My wife suffers from severe back pain. Doctor has advised Lyrica to be taken once daily at 7 PM but she feels so sleepy & dizzy by 9PM that she cant stand. This is not the time to sleep for any head of family. It is feared that she might fall. Is it a side effect / normal reaction. How can this situation be corrected.
Lyrica + side effects, my wife is sleepy, how can this be corrected?
- Posted:
- 10 Mar 2011 by J M Chawla
- Topics:
- lyrica, sta-d, pain, back pain, sleep disorders, side effect, sleep, doctor
Answers (9)
10 Mar 2011
Hey J M Chawla,
The dizziness is a common side effect of the Lyrica. She could take it later in the evening before bed time so she is not up and about after taking it. As long as she takes it at the same time everyday she should be ok taking before bedtime. Once she has been on this med for awhile, hopefully this side effect will decrease.
If the problem persists or becomes intolerable please confer with the doctor as soon as possible.
Wishing her the best,
Laurie
12 Mar 2011
If she is on just one pill a day I assume it's 75mg. That shouldn't really bother her that much, but eveyone is different. My suggestion would be to take it at bedtime since it's once a day. That way her sleepiness will co-incide with her biological clock, & get a good nights rest. This was the way it was prescribed for me for my Fibromyalgia. Check with her doctor to make sure this is ok with him(or her) first tho'. Can't see it being a problem unless she has something else she takes then & the doctor doesn't want her taking the two together. I would also tell you that the sleepy symptom will go away after she has been on it for a time. Good luck to her.(aand you)
12 Mar 2011
I was on Lyrica for a while, and am no longer on it due to the sleepy profile as well as it not really helping my pain in a substantial manner. Lyrica for many just happens to be a med that makes one very sleepy. If it is helping substantially, then you really have to weigh out the benefits vs. the risks, and if it's worth it. If it is worth it, then I would suggest taking a stimulant such as Nuvigil to help out with the day time sleepiness.
Good luck!
Jeff K
12 Mar 2011
I take Nuvigil in the mornings to stay alert--but be aware that it is VERY expensive! I take Soma at night to relax super tight muscles and for chronic pain--and it has a nice side effect of LETTING me sleep--but I wake up without a drugged feeling.
Hope this helps! Mary
28 Mar 2011
I tried Lyrica for Fibromyalgia (FM), and it did no good although it made me feel more fatigued and sleepier than I already felt from the FM.
I find that 500 mg. of prescription Naproxin (aka Aleve) is more effective than many of the other pain relievers, and with fewer side effects.
3 Sep 2011
Sorry to hear that your wife is having some trouble, I took this medication for about 4 months, and I will tell you if I had to give anyone any advice about this medication I would tell you to get her away from the medication. That is one of the side effects, but it should not be so severe, and it should go away within a cpl of days.. What dosage is she on? I think that this medication should be removed from a list of perscribed medications. I have been off Lyrica now for about a month and half and I am still suffering from it. The side effects that this medication can give you are not written on the little pamplet that the pharmacy gives you.. And in the past cpl months I have been suffering to the point of almost losing my job, I stopped living my life, I hid in a room for almost two weeks, it caused severe anxiety for me and many other side effects. Since then I have found two great doctors I have to see, one is family dr the other is a psych dr.
3 Sep 2011
I had a horrible experience with Lyrica. Any time I see commercials for the drug it really ticks me off because they are so misleading. For the 1st 2 weeks on the med I felt like I had my life back from the unrelenting pain of fibromyalgia. Unfortunately, after that first 2 weeks its all a blur. I think I stayed on it for about 4 months and by the time I finally realized what the drug was doing, I was scared to death that the horrendous side-effects would never go away. And it did take awhile for the med to get out of my system. Can you say dumbed-down??? I was totally out of it while on Lyrica. I became a lethargic walking zombie. Many, many times I would set an alarm to wake up at 8am, but then I would wake up (kinda wake up, I tell ya I was super foggy all the time) around 11am or 1pm and have no recollection of the alarm going off or my husband shaking me and yelling at me to get up. I just could not wake up.
Just been to my docs trying to sort out the tiredness, balance issues I've been blaming a different drug, I was reluctant to go on lyrica three years ago I've been suffering memory loss, and increasing balance issues the doc has just told me to up the lyrica and if things get worse we would then know what it was ... Think I'll wait till nov 5th and the neurologist now though this is the one put me on the dam things
Only thing is I live alone and I am scared really
The worst thing is I saw the letter at my docs from the neurologist it say "I will follow xxxxxxx up in three months". That was three years ago that was never followed up, I got a phone call telling me that the neurologist was ill and the appointment would be rescheduled. Don't you love the NHS in the UK
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hi i also had problem with lyrica and nearly got myself run over because i was in such a daze, and i weened off over a month and now that was 3 years ago i still have nerve pain , burning, electric each day but do not know of a solution drug ? most drugs come with some problems we can only try them best wishes john