Is Lyrica a narcotic?

[tinyjennyl2002]

My doc just prescribed Lyrica to me b/c he thinks it's possible I have Fibro....I have all the symptoms....I'm also on Vicodin from another doc for severe headaches.....in order for me to function and get up and go to work, I must take a Vicodin in the AM right away, one in the afternoon and sometimes one at night.....should I look into any other meds or narcotics?  Just wondering what everyone else is taking to fight their pain.  Thanks in advance!

[j_s_w]

Vicodin is a narcotic and addictive by it's self... I would be cautious about asking for additional pain medication...

Lyrica is not a narcotic but may help reduce your pain... make it more manageable, and help the Vicodin to work better...

Personally I hate Vicodin and avoid taking it except when I absolutely have to in order to function... its just too addictive for my liking.

[tinyjennyl2002]

I'm sorry to hear about all your pain, I completely understand how you feel though....I'm 39 yrs. old and my body feels like it is an 80 yr. olds....I'm a single mom so I can't quit work, but it takes every ounce of energy to get up in the AM and deal with the all over pain....I'm afraid that my employer will not understand .....I already have missed way past all my sick days.....I actually feel like I'm going crazy if that makes any sense at all....I have to try and function at work on these meds and with the pain and all I want to do is cry.....so Deedee, did you finally quit work then?  Are you on Disability?

[tinyjennyl2002]

It's good that you have your husband...even though I'm sure that it's just as hard on him to see you in pain and like you said...there's only one money maker in the home now.
Did you take the Lyrica with other pain meds then?  Didn't you feel loopy at work?

[tinyjennyl2002]

What do you take to fight your pain?  I aggree Vicodin is highly addictive and I've been on it for 4 yrs. already but it's the only thing that can help me get up in the AM.....I'm afraid that it may be wearing off though and I should be on some sort of other pain killer...even though I wish I didn't have to go that route.

[j_s_w]

As far as the stronger stuff goes, in the non-attictive department, I've found Tramadol to be quite effective - it's not quite as strong as Vicodin, but it's most of the way there and it's not addictive.... plus you don't get that loopy "slightly stoned" feeling that you sometimes get with Vicodin.

[tinyjennyl2002]

Thank you for suggesting Tramadol.....I will definitely look into that one.....it seems like the older you get the worse the pain becomes....cold weather definitely makes everything seem impossible...I live in Missouri and right now it's cold and snowing.....it takes every amount of energy to walk to my car and clean it off in the AM....I feel like I'm dying.....lol

[j_s_w]

Tramadol is classed as a non-addictive narcotic.

It's the generic name for Ultram.

Some more information is found here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tramadol

[j_s_w]

It depends on your expectation... I don't think a safe dose of any drug is going to make you without pain completely, unless it also impairs your cognitive function or causes numbness etc....

You just have to find what brings you within the zone of what you can deal with... what makes life tollerable... at least so you can focus on what you can do...

[PlateletGal]

Important Information on Lyrica:

http://www.medhelp.org/health_pages/Fibromyalgia/Important-Information-About-Lyrica/show/477?cid=39

Pain Relief Alternatives:

http://www.medhelp.org/health_pages/Fibromyalgia/Pain-Relief-/show/478?cid=39


I don't have fibro (at least not primary), but I do often have pain. I am one of the fortunate ones who can tolerate it.. except during times when I have migraines and/or bad back pain. If I had fibro, I certainly would not give in to physicians who know nothing about these conditions and rely on the pharmaceutical companies to do their work for them. I would rely on the experts and especially those physicians who have successfully treated their own fibro / CFS condition:

"Physicians Who Deserve Our Attention"

http://www.medhelp.org/user_journals/show/44526?personal_page_id=1064

[VaBreeze]

Tramadol is an opioid, therefore it has the potential for addiction.  However, it is found to be the less likely of pain killers to be abused.  NSAID's will not be effective on fibro pain because it is not caused by an inflammation.  

Lyrica can certainly help with your pain, but I have heard of many situations where one has had a difficult time withdrawing from it.  I have taken it before and had no issues with stopping it.  Like any drug, there are side-effects and only you can determine how your body is responding to it.  Sometimes the benefits outweigh the side-effects.  

I feel you would benefit, like PlateletGal commented, from seeing a physician who is familiar with FMS/CFS.  This way they aren't guessing you have one or the other and can find the best treatment for you.  I'm surprised to hear that you are receiving vicodin for headaches when there are other less-addictive medications to treat them.

