LYRICA -The miracle drug
 

Hi all. Mark wanted me to make a seperate post specifically about my amazing experience with Lyrica. This way others can find it more easily.

For the past 3-5 months Ive been having pain, the last few months pain levels 5-6 most evenings with occasional slight burning in hands and arms. I also had a extreme tender spot right over my T4, as well as below the waist tenderness in my nerve track (its hard to describe exactly, but it really sucks). Well, about 10-11 days ago, I switched from neurontin (which seemed to not be working anymore like it once did) to lyrica and within 2 days I was absolutley pain free!! Before this drug, I was taking pain meds most nights and now I have only needed a pain pill once (or maybe twice at most) in the last 9 days. I thought Id wait a week before posting about this in case it was just a temporary fluke. But having 9 days of being 90% pain free, I know it has to be the lyrica. And I dont have that deep tender sore spot over T4 anymore either!! Well, yesterday I felt it a little bit for a short while after a long days work, but so far not today. If lyrica was just blocking the nerve pain, I would have thought Id still have that physical tender sore spot over T4, but its also gone too.

In addition, the lyrica improved my mental well being too. I had started taking Wellubutrin a few months ago for a depressive episode (Im bi polar 2, the more mild form of bipolar, so I occasionally take meds for that as needed) and the lyrica definitley seems to have finished knocking out the last 20% of my anxious depression that the Wellubutrin alone couldnt quite polish off. Although wellubutrin had done a thorough job on my anxious depression, I still noticed that I worried and ruminated about things that most people didnt, and I still had a slight tinge of anxiousness to my worries. Now after Lyrica, Im very mentally tranquil and no longer have that anxious tinge or obsession over my worries. Its a total mental peace. For the first time in a long time, I know I am 100% mentally normal. I can just tell that this is what normal is, you just know it when you feel it. I'm almost as happy for the mental improvement as I am for the pain improvement,...well, on 2nd thought, the pain was PRETTY bad , so maybe that's taking it a bit too far. I was getting so worn down and beaten down with the pain that it was getting hard to get out of bed in the mornings and was making it harder to function at work. I even started wondering if I might be heading towards social security disability or something like that. My imagination was really running wild. I dont need to tell any of you this, but Ill say it anyways,.... PAIN REALLY SUCKS!! Anyways, my anxious depressions have responded well over the past 20 years to anti convulsants so its not a complete surprise that this helped me in that regards. Its just that I wasnt even thinking of a mental benefit when I started taking this. Neurontin is supposedly quite similar to lyrica, so its weird that lyrica worked so amazing well when neurontin wasnt working at all anymore.

SO far, Lyrica has been nothing short of a MIRACLE drug. I pray this doesnt change. How nice it is to just be able to sit and exist with little to no pain. I am humbled and appreciative of these pain free days Ive been given. I cant believe I'm saying the word "pain free". Wow. I have my life back without needing narcos to get there , ...well, for now at least. (fingers crossed)

excellent response!
 

Hey Steve,
I think your mind was running a normal course when feeling really awful and considering SSD. That just makes sense if one thinks or experiences devastating pain that continues or doesn't respond to treatment. Of course I'd say that because I went that route.

I had an excellent response to Neurontin and for 12 years or so I needed it though have been off it since 8/10. Feel great off it too so time has taken it's course for me and like you it feels great to feel that much better (mentally and physically) altho I still take a low dose of opioid medication.

Glad to hear the drug worked miracles for you and sounds like it was just what was needed (no further more invasive measures). Your doctor made a good call there! thanks for posting this and continue to feel good!

Steve,

At long last - to be pain free after all you've been through is indeed a miracle.

Personally, I started Lyrica because of Neurontin's side effects but found just about the same of everything though I was on a lower dosage. I gave it all up for the mental clarity though at times the pain does get me down. I know it's there should I become desperate again but hopefully I will not reach that point.

Regardless - I'm happy that you can go about your business as a 'normal' person. Only those who have suffered realize just how good health can be.

