What helps you other than Neurontin?

[melo1224]

I recently had to come off of Neurontin due to side effects. It really did help control my pain so now I'm searching for another option. Can you give me some ideas?

One of my doctors recently told me they are now using the popular weightloss HCG shots to treat chronic pain. Seems they accidentally found that chronic pain patients were reporting big improvements in their pain while on the weightloss treatment. So have any of you tried HCG and did it help?

[Rena705]

I have been on Tegretol for many, many years (1993) for seizures and pain and have recently started on Gabapentin (about three months).  I am finding that I have a LOT of breakthrough pain on the Gabapentin and am curious as to whether I should increase my dosage. I hate the thought because I had terrible side effects from it but it is my last hope besides brain surgery.  I did stick it out though and it has helped a LOT now that I am leveled off at a certain dose but again, it's the breakthrough pain that is driving me crazy.

Lyrica is a funny drug as it doesn't affect a lot of people with horrible side effects and they get awesome results from it.  My hubby is on 75mg twice a day and he is taking Cymbalta (antidepressant) with it and has had good results.  I had a bout with Lyrica but it was because my bone head neuro that i had over dosed me.  Generally an antidepressant is prescribed with it as it seems to help the Lyrica work better for some reason.

I am on Tegretol, Gabapentin, Citalopram, Amytriptyline for my MS Pain.  It has taken a long, long time for us to find a combination that works.  

Please don't be afraid of trying Lyrica though as we really should try everything available and sometimes that means dealing with awful side effects until our bodies get used to it.  Start at a low doseage like 75mg daily and slowly work your way up to whatever the doc prescribes.  When you slowly work your way up to the desired dose you are letting the drug build up in your body and once you have reached the desired dose you should feel a lot better.  I have yet to find anything that works to give us that "instant gratification" that we are always looking for.  Be patient and don't be afraid of a med unless your doc tells you to be.  Hope you get some relief soon and can find the drug that works for you but as I said, it takes time and patience and often a few days here and there in bed to get there. Best of luck!

Hugs,
Rena

[fortywhat2]

Hi,
I am on Lyrica 300mg twice a day and Celebrex 200mg twice a day.  I have both fibromyalgia and PPMS... I'm not sure which causes the pain but the combination of these 2 medications helps me a lot... I also have osteoarthritis which I think is the reasoning for the celebrex.  Good Luck
Debbie

[maestro1959]

If the tremors continue, you may want to consider the idea that they were not caused by the Gabapentin.  Then the option would again be open for you to use the medication, especially since you seemed to find relief from it.

...Just a thought.

Beth

[melo1224]

The Commerical for Lyrica alone is terrifying with all the disclaimers and I've heard some bad things from other people.. I'm one of those people who always seems to have the worst case scenario happen so I just assume the worst and have never felt good about trying it. I don't have any great reason just that feeling you get.

I may give it a whirl..at first I was resistant b/c it was soo new,, but now it's been out a while.......I just wondered what all similar drugs others have tried and their experience...

I love neurontin but I started having major tremors which the doctor thought could be a side effect of the drug. So far I'm 5 days with no dose of gabapentin and I'm still having leg tremors... It may be just another symptom of whatever is wrong with me and if it doesn't resolve then I can go back on gabapentin. Just trying to rule it out as a possibly for this new issue.

[kwarendorf]

I'm also curious about your fear of Lyrica relative to your willingness to inject yourself with hCG.

[torikat32]

Hi I been on lyrica for about 5 years now for neuropathy and nerve pain. I too had a reaction to gabapentin . The lyrica has been a god send the pain in my legs was a constant 8-10 on the pain scale the only side effect I had has been weight gain but I rather have that than pain.my body is building up a resistance to the med now but until The pain becomes a constant reminder I will stick with it I dont know what else is out there for me to try. May I ask why you are terrified of it?

Kat

[melo1224]

I've been terrified of Lyrica for some reason so I'm resistant to trying it. I hope we get some input on this as well...My doc prescribed a bottle of the HCG so I can do home injections but I haven't rec'd it yet. If I get positive results I will post again

[HVAC]

Everyone is different I go to a pain clinic. My MS Specialist suggested it. The first pain clinic was in a hospital and I did not like it. Another doctor got me in a private clinic which is so small it is hard to get in.

I was on trileptal and depakote and butrans and oxycotin and baclofen and xanaflex and fentanyl. Not all at once. They suggested botox too. It is sometimes trying a lot of thgings. My medicine cabinet is full of things I have tried. I react strongly to medication.

Alex

[figuerpa]

I haven't tried the HCG, for me when I stopped neurontin I went on lyrica and it helped a lot, then I started having some side affects and dr took me off.

Hope to hear some more input on this! Good luck with finding something that helps.

Paula