Guest guest Posted September 5, 2008 Report Share Posted September 5, 2008 Hello : my partner has been taking Lyrica for his neuropathy for about 4 months. Though his neuropathy has not completely disappeared, he says Lyrica made it much more tolerable. Regarding Lyrica' side effects, he has been having swelling of his hands and feet. The swelling has somewhat decreased with time, but it has not disappeared. Also, Lyrica makes him drowsy, but he says he likes this side effect, because he suffers from insomnia and haas a hard time falling asleep. By taking Lyrica at bed time, and he has been able to take only half Ambien. > > > > > > Hey Gang > > > > > I am starting Lyrica to manage post op sciatica pain and I am a little worried about side effects and interactions.  I know a few of you are taking it for neuropathy. Also, I am taking it with Ultram. > > > > > Any experienced pain management people out there? > > > > > I had a l5 R1 laminetomy a month ago and I am still in pretty bad shape.  Hydrocodone does little for my pain and other opiates are too addictive. > > > > > > > > Thanks > > > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 9, 2008 Report Share Posted September 9, 2008 At 11:25 AM 9/5/2008, PoWeRTX@... wrote: >I am starting Lyrica to manage post op sciatica >pain and I am a little worried about side >effects and interactions.  I know a few of you >are taking it for neuropathy. Also, I am taking it with Ultram. > >Any experienced pain management people out there? > >I had a l5 R1 laminetomy a month ago and I am >still in pretty bad shape.  Hydrocodone does >little for my pain and other opiates are too addictive. I've been taking Lyrica for the past six months for my post-herpetic neuralgia. We started off at 75mg twice daily and we're now up to 150mg twice daily. This isn't even the maximum dosage. I also take Tranxene, but that's for my bipolar disorder. Can't say if there would be an adverse reaction due to a combination with Ultram, but your pharmacist would be in a good position to know. The Lyrica has been somewhat helpful, but then so has acupuncture, so it's hard to say which has done more good. I've spoken with a good friend who is a pain management specialist, and he says that I'm doing all the right things -- Lyrica plus acupuncture plus passage of time. That's all one can really do in these cases he says. I've also been taking Vicodan (double-strength Vicodin) for when the pain gets really bad, which is fairly often. I've not noticed the drowsiness and " loopiness " side effects reported by others. I haven't noticed any side effects at all. I wouldn't avoid the opiates just because of their addictive potential. I was taking morphine for a while for my PHN, but then we tapered off of that with no problems. There's no need for you to suffer, and unless you have an addictive personality type, you should be able to reduce the opiates without a problem. I hope this helps somewhat. Regards, Nick -- Nick 35 Village Green Circle , MS 39211 601-956-7949 thenick@... http://nicknicholas.net IM: nick_nicholas01 " If the society today allows wrongs to go unchallenged, the impression is created that those wrongs have the approval of the majority. " Barbara Jordan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 18, 2008 Report Share Posted September 18, 2008  Hi - I've been taking Lyrica (100 mg 3x a day) for neuropathy in my feet and legs since March. It's worked great for the pain, and at the same time did cure my insomnia somewhat (to the point of falling asleep and out of my desk chair a couple of times). So it does make me a bit loopy. I've adjusted to it over 6 months. Tried to reduce it to 200 mg a day, but the electric-feeling nerve pain came back quickly. I think that as the side-effects have decreased, so has the effectiveness. A friend has been taking it for shingles secondary-staph pain for about a year now, and is up to 600 mg/day. I hope I'll do OK with this dose until I find something better. I'm becoming more productive, though I nap quite a bit. When I first started Lyrica it was amazing - I felt stoned, and at the same time my muscles loosened up to the point that I could extend my foot to eye level again! Wish it didn't make me so spacey. Oh - And I've had the worst weight gain (all truncal fat) of my life. Can't tell if Lyrica is the cause, since I started Isentress and quit smoking (again) around the same time. Hope this helps. - BG Hey Gang I am starting Lyrica to manage post op sciatica pain and I am a little worried about side effects and interactions. I know a few of you are taking it for neuropathy. Also, I am taking it with Ultram. Any experienced pain management people out there? I had a l5 R1 laminetomy a month ago and I am still in pretty bad shape. Hydrocodone does little for my pain and other opiates are too addictive. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 18, 2008 Report Share Posted September 18, 2008 Yeah, it seems that many people complain about weight gain and edema with the drug I cannot really say it is helping me, and all I want to do is sleep all day if I take it. Thanks to all of you who sent emails sharing info about this drug! In a message dated 9/18/2008 3:12:08 P.M. Central Daylight Time, wgaul1@... writes: Oh - And I've had the worst weight gain (all truncal fat) of my life. Can't tell if Lyrica is the cause, since I started Isentress and quit smoking (again) around the same time. Hope this helps. - BG Looking for simple solutions to your real-life financial challenges? Check out WalletPop for the latest news and information, tips and calculators. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 19, 2008 Report Share Posted September 19, 2008 Hello, I took Neurontin (Gabapentin) for about 8 years for my neuropathy. They then switched me to Lyrica. Yes, at first the side effects were difficult to manage. I would get in my car and head to appointments and then not be able to remember where I was going or how to get there. I was also very tired most of the time. The worst of the side effects wore off within a couple of weeks but then the pain changed. Some of the pain I had been experiencing reduced quite a bit but then I had new significant pain that I had never had before. I continued with the Lyrica for a year with the pain continuing to worsen, as it had on the previous medication. I then went back to Neurontin (for insurance reasons-or lack there of). Unfortunately, the " new pain " never went away. I am now permentantly disabled due to the neuropathy and take morphine 2-4 times daily to get by. I have had it for approximately 13 years now. Neurontin does not stop the pain. Nor did Lyrica. What I did find by stopping the medications briefly, is that without one of them severe flair-ups (above and beyond the daily pain) are almost constant. My point is that even if much of the daily pain does not seem to go away the medications are probably still doing some good by slowing down the progression and reducing the amount of pain experienced. Having taken both medications I will say that I don't seem to have any side effects from Neurontin and tolerate it better than I did Lyrica. Doctors seem to be pushing Lyrica more and more but I don't necessarily believe that it is any better than Neurontin. Best of luck, > > Hi - > > I've been taking Lyrica (100 mg 3x a day) for neuropathy in my feet and legs since March. It's worked great for the pain, and at the same time did cure my insomnia somewhat (to the point of falling asleep and out of my desk chair a couple of times). So it does make me a bit loopy. I've adjusted to it over 6 months. Tried to reduce it to 200 mg a day, but the electric-feeling nerve pain came back quickly. I think that as the side-effects have decreased, so has the effectiveness. A friend has been taking it for shingles secondary- staph pain for about a year now, and is up to 600 mg/day. I hope I'll do OK with this dose until I find something better. I'm becoming more productive, though I nap quite a bit. When I first started Lyrica it was amazing - I felt stoned, and at the same time my muscles loosened up to the point that I could extend my foot to eye level again! Wish it didn't make me so spacey. > > Oh - And I've had the worst weight gain (all truncal fat) of my life. Can't tell if Lyrica is the cause, since I started Isentress and quit smoking (again) around the same time. > > Hope this helps. - BG > > > > > > Hey Gang > > > I am starting Lyrica to manage post op sciatica pain and I am a little worried about side effects and interactions. I know a few of you are taking it for neuropathy. Also, I am taking it with Ultram. > > > Any experienced pain management people out there? > > > I had a l5 R1 laminetomy a month ago and I am still in pretty bad shape. Hydrocodone does little for my pain and other opiates are too addictive. > > > > > Thanks > > > > > -------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------- > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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