What Causes Weight Gain In Lyrica (Page 2)

I HAVE GAINED 27 POUNDS IN 3 MONTHS. WHAT CAN I DO OTHER THAN STOP TAKING LYRICA? SHOULD I QUIT OR LOWER THE DOSAGE? I TAKE 2 DOSES PER DAY.

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But I do take Adderal to counteract the weight gain, and it works!

#1: Would like to see the studies that document that "stimulants cause further damage to CNS/nerve damage?" I cannot find any on the web. If so why is Adderal the go to drug for ADD? Will the kids/adults taking it get Central Nervous System damage?

#2: Who is the "Who"that doesn't know why lyrical causes weight gain? Can you suggest where any studies by "Who" can be found that "Who" has even tried to address weight and lyrics? And Is it your place to accuse people who are trying to find support, express their feelings and share their experiences as attacking the pharma community?

#3: If you search lyrica + generic you will find documentation that the Pharma community was successful in preventing a generic version from being sold until December 2016.

Just the facts please.

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I am having the same issue with Lyrica as far as having the fat in the belly area and it does make me look pregnant. It DOES slow down to crawling in the metabolism. I've been on Lyrica since 2007 for Fibromyalgia. I would get "Breakthrough pain" so my dosage had to go up. I started the Lyrica at 75mg 2x/day. Now, I'm up to 225mg 2x/day. I have gained 60lbs!! I've tried my "Tried and True" way of losing weight by doing the "Scarsdale Diet", which was quite successful for me in the past. Didn't work this time. But now I have to lose weight to get a total knee replacement. I'm trying the low-carb, high protein with the help of a dear friend. NOTHING'S coming off and I've been diligent. I tried cutting back on the Lyrica, to taking it once a day. Within 3 days, the pain came roaring back.
I wish Pfizer could take out the "weight gaining" chemical, but it still stops pain.

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I am having the same issue with Lyrica as far as having the fat in the belly area and it does make me look pregnant, at 64 yrs old. It DOES slow down to crawling in the metabolism. I've been on Lyrica since 2007 for Fibromyalgia. I would get "Breakthrough pain" so my dosage had to keep going up. I started the Lyrica at 75mg 2x/day. Now, I'm up to 225mg 2x/day. I have gained 60lbs!! I've tried my "Tried and True" way of losing weight by doing the "Scarsdale Diet", which was quite successful for me in the past. Didn't work this time. But now I have to lose weight to get a total knee replacement. I'm trying the low-carb, high protein with the help of a dear friend. NOTHING'S coming off and I've been diligent. I tried cutting back on the Lyrica, to taking it once a day. Within 3 days, the pain came roaring back.
I wish Pfizer could take out the "weight gaining" chemical, but it still stops pain.

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WELLBUTRIN AT THE SAME TIME?

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Your weight loss, assuming 2 pounds water loss, equates to about 500 calories per day which is what you would expect with you on a 1500 calorie per day diet. If you want to lose faster then cut to say 1200 calories per day, but no lower.

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I have also gained about 40 lbs, mostly in the belly area, since starting Lyrica a year ago. And I had weight loss surgery six months before I started the Lyrica. I have a lap band and even if the Lyrica increased my appetite I wouldn't be able to eat more. There has to be something in the formula that slows down metabolism. I've tried going off the Lyrica but couldn't handle the withdrawal. I have small fiber neuropathy in feet, legs, and hands and possibly fibromyalgia (seeing rheumatologist soon). I've been on a couple of other drugs for the pain but have had bad reactions. I think I need to chance medications. I have an appointment to see my pain specialist next week 'cause I don't want to go back to the neurologist because he is a d1ck. I haven't been able to work for almost a year and he had the audacity to tell me that nobody gets SSDI for small fiber neuropathy. Really? My attorney sent him a nasty letter about that so he probably doesn't want to see me any more than I want to see him. Anyway the point of my post was really to say that I don't believe the weight gain from Lyrica is due to increased appetite.

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Hi, i was on lyrica last year. I was taking 300mg twice a day i gained so much weight my clothes got really tight, and at my childrens school, lots of ppl came up to me and asked if i was pregnant :( which made me even more depressed. I havent changed my diet i only eat once a day, and have done for a few years. I was not hungry while taking lyrica before or while i took it. But i still gained 10 kg. all around my belly, bum and hips and the top of my legs. I stopped it in feb this year, and started topamax and that didnt work either. I was in a car accident and had spinal surgery. There is definetely something in lyrica that makes you fat. I never put on weight like this before. Even after having my children i lost the weight straight away. I would never of started it, if i knew how much weight i would put on. Hope this helps.

