Fibromyalgia And Lyrica (Page 2) (Top voted first)

I was recently put on Lyrica for severe Fibromyalgia pain. It is a nice change from the narcotic pain medications I have been taking but the pain is still intense. Have any other FMS patients seen results from Lyrica?

REPLY

REPORT

i have a bladder disease and fibromyalgia and have had both for many years. Lyrica was the mirical drug that saved me. got me clean and off narcotics..and it really does work. i noticed in just a few days.. The longer you take it the better. I have taken it for 7 years now. But It i so expense...i now have to find a new non narcotic drug for pain..i have tried cybalta but it made my hands go numb,,face go numb,,and legs jerk at any given moment.. any one with any suggestions,,please post..do any you old schoolers ,,like me remember elavil,

REPLY

Was this helpful? 1

I have FMS as well as back pain and nerve pain in my ribcage. My dr seems to think that if we get the dosage hi enough that it will help the Fibro. So far I have no relief for my Fibro symptoms yet and I am on 400mg. Karel

REPLY

Was this helpful? 0

I am fully aware that LYRICA is not approved for FMS. All I wanted to say is that I have been on it successfully for intercostal neuritis. I also have FMS. Ceryain Drugs are approved for one thing all the time and then used for other things. Thanks for your reply, Karel

REPLY

Was this helpful? 0

I was recently prescribed Lyrica (free trial) by a most incompetent physician who took only 5 minutes with me after waiting to see him twice for 2 hours. I do have fibromyalgia and nerve pain. Now, my left arm and hand are going numb each night. I am just deathly afraid of taking Lyrica because of the research I have done on the side effects. Is there anything out there that really works without the debilitating side effects?

REPLY

Was this helpful? 0

What Shirley said was interesting because i have now developed intermittent numbness in my hands and feet, but i believe it started after i stopped taking Lyrica and restarted the Neurontin. i don't think it's a side of effect of Neurontin, but perhaps just a progression of the disease???

REPLY

Was this helpful? 0

To Jennifer: I had swelling of the legs on Neurontin in addition to an increase in my Blood pressure so I could never stay on the Neurontin. I have swelling in my Rt hand once in a while and I attribute it to the Lyrica. What bothers me the most os my dimished recall when I increase the dosage of the Lyrica. I have weight gain as well. Karel

REPLY

Was this helpful? 0

Karel, I also had swelling in the legs so I had stopped the Neurontin for about a year and it didn't help. I just felt worse. I finally found a diuretic that reduced the swelling and I am back on Neurontin. I had never heard that about Lyrica, that it affects the memory. Mine is terrible, but I assume because I'm on Methadone. Maybe now that I'm off the Lyrica, it will get a little better. Thanks.

REPLY

Was this helpful? 0

Jennifer---I am not having any physical problems with cymbalta, and the pain in my back, legs and arms is much better. On my first day or two of taking the combo of Lyrica/Cymbalta I had problems with balance and driving skills (my reaction times are slow--much like driving drunk). However, those are getting better as I am gettin used to taking the medication. My husband says I talk like I am strung out on drugs and I need to talk faster (especially at night)....but I think that is just his own impatient with my chronic illness. I tell him to get over it as I am on drugs and he just has to be more patient. Two weeks after taking Lyrica/cymbalta and I cleaned house--vaccuumed, did laundry, made the bed, made dinner and cleaned the kitchen....I can usually do one of these tasks and my energy is gone and I am in too much pain to do much else the rest of the day. At this time the side effects I am experiencing are worth it.

REPLY

Was this helpful? 1

Thanks Verwon, it makes perfect sense. Karel

REPLY

Was this helpful? 0

Very welcome. Yes, it really does make sense if you think about it. My husband and I were just talking about it yesterday, the weather here in PA has been unable to make up its mind, and we have both been feeling it.

REPLY

Was this helpful? 0

ecided to do some research and here is a fantastic article, explaining the theory of changing barometric presssure and increased pain for all interested. Enjoy,Karel M

For Chronic Pain Sufferers, Change, Not Weather, May Hurt
Print Save

By JANE E. BRODY
Published: June 7, 1995
BEFORE you decide to take your arthritis to Arizona, consider these surprising new findings about the influence of weather and climate on chronic pain: Patients living in the relatively warm, dry climate of San Diego reported a greater sensitivity to changes in the weather than those who had to cope with the cold and damp conditions of Boston or Worcester, Mass.

A better bet than any of those three cities for chronic pain sufferers seeking relief from the vagaries of weather might be warm and moist Nashville. In a study of the four cities, chronic pain patients living in Nashville reported that they were least likely to be affected by changes in the weather.

The study, by Dr. Robert N. Jamison and colleagues at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, involved a questionnaire survey of 558 chronic pain patients in the four cities. The findings were published in the current issue of the journal Pain. In an interview, Dr. Jamison, a clinical psychologist, said they revealed that weather affects pain no matter where people live.

