... still hurting, but they also feel tight or tense or I don't even know how to describe it. I feel almost hyper, but I can't concentrate on anything. My hands are swollen, I've been crying all morning, I can't sit still, and I think I'm having panic attacks. I've called my doctor but of course she hasn't called back yet. Is this normal? Will it go away as I adjust to the medication? I just want to not hurt, not feel like I'm losing it!
I am totally freaking out. I just started Lyrica last night for fibromyalgia. My arms and legs are?
Question posted by sm2 on 25 April 2012
Last updated on 12 April 2019
The information on this page reflects personal experiences shared by our community members. It is not reviewed for medical accuracy and should not replace professional medical advice.
7 Answers
Inactive
3 May 2012
sm2... How are you doing now?
sm2
3 May 2012
Pretty much back to normal, lol. In pain but not as nuts. :) Not taking the Lyrica anymore.
viviann80
3 May 2012
There has to be something else for you. I take Gabapentin for my fibro and I never had any side effects. Less pain too. Talk to your doctor about that med.
sm2
3 May 2012
I'm going back next week, and I'm going to ask about that. I'm pretty sure that's what my grandma takes for fibro. Thanks!
Inactive
1 May 2012
sm2, I am just wndering how you are doing? Are you still on the Lyrica, & if so how are you doing? Please let us know. Have been worried about you since you first said about the swelling. Please give us an update... Mary
sm2
1 May 2012
Sorry! My intention was to wait until the next pm dose and then take one a day, but I chickened out. I'm supposed to go back to the doctor in 2 weeks, and I really haven't decided if I'll try to take one a day or just not try it again.
sm2
1 May 2012
I feel like, kind of what you said, but if the side effects were that bad with just 2 doses, 1 a day might be pretty bad too!
Inactive
1 May 2012
I totally agree with you. I was prescribed 3 75mg a day, & dropped to just 2, but still had the swelling. Then my doctor wanted me to try 50mg pills, but still had the selling problems.There are other meds to help with your condition so why take a chance. Unless you have a seizure disorder I really don't think stopping it abruptly is going to cause a seizure or anything. It's too bad, because if can help with the fibro pain, but as I said there are others out there that help too... Mary
viviann80
26 April 2012
I'm just curious. Most people I know with Fibro take Gabapentin. Any body know about this medicine? That's what I take, I seem to do okay when I'm on it.
Inactive
26 April 2012
Yes, my hubby take 1200mg a day for his neuropathy, & fibromyalgia. I have a friend that takes it also for fibro pain. It is a sort of cousin to Lyrica, but doesn't seem to have as many side effects as the Lyrica does. I will give you a link to read about side effects. I have heard of people having some swelling with gabepentin, but nothing like Lyrica. They are both seizure drugs that seem to work on pain of fibromyalgia & neuropathy. Lyrica also gave me very blurry vision too. I tried gabepentin way back when, & it didn't help my pain that much, but we are talking aout nerve damage in my spine that it didn't help, & nothing, not even the narcotics are helping with that pain. The link is below. Hope this helps... Mary
https://www.drugs.com/gabapentin.html
Critter77
1 May 2012
I too have been prescribed gabapentin, to help with my nerve pain and cervical spine(neck) pain. To be honest my pain levels stayed 100% the same. Now they have me on Lyrica..I just started it today and took two doses of 50 mg each. It said to take 3 doses. I felt a little strange all day (not suicidal or strange like that) but my vision was strange, a tightness (more than usual) in my neck and chest. It has not helped with my pain at all! I'm not sure if two doses will help? I just want relief..I am so tired of all this, I was so hoping this Lyrica was going to provide me relief and take this burdon of neck pain off my shoulders! If anyone has info, please let me know.Thank you.
bamabelle913
12 April 2019
Yes my son is on 400mg 2x's a day and takes 600mg at bedtime, he was diagnosed with pre-b cell ALL Leukemia at the age of 2, he is currently 4 and is in remission but still in active treatment until summer of 2020, he doesn't have fibromyalgia but he does have neuropathy in his legs really bad caused by the chemo treatment Vincristine, they had put him on the gabapentin in the beginning when it was at it's worse, but my child has a super high tolerance when it comes to medicine, but i felt like that wasn't helping him so me and his team of oncologist decided to stop it, well on the past 6 to 8 months his legs are extremely hurting him, he's so restless i feel like they will need goop go up on it, but my reason for my post is i feel like the Gabba is fairly safe, they use it very regular in the childhood cancer community, but with that being said that it's not helping my son,
i feel like they need to come up with something that takes care of the pain like lyrica but with no weight gain, but safe and effective im not even sure they will ever exist... I hope everyone finds the right medicine and dosage for yourself and i hate it's taken me so long to respond...
Inactive
26 April 2012
Hi sm3, I just am now seeing your question, & am hoping your doctor has taken you off the Lyrica by now. I too took Lyrica for fibromyalgia pain since it was approved by the FDA for that kind of pain. It caused me many many problems also. For several years I thought my weight gain was from stopping smoking 8 years ago. I know I gained weight all over my body, It wasn't il this past Fall that I really noticed my ankles were badly swollen in particular. I had my annual heart checkup & had a stress test & echo cardiogram etc... I asked my heart dotor about taking a water pill because I thought the Lyrica helped my pain a lot, but was having problems with my ankles swelling. He told me absolutely NOT! Taking a water pill could kill me as I had very normal low blood pressure. It did apparently kill his partner for the same reason. I tried to just stick it out, & 2 months later wasn't feeling well at all all over.