My best to you, Dale

Lyrica does work but it is a very dangerous drug and addtive. If u come off it do NOT go cold turkey. IT is actualy a drug used for seizures. But it does block the nerves from sending the pain message which can work against you if you OVER do because u think you r OK

re lyrica
 

Lyrica is specifically for diabetic neuropathies or neuropathies and we have long been using tricyclic antidepressants and antiseizure medication off label use for neuropathies. I took Neurontin for 12 years because I needed to (and Elavil 5 years before that) for neuropathies. It made a significant difference in my ability to function or not as did an opioid pain medication.

As always with any medication the benefit should outweigh the risk in order for a person to be utilizing it and it sounds as though this is a wonder drug for you as you've mentioned. You will have your regular medical checkups and labwork done that will keep both you and your treating physician aware of your health status regarding any drug being taken.

With regard to discontinuing this medication or any for that matter one should consult their treating physician and pharmacist. I discontinued Neurontin over several months bringing my dose down from 1800mg/day eventually to nothing. This allowed me to see how I responded at each incremental decrease as well as being cautious re potential for seizures (I've had one in my lifetime of unknown origin).

And as with all medications some people respond one way to something and some another way or not at all.

I have heard from numerous patients that Lyrica helps with neuropatic pain.

My mom tried it for some time for her chronic LBP, but unfortunately Lyrica did not help.

Also, please be careful with possible serious Lyrica side-effects.

I think Lyrica is one of those 'hit or miss' drugs. Either it doesn't work for you, or it's a home run. Fewer people (than with many other drugs) fall somewhere in the middle.

Mark

PS. Steve (and others), thanks for posting!

It scary to take new drugs
 

Everytime I try a new drug, like Lyrica, I have side effects. I know Lyrica is not for me, as I like to have wine with dinner and drink beer on the weekends in the summer. It comes with a strong warning regarding alcohol. It's one thing to moderate your intake but another thing to eliminate altogether. I have a friend that I like to go to have martini's with now and again as well. It just scares me to take new meds anyway. So I gave up wine and beer for about 2 weeks trying Lyrica and the side effects did not disapate. So on top of side effects and still having pain, I wasn't able to enjoy my wine. i am glad that it works for others.

I did not give Lyrica a fair chance as i was gaining weight and automatically blamed it on the Lyrica. Could have been other endocrine problems at the time. It did make me feel loopy at the time i was taking it too.
so glad it is working though.
Everyone needs their miracle surgery or miracle drug
judy

I wonder if I spoke too soon or jinxed myself,...2 days ago, the old pain has returned with a vengeance. Darn (sigh). Maybe my body is adjusting to well to the lyrica hence dampening it's effects. I'm increasing my dosage to see if that works. I do still feel sure it was the lyrica that gave me the pain free interval I had, the timing and degree of pain freeness (for so long too) was to extreme to have simply been a natural recission.

Steve
Lets hope the Lyrica just took a few days off and you get back to your pain free state.
judy

my experience
 

Steve,
Since our spines are different re what problems we might have I don't know if this is the case w/u however I took Neurontin 1800mg for 12 years. Initially it was incredible with the relief it gave me re neuropathies however I still had flare ups and some were as terrible as anything I'd ever experienced however they were in essence flare ups. They ended. Relief again. I experienced this for a number of years until L5S1 has autofused and given me quite a bit more relief I think as I've been able to be off Neurontin now completely since 8/10.

While I don't know if that's going to be a forever thing (being off Neurontin) currently I am.

Good luck, hope it's just a flareup or rough patch and soon you'll be feeling better again... give it a bit of time and see.

For me, both N & L worked well on my nerve pain. However, there were times, and still now, when I overdo or sneeze wrong... whatever, when my pain will flair up.

Hope this is your circumstance and is just a bump in the road.

Hi Steve, keep this in mind
 

There is a difference between acute pain and chronic pain. Sometimes, there does need to be an ajustment of dosage after initial Rx to see if it still helps. The Lyrica side effects did not go away for me, so I stopped. Also, on any given day your spine may be in an aligment that may give you some sence of relief but really it's a temp thing. I had 3-4 days back in October where I had NO pain and No weaknees! I just thanked God for it and moved on. I wondered so deeply what did I do right those few days when I felt so good:confused: Anyway, I went on vacation to Puerto Vallarta two weeks later and was miserable!

Just wondering
 

How you're doing Steve? Did the flare unflare? Hope you're feeling better!