Duloxetine (Cymbalta) For Pain ? Or Antidepressant?
Aug 30, 2014
First of all I am not diabetic but I do need help on the above tablet Duloxetine (Cymbalta) which I believe is given to diabetics for pain relief (or so my doc tells me). I have Cervical spondylosis which gives me extreme pain and for which I take 30 tabs daily plus Morphine and liquid Morphine. Doc has prescribed Duloxetine which is an antidepressant but which I believe also helps pain. Can anyone on this site who is diabetic tell me about Duloxetine or have they taken it and has it helped with pain? I am afraid to start taking it as it does not have good reviews and is used mainly as an antidepressant. There appear to be too many side effects, some of which I have already from morphine and it appears to be difficult to come off. If anyone can comment and help me with this I would be really grateful. I suffer chronic pain 24/7 and my meds at the moment are having little effect on controlling the pain. They just keep increasing morphine dose which I am a little afraid of. Does Duloxetine really work in controlling pain?
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I had a very successful pain clinic appointment yesterday, by successful I mean i saw a Dr who wasn't a complete arrogant idiot, he was very nice and tried to think out of the box a little. I asked him for lidocaine patches and although he said he did not think they would work because of the pain being deep he was willing for me to try them, he couldn't prescribe them so he's written to my GP, he also suggested capsaicin cream and finally he thinks i should try cymbalta/duloxetine. I explained that id tried various anticonvulsants and hated them due to side effects and that i was not depressed (i probably should be) but i'm not, i get angry more than sad for the chronic situation but i don't feel hopeless and apart from super hellish days i cope fairly well.
The thing is my little boy is my world, i'm so concerned taking an antidepressant when i don't feel depressed will kick off depression, especially if they don't work and i come off. I used to suffer with depression when i was younger and i know how horrible it is and when your i was in that cycle nothing or no one mattered anymore so i'm concerned as i'd rather continue to live in daily pain knowing my son is getting the "real" me than be on any meds that might change how i feel or how i am towards him.
Does anyone have experience with these specific meds? Especially taking them for just pain and not depression?
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I have been recently changed from Cymbalta to generic duloxetine. Whilst on Cymbalta, I was able to cut down from 120 mgs daily to 90 mgs daily.
Now I have had to go back to 120 mgs as I have a terrible depressive crash very close to 3 pm every day. I have always taken my full dose in one dose in the morning. Now I am splitting it to avoid the 3 pm crash. I asked my psychiatrist for Cymbalta specifically as in the US it is prescribed for fibromyalgia which I also have. I had seemed to be improving on that front too and was hoping to get back to part time work but I have been more or less bedridden for the last two weeks. Anybody else had problems with the switch over?
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Has anyone had this happen? I had gone up from the 20mg dose to the 40mg dose and was doing better. Less depression and the goal was to ease my fibro pain (I currently take Gabapentin and Tramadol) and eventually stop taking Tramadol. I suddenly started shaking. I had muscle jumps (can't think of another way to describe it) in my legs and I literally shook so bad I couldn't turn pages on my Kindle without trying a few times. It was disturbing.
The doctor called me back said to go back to the 20mb dose. I continued to shake...but it lessened. I am now going off it by taking it every other day (20mb) and can't get the Dr. to return my call.
I have tried all the Fibro drugs. Lyrica didn't work. Savella caused bad rapid h/b. Effexor caused muscle jumps in my legs too (but not hand shaking).
If I continued to take it would the hand tremors go away? No one can answer that. Pain is worse since I have eased off so it was actually working. I want to continue if it will lesson, but I don't know if it will.
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I didn't do well on cymbalta (duloxetine). Initially, I started to feel better, but after a couple of months I started to feel depressed again. I also gained weight.
When I started to withdraw from cymbalta, my weight started to creep up even more. I've always been 7 st, and now I'm 8 st and 5 lbs.
My Psychiatrist wants to start me on venlafaxine, but I'm so worried that I'm going to end up gaining more weight. In the past, I've been on Citalopram and Fluoxetine. None of those worked for me, that's why my Psychiatrist tried the SNRI.
I feel like a complete failure, and am believing I'm unhelpable. Weight gain is a big issue for me, I don't like not being in control.
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been on lexapro which hasn't helped zoloft and effexor too just wondering if paxil or cymbalta works for anyone please help i have severe anxiety depression panic
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Has anyone heard of b12 injections to get off Cymbalta? I have been on for 3 years and can't get off this drug. The withdrawal is horrible. the spins, sweats and other stuff is a killer. I am down to my last 30mg pill and will try to take some of the stuff out like suggested but does anyone have any vitamin help on this?? I am going to read the the B12 epidemic book but have yet to hear of anyone that this has helped.
