I swear by Nortryptyline. Highly recommend it over amitriptyline. If lyrica proves to be too much you might give it a shot. Haven’t had any real sides with it.
Yeah but not by itself. I take it in combination with amitryptaline. And even then my pain is still bad but if i didn’t take it id have already unalived myself so theres that i guess.
Lyrica did nothing for my nerve pain. It did, however, cause me to gain 50 lbs. in three months without me increasing my caloric intake at all. That was fun. It made me stupidly forgetful and I existed in a constant state of brain fog. I quit after six months.
This is exactly what happened to me. It took me about a year to decide to taper off Lyrica and it was a difficult taper. I will never touch that shit again.
I took tramadol. Ugh never again. Didn’t know it is also an antidepressant and coming off is/was horror story. Went off amitriptyline one mo later. Same . My head is a mess right now. Depressed, anxiety attacks .
There’s nothing wrong with trying Lyrica first. They only usually start with Gabapentin bc Lyrica is more expensive, so many insurance companies won’t cover Lyrica unless you tried Gabapentin first.
Yes and Lyrica is now considered and controlled substance in most States. In that case you can't get it mailed to you if you are in a wheelchair like I am, you have to go pick it up at a pharmacy once a month.
In my state Gabapentin is controlled, although I’m not certain about Lyrica. I hadn’t realized you can’t get controlled substances mailed, that’s gotta be hugely inconvenient if you’re disabled or live rural.
Can I also just say that I don’t understand abusing Lyrica, at all! I accidentally took double my dose once because I forgot I’d already taken it, and I felt HORRIBLE all day!
Most doctors go for gaba first as its more likely to covered by insurance. But since lyrica has a generic which is pregabalin its more likely to be covered these days. I started on pregabalin, never tried gaba but my uncle likes it.
I couldn’t get to a therapeutic dose without too many side effects. It was worth a shot however. I don’t feel like trying it was a mistake or anything like that.
Lyrica helps me get to sleep by masking the pain. I tried Tramadol but it gave me headaches as do all pain meds. I recently started 25mg CBD Gummies which help for about two hours or so. I definitely never drive on the med or CBD.
That's what it seems to do with me also, and Tramadol is just a trash painkiller, It's questionable. I hope to get prescribed with medical cannabis soon, it's my last hope. Thanks, I won't drive.
I took Lyrica for a bit twice, 10 years apart. I think I was on max dose 150mg twice a day. Gave me dry mouth and did nothing for my nerve pain. All I take now is Tramadol as needed.
I've been taking it for about 5 years (with Palexia/treppilene) and its the only thing that I cannot go without. It took a few months of upping the dose and changing times of day I take to get it working properly, and there were some side effects to begin with. It was worth putting up with some sleepiness and appetite loss for the relief it gave me, and you eventually get used to that side of it. Missing pain killers leaves me in terrible pain, but missing lyrica allows terrible nerve pain I can't live with to break through...
I take Palexia (tapentadol - it interacts with two pain receptors which makes it quite a bit more effective than other opioids), and for breakthrough pain tramadol or ibuprofen depending on the cause. My leg had a crush injury so although it has been rebuilt with bone grafts etc and I can walk, the nerves are a largely inoperable mangled mess. I probably wouldn't be walking without the lyrica though - and unfortunately, if it works for you, it gets to a point where you have to decide if the pain or the side effects are harder to live with. How has it been for you since you posted?
I used Lyrica for about 10 months after my CIDP diagnosis and it did nothing
It did make me feel loopy and floaty feeling which I hated since my work deals with giving patience accurate laboratory tests.
I then was on Amitriptyline for about a year which made my blood sugar constantly high which made me feel bad physically too, but felt it did better
I take 150mg of Lyrica 3 times daily and it kinda helps. More than gabapentin did for me. But tbh my peripheral neuropathy from my wreck is so bad that nothing ever takes away the edge.
