Jumping Off The Lyrica Bandwagon

As many of you probably know, I have fibromyalgia, a painful muscle disease that currently has no cure. There are days when I have trouble getting up out of a chair after sitting for a while, and muscle cramps in my legs or other parts of my body like my neck or back that can take my breath away in an instant. So, when my doctor suggested I take Lyrica (because the FDA had approved it for fibromyalgia) I jumped on that bandwagon in hopes that it would at least reduce some of the pain.

That doctor's appointment was on July 16th, and I began taking Lyrica the next day. The doctor had given me two weeks worth of samples to try, and then I asked for two more week's worth because I was going to be out of town for two weeks in August. So, from July 17th until August 26th I was on a constant dosage of Lyrica, with, from what I could determine, no pain relief and a many unwanted side-effects.

Prescription Lyrica is not for everyone. Some of the most common side effects of Lyrica are dizziness, sleepiness, dry mouth, and edema. Plus blurred vision, weight gain, constipation, euphoric mood, and loss of balance. Also, increased appetite and trouble concentrating.

Fibromyalgia robs me of restorative sleep that I could use to help my body fight off the pain. When I was taking Lyrica I had no trouble sleeping, but it wasn't restorative sleep either. In fact, I would doze off in my chair either at home, or while at my friend's house in Idaho. I take two Lyrica at 10 AM in the morning, and two more at 10 PM at night. Usually, two hours after taking the morning dose I couldn't keep my eyes open and would sometimes wake up a couple hours later. Not very conducive for being a scintillating house guest!

I had hoped that the side-effects of the Lyrica would wear off after I got used to taking it, but after a month or more they did not and it was time to make a decision about whether to continue using it or not. I chose to quit cold turkey, which may or may not have been a good idea. I imagine that since I had been taking it for over a month, that it will take a while to get out of my system too. Almost immediately though, the overwhelming sleepiness went away, as well as the very dry mouth and horrible taste in the morning. My ankles do not swell as much as they used to while taking Lyrica either.

Each person is different in how they react to medications. I just wanted to let everyone know what my experience with Lyrica was, and maybe it will help you decide whether you want to take it or not.