Lyrica and Cognitive Problems

[WannaKnow256]

What kinds of cognitive problems do you feel were attirbited to Lyrica?  When I read anothers post, I wondered if that were happening to me, until I realize how much stress I have been under lately.  Sigh and smile,,,,

I guess I will have to see how much I improve once I sweep the stress out of the door... LOL

[deedee332]

The poker being shot into the knees on both sides is the the problem that I had when I started the Lyrica and I haven't taken lyrica since Oct. 08, the pain is still with me.  As far as the other side effects, I had blurred vision, forgetting things a lot, especially when I read my bible.  I would read one sentence and forget what I read that quickly.  Although I had many of the side effects that came along with the Lyrica the forgetting what I read bothered me the most and the fact that I didn't get any relief at all.

[WannaKnow256]

OUCH!  That made me wince to read it!  It may be the Fibro, but I would let the doctors look into it further, looking for inflamation in the tendons, muscles, etc. with the MRI and blood testing.  I have similar pain but it feels like a poker being shot into the bone (to a lesser degree, but that's the only way I can describe it).  I get the same as the following:

,,,,,,with great difficulty walking, bending the knees, and sometimes even while just sitting the pain just aches and sometimes stabs, with concurrent muscle cramping in the calves.

I have supplemented by medicationsand got additional relief by making an oil of olive oil (one cup) and mixing in 1/2 tsp. of ground cayenne.  This I used warmed, and it doesn't seem to bother me.  I don't have any food allergies, though.  I don't don't what is causing your pain, of course, but I think I'd let the doctors test away specifically if the same type of pain is consistant.  I sure hope you get reliief, and some answers.   OUCH!

Feel better, Be Blessed
WannaKnow

[Phoebs]

I tried Lyrica too and at first it made me feel "high" but when I changed the time I took it - not at the same time as my pain medications - it helped for about a week and then I started having problems seeing and hallucinations. Obviously I no longer take Lyrica which is too bad since it DID seem to relieve some of the pain but the side effects were way more serious. I do have a question for you and anyone else out there regarding: sudden onset knee pain.

Both of my knees feel as if someone is rubbing the kneecap with broken glass; the pain when walking or moving is horrible and it seems to travel down my calves, eventually causing my calf muscles to knot up. (I do have severe arthritis, have been diagnosed with fibromyalgia and have other medical issues too numerous to mention here.) Anyway, I saw my orthopedic doctor for the right knee initially and altho the x-ray showed the expected osteoarthritis, it wasn't severe enough to be the cause of the pain (I've had both hips replaced so I know the difference in the feeling). An MRI showed a small tear of the medial meniscus for which I am opting for physical therapy rather than surgery right now. The left knee had just an x-ray but again, just showed the expected arthritis.

What I feel now and for the last month is extreme pain on both knee cap area - like crawling on broken glass - with great difficulty walking, bending the knees, and sometimes even while just sitting the pain just aches and sometimes stabs, with concurrent muscle cramping in the calves. This week my orthopedic is having me try using lidocaine patches on both knees and he started me on Neurotin - building up the doage over 3 weeks. He thinks it sounds like nerve pain.  It is too early to tell if this treatment will work, and I will also be discussing this with my pain specialist - I already take narcotic prescription pain pills for the severe degenerative facet disease in my back as well as other areas of my body, but they haven't seemed to help this new knee pain. Has anyone out there ever experienced anything like this? I am not diabetic and did not have a related injury? It is very frustrating, obviously very painful and limiting, and I really want to know what is going on. If anyone has an idea, I'd love to hear it. Thanks.  

[wonko]

While I was undiagnosed, I was on Neurontin for a couple of months and then tried Lyrica.  I do think Lyrica relieved more pain, but it did cause me more side effects and in the end, I was not happy with the balance of relief vs. complications.  

Lyrica made me feel more dizzy and confused.  For example, I would take my dose, and within minutes I wouldn't remember if I had taken it yet or not.  That made me uncomfortable.

I have since been diagnosed with Lyme and am not taking Neurontin or Lyrica for the time being, so that I can track how my symptoms are changing with treatment.  If I have residual symptoms after treatment, I'll probably go back to Neurontin.  It was a better fit for me.

There is a Health Page on the MS forum that I think has some good information about treating neuropathic pain:

http://www.medhelp.org/health_pages/Multiple%20Sclerosis/General-Principles-of-Treating-Neuropathic-Nerve-Pain/show/452?cid=36

[kiddthekatt]

Hi;
   Yes I still quilt, tho It takes me longer because my hands get so tired and ache so bad. I had to get me a big magnifying glass to thread the needles............lol But I do wat I have to, my grandson calls me Granny Grunt now...........the Brat!....:)

gh
Angel

[WannaKnow256]

Instead of Ultram ER, I use tramadol the generic Ultram.  It is not extended release, but if I take four per day, It does OK.  It is a lot less expensive than Ultram ER, just a little less convienet because you are taking more pills and need to do it as close to every six hours as feasible.  Ultram ER reacted with another med I was taking, causing what began to look like Seratonin Syndrome.

[WannaKnow256]

Are you still sewing since all of this happened?  I sewed alot and have not for five years.  I'm thinking it would help me to start...

[WannaKnow256]

My eyes blureed before Lyrica.  The headaches came after Lyrica.  My dizziness left with Lyrica.  The common denominator here is that I was taking Neurontin before changing to Lyrica.  I found that when I took Nerontin regularly I put on weight, but the pain and flu like symptoms decreased enough to notice the difference.  

Many people are helped by Neurontin which is in the same classification as Lyrica; primarily an anticonvulsant that is used for clalming, sedation in some peoples cases, or in our case it is used for decreasing nerve pain.

My eyes were so blurry at the onset of Fibro I feared I was going to loose my vision, or even that I may have been misdiagnosed and actually was sick with MS.

I do better now, but I still don't live as tidy as I did before; even as a shut in.  I make sure I get out for a short something at least once a month.   Oh, I digress so....

Thanks for answering.
Hugs

[kiddthekatt]

  Lyrica made me have horrible headaches, my eyes blurred really bad, and I was constantly dizzy. I called mt Rheumy and he had me stop taking it right then. That's when he put me on the Ultram ER. It upset me because I couldn't take, those dern things are expensive. Oh well, it's hit and miss until you find a combo that works.

gh
Angel