[j_s_w]

I'm not sure what to say about your comment that NSAIDs will not help with fibro pain...

I have had some help from Asprin, Ibuprofen and Naproxen... all of which are NSAIDs - I have heard others comment that it gives them some relief also...

Its not that it removes the pain... but it does help some.

Mind you - I have also had success with Ibuprofen on toothache - again not caused by inflamation (inflammation)... but it helps some.

Perhaps it depends on the individual...

[patsy10]

Vicodin is not the drug of choice for migraines and I agree with others who posted regarding it's addictive nature.  There are specific medications made just for migraines and they work very well.  You could ask your doctor about these.

[tinyjennyl2002]

I have been to a neurologist ( long time ago ) and he didn't help me at all with the headaches.....since then I've done Chiropractic, massage, Accupuncture, Yoga, and now am presently going to a headache research clinic which is supposed to be one of the best ....but THEY haven't been able to help either...I have been on SEVERAL different drugs to fight tension headaches throughout my life that I couldn't even name them all....none of them worked.....finally my regular doc prescribed the Vicodin b/c I was not able to function and get up to go to work unless I had a painkiller in me.....I have missed more than my amount of sick days this year.....I'm sure my employer is fed up but hasn't said anything yet.....I'm waiting though.  I'm just thinking that I may need a different painkiller b/c I've gotten so used to Vicodin....I WISH I didn't have to take them, I really do but I'm a single mom and I have no other choice, I have to work.  My Pyschiatrist put me on Lyrica last night, so I'm hoping that this combined with the Vicodin will help, although today has been hell....I only started the Lyrica last night but I woke up this AM feeling like someone beat me up over night....I could have cried I hurt so bad....I took my son to school and came home and immediately popped a Vicodin b/c I knew that that would at least allow me to move around better....but the pain is coming back this afternoon and I feel like I"m dying..........

[GuitarNGamerGirl]

I could respond that the question "Is X a narcotic?" depends on your definition of 'narcotic', since law enforcement uses one defintion (incorrectly) while the medical/pharmaceutical community uses another. Since, however, the definition of "narcotic" as implemented by law enforcement is as linguistically incorrect as it is wrongheaded and misguided- not to mention brutally destructive and cruelly mean-spirited to a mentally ill segment of the populace who have a genuine addictive disorder, and I therefore do not hold their definition to be valid, we will ignore theirs and proceed under the only lingustically correct, scientifically and medically valid definition of the word.

Medically, the word "narcotic" is derived from the Greek root word "narkos" which has several related definitions, but the only valid one here is "sleep" or "numbness". Another Greek word, Hypnos, also means "sleep", but ancient Greek, like English, is a fully civilization-developed language with a rich literary tradition, and therefore has many words from differing roots that all refer to the same thing, which are also usually derived from said civilization's religious practices and beliefs.

Anyway, to get to the point, to fall under the medical definition of "Narcotic" a drug must be an "agonist" at the sites of the brain's natural opiate receptors. That is to say, the human brain has a series of natural "holes" that are just the right shape to accept molecules of certain shapes that tell the electrical circuits of the brain to do certain things. One set of such "holes" is just the right size and shape for the molecules produced by the drug morphine while it is in the body. Not only does morphine fit into these "holes," but other drugs that are naturally derived from the Opium (Chinese) Poppy as well, such as codeine (which occurs in the resin of the poppy naturally along with morphine), heroin (which is a chemically processed version of morphine). In order to alleviate the powerfully addictive side effects of morphine and raw opium while harnessing its incredibly beneficial medical properties (too numerous to list here) mankind has attempted use science to alter the drug, and has produced "natural" opioid derivatives like hydromorphone (Dilaudid) and dihydrocodeine (hydrocodone, brand names Loracet, Vicodin, et.al). In fact, heroin was originally created by a chemist who, among other things, was attempting to create a drug to cure morphine addiction.

Thinking they could do a better job than God, mankind has even tried to produce medicines that are chemically similar to the resin yielded by the poppy without using the poppy, presumably thinking that it won't be addictive if  made in the lab- or perhaps, more realistically, that it can be more easily altered and studied if created under controlled conditions- sometimes with disastrous results, or with side effects far worse that what led them to attempt to recreate the drug in the lab to begin with. Three debatably useful drugs that were created in experiments like this- totally synthetically, with no opium derivatives- that are still around and have their (somewhat dubious) medical uses are Methadone (created in Nazi Germany), Propoxyphene (Darvon) and Fentanyl (known popularly as "that surgery drug that knocks you on your &^#").

