mimgregg
02-23-2008, 01:30 AM
Hi to all, been a while since I have posted here; been lingering in disabilities awaiting a SSD hearing. I keep watching the lyrica for fibromyalgia commercials and due to my slow brain I have seen where they show how the area may look normal, but then they show what it actually feels like with large bruised areas in our tender points and joints. I personally have been on lyrica for nerve pain from stenosis and degen. disc disease for a while. I still have flare ups though but they are not as bad. Any way, I am glad to finally see fibromyalgia in the public eye. It is listed as a disability with SS, (although rare to get it on that alone!) WE know it is real, but it is encouraging to have it publicly validated. Ya'lls thoughts?
Hope everyone is hanging in with this wacky weather!
Mim Gregg:)
Hope everyone is hanging in with this wacky weather!
Mim Gregg:)
Sponsor
kathy4399
02-23-2008, 10:03 AM
I have seen that commercial and my reaction was YES! Finally there's somewhat of a description of what it feels like! I loved it, even though it was a little disturbing.
bluelakelady
02-23-2008, 11:01 AM
knowledge is power. research is still slow, a point to bear in mind. i find the commercials interesting, bearing in mind who is paying for them.
peace,
blue
peace,
blue
Nuthatch
02-23-2008, 01:35 PM
I get mad because I don't believe there's been enough research on our illness. I've been sick for over 20 years with this "thing". I really think later on, most of us will be diagnosed with MS. That's my take on it right now.
tiredpoet
02-23-2008, 02:03 PM
Maybe not MS, but I know what you mean...something other than fibro. I just found out I have chronic Lyme, God knows when I got it but I've been going slowly downhill for years and was previously diagnosed with CFS and Fibro. My lyme doc doesn't even know if the fibro is part of the lyme, something separate altogether, or a result of the lyme that I will continue to have even after I finish lyme treatment. There's NOT enough research and it's scary.
As for the commercial, something about it doesn't sit well with me. They show a very thin, well spoken older woman who looks physically "neat" as in well put together and stylish, and there's a lot of middle class undertones to it, like she's in an art class and there's just a whole appearance that she's financially okay. So it addresses the pain issues of fibro, but it leaves an impression on those who don't know about fibro that all fibro is is pain. It gives no sense of the financial burdens, the lack of knowledge, the cognitive difficulties many of us face, the lack of energy, the loss of certain abilities, the social stigma, the fact that it affects people of ALL ages (I'm 33 and have been sick for years).
On the one hand it's a step in the right direction so hooray for that. But I wish they'd shown more "faces" of fibro, rather than showing just that one woman who then effectively becomes the face of fibro to anyone viewing the commercial who has no knowledge of what fibro is and how it affects people.
I hope I said that well enough. I'm having a "good cognitive day" but I'm still nowhere near what I used to be :)
As for the commercial, something about it doesn't sit well with me. They show a very thin, well spoken older woman who looks physically "neat" as in well put together and stylish, and there's a lot of middle class undertones to it, like she's in an art class and there's just a whole appearance that she's financially okay. So it addresses the pain issues of fibro, but it leaves an impression on those who don't know about fibro that all fibro is is pain. It gives no sense of the financial burdens, the lack of knowledge, the cognitive difficulties many of us face, the lack of energy, the loss of certain abilities, the social stigma, the fact that it affects people of ALL ages (I'm 33 and have been sick for years).
On the one hand it's a step in the right direction so hooray for that. But I wish they'd shown more "faces" of fibro, rather than showing just that one woman who then effectively becomes the face of fibro to anyone viewing the commercial who has no knowledge of what fibro is and how it affects people.
I hope I said that well enough. I'm having a "good cognitive day" but I'm still nowhere near what I used to be :)
Nuthatch
02-23-2008, 02:36 PM
Tiredpoet, I have met many people on other boards that have been told they had Fibro for years, then later dx with MS. I am showing more signs of MS and my MRI showed lesions, but they weren't active. I'm scheduled for an MRI of the c-spine now because MS is twice as likely to show in the c-spine.
Lyme has been ruled out for me in blood tests as well as having a spinal tap. While Lyme may mimic Fibro and MS, it really doesn't come as close as doctors claim as far as symptoms. I have a few people in my family that have Lyme. MS and Fibro are much more crazy. :confused: :D
Lyme has been ruled out for me in blood tests as well as having a spinal tap. While Lyme may mimic Fibro and MS, it really doesn't come as close as doctors claim as far as symptoms. I have a few people in my family that have Lyme. MS and Fibro are much more crazy. :confused: :D
Glojer
02-23-2008, 03:12 PM
I have seen two commercials, one on a cable channel and one on a local channel. I'm not sure which one I like better. I'm just glad fibro is finally getting some national attention. I agree there is something I don't like about the one where the lady is in art class. I don't like the way she says fibromyalgia is a 'real' widspread pain disorder. It just doesn't sound right. I think for what the drug company paid for that commercial they could have had better writing. I know the set up of the nice looking lady etc. is the way they get peoples attention. It is the same thing as making everyone in magazines look good, even if they have to airbrush! No one would pay attention if they showed real life. The ad on cable is the one where they show several people talking about their pain, men as well as women. That does show a broader scope of the disease, but I don't think that would make it on national T.V..
I'm just glad that there is finally some attention given to this disease and if more drug companies get involved maybe we will have some real great commercials.
Glojer
I'm just glad that there is finally some attention given to this disease and if more drug companies get involved maybe we will have some real great commercials.
