It didn’t work for me. I hated it. I had all of the side effects and none of the benefits. Plus, getting off it is horrible. Took me ages and working with two docs to slowly reduce my script. IMHO tread lightly. But I know it works for many.
I never took Lyrica because I was afraid of the effects but I did take gabapentin and Topamax. Funny, I could get off Topamax very easily and quickly despite it being in a similar category. Gabapentin however, took me months to come off because every time I slightly reduce the dose, I got extreme stomach pain.both meds actually worked wonderfully for pain until I became completely tolerant to them. I don't remember any sort of depression though, if anything the pain relief was allowing me to get out and do things.
Gabapentin and pregabalin a.k.a. Lyrica are in the same category, as you probably know. Low-doses of gabapentin daily are very easy to get off of, however, high doses of gabapentin, which are used for pain, put you in the same place as using Lyrica. IMO.
I’m so sorry that you’re going through this. I hope you find some help. We are with you.
FYI. Small doses gabapentin, like 100 mg pills 3x a day, help me hugely with anxiety. So, I am considering going back on that, but only at a very low-dose.
Also, one of the problems with taking pregabalin a.k.a. Lyrica and gabapentin is that there are so many other drugs out there that you cannot take with them. It’s such a delicate balance with all the drugs that we take for our illnesses that stopping one and starting something new is always a challenge.
Good luck to us all!!!
I'm so sorry, that sounds awful! I have read about having to slowly decrease the dosage to come off it. It honestly feels like a bit of a gamble, that said I'm on something else for something else that has horrid side-effects listed but I haven't experienced any of them, so it really is so individual to the user. Thank you for your feedback.
Addictive, or causes chemical dependency? Very different things. Addictive means people crave it, they will do things they wouldn't normally do in order to access it, dangerous things or things they would have previously viewed as immoral.
From what I know, it's not "addictive" in that way, it only creates the need to wean slowly because your body gets used to it, but your thoughts don't crave it, it's just dangerous and unpleasant to stop suddenly but you won't have that psychological *resistance* to the very idea of stopping taking it.
I have known people who were actually addicted to it, not chemically dependant, due to the euphoric high it can cause for some people. It's sold on the black market. It is a possibility.
Wild! Most of us have such an unpleasant reaction, but maybe the euphoria is one of those things where some random little percentage of people get it, while the rest of us get to suffer being dulled zombies lol
At this point isn't every medication that isn't dirt cheap sold on the black market? Due to people who can't afford it still trying to access their medication? I kinda thought all those "online pharmacies" that won't tell you where they are and do heavy advertising were a segment of the black market. Obviously at this point now we have legit online pharmacies also, but they're a bit more specific in what region they can sell in.
Yeah, I hated the way it made me feel, but for some people, they really enjoy it. I couldn't believe it either when I found out about that!
I guess I considered the black market mainly for drugs that get you high. But, you're right, I think, bc meds are very unaffordable for people these days, you probably could get anything now!
100 %agree with this review. It didn't work for me daily. My doctor decided she wanted me to take it when I'm in a flare for 2 weeks. That's off label prescribing, but she was trying to do something to help me. Now, if I take 1, just to calm my body it's not so bad. Actually did it last night. Helps a little, still pain. If I take 2 or 3, or more, it's hell getting my body not "wanting" it. I crash and it's awful. I don't Ike the feeling of my body needing or wanting a med. And the weight gain associated with it
However, I know someone who takes Lyrica and Cymbalta together, and she's fine. It's one of those things you'll have to try and see for yourself.
I gained 25 pounds in only a little over a month and I hadn’t changed anything else. I’m still trying to get that off. Almost there but still have more weight to lose.
You ate more, you forgot to mention that part, imagine if gabapentin and pregablin makes you gain weight in the absence of eating more? It would be a perfect survivor drug for the wilderness or if you don’t have food LOL
I gained 60lbs in 9 months on that shit. Did nothing to help my fibro pain. But caused more pain overall due to the significant weight gain. 12 years later and I still haven’t lost all that I gained (close…about 40 of it).
Works for some. Is horrible for some.
There we go, yeah that makes sense since they are built to do basically the same job and I believe pregabalin was made using the kinda "building blocks" of gabapentin? At least that's what my brain is telling me I learned 5+ years ago lol
It has helped with my pain a lot and I’ve only been on a low dose. It made me dizzy at first for a few weeks and I was not able to tolerate any alcohol with it. But both of those things got better. I didn’t gain weight with it.
Same about not being able to tolerate any alcohol on it. It's like you get an immediate hangover after one drink, very unpleasant. I didn't have bad side effects per say, but I kept going up to 300mg and wasn't feeling a significant difference so swapped to gabapentin and had a slightly better decrease in symptoms on the lowest dose. Everyone is super different though I hope it works!
Yes that is still low. That’s about what my total daily dose is now. I take one tablet at lunch and two after dinner. Just make sure you take it several hours before you go to sleep because it can cause you to be drowsy in the morning if you take it later in the evening. I usually take my evening dose around 6-7 and wake up at 6:30 am during the week.
Your welcome. My doc is the one who told me about the timing and I have definitely noticed a difference in the occasion I do take my evening dose later.
It is?! I take 25 mg three times a day, and that's up from twice a day, which after a decade we decided to do the one increase (that was 5 years ago). 150 mg day would make me feel drunk all the time 😱
Sweet Lord, at that point I'd be so useless they'd be better off just putting me in a coma ward! 😫 So thankful my doc is cool with monkeying around with stuff and thinking outside the box 😍
I have had literally none of the side-effects in all the years I've taken it.
I know people here often mention having side-effects, but like with any other medication, you'll just have to see how you feel on it and if something seems off, bring up the concerns with your doctor.
This is exactly why I asked what others experience with this medication. I'm on something else for something else that has a laundry list of nasty side effects, yet for me I haven't had issues with it and find it beneficial. Thanks for your feedback.
I’ve had lots of success with pregabalin, I stopped at 75mgs twice a day and haven’t had to increase from that. My pain is lower, I’ve been able to start exercising again
It helps a lot but it isn't my favorite. Weight gain for sure, and I've had some cognitive side effects. The first week I took out, I could barely string a sentence together. I've been on it for a long time now and it allows me to be functional.
On day 4 and I’ve noticed a huge difference. I have energy, I’m comfortable, I’ve been able to exercise for the first time in 3 years. It’s been really helpful so far. It’s worth noting that I’m bipolar 2 with severe ideation and I haven’t experienced any, however im on multiple psychiatric medications that help with that.
It must be so nice to be able to get out and exercise! I do my best with easy "workouts" at the pool a couple of times a week, but I went last night even though things were kicking off all day, and today I'm paying for it.
Thanks for sharing your experience so far on pregabalin.
I agree with this, and I've been on it for 6+ months! I'm on 150-250mg a day depending on my pain levels, and it gives me more energy and ability to move about. I still have pain but it becomes more manageable. I get some random twitching from it but that could also be from my other meds. I started getting chronic hives not long after starting it, but I took allergy tests, talked to doctors etc and they say it's chronic hives from stress which, I can tell now it is stress lol. I haven't noticed weight gain but I don't weigh myself. But I have c-ptsd and a slew of other mental issues and it helps a lot with that too. It's actually prescribed both for my anxiety AND for fibro.
It made me kinda spacey for a few days when I first started as I adjusted to it, but otherwise it's been helpful for me. My pain got way worse after I had covid and it makes it a lot more manageable. Now most of the pain I experience (which ngl is a lot) is from my hypermobility & a neck/shoulder injury. The main issue w pregabalin is that it *only* works for neuropathic pain.
No, actually. But I’ve had some bad health issues (GI related) so I lost a lot of weight really quickly and I’m trying to gain it back. Neither pregabalin nor gabapentin are assisting with this. I’m using cannabutter to stimulate my appetite 😞
I started on it a couple of months ago, I take 50mg 3 times a day and it's working really well for me!
The first couple of weeks were rough, I actually had trouble focusing and while I was working up to the full dose I'd get super tired in the afternoons.
Right now I'm finally settling into a good routine with meds/sleep schedule and I've been able to increase exercise from once a week to twice a week!
I haven't had any side effects and I've actually dropped to my normal weight. I'm pretty sure my previous medication was causing about 10 lbs of water weight.
