#gabapentinoids

[lifewithchronicpain-original]

Gabapentinoids Ineffective for Pain Relief After Surgery — Pain News Network

By Pat Anson, PNN Editor Would you want to take Lyrica (pregabalin) for pain relief after a major surgery? What about Neurontin (gabapentin

Would you want to take Lyrica (pregabalin) for pain relief after a major surgery? What about Neurontin (gabapentin)? Both drugs belong to a class of nerve medication called gabapentinoids that are increasingly being prescribed to patients perioperatively (after surgery) as an alternative to opioid pain medication.

But gabapentinoids have risks as well and there is little evidence to support their use for postoperative pain relief, according to a large study by a team of Canadian researchers.

“No clinically significant analgesic effect for the perioperative use of gabapentinoids was observed. There was also no effect on the prevention of postoperative chronic pain and a greater risk of adverse events. These results do not support the routine use of pregabalin or gabapentin for the management of postoperative pain in adult patients,” wrote lead author Michael Verret, MD, a resident at Laval University in Quebec City.

Verret and his colleagues conducted a meta-analysis of 281 clinical trials involving nearly 25,000 patients undergoing a wide range of surgeries, including orthopedic, spinal and abdominal operations.

Their findings, recently published in the journal Anesthesiology, indicate that the analgesic benefits of pregabalin and gabapentin after surgery were negligible, regardless of the dose or type of operation. Gabapentinoids were also ineffective in preventing chronic pain from developing after surgery, one of the primary justifications for using the drugs postoperatively. (Read more at link)

[black---dahlia]

let's go 🥰🙌🌈☁️👃🔥💨💊😇

Edit: forgot to mention, stuff not in the picture:

my legit prescribed drugs (only listings shit with recreational value) 100x150mg Pregabalin, 300x12.5mg Tianeptine

[black---dahlia]

[lifewithchronicpain-original]

Gabapentinoids Involved in a Third of Overdoses in Scotland — Pain News Network

By Pat Anson, PNN Editor A new study in Scotland is shining more light on the risks of overprescribing gabapentin (Neurontin) and pregabali

A new study in Scotland is shining more light on the risks of overprescribing gabapentin (Neurontin) and pregabalin (Lyrica). The two drugs belong to a class of nerve medication called gabapentinoids, which are increasingly prescribed in Western nations to treat chronic pain.

In 2018, there were 1,187 accidental drug-related deaths (DRDs) in Scotland – the highest overdose rate in the European Union — and gabapentinoids were involved in about a third of them.

According to research published in the British Journal of Anaesthesia, gabapentin was implicated in 15.2% of fatal overdoses in Scotland, while pregabalin was linked to 16.5% of drug deaths. That’s up from 3% and 1% of fatal overdoses, respectively, in 2012.

Researchers say deaths involving gabapentinoids are rising because they are frequently co-prescribed with opioids and other medications that depress the central nervous system and raise the risk of overdose. Drug diversion also plays a role.

“Gabapentinoid prescribing has increased dramatically since 2006, as have dangerous co-prescribing and death. Older people, women, and those living in deprived areas were particularly likely to receive prescriptions. Their contribution to DRDs may be more related to illegal use with diversion of prescribed medication,” wrote lead author Nicola Torrance, PhD, Senior Research Fellow at the School of Nursing & Midwifery, Robert Gordon University, in Aberdeen, Scotland. (Read more at link)

[lifewithchronicpain-original]

FDA Warns of Serious Breathing Problems Caused by Gabapentinoids — Pain News Network

By Pat Anson, PNN Editor The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is warning that serious breathing problems can occur in patients who use gab

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is warning that serious breathing problems can occur in patients who use gabapentin or pregabalin with opioids or other drugs that depress the central nervous system. The elderly and patients with lung problems are also at higher risk when they use the drugs, according to an FDA drug safety communication.

The advisory is the latest in a series of warnings about gabapentinoids, a class of nerve medication increasingly prescribed as an alternative to opioid painkillers. There are growing reports of gabapentinoids being abused or raising the risk of overdose and suicide.

“Reports of gabapentinoid abuse alone, and with opioids, have emerged and there are serious consequences of this co-use, including respiratory depression and increased risk of opioid overdose death,” Douglas Throckmorton, MD, deputy director for Regulatory Programs in the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, said in a statement.

