Lyrica Is Dangerous / Class Action Suit Anyone?
(Newest replies first)

Updated

I have crps in both hands from carpal tunnel release...after several months, I was worse, not better. My workmens comp dr. said " You will have chronic pain the rest of your life and you will just have to learn to live with it"...oh thanks doc for screwing my hands up, not to mention how it has drastically has changed my life and limitations. I have been seeing a pain specialist ever since and that was back in 2001 when I had the release. I was on lyrica for the last 6 years, I have been off of it for three months. Now that I think back to when my severe depression started was not long since I started taking it. I don't know how many times I said I hate my life and I wish I was dead, I had thoughts of taking all my prescriptions and going to sleep for good! By the grace of god, I had my four nephews to take care of and I truly believe they saved my life! My pain management N.P wanted to keep a close eye on me when I started taking it, so I went from going every six months to every three months and when my depression got worse every two months...nothing was done, I was on 600 mg. a day, why didn't she try to lower my dose? I complained about the swelling and she said she didn't have any other patients complain, I was taking lyrica for the pain in my hands and the whole time it was making them worse! There were many time I would be driving and make a turn and not know where I was...one day I couldn't remember my address, I couldn't remember conversations I had with my boys, I had no brain! When I came off lyrica and I did it slowly...it was one of the hardest things I have ever done. Hot, cold, night sweats, nauseous...I was at the grocery store and literally felt like a monster coming out of me, thank god I am off lyrica! My lawyer is checking on a class action lawsuit, all of us that has had a horrible experience with lyrica, we all need to come together and they need to pay for putting this horrible drug on the market!

318 Replies (16 Pages)

Page:1Next PageLast Page
Earliest Newest Votes
318

Re: Mary (# 7) Expand Referenced Message

Don't forget me either! It's been a year and a half fighting these long term issues caused from taking Lyrica.

Was this helpful? 0
317

I have been on it for years yes it helps nerve pain but I have totally lost my brain. Totally. I can’t remember my short term memory is gone totally. I am 58 years old but feel like I am 108 years old. I feel totally useless I felt like I needed to be put in nursing home. Makes my sisters worried and me too

Was this helpful? 1
316

Not only did I experience all of what most of you have documented about Lyrica but my six years on that damn drug has also left me with what appears to be permanent memory issues. I can't even remember a three digit lock combination. It took me at least twenty times using it to remember a four digit door entry combination and I was a trial lawyer for God's sake. My mind was razor sharp. There were very few people who could match me in a battle of wits. I vaguely also now remember also having had a feeling of a Lyrica fog so to speak where in my case it was like wearing a helmet on my head at all times until I was finally weaned off it and then like magic this "feeling" on my head was gone and so were most of the greatest moments of depression I had been having. Don't get me wrong, having CRPS is no walk in the park but now having lost 65 pounds and getting off all meds besides Advil I feel better than I have in many years. As for your lawyer "looking for class actions" tell him to contact me about it. I don't know why there has to be an existing class action in order for us to have cases to bring to light against Pfzer. Why can't we individually sue these bastards?

Was this helpful? 1
315

Re: Jill (# 309) Expand Referenced Message

When I told my doc that lyrica was causing my memory loss, babbling when talking and blackouts he told me I was a smart lady. No conversation at all.

Was this helpful? 0
314

Re: Cheryl (# 313) Expand Referenced Message

I was prescribed Lyrica (off-label use) for Fibromyalgia 2011. Well, my pain was lessened, but the side effects were my hair was falling out in clumps, my teeth were all loose. I just pureed my food do I would need to chew anything. My feet swelled, and at the time I was employed and a 4th year college student with just 3 class to go, then I took Lyrica and no more short term memory! I realized within a month that this wasn't a side effect, and that my brain has been permanently changed. I couldn't to the college level work and was fired for my job shortly thereafter. My hair and teeth are healthy again, but I've spent thousands on functional medicine doctor's because medications from the doctor just dont work. I have also developed IBS. Even the nerves in my bowels are shot!

Was this helpful? 1
313

Re: Jill (# 312) Expand Referenced Message

I was on lyrica for 5 years my short term memory is gone forever. I would say get off that junk asap

Was this helpful? 3
312

Re: Kathy C (# 310) Expand Referenced Message

I'm so sorry Kathy C. I can relate. I have been on Lyrica over 4 years, almost 5. I have been tapering off for 8 months of hell. I've been to ER and Urgent Care 3x, breathing problems, chest pains, terrible headaches and migraines, nausea and horrible pain everywhere. Plus I cannot remember anything anymore and I have tinnitus and horrid ear pain. I cannot wait to be done and start healing. I hope I will heal.

