Needs some experience stories.
I am now prescribed this by my neurologist. So far all I can tell is I’m getting some headaches and what I think is pain relief. The info I read is either. This drug helps quite a bit or it’s the devil and run for hills . Now I know everybody is different, but I’d like some fellow AMNr’s feedback and advice . This is week 3 taking 30mg every morning.
What is the rationale of taking this medication?
Used to treat neuropathy pain.
My husband has been on for 2 months now and is up to 20mg twice daily and looking to increase soon. No real issues yo speak of but no major pain relief yet. We usually give a good 6 months begore we judge effect
I would hang in there and give it a good try if you can. You will hear horror stories and some “wonder drug” stories so just keep your own notes of how you react.
I, for one, couldn’t tolerate it. I never made it more than 2 weeks (tried it twice with same results) because of severe nausea and believe it or not, suicidal thoughts! It was weird because there was no depression involved in these thoughts...simply matter of fact things like “huh...I don’t have the kids in the car...I could drive off this bridge right now” or “I could just do X,Y,Z and be done”, and it seemed like a good idea! That scared the heck out of me!
I knew it wasn’t normal and wasn’t me. I had no desire to die. I am desperate to LIVE! I knew it had to be the medicine. So luckily I paid close attention, stopped the Cymbalta immediately when I realized what was happening and within less than a week, those thoughts were completely gone. I never had that reaction to any other medication (and I’ve tried a lot of them!) but I now see how people can do things completely out of character if they don’t recognize what is happening. Scary stuff!
I don’t say this to scare you. I just want people to know that any of these medicines can rarely cause a reaction like that and to just be very aware of any changes in case they occur.
That said, I had good result for pain with a cousin of this drug (another snri venlafaxine) but couldn’t handle the side effects (normal stuff like constipation or insomnia).
This class of meds is technically in an “antidepressant” category but seems to be able to help pain signals originating in the spinal cord (on a broken feedback loop).
I am super sensitive to side effects and there is very little I can tolerate.
Tramadol (pain med) is molecularly very similar to venlafaxine (Effexor) which is similar to Cymbalta. Tramadol was the best med for my neuropathic pain by far. (Better than the heavy duty opioids I was on after cardiac surgery) but again, after a while I couldn’t tolerate the side effects for long. It also helped mood and energy for me even though it wasn’t the intended purpose.
Just to give you some different ideas if the Cymbalta doesn’t work out.
My long winded response is just to say, give it a good try, and be very vigilant and be aware of how you feel and know that everyone responds differently. I hope it works great for you!!
I would stay away from Effexor. I have two ex-girlfriend‘s that it made ridiculously violent. It is getting banned in a lot of countries because it leads to violence.
Bluejadedwho...it has helped a lot of people too. I don’t think telling anyone to “stay away” from anything is a good idea. What works for one may not work for another and vice versa. There are already limited options in our situation that anything should be considered as worthy of a try. People should be aware of possible side effects and be vigilant, absolutely, but telling someone to avoid a potentially helpful med is not the way to go.(Maybe I am biased as a trained medical professional but I’ve been on both sides of the coin and know that everyone responds differently).
Cymbalta is an antidepressant or neuropathy.
With any antidepressant make sure you have someone monitoring your mood. A family member or friend that knows how you behave and your general daily mood is important.
Also, starting and stopping should be tapered.
I tried bupropion a few years ago and hated how I felt. They kept raising the dosage until my wife said she no longer recognized me.
It had dulled enthusiasm and had made me angry.
I went back to gabapentin.
Lyrica might be a choice, too.
My family doctor said often neurologists throw antidepressants as the first line because they think the pain and depression are linked.
I will only say again, make sure you have someone you see daily keep an eye on things.
Saw my neurologist today. He offered me some Cymbalta. I was tempted to give it a go.
I'll stick with Lyrica for now.
Hi
just reading this. I am on120mg of Cymbalta and 150mg of Lyrica and I am the best I have felt since all my symptoms began 10 years ago.
Hope it worked for you Seifert_09
Leonie ♡
MIN-102 trial: 12 week update
I’m new here ...just diagnosed with AMN
Bladder problems
REDUCING VLCFA COULD REDUCE SPASMS AND OTHER SYMPTOMS OF AMN.
