Duloxetine and initial fatigue effects

[Floppy99]

Duloxetine: Im on day 9 of taking 30mg. The fatigue has been quite bad with other symptoms but luckily most of them have gone apart from feeling so so tired. Im taking it for both low mood drops, anxiety, mild fibro and hoping that this will help with general exhaustion. Any experience that this will subside? Im also still a bit jittery. I was taking it in evening but decided to go back to taking in morning.

[releasethemagic]

I find it better in the morning. It can take up to 6 weeks to get used to it. I find it helps a lot with reducing the intensity of the pain.

[Snugbentley in reply to releasethemagic]

I find it better in the morning too! I’m on 120mg for fibromyalgia and really low mood. I have bpd so I’m on other meds for that. But I take 60mg in the morning snd 60mg late afternoon.

[Sugarhobbit]

Hi there.

Yes I had more fatigue than my normal and like you other side effects that wore off. I even had more trouble sleeping in the night for a while. I persevered. I take mine in the morning. I had my dose increased the other week and I have that dose at 2pm. Apart from my fatigue, the fatigue of the tablets wore off after about 4 weeks.

Kind regards

Sugarhobbit xx

[Floppy99 in reply to Sugarhobbit]

Brilliant thank you the fatigue has been getting me down so I can only hope I will improve over the next few weeks. Thanks

[Sugarhobbit in reply to Floppy99]

Your very welcome. X

[LisaSnow FMA UK Volunteer]

I think for most people, the initial fatigue will fade away after two to six weeks. I had a really bad fatigue immediately after the first dose it was so bad that I couldn't get vertical to eat for two days. I didn't give it a chance to work but I hope it will work for you.

[denny_the_wench]

I am taking it for exactly the same reasons as you - It took just about 6 weeks for ALL my side effects to subside to a copeable level - but the difference in pain relief I've had, which has meant I've been able to cut right down on codeine based pain relief has been tremendous so I'd say keep persevering. I've been on it 5 months now and like releasethemagic I switched to taking it in the morning as I found it seemed to wake me up at 2am - mainly due to the sounds my stomach was making as the pill was digested (major washing machine gurgling!!!!). I now take it at about 6am, with a pantoprazole (usually when cat wakes me for his morning feed 🐾🐾) and then try to go back to sleep for another couple of hours, I am then usually having a cup of tea and my breakfast when the pill is breaking down.

I found that taking the side effects leaflet and ticking ANY effects I got in a different coloured pen for each of the 1st 4 weeks helped me prove that my body was getting used to it. Looking back at my fitbit record I can see that for the 1st month on it I was sleeping for an average of 2 hours a day more than I normally do, on one day it was 13hours!!! but that has now gone back to my normal 6 to 7 hrs a day. I still get big bouts of fatigue - but I got those with fibro when I'd overdone it - and I'm currently waiting for the the results of a blood test to check if I've got long-covid or not, and what my Vit D levels are like (again side effects being fatigue), so there could also be other reasons for your tiredness, that may be worth checking with your GP.

I still get the jitters, (was bad yesterday) but, having had a counsellor during my early time on the drug I learned that they are triggered by specific things, so I'm working on avoidance - or if I can't avoid I try to prepare so they don't "catch me out" which is when they are worse.

I think the only side effect I still have is the dry mouth - I find mints or sugar free pastilles work to help this.

I send you gentle hugs and support from afar - you are not alone in your struggles and we are all always here to help - or just listen. 🤗

[Katie_jane1983]

When I first started taking it I took it at night as it made me very drowsy. But now I’m used to it I take in the mornings. Really helps with my pain and anxiety.

[Mollycooper11]

I have been on it for so very long I can't remember what side effects I did have but do recall I had to swap from a morning dose to an evening one. That has worked fine for me. I'm on 120mg. I hope it helps you.

[Bobbaking]

Hi keep going with it it often takes 2-4weeks for things to settle down. I always take mine in the evening to help with the side effects. You might consider looking at the dose, if you are taking a high dose it might help to reduce it. Often a balancing act of the size of the dose and how effective it is. Hope this helps

[Snugbentley]

Hey there. So sorry to hear your struggling like all of us. I had really bad side effects when I first started taking it. The worst for me was night sweats and feel jittery like you say I was on 60mg to start now I’m on 120mg I take 60mg in the morning and 60mg late afternoon that works well for me. But stick with it for at least a couple of months to see the effects if it’s not for you and not working speak to your GP about alternative medication. Hope this helps hun x

[Polzovatel]

Hi

Has your Duloxetine fatique subsided ?

Do you take it in the evening or in the morning ?

I've got exactly the same issue -has been taking it for a week , tried to take it in the evening, morning , afternoon but feel very lethargic the whole day . x