Was this helpful? 1
311

Thank you for your share. I was on Lyrica for approximate two years. I had cervical spine surgery. I try to get off of Lyrica cold turkey. That was a bad mistake. With drawls are worse than my original pain. I am now hav thank you for your share. I was on Lyrica for approximate two years. I had cervical spine surgery. I try to get off of Lyrica cold turkey. That was a bad mistake. With drawls are worse than my original pain. Now I am having trouble with my vision. My vision is blurred. I finally my self off of it gradually.I have been dealing with depression anxiety. This drug should’ve never been on the market. Whoever designed this drug and deemed it to be safe for human consumption should be hauled off and to court and sued. This drug is ruining peoples lives. I went to the VA to the ophthalmologist today to get my vision checked. Whoever is taking his drug make sure you have documentation of the damages. I’m sure that they’ll be a class action lawsuit. Let’s all stay strong and keep in touch. Don’t let big Pharma get away with this.

Was this helpful? 1
310

Re: Jill (# 309) Expand Referenced Message

Im In my 7th month of anxiety, depression and panic. Under the care of a therapist and medication nurse. I’m finally off Lyrica which took me a long time to come off of. I never feel like me, never know how I’ll feel tomorrow. I take it day by day, but when depression hits I want to end my life. I’ve never ever thought of suicide.

Was this helpful? 2
309

Re: Kathy C (# 308) Expand Referenced Message

Basically you have to go after the doctor who prescribed it to you. And good luck. We are lucky if we can get off of this poison with minimal long term damage and be thankful for that. :(. Big Pharma and the government are standing together. Pharma drugs are no better than street drugs.

Was this helpful? 1
308

Did you find a lawyer? I’ve called all over and can’t find one that will do a class action suit

Was this helpful? 1
307

I would love to join that suit, however I am in South Africa so not sure they would accept me .. My journey with Lyrica started in 2010 and I have not been the same since.. The Lawyers here have no back bone and wont go up against the medical profession or pharmaceutical companies.

Was this helpful? 1
306

My short term memory is gone was on lyrica for 5 yrs I also thought about taking my life. However I have a lil one and he is the only reason I didn't. I'm ready to find a lawyer that will take on this drug company.

Was this helpful? 2
305

I have been on lyrica since 2005 when I was prescribed it for severe (as in hospitalised) back pain, was already taking 2 tylex 3x daily for arthritis. It was great, worked fine. I went up 4 dress sizes in 6 weeks but thought it was due to back pain and using a wheelchair if I was going out. Started forgetting things and finally read on the company website that memory problems and weight gain were known side effects - not mentioned in the leaflet in the box though. I moved and changed doctors and the new one kept telling me that I needed to stop taking tylex because the codeine is so addictive, oddly it doesn't affect me and I can, and do, stop taking it for a couple of days every month just to check on the addictive part,, and upped the lyrics from 75mg 3x daily to 100mg 3x daily. I complained about the weight gain and memory problems but they said that the tylex was far more dangerous and reduced that to 2 at night while trying to increase the lyrica from 300mg daily to 600mg daily. After a robust discussion during which my daughter flatly refused to allow me to take this amount it was increased to 350mg and I was told it would be going up again like it or not. Luckily the local doctors surgery was sold and I gained a new GP. After explaining the side effects and especially the weight gain he is slowly taking me off. I am on 75mg 2x in the day and 150 at night, the tylex is back to 6 capsules daily and I have high hopes of coming off altogether. Can anyone tell me if I am likely to regain my short term memory and lose the weight, this being the greatest problem given my arthritis which has now spread to the entire length of my spine?

Reading the above messages I suspect that the problem with my left hand - serious tremors - and the unsteadiness when I walk are also caused by the lyrica not to mention the loss of 5 teeth, lymphoedema, joint pain and a tendency to fall. Thank God I am not depressed or suicidal although there would be good reason, apart from lyrica, if I was. I may even manage to look after myself while my daughter goes back to college, she has spent the last 8yrs as my career after leaving school early, instead of having to accompany her each day. Good luck with suing the company though the side effects were on the website as early as 2008 with people complaining about being reduced to zombies, memory problems, weight gain, among others. Even said coming off was as difficult as coming off heroin, and this was on the official company website so it was known. Blame the doctors who prescribed it because they had access to the same information,if they bothered to look, yet kept giving it to patients, even forcing them to take it. I am lucky to live in a country with free health care but if I was paying for the medication and suffering I would be livid. Good luck but it's not just the manufacturer, target all the doctors as well because each and every one of them is just as guilty. I am lucky to have ended up with a family doctor who is willing to listen and act on my requests, unlike the previous one, but how many people are still being misled by doctors who failed to tell them of the side effects and who even now dismiss them as imaging things or exaggeration of symptoms. As or more guilty because they should certainly know better, as well as knowing the patient and their medical history/problems.

