Sorry it had to be that way for you. Usually it takes years of pain before a right diagnostic is made. For me it was over 10 years of chronic debilitating pain, I thought I was crazy cause all tests were normal except for my thyroid. I went finally to a rheumatologist sure that I had a strange case of some kind of rare arthritis, it started in the back and with time spread like water when you throw a rock in the pond. He then told me I had fibromyalgia, after a very detailed and lengthy questionnaire , testing tender points, at 14 he gave up not wanting to hurt me more  and that I was not crazy, I still did not believe him for a long time, but had to accept it. 

As for teeth damage it is the lot of people taking prescription  drugs that tend to dry our mouth. Most pain meds will do that, good hygiene is a must and still ........ 

Take care

Actually, I did consult with many physicians about my teeth, while on Lyrica. There was no visible signs of decay, or problems, until one just blew apart. In fact, the Endodontist said that he "had never seen anything like what I had". He told me that when be began to drill, the tooth exploded like an empty eggshell.

My Mother is a licensed Hospital Administrator and has seen many HIV/AIDS patients, who have been prescribed Lyrica, with the same effects. As I thought I had originally posted, I know there is a direct cause and effect. I had a complete dental exam days before starting Lyrica. It was perfect, as usual. The only warning I had, was when I was at a restaurant and a tooth just chipped off! My Mother is seeing many, many patients, who are taking Lyrica, getting root canals and more dental work done after starting this medication. 

Pfizer did not do enough controlled, long-term studies on this drug, prior to releasing it. One is supposed to visit the Dentist every six months, so I had no worries. I was well, within my time-frame. Again, if there were any PHYSICAL signs that I was having dental problems, I would have immediately visited my Dentist. There were none. Also, the only thing in my life that changed, between the first dental exam and the seven months later, was taking Lyrica.

Of course, if I had seen my teeth eroding, or other symptoms, I would have immediately stopped the medication and visited my Dentist. This really is a huge problem for some people, who take high dosages of Lyrica. It doesn't effect everyone (obviously), however, it is a predominate side-effect and should be on the warning labels, prior to anybody contemplating Lyrica.

If you do a search on the Internet, you will find many other people, very similar to myself. In fact, there is a law suit against Pfizer, for not disclosing all of the potential side-effects of Lyrica.

As far as "good, dental hygiene", I floss every day and brush three times a day. I wore orthodontics for four and a half years. I have NEVER had a cavity, much less a root canal, prior to Lyrica. I have a Master's degree in Public Health and another Master's in Science. I am pretty well-educated on new medications and what the potential side-effects are. In fact, I am working in Europe now, on medication not yet released in the USA. It is the drug company's responsibility to warn the consumer, prior to anybody making the determination of the risks versus benefits.

I was one of the very first people to use Accutane, approximately thirty years ago. NOW (2011) you see that they are finding side-effects that were not found, until enough people had the same problems. So, when a CAUSE is so obviously definite, as Lyrica is to my problems, I absolutely CAN and WILL blame the major drug company. It wasn't "dry-mouth", as I never experienced that, or it wasn't any other medication, as I had not taken any, between dental visits. A monkey could pretty much figure out that the Lyrica was the cause of the dental and weight issues. I am not sure what MG's you are on, but my Physician was negligent and immediately placed me on a huge dosage. Also, that was the waiting time to fly to Philadelphia and see the Fibromyalgia Specialist. If the Physician's wait were shorter, the damage would have been less.

I was on 600 MG per day. If you do a very quick Google-Search, you will find many, many sites about Lyrica's Nightmare-ish side effects. There are probably more websites about the harm Lyrica does, than the benefits.

It is odd how a pain medication can effect bone/teeth, as Lyrica did with me. However, as I mentioned, Accutane is now being held responsible for people developing digestive diseases, such as Crohn's Disease. Accutane was just supposed to help with Acne! Who would have ever thought it to associate the two. Since it has been proven Accutane to be a direct cause for these very serious digestive problems, they have taken it off of the market.

It is a shame that drug companies do not test certain medications, for long-term side effects. With me, it was a short-term effect, but was not disclosed. You may go to the following site, to see the discussion of the litigation already started against Pfizer, for introducing Lyrica, without complete transparency of all side-effects: http://www.PrescriptionDrug-Info.com/Discuss/lyrica-lawsuit-203458_s2.htm.

I have learned in my many years of being in health care, that drug companies often times use the general public as Guinea Pigs. It is always a balance of risk versus benefits. As I said, I have taken many medication in my lifetime, but I have always done all of my research prior to taking anything. If the information is not available, you are not capable of making an "educated decision". Had I seen the risks of Lyrica, I probably would not have taken it, as it was not the medication for my disease and did not provide the maximum relief for my pain.

