ANYONE HAVING DIZZINESS WITH LYRICA/PREGABALIN

[chillijava]

hi all
well i have just given in to not taking pain meds as my pn and fibromyalgia pain is getting worse and i also am now suffering from a bad bout of anxiety, my pain doc said this medication would help with all of these conditions.
i am not good with meds and always suffer from bad side effects so for me to try lyrica was a big step and i am going very slowly 25mg at night. i have now been on them 6 days and whilst the anxiety is slightly better, its still there but in the background and my sleeping is also better, i have noticed the burning neuropathic pain seems now a little stronger where as it got a little better at the start.
what bothers me the most is the side effects, the dizziness is really bad and i feel kind of numb in the brain and i also yesterday had a bad bout of diarehhea yesterday and also i have been having nausea, now i do suffer from ibs symptoms so i am not sure if that is the problem or if its the med.
do the side effects go away, i asked my pain doc and he said they will but i need to give it time, and to increase the dose when i feel ready. the other thing that bothers me is all the other side effects of weight gain, bloating and water retenetion that people report and also the hellish withdrawal when weening off them, i have been through withdrawal twice with 2 different types of ssris and it was hellish and lasted for months so the prospect of doing it again petrifies me.
does anyone have any advice on their experiences with this drug and any reassurances, really need some pain control to work, but i still want to have a brain that works

thanks
andrea

[janetm2]

Andrea,
The effects did go down some as I got use to the drug. The brain issue did linger some for me but did go away when I got off it. I did not have weight gain but for all of this I was only on it for 4-6 months. Also did not have withdrawal issues with it or the fentenyl patch, I think it was slow enough and I was not on that high a dose. Wish you a better ride than your previos experiences.
Janet

[chillijava]

thanks janet, that helps to know some people dont have major problems, what dose were you on?, at the moment i can honestly say i dont like the way i feel and the neuropathic pain is coming back stronger, does this mean i need to up my dose now?, i am experimenting with taking my dose earlier at night so that i can function during the day but by lunch the tiny effect of relief seems to wear off



andrea

[janetm2]

Andrea,
I do not have the info handy at the moment and don't want to wake uo mmy hubby but will try to update later if I am wrong. I think I went from 25 mg at night to 75mg per day (25 at 3 times a day) but also this was with the fentenayl patch that both replaced my 1500mg per day Gapapentin. Fortunately my acupuncturist found a way to get rid of my remaining constant pain and I was able to off the patch then the Lyrica. I still use tramadol at night or oxycodone (if my foot pain is also acting up). The cold weather has really been a test. Diid they give you a dosing schedule and if you can add a pill in the morning (have to watch those side effects) or check with the doctor. It may balance out with a 25 mg morning addition against the extra pain.
Janet

[chillijava]

i was told when i was ready to up the dose to 50mg and i could either take it as one dose or 2 25mg doses morning or night, at the moment i still feel very dizzy and somehow quiet and numbed and i am now worrying if is causing me to feel depressed, or whether that is due to me worrying about taking the med and that now my anxiety has got a bit quieter i am a bit quieter in myself instead of constantly being on edge, i just feel really drugged and miserable, i hope this passes



andrea

[janetm2]

Andrea,
It appears my record keeping was not the best, probably did not want to remember. I got up to 225mg per day with 75mg taken three times a day. I am not sure how quickly I added doses (I know for Gabapentin I waited a week or two and for the last part stayed a month or so until raising). I think for Lyrica it may have been a week or less but that was because I did not have as many side effects. Sorry it is so hard to dtermine what is right for you. Usually the side effects die down and then you can up the dosage. Hang in there and good luck.
Janet

[calluna]

Just thought I would add my voice here, hope that's ok - I did not have any side effects of weight gain, water retention, bloating, or anything like that at all with pregabalin. In fact I have managed to continue losing weight whilst taking pregabalin. I have been on it now for almost a year this time round and my expectation is that I will be on it for the rest of my life.

I did feel rather 'out of it' with each dose increase - memory problems, slow thinking, some clumsiness and feeling a bit wobbly - but I really wanted it to work for me, so before going to the next dose increase I tried to wait until the side effects had settled down completely ie gone away. One week between steps was an absolute minimum for me, no point at all taking the dose up some more when you are still feeling not so happy with the effects from the last step up. My thinking was, wait until it has all settled down again, because it will in the end - and it did. At some points I had to wait three weeks for the side effects to settle down - in fact I think at one point it was four weeks between steps, in fact I was beginning to think it was never settle, but it did, and it was worth it in the end for the pain relief.

I would also say, don't worry too much about effects of possibly taking the dose down in the future - I came off pregabalin completely after the big surgery with no problems at all. Also over last six months, we have been trying to find the lowest level with which I can cope, and taking the dose down has not been a problem this time either.

Hang in there Andrea, hope you feel a bit better soon.

[chillijava]

thanks all, i feel a bit brighter today and my dizziness is not quite so bad, but my anxiety is more and my sleep is not so good either, i think that is now because my body has more or less stabilized on the tiny dose, so i think i will be upping my dose in the next few days, not sure whether to take 50mg at night or add another 25mg in the morning, not sure which would be best, any ideas which would be more stable as my doc said i could do either


andrea

[calluna]

Really good to hear that you are feeling a bit brighter but do take it easy. Small steps are a good idea I think.

As to whether it would be better to go to 50mg at night or to spread it out with 25mg both morning and evening, that's a hard call and I don't know that I actually have any suggestions as to which would be best or more stable.

I can tell you my own experience, whether this will be useful I don't know. I started off with it level morning and evening, and stepping it up I always took it up first in the morning because that's what I had been advised to do. The following step up was of course always in the evening and personally I found that one was easier for me.

One thing I would suggest though - whatever you decide to do, the thing to remember is what your pain doctor has told you, that the side effects do settle down, you just have to give it time. This has absolutely been my experience, at any rate.

Hope you get a better night's sleep tonight anyway. (Camomile tea gets my vote.)

[janetm2]

Andrea,
Mine was always split up and I think started night then add morning and lastly mid day.. so glad to hear you are brighter!
Janet