I have recently been on a painkiller called Lyrica.  It lists side effects as drowsiness, dizziness, dry mouth, constipation, difficulty concentrating (yes!), swollen arms and legs, weight blurred vision, unusual bleeding or bruising, unsteadiness, confusion, muscle pain or weakness, depression, suicidal thoughts, thoughts about self-harm, rash, itchiness, and trouble breathing. You are not advised to use machinery, arrange flowers, talk on the phone, order on the Internet, chop logs, or water the garden.

And this is without spelling out the horrible effects of actually coming off the drug. Almost worse than the original pain.

Regular readers will have noticed unsteadiness, confusion and lack of coherence in the content of this blog.  Put it down to Lyrica. Nice to have someone else to blame.

Epicurus would have admonished us, nonetheless, to be brave and trusting, and to give Big Pharma the benefit of the doubt and take the medicine.  Just don’t read the small print or you will end up a nervous wreck.