I also have had chronic pain for 12 years. For most of that time my pain was managed by Klonopin (clonazepam) and several other drugs. Klonopin did a pretty good job, but I developed a tolerance to it. My doctor ordered me to taper off of it, but didn’t provide me with enough Klonopin to do it safely. I suffered a withdrawal seizure and developed Benzodiazepine Withdrawal Syndrome. Now I am dealing with not only dealing with my chronic pain, unmedicated, but the debilitating symptoms of BWS. (Avoid benzos! Klonopin, Valium, Xanax and many others)

Recently I was taking a high dosage of Neurontin (gabapentin), 2400 mg daily, and it helped, but not enough. Neurontin is from the same family of drugs as Lyrica (pregabalin). I’m going to ask my doctor to try me on Lyrica because it is more bioavailable, so it takes far less of it to do the same job as Neurontin. Less has got to be better on the organs, I figure.

Another drug from that same family is Gabitril (tiagabine). I wasn’t able to tolerate that drug. It made me feel as if I were losing my mind! However, just because I did badly on it doesn’t mean you would.

Ideally, we could recover from our circumstances and not need to be on any meds in the future, but if that’s not possible then my goal is to be on the least number of medications, at the smallest possible dosages that provide the most benefit and the least long-term damage to my body. I’m still working towards that.

Now, after I’ve preached that “less is more,” I’m going to suggest you ask your doctor about being put on an antidepressant if you aren’t already on one. Paxil, 40 mg daily, has helped me greatly.

Best of luck to you.

Hi!!! I’m in kind of the same situation as you………i have chronic pain b/c of severe scoliosis……..last yr. i had 2 major back operations and they finally had to fuse my lumber…..well, it’s still hurting….i KNOW your pain!!! And i have been on SS disability now for 3 yrs. Anyway, one of my dr.’s ordered Lyrica for nerve damage…..but…i took it for like 2 weeks and my ankles and feet swelled up like an elephants!!!!!!!! It tells you on the sheet that you get from the drugstore that it could cause your hands and feet to swell so just be careful……….i thought it was helping until that happened so i had to quit taking it………GOOD LUCK!!!!

Lyrica is a fairly new medication that is like Neurontin. It can help with seizures and also nerve pain (like Shingles and Peripheral Neuropathy.) It’s not a cure, but has been found to greatly reduce nerve pain better than Neurontin.

Another suggestion (and I’m serious) is finding a good hypnotherapist. One on one sessions. Someone who has been doing it for years and is certified. A couple of sessions per week can also help immensley with pain. Most insurance companies will cover part of the cost when it is medically necessary. Please check this out.

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