I'm now 3 months post-op and have been taking Lyrica (100 mg, twice daily) for nerve pain, which I'm not sure I even have. My feet have been quite swollen ever since the surgery, but the surgeon's nurse tells me that edema is quite common for up to 5 months post-op and is nothing to worry about. I do worry about it though, and recently my lips have begun swelling also, so much that I look like I've had collagen injections! They've even started cracking and bleeding. The literature on Lyrica says this (swelling) can be a side effect.
I've tried several times to cut back to one capsule a day for a while and then stop altogether, but every time I do, something happens that I've never experienced in my life before now. I have strange feelings of anxiety/depression once I'm off Lyrica for a day or so. This is really weird because normally I'm an optimistic, "roll-with-the-punches" type of person, and these dark, unhappy feelings totally spook me. So each time I go back on it, and those feelings go away.
After talking to the nurse again this morning, she's phoning-in a prescription for a small dose of Lyrica (25 mg) so that, by various combinations I can slowly taper down over time to 75, then 50, then 25, then nothing. She says if I have a problem later with nerve pain, we can try gabapentin (Neurontin), but when I read about that, it also can cause the same side-effects.
What I'd like to know is other scoli patients' experiences with Lyrica: If you had problems with feet swelling, did it go away after stopping this medication? (I'm afraid that mine will become permanent and that I'll have "fat feet" forever.) Did anyone else have the anxiety/depression?
I'm sure this drug has helped many people, and I wonder if I'm the only one having problems with it. Will appreciate any help.
Anne (Peachy)
I've tried several times to cut back to one capsule a day for a while and then stop altogether, but every time I do, something happens that I've never experienced in my life before now. I have strange feelings of anxiety/depression once I'm off Lyrica for a day or so. This is really weird because normally I'm an optimistic, "roll-with-the-punches" type of person, and these dark, unhappy feelings totally spook me. So each time I go back on it, and those feelings go away.
After talking to the nurse again this morning, she's phoning-in a prescription for a small dose of Lyrica (25 mg) so that, by various combinations I can slowly taper down over time to 75, then 50, then 25, then nothing. She says if I have a problem later with nerve pain, we can try gabapentin (Neurontin), but when I read about that, it also can cause the same side-effects.
What I'd like to know is other scoli patients' experiences with Lyrica: If you had problems with feet swelling, did it go away after stopping this medication? (I'm afraid that mine will become permanent and that I'll have "fat feet" forever.) Did anyone else have the anxiety/depression?
I'm sure this drug has helped many people, and I wonder if I'm the only one having problems with it. Will appreciate any help.
Anne (Peachy)
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