“In response to these concerns, we are requiring updates to labeling of gabapentinoids to include new warnings of potential respiratory depressant effects. We are also requiring the drug manufacturers to conduct clinical trials to further evaluate the abuse potential of gabapentinoids, particularly in combination with opioids, with special attention being given to assessing the respiratory depressant effects.” (Read more at link)

[lifewithchronicpain-original]

FDA Approves First Generic Drugs for Lyrica

By Pat Anson, PNN Editor The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved the first generic versions of Lyrica (pregabalin) , a medicati

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved the first generic versions of Lyrica (pregabalin), a medication widely prescribed for the treatment of fibromyalgia, diabetic neuropathy and other types of chronic pain.

Lyrica has been a blockbuster drug for Pfizer since its approval in 2004, generating revenue of $ 4.6 billion annually. The recent expiration of Pfizer’s patent on Lyrica opened the door to much cheaper generic competitors.

A one year supply of Lyrica currently costs about $2,800 in the United States, according to Healthcare Bluebook, while a similar dose of pregabalin under the UK’s National Health Service costs about $74. (Read more at link)

Good news for those taking it, gives them a cheaper option. Just remember this drug isn’t a replacement for opioids, I for one am allergic to gabapentinoids so I could never try it.

[lifewithchronicpain-original]

Drug Maker Payments May Influence Gabapentinoid Prescribing

By Pat Anson, PNN Editor There is growing attention being paid to doctors who accept money from pharmaceutical companies. A recent study ,

There is growing attention being paid to doctors who accept money from pharmaceutical companies. A recent study, for example, found that doctors who receive direct payments from opioid manufacturers tend to prescribe more opioid medication than doctors who receive no such payments.

But another new study shows the same is true for doctors who prescribe an expensive class of non-opioid drugs that are widely used “off label” to treat chronic pain.

Researchers at Yale University and the University of Connecticut looked at Medicare Part D prescribing data for gabapentinoids from 2014 to 2016, comparing it with payments made to doctors from gabapentin manufacturers. Over the study period, about 51,000 physicians received $11.5 million from the drug makers, mostly for meals, beverages and gifts.

The researchers found that doctors who received the payments were more likely to prescribe a brand name gabapentinoid such as Lyrica (Pfizer), Gralise (Assertio) or Horizant (Arbor). These brand name drugs cost several hundred dollars for a one-month supply, compared to less than $20 for a one-month supply of a generic version.

“Among physicians who prescribed gabapentinoids, receipt of payments from industry was associated with a higher likelihood of prescribing brand-name products than generic gabapentin,” researchers reported in JAMA Internal Medicine. (Read more at link)

[lifewithchronicpain-original]

Doctors Say Guidelines Exaggerate Effectiveness of Lyrica and Neurontin

By Pat Anson, PNN Editor There is little evidence that gabapentin (Neurontin) and pregabalin (Lyrica) should be used off-label to treat pai

There is little evidence that gabapentin (Neurontin) and pregabalin (Lyrica) should be used off-label to treat pain and prescribing guidelines often exaggerate their effectiveness, according to a new clinical review in JAMA Internal Medicine.

Gabapentin and pregabalin belong to a class of nerve medication known as gabapentinoids. They were originally developed only to treat seizures, but their use has tripled over the past 15 years as treatments for a variety of chronic pain conditions. It is a common practice for doctors to prescribe a drug “off label” for treatments that are not FDA-approved.

“Gabapentinoids have become frequent first-line alternatives in patients with chronic pain from whom opioids are being withheld or withdrawn, as well as in patients with acute pain who traditionally received short courses of low-dose opioid,” wrote Christopher Goodman, MD, and Allan Brett, MD, of the University of South Carolina School of Medicine.

“The evidence to support off-label gabapentinoid use for most painful clinical conditions is limited. For some conditions, no well-performed controlled trials exist.” (Read more at link)

Not surprised at all. I’m allergic to these drugs yet they’re touted as the “safest” non-opioid RX pain reliever. And it seems that assumption is based simply on the overuse of off label prescriptions without the studies to back it up. Seems they’re being as careless as this drug as they initially were with opioids, and it’s frankly a bit scary that doctors are turning to a less effective pain drug as the go-to drug withoutproper scientific support to avoid prescribing opioids to people who need them.