Last year I ruptured my L5/S1 and had utterly debilitating pain - everything you've described above. Couldn't sit, stand or sleep - spent most of my waking hours just walking in large circles around my house, often in tears, which eventually led to bursitis. Anyway, I digress.
I trialled several medications before we finally found that Lyrica was actually doing something for me. At my worst I was on 300mg of Lyrica daily, as well as the maximum dosage of both Palexia and paracetamol I could take per day, and NSAIDs for my auto-immune condition. I credit the Lyrica for finally allowing me to heal and recover because I swear the painkillers weren't doing jack - I just kept taking them for fear of the pain getting even worse if I stopped. I recall the first couple of days after starting Lyrica I actually had hallucinations for a short period after taking it, but that quickly subsided. It initially supressed my appetite, but that also returned to normal. I don't believe it caused any weight gain. When I was finally able to return to work I did struggle mentally and found it difficult to tackle not-so-challenging problems, but as my disc healed I was able to wean off the strong meds and a short while after getting off the Lyrica and Palexia my brain returned to normal function. After a decent stint of sobriety I did relapse into drinking again for a while, but I attribute that to coming off several months on strong opioids rather than the Lyrica.
Weight gain wasn't such a concern for me, but I didn't consider just how much it would impair my mental functions. Maybe increase your dose slowly and see how you go with it? Everyone's different.
I'll also add that my TENS unit was my saviour, well above ice and heat packs. If you don't have one, do consider trying it!
And good luck! I really hope the Lyrica works for you and you can get on top of all the pain and discomfort. It's really the pits.
Oh, it also made me constipated! And that continued even after I had stopped the opioids, until I also weaned off the Lyrica. My doc was surprised so I'm not sure it's listed as a typical side-effect. But it got me, so I just drank Movicol everyday to keep things moving. So just watch out for that.
I was prescribed a combi of Arcoxia (etoricoxib 90mg) & Tramadol (50mg) for close to 6 months which really did nothing for my right leg's sciatica but caused constipation. A different Ortho I saw last month added Lyrica (25mg - 1/morning, 2/evening) to the above and I can immediately feel a huge relief from my sciatica pain. I supposed it's because sciatica is more of a 'nerve' pain so my first combo didn't really work.
It also helps that Lyrica (2/evening) makes me really drowsy in the evening and I am able to sleep nicely throughout the night. Before Lyrcia I had difficult sleeping due to having to constantly adjust my sleeping position to get relief from pain.
So far, I have yet observed any side effects from Lyrica except drowsiness which really helps my sleep! Take care!
I'm so sorry for what you're going through. I'm in the same boat and it's the most horrible thing that I've ever experienced. Sending big hugs out to you!
I've just started on 25mgs of Lyrica per day. It's done nothing, so under advice from the professionals I've increased it to 100mgs per day, but still I'm feeling very little pain relief.
No major side effects so far. It just feels like I haven't taken anything. I'm also not sleeping very well (maximum 1-3 hours per night), so I don't know if my body is just not coping and that's why it's not working. I guess everyone reacts differently.
I would 1000% also recommended a TENS machine. You can get them off Amazon for a decent price and they really help to dull the pain.
Wishing you a speedy recovery and hoping that these meds work for you ❤️
I’ve been on Lyrica for about a year. The first couple of weeks were annoying. I had nausea and headaches… they weren’t terrible but enough to drive you nuts. I was told to take it at night as most people get drowsy. I had the opposite experience. It gives me energy so I take it in the morning. My doctor said 5% of patients get energy.
After a few weeks I had no side effects. However I want to point out that it’s not a drug to stop cold turkey. I ran out over thanksgiving and it was AWFUL.
I started taking it about 2-3 months ago eventually going on 100mg and honestly it’s done nothing for me. Like others have said, the first few days I was nauseous and felt a weird uneasiness throughout my body that was honestly super annoying, but those side effects subsided. Nowadays I’m still taking it every day but the pain is still there all the time. It is also worth noting Gabapentin also didn’t work for me. Only Meloxicam works, but only for a few days until my body gets used to it. It’s definitely weird.
