Cymbalta thread

[mdmc]

For those that suffer from MH symptoms and physical pain, I have had success managing both with Cymbalta. If anyone wants to know the skinny, I'll share.

[hunter]

1. Nice to find meds that work.

It's really weird how random these drugs are, however. I've got one sibling who has symptoms nearly identical to my own, but we've never found the same drugs most effective. And I used to take drugs I wouldn't take now, but maybe will again in the future.

My asthma meds, in comparison, haven't had such a strange progression. They've tended to just get better, with fewer side effects.

[mopinko]

2. it's helped my anxiety a lot.

still have times when it all seems impossible, but for the most part, it is under control. my mood has also been a lot steadier.
as far as pain, i can't really say. i take lyrica for that, which helps both pain and fatigue. i tried to back that out and see how the cymbalta worked by itself, but the fatigue got to me.
tho i felt pretty tweaked the first week or 2, i am liking this quite a bit now.
good drug, imho, and i have tried many.

[mdmc]

3. I'm off of vicodin completely now thanks to cymbalta

It really helps me to "man up" and deal with the pain. I have a new RA drug that is working well too..

[mopinko]

4. that's really awesome.

sounds like things are going better for you. good, good.

[momto3]

5. I find it fascinating that different people can have such drastic reaction to the same med.

I was on cymbalta for about 7 days. It gave me severe stomach cramps to the point where I could not get our of bed. Didn't stay on it long enough to see how it helped my depression.

Welbutrin has worked the best for me so far.

[mdmc]

7. some of my anxiety and depression is caused by uncontrollable pain

cymbalta has helped with that.. It does mess wwith my tummy a little bit..

[Marrah_G]

8. Everyone's bodies and brains work differently.

I am on Cymbalta due to depression and nerve damage caused by a very common antibiotic (Cipro)

I was immobilized by Pheripheral neuropathy in all four limbs, lasting nerve damage, panic attacks and insomnia.

You never know how you will react to a drug, so it's important to let your dr know if there are bad side effects. Cymbalta is a tough drug to start out on for many. I know myself, there was a jitterness, almost a tingling in my head for the first few weeks. I stuck with it after reading others experiences and the results have been very good.

[undergroundpanther]

6. Cymbalta

I used to take cymbalta,it worked great.Neurontin makes me too dizzy to function.lyrica made me miserable and I gained weight on it.So I stopped lyrica.Right now fighting to get cymbalta. I got 2 broke ribs right now that hurts like hell,and tommorrow I'm getting a cervical epidural. Right now I hate my body.

[GreenPartyVoter]

10. Ouch! *gentle hugs* I am so sorry you in are in so much pain. :^(

[GreenPartyVoter]

9. Cymbalta was the drug that finally helped the professionals realize that

I am in fact bipolar and not unipolar depressive. It was sheer hell, and I am amazed I didn't kill myself. It _did_ do lovely things for my physical pain, but when I went off of it I experienced a terrible rebound pain each night for several days. I cried myself to sleep.

I wish I did work for me. Would be nice to shake the chronic pain.

So glad it is working well for you, though!

[mdmc]

11. thanks gpv

it has really helped and i hope everyone finds something that works for them..

[libodem]

12. Is it an SSRI type of drug

I was on Celexa to help my chronic pain. I never felt well. Stomach trouble. Now I'm on Nortryptline, a very old, cheap drug that I can tolerate.

[Digit]

13. My Cymbalta hell

I was on it and the minor crap was hair loss by the handfuls and weight gain. The things I could not tolerate were the extreme fatigue, sleeping 14 hours a day, and the change in sleep patterns that dictated my body sleep from 4am to 6pm. Plus not wanting to leave the house or talk to anyone and feeling so totally numb and apathetic that I did not want to do, and actually was unable to do much to take care of myself. I did not have the energy to cook, clean, and then I felt guilty about it.

Coming off has been absolute hell. I am ending week 2 now of going cold turkey. I hurt all over like I have been dropped from a second story building. I could not sleep tonight and that is why I am up at this hour. I have been talking in my sleep since stopping this shit and am worried that I might also walk in my sleep since I have a prior history of that in the past. Since I live alone, I do not know and worry about what I might do. The brain zaps have almost disappeared thank God. I am still not eating right but hope I will be able to soon.

I HAD to stop this nasty drug since I knew I could not have a job and stay on this and I desperately need a job.
I hope I will be able to join the land of the living in the near future.
Wow, and to think this was prescribed for pain. No thank you!
Oh, and I shudder to think how my driving was when I was experiencing the brain zaps. Or at least I think it was part of the zaps when I would shift my gaze and it was if my body including my eyes did not shift back and I would be disoriented all the while going 70mph.

Be careful!

[mdmc]

14. thanks for your reply

I'll sooooo stop this med if I lose my hair.. My hair is all I have left of my youth...

[undergroundpanther]

15. cymbalta

I am trying to get back on it. Cymbalta made my back pain go into remission.
I didn't get fat on it either.

[Riftaxe]

16. Used to take it for neuropathy

worked real well for that, however; I would rather have put up with the nerve pain if I had known what was in store when i stopped using cymbalta.