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I called Pfizer, who makes Lyrica, and told them that I was on 225mg 2x/day and still getting breakthrough pain. I asked if I could go higher. They absolutely DO NOT recommend it! They stated that if a physician prescribes any higher dose and something seriously wrong happens to that patient, there could be serious consequences for the prescribing physicion. For my questions re: weight gain, they transferred me to a woman in the Medicine and Drug Information, Josie, who gave the answers to my following questions:

1 - What is the chemical in Lyrica that causes weight gain?
2 - Is/Are the chemical(s) that cause the weight gain necessary in the pain-relieving properties of Lyrica?
3 - Is there a medicine to help counteract the weight-gaining properties?

Josie said that they do not know what it is in Lyrica that causes the weight gain. In their double-blind studies, they found that the patients that took Lyrica, started gaining weight, especially in the upper abdomen, where the patients that were given placebos, didn't. Pfizer also found that the longer Lyrica is taken AND the higher the dosages, the more the weight is gained, due to lower metabolism. (which of course is what I'm experiencing, as I've been on Lyrica since 2007.)

She said for my 3rd question, it was up to my PCP to prescribe something.

My physician has put me on Qsymia, which is the ONLY counter-acting thing that has worked against Lyrica, and I coupled that with a Low-Carb way of eating. (The low-carb thing by itself, barely worked.) Thank goodness for Qsymia! If taken AS DIRECTED, it can very well be your "saving grace" against the weight-gaining factors of Lyrica. Side note: I have been unable to do any exercise for 5+ yrs, due to Osteoarthritis in my joints, degenerative disk disease and Fibromyalgia. I had a total hip replacement 2 yrs ago and now am needing a total knee replacement, hence, the urgency to lose the weight.

I have gained over 60 lbs, since 2007, with Lyrica. Since I've been on Qsymia coupled with eating Low-Carb, I have lost 18 lbs since the middle of January. It's not going to be a fast weight loss, but the weight IS going down and I'm am so glad. If you're sedentary, you don't need lots of carbs. (I also am now eligible for a knee surgery.)

Hope that helps.

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Been on lyrica 4 years gained 50 pounds. Tried recently to get off pain was to bad. So I started with the wellbutrin and topmax. Still famished but the weight is coming off. Thanks for the input when I read ur post I was at the doctor the next day.

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I have Type 2 Diabetes, Neuropathy and Fibromialga. For 10 years after diagnosis, all was going along great. I was taking Metformin, Wellbutrin and on rare occasions Naproxin. My blood sugars were very well controlled as was my pain. Pain is my main problem so when it began ramping up, I was prescribed a very low dose of Gabapentin. I began to gain weight shortly afterwards. My Dr. suggested I try Cymbalta in it's place. It did nothing to ease pain, made me lathargic, moody, and foggy in my thinking. My Dr. told me to just stop taking it. Wrong advice!! Nightmares, trembling, dry heaves, nausea, excesssive sweating - horrible withdrawal symptoms after only having been on a small dosage over 6 wks. Back to the Dr. To advise of this. Puts me on Lyrica now and after specically asking for something with no weight gain attached, here I am on a drug with weight gain as a common side effect and sure enough the pounds continue to pack on. After 10 years of never gaining or losing a pound, all of a sudden I have packed on 30 pounds in two months. Nice. Seriously, I would rather be in pain than to pack around this extra weight...and gaining! As someone who has had a weight problem for most of my 61 years, I DO NOT intend on becoming fat and depressed about it again for the rest of my life. Bring the pain if it loses me this fat!

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Im on lyrica and have gained 35-40 pounds back All my weight I lost previously...im doing the 1200 cal diet AND busting my butt at he gym 4
_ 5 days a week soo that doesn't work either

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I agree. I am not hungier. I was shocked when I gained 8 lbs in the first couple of weeks. By watching my diet and exercising I managed to lose 5 but that has done nothing to reduce the huge stomach I now have, I can not fit I to any of my clothes.
I am on Cymbalta and Lyrica and struggle everyday weighing between the reduction in pain but knowing I am on strong mind drugs that have ruined my shape and possibility my health long term.

