FYI, I tried Cymbalta, but it was ineffective. My wife also tried it to no avail, and too many side effects for her, anyway. I wish Lyrica didn't take away our short term memory!
first yes you must see your doctor.
I took Lyrica for a bit and disliked it so much, i was unable to continue. I switched to gabapentin and have done very well with it. I realize Gabapentenin is a pretty strong drug and I know lyrica is more the goto drug for this. My issue was the high i often experienced when i took lyica. Gabapentin also creates a similar feeling, but since i take ti before bed, it works overnight and pretty much leaves my system by morning. If your pain is during the day i have heard of a slow release gapaentin but i have not used it.
best of good fortune.
rick
My doc (he is my Lyrica prescriber) gave me an Rx for Gab, I took it ONCE. It zonked me out, unlike Lyrica. I had to switch back to Lyrica. He only gave me the Gab because I had been complaining about the memory issue with Lyrica
I wish I could talk more about it with my doctor, but I go to a teaching clinic and they never give me the same "doctor" twice. Besides, they're all students and very young and don't have too much experience.
Yes, I can relate somewhat. At the VA hospital I go to for my diabetes, it's somewhat the same. I rarely see the same doctor for the initial appointment vitals, physical exam, & status update. But there is a supervising physician (endo) who has a lot of experience. In my case she always comes in at the end to get the summary from whomever I talked to first.
You should be able to ask to talk with whoever is supervising the student doctors you are seeing. Ask to do this. Be very politely assertive.
Make sure you tell them that the lyrica is making you suicidal. Make sure that it's in your record. That will definitely focus their minds on finding a way to fix it.
As for anti-depressants, you can't be forced to take them if you don't want to. There have been times I have turned down suggestions to try drugs I didn't want to take. So the possibility anti-depressants may be suggested should not stop you from talking to a shrink.
And always ask questions with any doctor. It helps to encourage them to think things through more than they might otherwise.
Make a prioritized list of questions & concerns to take with you to an appointment. Yes, it helps to keep you from forgetting to discuss something. But more importantly it makes it easier to actually ask for help if you've written it down beforehand. (I don't know why. It just works that way in my experience.)
-iJohn
Yes, both of us are very concerned about the short term memory loss. We both take 3 pills a day (I take 75mg). I forgot what strength she takes now and she's not here for me to ask. What strength are you on?
I take 50mg, 4 times a day. It was 50mg 3 times a day for a while, then "my" doctor upped it to 4 times. It's doing a fine job of numbing the pain, but if it were only that.
You know how sometimes they say it can take several days to weeks for a mind altering drug to take effect? When they switched me to this other drug instead of Lyrica (it starts with an M, can't remember the name), it hit me like a ton of bricks within minutes! I don't know about the Gabapentin -- sounds like it might be a little strong for me. Again, I'm just going to wean myself off the Lyrica and deal with the burning sensation in a more natural way. I'm a little tired of side effects! Thanks! :-)
OMG! The thing you said about not having to take a drug they suggest if you don't want to and being politely assertive makes me laugh because every time I go to the clinic, they're always on my case about taking high blood pressure and high cholesterol pills as a "necessary precaution." I always turn it down as politely as I can, but they really push the issue. I'm not saying all doctors do this, but there are some, I swear, they get on your case about taking something and won't ease up until you tell them just why you won't agree to take something they feel will save my life! Some are very rude and then get their feelings hurt when you tell them you're just not ready! And, I know what you mean about the supervising physician, they do come in at the end of the visit after the student doctors go over the whole visit with them in the hallway, but it's the supervising physicians that are obnoxious sometimes. The med students are actually very nice and polite, but don't know too much. And, as crazy as it sounds, I don't think I'd feel comfortable going to see a psychiatrist because I'm a little ashamed of how I feel. I've kept it a secret from everyone. This is the only place I've talked about it. The sooner I get off Lyrica, the better! Thanks!
Well, a shrink I had a while back used to point out that when people "volunteer" to be used as a training aid for your personal growth, you really should take them up on it. Easier to say than to do, of course. But that was his point.
With time & practice, politely expressing how you feel and saying "no" when appropriate becomes easier.
If saying "no" politely but directly is hard, another possible source of training aids are phone solicitors. Though I think I've pretty much got that one covered by now.
-iJohn
BTW & FWIW, I'm also on Simvastatin (cholesterol) & I was on Lisinopril (blood pressure) for decades.
(My understanding is that the studies have shown that the cholesterol drugs provide lots of benefits. I'm not sure why you'd want to avoid it if your tests show yours is high.)
I was taken off the lisinipril a few months ago simply because my BP was so low & I was already on what they considered the minimum dose.
They also have me on a daily vitamin D supplement. I'm not quite sure when vit D became the latest "must have", but I have no qualms about taking it since the tests showed my levels were low prior to taking the supplement. (I don't spend much time in the sun.)
-iJohn
The thing about vitamin D is, it's good for your skin. Your skin is your biggest defense against germs, as is your immune system, so you want to boost it to keep it strong and working for you. But really, as far as vitamin D goes, a few minutes in the sun every day should do the trick! My father is on simvastatin and lisinopril (high cholesterol and high blood pressure run in the family on my father's side) and all the pills he's on is making him very sick. His cholesterol and blood pressure is now under control, but it's giving him other health problems. From what I've heard, statins are linked to type 2 diabetes. But, who knows anymore! Everyday they come out with a new pill and the next day, there's a new lawsuit for it. I can't keep up, so I just turn everything down I don't feel I really need. I wish I never got started with Lyrica -- now it's going to make me sick to go off it. But, that's life -- trial and error. It would be boring, otherwise!
Another thing I wanted to add about statins (stupid memory loss!) was that, 20 years ago when my father's doctor put him on simvastatin, he warned him it'd give him cancer down the line; but also said it was worth getting cancer if it meant preventing a heart attack! LOL I was actually in the room when he said it, or I'd never believe it! And, he was actually one of the better doctors he's had! :-D
However "good" a doctor he may be/have been, he was wrong.
If there was a link between statins & cancer it would have been established by now. However, I did not see it listed as concern in, for example, this Mayo Q&A.
-iJohn
I don't know about these days, but it was all the rage back some 20 years ago when he first prescribed it to him. I'm not on them myself, so I don't keep up. But, it's good you do the research. You don't want to get blindsided, that's for sure! :-)