Thanks Jeannie. I have used Effexor for years for anit-depressant and seen to do very well on it except for muscle tightness. Other anti-d's don't seem to work for me. Tramadol was a great relieft to me for the pain and I may try it again. 4 50's a day gave me energy and took almost all pain away. Lyrica so far hasn't done much except I sleep very well at night. Hangover from it still...guess I will give it a little more time. I hear you on the lack of understanding and compassion. I was diagnosed in 91 and probably had it several years before the diagnosis. It was hell!. Doc thought I was crazy.
I took lyrica and had to get off of it . I got very irritable easily and gained a lot of weight . Now I have to try to lose the weight but is very hard to do.I also have joint hyper mobility syndrome also and my pain is just getting worse. I have tried a lot of meds now and can't find one that really helps.To get off lyrica I had to do 75mg for a week then 50 mg for a week then 25 for a week then I could stop it without getting really sick.
Hi CarolAnn!
Have you noticed a weight gain on gabapentin? When I went off Lyrica, the weight dropped immediately. Now it's creeping back.
The rheumy tried to give me a large dose of gabapentin, but it made me dizzy. I had to decrease it. I did notice an immediate relief of spinal pain on gabapentin. That didn't happen with Lyrica. Interesting.....
Our experiences are so individual that it's helpful to compare. Thanks!
Hugs,
Scribelle
I also was off Lyrica for 9 mths & wgt went down , now back on it for 3 mths & have gained 6 kgs ! , but seems to help , mainly for trigeminal Neuralgia,. I don't want to become a zombie , but will keep it in mind. , although neurosurgeon said yesterday that he has had people that can use it in conjunction with tegretol when have bilateral trigeminal neuralgia, which is me ! Anyway goodluck with it , it's very much trial & error for each individual. I am on 150mgs x3 daily, now on PBS here in Australia , but previously had to get it through public hospital pain clinic .
Isn't it wonderful when we find a medicine that helps! I am impressed that you can play croquet. That's great! I would probably lose my balance, fall over, and send the ball flying.
I also gained weight from Lyrica, and had to change to gabapentin for various reasons. As for the weight gain, it's worth it if you are also able to live life doing some of the things you love. What a wonderful sister to help with the medical costs. What love!
I also take Cymbalta, and I think it helps. I know that when I skip it, I sleep all day. :)
It's important to evaluate which meds work for us, and you are teaching us all to go with the one that fits us best. I admire that!
Hugs,
Scribelle
I've been on Lyrica about 2 months. I started on 75 mg 2 x 's a day & after 2-3 weeks I felt about 50% better! That lasted about 2 weeks & then it seemed to stop working all together! I had symptoms of feeling "drunk" for a few days but that stopped but I was also thirsty all the time! I also noticed an increase in my appetite which my doc said was a common side effect & probably the reason why most people gain weight! I continued taking it until I could see my doctor again & my dose was increased to 150mg twice a day. The "drunk" feeling returned again for a few days then went away but I still have the thirst & increase in appetite. I'm not a big eater so I've tried to eat a lot of fruit or smoothies to control the hunger & I have not had any weight gain... yet! I have had some swelling in my ankles though. The dose increase I've been on for 3 weeks now but I haven't noticed my pain level dropping at all. So I'm bummed about that but I continue taking it ! Oh and also I've had a big drop in my libido! That sucks! Hope I'll feel better soon cuz it did work for me when I first started it even though it was sort lived!
Sorry to read that lyrica did not help many of you and so many have had bad side effects. My rheumatologist told me it really only helps patients pain level about 20% overall so that was not very encouraging. :-/
Hi,
I haven't noticed a weight gain on the gabapentin. I was also really dizzy when I increased my dose-but I stuck with it and it's not making me dizzy now. It also helps me sleep!
Hang in there,
Carol
Lyrica and Neurontin are the same kind of drug ,I would be very sure your doctors realize you are on the neurotin before giving you Lyrica. I can not take either ,also gabepentin in the same class they cause me all sorts of problems likee tardive dyskinisia ,stammering ,not being able to find words. Some people do really well on these so if you do well on the neurotin ,you might tolerate the Lyrica well.