Lyrica

I've been promising myself I would sit down and write this, as I think it might be important to someone else.

A few months ago my doctor started me on Lyrica, a relatively new drug often advertised on television as the only FDA approved medication for fibromyalgia. This medication appears to be widely prescribed. My doctor started me out at 75 mg twice a day for a week, then doubled to 150 mg for a week, then again to 300 mg...this was supposed to be the maintenance dose. This medication made me sleepy and that's putting it mildly. The first day I took 150 mg I slept through my contractor busting up a tile floor out with a hammer. I spent my days walking through a swirling haze. The day I fell asleep driving home from work, I quit taking it...cold turkey. I spent the next few days feeling like total hell. The nerves deadened by the drug screamed, I was sick at my stomach and I couldn't sleep.

I talked to my doctor and he convinced me to try again at a lower dose...freeing yourself from chronic pain can be a mighty motivator. I was taking 75 mg twice day again. The sleepiness returned, but the nerve pain wasn't relieved at this dose. I kept telling myself, "Give it a chance." But then something happened...one too many people asked me if I was OK. I seemed quiet...not something I normally hear. I told myself it was just because I was so sleepy, so tired. I asked my husband and he said that I was "mellow"...definitely not a description I was used to. I am anything but mellow.

That was the final straw. I was losing myself in a medication, without benefit. I weaned the drug off this time, slowly decreasing the dose. I feel much better. I know that sounds strange when I also say the pain is back. The pain has been there for a long time. I'm used to it. I can live with it better than living with the treatment.