Side effects from Lyrica

Posted by westcom @westcom, Aug 13, 2023

Has anyone experienced balance issues as s side effect of Lyrica? I just increased dose to 100 mg 3x/day and suddenly feel weak and unbalanced.

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Profile picture for bettyg81pain @bettyg81pain

Very interesting comments!! Am taking Lyrica and its hit or miss if my legs have the stabbing pain or not!! I do have excessive red ankle swelling plus hot feet. I was on gabapentin and maybe did not give it time to work??? I am up to 100 mg on Pregabalin and not feeling wonderful with it
So ya'all (Southern) taking gabapentin not having the stabbing pain?? I am scheduled for mid September to trial the new Saluda Has anyone out there tried it? Also, how many of you have tried the spinal cord stimulators and who found relief with it and who found no relief with it? I, for one, had the Boston Scientific and found NO relief whatsoever! I was reading where Medicare is thinking about not covering them because they feel it is no better than a placebo Would appreciate your comments!! I think its wonderful that we have this website that we can share ideas on how to deal with this life changing problem!!

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@bettyg81pain Hi Betty. I will be meeting a doctor who specializes in cervical spinal cord stimulators. This will be in two months. Will let you know then. I do take opioids, 15mg MS Contin - 2 daily and 5mg oxycodone-2 a day. My dose needs to be increased a little after many years going up and now far down on dose. Meds make burning,pulling neck,shoulder,head pain feel far away. I feel it but no burning and much better. Without it, I could hardly work or function. Pain went from 5th vital sign to 0- I am dependent but not addicted. I never try to feel high or take more meds. I just want to have a life. Told to try weed but not sure what helps.

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Lyrica oddly gives me weirdly aching and sometimes zinging and stabbing pain in other parts of my body at random. It helps the pain in my back, which is where my original injury is and WHY I starting taking it, but then there's all this other weird pain it introduces! It's awful! Any one else have this side effect?

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I'm in the process of gradually weaning off Pregabalin, a Lyrica brand, because I suspect it's causing a decline in sense of balance.

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Profile picture for mayonaise28 @mayonaise28

I discovered that I couldn't tolerate either Lyrica or Gabapentin. I would take at night and wake up to use the bathroom and be unable to get there without falling. They gave me severe vertigo, even at minimum dose. I have other relatives that can take grams of the stuff, no problem. I ended up finally using MMJ and CBD oil.

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@mayonaise28 I started on Gabapentin that did nothing, then went to Lyrica that also did nothing to stop the burning. My third medication is cymbalta, which I am currently taking . The first few weeks it worked great, no burning. After a few weeks the burning returned but not as severe so increased dosage, I did this again after another few months, increased dosage. The burning is back quite severe but refused to increase dosage again that my neurologist suggested. It just masks the pain. I was reading that methylated B12 drops help to repair the nerves and started on that a week ago while still taking 60 mg of cymbalta. I want to get off medication because of the side effects and that is no longer working. I’m hoping the B12 drops taken under the tongue will work. 🙏

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I have experienced the unbalanced feeling from time to time but not enough to make me fall.

I switched from gabapentin to Lyrica about a year ago. My experience has been:
Less “fog” than gabapentin.
Lyrica is not as strong and the pain will return if you don’t take your dose on time.
Lyrica gives me the “blues” sometimes. Gabapentin does not.
Both effective in relieving pain completely.

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Good day everyone. Lyrica causes swelling around my face especially around my eyes. I also think it’s causing my feet to swell. Any suggestions on another medication?

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Profile picture for mzlovely @mzlovely

Good day everyone. Lyrica causes swelling around my face especially around my eyes. I also think it’s causing my feet to swell. Any suggestions on another medication?

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@mzlovely

Possibly Baclofen if you're dealing with nerve related pain.

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