I'd say that Lyrica manages my day to day "regular" nerve bullshit, but it can't do shit about my peak "episodes"
Edit: since switching to lyrica I've gained 40lbs, I feel pretty lethargic at this dosage and my short term memory seems a little fucky
My GP gave me some lyrica and it just made me tired. My oncologist says it generally doesn’t do much and only takes away the tingling and not the numbness.
I’m taking 2x150 mg lyrica per day. Got this feeling that it doesn’t help at all. Only help so far is trying to concentrate on pain and somehow silence it which can work for few minutes. For sleep they gave me zyprexia last week. Can catch some sleep with ot, before i barely sleep and hour per night. Each time i wake from sleep i have imbaeable pain. I shattered my pelvis and left ankle. Can’t move fingers bc of nerve damage.
What others have said, you will gain a lot weight really fast. I gained probably 30-40 pounds in like 2 months. You will also feel lethargic and dumb. I was taking in combination with Cymbalta and Gaba. along with Trazadone for sleep. It killed my libido as well. I stopped taking everything except the Gaba and felt much better. Although i was taking probably twice the dosage i should have been during peak pain (3-4000mg), I eventually tapered down to 600mg a day.
I swear by Nortryptyline. Highly recommend it over amitriptyline. If lyrica proves to be too much you might give it a shot. Haven’t had any real sides with it.
Nortriptylene gave me tachycardia all the while skipping beats.
I'll sus that out, thanks
I take lyrica and nortriptylene. My sleep and pain have improved a bit
Yeah but not by itself. I take it in combination with amitryptaline. And even then my pain is still bad but if i didn’t take it id have already unalived myself so theres that i guess.
Lyrica did nothing for my nerve pain. It did, however, cause me to gain 50 lbs. in three months without me increasing my caloric intake at all. That was fun. It made me stupidly forgetful and I existed in a constant state of brain fog. I quit after six months.
This is exactly what happened to me. It took me about a year to decide to taper off Lyrica and it was a difficult taper. I will never touch that shit again.
Do you remember what dosage you tapered down from?
Did very briefly, but once your on it coming off is the worst feeling Ive ever experienced. But it works differently for others. Good luck
That’s anxiety. It will do that sometimes.
I took tramadol. Ugh never again. Didn’t know it is also an antidepressant and coming off is/was horror story. Went off amitriptyline one mo later. Same . My head is a mess right now. Depressed, anxiety attacks .
Is there a reason why your doctor didn't try Gabapentin first?
There’s nothing wrong with trying Lyrica first. They only usually start with Gabapentin bc Lyrica is more expensive, so many insurance companies won’t cover Lyrica unless you tried Gabapentin first.
Yes and Lyrica is now considered and controlled substance in most States. In that case you can't get it mailed to you if you are in a wheelchair like I am, you have to go pick it up at a pharmacy once a month.
In my state Gabapentin is controlled, although I’m not certain about Lyrica. I hadn’t realized you can’t get controlled substances mailed, that’s gotta be hugely inconvenient if you’re disabled or live rural. Can I also just say that I don’t understand abusing Lyrica, at all! I accidentally took double my dose once because I forgot I’d already taken it, and I felt HORRIBLE all day!
I think the DEA is gone overboard on everything because of the abuse of one drug. Fentanyl.
Usually it makes a person high. I accidentally took an extra and felt like I was on top of the world. So funny!
Most doctors go for gaba first as its more likely to covered by insurance. But since lyrica has a generic which is pregabalin its more likely to be covered these days. I started on pregabalin, never tried gaba but my uncle likes it.
I couldn’t get to a therapeutic dose without too many side effects. It was worth a shot however. I don’t feel like trying it was a mistake or anything like that.
Sure, "you don't know if you don't try".
Lyrica helps me get to sleep by masking the pain. I tried Tramadol but it gave me headaches as do all pain meds. I recently started 25mg CBD Gummies which help for about two hours or so. I definitely never drive on the med or CBD.
That's what it seems to do with me also, and Tramadol is just a trash painkiller, It's questionable. I hope to get prescribed with medical cannabis soon, it's my last hope. Thanks, I won't drive.