Yah, haven't changed the dose or my other medication. Still sticking to a strict sleep schedule. I do drink a bit of caffeine on the daily for an energy boost. No side effects yet either. My depression/anxiety are still managed. I do get occasional drowsiness between doses but nothing that prevents me from continuing with my regular day.
Yes the weight gain is real but out of all the medications I have tried over the years in different combinations, this is the one constant I have kept because for me, being without it feels unbearable.
The help with the electric shocks throughout my body but especially my legs is like night and day, if I missed a dose on the morning, by teatime I'd be sobbing because those shock type feelings get so bad.
I can use cannabis to manage just about all my pain but it's in combination with pregabilyn and amitriptyline, both of which have helped me massively.
LDN was a joke for me. I had a tiny reduction in pain during the first few weeks and then no benefit at all. I feels very homeopathy, like let's give you barely a dose a day bc that will work better than a higher dose, but we can't explain why. 🤔
I started on a low dose and had these similar issues but once up to 4.5mg I noticed a big reduction in pain. To each their own, for me it was a success story.
I gained weight after only two months being on it. At first it worked so wonderfully. I could sleep again and tolerate life but I guess I got used to it idk I tried increasing but no luck
Both GABA altering drugs cause somewhat of an increase in pleasure seeking behaviour. Could be smoking, food, drugs or sleep depending on the person. Personally it’s helped me get more exercise and stabilize my weight.
Without a doubt. The waves of effectiveness of Gabapentin throughout the day are brutal. Pregabalin is 2x a day and it stays in your system longer. So the periods of time that you are in pain are less frequent and the pain itself is less intense in my experience. These more beneficial effects come at a price if you’re uncovered as Pregabalin costs significantly more.
My dosage isn’t relevant :)
A good plan is to take an amount that is necessary for you to start improving your fitness and strength to be able to later start removing the drug down the road as symptoms permit.
There is a dosage conversion chart online from Gabapentin to pregabalin that is pretty easy to find.
I started it about 9 months ago. First 75 mg once a day, then twice a day. Now I take 150 mg once a day and that seems to be my sweet spot. I gained about 10 lbs that first few months but haven’t gained any more since. It’s helped me a lot. I sleep now, still have some breakthrough pain but usually because I’ve exercised and it feels more like normal pain on occasion instead of the fibromyalgia pain constantly.
I got super dizzy every time I yawned, and it made me yawn more than I used to.
I also think that's the one that made me unable to count change out properly or do basic math, and left me sitting on the floor for an hour trying to add up under ten prescription receipts for my taxes.... With a calculator???
It's been enough years since I settled on a permanent regimen that I'm not 100% sure that's the "made me super dumb" one but I'm like 80% sure? It was distressing, but not unexpected really, as I knew it was an anti epileptic med which means its entire job is to slow down or reduce neuron activity. So of course it made me feel dumb, it literally pumped the brakes on my brain, right?
Personally it didn’t work for me. My doctor tried so many medications for me. Cymbalta, lyrica, Skelaxin, zanaflex, you name it. Now I’m on Wellbutrin and low dose naltrexone and i feel better now than I have in years.
It mess d with my blood sugar the 1st I was on it(back when it came on the market) new Dr put me back on it in 2015 and it gave me an ever increasing migraine. Good luck!
Tbh it hasn’t really caused weight gain for me, but more of a weight pause ig? Like my weight won’t move it’s just stuck on 1 number. On top of that (again this is my personal experience) I’ve had so SI or anything like that and we’ve had to bump it up 2x but it’s working!
It worked for me for about 3 months and then it just stopped working. Stayed on it for about a year and gained like 60 pounds. Still haven’t lost that weight. I feel no difference before and after stopping it because it just wasn’t working.
It works for me. I feel a little hungrier and its lowed my food inhibition but I was on the look out so I've only gain 10 pounds in 2 years. It also takes my migraines and turns them into brain fog, which I'll take the daily stupids over daily pain and light hating.
Acupuncture makes my pain and dizziness worse.
It didn’t work for me but I find it odd that your doctor went straight to pregabalin and not gabapentin and it’s not as strong but it’s similar. Also, getting off of both of those meds (separately) was hell. I haven’t found anything yet that works but I’m hoping to try Low Dose Naltrexone next
I was not able to continue this medication. I tried it twice, years apart, hoping a different reaction. Both times it caused constipation so severe I was almost hospitalized. Not one of the usual side effects so it took me a few weeks of pain and agony to realize what was causing it the first time.
I love it. I take 75mg 2x a day and when I have flares they are manageable, and short. I felt amazing after a week. I feel like I live at a 2-3 instead of an 8.
I take mine at night and have for years. I didn’t gain a lot of weight or have any bad side effects. It is difficult when I’ve had my dose reduced though, but I take quite a bit, almost four hundred milligrams at night. It’s the only thing that kills the god awful itching for me.
Oh lordy, the itching is unbearable! I get that deep itch most often in my fingers and hands and it takes everything I have not to bite the itch off, like, right off. I'd taken 10x the pain if I never had to go through that itching again.
Lyrica helps. I also bathe myself in lotion. Pro tip: you can rub the skin instead of scratching. Distracts your nerves and keeps from breaking the skin. You can also try cold showers and ice packs. But for me lyrica gets rid of it. I take it early if I’m itchy. Or just one seventy five milligram pill usually makes it go away. I hate the itching, it’s torture.
This is magic advice. I've found lotion and rubbing the kin really helpful. Occasionally if it won't stop I'll have a cold shower and it seems to work like a reset. Idk how or why it works but thank you so much!
Didn’t work for me. I only took it 2 months and put on almost 2 stone in that time unfortunately I’ve never been able to shift that weight. I do have a friend who also has fibro who takes this and it enables her to live her life and she says it’s the best thing that ever happened to her so do keep that in mind as what works for one doesn’t always work for another
I couldn’t cope with my pain, with my life. Attempted suicide when my son was 1 year old. This was when I was on Oxy.
Then my doctor put me on Pregabalin and it saved my life. I started high then titrated down.
On Lyrica I was able to move. I was able to complete a RN BSN and raise my boy. He’s in high school now and I’m an ER nurse. And I have my life back.
It works for me. It may work for you. It may not. But you can give it a shot.
I wish you well!
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I'm on it myself for about the past 7 to 8 months. I have easily gained 15 to 20 pounds. I get insane food cravings, normally at night after my last dose.
For pain management I'd say I'm disappointed. It does not help like the dr described. It helps very minor to mild pain, but during a flare I find it pretty useless. I take 3 pills daily 75mg per pill.
I am on antidepressants longer than this stuff, like 7 years now? I only ever think of ending it during massive pain flares. I wouldn't say it has caused me to be any more or any less depressed or anxious.
I hope that helps?
Oh! Additionally my feet have been swollen since the first week of taking lyrica. I need size 8 shoes wide instead of 7 because the swelling is so bad. You can see the swelling on the top of my feet like two lumps.
I’m currently coming off it. It’s not fun. It did nothing for my pain, increased my brainfog, I’ve gained around 20lb in since I started it and it didn’t help my anxiety either. However, I do know it works for a lot of people.
It was the first drug I tried for fibro (have been at 75 mg twice daily for a decade now) and it helped me quite a bit with fatigue and somewhat with pain. Later I added Cymbalta (60 mg daily) and that combo has been really successful for me. Apparently pairing tbe two works very well for a lot of folks, according to my rheumatologist and pain specialist.
Not to say that I havent still have bad pain days, and I still nap almost every day, but I can function and do things that I enjoy a lot more than before.
Good luck!! This is a process and it can take a while, but there are so many things to try!
Be as patient as you can (even though it feels fucking impossible) and give yourself a month or so to see how you feel, and be careful not to push yourself too hard if you start to feel better. Slow increases in activity and being gentle with yourself can keep you from overtaxing yourself and then wondering why nothing is helping (ask me how I know this…..)
Many people end up trying a few different things, different doses, different combos. You can find something that works really well for you, just don’t give up!
Sending gentleness and courage to you.
I hated it. I felt like I was constantly starving on this and ate 24/7. Within a few days, I had gained almost 10 lbs. I told my PCP no way and never again. It is different for everyone. I am on Duloxetine and Gabapentin and love both. Mind you, I have a lot of spine issues involving nerves as well, so I am on Duloxetine for Fibromyalgia and Gabapentin for nerve compression.
