Lyrica...The JOURNEY

I have been meaning to write about Lyrica for quite sometime now. Seeing a commercial for the drug this morning served as my reminder. Some of the information I have reviewed from its possible side effects to its help for those suffering from chronic pain leaves a great deal open to interpretation. I have been taking Lyrica for the past 5 months for my chronic pain after my whiplash injury from 2007. For many, especially those with fibromyalgia, Lyrica has been a miracle drug. I have found great relief from my neck and shoulder pain in Lyrica. Although it is not a cure, the masking of symptoms provided by lyrica allows you to perform many of your usual tasks with out pain altogether of with less pain.

The first time I took Lyrica in November, it was amazing. I hadn't slept a full night in more than a year; I hadn't fallen asleep before 2am in over a year; and I hadn't risen in the morning without excruciating pain. This was the most amazing drug I had ever taken! My mood was uplifted (obviously pain and lack of sleep weigh on you as a person), my children noticed mommy was happy, and my overall outlook had been changed from pain to possibility.

However, I did suffer a few side effects early on, such as the inability to function mentally. I was in a fog on one pill, but with 2 pills at a time I could not function, even to stand or have a conversation. After discussing this side effect with my Dr., I started taking only on in the morning and slowly increased my evening medications to 3-75mg Lyrica tablets. This helped me to sleep better without decreasing my mental state during the day.

All has been well since starting Lyrica in November. I have a few other medications that I take including Amrix--a time realeased muscle relaxer, melatonin, Ambien (not for a few months) as needed. I also had a cortisone shot in my neck in January. Since the cortisone shot, my pain has subsided greatly, enough to begin tapering off my Lyrica dosage.

Here is where things become sticky. First, Lyrica does cause weight gain. The big problem with this side effect is that you literally do not notice it right away, it just sneaks up on you. I was already having trouble losing weight, but to take medications that increase the scales was certainly not helping the situation. To say that you are bloated is an understatement! You might as well say you turn into a human flotation device! Okay, I thought to myself, I can live with some extra weight if it means no pain. But still, I should taper off medication if I can as I do not want to be dependent if its not necessary!

Here begins the withdraw! What you are not told is that Lyrica is a narcotic and that as with any drug you are going to go through withdraws. I started by tapering off the daytime pill--this was easy as my pain levels were already not as bad during the day. Once I began tapering off the evening pills the withdraw symptoms started. I have the shakes, nausea, irritability, itching. The only upside is that the puffiness seems to have dissipated. In a matter of 5 days I dropped 5 pounds! Great, except now I have the other pieces to deal with. I have been tapering off Lyrica since February. This is a process and should not be done cold turkey.

Currently I have started taking my Lyrica, one pill a bedtime, every other day. My Withdraw symptoms are still strong and I can definitely tell the day that I have the Lyrica and the day I do not. My pain level isn't significantly terrible. Yes, my shoulder and neck still hurt, however, when I stretch and do my physical therapy exercises to strengthen the muscles, I do alleviate the pain. Ibuprofen is a staple for me, I always have it with me just in case, and I ususally take 300mg a day.

My overall opinion of Lyrica is that it really does work, and it does alleviate the pain. However, I feel that physicians should do a better job relating all the side effects as well as what happens when you come off the drug. I was not prepared for the withdraw symptoms. I currently take an anti-depressant, and with the withdraws from Lyrica I definitely had an increase in feelings of depression and sadness. I can only imagine what it would have been like without my Lexapro.

Lyrica should definitely be considered for treatment of chronic pain, however, every patient should take it upon themselves to review all the information and see what others have endured on the drug. I continue to taper off this narcotic, and hopefully will not have to take it again. If I should need a pain management drug, I will be asking my doctor about alternatives to Lyrica.