SORRY AMIGO, THAT NOT ON THE PHARMALARY LIST

[63SIERRA]

Well my outside do prescribed LYRICA. I went to the local pharmacy to get it filled out of pocket if it was cheap... 500.00 for 30 pills. NO DICE.

SO I dropped the rx off at my primisery care physicians office.. got a call today, and was told that the medication is not on the pharmalery list and they cant prescrbe. this medication is also called pregablin..  A member on this forum recently told me that he has and is getting prescriptions for this medication from the VA..   Does anyone know anything abt this "pharmalery" list?  Certainly they arent blowing smoke up my ass to save money?  we shall see.

[Buck52]

63SERRIA

Check with your Dr

Gabapentin is the same or close to and similar to Lyrica/pregabalin ... Look up Gabapentin....Dr will need to prescribe the correct dose, if you can't take Gabapentin   then a Dr needs to address this

 Gabapentin is  for Seizures and Neuropathy/ helps pain Fibro, RSL ect,,ect

Lyrica seems to have more side effects./but is in the Gabapentin family  so to speak

 

Jmo

 

 

............Buck

[Vync]

The VA might need to have their internal specialist doctor prescribe it. Certain medications are off limits and considered non-formulary to VAMC PCP docs. Another example of a non-formulary drug was Singulair, but after it went generic I think the VA lightened up a bit.

[green]

The VA prescribed Lyrica and Cymbalta for me after several other meds were ineffective.  I couldn't tolerate either so now I'm back on tramadol.

[Vync]

The VA prescribed Lyrica and Cymbalta for me after several other meds were ineffective.  I couldn't tolerate either so now I'm back on tramadol.

I can attest to the fact that the VA likes to try out the cheap stuff first and work their way up to legitimately effective meds.

[TALON II FE]

63SERRIA

Check with your Dr

Gabapentin is the same or close to and similar to Lyrica/pregabalin ... Look up Gabapentin....Dr will need to prescribe the correct dose, if you can't take Gabapentin   then a Dr needs to address this

 Gabapentin is  for Seizures and Neuropathy/ helps pain Fibro, RSL ect,,ect

Lyrica seems to have more side effects./but is in the Gabapentin family  so to speak

 

Jmo

 

 

............Buck

Buck, brother, this is not all true, especially the side effects!  I think a Doc fed you a steaming pile to see if you would eat it.  I have taken both (as well as 3-5 others).  Completely different meds, Lyrica was originally designed to REPLACE Gabapentin because, essentially, it does not work for what it is most-often being marketed for "OFF-LABEL" (read: not the intended purpose); PAIN!  There are some different side effects as well.  See below, all copy and paste from Wikipedia, it may give some insight.  I tried to color code, hope it helps and doesn't make it more confusing instead!  RED is Gabapentin, BLUE is Lyrica.  Firstly, the section on pain for Gabapentin (can you say, "hoping for a placebo effect from something that has side effects?")  I personally had extreme side effects with very short-lived benefit from Gabapentin before hopping on the 'random drug meant for something else' carousel.  Lyrica has been far and away the best of a lot of meds that don't quite work.

Pain

There is weak evidence that gabapentin provides pain relief for around 10% of people who take it for fibromyalgia, and for chronic neuropathic pain. The evidence is stronger for effectiveness in postherpetic neuralgia and diabetic neuropathy. It may reduce opioid use following surgery, and may be helpful in neuropathic pain due to cancer.

Gabapentin does not ameliorate chronic pain after surgery. It is not effective in HIV-associated sensory neuropathy.^] When used for neuropathic pain it does not appear superior to carbamazepine.^[17] It appears to be as effective as pregabalin and costs less. It does not appear to provide benefit for complex regional pain syndrome

There is no evidence that it is useful for migraine prevention.

Side Effects

The most common side effects of gabapentin in adult patients include dizziness, fatigue, drowsiness, weight gain, and peripheral edema (swelling of extremities).  Gabapentin may also produce sexual dysfunction in some patients, symptoms of which may include loss of libido, inability to reach orgasm, and erectile dysfunction.  Gabapentin should be used carefully in patients with renal impairment due to possible accumulation and toxicity.

An increase in formation of adenocarcinomas was observed in rats during preclinical trials; however, the clinical significance of these results remains undetermined. Gabapentin is also known to induce pancreatic acinar cell carcinomas in rats through an unknown mechanism, perhaps by stimulation of DNA synthesis; these tumors did not affect the lifespan of the rats and did not metastasize.

Side Effects

Pregabalin has been shown to produce therapeutic effects that are similar to other controlled substances. In a study with recreational users of sedative and hypnotic drugs, a 450 mg dose of pregabalin resulted in subjective ratings of a "good drug effect" and "high" and "liking" similar to 30 mg of diazepam. In clinical studies, pregabalin showed a side effect profile similar to other central nervous system depressants.

Adverse drug reactions associated with the use of pregabalin include:

Very common (>10% of patients): dizziness, drowsiness.

Common (1–10% of patients): blurred vision, diplopia, increased appetite and subsequent weight gain, euphoria, confusion, vivid dreams, changes in libido (increase or decrease), irritability, ataxia, attention changes, feeling high, abnormal coordination, memory impairment, tremors, dysarthria, parasthesia, vertigo, dry mouth and constipation, vomiting and flatulence, erectile dysfunction, fatigue, peripheral edema, drunkenness, abnormal walking, asthenia, nasopharyngitis, increased creatine kinase level.

Infrequent (0.1–1% of patients): depression, lethargy, agitation, anorgasmia, hallucinations, myoclonus, hypoaesthesia, hyperaesthesia, tachycardia, excessive salivation, hypoglycaemia, sweating, flushing, rash, muscle cramp, myalgia, arthralgia, urinary incontinence, dysuria, thrombocytopenia, kidney calculus

Rare (<0.1% of patients): neutropenia, first degree heart block, hypotension, hypertension, pancreatitis, dysphagia, oliguria, rhabdomyolysis, suicidal thoughts or behavior.

MY BEST ADVICE TO ANYONE ABOUT TO TAKE ANY NEW MEDS: RESEARCH WHAT THESE DOCS ARE PRESCRIBING YOU BEFORE YOU TAKE A SINGLE DOSE AND MAKE AN EDUCATED DECISION AS TO WHAT IS RIGHT FOR YOU, INDIVIDUALLY.  ALWAYS HAVE A "SAFETY" LOOKING OUT FOR SIDE EFFECTS WHILE TRYING ANY MEDS FOR THE FIRST TIME (your spouse, family member, friend, even neighbor, etc.) FOR 30 DAYS.  IT COULD SAVE YOUR LIFE.  YOU MAY NOT BE AWARE OF HOW IT IS AFFECTING YOU!

LINKS: 

 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pregabalin

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gabapentin