Lyrica, any advice?

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I see my Dr. soon. I am unsure what he wants to do. I was told to try Lyrica by the Epilepsy nurse in the 5 day EEG. I really wanted to just stay off meds for awhile, and see how that would work out. Well that is no longer an option. I keep having partials or something when I wake up, and my thinking is getting more hazy. If I let these go I am going to end up having T/C's again and I can't keep going back to the ER, it's pointless, as I am sure you all know. "Take this ativan, here is a bill for 500 bucks, bye." :roflmao:

I would like to try Lyrica, but was curious if anyone could give me feedback about it. Also Topamax was an idea, but I also don't know what to really expect from that. Any feed back on these two meds would be awesome.
 
MuayThaiFighter

Sorry to say this Tony but I have no experience with either. I wish you luck though and those bill's are a joke. Welcome back, same as last time, sorry what's your name again.
 
I have taken Lyrica for a few years and I have not had any difficulty tolerating it. From what I understand, it stops the impulses in the brain that causes seizures. I have described it as stopping the circus that was going on in my head, although people look askance when I use that description. I sleep better and my ears don't ring. Generally, my brain is calmer. I also take lamictal and now Onfi.
 
Don't know anything about Lyrica specifically from direct use, other than it is a derivative of Neurontin.

And, with Neurontin, I experienced a dizzy, swimmy headed feeling when I took it alone, and it killed my libido. When I took it with Dilantin together, I noticed no problems.

A friend did take Lyrica for pain issues after a bad fall, and she also experienced dizziness that went away after the Lyrica was discontinued. She had to get off of it because the dizziness did not subside, even after a few months.
 
Interesting, I did take Neurontin for awhile, but I couldn't handle the side affects. I felt like I was overheating. It didn't seem to go away. Tomorrow I will be figuring out what they will want me to take.
 
Lyrica

I was given lyrica a year ago for the first time for what I thought was simple partial seizures but neuro dr say's he gave it to me for the uncontrollable scalp itch as a result of surgery. So, I stopped taking it after 2 weeks. I was again put back on lyrica about 3 months after a hospital stay due to "altered mental state". I continued to take it for about 3 months, got pissed off at neuro dr because he said he never diagnosed my symptoms as seizure type activity which again, gave me no reason to take it. I told him I could live with the itchy scalp. Well, the lyrica did help the second time, the strange and bizarre stuff stopped and of course, I, being irrational (spelling) again stopped taking it when I found out how much it cost. I forgot to mention that each time I was given the lyrica it was trial size bottles. The issues continued for another 4 months, as a matter of fact, they got worse. So, I again found myself back at neuro dr's again leaving with a prescription of lyrica. I took it for 3 months, my insurance company paid 80% if I had it mailed to me, needless to say, the neuro dr refused to allow the med to be mailed and would only fill it for 30 days......again, I coulnd't afford it. Sad tho, because it worked, it really worked, it took about 2 weeks to kick in fully, but I had worry free days. I felt like me again and not only did I like it, but those around me could tell that I was myself again!

In short, I had no problems with it. It made me drowsy if I took it at the wrong time during the day. I took 50mg about 1 1/2 before bed each evening. I had no allergic reaction nor did it interfere with my daily routine. I was even more alert than before, but the best part, no weird stuff, so color shapes, sparking lights, ringing ears, rabbit holes, un-plugged, tingling face, twitching muscles, highten sensativity to everything, stomache ache and nausea, anxiety or doom and gloom, and this was just half of what I was experiencing.

I miss the stuff, wish I could afford it!

I then tried keppra, don't like it, it shut me down..."kabam!!!
I have a lamotrigine, I haven't taken it yet, to darn scared of side effects. I can't bring myself to take it. I know I need something, because, Im starting to get new stuff. My vision is freaken me out and my muscles are doing some new stuff. But still not scarier than taking the lamotringine.

If you decide to take it. I wish you the best and hopes it works in your favor!

Good luck!
 
I havnt tried either medication, but just wanted to say go with what your gut says! If you want to give it a try, Id go for it! At least you would know if its going to work or not! Hang in there! Let us know what happens!
 
So far they are going back to the Lamictal/lamotrigine, which I took for awhile. Didn't give it much of a chance, I was scared to take it. I figure I might as well do what the doctor suggests this time. I feel confident with this Dr. The lyrica still might happen, wont find that out until the end of the month.
 
I took Lamictal twice first as an adjunct to Depakote, and later on its own. Although, I eventually added Lyrica. I didn't have difficulty taking either one. And the good news is that Lamictal has a generic, which makes it less expensive. I wouldn't be afraid to try either Lamictal or Lyrica. I take 100 mg of Lyrica and 400 mg Lamictal. I had very little problem taking either of them. You are never going to get control without trying.

I am also taking a new drug, Onfi, and I am taking it "off label". The FDA has only approved it for some rare seizure disorder call Lennox-Gestaut syndrome. I had several tough weeks before I got used to it but it was worth it.

Trust me when I tell you that with seizures, you can never tell what will control them. It is kind of like throwing something against the wall and seeing what sticks. Listen to your Doctor and do what he says. The only thing you have to lose in taking a drug is that you find out that it either works or it doesn't. If it doesn't, then you can move on to trying something that may work better for you. This is not your mother talking, it is another person with epilepsy, who hopes you get better control.
 
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