Lyrica - Friend or Foe!!!

[Sarahsmom46]

I have a question:

Is Lyrica an antidepressant?  The nice lady in the commercials for fibromyalgia on TV says that "Lyrica is not an antidepressant" but is it or isn't it?  I know that it is an anti seizure drug and also that it can be used for neuropathic pain, but are doctors also using it for patients who they believe have depression.  I thought I'd put this out to you guys to see what you all think or have experienced with this drug.   Thanks a bunch!

Julie

[Sarahsmom46]

My doctor once prescribed amitriptyline for me for sleep.  Stressed out life at the time cause me to go days without sleeping and the modern sleep medicines weren't in popular use then.  My experiences with amitriptyline are remarkably similar to yours.  I never could predict the effect even though we tried working with different dosages.  I wouldn't mind trying it again, but am afraid the only time I could chance it is on the weekends.  I'll probably end up sleeping the whole weekend though.  The sleep was good though and much needed.  It sounds like you have adjusted your life to this drug combination.  I hope I will find that good combination too.  I'd love to get back some normalcy in my life.  Thanks.

Julie

[Sarahsmom46]

Thank you for your comment.  I was not looking for a sugar coated answer to this questions and you certainly provided a good balanced opinion.  I have had several tests that addressed the burning pins and needle feelings in my feet and lower legs and the doctor believes it is neuropathic pain, not neuropathy per se, but neuropathic.  I'll give the Lyrica some time and if the response is not that great then we will look elsewhere for relief.  Thanks again for your well thought out feedback.  

Julie

[essdipity]

A little over two months ago I was prescribed 100 mg Lyrica twice a day. No breaking in period! Was zonked for two days, then adjusted. My neuropathy was better right away, but it almost vanished upon adding amitriptyline about 2 weeks later. It's only 25 mg at bedtime, and was prescribed for sleep.

My sleep is so weird that it's hard to say whether anything is making it more so. Sometimes I feel relatively normal, if hardly energetic. Sometimes I wake up after a decent night's sleep, do the usual routine, and get so sleepy again around 9:30 that I take a 3-hour nap. Sometimes my nighttime sleep is normal, more or less; sometimes it's so light it hardly qualifies as sleep at all, though the amitriptyline can keep me woozy at night.

Nevertheless things are better than a few months ago when I had a sleep study. Then things were terrible. I was so exhausted but didn't rest. At least I've finally gotten off Lunesta or Ambien (except when I do the Avonex shot).

I'm sure this is Too Much Information on my sleep, so for that I apologize. But I just wanted to explain why I can't say exactly what effect amitriptyline has. Others here take a bigger dose without being doped out, so I guess it's an individual thing.

ess

[wishforchange]

Lyrica is a low dosage anti-epileptic medication, used for non-epileptics who are experiencing neuropathic pain, i.e. pain derived from irritation of the nerves after the injury or crisis has healed.  It is chemically different from an anti-depressant.  If it has anti-depressant effects, this is a side-effect, and not the main indicatio for the drug.  It was the side-effect of its reducing neuropathic pain that led it to being so widely prescribed.  It is at its core an epilepsy treatment.
Be very careful with Lyrica.  Be sure before you take it that your pain is indeed neuropathic, and not from some other cause.  Neuropathic pain tends to have a burning quality, can be more common at nerve endings so at the outer parts of the body, and is only diagnosable after all other possible causes have been eliminated.  Continuing pain after shingles is a good example of neuropathic pain, the infection clears but the nerve remains irritated.  Phantom limb pain in amputees are another type of neuropathic phenomena.
Treating pain which is not neuropathic with Lyrica usually results in the pain not being addressed.  And once started, Lyrica is hard to come off.  I have known patients who have been taking Lyrica for years, with no pain relief, and having to use other painkillers alongside it.  Their doctors do not take them off it.  I don't understand this.  I was offfered Lyrica myself some years ago, and after reading into the pros and cons and indications for the drug was convinced it wasn't right for me.  I was then put under a surprisingly great amount of pressure from consultants and nurses to just give it a go.  It was like some hard sell technique.  There definitely is something strange going on with doctors and the manufacturers of this drug.  I speak from witnessing so many people being kept on it who didn't need it and the way it was pushed on me.
For those whos pain really is neruopathic, it works well, but undiagnosed pain is not necessarily neuropathic pain.  Just make sure the diagnosis is right.  And if you need an anti-depressant, then take medicine specifically designed for this purpose (please NOT Seroxat, or whatever its brand name is where you are, again tremendous problems).
Personally I think Lyrica, great in some people, is overprescribed.  It is not a general painkiller or an anti-depresant, it is a treatment for a very specifice group of people who have neuropathic problems.  I do think anyone else should not be persuaded to give it a go.  It is a complex, difficult to metabolize drug with numerous side-effects, and of no benefit if it is being prescribed for the wrong reasons.
Don't take my word for this, I am not a doctor, do the research yourself or maybe Quix who is medically qualified will answer.  I am only speaking from my limited knowledge base with some medical training, work experience, and personal experience.  In other words I may be mistaken, but this are the conclusions I have come to.

[Sarahsmom46]

Thanks for your feedback.  I didn't find a thing on the web that connected Lyrica to antidepressant, but I thought I might be missing something somewhere in my info search.  I have just increased my dose to two 50mg a day and will hopefully start to see some results.  How is the amitryplaline helping?  Does it make you very sleepy?  How long have you been taking it?  I am hopeful that the neuro pain in my legs will let up.  Heck, I'd be happy it I have 50% less pain.  Hope it continues to work for you too.  Take care and thanks again for the info.

Julie

[Want to feel well!!!]

That just shows how bad advertising can be!  I hope heads rolled because of that ad snafu!  LOL

Hope the Lyrica works for you!

Wanna :o)

[Sarahsmom46]

I agree....The ad did not portray a legitimate side of fibromyalgia by adding in that statement.  It looks like they probably took it off as I haven't seen it for several months.  

I was asking because when I told a couple of my friends that my doctor wrote me a script for Lyrica, the first thing they said was " isn't that an antidepressant"?  So much for the ad's attempts to dispel this notion.  

Julie

[Want to feel well!!!]

Personally I thought that ad was a bit insulting!  I have not seen it lately and I hope they took it off the air.  I don't have fibro, but I was offended for all those who do.

Wanna :o)

[essdipity]

Hi, Julie. No, Lyrica isn't an antidepressant. I think that ad is targeting those who consider fibro a disorder caused by emotions. That of course is nutty too.

Lyrica is a newer generation of meds like Neurontin. It isn't for everyone, but for those it helps, it's great. Count me as one of those. I'm much better on a combo of Lyrica and amiltriptyline.

ess