June 18, 2022
As the financial year draws to a close, the Pain Foundation really needs your help. Amy McNeilage, a Pain Management Research Institute (PMRI) research officer, is conducting a world-first study and we have just 13 days to fund the first year of her ground-breaking PhD project.
In her own words… Why you should help Amy’s PhD project!
”The idea for my PhD project came about when I was interviewing people with chronic pain for a study we did a few years ago on opioid tapering.
“A few of the people I spoke to mentioned that they had actually found it a lot harder to come off another pain medication called Lyrica. I thought to myself, it sounds like we should be looking into that! It turns out, it’s a much bigger story than anyone on our research team realised!
“Pregabalin, which is sold under the brand name Lyrica, is now the most commonly prescribed pain medication in Australia. Yet, there is hardly any research on how these drugs are affecting people in our community, who are prescribed them or why doctors are prescribing them at such high rates.
“Australia’s drug regulatory agency, the TGA, has just recently announced that they are investigating Lyrica because they’ve had an increase in reports of misuse, abuse, and dependence. With opioid prescribing now declining, I am afraid that the rise in prescribing of gabapentinoids like Lyrica could mark a shift from one class of problematic drugs to another for people living with chronic pain.”
Please help the Pain Foundation Ltd support the vital work being undertaken by Amy and the PMRI team with a donation to our EOFY appeal.
We look forward to keeping you updated on Amy’s work and the outcomes of her study.
Thank you for your support of Pain Foundation so far.
How to donate to Amy’s Project? You may direct deposit into BSB 182-512 Acct 969025279 (don’t forget to leave your name/email for the receipt) or via credit card by hitting this DONATE button. A formal tax receipt will be sent to you promptly thereafter.
AN END TO PAIN?
To find out more or to help research into understanding pain please contact Louise at the Pain Foundation on email media@painfoundation.org.au.
