Hey folks, remember me? I was beginning to think I might never be back again! When you last heard from me, I said that I was going to be making a post about the horrors of the drug Lyrica and, most vitally, that I would soon be having my last fundraiser to help me survive until I had a steady income coming in from one of the job opportunities I had lined up. Then began my long and agonizing journey into pure Hel!
It all began with my request to try a different medication than the aforementioned Lyrica - one which might provide sufficient pain control of the pain in my lower legs, feet and ankles with fewer of the damnable side effects. The medication I switched to was Cymbalta, which I later found out was a drug developed for major depression which also sometimes helped with pain. For the first 36 hours or so, the change appeared to be going well with my pain under control and fewer side effects.
Then everything took a horrific turn. Far worse side effects. Chills followed by drenching sweats over and over. Stomach cramps and almost total lack of appetite (I went for two days without eating a single bite). Extreme brain fog, fatigue and lethargy. Dizziness and loss of balance. Dark thoughts. And extreme blurriness of vision and light sensitivity.
So I switched back to Lyrica and within a few days many of the side effects began to slowly lessen. Slowly being the operative word - very slowly. But some hung on and on, the worst of which was problems with my vision. The blurriness has been so bad that I often could not read even large lines of type on the TV, much less the smaller lines on my computer monitor. And my light sensitivity has been so bad that the computer monitor was so glaringly bright that I could not see regardless of blurriness.
All the while, employment plans were put on hold and my financial situation went from extremely bad to the brink of utter disaster. At long last I can report that my nightmare is mostly over and I am once again functional enough to start working. But I am on the very brink of disaster - if I don't get some immediate help, then within a week I will have my utilities turned off and be evicted from my home. Which could well be the end of me and my beloved companion of the last several years, my precious found dog Buddy.
So yes, I am going to do one last desperate fund-raising effort starting within the next couple of days. I need money yesterday! But I vow that this will be the last time I come begging. It kills me to do it, but I fear that it will kill me (and Buddy) if I don't. If I don't get help, I won't be able to hang on and claw my way back. And if Buddy does not get his vitally needed supplements, then he will will surely die of the Cushing's Disease I was able to control when I was able to afford his supplements.
I have more to say, but first I am going to pause and tell you in advance of my fundraising how you can help me right now (as I said, I need money yesterday!).
My PayPal address is dquixote1217 @ gmail . com (eliminate the spaces)
My mailing address: Tony Isaacs, 267 County Road 2045, Klondike TX 75448
After I get my fundraising started, I will be doing the promised post about the horrors of Lyrica and it's many side effects, but now I will be adding about the even worse horrors of trying to stop taking it and the worse horrors for me of the drug Cymbalta. Oh my God, folks, just oh my God!
I still do not know exactly what happened. Withdrawal from Lyrica,? Cymbalta side effects? An extreme allergic-like reaction to Cymbalta? All of the above? Neither my pain management doctor nor my regular doctor are able to explain it and neither are the drug companies.
One thing that really irritates me is that there are no official warnings about withdrawing from Lyricaamd there were none from my doctors The official line is that there have been no studies about Lyrica withdrawal. However, there have been plenty of reports about such problems and the authoritative sources on drug side effects warn that one should slowly taper off using Lyrica instead of discontinuing it abruptly. No one said a word about that to me!
You know, I have witnessed withdrawal from heroin and opioid addiction both in my family and during my two years of volunteer work with a drug and alcohol rehab program for young men. However, I was on the outside looking in. Now I feel like I have been on the inside and I have a much greater appreciation for what addicts go through when they withdraw - even though Lyrica is not considered to be a narcotic or an opioid (officially it is considered to be an anti-convulsant).
So, at long last I am back. Time to resume posting, update my website and social media and, most importantly, start a new job. One where I can either work from home or work mostly at a desk where there are no physical demands. Fortunately, those jobs are there to be had.
Thanks for listening. And thanks so very, very much for helping out. With your help, this one final time, I will make it.
God bless you!