My brother said it helped him , I don't personally have any experience with it. I see this was posted a bit ago .I thought I'd mention that you may get medical answers from AllExperts.com or HealthTap (if you keep it brief on healthtap) I hope this finds you doing better . Good luck..

I tried Neurontin and it did not work for me. Now I am on Lyrica and it has helped with the nerve pain. I took it for a month before I felt it working.

I was on Lyrica for two weeks and I just couldn't get past the fogginess even on the lowest dose. I just took myself off both since I don't notice any improvement.

Megsmom I hear you. Topomax helps me for nerve pain and pain. Mine is cervical though. I couldn't tolerate neurotin. It may have been because it interfered with my anti-depressants. I am not sure. There is no weight gain with Topomax. I also take BP meds and am careful to watch for interactions

The meds in the facet injections can change hair texture and cause hair loss. Lyrica cost more and is basically same drug but some do react better since it is name brand name. Cymbalta is a SSRNI and sometime prescribed but again expensive and very hard to get off of once you start.

When I was dealing with my back I had good success with massage on a weekly basis. I also purchased a book with Core strengthening exercises. I had one bad flare with a nerve entrapment and had to have two consecutive epidural steroid injections. The second one worked and the pressure on the nerve released. This one involved the sciatic nerve and was a bad one. I send you compassion and care. Nothing worse than back pain. I hope it resolves soon.

If you can find a teaching school for massage the students work on patients for a reasonable price several days a week.

Best to be honest with doctor on what is working and what is not. They are usually open to feedback.

Good luck

hippy

I did not do well on the Neurontin and had many side effects that we very bad. I am now on the Lyrica and am not having side effects and it is working.

They are both used for the same purpose, nerve pain, but it seems that everyone had different reactions to each. Also, most insurance companies require that you try Neurontin first because it is much cheaper.

I have not found anything that I can do naturally to help with the nerve pain in my legs. However, I do get some pain relief in general from just being in water. It just takes pressure off of the area of my spine and spinal cord that had been damaged, and it makes a difference for the time that I am in the water.

I hope that you only have a short course of either of these medications and that you are able to find another solution that works for you.

I think I may try the Lyrica again, but I did gain weight in just the short time I was on it, and I really can't afford any extra weight. I do find that the water therapy was helping, and then the physical therapist decided I should be "on land" and moved me out of the aquatic therapy. Boy does that hurt my legs!

My pain is reduced on Lyrica but not Neorontin. I don't like the 'stoned' feeling on both of these, and can't take as much as I would like/need because of this. Adding Nortriptyline has helped significantly, but it makes my heart race and I have to take Propanalol to slow it.
Nortriptyline has been the most effective for me out of many. Cymbalta made me feel dog sick and was a devil to come off.

I haven't lost hair on Lyrica in 3 yrs and don't want to as it was never thick to start with!

Lyrics for nerve pain is the only drug that helps me sleep. Neurontin on the other hand was not strong enough for me. I was on the maximum dose.