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My Two Cents Worth:
First of all I would like to say a heartfelt thank you to everyone who has written about their experience of being on Cymbalta and their struggle
with Cymbalta withdrawal. I believe that you have saved not only myself but many others from a lot of pain.
I was prescribed Cymbalta 30mg on the 16 April 2012 by my doctor in order to treat depression and anxiety. I was told to 'try it' over the next 7 days to see if I could handle the side effects. He said that in the beginning I would get some nausea but that I should persevere and try to stay on it for at
least a month, which is when it would start to work. He never said anything about it possibly damaging my liver or anything about withdrawal symptoms, just that I shouldn't suddenly stop in the middle of the treatment.
I was nervous about taking it but at the time I was desperate for any kind of help. I took one 30mg capsule about 12pm with some lunch (to minimise the nausea) but by 2pm I had a very upset stomach with a lot of wind (gas), slight cramping, a very stiff neck, dry mouth and headache.
Around 4pm I fell asleep (without meaning to) while on the couch. I woke up a couple of hours later feeling completely disorientated, confused and nauseous. I felt so spaced out and like I was still dreaming.
By 7pm I had such bad nausea I couldn't make dinner (much less eat anything) and a very bad headache.
I was drinking heaps of water to help with the dry mouth and I also had very bad constipation (something I have to avoid as I have diverticulitis).
The next day (17th April) I felt a lot better (more clear-headed) and decided to Google Cymbalta to find out more about the side effects and if people had experienced the same effects as I had. I became so scared when I read all the forums and support groups for people battling with horrific Cymbalta withdrawal, I decided to quit it then and there.
I decided to go cold turkey simply because I had only taken one capsule and reasoned that it wouldn't have had much effect on me yet. I didn't really want to take a half capsule as I didn't want my body getting used to having the drug in my system anymore than it already had.
The rest of the day I was anxious, shaky and had bad diarrhoea. By bedtime I was headachy (pressure at the back of the head) and with a little neck pain.
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Symptoms starting from 10 years ago(puberty, I'm 22 now)
FULL body joint pain.
FULL body muscle pain and spams.
severe muscle and tendon cramps
randomly nauseated.
IBS
random severe constipation
purge and splurge eating habits.
insomnia
Migraines lasting for days.
muscle weakness.
muscle atrophy
uterine, bladder and rectum prolapse (they said this is because my muscle spasms are so severe in my pelvis it just couldn't do its job holding the uterus suspended.)
Hot flashes
heat rashes
swollen lymph nodes
all symptoms of raynaud's disease.
overly dry tight skin.
all day fatigue
neuropathy
vertigo
major depressive
general anxiety
memory loss
extremely hard to concentrate.
sharp rib/lung pain? when breathing randomly.
spinal pain.
sciatica
--this is all I can think of with my current migraine eating away at me.
test results so far:
Ana tested 3 times over 9 months- 1:1280 homogeneous. 1:1280 speckled. 1:1280 homogeneous
HGB and HCT juuuust under normal levels.
ESR - 11 after just getting off prednisone, 20 4 weeks later. range was 0-20
Calcium level- just below normal
Total protein and albumin level- cusp of low, going down from medium normal range over 6 months
ALT-SGPT - just below normal
trace to moderate blood and leukocytes in urine
small amount wbc and rbc in urine
Promtime just below normal
Negative for RNP, SM, SS-A AB, SSB/LA, SCL 70, DS DNA.
CCP- range is 0-19, I had 20 the first test, and 4 months later it was 35.
now here is my problem. my rheumatologist and PCP are ignoring the Ana. so they said I have Fibromyalgia. but from everything ive read 1:1280 is highly unlikely to be a healthy positive.
they won't diagnose RA because while I was positive for ccp is a "mild positive" and I didn't have inflammation showing in my blood work.
they've had me on celexa, Zoloft, amitriptyline, hydroxyzine, ambien, Cymbalta, gabapentin, flexeril, Percocet(after delivering) and every OTC they recommended. I've been to physical therapy, pelvic floor therapy, and chiropractic.
NOTHING HAS HELPED.
What am I missing? should I get a knew Rheum? any ideas whats going on really? any ideas on what can help?
I'm exhausted, physically, mentally, emotionally.
