CancerCompass message board discussion started by Pennypearl on 2/8/2008 http://www.cancercompass.com/message-board/message/all,20745,0.htm Sat, 30 Aug 2008 00:00:00 GMT Sat, 30 Aug 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://backend.userland.com/rss RSS.NET: http://www.rssdotnet.com/ I have multiple myeloma and am taking thalidomide to keep my cancer in remission. I've been taking thalidomide for about three years and for the past two years the neuropathy in my feet and hands had leveled off. Just recently, the neuropathy has increased. The pain is not bad, but I am concerned about loosing the use of my fingers for fine-motor tasks. My doctor prescribed Lyrica, but after two weeks, the side effects continue to be unpleasant - blurred vision, nausea, and loss of balance (I fell twice last week). If the Lyrica can reverse nerve damage or prevent new damage, it would be worth it to me to continue, but if it's efficacy is for pain relief alone, I will stop taking it now and wait until my pain gets worse.Does anyone have information about the ability of Lyrica to reverse and/or prevent neuropathy?   Pennypearl Fri, 08 Feb 2008 00:00:00 GMT  On 2/8/2008 Pennypearl wrote:I have multiple myeloma and am taking thalidomide to keep my cancer in remission. I've been taking thalidomide for about three years and for the past two years the neuropathy in my feet and hands had leveled off. Just recently, the neuropathy has increased. The pain is not bad, but I am concerned about loosing the use of my fingers for fine-motor tasks. My doctor prescribed Lyrica, but after two weeks, the side effects continue to be unpleasant - blurred vision, nausea, and loss of balance (I fell twice last week). If the Lyrica can reverse nerve damage or prevent new damage, it would be worth it to me to continue, but if it's efficacy is for pain relief alone, I will stop taking it now and wait until my pain gets worse.Does anyone have information about the ability of Lyrica to reverse and/or prevent neuropathy?  Lyrica has been a miracle drug for me. The neuropathy was getting to be too much to bear. I take 150 mg twice a day. I hope it works well for you. Poppy 1952 Fri, 08 Feb 2008 00:00:00 GMT  On 2/8/2008 Poppy 1952 wrote: On 2/8/2008 Pennypearl wrote:I have multiple myeloma and am taking thalidomide to keep my cancer in remission. I've been taking thalidomide for about three years and for the past two years the neuropathy in my feet and hands had leveled off. Just recently, the neuropathy has increased. The pain is not bad, but I am concerned about loosing the use of my fingers for fine-motor tasks. My doctor prescribed Lyrica, but after two weeks, the side effects continue to be unpleasant - blurred vision, nausea, and loss of balance (I fell twice last week). If the Lyrica can reverse nerve damage or prevent new damage, it would be worth it to me to continue, but if it's efficacy is for pain relief alone, I will stop taking it now and wait until my pain gets worse.Does anyone have information about the ability of Lyrica to reverse and/or prevent neuropathy?  Lyrica has been a miracle drug for me. The neuropathy was getting to be too much to bear. I take 150 mg twice a day. I hope it works well for you.i have been on Thal. for five years and am also diabetic. Hands and feet are really bad. In fact a neurologist recently declared me to be disabled because of it. It continues to get worse with time. Pain is not a problem. I have accepted this fate since I've in CR for over 4 years. He stated there is nothing that can be done to help me, so I'm happy to hear that someone has found something to help them.Would you please expand upon your experience? What were your symptyms and what has inproved? Thank you...  Unclelarry Sun, 10 Feb 2008 00:00:00 GMT Hi -- I ended up with neuropathy in my hands - tinglings and pins and needles with some pain - after treatment with Thalidomide and Velcade.  It was one of the reasons I stopped these treatments.  I then tried Lyrica, which I had read about on this site.  It was Fantastic -- completely took away all the pain and reduced the other symptoms.  Unfortunately the cost of Lyrica was about $250.00 per month, so I had to stop taking it and switched to Gabapentin.  This also works, though not as well as the Lyrica.  I now take one capsule (300mg) of Gabapentin per day and I can use my hands for most things.  Unfortunately, one of my joys is doing origami and I still find this difficult, even with the Gab,.  Oh well, I can type, so hey -- on to new frontiers!!  Good luck,  Cath poppy/cath Sun, 10 Feb 2008 00:00:00 GMT