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I read your concern, I have gained and maintained a lot of weight even though my activity is increasing and watching what I eat. But, the neuropathy pain I had prior to lyrica was intolerable. It has helped me sleep and relax and increase my activity. I am trying to wean off slowly, and it is going very slowly. I think you have to decide what is more important and if your taking lyrica will be long term, that is the way I would look at it ,knowing what I know, I wishing you the best.

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Omg I'm so nervous after reading all your posts ... I been on lyrica for two months gained 15lbs already... My dr wants me off percocets but the side effects from lyrica are scary .. I'm scatterbrained and have thoughts and emotions that aren't normal for me... Not sure what to do... Any thoughts?

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I would get off Lyrica as soon as possible. I was on it for three years for treatment for my fibro myalgia that I got when a drunk driver hit me back in 2007. I went from 120 lbs to over 165 lbs, lost most of my teeth, had and still have memory loss, changed my moods, thoughts, behavior, tried to commit suicide and has ruined my relationship with my daughters. In Business week magazine issue of August 2012, I can't remember if it was 2012 or 2013 ran an article about the FDA suing and winning the suit against Pfizer with regards to Lyrica. Now a legal suit has been started in Canada, where I reside, against Lyrica. You can access at rotlaw.com, for more details. I hope this is helpful. But please get off this terrible drug right away. There is alternate drugs available but I found out the hard way that some Doctors prescribe drugs that they get the biggest kickback from their drug reps. In my case I should not have been perscribed this drug especially because I was on a cocktail of other medications for other problems caused by the accident. If it wasn't for my pharmacist I wouldn't be alive today!!!

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I feel for all of you. I had a horrible time getting off Lyrica...had massive withdrawal so I had to taper over nearly a year to get off it...150 mg a day to start, got down to splitting one 50mg over five days at the end. Good news is that the weight comes off after you stop taking the drug.

I believe that there will be litigation involving this drug very soon. The side effects are terrible. I wrote my method for tapering on another site... you can Google "Lyrica Withdrawal Syndrome". Good luck to you guys. I wouldn't take another Lyrica for any amount of money.

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You need to immediately cut down your food intake to 1200 calories per day (5,000 kilojoules). You should be able to lose one pound per week. It will be a long haul but worth it. I find lyrica excellent for my post hepatic neuralgia so had to find a solution. I put on 9 pounds in the first week of taking 450mg lyrica, but have now taken the weight gain off by careful dieting.

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I agree - Lyrica made me pick up 30kg in 6 months and I never ate more or was more hungry on it!

I too have picked up from the ribs to the hips and I have been off Lyrica for 3 years now and I still cant loose it, infact I feel like I am still gaining as my close are tigh again.

I have tired EVERYTHING from vegterian diest, protein, doctors, nutritionist etc - and still to no avail. I have never carried weight like this and being 5ft 4' doesnt look got when you weigh 95kg.

I am depressed and embarrassed and really need a solution, as the doctors just srug their shoulders and say - pain or gain??

I was on ot for Fibromyalgia to the point I could hardly move and suffered all the systems mentioned above - I stopped cold turkey and it was hell, but I was not prepared to live the fat ..... the pain is bad, but pain and depression because of the fat, leads to more pain.

Can some one tell me how to loose the weight when no longer on Lyrica?

Thanks Tammy

What can be taken

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I agree - Lyrica made me pick up 30kg in 6 months and I never ate more or was more hungry on it!

I too have picked up from the ribs to the hips and I have been off Lyrica for 3 years now and I still cant loose it, infact I feel like I am still gaining as my clothes are tight again.

I have tired EVERYTHING from vegterian diest, protein, doctors, nutritionist etc - and still to no avail. I have never carried weight like this and being 5ft 4' doesnt look got when you weigh 95kg.

I am depressed and embarrassed and really need a solution, as the doctors just srug their shoulders and say - pain or gain??

I was on ot for Fibromyalgia to the point I could hardly move and suffered all the systems mentioned above - I stopped cold turkey and it was hell, but I was not prepared to live the fat ..... the pain is bad, but pain and depression because of the fat, leads to more pain.

Can some one tell me how to loose the weight when no longer on Lyrica?

Thanks Tammy

What can be taken

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I can't offer a solution, but I can say that I could be your twin in what has happened to me. Reading your post gives me some comfort. I have severe pain that Lyrica does help so I don't want to not take it. I don't take any narcotics. What I can do is work hard on my depression because of my appearance. I am still the same beautiful person inside and I have found some pretty clothes. I will work hard on holding my head up and getting out more now.

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