Restless Legs Syndrome (RLS) Discussion Board

Thinking of asking for a prescription to give it a try again. The company that makes it has a "$25 co-pay" program where they give you a card and at participating pharmacies you get a huge discount up to X amount per year.

Anyone here used Lyrica on its own?

I've never used Lyrica but I'm sure someone will be along before too long.

I was on Lyrica for a short time.
Mild cases may respond to 50-75mg, once per evening. Over here doctors will usually go up to 450mg per day (maybe 150-150-150 or 100-150-200), but dosage should be increased slowly because they are severe side effects, including nausea, dizzyness, weight gain and depression. Most side effect will go away after a few weeks, but some may persist (especially the weight gain). You may also get addicted to it after some time.

For me, I found it not very efficient for my WED, and since I experienced depression (along with most of the other side effects) I quit it after a short time.

Yeah, I figured it was gonna be something like that.... ###### gov't scaring doctors into not prescribing sh**, even if its the other thing that actually worked

I took Lyrica with methadone. The Lyrica would allow me to become sleepy because methadone tended to make me hyper-alert. Lyrica alone did not help my RLS at all, but then I have some really severe RLS. I am now taking Suboxone which also makes me hyper so I take gabapentin which allows me to sleep. This is just my experience, Lyrica may work for you. I hope it does.

Neco wrote:Yeah, I figured it was gonna be something like that.... ###### gov't scaring doctors into not prescribing sh**, even if its the other thing that actually worked

WED medication work different for each of us. Until you give it a try, you never know if it works well or not...

I take Lyrica by itself - 75 mg. I definitely do NOT have a mild case of WED but I am extremely sensitive to meds so I tend to under-dose to minimize side effects.

I think it's worth a try. My doctor had me start at 25 mg and then add another 25 mg every two or three days until I got to 100 mg. I found that it made me so groggy the next day that I had to back off and take at least a week before increasing the dose to give my body a chance to adjust to it.

Would you class it as actually effective at relieving daytime/nighttime symptoms?

Do you take it just once a day, or in several doses?

Yes, it works well for me but I responded well to gabapentin. They are very similar drugs except Lyrica is "cleaner" in terms of how it works in your body so you have fewer side effects.

My symptoms start at around 5 p.m. or so, so I just take one dose in the evening. The WED subsides for me at around 6 a.m. and the Lyrica relieves the symptoms in-between those times quite well. I'm sure you could divide the dose so that you took some in the evening and some in the morning if you needed all-day coverage.

I'm not sure what insurance you have, but since you're nearby I would highly recommend Dr. Ruth Benca with Wisconsin Sleep (UW) or Dr. Michael Ishii with Dean Sun Prairie. Both are top-notch doctors who are compassionate and have a good understanding of how people with WED suffer and how best to treat them.

Yeah, no insurance as of yet. But will keep them in mind if I get some.

I'm sorry you don't have insurance right now. That really stinks.