Had a strange headache that wasn't normal. I decided I should check my blood pressure, & it was 190/100. Right to my doctor office the same day as I also have deep white matter vasculitis, & was a good candiddate for a stroke. He immediately stopped the Lyrica, & put me on furosemide for the blood pressure. I was already on a beta blocker for my heart. I lost 8 pounds of water weight in less than 2 days! Since that time, & quitting the Lyrica, I have lost now 22 pounds of water weight from taking Lyrica. I would suggest you get off of it immediately! My swelling came on more slowly, but as I stated I didn't know it was all water weight. It has a reputation for doing this & is quite dangerous if you have that side effect. Please don't take it! If you don't have blood pressure problems, Savella is another one for fibromyalgia that seems to have a good success rate. It's basically an antidepressant, but works really good. They tried me on a very low dose, but it increased my blood pressure too, so now can't take anything other than my oxycodone. I don't usually reccomend opiate for fibro pain, but I have other condtions that make it possible to take it for all of my pain. I loved the pain relief Lyrica gave me, but the side effects were just too dangerous. It took me awhile to adjust to a new pain level again, & will never be pain free, but there are other meds out there other than Lyrica. It just affects some people that way you are describing. If you have noticed the swelling that soon, you need to stop taking it immediately. Hope this helps... Mary
sm2
26 April 2012
Wow. Thanks for the info. She hasn't taken me off completely, but I'm thinking that I don't even want to try to decrease the dose. Yesterday was just really scary, and that was just after two doses. Thanks again!
Inactive
26 April 2012
Wow is right. If you have only been on it a couple of days, you should be ok to just stop it if you want to. The seizure warning is there, but I was on 75mg in the morning & at night, & was on more than that before, but couldn't hardley see because it made my vision so blurry. Others have done fine with it, but if you already have swelling, I am no doctor, but would hate to see what happened to me happen to someone else. I think the seizure warning is more for people prone to having seizures since it is a seizure drug to begin with. good luck to you... Mary
Inactive
26 April 2012
Sounds like you're having more serious side effects to Lyrica, I've tried it once and couldn't stand it! If you've only taken one dose and it's affecting you this badly I'd think you'd be better off not taking anymore until you talk to your doctor. Have you tried Cymbalta for firbo? I recently started it and found it to work good, took away 100% of my panic attacks! Had to stop for a few days since I had some nasty headaches from it, but hoping to try again tomorrow! Hope you feel better soon. Kim.
sm2
26 April 2012
I haven't tried Cymbalta. I'm not supposed to take it b/c of interactions with another med I'm on, and also I think it has sulfonomides and I'm really allergic to those. It seems like I can't take anything without having some sort of reaction! Thanks for your answer, and hope the Cymbalta works for you.
Inactive
26 April 2012
I'm the same way. Headaches are a more rare side effect with Cymbalta and I had one for the 18 days I was on it, I hoped they'd eventually just go away but instead they got worse. Hope you find something that works for you, let me known since I'll be looking for something else if I can't take Cymbalta.
Inactive
26 April 2012
Sorry, forgot to mention the sulfonomides. I just looked it up and shows it has sulfUR in it, not sulfA, which are different. Good thing since I'm also allergic to sulfa, not badly, just itching all over.
sm2
26 April 2012
I've found out the hard way that I seem to be allergic to anything with Sulf- to the point that I'm scared to take anything that has an SU in the name, lol. Last time my throat swelled almost shut.
Inactive
27 April 2012
Like how you put that... even SU- :) That's so scary about having your throat swell up like that. I've never had that happen so I can only imagine.
viviann80
25 April 2012
I never took Lyrica, and most likely never will!
I get totally freak out some days with the meds I'm on. Don't need another to make it worst.
Calling you doctor is the best thing you can do. It just may not the right med for you. Wish I could be there to calm you down. I know the feeling all so well.
sm2
26 April 2012
Thanks. I talked to my doctor and she suggested just taking it once a day instead of twice and see how that goes. But I'm a little scared to take it again. :)
viviann80
26 April 2012
I'd be scaired too! If you do take one, don't make any big plans for that day.
Patiently Waiting
25 April 2012
Hi. I have never taken that medication but you could probably Google search side effects for Lyrica and read about it or call your pharmacy. If indeed you are panicking I can relate as I have them pretty regular. Baths by yourself to calm, watching tv, take a drive, call a friend.. call your doctor back if its that bad and try to relax.
If you can or have a close friend or relative nearby and you are scared ask them to come and sit with you.
sm2
25 April 2012
Thanks. I'm def. going to take your advice - I need to calm DOWN. I have searched and everything I'm experiencing is a side effect of the Lyrica. What I want to know is, do I just bear with it and keep taking it and these side effects will go away, or do I give up on it already?
Patiently Waiting
25 April 2012
Well that's truly a decision you and your doc must make. Call your doctor either way, they may ask that you give 1 more day before giving up.. some say that meds like these can take days even weeks for full effect.
LizRansom
21 Jan 2018
You are not alone.I started Lyrica a week ago and it makes me very shaky and is ramping up my anxiety. I’m hoping this will pass as I get used to it. I feel like I’m in a fog too and don’t feel comfortable driving on it. I have severe sciatica and I’m willing to stick it out if it starts helping.
sm2
23 Jan 2018
Hi Liz,
I ended up not being able to tolerate the Lyrica, like so many other meds. Annnnd, my memory is so bad I can't even remember what you commented and it's only showing the first comment, so this was pretty pointless, lol. I'm sorry. Good luck with whatever you end up doing.
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Further information
- Lyrica uses and safety info
- Lyrica prescribing info & package insert (for Health Professionals)
- Side effects of Lyrica (detailed)
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