Lyrica Has Seriously Impaired My Mind... Memory Loss

Lyrica Has Seriously Impaired My Mind And Damaged My Parotid Gland.

After only 2 and 1/2 weeks on it (for neurogenic pain and spasms from spine injuries lumbar spine and cervical spine):

First day after taking it, "buzzing electrical nerve symptoms" some better, but pain was still very much there. Dizzy, stumbling... Dizziness decreased after a few days (never stopped, always present when first arising from sleep).

During those 2 and 1/2 weeks that I took Lyrica, I have gained 10 lbs (have not lost it) had extreme dry mouth (still dryer than pre-Lyrica), got tangled up, as in "lost" in my clothes when dressing, tangled in my seat belt when getting in and out of car and tangled in my purse straps ... all the time...

Was (still am) constantly reversing words (I say "up" instead of "down," "high" instead of "low," etc.), couldn't hold train of thought (still can't), difficulty completing simple tasks in logical way (still difficult), was way too "mellow" for my own good, swollen face, fluid retention, blurry vision, mouth burned inside.

Last Straw: Add lips buzzing and tongue turned white and swelled to size of a giant bar of soap... Doc put me on massive Benadryl, and if swelling didn't go down in 2 hours, I was to get myself to an ER. Swelling went down...



The extreme, prolonged dry mouth from Lyrica caused my right side parotid gland (saliva gland) to clog up/stop functioning, now causing excruciating pain every time I take my first sip of liquid or bite of food. (Dry mouth resulting still persists.) Doc's film/contrast fluid injection study showed it had lost most of it's "branches." They were "gone." It is now essentially "dead" as far as producing saliva goes, but not dead enough to keep me from wincing in pain with every first sip/bite.

Lyrica supposedly works for some (So they think? So I've heard??) but the few people I know who take it either: A - Are retired and don't do much but stay at home. B - They are former "stay at home moms" whose children have grown up and left home and now they don't do much. C - They don't have (or have never had) jobs. D - Their lifestyles are not demanding (do not demand that they function to a high degree, mentally). E - Live lives of leisure wherein "mellow" and "going to lunch" is fine. etc. F - They have been declared “Disabled†and do not work.

Perhaps there are fully-functioning folks out there whose lives are not impacted adversely by taking Lyrica, and I am happy for you. 

I wish Lyrica had been a "magic bullet" for me, because I need one or two, but, it was hellish. It still is.



I took it for 2 and 1/2 weeks in March 2011. It is late November, 2011 - almost 9 months later and mentally I’m a wreck. The doc who had prescribed it to said these effects would soon pass. They have not.

Now have extreme short-term memory problems. Hard to do my job at work and hard to live my life at home. "Snow Globe Brain," or, "Etch-A-Sketch Brain." I start to do something, turn around, and instantly forget what I was about to do... Constantly. (I kept up with it yesterday morning by making “marks†on a piece of paper, and during 1 hour, I had forgotten what I was doing over 20 times {I even forgot to mark it down a few times}. Frightening.

It all started with Lyrica. 

It is difficult to type this. I keep reversing letters in words and am having to edit constantly. 

It is hellish to be half the person, mentally, that I was prior to taking Lyrica!

What can I do????? 

Has anyone recovered from any Lyrica side effects???

Meanwhile, I am declining in function from the spine injuries.

So, not only neurogenic pain/body function decreasing in upper and lower body. Add to those problems, thanks to Lyrica - I now have also lost some of my mental functions...

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Wow! What you have experienced is horrible and I am very sorry about your suffering.

What type of doctor are you seeing?

With these types of ongoing issues, I can only think that it may be better for you to be seeing a neurologist regularly, as they would probably be the best qualified at helping you find treatments and/or possible solutions.

https:/­/­rxchat.com/­wiki/­Lyrica/­

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I am now convinced that LYRICA is probably the worst medicine i have heard off. I have taken only 75 mg /day though neurologist wanted to increase the dosage.Soon i will take alternate days and be off.
I have survived without major side effects in last six months ONLY DUE TO PRAYERS/MEDITATION and Breathing exercises.I would suggest your trying Homoeopathy to ward off evil effects.

thanks.

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Hi Ecira , READ your story and am saddened by your account , unfortunatly from my own experience with my son and reading so many personnel accounts i would have to conclude that Lyrica causes permanent brain impairment , the manufacturers should be tared and feathered .