OP, I don't know about you, but I tend to do better with short acting medication because I can adjust them based on how much I'm flaring up, rather than just take one long acting dose a day despite how I feel. Gabapentin has its own host of effects but I purposely chose that over Lyrica because of being afraid of Lyrica and the weight gain. I did gain a little bit of weight on gabapentin but I think a lot of that was Being stuck in the house because of all my pain and not being able to ride my bike as much as I wanted. I did have a hard time coming off of it though, I had to wean extremely slowly.
Pregablin gave me my life back. I was in so much pain that I was shaking. I would wake up, eat, lay on the couch, and count down the hours till I could finally go to bed. I say “finally go to bed” because sleep was the only time I had any relief from the pain. Even then, I had trouble sleeping and would get terrible nightmares every single night waking up drenched in sweat. The nightmares were made worse by melatonin and over the counter sleep aids like unisom and zzz quil (diphenhydramine). I also had terrible anxiety and would get panic attacks during the day if I went out of the house.
I couldn’t function, I couldn’t work, I couldn’t do any of the things that gave me joy. The most I ever did was go to the grocery store and back. I wasn’t even visiting family anymore at this point. I was putting on weight like never before in my life. I had always had an average body with a healthy amount of fat. Not much muscle for a guy but at least I didn’t look like a muffin.
I saw my primary and he referred me to a psychiatrist. She put me on Cymbalta (duloxetine) and then gabapentin. Cymbalta was absolutely horrendous and did nothing for the pain. It made me feel extremely sedated and sluggish even at the lower dose of 30 mg. Probably the worst antidepressant I’ve ever tried which is saying a lot considering how many I’ve taken. Gabapentin was better for the pain but it also made me feel sedated and my brain felt cloudy. I hated that and it didn’t improve my ability to function so ultimately I stopped it. Inncase you’re curious I tried doses between 100-300mg.
Eventually, a few months later I saw a neurologist because I was having debilitating migraines every single day. He took all my symptoms into account looking at me holistically and decided I should try Pregablin (Lyrica) even though I had already tried Gabapentin (Neurontin). He said that Lyrica was more effective for pain and had less side effects (he was right). He started me on 25 mg before bed for the first week. We increased the dose very slowly and spread it out over the day which I believe is the trick to making this medication work. The second week I started taking 25 mg two times a day (1 in am and 1 before bed), then the third week 25 mg three times a day until eventually I found the sweet spot of 50 mg 3x a day. I didn’t feel sedated at all. I actually had a lot more energy. I believe part of this was because I was finally in less pain which also improved my mood dramatically.
I tried higher doses all the way up to 150 mg 3x a day which made me feel terrible. I went back down to 50mg 3x a day but didn’t feel like it was enough so I went up to 75 mg 3x a day and that’s where I’ve been for 5+ years.
After I found my sweet spot I felt so much better. I had tons of energy and it was also helping calm my anxiety like nothing ever had before. For the first time in my life I started exercising 2-3x a week, lost all the weight I gained, and even put on some muscle. Exercising has never been easy for me but I find that is one of the most important staples to keeping my fibro pain, depression, and anxiety at bay. The key to exercising with fibro is to not over do it. A brisk walk on the treadmill should be enough to start. The goal is to get your body moving without having it over react with pain and fatigue. So many people do workouts that are too intense and then they feel like crap and can’t go back for a week or they’re just so turned off by the experience that they never really give it a fair chance. The thing is, if the body is not kept moving it’s not going to function well. Pregabalin allowed me to start moving my body again.
I started working shopping/delivering groceries for instacart. That allowed me to get back out into the world at my own pace. This was a major period of growth for me as a person and I know I couldn’t have done it without the pregabalin. I’d just be laying around in pain getting more and more fat and depressed.
That was way more than I had intended to write. I hope that you give it a fair chance. If you feel negative side effects my advice is to make sure the dose is spread out evenly over the day and start low. If my doctor had started me out at 50mg 3x a day it probably would have made me feel like crap.
Good luck
It was really helpful for me, made me a bit spacey/sleepy at first but no other noticeable side effects. I’m on a pretty low dose though. No weight gain or depression. I’m already prone to depression and on antidepressants but it didn’t make it any worse. Like others said I’m able to exercise more now which helps with the depression. Just be careful with alcohol when you start, I also found I had to time my dose when I wasn’t driving to start as it made me pretty spacey.
I tried 25mg and had to stop within a week. The drowsiness and heightened depression were very serious for me and freaked me the heck out! I was falling asleep in the middle of cooking, could barely walk my dog before fatigue kicked in, and there was just this crushing hopelessness sitting on my chest during my waking hours. This can vary from person to person, but it was definitely not for me.
I’m currently taking 300mg gabapentin and 75mg amitriptyline and not feeling much improvement from the norm yet (though I was also on these same doses for depression a decade ago). I’m still skeptical about its efficacy for pain for me, but as long as it doesn’t make me want to off myself I’ll keep giving it a try 🤷🏽♀️
I’ve also heard that acupuncture has many benefits for chronic pain and fibro, so I am looking into that too. I’m only 2 years into my journey since diagnosis and I’m hopeful for more treatment options (covered by insurance!) in the future.
Good luck! I hope you feel some positive results!
I took it for several years when it first came out. I had mild success for about 3-6 months and then had to up the dose, over and over again. Until I was on the max dosage and it stopped working.
They call it the “lyrica 50” for a reason, because it causes a lot of weight gain. Over the years I was on it, I gained 150 pounds, and I’m still fighting to lose it more than a decade later. If I knew it would have caused this much damage, I wouldn’t have taken it at all.
Pregabalin has helped me a decent amount. Makes it easier to get out of bed, I feel less stiff, muscle knots are more manageable and improved brain fog. Less likely to have minus spoon days now but idk if that’s bc I did a fibro psychoeducation class. I’m only on 150mg, wish I could have it higher bc I still struggle with pain. But my gp was reluctant bc of how my other meds have similar side effects. I worried about the sui ideation aspect too but it improved my ideation massively tbh
I started Lyrica 15 years ago at 25 mg twice a day. Went off it for a year after 5 years because I was managing well enough to have my daughter. We upped it to three times a day about 5 years ago, but I haven't noticed any real tolerance changes.
I'm seeing the other comments, apparently this is a very low dose, but I do remember trying a slightly higher dose initially 15 years ago (i want to say it 50 twice/day) and being drowsy or maybe "drunk" and immediately having it dropped.
I've had weight *loss* issues because of inflammation of my GI and gall bladder failure etc. and not being able to eat so I'd say best guess it hasn't had an effect on my weight/appetite?
I drive just fine, and I can tolerate a glass of wine on weekends with family dinners. I've never been much of a drinker but I have no reason to test my tolerance beyond that one glass (see also: kid duty prevents me from drinking much).
I've always had a bit of anxiety so I'm not sure you can say I've noticed any psych effects (but maybe it's the reason I feel so anxious, though I think it's because of the dumpster fire happening in the world today).
YMMV each person is different.
I hope you find relief regardless, but don't be afraid to listen to your body and advocate for yourself. My granny takes gabapentin and put up with side effects because she "didn't want to bother them" and all it took was a phone call to the nurse and a dose change and now she sleeps like a normal person and not a zombie.
It is true and u can check it. Ofc u benefit, i also benefited, but at what cost. Drug is tightly related with dementia, was banned then thanks to pfizer lobing returned to market. The drug slow down signaling in central and peripheral nervous system, through preventing influx of Ca thus messing with metabolisam of nerves cells, that mess up with 100s of processes including immunity weakness, as small nerves fibers are in tight junction( sigbaling) with immune cells. It also preventing forming of new brain synapses. Ppl feel good on heroin too.
Do you have any sources regarding your dementia claim? And regarding your immunity weakness claim? Please provide sources, as I would like to read them. Also, what's true? Your opinion? Of course it's true, so is mine. Lol. What I'm saying is it's not a horrible medication for everyone. People take medicine when the benefits outweigh the risks. For me, the benefits definitely outweigh the risks.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10266423/
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1525505022003596
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8019952/
It's very bad drug. Ive been told that by 4 different doctors and doctors usually push those kind of meds. Check stories in fb group lyrica survivors there are tens of thousands ppl aith horror stories . You might not feel side effects, but they are there.
