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Hi, This is my first time posting here but I have read it a few times. I have noticed bad swelling in my hands, legs, & feet over the past couple of weeks. I have been taking Lyrica for about 4 months now. The doc doubled the dosage about 3 months ago to 150 mg 2x a day. I have been too busy to pay alot of attention to the swelling until my knees starting hurting real bad. THen on top of that my hands started literally killing me. I thought it was carpal tunel and so did my husband but my syptoms did not all match up to his. Nothing i do seems to make it better, instead it seems to keep getting worse. I ache so bad at night I can hardly sleep. I no longer have ankles and my hands ache 24/7. I decided to start doing some more research and found this sight again. I think I a mgoing to lower the dose and se what happens because i don't se my pain mgmt doc until 8/15/06. I do however plan to make an appt for next week with my regular dr. I hope this is the reason for my problems. On the other hand it has been the only thing to relieve the pain in my upper back/nrck. I have a cervical spine injury... pinched nerve and spinal nerve stenosis. Anyway, wish me luck and pray that there is another "miracle" drug out there for me if this is my problem. Thanks for allowing me to post!!!

> Thanks for the reply, It's now August and I STILL have the same problems.  I've seen the blood specialist, and a gastroenterologist (my primary thought I had internal bleeding as the cause of the low iron and anemia) had multiple tests, and still no answers.  Every one of my symptoms is on the lyrica side effects list, but no doctor wants to admit it could be the cause.  Their answer is that it's not possible that it was the lyrica since I've been off it so long.  I've just had another series of more in- depth blood tests, hormonal, etc, but results aren't back yet.  I'm convinced that the lyrica started this problem, but no proof yet, and no end to the symptoms in sight.  I am continuing to gain weight, I was always around 120-130 lbs, I'm now at 200 lbs.  I've cut calories and fat, exercise as much as possible, under the circumstances, and just keep gaining and swelling with water.  I have  absolutely no appetite, I only eat once a day, at night, forcing myself to eat something healthy.  I'm on iron supplements for the time being.  I can't believe I'm still gaining, I look like a bloated tick.  
I'll post if I get any answers, thanks for your time.

Also, Amy, have your symptoms gone away yet?

Last edited by brbsch (2006-08-11 11:29:16)

Permax & Gambling

Hi, I just thought I'd put in my two cents worth.  I was put on Lyrica Nov. 2005 for migraines.  By mid-December, I was up to 600 mg.  Due to a mistake made by my doctor's nurse, my prescription was not refilled properly, and I went several days without the drug.  I almost killed myself.  The doctor had me back up to 600 mg almost immediately.  After the shock wore off, I did well for awhile.  Then, about five months ago, I began to retain a lot of water.  I gained about thirty pounds.  Also, there was a dramatic increase in the severity of side-effects...forgetfulness, dizziness, fatigue, arthritis, muscle pain...  And the headaches were slowly starting to come back.  So, four weeks ago, my doctor started tapering me off at 100 mg. a week (I'm taking 100 mg. a day now..for the next four days..and then 50 mg...and then nothing).  I'm really, really sick...anxiety, major depression, severe headaches, shaking, nausea, vomiting, stomach pain, chills, fever, confusion, weakness, insomnia...it's really bad, and I'm so scared.  I don't know what to do.  I feel caught by this drug, unable to escape.  I can't go back up, and I'm so sick going down.  I'm 33, and I feel like I'm at the end of my life.  Two weeks ago, I almost lost my job, a job I've had for nine years.  I'm thinking of making a will, because I'm not sure I'm going to survive this.  I know it may sound stupid, but I cry thinking of what's going to happen to my dogs.  I didn't know this could happen with this drug, or I never would've taken it.  I just wanted to say something in case anyone is thinking of trying Lyrica.  It is dangerous.  Please be careful.

Hi Oaktree,

Please hang in  there. You can get through this. Sometimes it takes a while to get the drugs completely out of your system. Does your doctor know you are going through this.



