Weight gain with Lyrica

[calluna]

I'm taking 150mg of Lyrica at the moment, sometimes I add in another 25mg or 50 mg if I need it, and I am getting significant pain relief. After some initial problems with blurred vision and drowsiness, things have settled down and the only side effect now is puffy hands and feet first thing in the morning, for some reason. I am usually woken by the discomfort of my wedding ring cutting in. But once I get up and start moving around, the puffiness soon goes away. BP is all fine.

However, I'm having weight problems. I've been trying to lose weight since the beginning of June - which happens to pretty much coincide with when I started taking Lyrica. I need to lose 30 pounds. But basically my weight has stayed steady. Up a couple of pounds, down a couple - right now I am two pounds above my starting weight. No big deal. Except that I have been trying really hard to lose weight.

But - if dieting gives me a steady weight, not dieting would surely mean that I would be gaining significant amounts of weight.

I know that weight gain is listed as a common side effect with this medication, and I was just wondering what other people's experience might be, and how you've managed this side effect.

[merrie]

I have had weight gain issues with lyrica. My approach has been to stay away from carbs and eat lots of fruits and veggies. I have not lost the weight I gained but I stopped gaining as much when I cut out processed foods and carbs.

Merrie

[nyt]

Merrie, I'm confused about your statement of cutting out carbs because you eat fruits and vegetables. Fruits are nothing but carbs. Do you mean bread? Are you eating more of a glycemic type diet or Atkin's or South Beach where you are eating the lower carb fruits and vegs? If it is not meat it is a carb.

[calluna]

Well, at least I'm not on my own!

Merrie - I agree with nyt. If you are eating lots of fruit, then you are not staying away from carbs. Fruit is full of sugar. And with regard to veg, you have to avoid starchy things like carrots, corn, and potatoes. Leafy greens are what you want.

I am not familiar with the diets that you mention, nyt, other than Atkins. I've seen the books in the library - obviously I should read more widely!

We are trying to stay as close as is reasonable to a paleo diet, both my husband and I are pretty carb-sensitive so it suits us well. My husband is losing weight steadily at around 2lb a week and feeling better every day, I am staying the same. Grrrrrr.

[donstore]

I would agree with Calunna that you have to stick with the leafy greens. Also broccolli and asparagus. Anything with a low or lower glycemic index, lots of fiber, and less sugar. If it tastes sweet (fruits, carrots, potatoes) then it's worse for you although I am of the opinion that processed carbs (regular bread) are the worst because at least having some fiber slows down the sugar absorption and doesn't spike your glycemic index as badly. Stawberries with splenda on top works for me. I went on the Adkins diet (eggs, steak, butter) one time and lost weight but even with all that fat the carb withdrawal was intense at the beginning.

Don

[calluna]

I do really need to lose weight, though. Hypertension is pretty well controlled with medication, but extra weight isn't helping in the long term. Also, extra weight means more pressure on the nerve, of course, and on the joints - which aren't getting any younger. Losing 30 lb would put my BMI just into the green zone, I could really do with losing another 10lb on top of that.

Don, I was reading an interesting blog post the other day which included some discussion about how artificial sweeteners seem to act as appetite stimulants. They only looked at saccharin and aspartame, not sucralose or stevia, but it has given me cause for thought.

I am wondering, how does Lyrica actually cause weight gain? Do we understand the mechanism? Does it alter the insulin response?