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Lardeelion

New member
Joined
Nov 30, 2013
Messages
7
Diagnosis
11/2013
Country
US
State
WV
Morning, folks.

I'm on my 6th day of Lyrica. In the starter pack you start with 50mg and go up to 75. Of course the first two days I was stoned off my arse, but now I feel pretty good. The body aches are gone. I actually did several loads of laundry, baked banana bread, cleaned up the kitchen, knitted two hats and entertained my 3-year-old son all day. Holy cow!

Of course, I keep reading about the dark side of Lyrica, if you can call it that. I'm nervous about taking it because I keep reading about withdrawals. And I wonder, was my moderate pain bad enough to warrant anything besides Ibuprofen? (Because, who needs a stomach lining?) I suppose I'm putting the cart before the horse, because I feel better and I don't have restless legs bugging me. I just worry. My mom is "addicted" to Effexor and when she forgets a pill she has a genuine freak-out. That's not to say the same thing will happen to me, but I'm very sensitive to medication and naturally a worry-wort.

I'm not even sure what I'm asking. I just got my "official" diagnosis, but of course I've known what this was for quite a while. I suppose I just want confirmation that Lyrica probably won't ruin my life. And if it will, tell me now, on Day 6. Please. :confused:
 
I don't think Lyrica will ruin your life, but to be honest I'm not an advocate of most meds; they all cause side effects. My mom stopped taking her clonazepam all of a sudden, now she's feeling dizzy every morning. They say this can last for 6 months to 2 years, depending on the dose the person took and for long it was taken.

I don't think that can happen with lyrica, since lyrica isn't a benzo, but I guess you can get used to pain medications, and once you leave them... it can be a bit tough, but I believe a withdrawal is still possible. A lot people use this medication, just try to take it easy. Sometimes taking pain meds is quite necessary, plus it's great you've had such a great response to the medication! Very remarkable!
 
Be wary of weight gain..... I didn't the tolerate lyrica long enough to experience weight gain... But I have a few friends whom have taken this medication, and they are now a much larger version of their old selves..... When I tried lyrica, I experienced random crying for no reason, sadness, depression (and I am not a depressed person by any means lol) and it seemed to make my pain worse.
My body doesn't tolerate medications very well.... So I've tried dozens (notice that dozens is plural lol) of medications ie: lyrica, Cymbalta, savella, conzip, horizant, grilise, many antisiezure medications, etc. I try to give them all a fair shot, however, if the side effects I experience outweigh the benefits (if any benefits at all...) I call my Dr and stop the medication...
I try to keep a journal on the medications and write down what I experience...
Good luck! Hopefully lyrica is the magic pill in your fibro cocktail lol
 
I do wonder if I'm making a mistake in taking it. I'm experiencing mild stomach aches, and a weird cricket sound in my ears, which I read is not unheard of. I, too, am not a fan of medications, and my fibro pain came and went and was never debilitating, just crummy. I feel very overwhelmed by the array of choices before me in terms of drugs, and non-drug approaches, and the thought of stopping Lyrica now and then spending the week of Christmas with aches again. I'm not really doing anything but rambling here, so thanks for listening.
 
Don't worry about rambling, we're all here to help each other out and listen because we understand what each other are going through! It's always good to vent, especially because you're in good company here! It's not good to hold all of this stuff in, and sometimes people in our lives simply just don't get it. This is a wonderful place to lay it all out because if one person doesn't know the answer, someone else will! Good luck! And don't ever worry about rambling lol :)
 
Lyrica increased my appetite substantially and I gained 12 lb quickly. I have been on 300 mg daily along with Flexeril for a year but will begin titrating down as I do not feel it is working. My short-term memory is atrocious - everyone is noticing. It does work for some, though. Just not me. I have tried 25+ rx meds but nothing has helped. My next step is to cut out sugar and eat low carbs which is said to dramatically decrease inflammation.
 
