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Question: Slowly over the past 18 months I have developed lower back pain affecting the sacro iliac - MRI showed arthritis degenerative of the lower spine L4/L5. This started with a sports injury in the gym in September 2014, a twisting motion when doing my upper body exercises. Now it has gone from flare ups to chronic pain.
My doctor has prescribed Lyrica 100 mg as and from mid October (starting with 25mg and increasing weekly) which is effective in giving me a full night's sleep - but I find it difficult to judge when I should take my dose in the evening to get the most benefit from it - it seems to take 2 - 3 hours to kick in.
Sometimes i just can't find a painfree position and have to take Solpadeine to go asleep but that would be rare. My doc has advised to take either paracatemol or Solpadeine twice a day as my right side went into severe muscle spasm recently because I was not taking any pain relief at all. Can you advise me as to when is the best time to take it - I am taking physio advice and doing all the necessary things to help me manage my condition but it is just a matter of hit and miss every day whether I am in pain or not . This is all new to me at age 70 this month as I never had back trouble before, have been very active as in swimming, walking and gym exercise and find it very depressing that at my age it may possibly never improve. I have a very busy lifestyle caring for a 94 year old mother and 2 yr old grandchild and really need to keep fit but this back pain makes me afraid to move in case I do more damage. Am worried about Lyrica although I know it is not a high dose but if I could manage to use it effectively at that level I think i could cope. Thank you. XXXX
My doctor has prescribed Lyrica 100 mg as and from mid October (starting with 25mg and increasing weekly) which is effective in giving me a full night's sleep - but I find it difficult to judge when I should take my dose in the evening to get the most benefit from it - it seems to take 2 - 3 hours to kick in.
Sometimes i just can't find a painfree position and have to take Solpadeine to go asleep but that would be rare. My doc has advised to take either paracatemol or Solpadeine twice a day as my right side went into severe muscle spasm recently because I was not taking any pain relief at all. Can you advise me as to when is the best time to take it - I am taking physio advice and doing all the necessary things to help me manage my condition but it is just a matter of hit and miss every day whether I am in pain or not . This is all new to me at age 70 this month as I never had back trouble before, have been very active as in swimming, walking and gym exercise and find it very depressing that at my age it may possibly never improve. I have a very busy lifestyle caring for a 94 year old mother and 2 yr old grandchild and really need to keep fit but this back pain makes me afraid to move in case I do more damage. Am worried about Lyrica although I know it is not a high dose but if I could manage to use it effectively at that level I think i could cope. Thank you. XXXX
Brief Answer:
You can take it 2 hours before going to bed
Detailed Answer:
Hello ma'am
I really appreciate writing to us and I will try to help you out in best possible way.
Degenerative disease in sacro illiac joint may cause pain in lower back which may get aggravated due to wrong posture and muscle stiffness. I am sure you will get more beneficial treatment after the physio consultation.
Lyrica contains pregabalin which can be taken with or without food. It usually produces effects within half an hour to an hour. In your case, the effects are after 2-3 hours. Therefore I suggest taking lyrica 2 hours before going to bed.
Stretching and limb strengthening exercises will definitely help you. And those will be taught during physio session. In addition, I will also suggest you to take multivitamin and calcium supplements. Discuss with your treating doctor.
Hope this answers your question, please feel free to ask for follow up I will be happy to help you
Best wishes
You can take it 2 hours before going to bed
Detailed Answer:
Hello ma'am
I really appreciate writing to us and I will try to help you out in best possible way.
Degenerative disease in sacro illiac joint may cause pain in lower back which may get aggravated due to wrong posture and muscle stiffness. I am sure you will get more beneficial treatment after the physio consultation.
Lyrica contains pregabalin which can be taken with or without food. It usually produces effects within half an hour to an hour. In your case, the effects are after 2-3 hours. Therefore I suggest taking lyrica 2 hours before going to bed.
Stretching and limb strengthening exercises will definitely help you. And those will be taught during physio session. In addition, I will also suggest you to take multivitamin and calcium supplements. Discuss with your treating doctor.
Hope this answers your question, please feel free to ask for follow up I will be happy to help you
Best wishes
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Prasad
Thanks you very much, Dr. BR. Hudda. for your prompt reply.
I will indeed now take the Lyrica 3 hours before bedtime. Last night I had to take a Paracetamol in order to go asleep and that was nearly three hours after taking Lyrica. It worked very well at slowly easing the pain and I was asleep within 30 minutes.
Is it safe to do this ? I slept for seven hours before waking at 7.30 and then slept comfortably on for another four hours. This is my day off so I could do that. But can't on busy days. However, this results in too much stiffness though so perhaps the paracetamol was too much !!
I will indeed now take the Lyrica 3 hours before bedtime. Last night I had to take a Paracetamol in order to go asleep and that was nearly three hours after taking Lyrica. It worked very well at slowly easing the pain and I was asleep within 30 minutes.
Is it safe to do this ? I slept for seven hours before waking at 7.30 and then slept comfortably on for another four hours. This is my day off so I could do that. But can't on busy days. However, this results in too much stiffness though so perhaps the paracetamol was too much !!
Brief Answer:
Paracetamol doesn't cause muscle stiffness.
Detailed Answer:
Hello
Welcome again and thanks for follow up question
Muscle stiffness might be related to sleeping in wrong posture for prolong duration or degenerative changes as well
I would advise you to take the medicines as owe your convenience, Paracetamol is pain killer and or has nothing to do with sleep.
In my opinion you should do stretching and limb lengthening exercises on rising up in the morning.
You should also take multivitamin especially vitamin B 12 and calcium supplements.
Hope this helps you
Wishing you good health
Regards
Paracetamol doesn't cause muscle stiffness.
Detailed Answer:
Hello
Welcome again and thanks for follow up question
Muscle stiffness might be related to sleeping in wrong posture for prolong duration or degenerative changes as well
I would advise you to take the medicines as owe your convenience, Paracetamol is pain killer and or has nothing to do with sleep.
In my opinion you should do stretching and limb lengthening exercises on rising up in the morning.
You should also take multivitamin especially vitamin B 12 and calcium supplements.
Hope this helps you
Wishing you good health
Regards
Note: For further queries, consult a joint and bone specialist, an Orthopaedic surgeon. Book a Call now.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Raju A.T
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