Was this helpful? 0
304

Re: Mag (# 303) Expand Referenced Message

That is a great story. We possess the power to change our lives without dangerous medications. I'm so grateful to be drug free and clear headed.

Was this helpful? 2
303

On February 20, 2008 I was rear-ended in a car accident. C-5 was shattered after colliding with my spinal cord and I suffered a traumatic brain injury. It was nothing short of a miracle that I wasn’t killed or paralyzed but I was left with constant immeasurable pain. My nerves were shot and made everything hurt. I couldn't concentrate, I never slept through the night, had severe anxiety, muscle cramps, spasms and weakness and dealt with PTSD. I stayed highly medicated but I also went to great lengths to do things to help me feel relief. I meditated and exercised daily and ate a very healthy diet. I did both physical and occupational therapy, massage therapy, cupping, chiropractic care, acupuncture, ultrasound, infrared sauna, hydrotherapy, cryotherapy, ice and heat. I used an in home traction device, an inversion table, a tens unit, all kinds of massage devises and wore compression garments to help settle my nerves. And the drugs, well I took a lot of drugs. 17 when I was released from the hospital. I saw a psychiatrist weekly for over a year and once a month in the years proceeding. I asked about taking less meds because I was so miserable I didn't think they were really helping me and I hated the way I felt in general. I was suicidal at times. He always convinced me I would be worse off without them. In 2011 I met a woman who had a similar accident some 20 years prior and she begged me to stop taking Lyrica. She explained how that drug had destroyed her nervous system and made her situation much worse. Thankfully I heeded her warning and weened myself off of it. The withdrawals were atrocious but by getting that drug our of my system I did improve slightly. The swelling in my hands and feet went down and with that I wasn't in as much pain. What didn't change is that I was all the time losing my balance and falling which set me back each time adding to my pain. My memory was nonexistent to the point I couldn't even carry on a conversation and I couldn't keep a job either. I just assumed it was due to my brain injury but now understand from finding this post on Medschat it was Lyrica and possibly the other drugs impairing my mental capabilities, increasing my pain and throwing me off balance. I would love to be in a class action lawsuit against the makers of this God-forsaken drug that hurt me and so many others when it was supposed to help!

Towards the later part of 2014 my pain escalated so my surgeon ordered a new MRI. When we reviewed it in November, he explained that the bone spur at the base of my metal plate had grown larger and I had developed spinal stenosis. There was so much pressure on my nerves it was debilitating and surgery was my only option. He was going to remove the spur and extra bone as he described how it would grow back in time and would require more surgeries. My mother was facing 2 surgeries and I needed to be there for her so I asked him how long I could wait. He advised no later than January or risk enduring further irreparable nerve damage. I simply took more and more medication to get me through my days relying heavily on a 12 hour pain patch. I was dreading having to go under the knife again and there was no guarantee that it would even help with my escalating pain. In December 2014 a friend that was suffering from Crohn‘s Disease called me and said she was drinking this special water and swore it was saving her life. She felt strongly that it could help me too. Understanding it was only water and certainly couldn’t hurt I began drinking it on December 15th. I committed to drinking as much as I could and nothing else at least for a couple of weeks as was recommended. I really wanted to give it a chance to saturate my body. I could feel its effects immediately so I was happy to drink a lot of it, like a gallon a day! I started researching it on the internet because I wanted to understand how it was helping me so much. I found a lot of information about it but learned a lot of what I was finding was misinformation. With no internet police, pretty much anything can be conveyed. I then went to a live presentation where I learned a lot about it and met some people that were loving this water and what it was doing for them and their loved ones. At 2:00 on the 9th day I realized I had forgotten to put on that pain patch at 9:00am! I was in total disbelief! I realized my pain was lessening so I started cutting back on my other medications.

I canceled my surgery in hopes of continued recovery and in a matter of months stopped all my medications! I invested in my own Japanese medical device called Kangen water that transforms tap water into medicinal water and I look and feel better today than I did before my accident more than 10 years ago! Thanks to this technology I have been catapulted into a new life and I couldn't be happier now that I am helping other people overcome all types of obstacles in life. I also utilize this technology to make ph balanced water that keeps my skin looking radiant and my hair silky smooth, highly acidic sanitary water I use in place of first aid medications and cleaning products as well as highly alkaline cleaning water that removes pesticides from my food and has eliminated the need to use harmful cleaning products in my home. I have even replaced laundry detergent with it and believe it or not that laundry detergent is filled with hormone-disrupting immune suppressing chemicals. I am saving money and I’m doing my part to stop polluting the environment as much too. I am astonished at how incredible I feel and look with my skin being smoother. I’m free of eczema, with fewer fine lines, wrinkles and sun spots. My bones and nails are stronger. My brain and my vision are much sharper and my hormones are balanced at 48! My colon is clean and my blood is flowing freely allowing my body to utilize the nutrients I ingest. When I eat things that aren't so good for me they get flushed out easily too. I sleep like a baby and have the energy of a 20 year old. My disks are plump as verified by MRI's and x-rays and my cartilage and tendons are holding everything together as they should allowing me to do activities I thought I'd never participate in again. If you want to feel better than you ever dreamed, this type of water could do for you what it has done for me and more than a million people around the world.

