What to expect from Lyrica.

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Isabella4
Isabella4 Member Posts: 2,166
edited June 2014 in Life After Breast Cancer
What to expect from Lyrica.
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  • Isabella4
    Isabella4 Member Posts: 2,166
    edited December 2007

    Hi Ladies.

    Today I had a major moan at my doctor, mainly about Gabapentin, which just isn't up to the job of damping down the neuropathy in my 'bad' arm. I am on 1500mgs of Gabapentin, and I admit I can't always remember the midday dose, but most days I hit the full dose! The pain just dulls, and very rarely leaves me, so I might as well be eating apples. I nearly fell on the floor when she suggested a change of drug....such things just don't happen to me !!

    I had one Hell of a job to get onto Gabpentin, they were waiting for things to 'settle down' for 18 months, which meant 18 months of very bad pain day and night for me.

    Now I am to come off Gabapentin over the next 3 weeks, and start Lyrica. I have seen this drug mentioned here quite a bit, but not really taken much in as I wasn't taking it.

    Can anyone tell me what they are experiencing ?? From the insert in the packet I will be dizzy, sleepy, bad tempered, walk unsteadily,have mental imparement, put on weight, have ' a changed interest in sex'Laughing , and so on and so on !!!!!!!

    I never took much notice of these inserts until just about every se there is with Arimidex seemed to hit me!

    Just another of lifes little trials for me to endure !!!!!!!!

    Isabella.

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  • mittmott
    mittmott Member Posts: 409
    edited December 2007

    Isabella, my husband takes lyrica for a nerve root problem, and has no side effects except weight gain.  I take the stuff, and feel stoned out of my head.  It does dull my pain, but I have to take a small dose, and can only take it at night, so once the pain calmed down a bit, I quit taking it.  I didn't like the way it made me feel, but again, as I said, my hubby doesn't have the problems that  I did with the medication. Randi

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  • saluki
    saluki Member Posts: 2,287
    edited December 2007

    Isabella--If you tolerated Gabapentin, Lyrica should be a breeze--Exactly the same side effects.  Its essentially the same medication in a formulation that allows for greater potency.

    That essentially means that you can get better relief at a lower dose than it would take  with Gabapentin.  It is supposedly two and a half times as potent as Gabapentin.  Less of a dose

    should also translate into better tolerability- fewer dose related side effects.  

    With Lyrica, you could possibly get the same potency with 375 mg that you were getting with 1500mg. 

    I'm afraid I was a failure even with the lowest possible dose of both Lyrica and Neurontin---I became the dizziest zombie on this planet.  BUT--I slept like a log!   Twenty hours a day --LOL

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  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Member Posts: 1,376
    edited December 2007

    My husband takes if or his back.  When he first started taking it he slept more.  I don't know if it's helping him anymore.  The only way to know is to go off of it.  Other than getting over the sleepy part, I can't tell that he's having any other SEs.

    Shirley

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  • badboob67
    badboob67 Member Posts: 2,780
    edited December 2007

    Isabella,

    I was initially given lyrica from nerve pain caused by a spinal fracture. It was truly a wonder drug for me! I took the first dose and paced in horrible pain for the first hour, then...blessed relief! I didn't notice a single side effect.

    When my hot flashes from arimidex got to be nearly constant, my onc switched me from lyrica to neurontin. By that time, I really wasn't having much nerve pain anyway. The neurontin did help the hot flashes (probably a 25% improvement) but I did have some rotten side effects like gaining weight at the rate of 5 pounds per month, headaches, and just a general "icky" and "i don't feel so great" feeling.

    It is true the drugs are very similar in molecular structure, but there is enough of a difference that I did NOT have relief from hot flashes from the Lyrica but had no real negative side effects. Exactly the opposite for me with the Neurontin. 

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  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Member Posts: 1,376
    edited December 2007

    I've been taking Lyrica for almost a year after Neurontin didn't help. I feel so much better! It has been a successful change for me but I know we're all different. I take 100mg 3 x daily with no side effects. I had forgotten to get a refill once back in the summer before going out of town for a few days. The difference was remarkable so it works well for me.

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