A LIGHT AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL...MAYBE?

I WAS FINALLY ABLE TO GET IN TO SEE MY PAIN MANAGEMENT DOC YESTERDAY. I USUALLY GO ABOUT MY SPINAL OSTEOARTHRITIS BUT, THIS TIME I DECIDE TO MENTION ALL MY PAIN ISSUES THAT I BELIEVE IS FIBRO. I WAS NOT SURE WHETHER TO TELL HER OR NOT BECAUSE WHEN I WAS FIRST GETTING STARTED WITH THE IDEA OF RNY SURGERY SHE WAS FIRMLY AGAINST IT, FOR HER OWN REASONS WHICH I DIDNOY AGREE WITH. BUT, I'M SOO GLAD I DECIDED TO TELL HER. SHE DECIDED TO KEEP ME ON MY MUSCLE RELAXERS AND SAID THAT SHE KNOWS THAT MINE ARE ALOT STRONGER THAN FLEXORIL BUT, IF IN THE FUTURE THESE STOP WORKING WELL THEN WE'LL CHANGE THEM AGAIN. THEN WE DISCUSSED PAIN MANAGEMENT FOR THE PROBLEM AND SOME DOC ARE USING ,EXPERIMANTLY(SP), MY PAIM MED THAT I AM ALREADY ON. IT IS SUBOXONE WHICH THE FDA APPROVED FOR GETTING HARD OPIATE USUERS OFF THEIR DRUG. IT IS ACTUALLY A PAIN MED THAT HAS BEEN USED IN EUROPE FOR AROUND 30 YEARS. ANYWAY, IT IS ABOUT AS STRONG AS A NARCOTIC AS THEY MAKE. I AM EXTREMELY PAIN MED RESISTANT. I TOLD HER THAT THE SUBOXONE WASNT EVEN HELPING WITH THE BODY PAIN. SHE SHOOK HER HEAD AND SAID THAT, THAT WAS CONCURRENT WITH THE CONDITION AND THAT, WHILE THEY DO HELP SOME PEOPLE, OPIATES AN SUCH ARE NOT THE BEST WAY TO TREAT THE SYMPTOMS. SHE ASKED ABOUT CYMBALTA AND I TOLD HER I WAS ALREADY ON IT FOR MY DEPRESSION AND THAT I WAS ON 120MG FOR THAT SO MY PCP RAISED IT UP TO 180MG A DAY. SHE SAID TO STAOP AND GO BACK TO THE 120MG BECAUSE TECHNICALLY CYMBALTA IS NOT THERAPEUTIC OVER 90 MG, BUT TO STAY AT 120MG BECAUSE MY PSYCH PRESCRIBED THAT. THEN SHE SAID THAT SHE WANTED TO PUT ME ON LYRICA. I COULD NOT BELIEVE THAT SOMEONE IN THE MEDICAL PROFESSION FINALLY DECIDED TO GO WITH FULL ON FIBRO TREATMENT, I'M SOOO HAPPY! ALTHOUGH I AM A LITTLE TREPEDATIOUS(SP) ABOUT IT, IAM EXCITED FOR THE POSSIBILITY OF SOME PAIN RELIEF. I ASKED HER ABOUT THE WEIGHT GAIN ISSUE AND MY RNY AND SHE SAID THAT THE LYRICA ITSELF DOES NOT MAKE YOU GAIN WEIGHT, IT INCREASES YOUR APPETITE AND SO ULTIMATELY IT IS MY DECISION WHETHER I DECIDE TO OVER EAT OR NOT. SO, I'M JUST GOING TO HAVE TO BE VERY STRONG AND NOT GIVE IN TO URGES TO STUFF MY FACE AND MAKE SURE I AM MAKING THE CORRECT FOOD CHOICES, AS I AM ONLY JUST STARTING MY WLS JOURNEY, AND I CAN NOT LET MYSELF FAIL. I AM JUST SOO EXCITED THAT I AM BEING TREATED ACCORDINGLY!! THANKS EVERYBODY FOR LISTENING TO ME DRAG ON AND ON AGAIN. IT JUST FEELS SO GOOD TO HAVE A GROUP OF PEERS WHO UNDERSTAND! IF ANY OF YOU HAVE ANY EXPERIENCE WITH lYRICA AND WLS I WOULD LOVE TO HEAR IT. ESPECIALLY IF YOU WERE ON IT BEFORE YOUR WLS OR PUT ON IT PRETTY SOON AFTER, SO I CAN HEAR WHAT HAPPENED IN THOSE SITUATIONS. ANYTHING YOU HAVE TO SAY WILL BE GREAT. I ALWAYS RESEARCH AND STUDY ANYTHING THAT I AM BEING PUT ON, SO ANY SIDE EFFECTS, EXPERIENCES YOU HAD/HAVE WILL BE APPRICIATED.
TAKE CARE OF YOURSELVES!!!!!

