Hi all!!!! Well it's been an adventurous road so far and I can honestly say, I have FINALLY found a GP that is willing to help me :-) It was such a relief to walk out of his office today knowing that there is help in sight.
He started me on Savella and I wanted to know if you have found Savella effective. He's also running additional blood work to have Mono base levels???? and to see if where I am with my vitamin D levels.
He also stated that on bad flare up days I could call and come in for injections to help get relief. Do any of you have these and get relief from them too?
Thank you all again for all of your support. It is GREATLY appreciated!!
I am taking Savella, and it has been very effective for me. When I started the tapered dose pack I had alot of mood swings and anxiety, but it was just until my body adjusted to the medication. I still have flare ups but they are not as bad as before. My flare ups seem to follow my menstral cycle, and my doctor has given me Tramadol (Ultram) and Naproxen to use during this time. Tramadol is a common pain med that is very cost friendly, and if you take a 50mg pill with a 500mg Tylenol it is more effective. They have this med already combined, it is Ultracet, and is rather coslty. The Naproxen I have is 500mg and I take 1 every 12hrs about a week before my period starts and stop it the day I start. This helps the pain I get in my legs and back during this pre-menstrual time. If it works as well for you then you maynot need those injections for pain! I was on Cymbalta and it helped my pain but I developed severe side effects and had to stop that to start Savella.
The first 2-3 weeks can be very difficult as your body adjusts, but if you stick with it I think it will help! I wish I had taken a few days off work diring that time to better adjust, because for no reason I would burs into tears! But since I am a nurse and work with others in the healthcare field, my co workers were very understanding as I adjusted, and now I am doing so much better! Keep an open mind about the Savella, and just be prepared for some mood changes! GOOD LUCK:)
I don't want to be a downer, maybe someone has had luck with this med. I took it for a couple of months. It gave me energy like I have never had. Too much, racing thoughts and can't sit still, nervous energy. I used to write ebooks. I have given that up for various reasons. Anyway, I wrote slow, but on this med I almost wrote a novel in those few weeks. I couldn't stop, the story kept coming. I wrote on a napkin as I waited for take out food one night. It just wasn't right. That part sounded really good and I cranked out words like crazy. However, there was a dark side for me. That nervous energy had me sending crazy emails to my boss, complaining about how much work I had to do. I couldn't believe I sent those. I went to his office and apologized and told him I was on a new med and it was making me crazy. (I was always upfront with him on those things. He was a great boss and he understood.) It also caused violent and suicidal thoughts. I was hoping the side effects would wane in the 6 weeks that most drugs take to get into the system. Ended up that hubby took them away and said I would never get them back. I had made a plan and even said bye to some people.
I know some people say they did well on it. My son has fibro and I even let him try it. He didn't have the thoughts like I did, but he had anxiety and nausea. Even vomiting. So he came off it too. I hope you do better as it did have some good things. Just not the med for me.
It helped a lot with my fatigue. It was the first medicine I took for the fibromyalgia stuff. Yes the adjustment period is very rough. Take it slow because it does cause mood swings but it will pass. Give it time because it it is a good medicine.
I only take 25mg 3 times a day. I can’t handle 50 mgs. It made my blood pressure too high.
I hope it helps.
I had an injection of Toridol recently, and it did ease my severe flare considerably!! since I suffer from mood swings anyway, that savella sounds like a frightful med for ME...but you might respond well to it...it sounds like you have an understanding doctor...hurray!! hugs, annie
I tried Savella earlier this year, and while it helped with pain, I could not bear the feelings of anxiety and nervousness that I felt while on it. Hopefully it works for you!
I’m going to a new one tomorrow and hope to have the same results. The pain clinic is too fair and I have to wait too long. Good luck with yours Deanna. It sounds very promising.
I tried Savella for six weeks. I got approx. 20% relief. After six weeks I started having side effects such as weird headaches every day, dry heaving, sweating and stomach aches. I stopped it.
savella worked wonders for me for 4 months then it stopped working .. period. ugh. I cant take the other two common meds either. I have to find a new rheumatologist to see if i can use any other type of medicine beside narcodics. i cant stand to take them.
Sounds a lot like bipolar… meds do affect everyone differently… I’m on savella now, nothing weird, but cymbalta wasn’t working out. I’d been on Zoloft for years, so I had a reference point of how I should feel…just looking for something to help more with pain now.
My mom went off the deep end when she tried lexapro. I wish she would’ve stuck with it and tried to find something else. Having support when you work out craziness of switching meds is so important!!! I hope you get some relief, thanks for sharing
I’m on week 3 of my titration pack…going off of cymbalta. I think the cymbalta decrease is the worst part. Typically starting a new med just makes me sleepy for the first week or so. I’m pretty much comparing the relief this gives to the relief I got on Zoloft, which I tolerate well, we are just trying to find a med that helps with pain more. I’ve given up on pain meds beyond Advil, everything makes me tired. Lyrica helped with the pain from cold, and sort of dulled everything ( like listening to noises while underwater is the best way I could describe it) but not enough to pay the $100 copay. Cymbalta was the
Same cost for me, but I think actually contributed to the nerve pain in my neck/ head. I’m seeing that decrease as I get into the savella. Keep me updated on how this works out for you!
I went to a new GP, and he is weaning me off of cymbalta to Savella. I’m giving it a try because I’ve read so many positive reviews from you guys. He too put in my chart for me to get a shot of toradol on bad days. It’s not a narcotic, but I’m bound by a pain clinic contract.
I’m not sure about the injections yet or the Savella, but I’ll keep you posted. Dholden, I hope you get the help you need. We’re all not the same so maybe you’re on your on your way to less flares.
three years ago when I first started on Savella it was wonderful from the very first pill. I felt like someone had unwound a vise that had been keeping me crushed down (the pain). Unfortunately, as my illness progressed we had gotten to the highest dose my insurance would cover twice a day and it wasn't giving me relief.
Now I am on cymbalta and additional pain meds and barely having relief :-(
Thank you all for your replies. It’s been 5 days and I feel like a different person. I was afraid to say I felt better the second day, but I did. No suicidal thoughts. No emothional breakdowns. The only problems are nasseau when I take a new higher does for the first couple of pills and constipation. Hoping that stops when I get to a regulated dose. Still on vicodin when I don’t remeber to stop when I over do it, but all in all it’s been good.
Maybe you should start a new post to answer this question as maybe only people who have taken savella or what to know about savella will look at this post. Sorry, I haven't been on this board very long and I don't know who that is.
It sounds more like Lyme to me as one of the symtoms besides all the others that match fibro is the bi-polar behavior caused by the bouts being an up and down in an effort to live a normal life you are manic supposedly when better,to get things done ,knowing a bout will possibly put you down for weeks or months.