Lyrica Reviews (Top voted first)

I have herniated discs and sciatica. I was referred to a pain management doctor, who prescribed Lyrica. After reading all of these posts, and finding out the side effects, I'm not sure I want to take this medicine. Has anyone had good results with Lyrica, without these side effects?

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I have just started on Lyrica 3 weeks ago and I had bad headheacks for 3 days.I have had terrible Fabra for 10 yrs,and could not sit or stand for more than 20 min. Now I'm pain free and will look for work next week. I only take 100 mg per day but started on 75 mgs because I have low tolerance to drugs.My gout has stopped and food algergies are in half. I'm not having any side affects to date, I just may be a lucky person on this drug. I prey so. Pain have consumed me since working in a facotry ten yrs ago. My mind has also cleared a lot and memory is coming back. I can jog again and work in my yard and do house work . I do know when it is time to stop and know that there is pain but a little ice makes it stop. my body has been on fire everywhere, but now there is hope, If I start to get side effects I will post you again. Thank you for reading my story. KP

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I see this is rather old, but I am going to reply anyway. I have been on lyrica for 9 months for occipital neuralgia. The condition causes severe migraines and the lyrica was prescribed to help with the neck pain and the migrains. It so far has helped me so much. I am not pain free by any means, but I am better. GL.

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i have been using Lyrica for pain in my neck and shoulder. it works for a while, then we have to increase the dose. the first few weeks were strange in tha i felt strange but well worth it. I am more active in my life and am happy that i might be ready to rejoin life and friends

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I did well, at first I thought, and then it went to hell along with what little bit of health I had left. Don't. Tooth Decay hurts and it happens to go through your whole mouth. I am early twenties prob going to need dentures. How humiliating? actually try reading the posts of ppeople who are on it. Your words get mixed up as well as typing speaking, memory laspes, and the thing about this wonderful drug is you think you are okay but you don't have the coherency to see the truth. I ignored the small side effects heard about withdrawals etc, and thought I don't ever plan to not take it. It did change the pain into feeling sore rather than nerve pain and I even said to myself "I don't want my memory if I have to live in so much pain.. I'd rather be pain free and not remember." It's sad because pain makes you desperate and then you get on Lyrica and do fine or so you think... and then the horrible side effects come.. I was on it 3 years. I've see so many doctors, I can't count them. I've been a guinea pig, spinal taps, everything you can imagine I ve done it. Thank God Im not dead. ((Have you read the suicide risks? the law suit that was won? the dr that plead guilty for falsifying documents in the clinical trials?)) save yourself.

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I have been on lyrica for almost two years. The sciatica I had was excrutiating. it felt like teutonic plates were moving in my left thigh. I was bedridden for two months. The pain was unbearable. Took Deluadid when needed and that was the only thing that helped me recover as it relieved a bit of pain that helped me get some relief. Sciatica is horrible and unbearable. Lyrica is what has saved me and I have been told to stay on it, 75 mg, for life. When I weaned off it, my leg pain started again and had another bout of sciatica just last December. I never want to go through that pain again. It's bad enough that I have pain in my left thigh most of the time but at least it's tolerable. Anyone who has suffered from the shooting, lightning pain of sciatica and it's effects on daytoday living needs to have some pain relief to help them recover. Exercise, a positive outlook and loving spouse sure helped me.

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I've been on Lyrica for 2 1/2 years. I've lost 50 pounds over the last 4 years. I can't tell that Lyrica had any impact on my weight loss plan. It has not made me gain or kept me from losing. I only take 50 mg a day for trigeminal neuralgia.

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I don't know specifically about Lyrica and alcohol, but I have enjoyed an occasional glass of red wine while on it and have had no bad effects. I'm not much of a drinker, though. I knew within a couple of days that Lyrica was helping me with my pain. I'm on an extremely low dose, only 50 mg per day at night. Originally I took another 25 mg in the morning, but it made me feel a bit goofy, and I was concerned that I would giggle at inappropriate times (like at a funeral.) My pain from trigeminal neuralgia is managed well w/ my small dose, but if I miss a dose, it acts up again. I've been steadily losing weight over the past 4 years and can't tell that Lyrica has had any effect on that (negative or positive.) When I first read about all the bad side effects, I got kind of scared, but I don't have any problems at all on my current dosage.

