1. < Neuropathy

Lyrica - Looking for Patient Experiences

Posted by iceblue @iceblue, Mar 12, 2020

I saw my doctor today, and was reminded again how lucky I was to (recently) land on his patient list. The visit was all about the side effects I had recently developed with Gabapentin - prescribed to treat SFN. He was quite concerned, and has switched me over to Lyrica effective immediately. I've done some research and it appears to have a shorter list of side effects, but I would be interested to know what people's actual experiences were/are - both good and bad.

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iceblue | @iceblue | May 12, 2020
In reply to @ecc79 "That’s encouraging to hear your experience regarding turmeric. I have tried everything from the common prescription..." + (show)
@ecc79

That’s encouraging to hear your experience regarding turmeric. I have tried everything from the common prescription drugs, CBD oils, creams and several supplements but give up on it all except a few choice vitamins and my daily dose of turmeric. I really believe it helps a lot but I do not see many examples of people commenting on turmeric at least in the effectiveness regarding PN. I was wondering if it was the placebo effect or if turmeric really does help. I think it does. I feel better just using turmeric. I would like to hear others experience if indeed they gave this a good honest go.

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@ecc79 - I have been taking Turmeric for almost 3 months, and I have noticed absolutely no difference in my pain. When my bottle is gone I will not be investing in more - however - many people swear by it.

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maryflorida | @maryflorida | May 13, 2020

Thank you for telling us!

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maryflorida | @maryflorida | May 13, 2020

I had the same result with Gaba and Lyrica. Had to go to the ER after taking ONE Lyrica pill. Recently my doctor told me that Gaba and Lyrica are in the same family of drugs. That's why we both had similar side effects. At this time I take three 5-325 hydrocodones a day. It does help some but we are never painfred I don't think. I worry that it is more than sfn but the regular neuropathy as I have trouble even emptying my bladder. Sorry you are also suffering.
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iceblue | @iceblue | May 14, 2020
In reply to @artscaping "Good morning to everyone trying to find the right medication. @iceblue, I am very interested in..." + (show)
@artscaping

Good morning to everyone trying to find the right medication. @iceblue, I am very interested in your experiences with Lyrica and your comparison to gabapentin. Looks like you have quite an auditience. Thanks for introducing the subject. I think many of us made this decision or had it made for us in the early stages of small fiber neuropathy (SFN). Today, I would do a lot of research before changing. Do you just change...no tapering down or up?

Here's how new I was 7 years ago. My neurologist prescribed the gabapentin after cervical surgery. As things progressed, he wanted me to see a rheumatologist just to make sure there were no immunity issues. When I saw her, I remembered her because she introduced me to Voltaren cream several years before my TKR.

So here is how it went down. She was concerned about the gabapentin and wanted me to change to Lyrica. If I couldn't agree with that, she told me that I could not be a patient of hers. I returned to my neurologist and laid it out. I decided to stay with the neurologist and we would review options. Somehow there were some ethical issues floating around. I was way too new to everything including neuropathy. But that was how it all began. And that is when I knew that knowledge was power.

May everyone be protected and safe today.
Chris

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Hi Chris! It feels good to see the information sharing occurring here because I think it's really helpful for all of us to learn about each other's experiences. I was having bad side-effects with Gabapentin, although wasn't on a very high dosage. It wasn't doing much for my pain, my memory was shot - but mostly I was having HORRIBLE dreams. For awhile I thought they might have been related to my brother's death (and maybe they were) but they did stop when I switched to Lyrica, which was such a relief! I am only on 100 mg taken at night - and I simply switched from Gabapentin to Lyrica. I started at 25 mg of Lyrica and increased to 75 mg - then finally to 100. Personally, I would like to continue increasing as my feet still hurt every day, but my doctor seems reluctant to prescribe more. I would be thrilled if I could get an opioid, but doctors here are loath to prescribe them and my doctor does not know me well enough to be confident I won't abuse it. I know opioids work, so that makes me both sad and frustrated. I don't like Tramadol - it makes me nauseous so I wouldn't even accept a prescription for it. T3's work well and I would love to have a supply for my bad pain days. I haven't tried anything other than Tylenol 1's - which I currently take a couple of times a day.

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