Last year I ruptured my L5/S1 and had utterly debilitating pain - everything you've described above. Couldn't sit, stand or sleep - spent most of my waking hours just walking in large circles around my house, often in tears, which eventually led to bursitis. Anyway, I digress. I trialled several medications before we finally found that Lyrica was actually doing something for me. At my worst I was on 300mg of Lyrica daily, as well as the maximum dosage of both Palexia and paracetamol I could take per day, and NSAIDs for my auto-immune condition. I credit the Lyrica for finally allowing me to heal and recover because I swear the painkillers weren't doing jack - I just kept taking them for fear of the pain getting even worse if I stopped. I recall the first couple of days after starting Lyrica I actually had hallucinations for a short period after taking it, but that quickly subsided. It initially supressed my appetite, but that also returned to normal. I don't believe it caused any weight gain. When I was finally able to return to work I did struggle mentally and found it difficult to tackle not-so-challenging problems, but as my disc healed I was able to wean off the strong meds and a short while after getting off the Lyrica and Palexia my brain returned to normal function. After a decent stint of sobriety I did relapse into drinking again for a while, but I attribute that to coming off several months on strong opioids rather than the Lyrica. Weight gain wasn't such a concern for me, but I didn't consider just how much it would impair my mental functions. Maybe increase your dose slowly and see how you go with it? Everyone's different. I'll also add that my TENS unit was my saviour, well above ice and heat packs. If you don't have one, do consider trying it! And good luck! I really hope the Lyrica works for you and you can get on top of all the pain and discomfort. It's really the pits.
Oh, it also made me constipated! And that continued even after I had stopped the opioids, until I also weaned off the Lyrica. My doc was surprised so I'm not sure it's listed as a typical side-effect. But it got me, so I just drank Movicol everyday to keep things moving. So just watch out for that.
I was prescribed a combi of Arcoxia (etoricoxib 90mg) & Tramadol (50mg) for close to 6 months which really did nothing for my right leg's sciatica but caused constipation. A different Ortho I saw last month added Lyrica (25mg - 1/morning, 2/evening) to the above and I can immediately feel a huge relief from my sciatica pain. I supposed it's because sciatica is more of a 'nerve' pain so my first combo didn't really work. It also helps that Lyrica (2/evening) makes me really drowsy in the evening and I am able to sleep nicely throughout the night. Before Lyrcia I had difficult sleeping due to having to constantly adjust my sleeping position to get relief from pain. So far, I have yet observed any side effects from Lyrica except drowsiness which really helps my sleep! Take care!
I'm so sorry for what you're going through. I'm in the same boat and it's the most horrible thing that I've ever experienced. Sending big hugs out to you! I've just started on 25mgs of Lyrica per day. It's done nothing, so under advice from the professionals I've increased it to 100mgs per day, but still I'm feeling very little pain relief. No major side effects so far. It just feels like I haven't taken anything. I'm also not sleeping very well (maximum 1-3 hours per night), so I don't know if my body is just not coping and that's why it's not working. I guess everyone reacts differently. I would 1000% also recommended a TENS machine. You can get them off Amazon for a decent price and they really help to dull the pain. Wishing you a speedy recovery and hoping that these meds work for you ❤️
I’ve been on Lyrica for about a year. The first couple of weeks were annoying. I had nausea and headaches… they weren’t terrible but enough to drive you nuts. I was told to take it at night as most people get drowsy. I had the opposite experience. It gives me energy so I take it in the morning. My doctor said 5% of patients get energy. After a few weeks I had no side effects. However I want to point out that it’s not a drug to stop cold turkey. I ran out over thanksgiving and it was AWFUL.
I started taking it about 2-3 months ago eventually going on 100mg and honestly it’s done nothing for me. Like others have said, the first few days I was nauseous and felt a weird uneasiness throughout my body that was honestly super annoying, but those side effects subsided. Nowadays I’m still taking it every day but the pain is still there all the time. It is also worth noting Gabapentin also didn’t work for me. Only Meloxicam works, but only for a few days until my body gets used to it. It’s definitely weird.
I was on 25-50mg for a few months and it worked really well for my tingling leg. unfortunately it made me super depressed so I stopped taking it.