Fibromyalgia Syndrome :: Cymbalta/Duloxetine For Pain Not Depression
Jul 8, 2015
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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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 am really struggling with my fibro. The doc has told me to persevere with this tablet. He has also gave me an anti sickness tablet. I would like to know people's experiences with this please.
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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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Nine months ago I was in active mother of two with very little pain until one day one of my toddlers jumped on my back while playing around in the floor. Since then I have been back pain every day along with fatigue and depression. I have been to a few different primary care doctors, physical therapy for three months and I've tried a slew of muscle relaxers and medication for my middle back pain. I have had an x-ray and an MRI that shows my back is perfectly normal and healthy. I am beyond frustrated about what is causing this pain! I also have slight digestive issues even though I eat fairly healthy, heavy menstrual cycles and recently sharp nerve pain in my right ankle. I used to be pain free and healthy and now I feel like a hypochondriac with no answers to why! Does this sound like fibromyalgia to anyone? I'm at the point where I'm just reaching out for help to find a reason for my pain. My back pain is the worst of all of the symptoms but it seems to get better (still pain but not as bad) for a week and then get worse again for no apparent reason. Help! Am I going crazy!? I don't want to have fibromyalgia but my doctors cannot find anything physically wrong with me!
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I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia about 18 months ago and I'm having a really bad flare up at the moment and still trying to work full time! I'm a beauty therapist so I Found I don't go in I let people down! I'm struggling to walk and my back and wrist is really swollen, I'm taking nurofen and paracetamol but they're not touching it.
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to understand fibro pain more
look up complex regional pain syndrome on the NHS choices page its a fairly new article only placed there today .your find it very interesting and might be a step forward to you understanding your pain better.
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I have just got worse throughout the day I had a seizure early this afternoon and the pain has just got worse. I have to stay strong for my husband and kids but inside I am crying right now . I am completely fecked off with it. I confess I am due on and the pain all over seems to be stronger. I am 42 and I am sitting in a chair propped up by cushions a blanket and a hot water bottle for my arms watching emmerdale , tried knitting a bloody scarf but my hands/ arms hurt.
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After reading some of the posts lately, I started thinking about what diversion tactics I use to block out the pain. It got me wondering what tactics you all use.
Apart from getting on with life as best I can, I do a few things to take my mind off it all. Doing simple crosswords, I don't have the
or patience for cryptic. Watching TV programs like Antique
Roadshow and watching movies. Reading novels, and going online to read articles.
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I've been on LDN - Low Dose Naltrexone for a few months now. It's been a bumpy road and the journey has had both positive and negative points.
I've been adjusting the dose but in so far the 3 main benefits I can claim from it are:
- some sleep improvement;
- less pain intensity;
- apparent normalising effects on some blood markers such as LDH (lactate dehydrogenase).
However I feel exhausted to an unbearable point and continue prone to inflammation. I've decided to continue treatment with LDN because I've read extensively about it and many authors say it may take up to a yer to come to fruition.
Meanwhile I've resorted to naturopathic medicine and I'm under treatment as well.
We're all different in the way we react to medications and because I've been reading so much suffering here with so little hope of remission that I thought of encouraging you of not giving up and trying new things.
I would like to share with you a recent study on LDN whose Abstract is:
"The use of low-dose naltrexone (LDN) as a novel anti-inflammatory treatment for chronic painJarred Younger, [corresponding author] Luke Parkitny, and David McLain
Abstract
Low-dose naltrexone (LDN) has been demonstrated to reduce symptom severity in conditions such as fibromyalgia, Crohn’s disease, multiple sclerosis, and complex regional pain syndrome. We review the evidence that LDN may operate as a novel anti-inflammatory agent in the central nervous system, via action on microglial cells. These effects may be unique to low dosages of naltrexone and appear to be entirely independent from naltrexone is better-known activity on opioid receptors. As a daily oral therapy, LDN is inexpensive and well-tolerated. Despite initial promise of efficacy, the use of LDN for chronic disorders is still highly experimental. Published trials have low sample sizes, and few replications have been performed. We cover the typical usage of LDN in clinical trials, caveats to using the medication, and recommendations for future research and clinical work. LDN may represent one of the first glial cell modulators to be used for the management of chronic pain disorders.
Keywords: Anti-inflammatory, Chronic pain, Fibromyalgia, Glial cell modulators, Low-dose naltrexone, Microglia"
Younger, Jarred, Luke Parkitny, and David McLain. “The Use of Low-Dose Naltrexone (LDN) as a Novel Anti-Inflammatory Treatment for Chronic Pain.”Clinical Rheumatology 33.4 (2014): 451–459. PMC. Web. 13 July 2015.
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I just wondered if any other female sufferers of Fibro had pain in their vaginal areas? I am newly diagnosed and just coming to terms with the symptoms and pain that this illness brought along with it but this new pain has begun recently and seems to accompany my hip and lower back pain ..
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I've been on duloxetine for about 18 months now (I think, my memory's awful) and have always had disturbed dreams and nightmares while I've been on it. Originally I was taking zolpidem 10 mg and Quetiapine 100mg at night but I've taken myself off of those over the last few months. The nightmares have gotten worse though, they're incredibly realistic. Last night I dreamt that I was drinking and I woke up heaving and with an intense headache like I was hungover. Then I managed to go back to sleep and after dreaming that I was back at my parents house and arguing with them, I woke up in such a state and my anxiety was so high I couldn't even move, I was struggling to breathe and scared because I was struggling to differentiate between what was real and what was a dream. I never wake up feeling rested and am constantly tired and yawning throughout the day, I've also been suffering more with headaches. Has anyone else on duloxetine had issues with sleep and dreams and is there anything that helps?
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Been given duloxetine to to try for my depression and wondered if anybody has been using it what your reviews are on it
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So yesterday I went to see the RA and it appeared as if he cared. He explained that I was severe with FIBRO and that there isn't too much that he could do. He upped my LYRICA to 200 mg (not sure why as it gives me more issues than taking pain away) . He also suggested that I go to a Fibro Clinic in UF , some where in the panhandle of Florida, I can not do it (Finances, Insurance, I don't drive because of LYRICA) . He also gave me a referral for SUBOXONE This is a medicine that they usually give for people who have had problems with pain pills.The RA explained how he just read an article in how this could help me. Has any one else experienced this? Did it work?
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Selenium deficiency is considered by some naturopathic doctors the key to Fibromyalgia and CFS.
Some even relate it with animal “Nutritional muscular dystrophy” AKA “White muscle disease”.
Should we go to the vet?
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Fibro is a like a box of dark chocolate, each centered chocolate has a different symptom filling. And leaves a nasty taste in your mouth.
FIBRO FOG MISTY CENTRE
PAIN HOT CHILLI CENTRE
MIGRAINE
LEG PAIN
BACK PAIN
SHOULDER PAIN
NECK PAIN
HIP PAIN
TINNITUS
EARACHE
JAW ACHE
NUMBNESS
PINS NEEDLES
CHEST PAIN
BURNING
SORE THROAT
AND MANY MORE NEW SYMPTOM CENTRES TO COME
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I am stuck in a rut at the moment and can't seem to get myself out of it.
I am full of good intentions to go out and about, but when the day comes it's as if I am too scared to go through the door
Any ideas on how to get motivated?
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I've had problems all of my life and at the moment my condition has worsened, but unfortunately it's something that we don't talk about. I've got fibromyalgia, arthritis and herniated discs in my spine consequently I'm in a lot of pain all of the time so it's a catch 22 situation my tablets cause the constipation but I need my tablets! What's the answer?
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