Is weight gain inevitable on Lyrica?

Hi Anjelic. Weight gain or weight loss are a common side effect of taking Lyrica and similar medications. I was on Lyrica for 7-8 years and Cymbalta for 8-9 years. I’ve slowly tapered off Lyrica and took my last pill in June last year (2017). I’m slowly tapering off Cymbalta now. In the first 8 years I gained over 80 pounds. I went from a size 5 to a size 13. I was over 200 pounds and I’m only 5 feet tall. I was so miserable. I was always small; even after having my 5 children. I didn’t connect the weight gain with Lyrica and Cymbalta until I started researching about the medications and their side effects. I started reading about others having the same problem. I had many of the other side effects and some that are not even on the list. I have started to lose a bit of weight; but I’ve read that many don’t lose it until they are completely off the drug. I’m almost done taking Lyrica and I can’t wait to get ‘me’ back. It’s a long and very hard process; but I will get there. I’m in a couple of groups on Facebook and one is ‘Lyrica Survivors’. If you want to hear other people’s stories and need help it’s a great group of people. They have helped me very much. Between this group (Drugs.com) and the other group that I mentioned you should be able to find out all that you need. Please do all the research you can. I sure wish someone would have told me to. Take care and I wish you the best. Cindy