Lyrica dosage

    • Anonymous
      January 26, 2009 at 4:48 am

      To make a longs story short, it has been recommended that I start taking Lyrica. The Cymbalta withdrawal when OK, but the pain issue became a problem. So..

      My question is dosage. I was only taking Cymbalta 60 mg at night and was able to keep thing under control. So I tried to same thing with Lyrica, just taking one 50 mg table at night. It doesn’t appear to be working as well. All the literature indicates that Lyrica works best if the level is held constant. Cymbalta “knock me out” so I didn’t want to become a walking zombie by taking Lyrica three times a day. It doesn’t look as though it would do that. [They initally suggested 50 mg x3]

      Does anyone have any experience with Lyrica? Right now I’m only getting 3-4 hours sleep a night with an occasional “combat practice” nap during the day. Even though I’m retired I would still like 8 to 12 hours where I can function at full mental capacity [OK as “full” as I have left] :rolleyes:

      Any thought? Once again, thanks for your time

      Jim C

    • Anonymous
      January 26, 2009 at 8:45 am

      hi Jim,
      I have taken lyrica for years and various ways.

      It looks like you are taking it for pain relief…?

      So start with the recomended 50mg x 3 and see how that goes. At a low dose like that you may see a temporary increase in sleepiness, but that should abate as your system gets used to it.

      Don’t hesitate to communicate with your dr. 50mg x 3 is a ow dose , and as your body gets rid of the cymbalta you may find that increasing lyrica helps.

      Best of luck,
      Erin

    • Anonymous
      January 26, 2009 at 12:49 pm

      My doctor has recommended lyrica for chronic pain due to post GBS. He says as we begin to age the symtoms and pain from GBS become more chronic. He also says it patient’s main complaint from taking lyrica is average weight gain of about 40 lbs. WOW! Has anyone experienced this. Thanks

    • Anonymous
      January 26, 2009 at 2:15 pm

      I have been taking lyrica since Oct. 07, started with 100mg 3 x daily and slept hours during the day and still slept all night except for getting up to use the bathroom. The sleeping got to be a lot less but may have been a combination of my system getting used to the lyrica and healing some from GBS.
      The lyrica has been reduced to 100mg 2x daily for months and most days I can go without falling asleep or a nap of an hour or less.
      Very seldom do I have trouble sleeping all night and when I do I will take one tylenol PM which works for me.
      I have read of others gaining weight while on lyrica but it has not had that affect on me. I know 100mg is a low dosage compared to what others have said they are taking.
      Erin has given you good advice to go with the 50mg 3 x daily as later on you may need the dosage increased to deal with your pain.
      Good luck
      Shirley

    • Anonymous
      January 27, 2009 at 4:00 pm

      Hi Jim,
      I was dx in May 06 and started with Lyrica 200 mg 2 a day AND Cymbalta 60 mg 1 day also 50mg Trazadone at bedtime. My Dr. left that fall and I tried numerous Neuro’s and zillions of tests. I seemed to hit a plateau, finished PT and drugs were not helping. I tried Mayo in Feb 07, they told me not CIDP it is

      polyradiculoneuropathy (which basically is CIDP) So anyway I gave up, quit all the meds. Live in my power chair and tolerate the pain,24 – 7 from the knees down, feet remain shoeless from pain. I hope the Lyrica helps you as it did me at first.

    • Anonymous
      January 27, 2009 at 6:19 pm

      H Jim, My new neuro changed me over to Lyrica from Neurontin and I take 200mg 3 times a day—some days I take a nap, but still able to drive and do whatever I can tolerate. Sometimes I spend the whole day reading a book. I think starting at 50mg sounds good, but that’s pretty low, although a good place to start. I have gained 5-9 pounds. I still take the Cymbalta 60mg at bedtime too. Hope this helps.
      Emma

    • Anonymous
      February 2, 2009 at 11:41 am

      I was on Lyrica–100 mg 3 times a day. Didn’t touch my pain, but I did notice really weird and vivid dreams. After three weeks, I complained to my neuro, who switched me to Neurontin (Gabapentin), which really made a difference in the level of pain I was experiencing. I actually hadn’t realized how bad it had gotten until I took the Neurontin and got some relief. Like taking my feet out of a pot of boiling water!

      In any case, my doc says the mechanism by which these drugs control neuropathic pain isn’t well understood. Some work for some people and do nothing for others. Bottom line, though, is that if you’re still in pain, keep insisting that your doc try something different until you get some relief.

    • Anonymous
      February 3, 2009 at 3:43 am

      lostingham,
      how much neurotin you take?
      I want to know how much is too much.
      I jumped from 3×400 to 4×400, two pill before bed and I got a better
      sleep, less convulssions and “jumps” every 20 minutes, all this without taking sleeping pills.

      Pablo