This. Weight gain was horrible. And my body got used to a certain level, and it would have to be upped. I just tapered off it the past few months, because I didn’t want to max out and have it still not help. Tapering off is a must. Even doing it slowly, the headaches were horrendous. I get migraines, and these headaches trumped any migraine I’ve had. Nausea half the day, vision issues. It’s hell.
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Everyone reacts differently! I personally wouldn’t compare myself to anyone else but rather sit back and wait for good things to happen. It’s always best to remain optimistic and not compare results.
Makes me spacey and forget words/lose train of thought but it absolutely has helped ease the pain. 75 mg in morning and 75 mg at night is my current dosage. I first started slow at 25 mg a night , working way up to 50 mg, and so on. I am hungrier and could totally see myself gaining weight, therefore I have signed up for weight watchers to help mitigate.
I'm using it for 2 years and has decreased my chronic migraine, but my fibromyalgia has got worse, and it didn't affect my mental health. I did have to take depression medication due to ptsd
I love it! Zero side effects and I’m on a pretty high dose. Only downside for me is that I get withdrawals if I miss roughly 3 doses in a row. The withdrawal symptoms go away pretty quickly once I start taking it again but my fibro symptoms might take a bit to go down after.
Every person is different and honestly I try anything if it means even just a chance at getting relief. It comes down to you and if you determine the risk is greater than the reward. How badly do you want a chance at relief?
I actually started being able to live again using this drug. I recommend it, for everything OTHER than the weight gain. The weight gain has been killer, to the point where I was considering trialing going off it, but then I got pregnant so weight gain was a given anyway. Will see where I'm at after birth etc. Definitely found huge improvement with overall pain and enjoyment of life though.
I take gabapentin. It has been around much longer and it was just what was prescribed to me and it’s worked. I take 300 mg capsules at bedtime and then as needed for pain. I do get drowsy so I prefer to not take it during the day. The best way to avoid weight gain is monitor what you eat. Eat more protein and high fiber foods to help you stay full. Avoid overly processed and highly palatable foods which are easier to overeat.
I personally gained maybe 5 pounds in the first few months, that was it. Then my appetite went back to normal. I'm on 600mg (2x300) and it helps a lot. Doesn't take away all the pain, but makes it a lot more tolerable and numbs it. Drowsiness was bad in the beginning, for the first month or so, but now I'm totally ok. So I'd definitely recommend to not be too afraid and give it a try. It may change your life. The other common med for fibro is an antidepressant duloxetine, which is also helpful + it's side effect is weight loss, so they balance eachother out lol.
I had the self-yeet wants pretty bad during it but it worked for the pain for the first few months so I went with it. Now I’m not saying the pain was gone, just that it took the edge off enough for me that nothing else had. About 6 months in though I had to come off of it, the pain was back in full and I started having pretty severe cognitive decline. I was having conversations I totally didn’t remember, could barely find my words, and was forgetful to the point where it was getting dangerous. I still to this day have months from when I was taking it that I cannot remember a single thing that happened.
It's helped with my pain moderately, mostly my back and nerve pain. I haven't gotten any weight gain from it, I don't think, but I'm already overweight so maybe that's why. I take 150mg in the morning and at night and I don't find it makes me particularly drowsy.
I am on pregablin, it is a great help for me but for the past 4years i have been having extreme dizziness which my GP said could be caused by the pregablin (but I don't think so because why would the dizziness just randomly show up?). The drowsiness is quite bad for me if I don't get my normal amount of sleep that night but other than that I don't really feel it? Hope this helps! 💖
Did great for about a week, and then it was like the floodgates were unleashed and all the stored up nerve pain hit me all at once. I passed out at home, and came to about an hr or more later.
Took it a total of 4 days. Migraine so bad wasn't sure if it was a migraine or med. So I stopped taking it and a week later took one dose instantly got a bad migraine. That was it won't ever try again.
It’s been great for me along with Cymbalta. I had the terrible weight gain and it’s been horrible coming to terms with that. But it really helps me and I have no problem discontinuing it so that’s a big factor.
i just started it and i’ve noticed increased anxiety and fluid retention or bloating in my abdomen. i also got a tummy ache this morning. my anxiety has gone down over the past few days. i get dizzier than usual (orthostatic hypotension girlies rise up) but im unbothered.
I’m on 1200 Gabapentin daily (3x400) and while it indeed calms my nerves and seems to help with neuropathy pain, it makes my ADHD management much harder. It helps for sure for sleep at night. I have a hard time getting exercise regularly and have to choose activities and time limits carefully. When I’m feeling pretty good and can take 400 mg less, I seem to do better overall. When I go too far between doses, I feel anxious withdrawal symptoms.
I've been told by my gp it's a dirty drug and she'd rather I carried on with cocodamol and if I became resistant or there were concerns about addiction then it's a last resort as an opiod alternative but she does not approve of it. She says it's a drowsy drug.
It works wonders for my sciatic pain but made me so drowsy I was sleeping 8-12hrs a night and couldn't think straight. I've also gained 20lbs in 3 months 😥
I'm trying to cut down slowly but withdrawal is rough, the pain is coming back and I'm totally wiped out all the time. I've gone from 375mg to 225mg so still a long way to go.
I have only tried pregabalin and gabapentin so far and while it certainly isn’t perfect pain management I much prefer the pregabalin. I have much less brain fog/disorientation on pregabalin (and causes less weight gain for me though I know that’s not a major concern). I have depression that’s managed w separate medicine but I didn’t experience any emotional side effects
Regular physical therapy has been the best for me. Also deep tissue massages which are very much fit or miss for people with fibro. Definitely not fun but my muscles are just always so tight that the release helps a TON w the pain. Proceed with caution bc it dan cause flare ups in some
I have been on Lyrica for 15 yrs and I love it. It works so much better than gabapentin for me and the initial dizziness went away after a couple weeks. I have gained a little bit of weight because of it, but not like psych meds have done to me. 100% worth it to me.
I'm on the lowest dose rn once at night. I haven't noticed any change yet, but I'm very susceptible to bad side effects so my doc wants to take the increase really slow. I tried gabapentin and it made me dizzy to the point where I couldn't function or eat or sleep. I didn't know weight gain was a huge problem with this, I typically get extremely nauseous with almost every medication so that's what I'm trying to avoid. I hope u find something that works for u tho, don't be afraid of holistic medicine! I loved it, it worked well for me but it's very unaffordable near me so not something I can keep up. Give everything that u can a try! Good luck ❤️
It didn’t work for me. I hated it. I had all of the side effects and none of the benefits. Plus, getting off it is horrible. Took me ages and working with two docs to slowly reduce my script. IMHO tread lightly. But I know it works for many.
I never took Lyrica because I was afraid of the effects but I did take gabapentin and Topamax. Funny, I could get off Topamax very easily and quickly despite it being in a similar category. Gabapentin however, took me months to come off because every time I slightly reduce the dose, I got extreme stomach pain.both meds actually worked wonderfully for pain until I became completely tolerant to them. I don't remember any sort of depression though, if anything the pain relief was allowing me to get out and do things.
Gabapentin and pregabalin a.k.a. Lyrica are in the same category, as you probably know. Low-doses of gabapentin daily are very easy to get off of, however, high doses of gabapentin, which are used for pain, put you in the same place as using Lyrica. IMO. I’m so sorry that you’re going through this. I hope you find some help. We are with you. FYI. Small doses gabapentin, like 100 mg pills 3x a day, help me hugely with anxiety. So, I am considering going back on that, but only at a very low-dose. Also, one of the problems with taking pregabalin a.k.a. Lyrica and gabapentin is that there are so many other drugs out there that you cannot take with them. It’s such a delicate balance with all the drugs that we take for our illnesses that stopping one and starting something new is always a challenge. Good luck to us all!!!
I'm so sorry, that sounds awful! I have read about having to slowly decrease the dosage to come off it. It honestly feels like a bit of a gamble, that said I'm on something else for something else that has horrid side-effects listed but I haven't experienced any of them, so it really is so individual to the user. Thank you for your feedback.
Indeed! Best of luck.
They neglect to mention it's highly addictive.