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In many cases your body can repair from Lyrica, but it does take time. I don't know if in your case that will occur, but in my case the memory slips and skips took quite a while to return. I was on it for 6 months and it took more than two years before I could remember a list of 4 items, instead of 20+ that I used to. I know this because I used to play Simon and other memory games with my kids and could easily beat the game at the top level before Lyrica. Four years later I am luck when I can get a 5 or 6 sequence on any similar game. I think that my mind is having to redo a pathway that was shut off, so the more I repeat an activity the better, but it is slow. I hope this helps, Good Luck and don't ever Give up.

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Ecira ,So you were on lyrica for only 2.5 weeks and it caused all that damage , my then 16 year old son was on it for 6 months and Lyrica has totally trashed a very gifted and brilliant student , a life totally ruined .

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You eloquently described how I feel on Lyrica, and I just wrote a response to another comment about this drug asking if the medication affected memory permanently. That was my question to my pharmacist and my Internist. They both say they have no knowledge of it. I feel very stupid when I get the wrong word, and think it is better not to take it. A friend had a hip replacement and they gave her a related drug gabapentin for pain post op. She was on it short term and she had no negative symptoms. Lovastatin caused me to have peripheral neuropathy and they hid the side effect from the public and medical industry. I had asked my doctor and pharmacist about the spasms that woke me in the night in my arms and legs, and then told them my wrist hurt when I opened door knobs. My doctor gave me splints for my "carpel tunnel" which I never had before and have not since. When my urine turned dark color with strong odor, I stopped the drug immediately, as those are signs of rabdomylosis, which can lead to death. Destruction of muscle that affects most all major organs.

There are too many prescription med advertisements on television. The only industry surviving in this country it appears. (Except for xmas ads to buy more stuff). Sorry you are still having trouble. Not sure whether I should have the sensory nerves closed off or have a spinal inj. to see if that stops the pain. Afraid of incompetent and ignorant, uninformed medical treatment. We are still in the stone age about the anatomy and physiology of the body, and they sell drugs without an adequate analysis and results are suppressed. If possible do not take anything stronger than acetaminophen. (Have to spell check words I used to know how to spell now.)

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Hi all, after taking Lyrica I noticed immediate decline in mental function. My speech was slurred and my thinking blurred as if I had been drinking quite amount of alcohol. My children asked what was wrong and why was I getting mixed up on simple things, like telling them we were having fish for dinner when quite obviously I was cooking steak. I decided after one week to come off Lyrica the 75mg of Lyrica twice a day without telling my doctor but my neck pain was unbearable so I reduced dose to 50 mg twice per day. That has worked better but still have difficulty with correct word selection in conversation so after reading these posts I'm coming off it immediately and for good.

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I responded to another thread on this question. I've experience of this drug's side effects. Lyrica does indeed cause memory loss. You may notice expressive speech issues in particular. My surgeon told me this is a known side effect, so I am surprised that other medical practitioners claim to have no knowledge of this. These effects will persist for months after you have ceased taking it. I have a friend who returned to normal only two years after ceasing this medication, and with much attention to her recovery. You will need to rebuild your mental agility by engaging in activities and hobbies (games, singing, playing musical instruments, reading and writing stories) that will rebuild the connections that appear to get severed when the other nerve impulses are blocked as part of your management of damaged nerve pain.

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Me to, lyrica has seriously impaired my mine. My speech is slurred and my thinking blurred. Out of like for sure.

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Wow I agree with everything posted on here about lyrica. I was on it for 3 years 600 milligrams a day and I am now on horizant but I wonder about any effects that that may have. As far as my memory goes I can be speaking to someone and just completely stop no matter what games or tricks I try it happens all the time where I completely lose focus at all of what I was saying. The drug worked wonders on me I have about three quarters of my back completely destroyed and almost no hope for any repair or good outcome so I have to find something to help with the pain but I would never recommend lyrica for anyone for anything. I did not notice my side effects it was my family and friends that pointed them out to me and to this day I have lost many family and friends over it due to them thinking I am a drug addict of some sort all of a sudden. I would probably still be on the medicine if I could have been able to put shoes on but literally it swelled my legs and feet so bad I could no longer wear shoes and when that happened I went off of it cold turkey and it took me 2 weeks in bed to get over it. I do not recommend lyrica for any reason for anyone. If anyone knows about horizant or side effects from it please let me know

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Lyrica is bad I'm on 600 MG and I don't know my name sometimes I'm tired all the time my memory is shot I'm telling my Dr to take me off of it its not good for you it has given me more Probs than its worth be aware it's the devil my advice is to get off of it im so tired sometimes I fall asleep at work

