Little Miss Sunshine State S~L~O~W~L~Y climbs up onto a soapbox.
I REALLY hate the TV ad that Pfizer is running for Lyrica. It makes me scream at the TV. I would throw things at the TV if it wasn't my husband's 52-inch portal to the world of sports and movies.
Lyrica is a newly approved med for Fibromyalgia. It is also a med used to treat seizures , along with other seizure meds.
I feel qualified to critique the commercial because I have had Fibro for 13 years and I take Lyrica.
I consider myself a "functioning Fibro" because my house is clean and I go to work a couple of days a week. I can occasionally help unload the UPS truck at work if I have the next day off! It wasn't always this way. At one point I couldn't work for almost 18 months and was practically glued to the living room sofa.
My kids learned how to make sandwiches at a very young age. And they watched a LOT of TV while Mom slept 18 hours a day.
When I did go to work, sometimes I had to stop along the rural roads to throw up if the pain was too bad. I've hinted a few times at how deep my depression was. And that is just the pain issues. I have had heart palpitations, intestinal problems, vision problems, breathing problems. Fibro messes with your muscles and many things in your body require good muscles.
Fibro also messes with your body's ability to shut off pain sensations. If I bump my arm on a chair, it will throb for 2 days. When I get my teeth cleaned, my gums throb for 3 or 4 days. I had foot surgery 2 years ago. My incision still stings to the point that I have a prescription for lidocaine cream.
I've had physical therapy, psychological therapy, pool therapy, hypnosis, massage, Reiki, accupuncture, braces, canes and various prescriptions for at least 12 different meds.
Now I'm down to 5. The newest one I started about 4 weeks ago is Lyrica.
So far it helps with my morning pain and fatigue issues but I'm pretty sure the dosage will have to be increased soon. It wears off at 5pm.
THINGS THAT MAKE ME HATE THE LYRICA COMMERCIAL:
1. The lady reads from her journal about a day she "struggled" with her fibromyalgia. The handwriting is way too neat. I know many people with Fibro (me included) that can barely hold a pen on our good days. I thank God every day for my laptop.
Pfizer ad dudes-LISTEN UP! We have hand issues!
2. She is prancing around in her art studio in those freaking HIGH HEELS!
Pfizer ad dudes- LISTEN UP! We have feet issues!
3. She describes her pain as "tender to the touch". Man, if that's how my pain could be described I'd be entering triathalons! How about describing it as....
"like lightning bolts traveling down my arms and legs", "like knives being stabbed into my shoulders", "like someone is whacking my hips with a hammer".
Pfizer ad dudes- LISTEN UP! We have pain issues! The kind of pain that makes you feel like you are losing your mind!
If you saw me in the grocery store, you wouldn't say "Oh, that poor woman has fibromyalgia".
But, that woman in the Lyrica commercial just comes off as too pathetic and whiny. Just the kind of pathetic and whiny that makes many people and unfortunately, many doctors believe that Fibromyalgia is an imaginary disease created in the minds of whiny, pathetic women.
LISTEN UP, PFIZER AD DUDES. PLEASE MAKE A LESS ANNOYING,MORE REALISTIC COMMERCIAL.
If you're still reading, I'm s~l~o~w~l~y stepping off my soapbox.
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8 comments:
I never ever watch live TV and definitely not commercials, but now I'm thinking I'm going to have to hunt down that ad online and watch it.
Just so I can throw things at my computer screen in your honor.
I just learned a lot reading this, so thank you.
Plus, that woman is just so wimpy sounding.
My mom had fibro, my stepsister has it (and Lupus), and a good friend had it. You give a much better description than the commercial does.
I hope the Lyrica works for you.
I had no idea. Man.
And even though I'm very uneducated about fibromyalgia, I still hate ads for prescription drugs. All the patients seem fake and annoying.
Duuude. I'm not on Lyrica and haven't seen the commercial, but I agree with everything else you said. Terms I have used to describe my pain: "it feels like a full-body toothache", "it feels like someone spent all night trying to pop my thigh out of my hip socket like you do when you take apart a chicken", "it feels like horses with very sharp hooves/shoes have trampled me in my sleep", "it feels like I've had surgery without pain meds". I could go on, but I have a feeling I don't have to.
Makes you wonder if those dumbasses at Pfizer did any focus groups AT ALL.
Wow! I just visited your blog for the first time. No, the polish doesn't make you hands look fat.
13 years is way too long to suffer! You have my empathy and prayers. Drug companies also represnt their heart meds with such a light-hearted touch in commercials. I want to moon the tube every time I see one, especially for the drug that made my husband swell up in his face. He had to rush to the ER. They never show that!
Hope your Bossy time was the bomb-diggity!
you sound like a whiny drama queen.
I love how the always show them putting their hands on their collarbones and squeezing. If I do that, I have pain for a while.
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