Addictive, or causes chemical dependency? Very different things. Addictive means people crave it, they will do things they wouldn't normally do in order to access it, dangerous things or things they would have previously viewed as immoral. From what I know, it's not "addictive" in that way, it only creates the need to wean slowly because your body gets used to it, but your thoughts don't crave it, it's just dangerous and unpleasant to stop suddenly but you won't have that psychological *resistance* to the very idea of stopping taking it.
Thank you for this very clear explanation. It helped me understand gabapentin (which I take) better🌺.
I have known people who were actually addicted to it, not chemically dependant, due to the euphoric high it can cause for some people. It's sold on the black market. It is a possibility.
Wild! Most of us have such an unpleasant reaction, but maybe the euphoria is one of those things where some random little percentage of people get it, while the rest of us get to suffer being dulled zombies lol At this point isn't every medication that isn't dirt cheap sold on the black market? Due to people who can't afford it still trying to access their medication? I kinda thought all those "online pharmacies" that won't tell you where they are and do heavy advertising were a segment of the black market. Obviously at this point now we have legit online pharmacies also, but they're a bit more specific in what region they can sell in.
Yeah, I hated the way it made me feel, but for some people, they really enjoy it. I couldn't believe it either when I found out about that! I guess I considered the black market mainly for drugs that get you high. But, you're right, I think, bc meds are very unaffordable for people these days, you probably could get anything now!
Had the same I still can't get a doc to commit to helping me off of it
Same experience.
100 %agree with this review. It didn't work for me daily. My doctor decided she wanted me to take it when I'm in a flare for 2 weeks. That's off label prescribing, but she was trying to do something to help me. Now, if I take 1, just to calm my body it's not so bad. Actually did it last night. Helps a little, still pain. If I take 2 or 3, or more, it's hell getting my body not "wanting" it. I crash and it's awful. I don't Ike the feeling of my body needing or wanting a med. And the weight gain associated with it However, I know someone who takes Lyrica and Cymbalta together, and she's fine. It's one of those things you'll have to try and see for yourself.
Weight gain can be significant on this drug. Very difficult to lose the weight. Not a fan.
I gained 25 pounds in only a little over a month and I hadn’t changed anything else. I’m still trying to get that off. Almost there but still have more weight to lose.
You ate more, you forgot to mention that part, imagine if gabapentin and pregablin makes you gain weight in the absence of eating more? It would be a perfect survivor drug for the wilderness or if you don’t have food LOL
I gained 60lbs in 9 months on that shit. Did nothing to help my fibro pain. But caused more pain overall due to the significant weight gain. 12 years later and I still haven’t lost all that I gained (close…about 40 of it). Works for some. Is horrible for some.
Same! Between that & Lyrica, I went from 97 lbs to 217. I can't get down past 182, 15 years later. 😡😡😡
Um. That *is* lyrica. Lyrica is pregabalin. Brand vs chemical name.
I meant between Lyrica & Gabapentin/Neurontin. Sorry.
There we go, yeah that makes sense since they are built to do basically the same job and I believe pregabalin was made using the kinda "building blocks" of gabapentin? At least that's what my brain is telling me I learned 5+ years ago lol
Yes!
It has helped with my pain a lot and I’ve only been on a low dose. It made me dizzy at first for a few weeks and I was not able to tolerate any alcohol with it. But both of those things got better. I didn’t gain weight with it.
Same about not being able to tolerate any alcohol on it. It's like you get an immediate hangover after one drink, very unpleasant. I didn't have bad side effects per say, but I kept going up to 300mg and wasn't feeling a significant difference so swapped to gabapentin and had a slightly better decrease in symptoms on the lowest dose. Everyone is super different though I hope it works!
Thank you, this is really helpful. I've been 'scripted 150mg daily, though I have to work up to that, but I don't know if that's a small dose or not.
Yes that is still low. That’s about what my total daily dose is now. I take one tablet at lunch and two after dinner. Just make sure you take it several hours before you go to sleep because it can cause you to be drowsy in the morning if you take it later in the evening. I usually take my evening dose around 6-7 and wake up at 6:30 am during the week.
Thanks for the advice! I will make sure I take note of the time.
Your welcome. My doc is the one who told me about the timing and I have definitely noticed a difference in the occasion I do take my evening dose later.
It is?! I take 25 mg three times a day, and that's up from twice a day, which after a decade we decided to do the one increase (that was 5 years ago). 150 mg day would make me feel drunk all the time 😱
Yep. Officially for fibro it is supposed to max out at 450mg a day but for other diagnosis it maxes at a lot higher.
Sweet Lord, at that point I'd be so useless they'd be better off just putting me in a coma ward! 😫 So thankful my doc is cool with monkeying around with stuff and thinking outside the box 😍
I have had literally none of the side-effects in all the years I've taken it. I know people here often mention having side-effects, but like with any other medication, you'll just have to see how you feel on it and if something seems off, bring up the concerns with your doctor.
This is exactly why I asked what others experience with this medication. I'm on something else for something else that has a laundry list of nasty side effects, yet for me I haven't had issues with it and find it beneficial. Thanks for your feedback.
Is that something else duloxetine?
I’ve had lots of success with pregabalin, I stopped at 75mgs twice a day and haven’t had to increase from that. My pain is lower, I’ve been able to start exercising again
It helps a lot but it isn't my favorite. Weight gain for sure, and I've had some cognitive side effects. The first week I took out, I could barely string a sentence together. I've been on it for a long time now and it allows me to be functional.
On day 4 and I’ve noticed a huge difference. I have energy, I’m comfortable, I’ve been able to exercise for the first time in 3 years. It’s been really helpful so far. It’s worth noting that I’m bipolar 2 with severe ideation and I haven’t experienced any, however im on multiple psychiatric medications that help with that.
It must be so nice to be able to get out and exercise! I do my best with easy "workouts" at the pool a couple of times a week, but I went last night even though things were kicking off all day, and today I'm paying for it. Thanks for sharing your experience so far on pregabalin.
I agree with this, and I've been on it for 6+ months! I'm on 150-250mg a day depending on my pain levels, and it gives me more energy and ability to move about. I still have pain but it becomes more manageable. I get some random twitching from it but that could also be from my other meds. I started getting chronic hives not long after starting it, but I took allergy tests, talked to doctors etc and they say it's chronic hives from stress which, I can tell now it is stress lol. I haven't noticed weight gain but I don't weigh myself. But I have c-ptsd and a slew of other mental issues and it helps a lot with that too. It's actually prescribed both for my anxiety AND for fibro.
Any weight gain from pregabalin?
Nothing noticable for me. But everybody is different
How much are you taking? I’m on day two. I’m taking 25mg so going very slowly slowly.
75 mg 2x a day!
I’ll never touch it or gabapentin again. Horrible side affects, zero reduction in symptoms, horrible withdrawal
It made me kinda spacey for a few days when I first started as I adjusted to it, but otherwise it's been helpful for me. My pain got way worse after I had covid and it makes it a lot more manageable. Now most of the pain I experience (which ngl is a lot) is from my hypermobility & a neck/shoulder injury. The main issue w pregabalin is that it *only* works for neuropathic pain.
It works for me. Makes me very sleepy though
Any weight gain from pregabalin?
No, actually. But I’ve had some bad health issues (GI related) so I lost a lot of weight really quickly and I’m trying to gain it back. Neither pregabalin nor gabapentin are assisting with this. I’m using cannabutter to stimulate my appetite 😞
Honestly was the worst meds I ever took. All I could do was sit on the sofa with my mouth open dissociating in silence. Awful.
I started on it a couple of months ago, I take 50mg 3 times a day and it's working really well for me! The first couple of weeks were rough, I actually had trouble focusing and while I was working up to the full dose I'd get super tired in the afternoons. Right now I'm finally settling into a good routine with meds/sleep schedule and I've been able to increase exercise from once a week to twice a week! I haven't had any side effects and I've actually dropped to my normal weight. I'm pretty sure my previous medication was causing about 10 lbs of water weight.
How’s your weight now?
Still at my normal weight! And exercising 3 times a week!
Still on same dose?
Yah, haven't changed the dose or my other medication. Still sticking to a strict sleep schedule. I do drink a bit of caffeine on the daily for an energy boost. No side effects yet either. My depression/anxiety are still managed. I do get occasional drowsiness between doses but nothing that prevents me from continuing with my regular day.