> OakTreeInTheFall wrote:

> Hi, I just thought I'd put in my two cents worth.  I was put on Lyrica Nov. 2005 for migraines.  By mid-December, I was up to 600 mg.  Due to a mistake made by my doctor's nurse, my prescription was not refilled properly, and I went several days without the drug.  I almost killed myself.  The doctor had me back up to 600 mg almost immediately.  After the shock wore off, I did well for awhile.  Then, about five months ago, I began to retain a lot of water.  I gained about thirty pounds.  Also, there was a dramatic increase in the severity of side-effects...forgetfulness, dizziness, fatigue, arthritis, muscle pain...  And the headaches were slowly starting to come back.  So, four weeks ago, my doctor started tapering me off at 100 mg. a week (I'm taking 100 mg. a day now..for the next four days..and then 50 mg...and then nothing).  I'm really, really sick...anxiety, major depression, severe headaches, shaking, nausea, vomiting, stomach pain, chills, fever, confusion, weakness, insomnia...it's really bad, and I'm so scared.  I don't know what to do.  I feel caught by this drug, unable to escape.  I can't go back up, and I'm so sick going down.  I'm 33, and I feel like I'm at the end of my life.  Two weeks ago, I almost lost my job, a job I've had for nine years.  I'm thinking of making a will, because I'm not sure I'm going to survive this.  I know it may sound stupid, but I cry thinking of what's going to happen to my dogs.  I didn't know this could happen with this drug, or I never would've taken it.  I just wanted to say something in case anyone is thinking of trying Lyrica.  It is dangerous.  Please be careful.

nj, I hope by now you're feeling a bit better?

Cold turkeying off these drugs is a dangerous thing to do and your doctor should be aware that any psych drug - and coming off them - needs careful tapering as slowly as each individual can cope with, and monitoring for what can be dangerous side effects.

I hope that at least its getting a little easier for you by now.

LYRICA, Dangerous side effects, Dangerous drug

You name it I had it, as far as side effects on Lyrica goes.

After going to see a pain clinic for severe low back pain approximately 1 year ago. I was diagnosed with having severe DJD, and a herniated disc with nerve pain. The doctor put me on Lyrica and Methadone right away. I was also taking Klonapin for a general anxiety disorder (I have been on it for years). I didn't like the way I felt on the new meds that the doc put me on. I couldn't tell if it was the methadone or the Lyrica at first. I was trying to figure it out by stopping one or the other of the meds for a few days at a time. I told the doctor that I thought it was the Lyrica that was causing me to not feel well along with a lot of other side effects. I felt like he didn't believe me (like he felt alls I wanted was the narcotic and nothing else). He told me that he didn’t think that it was the problem and encouraged me to stay on it, so I did. I was on 150mg a day. I kept complaining that I wasn't feeling like myself, and that I was having a lot of mental type symptoms like, Extreme irritability, anger, Unusual behavior, clouded and abnormal thinking, speech difficulty, sleepiness, a feeling of general un wellness, forgetfulness and total blackouts, I lost entire conversations, and I believe several hours out of some days, Thoughts of suicide, Crying uncontrollably at the drop of a hat, tremors, weight gain, major depression, shaking, nausea, stomach pain, chills, night sweats, fever, confusion, weakness, insomnia, and much more. I damn near had a total nervous break down. To top all of that off, I didn't feel like it was doing anything for the pain. After having 2 visits where I couldn’t stop crying and complaining, I finally got through to him and after looking at me like I was crazy, he reluctantly told me to go ahead and stop taking the med.

Wow!! What a difference!! After a couple of weeks or so of not taking the Lyrica, I feel so much better and back to my normal old self. I am still having abdominal pain though. I am now looking back on what I was going through and it scares the hell out of me that they give this stuff to people. If you ask me the potential side effects are not worth the risk. I also feel very embarrassed by what I do remember about my behavior. I didn’t realize the severity of what was happening to me until I was off of it for a while.

I have since been researching the side effects of Lyrica, and I have been unable to find a lot on the types of side effects that I experienced, and in my opinion that is even worse. I have read some things on this forum that are similar to what I experienced but not as severe.

I am very interested in hearing from anyone that has experienced any or all of the type of symptoms that I did. I am especially interested in the neurological symptoms. I know that it can be embarrassing talking about it but I need to know if there is anyone else out there that had the same problem as me.

I feel that they need to take this stuff off the market. This drug is dangerous!!!!!. I wouldn’t recommend that anyone take it!!

I have been on Lyrica (100mg 3x daily) for the last year and a half for neuropathic pain in my left elbow.  This was going to end my career because of the debilitating pain.  I am 37 years old and have been in law enforcement for the last 15 years.

The Dr started me off on Gabapentin for a year or so then saw that I had elevated liver function.  The Dr moved me to Lyrica and it saved my career.  I am not always without pain but I can function and do most anything including heavy work and quick movements although sometimes resulting in some pain.

I have noticed times where I find it difficult in concentrating or remembering a word or keeping a train of thought.  I have noticed that I bleed more from minor cuts and scrapes from working mith my hands and tools etc...

I sometimes develop sores on my hands after getting minor scrapes and cuts and they take much longer than normal to heal.

