Hi all,
I had PN symptoms and vulvodynia in 2013, was put on medication which worked after 5 months... was able to wean off everything in 2015.
After a period of bad stress the nerve disturbance has returned. I am back on Amitriptyline. Have titrated up but I still feel it's not enough 100%. I have asked my GP VERY KINDLY to give me Lyrica again. It was my pain consultant who decided I take this back in 2014. I basically asking to be put back on my consultant's treatment. I haven't asked for any additional painkillers.
GP refuses, made a million excuses..says she wants to wait for amitriptyline effects, BLA BLA...
Anyone else in UK have experience on how to approach this? I know Lyrica is 100GBP per box, but I also need to get a job and sit down for more than 5 hours a day at a desk and amitriptyline isn't strong enough and/or takes VERY very long to work (3 months in my experience). I can't sit around unemployed in this meantime. How do I make my GP understand this? She's also told me my pain is psychosomatic, but I doubt that since I read in a publication that psychogenic pain is in more than one place and doesn't respond to medication as a general rule. Can I maybe go to a private GP and pay 50 pounds per consultation to get me Lyrica again?
Any advice is very much welcomed.
GP problems- refusal to re-prescribe my Lyrica- advice?
GP problems- refusal to re-prescribe my Lyrica- advice?
tiny bartholin infection triggered vulvar nerve pain.
Diagnosed vulvodynia Sept '13 (no burning but electric shocks, paresthesia, aching, buzzing)
Feb 14- Taking 50 mg Ami/Elavil
May 14-pain free with 50 mg Amitriptyline and 300 mg Pregabalin. Back to normal
Dec 15- weaned off all medication, pain free, wearing skinny jeans
April 17- pain returned, Amitriptyline 50 mg. Something doesn't make sense in my diagnosis.
Currently treating depression and anxiety
Diagnosed vulvodynia Sept '13 (no burning but electric shocks, paresthesia, aching, buzzing)
Feb 14- Taking 50 mg Ami/Elavil
May 14-pain free with 50 mg Amitriptyline and 300 mg Pregabalin. Back to normal
Dec 15- weaned off all medication, pain free, wearing skinny jeans
April 17- pain returned, Amitriptyline 50 mg. Something doesn't make sense in my diagnosis.
Currently treating depression and anxiety
Re: GP problems- refusal to re-prescribe my Lyrica- advice?
I've just read your post about your GP not prescribing Lyrica again for you. I'm sorry to hear that you are suffering and that you feel your GP is not helping you. Possibly it's something to do with a recent study, which Jason commented on a while ago. I've found and copied his post about it and will paste it here:
"Lyrica found to be no better than placebo for sciatica
Postby Jason32 » Fri Mar 31, 2017 3:31 pm
Thought I would post this here since many PN patients (myself included) have suffered with sciatica at some point: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study just published last week in The New England Journal of Medicine (arguably the most prestigious medical journal in the U.S.) showed Lyrica (Pregabalin) to be no better than a placebo for sciatica. Anecdotally, I know of no one who was helped with nerve pain by Lyrica. If it doesn't work for the sciatic nerve I very highly doubt it works for the pudendal. This is a good example of why I keep hammering on the need for randomized, controlled trials for PN treatments- especially PNE surgery.
The study can be found here:
http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NE ... ured_home&
It also received some mainstream news coverage:
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-healt ... SKBN16T32Q"
I understand that you say it helped you and of course there are ways you could get it , perhaps by going to another GP or by getting a private prescription, although that would be expensive. As your doctor has suggested that your pain is psychosomatic, why doesn't she refer you for specialist treatment? Did she offer that? Which publication did you read that said psychomatic pain doesn't respond to medication? If you search this forum for Ezer's posts, you will see that he got relief from medication although he did have psychosomatic pain.
I took Lyrica for some time, gradually increasing the dose. At first I thought it might be helping, but I realised that it wasn't and stopped taking it. I had very unpleasant withdrawal symptoms from it. Did you ask your doctor why she thought your pain was psychosomatic?
"Lyrica found to be no better than placebo for sciatica
Postby Jason32 » Fri Mar 31, 2017 3:31 pm
Thought I would post this here since many PN patients (myself included) have suffered with sciatica at some point: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study just published last week in The New England Journal of Medicine (arguably the most prestigious medical journal in the U.S.) showed Lyrica (Pregabalin) to be no better than a placebo for sciatica. Anecdotally, I know of no one who was helped with nerve pain by Lyrica. If it doesn't work for the sciatic nerve I very highly doubt it works for the pudendal. This is a good example of why I keep hammering on the need for randomized, controlled trials for PN treatments- especially PNE surgery.
The study can be found here:
http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NE ... ured_home&
It also received some mainstream news coverage:
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-healt ... SKBN16T32Q"
I understand that you say it helped you and of course there are ways you could get it , perhaps by going to another GP or by getting a private prescription, although that would be expensive. As your doctor has suggested that your pain is psychosomatic, why doesn't she refer you for specialist treatment? Did she offer that? Which publication did you read that said psychomatic pain doesn't respond to medication? If you search this forum for Ezer's posts, you will see that he got relief from medication although he did have psychosomatic pain.
I took Lyrica for some time, gradually increasing the dose. At first I thought it might be helping, but I realised that it wasn't and stopped taking it. I had very unpleasant withdrawal symptoms from it. Did you ask your doctor why she thought your pain was psychosomatic?
"if you want to keep a secret you must also hide it from yourself" Orwell
Re: GP problems- refusal to re-prescribe my Lyrica- advice?
It's possible your GP has read the latest research and concluded it doesn't work.
I see Alan brought up an old post of mine linking to a study earlier this year showing that Lyrica is no better than placebo for sciatica.
There was also a Cochrane Review in 2012 that concluded Lyrica was no better than placebo for Chronic Pelvic Pain Syndrome (CPPS), citing a randomized controlled trial that demonstrated no benefit:
http://www.cochrane.org/CD009063/PROSTA ... n-syndrome
I see Alan brought up an old post of mine linking to a study earlier this year showing that Lyrica is no better than placebo for sciatica.
There was also a Cochrane Review in 2012 that concluded Lyrica was no better than placebo for Chronic Pelvic Pain Syndrome (CPPS), citing a randomized controlled trial that demonstrated no benefit:
http://www.cochrane.org/CD009063/PROSTA ... n-syndrome