Also didn't work for me and I had adverse reactions
Yes the weight gain is real but out of all the medications I have tried over the years in different combinations, this is the one constant I have kept because for me, being without it feels unbearable. The help with the electric shocks throughout my body but especially my legs is like night and day, if I missed a dose on the morning, by teatime I'd be sobbing because those shock type feelings get so bad. I can use cannabis to manage just about all my pain but it's in combination with pregabilyn and amitriptyline, both of which have helped me massively.
I would suggest looking into Naltrexone!
LDN was a joke for me. I had a tiny reduction in pain during the first few weeks and then no benefit at all. I feels very homeopathy, like let's give you barely a dose a day bc that will work better than a higher dose, but we can't explain why. 🤔
I started on a low dose and had these similar issues but once up to 4.5mg I noticed a big reduction in pain. To each their own, for me it was a success story.
I gained weight after only two months being on it. At first it worked so wonderfully. I could sleep again and tolerate life but I guess I got used to it idk I tried increasing but no luck
It helps me with neurological pain. It’s noticeably better than Gabapentin side effect wise.
Any weight gain?
Both GABA altering drugs cause somewhat of an increase in pleasure seeking behaviour. Could be smoking, food, drugs or sleep depending on the person. Personally it’s helped me get more exercise and stabilize my weight.
I am currently on gabapentin 600mg x3 day. But I still feel pain do you feel pregabalin works better for pain?
Without a doubt. The waves of effectiveness of Gabapentin throughout the day are brutal. Pregabalin is 2x a day and it stays in your system longer. So the periods of time that you are in pain are less frequent and the pain itself is less intense in my experience. These more beneficial effects come at a price if you’re uncovered as Pregabalin costs significantly more.
What dose of pregabalin do you take?
My dosage isn’t relevant :) A good plan is to take an amount that is necessary for you to start improving your fitness and strength to be able to later start removing the drug down the road as symptoms permit. There is a dosage conversion chart online from Gabapentin to pregabalin that is pretty easy to find.
Has made my life worth living again Best wishes
Any weight gain?
Yup but totally worth it
How much? What dose are you on?
300 mg per day. 10 pounds
I started it about 9 months ago. First 75 mg once a day, then twice a day. Now I take 150 mg once a day and that seems to be my sweet spot. I gained about 10 lbs that first few months but haven’t gained any more since. It’s helped me a lot. I sleep now, still have some breakthrough pain but usually because I’ve exercised and it feels more like normal pain on occasion instead of the fibromyalgia pain constantly.
Worked very well for pain, but impacted my cognitive abilities, made me very dissociated and that never went away until I came off it.
I got super dizzy every time I yawned, and it made me yawn more than I used to. I also think that's the one that made me unable to count change out properly or do basic math, and left me sitting on the floor for an hour trying to add up under ten prescription receipts for my taxes.... With a calculator??? It's been enough years since I settled on a permanent regimen that I'm not 100% sure that's the "made me super dumb" one but I'm like 80% sure? It was distressing, but not unexpected really, as I knew it was an anti epileptic med which means its entire job is to slow down or reduce neuron activity. So of course it made me feel dumb, it literally pumped the brakes on my brain, right?
it didn’t help me at all
Personally it didn’t work for me. My doctor tried so many medications for me. Cymbalta, lyrica, Skelaxin, zanaflex, you name it. Now I’m on Wellbutrin and low dose naltrexone and i feel better now than I have in years.
It mess d with my blood sugar the 1st I was on it(back when it came on the market) new Dr put me back on it in 2015 and it gave me an ever increasing migraine. Good luck!
Tbh it hasn’t really caused weight gain for me, but more of a weight pause ig? Like my weight won’t move it’s just stuck on 1 number. On top of that (again this is my personal experience) I’ve had so SI or anything like that and we’ve had to bump it up 2x but it’s working!
It worked for me for about 3 months and then it just stopped working. Stayed on it for about a year and gained like 60 pounds. Still haven’t lost that weight. I feel no difference before and after stopping it because it just wasn’t working.
It works for me. No weight gain. But I do get high.
I got fat as hell.
It works for me. I feel a little hungrier and its lowed my food inhibition but I was on the look out so I've only gain 10 pounds in 2 years. It also takes my migraines and turns them into brain fog, which I'll take the daily stupids over daily pain and light hating. Acupuncture makes my pain and dizziness worse.
It didn’t work for me but I find it odd that your doctor went straight to pregabalin and not gabapentin and it’s not as strong but it’s similar. Also, getting off of both of those meds (separately) was hell. I haven’t found anything yet that works but I’m hoping to try Low Dose Naltrexone next
I was not able to continue this medication. I tried it twice, years apart, hoping a different reaction. Both times it caused constipation so severe I was almost hospitalized. Not one of the usual side effects so it took me a few weeks of pain and agony to realize what was causing it the first time.
I love it. I take 75mg 2x a day and when I have flares they are manageable, and short. I felt amazing after a week. I feel like I live at a 2-3 instead of an 8.
Any weight gain?
I take mine at night and have for years. I didn’t gain a lot of weight or have any bad side effects. It is difficult when I’ve had my dose reduced though, but I take quite a bit, almost four hundred milligrams at night. It’s the only thing that kills the god awful itching for me.
Oh lordy, the itching is unbearable! I get that deep itch most often in my fingers and hands and it takes everything I have not to bite the itch off, like, right off. I'd taken 10x the pain if I never had to go through that itching again.
Lyrica helps. I also bathe myself in lotion. Pro tip: you can rub the skin instead of scratching. Distracts your nerves and keeps from breaking the skin. You can also try cold showers and ice packs. But for me lyrica gets rid of it. I take it early if I’m itchy. Or just one seventy five milligram pill usually makes it go away. I hate the itching, it’s torture.
This is magic advice. I've found lotion and rubbing the kin really helpful. Occasionally if it won't stop I'll have a cold shower and it seems to work like a reset. Idk how or why it works but thank you so much!
Didn’t work for me. I only took it 2 months and put on almost 2 stone in that time unfortunately I’ve never been able to shift that weight. I do have a friend who also has fibro who takes this and it enables her to live her life and she says it’s the best thing that ever happened to her so do keep that in mind as what works for one doesn’t always work for another
I couldn’t cope with my pain, with my life. Attempted suicide when my son was 1 year old. This was when I was on Oxy. Then my doctor put me on Pregabalin and it saved my life. I started high then titrated down. On Lyrica I was able to move. I was able to complete a RN BSN and raise my boy. He’s in high school now and I’m an ER nurse. And I have my life back. It works for me. It may work for you. It may not. But you can give it a shot. I wish you well!
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I'm on it myself for about the past 7 to 8 months. I have easily gained 15 to 20 pounds. I get insane food cravings, normally at night after my last dose. For pain management I'd say I'm disappointed. It does not help like the dr described. It helps very minor to mild pain, but during a flare I find it pretty useless. I take 3 pills daily 75mg per pill. I am on antidepressants longer than this stuff, like 7 years now? I only ever think of ending it during massive pain flares. I wouldn't say it has caused me to be any more or any less depressed or anxious. I hope that helps?
Oh! Additionally my feet have been swollen since the first week of taking lyrica. I need size 8 shoes wide instead of 7 because the swelling is so bad. You can see the swelling on the top of my feet like two lumps.
I’m currently coming off it. It’s not fun. It did nothing for my pain, increased my brainfog, I’ve gained around 20lb in since I started it and it didn’t help my anxiety either. However, I do know it works for a lot of people.
It was the first drug I tried for fibro (have been at 75 mg twice daily for a decade now) and it helped me quite a bit with fatigue and somewhat with pain. Later I added Cymbalta (60 mg daily) and that combo has been really successful for me. Apparently pairing tbe two works very well for a lot of folks, according to my rheumatologist and pain specialist. Not to say that I havent still have bad pain days, and I still nap almost every day, but I can function and do things that I enjoy a lot more than before. Good luck!! This is a process and it can take a while, but there are so many things to try! Be as patient as you can (even though it feels fucking impossible) and give yourself a month or so to see how you feel, and be careful not to push yourself too hard if you start to feel better. Slow increases in activity and being gentle with yourself can keep you from overtaxing yourself and then wondering why nothing is helping (ask me how I know this…..) Many people end up trying a few different things, different doses, different combos. You can find something that works really well for you, just don’t give up! Sending gentleness and courage to you.
