I had my 2nd appointment with my neurologist yesterday. My husband and I compiled a list of questions to ask him. This guy is a great dr. He really listens and I really feel like he cares about me. I asked him if the out of control forgetfulness, overall dumbness would persist while taking the Lyrica or if it would get better with time. He acted very shocked and said Lyrica should not cause that. He said that he likes to prescribe it because it has the least amount of side effects and is the safest. He wants me to have an EEG on the 14th. I am not really sure that an EEG is really necessary...I do feel that it's more than likely the Lyrica. Im not sure what the cost would be for this, but intend to find out tomorrow. I also have to have a MRI again in a machine with higherresolution because I have a Rathke's cleft cyst on my pituitary gland and he wants to make sure it's not causing any problems. I'm sure that won't be cheap. I totally trust my neurologist and i feel that i probably should do it because i want to maintain a good relationship. I was just curious to know what you guys thought.
ummmm has your doctor ever taken Lyrica????? I know they mean well -- BUT I felt like I was drunk on it!
I had to leave my job because of it -- I was a state worker driving foster kids around - that wasn't safe - duh
I could not complete semi-complicated court documents - and all the other social work paper that came with that job.
If not on Lyrica - things would have been different --- but it's good it got me out of that job because high stress makes TN worse!
PPPPPlease ask your pharmacist about these side effects -- they HAVE to keep up to date with all the info on these meds
It was the same for me basically on trileptal and Neurontin - all drove me to MVD.
Do some research on what meds YOU would like to try-- that's what I did-- took a while cause I was so drugged up! Soooo I asked my neuro for some Ritalin so that I could research meds and MVD -- he gave me one bottle and I used to focus as needed and when I had no energy.
Just my experience--- Do you have the book "Striking Back" ??? it has 90% of the meds in it -- needs updating
Keep Posting and Learning!
I took Lyrica and got different side effects that made me stop it. However, I take other meds now andy memory is noticeably impaired.
I suppose it is possible your neuro hasn’t heard of memory impairment with Lyrica, but not highly likely and it certainly should not be a big surprise. I too find the pharmacist more straight with answers about meds. It is probably best that you do the extra MRI.
PS kC my mind is foggy due to meds. Can you do a post re Ritalin? Did it bother your TN at all?
Nomad said:
I took Lyrica and got different side effects that made me stop it. However, I take other meds now andy memory is noticeably impaired.
I suppose it is possible your neuro hasn't heard of memory impairment with Lyrica, but not highly likely and it certainly should not be a big surprise. I too find the pharmacist more straight with answers about meds. It is probably best that you do the extra MRI.
PS kC my mind is foggy due to meds. Can you do a post re Ritalin? Did it bother your TN at all?
I'm another who could not tolerate Lyrica's side effects; they were brutal. Coherent thought was impossible. It is surprising that your doc doesn't know how common this type of side effect is. Also, the last MRI I had done was a FIESTA MRI...it is a 3D one that better reveals potential compressions. The neurosurgeon read it and found them.
Good luck!
RITALIN EXPERIENCE
I read on here that somebody asked their dr. for ADHD meds. If you are not ADHD, the meds will give you energy and will help you focus so that you can live an UNfoggy day once in a while. For most people.
Cannot take if you have really high blood pressure, heart problems, etc.
Did not affect TN Pain for me --
College kids all over the country who are NOT ADHD are taking them to focus for study and exams. So it is getting frowned upon on the black-market. But I'm a grown up and I wasn't about to abuse them.
Some dr. may be leary - but I didn't have enough to get addicted-ONLY used ritalin when studying up on My MVD and the meds I was trying so hard to get off of. So that I could watch a movie with my hubby and remember the beginning,
I took them once in a while so that I could have a meaningful long distance phone conversation with a friend. Really helped me.
I once took one so that I could clean out my car that had been neglected for months and complete a load of laundry -- you know - stuff you need to do in life with energy and focus!
Nomad said:
I took Lyrica and got different side effects that made me stop it. However, I take other meds now andy memory is noticeably impaired.
I suppose it is possible your neuro hasn't heard of memory impairment with Lyrica, but not highly likely and it certainly should not be a big surprise. I too find the pharmacist more straight with answers about meds. It is probably best that you do the extra MRI.
PS kC my mind is foggy due to meds. Can you do a post re Ritalin? Did it bother your TN at all?
Lyrica was hell for me. I titrated up on it and then all of a sudden my feet and legs were so swollen that I couldn’t wear shoes or sleep for longer than an hour at an time. I had heard that you had to slowly stop the med so I slowly lowered the dose. Even though I only took a small dose and the max dose I took was only (100 mg 2 x/ day) for two days I am still suffering from the side effects 3 weeks later. I saw my Neurologist and she confirmed that even though I was on a low dose for a short period of time that I can expect the side effects to last for a month after stopping taking the pills. I have been hesitant to write about this because I know so many people have been helped with this drug… But for me it was hell,…
Don't hesitate to post the good/bad/ugly about Lyrica or anything else here -- the more we know the more we grow
-- we are like snowflakes here -- all cold and flakey - but very different in size and shape LOL
some things work for some people but nothing here works for all people
I also experienced memory issues and felt generally dumb on Lyrica. On top of that, I had vivid dreams/nightmares and was sweating heavily on the Lyrica. It, however, did help with the pain. I've been off Lyrica for more than a month now and the night sweats and bad dreams are gone, which is a relief. I still have problems with my memory and react somewhat slow -- but it may be just because I'm usually very tired and often sad, so perhaps my brain & body switched to a "slow" mode to save the energy...