I do feel tired much of the time even shortly after waking up from a full 7 or 8 hours sleep.  I could go to sleep most anywhere in a few minutes which is not my usual self.  I do have times when I find it difficult in focusing my vision.  I don't wear glasses, never have and don't need a prescription now.

I have gained about 15-20 pounds in the last year and a half on Lyrica.  I find myself over eating alot.  I used to over eat on Thanksgiving.  Now it's at least 2 times a week where I have over eaten without thinking about it.

Overall, I am still happy with Lyrica because my career in law enforcement has not been cut short.  However, reading about other people and the more severe problems they are having with Lyrica gives me great concern.

> brbsch wrote:

> I'm looking to see if anyone else has had a similar experience with Lyrica.  I began taking it for neuropathic pain, it helped tremendously, but after about a month, my entire body swelled, my stomach bloated, and I had muscle pain throughout my body. My legs felt like they were weighted down and I was exhausted. My doctor took me off the medicine, although she doubted Lyrica was causing all these symptoms.  My symptoms went away within a week.  My primary doctor found an ovarian cyst at the same time and removed it.  After the cyst removal my pain dr. put me on Lyrica again, convinced the cyst had caused my problems. Again, after a month, the same symptoms returned.  I stopped the Lyrica again, but the symptoms have not gone away this time.  I've had numerous tests to see what the problem is and so far no cause has been found.  I am very anemic now, with a severe iron deficiency, but no cause has been discovered yet. I see a hemotologist next week to see if he can find the cause.  Has anyone else had similar symptoms start with Lyrica usage?
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
I have been on Lyrica probably about a year first for Fibromyalgia and nerve pain then later for phantom pain.  Originally I thought it was a wonder drug as it decreased the pain I was having tremendously. Not too long after I began taking Lyrica, I had an episode where I didn't feel too well so I went and laid down on my bed. I was on my side when suddenly I felt like a bolt of lightening hit the right side of my head. then I found myself unable to move for nearly an hour. My eyes worked but nothing else. I was so frightened that I had possibly had a stroke. As I lay there I kept telling myself to remain calm but I was scared. I kept trying to call out though there was nobody home with me. The sounds were awful and caused my little dogs to run to me and try to comfort me by licking my face and forehead. I kept dozing off and then waking up and fnally I was able to move. I told my regular doc about the episode and then my neurologist. Neither felt the Lyria had anything to do with the episode so I continued on with the medication. Soon my Doctor upped the doseage on my Maripex for Restless Leg Syndrom because my legs simply would not settle down. I became extremely sleepy and fell asleep sitting at the table, standing at the counter, and at the computer. My Doc figured that between the Maripex, Keppra, for seizures and the Lyrica, I needed to take something to keep me awake and I was introduced to Ritalin.

Fast forward to now. Nearly a year has gone by and my entire body is bloated. I have developed a spare tire around my middle, have gained about 30 pounds, my legs feel like they are full of cement when I go upstairs, I am dizzy, disoriented, obsessive about sweets, and can't make decisions. The Ritalin makes me nervous also but at least I am awake. I decided to begin tapering off the Lyrica when I realized my knees were hurting and swollen. I began to read up on it and decided I need to get off it.  I was taking 1 75 mg 3 times a day and then my doc suggested skipping the mid day one and taking two at night for the pain.  Now I am down to one at night or if the withdrawal is too terrible, I take 2. I have been doing this for over a week and I feel terrible. I am dizzy, have terrible headaches, can't focus, have bluured vision, feel sick to my stomache, and have bouts of diarrhea. I feel sucidal, have cold flashes then hot flashes, am agitated, and basically feel worthless.

Does anyone know how long this can last. I go to my doctor next Monday.

I have been diagnosed with Fibromyalgia (I'm only 29) and SI Joint Disfunction.  My doctors put me on 150mg twice a day of Lyrica and now my husband and I would like to plan for children.  So, needless to say, I need to get off the Lyrica.  My back doctor told me to go down to 150mg once a day for three days and then stop cold turkey.  BAD IDEA!!!  I was experiencing really bad headaches, cold sweats, nausea, muscle pain (more than usual), confusion....much like having the flu with a bad fever.  At this point it was a Saturday and I left a message with the doctor to get back to me on Monday, but in the meantime I called my pharmacist and told her what I was experiencing.  She was very shocked at my doctor's suggestion because tapering off this type of drug (affects the nervous system) should be very slow.  So, I went back to full dose and spoke to my Rheumatologist Sunday over e-mail and told her the whole story.  She agreed with the Pharmacist and suggested the following regimin for tapering off Lyrica (and it is true, everybody is affected differently):
Using 25mg pills:  6 in the AM  5 in the PM for two days, 5/5, 5/4, and so on until you get down to one.  So, far I am on the 5/5 for the second day and still feeling the side effects, but slightly less.  So, I will push through this even though it is tough.  I would not suggest that anyone take this medication unless their life depended upon it!  I will keep you all posted on the results.