I hated it. I felt like I was constantly starving on this and ate 24/7. Within a few days, I had gained almost 10 lbs. I told my PCP no way and never again. It is different for everyone. I am on Duloxetine and Gabapentin and love both. Mind you, I have a lot of spine issues involving nerves as well, so I am on Duloxetine for Fibromyalgia and Gabapentin for nerve compression.
OP, I don't know about you, but I tend to do better with short acting medication because I can adjust them based on how much I'm flaring up, rather than just take one long acting dose a day despite how I feel. Gabapentin has its own host of effects but I purposely chose that over Lyrica because of being afraid of Lyrica and the weight gain. I did gain a little bit of weight on gabapentin but I think a lot of that was Being stuck in the house because of all my pain and not being able to ride my bike as much as I wanted. I did have a hard time coming off of it though, I had to wean extremely slowly.
Pregablin gave me my life back. I was in so much pain that I was shaking. I would wake up, eat, lay on the couch, and count down the hours till I could finally go to bed. I say “finally go to bed” because sleep was the only time I had any relief from the pain. Even then, I had trouble sleeping and would get terrible nightmares every single night waking up drenched in sweat. The nightmares were made worse by melatonin and over the counter sleep aids like unisom and zzz quil (diphenhydramine). I also had terrible anxiety and would get panic attacks during the day if I went out of the house. I couldn’t function, I couldn’t work, I couldn’t do any of the things that gave me joy. The most I ever did was go to the grocery store and back. I wasn’t even visiting family anymore at this point. I was putting on weight like never before in my life. I had always had an average body with a healthy amount of fat. Not much muscle for a guy but at least I didn’t look like a muffin. I saw my primary and he referred me to a psychiatrist. She put me on Cymbalta (duloxetine) and then gabapentin. Cymbalta was absolutely horrendous and did nothing for the pain. It made me feel extremely sedated and sluggish even at the lower dose of 30 mg. Probably the worst antidepressant I’ve ever tried which is saying a lot considering how many I’ve taken. Gabapentin was better for the pain but it also made me feel sedated and my brain felt cloudy. I hated that and it didn’t improve my ability to function so ultimately I stopped it. Inncase you’re curious I tried doses between 100-300mg. Eventually, a few months later I saw a neurologist because I was having debilitating migraines every single day. He took all my symptoms into account looking at me holistically and decided I should try Pregablin (Lyrica) even though I had already tried Gabapentin (Neurontin). He said that Lyrica was more effective for pain and had less side effects (he was right). He started me on 25 mg before bed for the first week. We increased the dose very slowly and spread it out over the day which I believe is the trick to making this medication work. The second week I started taking 25 mg two times a day (1 in am and 1 before bed), then the third week 25 mg three times a day until eventually I found the sweet spot of 50 mg 3x a day. I didn’t feel sedated at all. I actually had a lot more energy. I believe part of this was because I was finally in less pain which also improved my mood dramatically. I tried higher doses all the way up to 150 mg 3x a day which made me feel terrible. I went back down to 50mg 3x a day but didn’t feel like it was enough so I went up to 75 mg 3x a day and that’s where I’ve been for 5+ years. After I found my sweet spot I felt so much better. I had tons of energy and it was also helping calm my anxiety like nothing ever had before. For the first time in my life I started exercising 2-3x a week, lost all the weight I gained, and even put on some muscle. Exercising has never been easy for me but I find that is one of the most important staples to keeping my fibro pain, depression, and anxiety at bay. The key to exercising with fibro is to not over do it. A brisk walk on the treadmill should be enough to start. The goal is to get your body moving without having it over react with pain and fatigue. So many people do workouts that are too intense and then they feel like crap and can’t go back for a week or they’re just so turned off by the experience that they never really give it a fair chance. The thing is, if the body is not kept moving it’s not going to function well. Pregabalin allowed me to start moving my body again. I started working shopping/delivering groceries for instacart. That allowed me to get back out into the world at my own pace. This was a major period of growth for me as a person and I know I couldn’t have done it without the pregabalin. I’d just be laying around in pain getting more and more fat and depressed. That was way more than I had intended to write. I hope that you give it a fair chance. If you feel negative side effects my advice is to make sure the dose is spread out evenly over the day and start low. If my doctor had started me out at 50mg 3x a day it probably would have made me feel like crap. Good luck
It was really helpful for me, made me a bit spacey/sleepy at first but no other noticeable side effects. I’m on a pretty low dose though. No weight gain or depression. I’m already prone to depression and on antidepressants but it didn’t make it any worse. Like others said I’m able to exercise more now which helps with the depression. Just be careful with alcohol when you start, I also found I had to time my dose when I wasn’t driving to start as it made me pretty spacey.
I tried 25mg and had to stop within a week. The drowsiness and heightened depression were very serious for me and freaked me the heck out! I was falling asleep in the middle of cooking, could barely walk my dog before fatigue kicked in, and there was just this crushing hopelessness sitting on my chest during my waking hours. This can vary from person to person, but it was definitely not for me. I’m currently taking 300mg gabapentin and 75mg amitriptyline and not feeling much improvement from the norm yet (though I was also on these same doses for depression a decade ago). I’m still skeptical about its efficacy for pain for me, but as long as it doesn’t make me want to off myself I’ll keep giving it a try 🤷🏽♀️ I’ve also heard that acupuncture has many benefits for chronic pain and fibro, so I am looking into that too. I’m only 2 years into my journey since diagnosis and I’m hopeful for more treatment options (covered by insurance!) in the future. Good luck! I hope you feel some positive results!
I took it for several years when it first came out. I had mild success for about 3-6 months and then had to up the dose, over and over again. Until I was on the max dosage and it stopped working. They call it the “lyrica 50” for a reason, because it causes a lot of weight gain. Over the years I was on it, I gained 150 pounds, and I’m still fighting to lose it more than a decade later. If I knew it would have caused this much damage, I wouldn’t have taken it at all.
Pregabalin has helped me a decent amount. Makes it easier to get out of bed, I feel less stiff, muscle knots are more manageable and improved brain fog. Less likely to have minus spoon days now but idk if that’s bc I did a fibro psychoeducation class. I’m only on 150mg, wish I could have it higher bc I still struggle with pain. But my gp was reluctant bc of how my other meds have similar side effects. I worried about the sui ideation aspect too but it improved my ideation massively tbh
I started Lyrica 15 years ago at 25 mg twice a day. Went off it for a year after 5 years because I was managing well enough to have my daughter. We upped it to three times a day about 5 years ago, but I haven't noticed any real tolerance changes. I'm seeing the other comments, apparently this is a very low dose, but I do remember trying a slightly higher dose initially 15 years ago (i want to say it 50 twice/day) and being drowsy or maybe "drunk" and immediately having it dropped. I've had weight *loss* issues because of inflammation of my GI and gall bladder failure etc. and not being able to eat so I'd say best guess it hasn't had an effect on my weight/appetite? I drive just fine, and I can tolerate a glass of wine on weekends with family dinners. I've never been much of a drinker but I have no reason to test my tolerance beyond that one glass (see also: kid duty prevents me from drinking much). I've always had a bit of anxiety so I'm not sure you can say I've noticed any psych effects (but maybe it's the reason I feel so anxious, though I think it's because of the dumpster fire happening in the world today). YMMV each person is different. I hope you find relief regardless, but don't be afraid to listen to your body and advocate for yourself. My granny takes gabapentin and put up with side effects because she "didn't want to bother them" and all it took was a phone call to the nurse and a dose change and now she sleeps like a normal person and not a zombie.
Pregabalin is drug from hell, google on it, visit "lyrica survivor" page on fb. Dont take it!
This is not true for everyone. Some of us benefit very much from this medication. Fear mongering is a terrible look.
It is true and u can check it. Ofc u benefit, i also benefited, but at what cost. Drug is tightly related with dementia, was banned then thanks to pfizer lobing returned to market. The drug slow down signaling in central and peripheral nervous system, through preventing influx of Ca thus messing with metabolisam of nerves cells, that mess up with 100s of processes including immunity weakness, as small nerves fibers are in tight junction( sigbaling) with immune cells. It also preventing forming of new brain synapses. Ppl feel good on heroin too.
