26 replies to this topic

[cherries]

I took Lyrica for severe nerve pain .I was having spasms all over my body. Had it not been for Lyrica i could not have survived. I did gain some weight, but had no choice but to take this med. It did cause me to rage. I would just go off on something and find myself walking through the house in a rage . I think it was toward the end at the high doses. I was so scary, My cats were hiding from me . I was frightening them. At the beginning , about 3 weeks into the taking it, I noted a noticeable decrease in my anxiety level. I have serious anxiety levels and when my level came down, it felt like a huge weight off me. I could not believe how NOT feeling anxious felt. It was a feeling I'd never known.
Lyrica is worth a try.

[dymphna]

Wow. I guess I'm just a case study for this drug. Neurontin was horrible for me, but Lyrica actually works as advertised (seizures).

I knew I was starting this drug, so I made a conscious effort to track my food intake (I didn't go on a diet, I just started monitoring what was going in my mouth and not "grazing"). I am currently taking 75mg BID for over a month and have gained no weight. I have no edema to speak of. I am on another weight gainer and have more to worry about from it (cabergoline - it is a long, slow, steady climb).

I have noticed that simple carbs make me feel like shit and proteins make me feel better. I have to balance this with the fact I'm on two CAIs and need to keep my kidneys.

Everyone is different.

Oh, once it reached a decent plasma concentration, it did help level my mood. I'm not an anxious person by nature, but I am a manic one, and it quelled that, FWIW.


Dymphna

[Deep Sea Philosopher]

My Neurologist/Muscle Doctor/Shoulder Doctor/Pdoc are all working together on this. I take it for severe nerve damage in my shoulder/anxiety.. titrating up.. and I can tell that it's working already. I've been reading up on the drug interactions between Lyrica and Topamax.. the pharmodynamic interactions, not the side effects.. and they enhance each other. It's pretty interesting. Way off topic, not meaning to thread jack.

[dymphna]

My Neurologist/Muscle Doctor/Shoulder Doctor/Pdoc are all working together on this. I take it for severe nerve damage in my shoulder/anxiety.. titrating up.. and I can tell that it's working already. I've been reading up on the drug interactions between Lyrica and Topamax.. the pharmodynamic interactions, not the side effects.. and they enhance each other. It's pretty interesting. Way off topic, not meaning to thread jack.

oooo.... that is good to know. Any cites?


D

[Deep Sea Philosopher]

I'm sorry.. but no. It's mainly what my doc said. Topa operates mainly in the Calcium Channels, and it makes you really receptive to GABA. Lyrica touches the Calcium, and it really pushes the GABA. Ying Yang.

[bunnyrabbit]

I tried Lyrica for fibromyalgia. I also have bad anxiety, panic attacks and social phobia problems. Lyrica stopped my anxiety...ALL of my anxiety. It was unexpected.

[Deep Sea Philosopher]

Invega's an AAP.. It hits nothing that Lyrica does. However, like all Crazy Meds, they still accent each other by working on the symptoms that the other meds don't, which results in a symptom-free Daisy. Most AC's, which Lyrica is, sometimes require dosage adjustments, and they can also become duds. They are very similar in SSRI's in how you can move around to other meds in the same class and receive good responses.

Have you tried Neurontin?

[diagnosed]

I can't really say if it worked well for pain or anxiety as I never gave it much of a chance!

daisy

unfurtunately you have to give it a fair chance..

it only kicks in after about 5-7 days

[horselover]

Anyone currently using Lyrica for anxiety? Anyone using it for anxiety that has BP and Aspergers/autism? I would love to hear some new responses since these were a while back. Thanks

Edited by horselover, 02 August 2010 - 10:25 AM.

[dymphna]

Wow. I guess I'm just a case study for this drug. Neurontin was horrible for me, but Lyrica actually works as advertised (seizures).

I knew I was starting this drug, so I made a conscious effort to track my food intake (I didn't go on a diet, I just started monitoring what was going in my mouth and not "grazing"). I am currently taking 75mg BID for over a month and have gained no weight. I have no edema to speak of. I am on another weight gainer and have more to worry about from it (cabergoline - it is a long, slow, steady climb).

I have noticed that simple carbs make me feel like shit and proteins make me feel better. I have to balance this with the fact I'm on two CAIs and need to keep my kidneys.

Everyone is different.

Oh, once it reached a decent plasma concentration, it did help level my mood. I'm not an anxious person by nature, but I am a manic one, and it quelled that, FWIW.


Dymphna

I'm going to update this post.

When I hit 100mg BID all hell broke loose. My electrolytes went to hell. I swelled up like a balloon. I started seizing like there was no tomorrow.

The Ndoc didn't want to hear any of it - he just thought I was being a bitchy woman. I went off of it all at once while in hospital for a Veeg (thank god). No one was ever able to tell me what the hell happened.


Dymphna

[horselover]

Wow. I guess I'm just a case study for this drug. Neurontin was horrible for me, but Lyrica actually works as advertised (seizures).

