• Embed Doc
  • Copy Link
  • Readcast
  • Collections
  • 2
    CommentGo Back
Download
 
Fibromyalgia & LyricaIn light of The New York Times article on Lyrica, (the new Pfizer drug beingprescribed for Fibromyalgia) -- I had to write about a topic close to my heart. Iwill not go into how The New York Times is debating whether Fibromyalgia is a realdis-ease or not. I feel that is beside the point right now. The point is millionsof Americans HAVE been diagnosed with Fibromyalgia and are now being seduced intotaking this new drug.What is Fibromyalgia and what does it have to do with me?I lived with a diagnosis of Fibromyalgia for 2 years before being re-diagnosed bya rheumatologist as having Benign Hypermobility Syndrome (Ehlers Danlos III).Fibromyalgia is a widespread pain illness. The symptoms are vast and not everyonediagnosed has the same exact symptoms. The predominant symptom that everyone doeshave is chronic pain that moves throughout your body and specifically to manydifferent pressure points throughout the body. It has been described by many asfeeling like you have the flu ALL the time.I have heard some doctors say it is nerve based -- the person that hasFibromyalgia perceives pain differently and more extreme than others. I have alsoheard it described as a soft tissue ailment like rheumatoid arthritis. Some of theother symptoms associated with it are insomnia, headaches, Fibro Fog "feelingdisconnected and unable to concentrate", abdominal pain, jaw tenderness, extremepain during exercise and there are numerous others.Fibromyalgia has never had a "cure". Doctors usually recommend managing it with acocktail of miscellaneous prescription drugs including a low dose anti-depressant(helps to break the sleep/pain cycle), pain killers, muscle relaxants, sleep aidesand sometimes anti-migraine medication. When I was treating my dis-ease asFibromyalgia no natural means of pain control or "healing" were mentioned. Doctorstell the patient that the best thing is to "manage their pain using prescriptiondrugs". People that are diagnosed with Fibromyalgia often are on many medications,gain weight because of the lack of exercise and most often do not get any betterbut need more and more medication.What is Lyrica and what does it do?Pfizer released Lyrica a few years ago for nerve pain associated with diabetes andfor seizure disorders. My doctors mentioned that it was being tested onFibromyalgia patients. In 2004 the FDA recommended Lyrica be rejected for diabeticnerve pain because of its unimpressive results and the very real side-effects.Lyrica can cause SEVERE weight gain, edema, sleepiness and dizziness. It alsoshould not be given to people who have had a history of drug dependence because itcan make you feel "high". It has to be carefully monitored and you have to see adoctor to wean you off of it. You CANNOT drink alcohol while taking Lyrica.Lyrica is the first drug being prescribed specifically for Fibromyalgia as the newcommercials point out. This alone will have millions of people lining up to takeit. Sales from Lyrica totaled $1.8 billion in 2007 and are expected to rise 30% in2008. It brings up some very interesting questions.If this drug was found to have dangerous weight gain as a side-effect (which weall know causes other health issues) why would they prescribe it for a populationthat is already mostly over-weight? The New York Times article lists the averageFibromyalgia patient (Findings from the 2007 survey have 2,500 people surveyed)weighing 180 pounds and standing 5 feet 4 inches. The average weight gain onLyrica during a 12 week trial was 7% of the person’s body weight. So the person
 
standing at 5’ 4” and weighing 180 lb. would now weigh 192.6 lb (and that was justafter 12 weeks).There are already MANY prescription medications doled out for this diagnosis thatresult in dependence. I finally gave in and took Hydrocodone when I was in severepain. Luckily I have always been terrified of dependence and was very mindful whenI was taking it and never got up to the 12 pills/day I was allotted. Still, in thefew short months I was on them I went from ½-1 pill taking away my pain to needing2 at a time (every 4 hours). Lyrica is similar in that you need to take it often(for pain) and it is habit forming. Hydrocodone is now the most common householddrug and we are facing record number of addictions. I personally have known MANYpeople who could not stop this drug once they started it – even after the pain hadgone. WHY in the world would you release a drug like this when you know it willlikely lead to another epidemic in dependence and addiction?Again, from The New York Times article, “Pfizer has steadily ramped up consumeradvertising of Lyrica. During the first nine months of 2007, it spent $46 millionon ads, compared with $33 million in 2006, according to TNS Media Intelligence.”Wow, that is a LOT of money. One would hope they spent as much researching theillness Fibromyalgia over the last 2 years as well as the long term effects ofLyrica – but somehow that is highly doubtful! You can read my post onPharmaceutical Companies Spending Double on Ads than Research to see why I feelthis way.So what worked for me?Getting the diagnosis of Fibromyalgia is upsetting in so many ways:1. The extreme pain you are in and the many tests you are subjected to forruling out other illnesses.2. There is a huge controversy surrounding whether it is a real or phantomillness – which doesn’t help if you are trying to explain to your family andfriends that you are in REAL pain.3. The experience of having chronic pain and feeling unable to participate inyour own life causes ENORMOUS amounts of stress which exacerbates ANY dis-ease.4. The lack of sleep (due to pain) contributes to the feeling of dis-ease andmakes pain worse. (This is the sleep/pain cycle)5. You are told essentially “there is nothing you can do” and to “manage yourpain” by drugs. HERE is where I strongly disagree – you CAN help yourself.I was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia and later with what many would consider an evenmore debilitating disease that has a lot of similar characteristics asFibromyalgia. I have been pain and pain pill free now for a year. I had to do itmyself. No doctor aided me in coming up with options for my well-being. It took mesaying and believing I would heal myself and finding the tools to help me to doso. I needed to face my demons and things that I had not dealt with. I needed tostop blaming others and myself and start forgiving. I needed to feel gratitude forwhat I did have in my life. I needed to exercise no matter how badly it hurt inorder to get my body stronger. I needed to set goals to move forward with my life.I needed to be OFF of the pain pills to even fully assess what my pain was and tobe sure that it wasn’t the pain pills causing more pain. (They did actuallycontribute to a lot of stomach pain). I needed to STOP going to the doctor 3 timesa week to hear how sick I was and to stop concentrating on my dis-ease all thetime.Wait, Are you Saying Fibromyalgia and the Pain is ALL IN MY HEAD?
of 00

Leave a Comment

You must be to leave a comment.
Submit
Characters: ...
Nezzy967

Hi, I have Fibro...diagnosed back in '03. I found your piece very interesting and the info on Lyrica is pretty scary to say the least, I know. Yeah, the doc's answer is a full "cocktail" of meds, I look forward to reading your blog. Thanks for sharing! Nezzy

reply10 / 19 / 2010
kimmiekinsethkuester68

I have fibromyalgia I don't take Lyrica I recieved this from mom it was interesting no one knows truely what it feels like unless you have it and experience the pain. I needed to add this it does exist I have meant and experience first hand not everyone has to 10 twenty pills as listed in the article i read I needed to add my comment you must have a positive attitude or the pain can cause depression the pain is true.

reply06 / 14 / 2009
You must be to leave a comment.
Submit
Characters: ...