Misc Lyrica issues

[msedward43]

I have a chronic nerve pain condition that I normally use Amitryptyline for, but this last week my Dr. prescribed Lyrica to see if that would work better. I only took about 3 MAYBE 4 days of the stuff, using 300-450 mg a night to ease the nerve pain but I didn't like the way it made me feel. I stopped with my last dose thursday night. last night and all through this morning I've had horrible RLS syndrome... even more painful than when I went off oxy. Is that normal ??? I thought Lyrica took a while to become dependent to? I sincerely hope it was just a random night because I've heard Lyrica WD's are insane for some people

 

[kleinerkiffer]

This sounds like rebound.
If you for example take benzos for a few days you can experience rebound anxiety the day after not taking them.
This shouldn't last long,maybe one or two days.
Hope you feel better soon

 

[msedward43]

ok, that sounds reasonable. I'm not a fan of it at all. it helped the nerve pain a BIT better than the Amitryptyline, but I got very foggy in a way that the Amitryptyline never did... guess I'll go back to the old one, since it's not nearly a risk for addiction.

Thanks

 

[LucidSDreamr]

300-450 is a huge dose at once. when I first started it 150 was enough to make me feel drunk and dizzy. I started with 75 2X per day. worked up to 150 2X per day and I don't feel drunk at all after working my dose up.

I think your RLS could be frome something else, because lyrica isn't addictive enough for you to be hooked after 3 days. I've taken 150 2X a day for months and stopped and felt perfectly fine with no WD.

Like they said it could be rebound anxiety because you basically overdosed, I can't imagine a doctor presribing 400 mg in a single dose for a person just starting on it....he surely hasn't taken it himself because the stuff fucks you up at 150 mg if you are new to it.

 

[msedward43]

we tried 75 mg and 150 mg in sample packs a few weeks ago and they did nothing. was like I was eating a sugar pill. so we did 300-450 and to up and lower the dose as needed...even at 450 I only felt a little "loopy" and not even that bad. it was just the nausea and muscle shakes were too much ... that and the thick syrupy feeling on it

 

[feedtheSoul]

when my doctor started me on lyrica we started at a very low dose of 25mg and each week raised by 25mg to a total of 100mg by the end of the month. I then was upped to 200mg a day split in two doses, though usually 300mg is the optimal dose. Some people take up to 600mg a day but there are statistics that claim usually anything over 300mg does not tend to improve symptoms.

I am still taking this for neuropathic pain associated with fibromyalgia syndrome. However, my pain actually seems to have increased. I feel foggy and cant seem to retain important information. In fact, I've been so exhausted that I can't seem to tolerate anything requiring focus, like my JOB.

Actually I spoke with a customer yesterday and she mentioned I didn't look like my usual self, and as we got chatting I found out she too has fibro. She said yoga is a GREAT help for her. I am not sure if you have FMS but I still wonder if it can help your neuropathic pain.
She also mentioned that gabapentin seemed much more beneficial to her, lyrica made her feel stoned all the time, which I can relate. I always feel this weird nausea feeling on lyrica too, so I am going to ask my doc about gabapentin instead. I hear that can also make you tired but many people find this option less overwhelming

 

[LucidSDreamr]

when my doctor started me on lyrica we started at a very low dose of 25mg and each week raised by 25mg to a total of 100mg by the end of the month. I then was upped to 200mg a day split in two doses, though usually 300mg is the optimal dose. Some people take up to 600mg a day but there are statistics that claim usually anything over 300mg does not tend to improve symptoms.

I am still taking this for neuropathic pain associated with fibromyalgia syndrome. However, my pain actually seems to have increased. I feel foggy and cant seem to retain important information. In fact, I've been so exhausted that I can't seem to tolerate anything requiring focus, like my JOB.

Actually I spoke with a customer yesterday and she mentioned I didn't look like my usual self, and as we got chatting I found out she too has fibro. She said yoga is a GREAT help for her. I am not sure if you have FMS but I still wonder if it can help your neuropathic pain.
She also mentioned that gabapentin seemed much more beneficial to her, lyrica made her feel stoned all the time, which I can relate. I always feel this weird nausea feeling on lyrica too, so I am going to ask my doc about gabapentin instead. I hear that can also make you tired but many people find this option less overwhelming

gabapent is def not as "strong" as in it doesn't fuck you up or relieve pain as well in my exp....i'm on lyrica for chronic back pain and it def helps. I can 'feel the difference when I take my dose. I'm surprised you didn't get used to the loopy feeling...i had it at the beginning but it went away after I got used to the drug....I actualy miss that feeling.

 

[msedward43]

thanks for the advice guys.. looks like it was a rebound. was able to sleep just fine the next night and last night as well. so tired of finding out that these drugs have nasty side effects and withdrawals etc... My Dr. prescribed the lyrica BECAUSE she said it didn't have withdrawals and was non addicting. then I start googling and find the opposite...uggh

 

[Slow_Mobius]

thanks for the advice guys.. looks like it was a rebound. was able to sleep just fine the next night and last night as well. so tired of finding out that these drugs have nasty side effects and withdrawals etc... My Dr. prescribed the lyrica BECAUSE she said it didn't have withdrawals and was non addicting. then I start googling and find the opposite...uggh

IMO this is a sign that you need to find a new doctor. I've had doctors that didn't know all of the side effects/addictive potential of the drugs they prescribe, and they are definitely not the doctors you want helping you with a chronic illness. It took me a while to find a doctor who really knew his stuff, but since finding him, he's helped me 100 times more than any other doctor I've had (I would say that I've had a lot of doctors who ended up being detrimental to my health!)

 

[HeadHigh]

Just like mobius said, look for a doctor that knows and understands the drugs he/she is prescribing. And as others have said, maybe just lowering your dose would work better for you, as lyrica has helped me tremendously with my RLS, and many others with their neuropathic pain.

Also on a side note, if you do get rebound RLS again, drink some tonic water with lemon in it. It works very well for mild RLS

 

[msedward43]

yeah, you have no idea how badly I want to switch docs. As a urologist (I have chronic non bacterial prostatitus...e.g. CPPS) she just slaps Amitryptaline or Lyrica/Gabapenten out of habit and then just throws her hands in the air. Only reason I haven't left her is she's been with me from start to finish and the other docs I went to were WORSE. they just read off the chart and said "yup, what she did was good. just do what script she prescribed).

 

[Mracid]

If amitryptyline worked for you then you dont need Calcium blocker because amitryptyline is working on increasing serotonin which then increase endorphins levels making it like a natural long duration opiate with other effects. It is only increasing something already there.
While Lycria is only working temporarely by blocking Ca++ enterance in cells. So your body reacts by increasing the amount of channels depending on your neurplasticity which makes ALOT more Ca++ to enter the nerve cells which creates symptoms of withdrawls, usually the exact opposite to what the drug was doing.