Anyone take Lyrica and have issues w/ exhaustion?

I have been taking Lyrica for about 2 - 2 1/2 months and it works very well for the muscle pain but I feel like it kicks my butt on being tired. I have to take it before 8 pm at night or I am exhausted all the next day and if I take it in the morning I am in a brain fog till about 2 in the afternoon.  I seriously feel like I could slide right off my office chair lay on the floor and sleep there. I take 300 mg at nigh it seems any less I have the pain and I have only worked up to 75 mg in the morning.

Any suggestions from anyone I would welcome or at least consider.

 

TY

Kristen

Hi there,
I know my rheumotologist prescribed Cymbalta for me because it helps with energy more so then Lyrica. The other option you can look into is adding a drug like Provigil or Elavil to your meds, they help with energy as well.

DId you have your blood levels checked? Low vitamin D can also cause excessive fatigue.

Best of luck!

Holy Cow!  300mg all at once ?

I take 150 mg in the daytime, and 150 at night, and Lyrica is the best thing that every happened to me for muscle pain!  Lyrica may not be right for you, even though it's supposed to be such a breakthrough for fibro.  Ask your dioctor about Provigil.  It really helps in terms of energy, and helping you stay awake, perhaps then you can do the 150/150 dosage without the side effects you're having now. 

I also have lupus (SLE)  and my rheumy prescribed Voltaren Gel for the pain in my knee joints ( will need knee replacements after my weight loss), and rubbing it in only once a day (script says *4* times) allows me to walk pain-free for the first time in years!  I still need my cane for balance, but the pain is gone!  I

I haven't had to take Provigil since I got about 45 pounds off (I've lost 91 total, and I'm 3 months out).  I'm assuming I've been getting more restorative sleep, since I've actually begun to have dreams at night again!   I'm not using my CPAP machine, either! 

Hi sweetie!

Lyrica does not cause exhaustion but a Chronic Fatigue syndrome does.  Have yourself checked for Mono or Epstein Barr Virus.  It could have reactivated - that's what happened to me.

Anyway, try changing the Lyrica protocol because it can make you sleepy. I take 100 mg in the morning and 200 at night.

Thank you for suggesting the Voltaren Gel  for knee pain. I will take it up with my othropedist. I'm seeing him on Thursday to take stiches out of my shoulder after a surgery.  I've got to recover before I start working on my WLS.

Thanks for listening.!

 

Hi!

No Mono or Epstein-Barr.  All of thgat checked first, before going for the other tests.

I was taking the Provigil not because of the tiredness from Lyrica, but because I did not have a CPAP, and I was nodding off at stop lights and while driving!

It was lack of restorative sleep, borne out by my sleep studies.

hi back

Nodding off while driving is a no-no!  too dangerous!

Is there any way you can get a CPAP machine?

I know all too well about being tired, I have EBV and a Chonic Fatigue syndrome.  Some days I am so tired I just sleep 12-14 hours and don't get much rest.

Be careful with Provigil. It is a MIGHTY drug but it has to be used with caution.  I take 1/2 the pill and only rarely.  One time I took the whole pill, I wrote checks my body couldn't cash. I went on a whole day snorkeling trip with dancing, swimming, laughing and more dancing.... I had a great time but the Fibro flare that followed from that evening for a week was no joke! The video looks great, though.. it doesn't show the after-math.

I still think your tiredness comes from lack of restorative sleep and not from Lyrica. If anything, Lyrica makes people sleep better!

Good luck!

LadyHawke
 

I have been taking Lyrica since it came out.  I am also a nurse.  My one suggestion is to spread the dose out more evenly through out the day.  This way your drug levels in your blood are more consistent.  I take mine every 8 hours.  I take 450mg a day.  As you space out your dose you won't get hit with one big dose that knocks you for a loop.   You will have better control of the side effects this way.  I would ask your doctor to put you on one standard dose 3 times a day.  Also then your body will adjust to the side effects and when a few weeks the tired feeling should go away. My side effect on this med was the weight gain--70lbs to be exact!!  It has helped my pain but devastated my weight control.  Good luck, let me know if you have any more questions.  SusieQ45

As with all meds, everyone responds differently. I have had severe pain in my feet and hands for years. It got to the point where I told my doctor if amputation would make the pain stop, please do it. He started taking me serious at that time and sent me out to a rheum. She did all the lab work, including a few my insurance would not cover. She said I was low on Vit D and gave me 50,000 units 3x/wk and when she rechecked in 3 months it was too high.
She said all my lab work came back normal and then poked at me and said "you have fibromyalgia."
Now, I am a nurse and I know that is an easy diagnosis just to get someone out of the office. (Please don't get upset. I understand the pain and what it feels like to have doctors look at you like you are from Mars, I get just as frustrated because there are just some syndromes that have no etiology)
She asked me what my worst problem was and I told her my feet. So she started me on Lyrica 75mg 2x/day. At first I thought it was a miracle drug. It did not take all the pain away, I still needed to take narcotics, but I could go to the store, cook dinner, take a shower and not be in agonizing pain.
For me it took about 3 months to get used to the drug. It made me so tired when I was driving one day that I can distinctly remember thinking "If I open my eyes I will be awake, or I can keep them closed and I will fall asleep". Over time this SE wore off. But I always had the problem that any rhythmic thing, like riding in a car or music would put me to sleep. Not just sleepy, but eyes heavy sleepy.
My really big problem  was it took away all sensation of sex. There were no "O"s to be had, so to say. That was really frustrating. So after 18 months I was again having so much pain in my feet again I did not want to increase my dose and go through the sleepy SE, I decided no sex was not a SE I was willing to put up with any longer.  The medication was not working well enough to put up with the side effect.
It has been 3 months since I stopped. I had to stop working because of the pain. So, being home I can put my feet up when I want to. I cannot bring myself to use the cart at wal-mart. So I keep my shopping trips short. I am hoping after I have surgery the weight loss will also free up some of the pain.
The "o"s returned by the end of the first month off the drug. My husband was happier then I was and he has made it his mission to 'bring me up to date.' LOL
Anyway that was my experience on Lyrica. I hope it helps you.

I have been taking Lyrica since it came out as well and have not had much problem. Of course I was always so tired anyway so I guess I'm the wrong person to ask.  I do have to take it early because it takes so long for me to fall asleep. My rheumatologist refused to prescribe provigil but placed me on Lexapro. Still tired....Oh Well. Thats why I can't wait to have surgery. The only thing that helps is being able to exercise.