Glojer
Grapedy
02-23-2008, 08:56 PM
I come from the camp that drug commercials should NOT be on the TV. Period. Pharmaceutical companies should ONLY BE ADVERTISING TO THE DOCTORS!!! That's my former medical office employee opinion on the subject. That little change would also make prescription drugs *much* cheaper.
That said, I can't stand the first Lyrica/FM commercial. The one with the middle aged lady reading out of her journal in an art classroom. So fake, so tacky. So insulting and degrading.
The new one that's more about FM in general and less about Lyrica is much better because it focuses ON fibro and not on the drug. I don't have a problem with commercials about diseases that help to raise awareness about the disease, it's the drug commercials I have problems with. The commercial is sponsored by the company that makes Lyrica, but most people aren't going to know that so I don't see it as meds advertising.
That said, I can't stand the first Lyrica/FM commercial. The one with the middle aged lady reading out of her journal in an art classroom. So fake, so tacky. So insulting and degrading.
The new one that's more about FM in general and less about Lyrica is much better because it focuses ON fibro and not on the drug. I don't have a problem with commercials about diseases that help to raise awareness about the disease, it's the drug commercials I have problems with. The commercial is sponsored by the company that makes Lyrica, but most people aren't going to know that so I don't see it as meds advertising.
tiredpoet
02-24-2008, 03:45 PM
Nuthatch, all I was saying was that down the road people might be diagnosed with many different things other than MS. I was agreeing with the statement, not dismissing it. I was diagnosed with MS about a year and a half ago, and then six months later they changed my diagnosis to fibro and CFS. Now I'm told I have Lyme, as well as fibro (so far, they're not saying it's lyme instead of fibro, but rather lyme and fibro, because there's not enough known. The symptoms overlap and some research shows some cases of fibro can result from chronic lyme, so my doctor thinks even after my lyme treatment, which could take several years, I will still have fibro). However, many studies of lyme show that the only diagnostic difference between Lyme and MS in some cases is the bullseye rash. I had innactive lesions on my last MRI as well, which I'm told are found in advanced lyme disease, and a large number of symptoms that are found in MS and fibro as well as Lyme.
I have been suffering grately from fibro for a long time so I know how you feel. However, I disagree with the statement that fibro is crazier than lyme. Having both, I can say they have equally changed my life. Since my lyme wasn't caught for a long time, I have suffered permanent damage from a disease that doctors should be able to cure with a two-week course of antibiotics. Chronic lyme is a devestating illness with symptoms as debilitating and painful as fibromylagia, MS, etc and can cause lasting pain with arthritis, muscle weakness, diminshed cognitive functioning, visual disturbances, sleep disorders, nerve damange, etc--all the same things we suffer from with fibro, and all also symptoms of MS . All of my symptoms combined have left me living a life that is a shadow of what it used to be. I'm a 33 year old former athlete with a masters degree who now has trouble putting sentences together, has to look up simple words and has to write down everything if I want any chance of remembering it. I've lost my career, can no longer walk even short distances without pain and fatigue, and deal with debilitating fatigue and varying degrees of pain daily among many other issues. I'd say that's pretty crazy. The unfortunate fact is that all of these illnesses are so similar that there's a chance they could all be related. It's sad that there is so little effort and research money being put toward things like fibro and CFS. For Lyme there is a bit more, but still not enough.
I'm glad to hear there's another commercial featuring several people with fibro. I haven't seen it, but since there's probably no hope of getting drug companies to stop advertising (Grapedy, I agree with you on that), at least we can hope for commercials that give a better impression of what the illness is and does a better job of educating people.
I have been suffering grately from fibro for a long time so I know how you feel. However, I disagree with the statement that fibro is crazier than lyme. Having both, I can say they have equally changed my life. Since my lyme wasn't caught for a long time, I have suffered permanent damage from a disease that doctors should be able to cure with a two-week course of antibiotics. Chronic lyme is a devestating illness with symptoms as debilitating and painful as fibromylagia, MS, etc and can cause lasting pain with arthritis, muscle weakness, diminshed cognitive functioning, visual disturbances, sleep disorders, nerve damange, etc--all the same things we suffer from with fibro, and all also symptoms of MS . All of my symptoms combined have left me living a life that is a shadow of what it used to be. I'm a 33 year old former athlete with a masters degree who now has trouble putting sentences together, has to look up simple words and has to write down everything if I want any chance of remembering it. I've lost my career, can no longer walk even short distances without pain and fatigue, and deal with debilitating fatigue and varying degrees of pain daily among many other issues. I'd say that's pretty crazy. The unfortunate fact is that all of these illnesses are so similar that there's a chance they could all be related. It's sad that there is so little effort and research money being put toward things like fibro and CFS. For Lyme there is a bit more, but still not enough.
I'm glad to hear there's another commercial featuring several people with fibro. I haven't seen it, but since there's probably no hope of getting drug companies to stop advertising (Grapedy, I agree with you on that), at least we can hope for commercials that give a better impression of what the illness is and does a better job of educating people.
Glojer
02-24-2008, 06:46 PM
Grapedy, the new commercial you are talking about is it the one with several people includeing men saying how much pain they are in, some even cry I think, I haven't seen it for a while. I saw that one first, then the lady in the art class one.
Tiredpoet, very well said, I enjoyed reading your post.
Glojer
Tiredpoet, very well said, I enjoyed reading your post.
Glojer
Grapedy
02-25-2008, 03:42 PM
Yes, the "new" one for me is the one with all the people in it, including men. The one with the journal has been airing here for several months now, but this one other just started about 2 weeks ago.
momma0111
02-28-2008, 07:03 PM
I agree 100% with you. preach on!!!! also I have Lyrica in my arsenal of medications to help FM pain I find it quite useless.