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How long does it take for Lyrica to start working?

Posted: Mon Aug 06, 2018 8:45 pm
by curqlink
I have been trying Gabapentin for a couple weeks and can't tell any difference so i talked my Dr into giving me Lyrica to try. Well the nurse gave me a coupon for a free 7 day supply and i thought i would just try it for 7 days and see if it works. But when i went to the pharmacy to get it the pharmacist told me that it took longer than 7 days to see if it was going to work. Just wondered what others have found from their experiences with it?

Re: How long does it take for Lyrica to start working?

Posted: Tue Aug 07, 2018 12:18 am
by stjohnh
I'm not sure how long it takes Lyrica at to work in restless leg syndrome. It does take longer to work for diabetic neuropathy than a week or so but Restless Leg Syndrome is a completely different illness.

If you had no effect from trying the Gabapentin, including no side effects, it almost certainly means that you require a higher dose. Dosing of Gabapentin is different than most medicines in that the dosage range is very large. Some people require just small doses and other people requiring much greater doses.

Re: How long does it take for Lyrica to start working?

Posted: Tue Aug 07, 2018 12:34 am
by curqlink
The first time i took Gabapentin i felt horrible,so i stopped taking it. But i got so desperate when i went cold turkey off ropinirole i decided to give it another try. The 100 mg. capsules had no effect so i tried 200. Still no effect. Maybe i should try a higher dose?

Re: How long does it take for Lyrica to start working?

Posted: Tue Aug 07, 2018 2:00 am
by badnights
I was taking 1800 mg gabapentin and 150 mg codeine and it wasn't controlling my symptoms. The recommended daily dose of gabapentin for RLS/WED is 1800 mg according to Lee et al 2013 (the little Blue book, 2nd edition) or 3600 mg according to the RLS Foundation's medical bulletin of 2017. So you have a long ways to go before you run into the upper end of the recommended dosing.

Re: How long does it take for Lyrica to start working?

Posted: Tue Aug 07, 2018 3:03 am
by curqlink
Wow..i had no clue you could take that high a dose. Obviously my Dr didn't either. He only gave me 25mg. of Lyrica.

Re: How long does it take for Lyrica to start working?

Posted: Tue Aug 07, 2018 6:20 pm
by yawny
As far as side effects and increasing doses of Gabapentin...when I first started taking Gabapentin and was ramping up, I got to 300mg and the next day felt so very drugged all day so I figured 200mg was my max. 200mg definitely helped so I stayed at that dose. I asked my doctor if there were any options for the week before my magic lady time because it is always so challenging and my doctor suggested I increase Gabapentin by 100mg to see if it helps. I passed on the advice for some time, maybe a year, but got desperate and added in another 100mg. I had no side effects and it really helps. I’m guessing it just took my body some time to acclimate to the medication.

Re: How long does it take for Lyrica to start working?

Posted: Tue Aug 07, 2018 8:04 pm
by curqlink
Makes sense. I had to pressure him to give me Lyrica to try. So i will give it a good try before i ask him to switch back to Gabapentin. I took one 25mg capsule last night and it did nothing. So i took another and it seemed to help. So(fingers crossed) maybe its going to do some good. He told me that Lyrica is stronger. So it takes a smaller dose than Gabapentin.

Re: How long does it take for Lyrica to start working?

Posted: Wed Aug 08, 2018 7:33 pm
by curqlink
It seems Lyrica starts having an effect on rls symtoms rather quickly. I took 50 mg last night and i could tell when it started working. Made me feel kinda drugged but it helped calm my legs and arms. I still can't seem to be able to get to sleep without adding at least 50mg tramadol, 7.5 mg of hydrocodone and THC to counteract the alerting i always get from opioids. So it seems i'm either going to have to add back a small dose of ropinirole or keep taking something stronger than tramadol or kratom. And my Dr has made it pretty clear he won't give me anything stronger. It worries me to go back on a DA after the hell i had to go thru to get off it. But i don't see that i have a choice.

