I have had TM for almost three years. I was in a horrible car accident and herniated a disc at T2-T3. The Neurontin and the Effexor masked the pain in my back and neck so well that I had no symptoms regarding the herniated disc. Actually, I thought I might be doing so well that I had become mostly pain free. I took myself off the Effexor very slowly, which was not easy at all, and I have stopped the Neurontin very slowly as well. My pain level is a 100 on a scale of 10! The pain from the TM is multiplied geometrically by the pain from the disc. So, everybody, please, if you have suffered any type of injury at all, do not let the meds you take for the TM hide the pain from your injury because you risk not receiving the treatment that you might require. It took my neurologist over four months to order the MRI of my thoracic spine, and as it turns out there is a huge problem brewing. Now that I am off the meds, which I did myself, I can tell my neurologist exactly where it hurts. And, I developed pneumonia prior to stopping the meds, because I felt well enough to keep going. I had no pain anywhere at all! I thought I had a cold and that the fever was from the virus. I was tired, but that is nothing unusual. I am a single Mom and I have no one to watch over me. I have learned to take better care of myself and to not assume that I am doing OK just because I cannot feel the pain. I want to change my medication to Lyrica. What is the consensus?