Glad your pain doc is working with you, it is always nice to not have to fight every step of the way. Cymbalta is a fibro drug also, I take it but it's effects have gotten weaker over time. Are you taking them both now? I took Lyrica but immediately statred gaining weight and that was after my WLS and was following the diet diligently. So I kinda have to take exception to your docs statement that it merely increases the appetite. I was eating less than 1000 calories a day and still gained weight which is why I switched to the Cymbalta. I hope it does work for you and it may because we are all so different. At least you have a doc on your side now that will work with you and that is worth it's weight in gold for a fibro patient!

OMG, dont tell me that. I was so pumping myself up to not have this affect me. Yes, I'm on Cymbalta already for about 2 years. So, this pain has started WITH being on it. So, now I will be on both. I probably will gain weight then because I had been put on the mood stabilizer Seroquel that is supposed to cause major weight gain(but at that point in my life I had no choice, kinda like right now) and my psych told me the same thing about that. It makes you hungry but you're the one putting the calories in your mouth. And at the time he was right! I would go on complete binges, even in the middle of the night. I gained 40 lbs in 6 months!!! All I can do is hope and fight every step of the way!! I forgot to mention in my OP that I will also be starting intensive aqua therapy in hopes it will improve my mobility. Maybe one day I will be able to go to a real gym!!! Yeah right, seems kind of bleak right now!!

Unfortunately, you may have to make a critical decision.......do you lose weight, or be pain free?  I haven't been on this site for quite some time, only because I am ashamed at myself for gaining 50 lbs since November. The reason.......Amitryptaline. This is an older type of drug that was used for depression, but they also use it for headache sufferers too. So, I had to make the decision.....gain weight, or live with debilitating headaches. As soon as I can find pain relief, (and my weightloss did not help with pain relief) I want to start walking more, especialy with the weather finally getting warmer. (no more snow....Puhleeeeese no more snow!!!) (I live in Massachusetts, so we've seen plenty of it this winter!) 

I am allergic to allot of pain meds, so I have been looking more into the homeopathic remedies. I heard garlic is good for an anti-inflamatory which may help with pain. I hope you find relief soon, pain relief as well as your up-coming surgery. You can always chat with us on this board. Trust me, I have left plenty of posts in the past when I had my surgery, (I had a panni removal/hernia repair.) and this is a good site to find caring friends that soon feel like family.     

I too gained weight with Lyrica. And 40 pounds in 6 weeks wasnt due to my eating more. In point of fact I wasnt very hungry at all most of the time. My best friend who also has FMS was put on Lyrica and gained 100 pounds and I know for a fact that woman physically works hard every day all day (she builds and maintains fences for the farms in her area in addition to a 1/2 acre "garden") So for the 2 of us it wasn't about how much we were eating that caused us to gain weight. It had to be the medication. Both of us are off of it now and while she has lost the weight I have not been so fortunate. Thus the reason i am here I don't mean to scare you away from something that may help you though. I would suggest that you try it and see how things go with it for you. Every body is different and you may have success with it where I did not. Good luck!!! :D