Hi,
I'm a female of 46 yrs living in Norway. I have a neural pain in my lower jaw which I've gone to my dentist to help me. He xrayed my jaw, and looked into the matter, ie. he tried to sand away the tooths surface in order to avoid the biting of teeth, if that was the matter behind the pain.

After several other remedies; he, my GP and my pain mgmt doc together come to the conclusion that I had a neuropathic pain and I was put up with Lyrica last fall (2006). I started up with 75 mg twice a day, and after a relative short time I was up to 150 x2.

This dose I maintained a couple of weeks until the pained started again, then my GP said I should try 150 x3. After a while I felt my weight (kilos) gained upon me, from 70 kgs to 80 kgs early this winter. My appetite was sneakish, I ate without really noticing it. And I also noticed that my clothes seemed to have shrinked in the closet!!

Later this spring I am up to 1098 mg Lyrica per day!!!! and I feel like I'm pregnant!! (I have 2 wonderful children) and bloated all over. I weigh over 125 kgs!!!! This much I have never weighed before??? And the pain doesn't seem to stop!? And my GP and pain mgmt doc doesnt want to give me a higher dosis until they have tested me.

And I have the sneaky feeling that Lyrica live a life of its own, it seems to me as if it triggers its own new dose level??? This sounds like a drug out of Hell????

I've been prescribed Neurontin in the meantime wich I take as a pain reliever until further notice.

Is there anyone out there who has experience similar????

By the way, there is another website dealing with sideeffects of Lyrica: www. medicalnewstoday.com

Hi All , I'm from Australia too , I was on Lyrica for 23 day's last March and I'm still suffering some of the side effects 9 months later . It's been the worst 9 months of my life .... I'm a 54 y/o male and was given Lyrica as my Specialist wants me to cut down to the absolute minimum of Prednisone that I have been on since 1966 (41 yrs). After all this time and numerous specialists they still can't "pin-point" what my problem is , it was originally diagnosed as Polymositis when I was 12 , now it could be Myotonic Dystrophy or similar problem ?

I suffer from severe cramping in the Chest , Back , Arms , Hands , Diaphragm , Legs & Feet . The cramps I rate the pain up to 10+/10 every 2-4 days , I once had a broken ankle and I would rate that as 5-6/10 . On Lyrica my pain rating was 4-6 "constantly".

I know the side effects of the Prednisone (Osteoporosis , Tissue & skin problems) but Wow , nothing as bad as Lyrica .

The specialist said  "Only Minimal side effects" ...Oh Yeah.

I had about 3/4 of the side effects on the "Warning Lists" that are listed on the Net , but I'm still suffering from :-

Double Vision - Dry Mouth - Short term memory loss (not as bad as it was) - Wheezing - Distended belly - Occasional Depression -Fungus under Toenails- Peeling Skin (just "rolls off" when drying after a shower) and Fluid Retention .

Other problems I had was :-
Lack of concentration (still not good)
Confusion
Aggressive Behavior (not like me)
SEVERE Depression - Thankfully I have a very observant wife who stopped me twice from"doing something stupid"
Bad balance problems , not good when you have Osteoporosis , probably fell over 4-6 times a day
Unexplained Bruising
Massive Weight Gain - I've been 53-54 Kgs since I was 17 until March and "exploded" to 76 Kg's in 6 weeks . I now have one meal a day and have only been able to lose 4 Kg's .
Either can't stay awake or can't sleep !
Bad Dreams
Speach Problems , my wife often couldn't understand me when I spoke .
Lack of Stamina , 30 minutes a day was my limit (now on good days 2-3 hours.)
Unexplained Infections , I came out of hospital yesterday after getting an infected elbow 6 days ago.

My main question after all that rambling is the same as jeaniq's "Has anyone else had long lasting side effects like this ?"
It has me worried how much longer they are going to last . I thought I was going crazy until I found this Forum and a couple of others like it and found other people with the same problems

jeaniq , I can understand exactly how you feel . 

My advice is if a Doctor suggests Lyrca .... DON'T TOUCH IT. I've taken 12-15 different types of "supposed" cures , but prednisone is the only thing that works for me , but the Specialists "just won't listen" ,  only my local Doctor will (he's also a friend when not on duty)

I hope together all of us may be able to get some answers

Merry Christmas All

A-L

Last edited by Anti-Lyrica (2007-12-20 12:05:43)