has anyone taken cymbal a for fibro pain ?
I take cymbalta and have for about a year. I have heard a lot of people talk about how awful it is and call it "poison" but it works great for me. The first few weeks were rather tough. I had a lot of trouble sleeping, bad nausea, and headaches at first. Thankfully my doctor really eased me in to it over a few weeks. Once I got past the hard first few weeks, I found some great relief. I think the main thing it did was help with my anxiety. The less anxiety I felt, the lower my daily pain level. It really just depends on your body I guess. It is worth a try. Just be sure to ease in to it and definitely ease off of it if you decide it is not for you. I did have to wait a few days for a refill once and after two missed doses, I had a pretty rough time. I felt like I was loosing my mind and just cried in a ball. Just like any medication, I would talk to your doctor if you are interested in it.
You can always try it, I have to say my experience with Cymbalta was HORRIBLE. I was severely depressed and the most anxious I have ever been in my life (which is going some because I suffer from PTSD). I am happy it works for others, relief is a wonderful thing! But for me no way. Its important to consider that Cymbalta helps relieve pain but it also has the mechanics of an antidepressant built in. Since I wasn't very depressed before I started a small dose of it, the effects in about a week's time hit me hard. I would discuss it with your doctor and ask for as much information about this particular med before you make a decision. Best of luck!
Blessing and prayers
Hi. I have heard that Cymbalta is helpful to some people for pain but I as well do not suffer from depression and since it is an anti-depressant medication perhaps that is why it did not help me. I am not really sure but I just do not happen to get along with anti-depressant meds . Everyone reacts differently to drugs and there is no one size fits all. So discuss with your doctor and decide what might be best for you. Good luck.
HUGGGGGGGGGGGS
Suzie
Hi,
I was on it for a while. I did not have any bad reactions to it, but it was not very helpful for me. Hope it works well for you though!
Hi Barb,
I just started Cymbalta 2 weeks ago and it is really helping. It’s one of the only 3 meds that have been approved by the FDA for Fibro. I had tried it 5 years ago but was only on it then for a short period as I fell into the Medicare “gap” and it was very expensive (but it was helping!) Now my insurance covers it and it is also inexpensive as it is now available in generic form.
I just finished a 3 month trial of Savella, which helped a lot but it’s not off patent yet (so expensive for me.) Both Cymbalta and Savella are SNRI’s, so they act on the norepinephrine receptors which combats the incredible exhaustion that comes with Fibro. I even had a few days of waking up with enough energy to go swim laps on a few days on Savella! What a great feeling! And definitely less pain also.
The past few weeks I tapered off Savella due to the cost and then started Cymbalta. I did wake up for a day or two a little anxious after I began the Cymbalta but that has passed. I’m very hopeful that this time I can stay on the medication and start exercising!
Give it a good try, at least 3 months and ride out any side-effects if you can (talk to your doc, of course), good luck, hope it works for you too.
Starr