One other drug that came from this is Talwin, which I haven't seen in a long time, I don't think they make it any more. Talwin is pretty fun if you just take two or three, but around here, they used to mix them with some over-the-counter antihistimine, and abuse it intravenously. I have no real experience with this, I just remember hearing of it on the news a lot when I was a kid.

Anyway, to be a "narcotic", in short, and to reiterate drug must be active (ie, an agonist, that is, it must stimulate) at at least one of the brain's four types of opioid receptors (of which there are a variety of subtypes). A partial list of such drugs is given above, but is by no means exhaustive. Another drug which is "active" at these sites, but which has the opposite effect (an ANTagonist) is naloxone, or naltrexone, which blocks the absorption and processing of opioid agonists, and is an antidote for opioid poisoning. Like any drug, however useful and beneficial, this drug is also widely abused.

Naloxone, rather than being used to save lives, is rather often MISused in the United States by cruel, meanspirited  ER doctors and psychiatric hospitals to punish uncooperative addicts and to punish noncompliant mental patients. I have seen this firsthand, but I suspect little will ever be done to correct this. Ask any active addict if he would rather submit to a vicious beating to within an inch of his life by angry police officers or to the auspices of angry, prune-faced, bible-quoting ER nurse with a syringe full of naloxone. Any addict, without question, would take the beating any day. Yet, one of these is not only legal, but RECOMMENDED treatment, whilst the other could land the perpetrators in jail. This is wrong.

Anyway, I'm off subject. To answer your question, then, NO, lyrica is NOT a narcotic. But, not only that, I will go one step further, and answer the question that is REALLY on your mind, that you didn't ask. What you REALLY wanna know is, will Lyrica get you high?

The answer to that question which is on everyone's mind but no one is asking, is aytch ee double-ell YES. It doesn't act on the opioid receptors, and is a relatively young drug, so it doesn't really have a "Class" (like stimulant, narcotic, hypnotic, sedative, benzodiazepine) but it is somehow related to the drug GHB (the so-called 'date rape' drug, which, IMHO, isn't all its cracked up to be, unless administered with a large, and I do mean LARGE, amount of alcohol) as it produces gamma amino-butyric acid (I think, don't quote me on this) as a metabolyte. Some say its also related to MDMA (called XTC by users, or 'exstacy' by the ignorant press) though the logic behind this relationship escapes me.

No, Lyrica is not addictive, nor is possible to overdose on it. Finally, it will not "mess you up" to the point where you won't know what you are doing, like some drugs will. It will NOT 'screw you up' at the same level as benzos, heroin, dilaudids, even hydrocodone, will if you take enough of it. Even Ambien and even Lunesta can put you in a sleep-walking dream, where you are doing things you don't remember the next day- sometimes dangerously so. Lyrica is NOT like that. The high is not highly sought after nor is it really a viable street drug.


Thank you for reading,
Courtney "GuitarNGamerGirl" Parsons

[GuitarNGamerGirl]

My post was too long, had to post it in 2 pieces:

So, if you are using Lyrica as a pain killer, and it works for you (it does for me) and you are worried about addiction, don't. Sudden termination of the drug can cause adverse physical withdrawal symptoms that are generally mild- nothing like even a mild hydrocodone habit can cause, but there are reports of seizures when dosage is suddenly terminated in those who are on high doses, so be very careful when you are coming off it to taper down if you've been using it multiple times a day for a long period of time. This, however, is NOT the same as addiction.

When you are addicted, your entire life centers around getting the drug you need to feel "normal," or "like a human being." The thought of going even a day without a certain substance begins to depress you, so you start saving for the hard times. You always make sure you have a source, and go to multiple doctors or begin to hunt down illicit sources to procure a steady supply should you get cut off. Addiction is a terrible thing, and is a phenomenon produced by a peculiar permutation biochemistry and genetics, and only happens to a (relatively) small percentage of patients. However, we as a society still firmly insist on treating it as a moral issue, and that addicted folks are "bad" people and that they "did this to themselves." Whatever.