Thank you KC re: use of Ritalin to help with the memory issues after taking these cognitive impairing meds. I was worried it could make the TN pain worse!
Ugh I had a really good post for this last night then my phone dead and right before I hit the add button; so it got ate up:(. So here goes again.
I’ve taken a long list of medications for TN now. Out of all of them Lyrica dumbed me up the lest and it was noticeably for me right off the bat. Tergatol was the medication I was on right before I switched over to Lyrica and its sister drug oxcarbazipine this last spring before I was switched again back to Lyrica. I was a zombie on the others too. I don’t even remember the majority of the subjects I studied for school while I was on the other medications. It surprises I took a high level college course math class a finished with an A during that time. On the flip side if you’d ask me to do advance trig and calculus now I would have a clue how to do the problem.
Yes Lyrica has its side effects just like all of the medications for TN. These are strong medications we are taking. There is the side affect of dumby head with Lyrica. I think it’s listed as either the 5 or 8th side affect with Lyrica, but for me it is nothing compared to other medications with this side affect. Lyrica is also known for having less side affects for the group of medications it is in. It is also more compact of a dose then it’s sister drug neutron. I’m not sure if others have notice this here or not (I’m also most likely using the wrong word compact, I think potent is the word, for its dosage).
With the dumby head side affect for me it’s; forgetting the words or not finding the right word, difficulty explaining complex thoughts or ideas and information, forgetting to tell things to others but thinking I did, difficulty concentrating, and misproncing words I know or forgetting to put use a word in writing and speech some times. For me these were much less, with other medications this was ten fold worse. As it was slurred speech often or I sounded drunk as skunk, stumbling, and sleeping 12 hours and then some a day.
With this I want to add I never asked to switch medications with these types of side affects that drive you bat pickle crazy. It was more of the dangerous side affect like liver and kidneys starting to get major trouble or the start of tens disease, allergic reactions. I say this because the drive you bat pickle crazy side affect will lesson over time and go away most of the time. I think too many people jump ship from a medication and end up in between a rock and a hard place later down the road. These medications are doing crazy stuff with our brains so yes there is going to be side affects that just stink and are not a lot of fun.
A few other tid bits is making sure to start at low dose on all medications for TN and slowly tilter up the dose to get the therapeutic dose for you. During the intentional time of starting a medication and then additional time for each and everytime the dosage is up it can take 6 to 8 or 8 to 12 weeks for your body to adjust to the medication, and remember each time you up the dose this approximated time spans are add to. One other thing is Lyrica and most of the other medications take time to build up in your system before you can start to feel the use for the drug, ie for the pain shocks burning and the garbage truck that is compacting your face in to subside, simmer down, or go away.
Any hoot, if you feel like a side affect is either dangerous or is much too much tell your doctor and be tiltered off the medication to start a new one. I suggest you bring in a copy of the medication warnings that comes with the prescription when you pick them up or get them off of Phizers (spelling there is crap shoot sorry) and bring them twitch you to your next appointment. The link is at the very bottom of this very long post.
As for the EEG; I would ask Red about the use of this test for TN and if it is nesscary for the use with TN and what are the benefits and pitfalls of the use of an EEG with TN. It is also very important to ask your doctor why he thinks this should be done for your health? What he expects to do of the readings if there are abnormal wave lengths or if everything turns up normal as a cotton pixie. What would be your options for treatment then why or why not.
Lastly everybody is different and may not react to the same medication the same way, or get the needed relief as other may for the same illness. Before you decide to stop this medication really think about; are results worth the risks of the side affects or do the benefits out weigh the side affects.
Sorry hope this dose come off too much as lecturery.
Links on Lyrica
Drug maker’s site on the side effects
It gives really good information that includes the clinical trials info, this is something you should print and take to your next appointment to give to your doctor in regards to side affects
http://m.lyrica.com/side_effects?origin=desktop
Other patients of various illnesses and their reviews of Lyrica I think there’s 153 reviews. Wow! That is a lot. Some good some bad it’s a good mix of reviews for you to take a peeker at.
http://www.drugs.com/comments/pregabalin/lyrica-for-fibromyalgia.html
One last warning, Lyrica is a drug your body can become depended on (this is NOT the same as addicted). Read these link if you have been on this medication for a month of more and want to get off this gravy train. Not everyone experiences the withdrawals of Lyrica but this drug is know for side effects that can be somewhat mean, so this should done gradual and the length may vary depending the patient and the situation.
After a month at 150mg when I first started taking this medication I found out about this the hard way when I became so ill I could not even keep a drop of water down. It was not pleasant at all. There are some factors the can contribute to how quickly or slowly your body can become depended on something. It’s the same way this as is everybody reacts different to any medication. Stopping Lyrica again last spring was just as bad.
http://www.livestrong.com/article/70712-side-effects-stopping-lyrica/
Oldriska, interesting about the sweating. I’vebeen worried about that. I’ve had on and off sweating at night and it has been confusing about what is causing it. I’m on Desipramine and Gabapentin .