Lyrica

I took it in 2007 for spinal nerve pain after an accident (prior to surgery). Awful for weight gain!! Ughh, it was still not really mainstream then and I had to educate the pain management physician that weight gain is a potential side effect. On top of that it wasn't super effective for me.

Lyrica is for fibromyalgia, diabetic nerve pain,pain after shingles.

Lately doctors have been prescribing it for pain without any of the above mentioned being envolved. My MIL had weekness in her legs, was prescribed Lyrica and got violently sick. I personally do not thik this is a med to be given for pain unless associated with the above mentioned diseases. Everyone is different and I hope you do not get any adverse reactions, Just keep an eye on yourself and call your Dr. with anything that does not feel right.

The 2 most common side effects of LYRICA are dizziness and sleepiness. In clinical studies, dizziness occurred in 31% of LYRICA patients, and sleepiness occurred in 22% of LYRICA patients. Other side effects include dry mouth, swelling of the hands and feet, blurred vision, weight gain, trouble concentrating, and feeling “high.” In clinical studies, side effects were generally mild to moderate, and for many people they went away over time. For some, they persisted.
There are some instances where you may actually need to stop taking LYRICA. LYRICA may also cause serious, even life threatening, allergic reactions. Stop taking LYRICA and call your doctor right away if you have any signs of a serious allergic reaction. Some signs are swelling of your face, mouth, lips, gums, tongue, throat or neck or if you have any trouble breathing, or have a rash, hives or blisters. Otherwise, do not stop taking LYRICA without first talking to your doctor.

I have fibromyalgia and asked my doctor if I could try it. She chose not to prescribe it for me as I'm pre-diabetic and she said it could bring diabetes on sooner. I researched it and is a reported side effect. I also have two friends on it that told me they gained weight, one a male, the other female. I hope it works well for you!

I have been on Lyrica for about 3 months now. I didn't notice any relief, but when they switched me to Neurontin, at my insurance's request, I noticed a huge difference in pain, as well as the two medications. They switched me back to Lyrica, and I do notice that when I miss my dose, especially an entire day's dose, the pain is very prominent. Once I start taking it again, the pain subsides, slowly, back to where it was when I am on schedule with it. To date, I have not noticed any side effects of weight gain, or anything else.

Best of luck to you!

My husband takes Lyrica. He started at the end of 2005. He takes it for nerve pain--no fibromyalgia or other things the commercials mention. He pretty much broke his back at work and with the damage has permanent nerve damage so he is usually in pain. He originally took it 3 times a day and is now down to twice and sometimes can take just once a day. He also takes Norco but sometimes can go without. But if he totally skips the Lyrica he cannot skip the Norco. When he first started taking it, he did have some dizziness, he would get tired or sleepy. But now, no issues. It does take some time to get used to and for your body to adjust. I think they had to adjust it a time or 2 to find the right amount for him. Also, He had weight gain mostly because he could not be active much after 2 surgeries. The man still loses weight quickly just by getting active again. He did not have anything that might be weight gain attributed to it. I hope this helps. Of course, everyone reacts differently to all meds. But keep if you work closely with your doctor, you can find what works--or doesn't.

I took Lyrica and I was thankful for it. I had a monster bulge and had to have a discetomy. A year later I had my fusion.

I was also lucky because my ortho doctor is also a Pharmacists! =)

I didn't have any weight gain.