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Cari, if you were doing good on the initial dose of 75mg once a day, then why did your doc raise your dose? It sounds like the doc should have let you alone with what worked o.k. in the first place. I do not agree that Lyrica should be taken off the market. I've done extremely well on it and it has rescued me from crying all the time from Trigeminal neuralgia. I was having daily attacks. I recently skipped one dose of medicine accidentally (I take 50 mg at night) and my face was in so much pain the next day! I cannot imagine my life w/o Lyrica. I'm currently undergoing extensive dental work (for TMJ) and I asked the doc if I should be concerned about Lyrica. He says that the problem for some w/ it is that it can cause dry mouth and dry mouth leads to gum disease and gum disease can lead to tooth loss. But many medications cause dry mouth, so we need to be careful to stay hydrated if we're taking anything that can do that.

I'm all for those who've been harmed by Lyrica to get compensated for their problems, but perhaps the problem is with the docs who are prescribing it incorrectly, not informing patients fully and in Carli's case, just flat-out not listening when there is a problem with it.

In my case, it's miracle drug that I hope I never have to do without.

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I have been using it for about7-8 months for nerve pain caused by intercostal neuritis and it has worked great for me. Of course I still get pain, but it is greatly reduced in both severity and frequency. The side affects are lethargy at first and forgetfullness, but it goes away in a few weeks and to me was definately worth the wait. Weight gain- I am so overweight to begin with and on so many things that can cause weight gain, it is hard to tell, but on a WW, I lose easily if I take it seriously. Any other questions, feel free to write me back.

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How are you feeling now? I am new to Lyrica, but fearful of the side effects down the road...Is it worse than the constant Pain I have had, because now I feel so much better!

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I started taking lyrica with fentynal pain patches and was also already on prosac for depression. I don't do good with antidepressants, have tried them all. They make me depressed I am not a depressed person but all the pain, fibromyalgia , herniated disks in neck. Pinched nerves. Migraines However the neck pain was and is the worst pain right up there with fibromyalgia, but the nerve gets pinched all the time cuz of disks.
At first I started out at 75 mg at bed time then after a month it was working pretty good so he added 75 mg to take in a.m. as well. This was 2 yrs ago. I didnt take them regularly after awhile then the pain came back so I made sure I took them. Then 6 months later at work my boss, co-workers and family said I acted weird and couldn't keep my balance. I guess I felt so great that it made me unaware of how I looked to others. Then one day at work I felt really weird and could not remember what I was saying in mid sentence all the time and it got so bad I couldn't function Went to e.r. & they couldn't find anything and when I asked about Lyrica they said no Lyrica can't do that and it's prob your prosac mixed w the Lyrica. I said but when I don't take Lyrica my memory is fine. So after a few more embarrassing situations at work( I was a waitress and a recent widow so I had to work but after changing all my meds except Lyrica. I still was weird high loopy-like I said I couldn't tell) then I decided one day after coming down with pneumonia and pain was unbearable I called my boss crying telling her I just can't do this and I know you are only keeping me because i am very close with her. She said yes u need to get well and get off that lyrica! So I did and switched pain patches to OxyContin and felt great and went back to college even. Well I had to find a new pain management doc since I couldn't afford specialists cuz I didnt qualify for Medicaid. Then my new pain doc didnt want to prescribe oxycotins so he put me on time released morphine and Lyrica. I tried convincing him that I'm doing so well I even felt i could start taking classes again this semester..well he said Lyrica is safer and non addicting and morphine will work better. Well I went into what I call a 'Lyrica fog'. He put me on 609 mg a day -200mg ...3x a day! I had begged him to switch me cuz I couldn't see ( Lyrica. Made everything blurry )!and I couldn't concentrate. Of course he didnt listen. All he was interested in was giving me shots in my neck to kill the nerves. I finallly did and that helped slot for 4 months and I gained 25 lbs from it and I tried stopping cold turkey and had the worst withdrawals for a month but I went back on it but only took one pull a day, I had list all my weight but was sick with constant diarrhea and body aches. I could do anything If I had Toni had to take atleast 5 doses of Imodium ad to get thru a couple hours. That was 6 months ago, I told doc about it and said as soon as I took one Lyrica my pain went away and I got loopy again. The symptoms don't just go away ur body just gets used to the high and u don't know it. Doc disagreed with me. he saus they are not addicting and there are no withdrawals! so I stopped going there and I am now on pain patches again searching for a doc who understands Lyrica and I've tried weaning myself off slowly cuz they say a week is all u need. I had a seizure, my daughter took me to e.r. They said the same thing. Lyrica not the cause! Well I know it is cuz of all the experiences I've had with it. Not just a coincidence with 4 bad experiences. And now I take 25 mg every two or three days just to wean off even smaller and longer. Now I'm going to go as long as I can without taking any cuz I've been doing this for a month now ...hope it works! It may work for some ppl but I have only heard that with ppl in smaller doses and not been on it for so long! I think it is an awful drug. It has ruined my life. I have had every side effect listed and all the bad side effects too like face and throat swelling! It should be off the market bi would rather have surgery to try to fix the problem first.. Also if u google 'Lyrica bad side effects ' there is a. Website for lyrica lawyers and tons of ppls forums if their experiences!! I suggest reading it and research as much as u can. Also go to utube ,, there are several docs that I'm going to email on how I can get off it w/o all the. Withdrawals. Good luck. God bless I and hope this helped

