What Causes Sharp Chest Pain While On Lyrica?
Could be due to GERD
Detailed Answer:
Thanks for asking on HealthcareMagic.
I have gone very carefully through your query. It is good to know that your pain medication is gradually being tapered off. However, based on the location of your pain it seems that your problem could be due to gastritis or gastroesophageal reflux.
I would insist you to try the following:
* Avoid spicy food. Take small but frequent meals. Avoid long gaps between meals.
* Avoid alcohol intake (if it a part of your habit).
* Take Prilosec (omeprazole) once daily before breakfast.
* Take plenty of green leafy vegetables as well as other sources of dietary fibers. Take fiber supplements like isabgol/psyllium husk or senna. I would insist you to increase your dietary fiber intake. It is good to know that you are taking prunes.
* Regular morning walk and exercise to keep the bowel movements proper.
* If I had a patient like you I would perhaps have suggested Prodep (fluoxetine) 20 mg tablet (long term anxiolytic and a prescription drug) once daily for at least 2 months (it may take time for the action to set in). Discuss about this with your treating physician.
* Take curd or yogurt on daily basis. It contains beneficial bacteria and should help.
* Stress reduction has a very important role to play. Yoga and meditation should help.
Our gastrointestinal tract has a forward propulsive movement (peristalsis) that moves the food material forward as it is digested, absorbed and finally expelled as feces. If somehow this movement gets hampered, food along with the digestive juices would stagnate, stomach acid will reflux into the food pipe (gastroesophageal reflux, which could explain the pain as well as the firmness of your abdomen) and on the other hand the bowel habits would not be proper (constipation leading to hemorrhoids). So, I think that my postulate correlates.
As of now, you can try taking acetaminophen (tylenol) 500 mg two tablets together for the reduction of pain. Hopefully that should help.
Let me know if I could help further.
Regards