I would have been much better off starting Oxycontin, or any other, major Narcotic, as they do not cause the harm that Lyrica does. There is also a new medication on the market, known as Butrans®. It is produced by Pharma/Purdue and has been used in Europe for many, many years. I have studied it and it is used for chronic pain relief. The active agent is Buprenorphine, which has only been used for Narcotic addiction in the USA (Suboxone/Subutex).  In fact, it is the number one prescribed medication in Europe, versus Vicodin (Hydrocodone) in the USA. Hopefully, it will start being used, to provide pain relief for people having such chronic pain.

Good luck to you and just educate yourself as much as possible, prior to "trusting" any Physician. Doctors really know very little about pharmaceuticals, so you really have to take responsibility for your own body and what you decide to ingest.

I really enjoyed your article. You gave people some really well thought out and intelligent information.

I also believe people need to to their oun research and trust themselves after their lengthy research. If I even have bad feeling about a new drug I am going to trust myself until I can find enough research that has been done LONG ENOUGH!

Sometimes the less medicine the better. A very healthy diet and I mean very can help a body heal some illnesses. Not all of course.

Again Cheers to your thought provoking and very knowledgeable post.:)

Tobysunny

Rainman:

I was wondering if you have read my response to your question and fact-checked what I have written. Did you find the 32 year old woman, who had perfect teeth and is now wearing DENTURES, after taking LYRICA®?Or the hundreds of other horror stories?

There are also several, dedicated sites, to gather information about Lawsuits against Pfizer, for the damage (not only teeth and DANGEROUS weight gain) Lyrica® has caused?

To date, I have spent well over $30,000.00 on full-dental restoration. I had three, oral surgeries in August, waiting for one tooth to heal, preparing for an implant. I am currently half way complete. I also lost most of my weight gained, during the seven months of ingesting that poison, aka: LYRICA. I find it almost comical that people think it is as EASY, or simple as "Dry- Mouth", or "Not Visiting a DENTIST REGULARLY", or "Poor Dental Hygiene". Apparently, these observations are not from a scientific perspective. I have also been asked, "why didn't you see a physician earlier"?  Well, this damage happened within seven months of beginning the Lyrica and I did see a Doctor for an unrelated visit, who told me I should  "just drink a lot of water". How would I, or anybody KNOW to seek medial attention when the damage is already done?

Rainman, do you still believe one cannot "damn the medication" (or the company, Pfizer®, who recklessly releases it to the public, with no warning of this effect)? Oh, I also was one of the very first people ever to take the medication, Accutane®. It was the 80's and since my Mother has a medical license, she spoke to a local, Los Angeles Dermatologist, to prescribe it. I could not have been happier after that treatment.

You DO know it is no longer available on the USA market, because it has caused too many diseases (coming from the Latin "Dis" "Ease", or uneasy, not right, a problem). The BIG difference between my choice of taking Accutane and Lyrica, were two things; I had the disease of Cystic Acne, with two visits per week to a Dermatologist. Secondly, the DERMATOLOGIST was EXTREMELY cautious before he would even contemplate prescribing this drug to me. It was only after my Mother and her colleagues suggested it, with all of the available knowledge of "Risk versus Benefits".

Something that is now a current event would be all Narcotics, made with Tylenol are being terminated, to include Vicodin, (number one prescribed drug in the USA) Lortab, Percocet, etc? Again, this is another case where you'd have to agree, the medication is to blame. We know Tylenol causes more deaths per year than many other things. We can go on and list Actos®, etc.

What I am saying is, I am a huge proponent of medication and legalizing ALL safe drugs. Take Marijuana for instance; here is NO evidence that anybody has ever died from using, taking marijuana, as compared to Advil®, or many OTC drugs. (US Government Report 2011).

Information and education is paramount in the choice of taking ANY drugs. The FDA IS necessary, but they are also influenced by many things, not necessarily supporting the consumer, but usually favouring the huge, Pharmaceutical companies. Americans are all responsible for their own health care and we cannot rely on physicians. You and I have to be our own advocates, or Advocates for your family and loves ones. We don't live in a "Grey's Anatomy" world. You are a 15 minutes billing of an ICD-9 code and a CPT code. It is sad, but true.

Hi... I have hypothyroidism, fibromyaliga and polymyositis.... all causing tremendous pain and inflammation to the muscles.  I have read that 90% of hypothyroid patients also excperience fibromyaliga.  The polymyositis is an evil disease in itself, also adding to the inflammatory pain produced by my bodies antibodies attacking my muscles.  A very difficult mix of diseases allong with diabetes and asthma.  I truly wish there was some way to be relieved of the constant pain and would love to have a couple of days where I could just live pain free and have complete mobility without worrying about how I'm going to get up from a low chair or if I have to strength to move forward without falling.  Best of luck to everyone dealing with these disasterous issues!