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hi, during chemotherapy (stage 3-b breast ca.) i told the doc i had developed a tingling in my feet and hands. i was told the drugs necessary for the aggressive treatment were causing a chemical burn to my nerve endings and was put on different drugs to help...but nothing did till i tried lyrica. i have tried taking myself off this drug a few times but the quality of my life is so devastatingly painful due to the perpheral neuropathy that i continue to take it. all the side effects listed i experience except for suicidal tendencies, and pfizer offers a wonderful patient assist program. this is the only medication i take and wish i did not need it. one needs to determine if taking any drug and dealing with its side effects improves your quality of life, or not taking the drug and dealing with your health issues, well what works best for you....only you can answer that. being aware of potential side effects when starting any medications is essential. i know, after being on this since spring of 2006, i need this medication so that i may have some quality to my life.

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How is the tooth decay related to lyrica?

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I've been on Lyrica for about 3 years for trigeminal neuralgia. I only take 50 - 75 mg per day. (50 is normal for me, but at times I need an extra 25) I've had no terrible side effects. I feel like it makes me giggly or silly if I take more than that.
It can cause dry mouth, so it's really important to drink a decent amount of water if you are prone to dry mouth. My dentist says that the tooth decay and loss when taking drugs like lyrica is because of dry mouth. So keep well hydrated. I've had no other side effects. When I miss a dose I have terrible pain and the the nerve behind my left eye becomes so irritable that I cannot see or function well. It has greatly improved my quality of life. But consider taking the smallest dose that helps you. If a little helps, then don't let the doctor double or triple it.

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Can I take other pain medication with Lyrica?

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i have been on lyrica for well its now going on 6 years after i was run over on the job by a forklift and then had to go through compartment syndrome on the leg that was smashed after the docs put a steel rod in. Unfortunately there is constant pain which has made me disabled and on endocet pain meds daily. I have felt woozy and kind of out of balance but overall I'd say that this drug works. Good luck to everyone and I hope that the use of Lyrica or whatever else you all need to be on does indeed work for you. As for myself I just try to get through each day.

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I did well, at first I thought, and then it went to hell along with what little bit of health I had left. Don't. Tooth Decay hurts and it happens to go through your whole mouth. I am early twenties prob going to need dentures. How humiliating?

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Been on lyrica for 5 months now for herniated disc and sciatica. It has helped me and thankfully I haven't suffered any side effects. I was worried about taking it especially when I heard of some of the side effects but I suffered excruciating pain when I tried to move at all

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I have suffered severe sciatica for 9 months now, have been in physio but it is not helping. The doctor at physio has suggested I try Lyrica but I am scared of the side effects, especially gaining weight as I am currently trying to lose weight!!! Also not to fond of the suicidal tendencies that may occur but frankly I need my life back!!! The pain is excruciating at times to the point that I just cry.I am not prone to depression so hopefully this will be a huge factor. I am going to Jamaica in a few weeks at an all-inclusive which means lots of alcohol so not sure if I should start the Lyrica now or wait until after or start now and stop berfore I go...any suggestions? I guess I need to decide what's more important, no pian or having a few drinks!

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I am on the same dosage as you mommaj and hopefully like you I will feel relief soon and no side effects.I really have no desire to take a higher dose and get goofy,lol.

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