Was this helpful? 0
302

Re: Lissa (# 301) Expand Referenced Message

It is so worth while to stay stopped. It was the worst in the first three weeks. It gets better . I've been free for a year now and have focused on diet, exercise, stretching yoga and spiritual growth. We have the power not drugs.

Was this helpful? 2
301

I have been off Lyrica for nearly 3 weeks. The withdrawals are horrible! I cannot function! I have had stomach problems causing vomiting, nausea, and diarrhea making me dehydrated. I got Lyrica from the company and has not come in. I was put on it for fibromyalgia in 2011. I was having blurry and double vision. I have tachycardia now. For years was going to specialist thinking I had MS. I have renal issues, horrible headaches, tremors, memory loss, back pain. For 3 months I have had neck stiffness. I can only sleep for a few hours.
How much longer until I can get over this? I just want to sleep, don’t feel like I can go on! My husband has throat cancer and I am his only caregiver, but can’t do it I can’t stand smell of food, problems breathing.

Was this helpful? 0
300

Re: Sharon (# 289) Expand Referenced Message

Can't believe they left you on Topomax! Yikes. You need to research that please. It's poison. As bad or worse than Lyrica.

Was this helpful? 0
299

Re: Nikki (# 298) Expand Referenced Message

Nikki,
As with Dawn, the original poster,I was diagnosed withh RSD (CRPS) in my right foot and ankle. Before that diagnosis my neurologist had me on Lyrica since 2011. After the diagnosis they increased the dosage and added Topamax, another anti-convulsant and my brain almost literally went to mush. When my professional and personal worlds crashed just like a drunk who finally hits a tree after driving without an accident for years I changed doctors and my new doctor took three months to first wean me off Lyrica and then took another two months to wean me off Topamax. Only after all the trouble did I research how these meds work and was shocked. They actually shut down communication between your brain cells so how could the drug possibly know which cells to shut down? All I know is that while I was on Lyrica I did some of the stupidest things I have ever heard of and I now have no recollection of the year and a half wherein I was taking both drugs in combo. I underwent neuro psychological testing which confirmed cognitive deficits in executive functioning and a problem with memory. I then repeated the test after getting off the meds but the results were almost identical so I now fear that I have permanent brain damage. like most people I cannot find a lawyer who is interested in taking on this drug company even though Lyrica is habit forming and they do not tell you that.

Was this helpful? 0
Page:1Next PageLast Page

More Discussions:

Lyrica class action lawsuit

If you have had an adverse reaction to Lyrica, please contact a law firm. I just called mine and gave them my basic info...

156 REPLIES
class action suit

My wife is now on her 3rd bout with C. Diff. treated with Flagyl and Vancamycin She has been in some degree of pain for ...

9 REPLIES
class-action lawsuit concerning lorazepam co-pays

I was told that there is a current class-action lawsuit concerning co-pays for lorazepam. Can anyone provide me with any...

5 REPLIES
CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT SUGGESTION

I told my story on a different thread. I have been disabled from 4 FAILED back surgeries since 2002. I tried physical th...

3 REPLIES
PURDUE CLASS ACTION lawsuit

STILL LOOKING FOR ANY NEWS ON WETHER OR NOT THEY'RE WILL BE A LAWSUIT AGAINST PURDUE AND ITS NEW FORMULATION OF OXYC...

3 REPLIES
Savella class action lawsuit

Hi, I was diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome about 5 years ago and was put on Savella for about 2 yrs. I developed ...

27 REPLIES
oxycontin class action law suite

NEW FORMULATION IS ROTTING MY TEETH AS WELL AS FIVE OTHERS ALSO TAKING THE NEW OP VERSION OF THE OLD OC VERSION AND I...

Lyrica, Topamax, and Meloxicam-is anyone taking this combo?

I have been on Topamax (Topiramate) for a couple of years for migraines-200mgs twice a day. It makes a HUGE difference f...

8 REPLIES
Reaction To Combining Alcohol With Lyrica Pristiq And Oxycodone

I am prescribed Lyrica and Pristiq for Fibromyalgia and depression and oxycodone for occasional pain from knee replaceme...

2 REPLIES
Lyrica.reaction/itching very bad

My God, where do i start, I was put on Lyrica 5 months ago to help relieve Fibromyalgia/arthritus pain.... its all i was...

3 REPLIES