So here you have it folks! Lyrica for fibromyalgia.

What is Lyrica you might ask? It’s a so-called pain medication but here is what you won’t be told, as I learned about two years ago because of a client who came to me for help.

LYRICA is indicated for management of: Neuropathic pain associated with diabetic peripheral neuropathy and post herpetic neuralgia. It is also indicated as adjunctive therapy for adult patients with partial onset seizures.

A maximum allowed dose is 300 mg daily and it must not be abruptly discontinued as this make provoke seizures. This drug must be used with extreme caution in people with renal (kidney) impairment.

Some of the many side effects include dizziness and somnolence, gait disorders, confusion, asthenia, abnormal thinking, blurred vision, lack of coordination, infection, accidental injury, dry mouth, weight gain, chest pain, vomiting, nervousness, peripheral edema, risk of heart failure, itching, bruising, ulceration and others.

In standard preclinical in vivo lifetime carcinogenicity studies of pregabalin, there was an unexpectedly high incidence of hemangiosarcoma (cancerous tumour).

Now what interested me was that I had a client who was preparing for elective surgery. She came to me to try to get relief of pain while on this drug. In reviewing her lab tests she had a definitive problem with platelet reduction.

Platelets help your blood clot, something certainly necessary with pending surgery. Now as we continue with side effects consider this – Decreased Platelet Count. Pregalbin treatment is associated with a decrease in platelet count.

The musculoskeletal side effects include joint pain, leg cramps, and muscle pain. With Fibromyalgia there is muscle and joint pain. I guess the money mongers at Pfizer just want to see how much you can endure.

With the positive results for FMS I've achieved with clients in my work using natural treatment, it’s a wonder anyone would do something else.

FDA OKs first fibromyalgia treatment
6-21-07
A Pfizer Inc. drug won expanded federal approval Thursday as the first treatment for fibromyalgia, a mysterious syndrome marked by muscle pain and fatigue.
The Food and Drug Administration action means Lyrica becomes the first drug that can be marketed specifically as a treatment for adults with fibromyalgia. Patients currently make so-called "off label" use of pain medications, antidepressants, muscle relaxants and sleep aids to treat the condition. Exercise and applying heat also can help.
Fibromyalgia typically affects women, striking them with long-lasting or chronic pain, as well as muscle stiffness and tenderness, according to the FDA. An estimated 3 million to 6 million people in the United States are affected each year.
Lyrica, known generically as pregabalin, previously won FDA approval to treat partial seizures, pain following the rash of shingles and pain associated with diabetes nerve damage.
The FDA warned that common side effects of the drug included mild-to-moderate dizziness and sleepiness. Also, the agency said that Lyrica reduces pain and improves daily functions for some patients with fibromyalgia, but that not everyone derived benefit from the drug in studies.
The cause of fibromyalgia is a mystery, though it may be linked to injury, emotional distress or viruses that change the way the brain perceives pain, the FDA said.