Lyrica does make me high, and I hate that. But it does help with the pain! And the other problem I have had with it is it makes me more susceptible to chest colds and infections in the winter. That is one reason why I'm not on it this winter.
 
I think the lyrica commercial does a real disservice to us fibromyalgia suffers. The actress is all perky as if the pill cured her when we know there are so many other afflictions associated with the disease such as the debilitating fatigue, the fibro fog etc. It makes it sound like fibromyalgia is no big deal.
 
I do wonder if I'm making a mistake in taking it. I'm experiencing mild stomach aches, and a weird cricket sound in my ears, which I read is not unheard of. I, too, am not a fan of medications, and my fibro pain came and went and was never debilitating, just crummy. I feel very overwhelmed by the array of choices before me in terms of drugs, and non-drug approaches, and the thought of stopping Lyrica now and then spending the week of Christmas with aches again. I'm not really doing anything but rambling here, so thanks for listening.

I believe that anything that helps, helps. If your doctor felt Lyrica or any medication appropriate, you can set aside your anxiety and focus on rebuilding your life, based on how well you feel.

If the time comes when you must stop taking any medication, your doctor should wean you off and/or replace it with a different medication to avoid withdrawal while effectively managing your pain.

When we start feeling better we tend to feel that we aren't nearly as ill as we thought. It is easy to beat ourselves up, think that we were wimps, lied about our pain to get stronger medications, and a myriad of other self defeating thoughts.

Just remember how you felt before the medication and what your pain was like without it.

Congratulate yourself for finding relief that many people are denied!
 
I've been taking Lyrica for almost 6 months. I'm taking 600mg a day (anybody know if that's a crazy lot btw?) and it helps immensely. However, I am going to tell you when I first started it, I too felt like superman. I hadn't felt so good in years! I was taking 50mg 3 times a day and one day I was at a school function for my niece and did not take my afternoon pill. Well, I felt like I had been hit by a bus. One minute fine, next done in--I wasn't sure I was going to make the drive home even. It scared me. I felt like you, like "oh no, I will be dependent on this forever!" But, in the last 6 months I have missed a dose here and there and it's nothing like that first time. Once it builds up some maybe, or you get used to how it makes you feel, then it's not so bad. I get tired and weak if I miss it, but it's manageable. All in all, the Lyrica may have saved my life. So, push on through and give it a chance is my advice. You may have to adjust your dose or figure when the best time to take it is, but it just might be worth it.
 
I agree. I had seen the ads before my diagnosis and never thought that could be what's wrong with me until my mom watched something about it and it fit the myriad of illnesses I have. The ad makes it seem like just some muscle pain, no biggie. I like the Lyrica but the ad could be more realistic to raise more awareness of the disease.
 
Whoa! 600 mg? The max dose should only be 300 mg according to my CPC and other doctors and pharmacists. My pharmacist said over 300 mg is dangerous. I would suggest asking a professional about this. I am at 300 mg with no pain relief and have tried 25+ meds to no avail. :(
 
That's awful because the only relief I get is by taking that much and it's minimal at best. Has anybody heard and/or tried Kratom? That natural pain reliever supposedly. And I had read where some women were taking 600mg per dose so I dunno. Thanks though. I plan to see my dr soon and I will ask him about it.
 
I am glad to hear that I am not crazy, as I have been having serious memory issues for awhile now on Lyrica!
 
Okay, I posted this in December. It's now April. I had to stop the Lyrica after 2 weeks. I felt really good on it, but I started getting stomach aches that got progressively worse until I was forced to quit. That ended up being a good thing because I quickly noticed a ringing in my ears, too. It was more than a ring; it sounded like crickets. It drove me nuts at night.

It's been over 4 months and I still hear the chorus of crickets. I took Lyrica for 2 weeks at the most. Stupid crickets may be with me for life, I fear.

However, during the 2 weeks on Lyrica I felt good enough to establish a gym routine and that more than anything has helped, I think. So that's was something.
 
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