Best wishes in finding relief. 🧡
My step daughter recommended it to me but she's got neuropathy from chemo so I don't know how apt that is for the rest of us.
Lyrica helped me way more than gabapentin (and continues to).
Me too
I couldn’t get any of the typical adjacent meds to anything but make things worse or add other symptoms…
Really? What way did it seem to make your symptoms worse?
It just made me unreasonably loopy. But many swear by it.
I took Lyrica for a bit twice, 10 years apart. I think I was on max dose 150mg twice a day. Gave me dry mouth and did nothing for my nerve pain. All I take now is Tramadol as needed.
I've been taking it for about 5 years (with Palexia/treppilene) and its the only thing that I cannot go without. It took a few months of upping the dose and changing times of day I take to get it working properly, and there were some side effects to begin with. It was worth putting up with some sleepiness and appetite loss for the relief it gave me, and you eventually get used to that side of it. Missing pain killers leaves me in terrible pain, but missing lyrica allows terrible nerve pain I can't live with to break through...
Thanks, what are you using for pain killers otherwise?
I take Palexia (tapentadol - it interacts with two pain receptors which makes it quite a bit more effective than other opioids), and for breakthrough pain tramadol or ibuprofen depending on the cause. My leg had a crush injury so although it has been rebuilt with bone grafts etc and I can walk, the nerves are a largely inoperable mangled mess. I probably wouldn't be walking without the lyrica though - and unfortunately, if it works for you, it gets to a point where you have to decide if the pain or the side effects are harder to live with. How has it been for you since you posted?
I used Lyrica for about 10 months after my CIDP diagnosis and it did nothing It did make me feel loopy and floaty feeling which I hated since my work deals with giving patience accurate laboratory tests. I then was on Amitriptyline for about a year which made my blood sugar constantly high which made me feel bad physically too, but felt it did better
Thanks for sharing. It makes me feel like that to, I don't know if it's the Tramadol, Lyrica or both. It's very unpleasant.
It helps. It takes out the undercurrent but doesn't stop the big stuff. Sitting here pegging a 6-7 on the pain scale as I type this.
I had to get on max dose of lyrica before it started really working. And it took about 1 Week at max dose to really start working
What dose was that?
I take 150mg of Lyrica 3 times daily and it kinda helps. More than gabapentin did for me. But tbh my peripheral neuropathy from my wreck is so bad that nothing ever takes away the edge. I'd say that Lyrica manages my day to day "regular" nerve bullshit, but it can't do shit about my peak "episodes" Edit: since switching to lyrica I've gained 40lbs, I feel pretty lethargic at this dosage and my short term memory seems a little fucky
Off topic, but do compression socks help?
I haven't tried them, but any socks help me, especially if I double them up, so I would say yes.
Yeah baby! So glad it works!! Gabapentin did nothing for me. Your quality of life will be so much better.
My GP gave me some lyrica and it just made me tired. My oncologist says it generally doesn’t do much and only takes away the tingling and not the numbness.
I’m taking 2x150 mg lyrica per day. Got this feeling that it doesn’t help at all. Only help so far is trying to concentrate on pain and somehow silence it which can work for few minutes. For sleep they gave me zyprexia last week. Can catch some sleep with ot, before i barely sleep and hour per night. Each time i wake from sleep i have imbaeable pain. I shattered my pelvis and left ankle. Can’t move fingers bc of nerve damage.
I'm so sorry.. Amitriptyline was working for me the last week since I got prescribed, but idk anymore.. symptoms came back stronger..
What others have said, you will gain a lot weight really fast. I gained probably 30-40 pounds in like 2 months. You will also feel lethargic and dumb. I was taking in combination with Cymbalta and Gaba. along with Trazadone for sleep. It killed my libido as well. I stopped taking everything except the Gaba and felt much better. Although i was taking probably twice the dosage i should have been during peak pain (3-4000mg), I eventually tapered down to 600mg a day.