I knew I was starting this drug, so I made a conscious effort to track my food intake (I didn't go on a diet, I just started monitoring what was going in my mouth and not "grazing"). I am currently taking 75mg BID for over a month and have gained no weight. I have no edema to speak of. I am on another weight gainer and have more to worry about from it (cabergoline - it is a long, slow, steady climb).

I have noticed that simple carbs make me feel like shit and proteins make me feel better. I have to balance this with the fact I'm on two CAIs and need to keep my kidneys.

Everyone is different.

Oh, once it reached a decent plasma concentration, it did help level my mood. I'm not an anxious person by nature, but I am a manic one, and it quelled that, FWIW.


Dymphna

I'm going to update this post.

When I hit 100mg BID all hell broke loose. My electrolytes went to hell. I swelled up like a balloon. I started seizing like there was no tomorrow.

The Ndoc didn't want to hear any of it - he just thought I was being a bitchy woman. I went off of it all at once while in hospital for a Veeg (thank god). No one was ever able to tell me what the hell happened.


Dymphna

Sorry to hear you had such an bad response. What were you taking Lyrica for? What was your target dose? Just wondering since you had some positive response @75mg BID. Were you taking any other meds at the time? I understand neurontin has more of a drug interaction profile than lyrica.
And thanks for your update.

[dymphna]

Sorry to hear you had such an bad response. What were you taking Lyrica for? What was your target dose? Just wondering since you had some positive response @75mg BID. Were you taking any other meds at the time? I understand neurontin has more of a drug interaction profile than lyrica.
And thanks for your update.

It was prescribed for epilepsy. I don't know what the Ndoc's target dose was going to be. I was also on Diamox CR, Topamax, and Cabergoline.


D

[sc2501]

Anyone currently using Lyrica for anxiety? Anyone using it for anxiety that has BP and Aspergers/autism? I would love to hear some new responses since these were a while back. Thanks

I have used Lyrica for anxiety and migraine prophylaxis for nearly a year now. At first it worked miracles for both, but then it either 'pooped-out' or my anxiety and migraines just got worse. I am going to try to up the dosage to 450 mg (higher than the average maximum dose of 300). I experience zero side-effects from it except the "can't remember the right word" and maybe some other forgetfulness, but I'm fine for that, at least until graduate school. I never knew it could cause weight gain! Right now I'm on 200 mg Wellbutrin SR, 10 mg Lexapro (trying to combat sexual side-effects), 350 mg of Lyrica, Xanax XR, and, at the moment, 50-100 mg Seroquel for sleep, and I wish I could gain weight. I've been smoking heavily so that's part of the problem, but at 5'5" and 107 lbs people are starting to say I look sick. (I have a small build though.)

I'm keeping a blog that discussed my dosage upping of Lyrica if you're interested.

[OverUnderAndThrough]

Lyrica should NOT be allowed on the market. Maybe for fibromyalgia but that's all. Any doctor who prescribes it should have to retake his state boards because he is just listening to the pharmacy rep who never passed either high school chemistry or biology.
Although I didn't realize it, after taking it for a week, every part of my body was numb except for my migraine. I guess that's why we bleed, so we will see it.

@Nuttin-Works, your post makes a broad sweeping generalization that shows a lack of effort on your part to partake in an intelligent discussion of a complex topic. Saying things like that doesn't add anything positive to the discussion and gives people unjustified fear.

Just because a med has a certain effect on YOU does not mean that it will affect everyone like that. Please try to refrain from saying hugely exaggerated things like "Any doctor who prescribes it should have to retake his state boards because he is just listening to the pharmacy rep who never passed either high school chemistry or biology."

To those who are considering trying Lyrica, don't let the fear-mongering posts dissuade you from trying a drug that may change your life for the better. Everyone reacts differently to meds and you won't know for sure how you'll respond to a med until you actually try it.

[2catsmad]

I have social anxiety with panic, and low mood. I live in dysthymia/ possibly low end BP spectrum territory (I think I have maybe only been hypo twice- and the rest of the time it's varying shades of depression and agitation). I am willing to give it a try. I am pretty functional but I still feel like I struggle on a day to day basis. When my environment is more unpredictable the worse my anxiety is.

I am not anxious all the time. I get social phobia/other phobias, and panic associated with phobias plus Low mood. Would it be bad to start this first and see where it helps?

I am relying on Klonopin PRN, and notice I seem to get my moods set off, if I take it PRN. I can take it daily but I don't want to rely solely on a benzo.

It would be nice to feel a little more even keel, and less anxious.

[hammer of dusk]

I am taking gabapentin, which is similar to Lyrica. For me it has really made the anxiety manageable; when I'm under some kind of new stress I don't completely freak out anymore. I can deal with it (though I still feel anxious). I take it 3 times a day and rarely need my valium anymore.

I think it'd be worth a shot. It doesn't give you the kind of feeling a benzo does, but for me I just feel a bit calmer and more in control over the anxiety.