I was prescribed Pregabalin (as lyrica is called in the UK) nearly two months ago for anxiety, but because I have hypermobility syndrome and autonomic nervous system problems the possibility of pain reduction made it sound very appealing. However, whilst it was amazing for about three weeks, within days of increasing from 225mg a day to 300mg I lost control of my bladder three times in a week, then started to experience pain and soreness in the tendons of my feet, then my elbows, and two weeks ago (when I stopped talking it) my pinky and ring fingers on one hand have gone almost completely numb.
It's possibly just coincidence because hypermobility syndrome is a damn strange condition which can manifest in endless ways, but having suffered urinary urgency and frequency my entire life and having not lost control of my bladder since I was in primary school, to lose control three times in the week I upped the dose - as instructed by my psychiatrist - that in itself is enough to make me stop taking it.
It's a serious annoyance because it was working great for my anxiety, but apart from peeing my pants, I currently can't play piano or guitar and am making untold errors as I type because I can't tell what my left little finger is doing - and as I'm a writer by trade and music is my greatest passion after writing, I'm seriously vexed. If it lasts more than a few months and causality can be established I will think about suing the manufacturer because the more I read the more I see horror stories about this drug.
Lyrica is a band aid for doctors. They don't want to help you find the underlying cause. I don't know if the numbing hands is a side effect of Lyrica. I can tell you that I had this and it got better when I got on a candida diet and started taking certain supplements. No drugs doctors ever gave me fixed this problem. Only supplements and a low sugar diet did this.