Re: How long does it take for Lyrica to start working?

Posted: Thu Aug 09, 2018 1:17 pm
by stjohnh
curqlink wrote:...It worries me to go back on a DA after the hell i had to go thru to get off it...


When I restarted a small dose of pramipexole, I felt pretty much the same. However, I have now been on a stable tiny dose (as part of my multiple medication RLS treatment) nearly a year and have had no signs of re-augmentation.

Re: How long does it take for Lyrica to start working?

Posted: Thu Aug 09, 2018 4:50 pm
by curqlink
Yea..i'm gona wait one more week to add it back at a small dose. Hopefully it works and i can get off hydrocodone and THC. I don't qualify in my state for MMJ. So i have to get it the old fashioned way. Which i don't really care to do after getting permanent lung damage from a respiratory infection a few years back.

Re: How long does it take for Lyrica to start working?

Posted: Mon Aug 13, 2018 4:01 pm
by mutsy67
I couldn't tolerate the foggy brain feeling from Lyrica, i couldn't even safely drive while taking it. Gabapentin worked well but the day time sleepiness was difficult to deal with while I was adjusting to it - but it did go away after a few weeks. I believe I was taking 1800 mgs. Because I found the timing of gabapentin so hard to get right (it didn't work well for me to stop symptoms - I had to take it before symptoms started or I was screwed for the night) I eventually switched to Horizant, Flexiril, oxycodone, and Requip.

Best of luck to you!

(And yes, the dosage of Lyrica is much smaller than that of Gabapentin. Dosages really don't compare across meds. For example the Requip dose is 1 mg.)

Re: How long does it take for Lyrica to start working?

Posted: Mon Aug 13, 2018 8:16 pm
by ViewsAskew
curqlink wrote:Yea..i'm gona wait one more week to add it back at a small dose. Hopefully it works and i can get off hydrocodone and THC. I don't qualify in my state for MMJ. So i have to get it the old fashioned way. Which i don't really care to do after getting permanent lung damage from a respiratory infection a few years back.


If you are not too far from a state where it is legal - or can afford to travel to one - you could buy things there. Before I lived in a state where it is legal, I did that.

Re: How long does it take for Lyrica to start working?

Posted: Tue Aug 14, 2018 2:54 am
by curqlink
I''m in Illinois. Its a little ways to Colorado. But not too bad. Some people think Illinois is close to legalizing it for recreational use. Hope so. I'd much rather use the edibles. Its hard to get the correct dose smoking it. If i don't get enough.. it does nothing. If i get too much it keeps me awake as well.

Re: How long does it take for Lyrica to start working?

Posted: Wed Aug 15, 2018 6:50 am
by ViewsAskew
curqlink wrote:I''m in Illinois. Its a little ways to Colorado. But not too bad. Some people think Illinois is close to legalizing it for recreational use. Hope so. I'd much rather use the edibles. Its hard to get the correct dose smoking it. If i don't get enough.. it does nothing. If i get too much it keeps me awake as well.


I was in Illinois before - now in California. I have a friend in CO and I also saw Dr B in California, so between the two, I could get MJ in various forms and take it home. But, I was lucky enough to be able to fly to both places - some people cannot.

Interesting that it sounds as if IL will legalize. The medicinal structure they have prevents many from qualifying, sadly.

Re: How long does it take for Lyrica to start working?

Posted: Sun Aug 19, 2018 5:39 am
by curqlink
Has anyone had issues with developing a tolerance quickly with lyrica or gabapentin? My dr gave me 50mg dose of lyrica. The first couple times i took it..it seemed to help make me sleepy. Then it just stopped working so i increased it to taking 2 capsules. Again..it worked a couple times and stopped. I'm not sure if i should keep increasing it or not. I know someone that takes it and they have been on the same dose of 100 mg. for years and they have never had to increase it. But they are taking it for fibro..not rls. Not sure if the dose is the same for both.