The point is, Lyrica will NOT do this, and there have been no reports of anyone becoming so obsessed with Lyrica that they begin to forge prescriptions and lie to their doctors. Frankly, as someone who has experimented with mildly high doses of the substance, I can't imagine it happening.

I will continue to monitor the Internet, and explore the subject and experiment, and should any of you enjoy this post, I will keep you updated on my discoveries. Note that I don't expect any of you to agree with my opinions, but you surely must appreciate certain objective aspects of the science I have presented here, however subjectively it was conveyed. I invite any and all who share my interest, whether in agreement with my stance or not, to join me and engage in intelligent, useful debate about drugs and addiction, and perhaps we can contribute to making positive progress in some small way.

Again, thank you.

Courtney Patricia "GuitarNGamerGirl" Parsons

[CDCWA]

I believe you are addicted to Vicodin; if you are not able to function without it, that means you are an addict.  I am a Chemical Dependency Counselor, so I work with clients who are in your situation and have no control over their lives because of their reliance on Vicodin.  

I would seriously talk to your doctor in regards to trying to taper you off and placing you on medication that will actually fix what may be causing your pain.  Vicodin is a heroin derivative and can lead to more serious danger down the line.  So I hope that you will stop soon, because the longer you wait, the more difficult it will become.

[peamusela]

say you stink as an addiction counselor the audacity of you to judge another in such a rude manner.  we all have to steer our own lives and make decisions for ourselves.  hope you'll stop soon wow what a counselor you must be judge judge judge..her doctor will cut her off and know soon enough.  and if she doctor shops she get hit with a felony conviction so maybe she'll read this..or maybe we should just let people crash and struggle, and be there when they do rather than most friends and people who talk talk talk....instead of helping...she like all of us who take pain meds are aware of rehab centers, or aa/na meetings but her taking three a day if so for a diagnosed disease or acute/chronic situation is just fine and in fact alot less than most pain management patients take Mr. Counselor.  lyrica does get you high and at 50mg makes you feel like you've had four bottles of wine the night before upon waking..and it completely reverses the opiate high by interferring with the opiate high receptors oh yah!!!..
whoever said lyrica is not addictive is not correct.  it is and should be reclassed it acts like a narcotic pain killer, and who said it's not serious you can't overdose?  stupid!  absolutely you take four of these babies at 50mg you won't wake for days...and that's from somebody who has been on 140mg of a strong narcotic who just started it..so don't give advice if you don't know you will only be harming somebody for gosh sake!  lyrica has the same warnings as oxycontin, percocet, and vicodin the least of the strengths of opiates.
lyrica helps with nerve pain associated with nerve impingement such as  a disk sitting on a nerve in your spine, and only an mri will prove this one.  ask your pharmacist or doctor about meds or better why waste time here talking to people who don't really care, and are addicted themselves and just want to read words like narcotic, high,
while they are high taking far more than three a day perhaps?  
don't judge...there are consequences to every action including drugs.
if you do not have a diagnosed chronic pain situation then you have
no business on narcotics..furthermore inderal a non narcotic and vicodin together may help but vicodin is not indicated for migraines.
nothing helps migraines!  find out what causes them? for me it's food dye, msg, diet soda and too many powdered dunkin donuts...talk to an allergist about the migraines...and a neurologist too...have a c-scan w/ contrast and an mri w contrast about the time you get the migraines to see what's up and fix the problem.  chronic disease treatment is a combination of narcotic pain meds, acupunture, and a whole host of other remedies...to try depending on your acute/chronic
situation...and ARTHRITIS IS NOT JUST ARTHRITIS WHOEVER BELIEVES THAT..LIKE CANCER 20 YEARS AGO NOBODY KNOWS HOW TO TREAT ARTHRITIS.  WHAT CAUSES ITS DEBILITATING PAIN IN THE JOINTS, AND BONES 20 DIFFERENT VARIETIES ! EVER HAVE AVN AT 30?  I HAVE.....
Have a nice ay.
OR MORE LIKE CANCER RESPECTFULLY.  

[igarfy]

I agree, who made you God? You have no idea of what it is like to have severe pain 24/7, it take all my energy just to deal with it. I take vicodin and must take one before I can even get up to function. The other choice is stay in bad all day. You really should think long and hard before you judge someone you don't even know. You do not even know their med history. I have been a nurse and EMT for 25 years and I would never do that to another poor human just looking for help. Glad you are not my friend.