Aa
The medicine is not working!!!
I have been living with fibro for almost 10 yrs. I am taking lortabs and amitryptiline. I still am in pain and savella made me crazy!! I don't know what to do, or what will work. I don't have insurance and lyrica costs so much. What are you all prescribed and does it work?
i take norco--i think it is the same thing as lortabs--i just know they call it hydrocodone10/325. i also take carisoprodol with it---generic for soma. i looked up how soma works and learned that even though it is called a muscle relaxant, it does not work on your muscles, it works on your central nervous system and alters the way you percieve pain---(it helps my anxiety and depression, too, somewhat) i also take half of a caffeine pill with my pain meds---for some reason it helps the pain meds work better. i tried to drop the caffein because it aggravates the reflux i have---but the pain meds did not work as well.
i tried cymbalta----with no help. lyrica was too expensive, so they gave me neurontin because it was supposed to be the closest thing to lyrica---it just put me to sleep.
i actually get some help from savella---but i can't afford it. when i take it, i often have 1/2 -1 of each of my pain meds left at the end of the day---i'm allowed 4 a day each of norco and soma.
i also take baclofen at night to help me sleep. it is supposed to work on the GABA in your brain---but i don't know what GABA is--but it is something that is supposed to help with fibro. i had always heaard that xyrem was the best thing for sleep for fibro, but it is really hard to get---then i read that if you can't get xyrem, baclofen is the next best thing.
i still don't sleep fantastic, i wake up way too early, but i don't wake up feeling like i have been run over by a truck anymore, either, except on a rare occasion.
i also take vyvanse, which is an add medication. it has done wonders for me as far as my energy goes. not that i have tons of energy, but without it, i pretty much just crash and fall asleep on the couch.
i tried cymbalta----with no help. lyrica was too expensive, so they gave me neurontin because it was supposed to be the closest thing to lyrica---it just put me to sleep.
i actually get some help from savella---but i can't afford it. when i take it, i often have 1/2 -1 of each of my pain meds left at the end of the day---i'm allowed 4 a day each of norco and soma.
i also take baclofen at night to help me sleep. it is supposed to work on the GABA in your brain---but i don't know what GABA is--but it is something that is supposed to help with fibro. i had always heaard that xyrem was the best thing for sleep for fibro, but it is really hard to get---then i read that if you can't get xyrem, baclofen is the next best thing.
i still don't sleep fantastic, i wake up way too early, but i don't wake up feeling like i have been run over by a truck anymore, either, except on a rare occasion.
i also take vyvanse, which is an add medication. it has done wonders for me as far as my energy goes. not that i have tons of energy, but without it, i pretty much just crash and fall asleep on the couch.
I'm sorry you're having trouble with the fibro and your current meds. I've also suffered with fibro for about 12 years now and have tried many, many meds. Lyrica worked well for me for a while and then stopped working at the dose I was on - when my doc increased my dose, I began having horrible side effects from it - weight gain, dizziness, depression (the depressioin I had never had before and have never had since getting off the Lyrica), so I had to stop taking it. I also tried both Cymbalta and Savella but was unable to tolerate either one of them. I've also tried many of the SSRIs that are sometimes prescribed for fibro treatment and couldn't handle them either (I apparently am very sensitive to that type of med and they make me EXTREMELY hyper and actually increase my pain a LOT)
I currently take hydrocodone for pain and ambien for sleep. A while back I was having trouble with the Ambien not working and my doctor tried me on trazodone, but once again, I reacted badly to it and rather than it helping me sleep, it made me hyper and I was not able to sleep for 2 1/2 days while taking it!
If you're not currently taking anything to help you sleep, you may want to ask your doctor about the possibility of tryin gsomething. I personally know that when I am not sleeping well, my pain is greatly increased. But it can be a vicious circle - we aren't sleeping well because we are in pain and we are in more pain becuase we aren't sleeping well. Do you notice that if you've had a hard time sleeping the night before that the next day you're hurting worse?
At any rate, if your current meds are not helping, I would definitely suggest talking to your doctor and letting them know - it could be that you may need an increase in dose, at least temporarily, until things settle down some. Or perhaps a change in pain meds, especially if you've been taking the hydrocodone for several years.
Best of luck and please let us know how you're doing.
I currently take hydrocodone for pain and ambien for sleep. A while back I was having trouble with the Ambien not working and my doctor tried me on trazodone, but once again, I reacted badly to it and rather than it helping me sleep, it made me hyper and I was not able to sleep for 2 1/2 days while taking it!
If you're not currently taking anything to help you sleep, you may want to ask your doctor about the possibility of tryin gsomething. I personally know that when I am not sleeping well, my pain is greatly increased. But it can be a vicious circle - we aren't sleeping well because we are in pain and we are in more pain becuase we aren't sleeping well. Do you notice that if you've had a hard time sleeping the night before that the next day you're hurting worse?
At any rate, if your current meds are not helping, I would definitely suggest talking to your doctor and letting them know - it could be that you may need an increase in dose, at least temporarily, until things settle down some. Or perhaps a change in pain meds, especially if you've been taking the hydrocodone for several years.
Best of luck and please let us know how you're doing.
Effexor worked for me greatly on every level. Lyrica is horrible, it gave me tremors all over & i quit only in one month. Hope you feel better.
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