by anti-biotics and alcohol. I add alcohol as the treatment is the same for people having the DTS oof with drawl they give them b-complex shots.It is not a cure but it can help the symtoms the bottle of bcomplex for 1 shot a week was for 3 months was only 7 dollars in 2004,I am not sure how much it would be now
I’m on 150mg of lyrica twice a day. Have gained about 10lbs but I’m also on Wellbutrin and celexa both are known for weight gain. If I skip a dose only thing I notice is more pain the next day.
That being said. You are having a allergic reaction to it if your face is puffy and red if there is another dr in your drs office get in to see him/her. If not go into walkin or somewhere they will see you and have the knowledge to help you.
Good luck. But I do advise you tell the drs office it’s very important you get in!!
Hi OhDearKatie!
I am so sorry to hear that you are going through this. I would insist on a review right away.
I was on Lyrica for awhile, gained 35-45 lbs., felt horrible, no room for food because of my fat stomach, and wanted to hide since I could not find any clothes to fit my bizarre shape (only maternity clothes fit my belly - yuk). I hurt so bad that I could only use a walker.
When I went off Lyrica, the weight shed all by itself and I felt better, other than normal fibro pain.
Now I am on gabapentin, which is related to Lyrica. I have had some weight gain, but it stopped at one point (unlike Lyrica, which kept on going). I am getting relief from gabapentin, but have stayed in close touch with the doctor. We have agreed on the fact that I don't want to take as much as he was prescribing, so he adjusted the dose.
We need to insist that our doctors re-evaluate a medicine when it is clearly not working. If we talk with them about what is happening, our doctor-patient relationship is much better. Then if the relationship does not improve, it's time to change doctors. I have found it helpful to give the original doctor a chance to hear me out and give me an explanation, as it has improved my situation on numerous occasions.
I hope this helps!
Hugs,
Scribelle
I am on both Oxycodone for my pain and fentynal which is a patch it really helps with the rollercoaster effects of the pills.I have other pain isues also ,but the fentynal does'n't work as well as the oxycodone so I went from 25 of fentynal with 30 oxy a day up to 50 of fentynal with15 of oxycodone ,then up to 75 fentelnal and 10 oxycodone after a few months of misery I went back down to 50 of the fentynal and now have up to 60 oof the oxycodone a day I don't even take the oxycodone some times and I am fine ,but other days I ned it all so I guess that it takes time to get it right the side effects of these are some euforia at first and bad slow reflexs ,but I had stopped driving years ago due to the brain fog and getting lost a couple of miles from a few times ,I am fine most of the time but when one of these bouts of brain fog nausea I don't know when it will happen so I thought I should quit driving that was 1999,it is limiting but I was so scared I would hurt someone because of my bad reflexs and brain fog,which is like having a hangover feeling but I feel stupid and fearful,anddizzy when it happens and it can go ohn for months I have had them since 1998 I have had several that left me unable to walk because I couldnt pick up my knees they had swollen so much.which is another part of it pain and swelling it is horrible The only thing at the time that had changed was that I got Lymes bull's eyes twice that summer. I am rambling so I will close I do hope you find something that works well enough so you can live without pain and the depression that comes withit.
I took it & was so sick & dizzy. I have had vertigo for along time anyways off & on. I went fishing & feel in the lake standing there because I couldn't even stand up. Scared my brother-in law, he thought I had a bite & was leaning forward. Then I fell in the lake with all my clothes on & it was cold out. Not a good experience, quite taking it.
Hi Katie,
I take Lyrica 225 mg 3x daily for Sciatica http://www.medterms.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=5418, which is a very strong nerve pain, and it works. The worst side effect for me has been fluid retention, and weight gain. At times I have to stop taking it for a day or two, and allow my body to throw it off, it does so without the help of fluid pills, luckily.
In my opinion it will only help with nerve pain, meaning it will not help joint or bone pain at all, and I'm just not sure if it helps muscle pain.
You should be advised by your Doctor if you wish to discontinue any med, but especially this one!
I hope that you can find relief from something, unfortunately you have to decide if it is helping your pain, and if it is worth the side effects you are having, and it is best to discuss this with the Doctor who prescribed it.
Wishing you well,
SK
I gained weight rapidly, heart palpitations, blurred vision, dry mouth, joint pain...it was a nightmare.
For me Lyrica was only to help me sleep through the night- it knocked me out but did nothing for pain
I've been on Lyrica for 5 yrs & yes it does cause wgt gain & some fluid retention. I was originally put on it for trigeminal neuralgia & then had to resort to surgery for this 12 mths ago , then I ceased the Lyrica until tri. neuralgia returned after 9 mths. , during which time I lost 6 kgs. . Now on 150mgs x3 daily & wgt has returned quite quickly !! I need to stay on it though because of TN & it does help with the Fibro. , the pain specialist said 3 yrs ago that this was the best drug for this & he was aCanadian with lots of experience & it does allow me more physical activity. I have heard of a lot of people that are not happy being on it , so I think you have to try a little bit longer. Are you also on Endep as combination seems to help me also? Good Luck
I tried Lyrica when it first came out and I slept round the clock so stopped it. My doc recently prescribed it and told me to take 2 tabs at night and 1 in daytime which works. I sleep soundly and wake up refreshed in the am. Seems to be helping I am out of bed for the first time in a month. Be very careful backing off it! Check w/ doc....if he is out of town talk to his nurse. Usually docs have you back down VERY slowly! Good luckd!
Hi Katie,
I should add that Lyrica has also helped me with costocondroitis, which is a weird pain in the rib area. I can't really describe it except that it feels like I got knocked down and the wind was knocked out of me. At any rate, the Lyrica works quite well for that pain as it always goes away once I take the Lyrica and mysteriously returns if I'm late in taking my next dose. I imagine this info won't be of much help for you if the Lyrica isn't helping you but I'm hoping someone else might read it and maybe get some relief from their costocondroitis pain.
Hi Petunia Girl!
It's good to hear that some people have seen a benefit with Lyrica. We hear about the negative experiences, but usually not the positive ones. This is a good example of how individual our responses to meds are!
Hugs,
Scribelle
I tried Lyrica and didn't notice any difference from taking gabapentin. With my insurance making such a stink about it and it being so much more expensive then gabapentin-I stopped taking it and went back to gabapentin (higher dose)
I also gained weight very quickly on the Lyrica.
Carol
I take Lyrica 200mg when I go to sleep and find that I sleep better and have less pain while taking it. My doctor recently prescribed Gabapentin and I took it for one week, I found that it made me very groggy and I felt depressed. I'm back to taking Lyrica. I'm not crazy about the out of pocket cost, but since it relieves my pain, it is so worth it. Please don't give up trying to find a medicine that works for you.
Praying you find relief soon : )
I tried Lyrica when it was first released I didn't find it helpful at all, I find Endep to be more helpful it is a anti-depressent, so you get the benefit of a anti-depressent and it helps you stay asleep not waking up all the time giving you a more restful night sleep which helps cope with the pain. Tramadol is a effective pain relief but you do have to get the right dose, these are common medications used for Fibro I have had it for 17yrs I hope this might help you, there were no support groups and little understanding and compassion for people with Fibro years ago.