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I seem to remember reading this somewhere -that once you are on an antidepressant , you're going to always be on one, but I don't want to believe it!
Have many of you tried going off, only to go back on? I think I read something about them changing your brain chemistry permanently.
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Has anyone else tried or heard of Fetzima? It's somewhat new to the market (2013) and is classified as an SNRI. As many of you are quite familiar with- depression often accompanies fibro the majority of the time.
I wanted to share my success story with this med, as I've been on at least 8 anti-depressants since being diagnosed and although they work for 1-3 years, they suddenly stop, as if my body has built up a tolerance. After upping the dosage twice on one med, my doctor will switch me to try another. After starting Fetzima in late May, I have not felt this great mentally for years. If you're looking for depression relief, I can tell you this one has changed my life.
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My menopause nurse has changed hrt from everol to levial I started first pill today but my gp gave me fluoxetine last week cause I was depressed.I am wondering what is one of drugs don't agree with me I will not know what one is causing the prob so am I better of not taking fluoxetine just to see if levial helps with my depression.
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does anyone take a low dose of mirtz with another antidepressant
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I have been on Cymbalta/Duloxetine for over two years now after having reactions to Sertraline etc. This was at 60mg and to be truthful it didn't do a lot. About 8 weeks ago this was doubled to 120 mg and this has increased my movement, mood and power to stay awake. It has also reduced my tremor.
I noticed I seem to be the only person on this level.
I am being queried following abnormal PET scan that indicated possible Parkinson's but DaT scan negative so not that. Also have mild Ischaemic changes in frontal lobes of the brain. All still under investigation. Has anyone else been prescribed this for same or similar problems?
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I have taken antidepressants mainly for anxiety for many years. I have had 11 different antidepressants, switching mostly because of side effects, or when they didn't work too well. I am currently taking Paroxetine, which works fairly well but has some nasty side effects.
Last Monday I saw a really helpful psychiatrist, and when I told her I look meds up online, she encouraged me to look up the two meds that she was suggesting (Mirtazapine and Pregabalin) and make up my own mind.
There are plenty of research papers and there's Wikipedia, and med sites, all based on scientific studies. Very useful but I think it's a bit limited because they decide what questions to ask people. I really would like to know more about people's own personal experiences of taking this stuff, because I don't see a lot of that on patient leaflets or online med sites.
So anyone who would like to share experiences (it worked, it didn't work, side effects etc), I'd like to hear from you.
My first priority is making a decision next week about having Mirtazapine or Pregabalin, but after that I would also be interested in people's experiences with other antidepressants, including the ones I used to take.
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I used to take an antidepressant SEROPLEX ( escitalopram). I have been sweating excessively for 3 months, very difficult to sweat so much ; my doctor told me the sweating was due to SEROPLEX and I stopped taking this drug 17 days ago: yet , I'm still sweating a lot: is it normal ?
the chemist of the laboratory which sends this drug told me " 17 days is not very long and the secondary effects vary from one people to another"". One week ago I had a blood-exam and also a lung radiography which were normal. My doctor is on vacation in august and I don't know what to do.
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Anyone can you tell me if you had any luck finding an antidepressant to work for you. I have tried several with no relief now I'm on paxil 20 Mgs I have severe anxiety depression fear medical related PTSD I am very scared all the time
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does anyone use a combination of a low amount of mirtazapine for sleep, combined with an antidepressant ?
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are there some of you out there that take a low dose of mirtazapine plus an antidepressant? if so, what are you taking? did you suffer from anxiety going on the med. i am desperately searching for help.
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Been on Duloxetine 30mg for 5 days now - having headaches -Will they go away ? - I want to feel myself again any idea how long it takes for the tablets to kick in. I feel ok for a little while in the morning then i feel poorly again have to lay down and take co- codamol to take the headaches away - Can anyone give me any information of their experiences please -
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I hope you're all making progress and feeling better.
I'll cut a long story short - I was taken off fluoxetine because I went really downhill. My Psychiatrist has given me Duloxetine which is an SSNI. It works on serotonin and nor.....?? I can't remember the spelling.
I'm reluctant to take it right now because I went on the forum for Duloxetine and haven't found many posts at all!! I think there are about 4-5 posts!!
Have any of you had this medication before? Any advice about what I should do? I don't mind the side effects, I'm just worried that my head's going to get messed up further.
Apart from all that, I feel a bit better having posted on here this morning cos I've not been on the forum for a while.
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