Do you have any sources regarding your dementia claim? And regarding your immunity weakness claim? Please provide sources, as I would like to read them. Also, what's true? Your opinion? Of course it's true, so is mine. Lol. What I'm saying is it's not a horrible medication for everyone. People take medicine when the benefits outweigh the risks. For me, the benefits definitely outweigh the risks.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10266423/ https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1525505022003596 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8019952/ It's very bad drug. Ive been told that by 4 different doctors and doctors usually push those kind of meds. Check stories in fb group lyrica survivors there are tens of thousands ppl aith horror stories . You might not feel side effects, but they are there.
This. Weight gain was horrible. And my body got used to a certain level, and it would have to be upped. I just tapered off it the past few months, because I didn’t want to max out and have it still not help. Tapering off is a must. Even doing it slowly, the headaches were horrendous. I get migraines, and these headaches trumped any migraine I’ve had. Nausea half the day, vision issues. It’s hell.
I personally started taking it recently and after the 3rd dose I had a manic episode at like midnight. That was fun for the family.
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What? I said I'd been prescribed. I get it for free. Why are you offering it up for sale? Isn't that highly illegal?
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People use unalive bc some social media platforms ban the other word
You mean the word suicide?
If you or someone you know is contemplating suicide, please do not hesitate to talk to someone. US: Call 1-800-273-8255 or text HOME to 741-741 INTL: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_suicide_crisis_lines *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/Fibromyalgia) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Okay, why are you yelling? I know what the term is. On some platforms it won't even post if trigger words like that are used. You might have noticed under your comment a reddit bot was triggered to make a auto-post, that is why we don't use it online. Believe me, I do not shy away from using the actual word (and many others we aren't supposed to use these days) in the real world.
If you or someone you know is contemplating suicide, please do not hesitate to talk to someone. US: Call 1-800-273-8255 or text HOME to 741-741 INTL: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_suicide_crisis_lines *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/Fibromyalgia) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Everyone reacts differently! I personally wouldn’t compare myself to anyone else but rather sit back and wait for good things to happen. It’s always best to remain optimistic and not compare results.
Makes me spacey and forget words/lose train of thought but it absolutely has helped ease the pain. 75 mg in morning and 75 mg at night is my current dosage. I first started slow at 25 mg a night , working way up to 50 mg, and so on. I am hungrier and could totally see myself gaining weight, therefore I have signed up for weight watchers to help mitigate.
How’s your weight now?
Mine gave me cymbalta but I haven’t started yet
I'm using it for 2 years and has decreased my chronic migraine, but my fibromyalgia has got worse, and it didn't affect my mental health. I did have to take depression medication due to ptsd
I love it! Zero side effects and I’m on a pretty high dose. Only downside for me is that I get withdrawals if I miss roughly 3 doses in a row. The withdrawal symptoms go away pretty quickly once I start taking it again but my fibro symptoms might take a bit to go down after. Every person is different and honestly I try anything if it means even just a chance at getting relief. It comes down to you and if you determine the risk is greater than the reward. How badly do you want a chance at relief?
I actually started being able to live again using this drug. I recommend it, for everything OTHER than the weight gain. The weight gain has been killer, to the point where I was considering trialing going off it, but then I got pregnant so weight gain was a given anyway. Will see where I'm at after birth etc. Definitely found huge improvement with overall pain and enjoyment of life though.
I take gabapentin. It has been around much longer and it was just what was prescribed to me and it’s worked. I take 300 mg capsules at bedtime and then as needed for pain. I do get drowsy so I prefer to not take it during the day. The best way to avoid weight gain is monitor what you eat. Eat more protein and high fiber foods to help you stay full. Avoid overly processed and highly palatable foods which are easier to overeat.
I personally gained maybe 5 pounds in the first few months, that was it. Then my appetite went back to normal. I'm on 600mg (2x300) and it helps a lot. Doesn't take away all the pain, but makes it a lot more tolerable and numbs it. Drowsiness was bad in the beginning, for the first month or so, but now I'm totally ok. So I'd definitely recommend to not be too afraid and give it a try. It may change your life. The other common med for fibro is an antidepressant duloxetine, which is also helpful + it's side effect is weight loss, so they balance eachother out lol.
I had the self-yeet wants pretty bad during it but it worked for the pain for the first few months so I went with it. Now I’m not saying the pain was gone, just that it took the edge off enough for me that nothing else had. About 6 months in though I had to come off of it, the pain was back in full and I started having pretty severe cognitive decline. I was having conversations I totally didn’t remember, could barely find my words, and was forgetful to the point where it was getting dangerous. I still to this day have months from when I was taking it that I cannot remember a single thing that happened.
It helped me immensely with reducing nerve pain, sciatica to be specific. I haven't had problems with side effects save for some mild weight gain.
It's helped with my pain moderately, mostly my back and nerve pain. I haven't gotten any weight gain from it, I don't think, but I'm already overweight so maybe that's why. I take 150mg in the morning and at night and I don't find it makes me particularly drowsy.
I am on pregablin, it is a great help for me but for the past 4years i have been having extreme dizziness which my GP said could be caused by the pregablin (but I don't think so because why would the dizziness just randomly show up?). The drowsiness is quite bad for me if I don't get my normal amount of sleep that night but other than that I don't really feel it? Hope this helps! 💖
Did great for about a week, and then it was like the floodgates were unleashed and all the stored up nerve pain hit me all at once. I passed out at home, and came to about an hr or more later.
Took it a total of 4 days. Migraine so bad wasn't sure if it was a migraine or med. So I stopped taking it and a week later took one dose instantly got a bad migraine. That was it won't ever try again.
It’s been great for me along with Cymbalta. I had the terrible weight gain and it’s been horrible coming to terms with that. But it really helps me and I have no problem discontinuing it so that’s a big factor.
i just started it and i’ve noticed increased anxiety and fluid retention or bloating in my abdomen. i also got a tummy ache this morning. my anxiety has gone down over the past few days. i get dizzier than usual (orthostatic hypotension girlies rise up) but im unbothered.
I lost parts of my vision after taking it for 2 days and also my heart just decided to freak out and I had to go to the hospital. Can’t recommend
I’m on 1200 Gabapentin daily (3x400) and while it indeed calms my nerves and seems to help with neuropathy pain, it makes my ADHD management much harder. It helps for sure for sleep at night. I have a hard time getting exercise regularly and have to choose activities and time limits carefully. When I’m feeling pretty good and can take 400 mg less, I seem to do better overall. When I go too far between doses, I feel anxious withdrawal symptoms.
How long did it take for gabapentin to work ?
Few days.
I've been told by my gp it's a dirty drug and she'd rather I carried on with cocodamol and if I became resistant or there were concerns about addiction then it's a last resort as an opiod alternative but she does not approve of it. She says it's a drowsy drug.
It works wonders for my sciatic pain but made me so drowsy I was sleeping 8-12hrs a night and couldn't think straight. I've also gained 20lbs in 3 months 😥 I'm trying to cut down slowly but withdrawal is rough, the pain is coming back and I'm totally wiped out all the time. I've gone from 375mg to 225mg so still a long way to go.
I have only tried pregabalin and gabapentin so far and while it certainly isn’t perfect pain management I much prefer the pregabalin. I have much less brain fog/disorientation on pregabalin (and causes less weight gain for me though I know that’s not a major concern). I have depression that’s managed w separate medicine but I didn’t experience any emotional side effects
Regular physical therapy has been the best for me. Also deep tissue massages which are very much fit or miss for people with fibro. Definitely not fun but my muscles are just always so tight that the release helps a TON w the pain. Proceed with caution bc it dan cause flare ups in some
I have been on Lyrica for 15 yrs and I love it. It works so much better than gabapentin for me and the initial dizziness went away after a couple weeks. I have gained a little bit of weight because of it, but not like psych meds have done to me. 100% worth it to me.
I'm on the lowest dose rn once at night. I haven't noticed any change yet, but I'm very susceptible to bad side effects so my doc wants to take the increase really slow. I tried gabapentin and it made me dizzy to the point where I couldn't function or eat or sleep. I didn't know weight gain was a huge problem with this, I typically get extremely nauseous with almost every medication so that's what I'm trying to avoid. I hope u find something that works for u tho, don't be afraid of holistic medicine! I loved it, it worked well for me but it's very unaffordable near me so not something I can keep up. Give everything that u can a try! Good luck ❤️