Veterans With Upper And/or Lower Radiculopathy

[rpowell01]

I take 3600mg of Gabpentin a day. Its been a struggle to get my VA PCP to at least switch me to TRY Lyrica.

I've been seeing a Private MD, Pain Management MD and now a Neurologist. They ALL told me they felt Lyrica would be better for me since I am on such high dosages of Gabapentin.

People with permanent nerve damage does Gabapentin or Lyrica help you better? I am thinking of getting away from the VA totally because of this and I believe because other veterans were being overdosed with pain medications those of use who have permanent nerve damage are being PUNISHED because the VA will not give us any breakthrough medication to go along with our pain medications. See the VA screwed up and now we all have to pay for it without due process.

A friend of mine down in Pt. Charlotte, FL has arthritis and nerve pain but not nearly as severe as I do. He even told me he doesn't understand. He goes to a private pain management center down that way and he receives TWO different types of pain meds, one is a breakthrough medication. I even ask my VA PCP to see if he can prescribe me Tramadol to go along with my Oxycodone and he just keeps denying me this.

I am at the point in my life, a branch in the road, where I believe I need to make a choice, get away from the VA medical care totally and go out into the private fully or just quit the private sector and let the VA keep doing nothing much for my pain issues.

I guess I didn't talk about this on here but approx a month and 1 week ago I was in the bathtub taking a shower. I lifted my right foot to wash it and my left leg just gave out on me and I was slammed onto the side of the tube hitting my rib cage. Now, I have been in severe pain for that, luckily i didn't break any ribs but the MD said that deep bruising and muscle strains like this is worse than breaking a rib. Again my VA MD didn't do NOTHING to help me with my pain.

He doesn't understand, he just doesn't believe the pain I am in and I am tired of it. EMG proved to him I have bilateral radiculopathy in my legs. He just doesn't care.

[georgiapapa]

I was previously on a Gabapentin and switched to Lyrica. I currently take 400 mg of Lyrica per day (150 mg in am, 150 mg in pm and 100 mg at bedtime). It doesn't stop all of my burning and pins and needles pain but it has made it where I can tolerate the pain. It works much better than Gabapentin for me. I have also heard others say that Lyrica makes you gain weight. I have not gained any weight from taking Lyrica and I have been on it for about four months. The VA does not provide my Lyrica. My private insurance pays for part of it and I pay the rest out of pocket. Unlike Gabapentin, Lyrica has no generic substitute at the present time.

I hope you get the care you need and deserve. If it is available and affordable to you, I would go to private healthcare providers.

GP

[georgiapapa]

Also meant to mention that it took about 3 or 4 weeks before my Lyrica really started to work for me.

[TALON II FE]

I am sorry you are going thru this. I deal with similar issues, I have radiculopathy as well as various other dead and damaged nerves. You're right, the Docs don't realize the intensity of pain without relief that nerves can cause. There are times when I would almost rather chop my arm off then deal with the pain I get from the damage there, for instance. I have slammed it into tables in the past just to get "clean" pain in it to oversaturate the nerves and "cover up" that special pain we are familiar with. Unless someone has dealt with nerve pain constantly, I don't think there is a way for them to understand how it holds you hostage and, with mine, is radically unpredictable. That unpredictability is the worst part. It can trigger that "electrical" surging pain out of no where at any intensity for any length of time. I can't even get me family to fully understand

Addressing the Gabapentin: it is CHEAP! That is the key point to all of this, even though it shouldn't be. I was on Gabapentin early on, but it was ineffective and caused adverse effects, so I was moved off of it. I tried many different drugs. I had my best help with pain a few years ago from Lyrica but it caused some weight gain and I was on AD, so...I was on Nortriptyline for the last 2 years but accelerated heart rate with the needed increase in dosage to be effective is causing me to give Lyrica another chance now I am no longer AD. I will just deal with the weight gain. I already have some severe vascular issues, I don't need to complicate those issues further. The transition is going to be painful, since there is some concern of interaction between the Lyrica and the Nortriptyline which is going to require me to taper completely off the Nortriptyline before tapering on to Lyrica.

I saw my PCM two days ago and was denied breakthrough meds. They want me to go back to using other meds in conjunction that are ineffective and cause damage to kidneys and liver instead of giving me 30 Percocet a year. AN F'ing year! That was all I was asking for, if you can believe that, and I was turned down and told to take two different pills daily instead. I will be skipping that advice and using a relative's prescribed pain meds instead, which is ridiculous and wrong on so many levels. Yesterday, I got somewhat drunk, which is unusual for me, but I was using alcohol as a pain killer. Again, I should never be forced to rely on alcohol as a way to battle pain. That is just plain wrong!

The Lyrica is special order only because it is more expensive. Not having it on hand makes it more likely that a cheaper option (Gabapentin) will be used first, regardless of effectiveness. They additional paperwork required is just enough that many VA and Military Docs won't deal with it and I am sure they have to answer to someone without an MD as to why they went with the more expensive drug. Somehow, the response that "it works better" is probably not good enough. I am guessing that I will have to go back on muscle relaxers when I give up the Nortriptyline, as well as figure out how the removal of the anti depression effects will affect me and my PTSD.

[Andyman73]

I tried the Gabapentin, about 10 yrs ago, worked great, however it screwed up my sleep schedule so bad I had to quit cold turkey. I still have to work to support my habits(aka family and such) and can't have anything keeping me from what few precious hours of sleep I manage to snag. Even with OSA, sleep is still elusive, but at least my CPAP stopped my snoring, so my fleeting sleep is "a better quality".

[Buck52]

I was taking gabapentin and it was not helping, my doc switch to sertraline, said it was the generic & same as Lyrica so for seems to be working better.

.................Buck