The findings suggest that our bodies adjust to the local climate, and when changes occur in that climate, we react to them with an increase in pain, he said.

Dr. Jamison explained: If you spend two weeks in Florida sipping pina coladas, you may feel a lot less pain than you did shoveling snow at home in Boston. But if you move to Florida and your body gets used to that warm climate, when the temperature drops you may hurt just as much as you did when the weather changed in Boston.

Thus a spell of wet weather in normally dry San Diego might be more disruptive to pain sufferers than the year-round dampness of Nashville, whose residents become accustomed to wet conditions. Such a finding counters the common notion that warm, dry climates are best for people in pain.

The researchers were also surprised to find that younger patients -- the survey involved people 18 to 85 years old -- reported the greatest sensitivity to weather changes. Patients with arthritis were also highly sensitive.

The researchers conducted the four-city survey to examine more closely the longstanding belief that patients with chronic pain -- arthritis, headache, backache and the like -- are sensitive to weather changes and can often predict those changes as much as a day ahead based on an increase in pain. The researchers sought to determine if weather-induced changes in pain sensitivity varied with climate. They especially looked at whether those who live in cold, damp climates suffer the worst weather-related effects, and what characteristics define patients who are most sensitive to weather changes.

Although the survey showed, as pain patients know all too well, that cold, damp weather is perceived to have the greatest effect on pain, pain is more likely to be affected by a change to cold, damp weather than a steady climate of it. Two-thirds of the patients said weather changes affected their pain, and of those, slightly more than half said their pain was affected even before the weather changed.

The real culprit may be a change in barometric pressure, since patients are most likely to report an increase in pain in advance of weather changes, Dr. Jamison said. The barometric pressure typically falls before the onset of wet weather, and, he suggested, when the outside pressure falls, body tissues -- tendons, ligaments, muscles and bones -- may readjust by expanding to varying degrees and, in doing so, can trigger the sensitized nerves that send out pain signals.

He likened the phenomenon to the old wet-dry barometers made of stretched leather. When the atmosphere is dry, the leather shortens, but when conditions get damp, it lengthens. Moisture also affects how the body changes, Dr. Jamison said. He explained that changes in atmospheric moisture could ignite inflamed joints, as in arthritis, or trigger pain signals in the area of a surgical scar.

The psychologist said he is now planning a study to monitor the physiological changes that occur in response to weather changes. Pain patients who participate will be hooked up to instruments that can assess such responses as tissue swelling when the barometric pressure falls.

Meanwhile, those trying to limit the effects of weather on their aches and pains might be best off staying home in the climate their bodies are used to and using various strategies designed to minimize pain and bestow a greater sense of control over it. Dr. Jamison said those strategies include learning to pace activities, using distraction and relaxation techniques and realizing that pain will fluctuate.

If you wake up in the morning in pain, you know you will have a bad day, so don't try to do as much, learn to say no more often, Dr. Jamison suggested.

REPLY

Was this helpful? 0

I have had fibermyagia for yrs, and I have several other health problems and I have noropthany in my feet and I have had high doses of the lycia and It doesn't do a thing and if you feel it helps you then by all means use it. I personally don't see any differances. Good Luck.

REPLY

Was this helpful? 0

I have just been prescribed Lyrica and I have fibromyalgia, Behcet's Disease with arthritis and a resulting healing back fracture (T7) from many years of high doses of Prednisone (no longer) and have some osteoporosis and I am 45 years old. I take other meds and have also been prescribed Cymbalta. Right this minute, however, I am in the end stages of getting off narcotics (finally) and am having so much pain. I live in Kansas and the weather here has recently changed to very cold, wet and windy!!! BOOOOO!!! I have not started the Lyrica yet but was reading the comments and welcome any and all comments!!!

REPLY

Was this helpful? 0

Juls,
May i ask what narcotics you are getting off of? I hope to do the same very soon, but I am afraid. Did you experience any other withdrawel symptoms other than increased pain?

REPLY

Was this helpful? 0

I posted the original question about Lyrica and fibromyalgia. I was very pleased to see so many responses. My doctor took me off Lyrica and I am now taking Darvocet, Elivil and Klonopin. The Darvocet and Elivil really do help but throught research, I have found that Klonopin has more risks than benefits. Alot of doctors do not tell you the risks of medications when they prescribe them. In my research I found that people that have taken Klonopin for long periods of time have to be under close watch when they stop taking it. The withdrawls from Klonopin can be FATAL. My doctor said it would help my muscles relax and help me to achieve a good not sleep, but it is generally prescribed for people with severe panic disorder. I like to think my doctor knows best but I have now decided that I will not take any medication I have been prescribed without researching it and its side effects. Thanks for all the advice!
Stephanie

REPLY

Was this helpful? 0

Dear Karel & Verwon,
I am thinking about today, but I also am only 24 years old, just recently married and trying desperately to get my body ready to get pregnant. I am very aware of what benzodiapepam's do and their withdrawls. I only take the amount of medication I am perscribed. However, I have to think about tomorrow, my life is just getting started. Every woman in my family has severe Fibromyalgia and they all are either nurses, doctors, or teachers, but they all have to take a mountain of pills to function. I do not want to live like that. My Aunt, who is a psychiatrist took Klonopin that her Rheumatologist perscribed her. She took it for 2 months at night before she went to bed, tried to taper down the doses and still had horrible withdrawls. Like I said, I am only 24, just finished my degree in Education, and work full-time. Is this diagonsis of Fibromyalgia a sentence to a life in a medicine cabinet?