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Hi again I am the one who was on 600 milligrams a day for 3 years. I actually at times wish I could take it again because of how good it took care of the pain which is why I said to have someone else monitor you. You tend to not know what's best for yourself when you're on it. And now it has been another 2 years off of it and things are pretty much still the same except for I don't talk to imaginary people anymore and I can wear shoes because my feet are not that swollen. What I did not mention before is that I lost half of my family over it all while they were thinking I was on drugs or something illegal and to this day still do. Again I will say that I'm on Horizant but it will only be a short time because they want three hundred bucks for it now that my trial is over so I am back on Neurontin 800 milligrams three times a day do you want to talk about turning into a zombie at least I don't have some of the other side effects though. As far as working they'll never be a day I don't work because the minute I sit down for too long I can't move from the pain for some reason I have to stay moving but nobody's paying me now LOL. I'm a well-built muscular 50 year old female with a back of a 100 year old because I've worked since I was 13. I just pray I don't fall over dying while my son is playing his video games and won't hear me calling for him because that's the kind of day and age were in I'm not sure how we got there. Anyway best of luck to anyone on it and if it works for you that's awesome I do know some people that take it and they don't have problems with it I wish I were one of them. The best advice I can pass to anybody is not to abuse your body because it does not last.

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I am 60 and retired . I stopped taking lyrica after 7 months ago because of a weight gain of 45 lbs along with severe memory loss , loss of balance , speach difficulty and sounds in my ears like a whooshing sound . I was weaned off it. My point being that even though I am at home, my time on this drug was horrific.

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I'm off it now ... it shouldn't be on the market. I certainly had memory and confusion effects. Lyrical changes the way your brain works & long term reduces the brains ability to form new connections. I have formal Uni qualifications in brain study & function

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Good morning, Geez, you've been in a "medical" hell. I can attest that your issues with your memory are most likely to be permanent. I have to write down everything and I feel so sad my wonderful personality and IQ have been flushed! One thing a great neurosurgeon (in Ct) told me to take B-12 every day. Not a B complex. B-12 helps to repair nerve damage. You may want to get a scan of your brain (CT or MRI) to see if you have any damage in the brain. An xray wont show it. Make sure you get it with contrast. Also, an EEG can also see damage (They glue sensors all over your head, which are a nightmare to get it all out). My wish for you, a painless life without the side effects left within you.

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Re: Nick George (# 3)

Hey man! I hope that you are still here, it's been a long time since you posted here. How is your son now? I really appreciate your help.

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I took it for the same time frame back in 2011 and I am still suffering from side effects. Lyrica is BAD PEOPLE. My daily function in life went from 100 miles an hour to nothing. I can't even leave my house. My husband has to take off work to take me to all my Dr appointments because I have a hold on my drivers license with the medical board and the states of Oklahoma and Texas because Lyrica caused me to have hypnotic amnesiac seizures. Memory loss, confusion, ect. I didn't even recognize my own home for around 3 hours 1 day. And I was once a vibrant healthy woman, now I feel trapped in my own body.

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Re: Comments Submitted (# 15)

I have a neurologist that is awesome and he ran so many tests on me and nothing. My vision went from 20/20 to bifocals in less than 6 months. My hearing has failed to the point i am now wearing hearing aids. Constantly falling from lack of balance. This is crazy. I wish i knew who to contact about filing a legal suit against the manufacturer. My neurologist told me lyrica is nothing but neurontin which is for seizures but when they added pain medication to it, the name changed and it is being dispensed as a pain med. I have to pay 8k just to get my drivers license back. I thank God I didn't kill anyone or myself when I had the seizures while driving. If anyone knows of any legal suits on lyrica PLEASE leave the info here.

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Re: Comments Submitted (# 15)

I have lesions on the left frontal side of my brain I suspect from Lyrica; amnesia which is still a horrible side effect because I can remember back to when I was three years old. My family gives the rolling of the eyes when I forget something they said and I get angrier because THEY FORGET I forget. I was a self-employed administrative assistant before all office staff received that title. I was a mystery shopper/auditor or spy which called for very detailed forms; I was such a quick learner lucky to have been given assignments which included learning all different computer systems, or on the job training that I did not have to take computer courses. And after taking Lyrica I am totally not the same person. I am asking my Neurologist to remove this poison from my body so I can recover my old self. I will be turning 70 this year and have been told I look 50'ish until I open my mouth and give the impression that I have dementia. Abilify is worse, its side effects caused me to acquire Tardif Dyskinesia which appears to impersonate MS or Parkinson. With these culprits working together I was either hilarious or bobbing like the toy dog that sat in your back window constantly moving with no way to stop. I think a class action case is all that is needed to get these two medications off the market.

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Re: Verwon (# 1)

Maybe. But I have seen 5 or 6 neurologist and they all treated me as unfairly as my family practitioner.
Never really listen. Said Lyrica was the fixall and never able to tell me why I was having the pain! Pfizer is taking lives!!!

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