REPLY

Was this helpful? 0

I HAVE SUFFERED FOR 15 YEARS WITH FMS,DDD, AND PSORIATIC ARTHRITIS AND HAVE FELT LIKE A PROVERBIAL TESTING ANIMAL FOR ALL THE NEW DRUGS OUT THEIR. I HAVE BEEN ON LYRICA/CYMBALTA FOR 1 YEAR AND MY PAIN IS MARKEDLY REDUCED. ONLY PROBLEM IS THAT I HAVE BECOME ANORGASMIC AS A RESULT OF THESE DRUGS. NOT A FAIR RIGHT OFF AT ALL. IS THERE ANY OTHER WOMEN OUT THERE GOING THROUGH THIS SIDE EFFECT? IT'S DRIVING ME CRAZY AS I AM ONLY 51 YEARS OLD AND UP UNTIL THIS POINT HAD AN INCREDABLE INTIMATE LIFE WITH MY SPOUSE OF 24 YEARS. I AM NOW TRYING TO TAKE MYSELF OFF THESE DRUGS{TYTRAIDING}, AS MY INTIMATE LIFE WITH MY HUSBAND IS QUITE IMPORTANT TO ME. I TRIED TO TAKE MYSELF OFF LYRICA RECENTLY AND OH BOY WHAT A DIFFERENCE IN THE PAIN LEVEL, BUT I HAVE TO TRY AGAIN. IT'S SO FRUSTRATING TO BE ON THESE KINDS OFF DRUGS AND DEALING WITH THE SIDE EFFECTS. THIS RESPONSE IS DIRECTED TO KELLY. aND BY THE WAY THE WEATHER IS A BIG FACTOR IN OUR CONDITIONS.

REPLY

Was this helpful? 0

I have fibromyalgia and degenerative joint disease. I have been on gabapentin for about 8 months and slept all the time. Now I just started taking lyrica today, so i don't know if it helps with the pain yet. But to reply to your Q about the weather? Oh yes! My pain gets much worse when it is rainy and humid, most definately!

REPLY

Was this helpful? 0

Stay away from Lyrica very bad drug, do your own research and read forums from people who have taken it! It is about to be a class action lawsuit. DO NOT TAKE THIS DRUG!

REPLY

Was this helpful? 1

Lyrica will probably give you a lot of relief. I was on narcotic painkillers since age 12 and stopped using them about 2 yrs ago. I very occasionally will take something narcotic for extra rellief. The only thing that ever gave me complete relief-and I coudn't abuse it is methadone. I was on meth clinic for 3 years and to be free of 'popping pills' all the time and eing pain free was the best thing ever happened to me. Only problem was I was on 125 mg. and, like the neurontin, I slert all the time. But...I still have to say as far as my pain goes...methadone was the best.

REPLY

Was this helpful? 0

I was just given Lyrica for my Neuropathy and Fibromyalgia. I start it tonight and will keep posted on how it does for m...

37 REPLIES

I was prescribed Lyrica for fibromyalgia in 2009, 50 mg. twice a day, I took it for three years. It has messed up my lif...

4 REPLIES

my dr. has prescribed this for the above.i do not have diabetes,shingles or any of the symptoms thi med. is prescribed f...

14 REPLIES

I have fibromyalgia and neurofibromatosis. I am taking Oxycodone and Neurontin. Any suggestions for something else? ## t...

2 REPLIES

50 mg in the a.m. and 50 mg. in the p.m. (along with 30 mg cymbalta once a day) and - for the first time in 50 yrs. have...

1 REPLY

I have just been told it's likely I have fibromyalgia ... I'm pretty terrified as in 6 months I have gone from b...

29 REPLIES

I just went from 60 mg to 80mg of cymbalta. I have fibromyalgia, neuropathy and depression and anxiety. Has anyone taken...

2 REPLIES

Fibro Dr. In Mn. who will really listen me and not just think I am drug seeking. I am 42 years old. Was dx with fibromya...

I take this for fibro and back pain (had 2 back surgeries) also have lot of nerve pain. It only takes the edge off. I ca...

5 REPLIES

I am perplexed. I have been going to pain management for back pain and bursitis. I have had several surgeries in the las...

3 REPLIES