Hello fellows,
My doctor prescribed Cymbalta 40mg & Lyrica 75mg together. I've used Cymbalta and gabapentin separately before. I had bad thoughts when I was on gabapentin. Pregabalin seems similar to gabapenti, same family.
Has anyone been on both these drugs together before? What are your experiences? I am kind of freaking out. :/
I've been on Gabapentin and Pregablin and both at the same time but not Cymbalta. Gabapentin did more for me than Pregablin but they only really helped my pain when I was on both. Pregablin caused weight gain so I wouldn't go on it again.
Thanks Cat00. I didn't even got to see doctors for pain this time. I always feel something is stuck in my throat and it closes. I have to make effort to do breathing or speaking. It becomes tiring as the day goes on and I am quite work out by evening. Hoping these meds work on this problem.
Hello sauc,I have also got the feeling of something stuck in my throat and had a gastroenterologist put a camera down and luckily they reckoned it was acid reflux from all the medication I’m on. I was on both gabapentin and lyrica for 6 months but started having really vivid dreams and when I found out how addictive pregablin is I weaned myself of it and upped my original pain killer (which I’m totally addicted to after 20 years of taking it!) OxyContin, with this I take Oxycodone oral fast reaction which helps immensely with the pain. I must also say I suffer from SLE as well so that’s maybe why I’m on such a strong pain killer. I know I am not much help but you’re the first person I’ve heard with the feeling in the throat as I panicked like mad and was convinced there was something there!
Good Health, Have lots of good days without pain you deserve it,
Love Wolf_1🦋🐺😴💤
Hi. Thank you for the post. Somehow I missed seeing theyour response earlier.I was also pretty convinced something stuck in my throat. I have already seen GI and they did ultrasound, contrast CT and found nothing. ENT also stuck camera down my throat and found nothing and then refered to neurologist suspecting neural dysphagia (difficulty swallowing). Anyway, I still have the problem, mostly in later half of the day. Been on the meds almost 3 weeks.
Hi sauc,
I was told by my doctor that it is a common problem called Globus which gives the impression you have something stuck in your throat. I was told to drink about 3 pints of water a day and try not to clear my throat, I was also told to try and lower my stress levels, which is easier said than done but gave it a go. Now I have tried it for a few days and must admit, a difference has happened and the feeling is gone but does appear now and again after eating but all in all it is so much better!
Good Health, good luck
Love Wolf_1 🐺🦋😴💤👍
Hi Wolf_1. Thank you for mentioning Globus. It helps put a lot of things in perspective. I think my symptoms match exactly. I feel problem while swallowing salaiva and not for food. I will try those things, although I already drink plenty of water and trying to lower stress with meditation. But stress is something that is a problem.
I am on both ( higher dosage) and I have found them helpful.I have had no adverse effects but you may find yourself a little out of it for a couple of weeks, I have gained quite a bit of weight though, something that happens to a number of people on these meds.
I hope that helps.
Lots of hugs and hope they work for you x
I can understand you anxiety, it is worrying taking any drugs, especially as the side effects can vary from person to person.
I have tried a mix of these drugs over the years, normally last about a year with limited relief for pain to myself.
These two drugs work in different ways.
What the medical profession is trying to do is use these drugs to improve mood primarily,
which comes first is a toss up, because pain increases mood, like having a tooth ache, it gets you down.
My take on this juggle of meds and mind is having had experience of mood therapies, talk therapies, using sites like this to gain an understanding helped me enormously. What does worry me is the drugs are used to improve certain neurotransmitters like serotonin and dopamine yet I do not hear of many people having their levels of serotonin and dopamine checked, the GP's just dish them out like smarties.
The NHS or your doctor has many option to refer you, some of these therapies are available to sign up to yourself CBT is one for sure. Pain Management at your local hospital is helpful, other therapies, psychotherapy, ecotherapy, art and craft therapies can all help your overall mood, if anything get you away from ruminating, chewing the cud over your pain, Pain management is good for this too.
I am not saying this is going to rid you of you symptoms but it did and does still help me.
Here are your drugs you asked about, I think with fibromyalgia the prescription is a log lower than what these drugs were originally designed to help, for example dose for pregabalin is in the 300mg a day for seizures, normally for fibro it is in the 75-100mg anyhow hope this helps your worry of what they may do to you, you may feel a little different for a day or too then they normally settle down.
After trying all the meds I was prescribed I now take none of them! Just mind therapy, meditation, loads of this on YouTube, personally like Michael Sealey, quite popular, other meditation for just 10 mins Goodful series. Put your headphone on and give yourself some love.😊
Duloxetine is classed a SNRI – Norepinephrine and dopamine reuptake inhibitors (NDRIs) so it is working on the dopamine (dopamine dysfunction, indicates that the neurotransmitter isn’t interacting with receptors in the brain properly.) often referred to as the 'reward'chemical. all to do with your mood.
Pregabalin is classed as a anticonvulsant - primarily used to treat partial seizures and neuropathic pain.
Hi. Thank you for the explanation. It is helpful info. I will see if I can get access to CBT or other therapies. I live in Bangalore, India (even though I joind fibromyalgia UK group) so some these non-medical therapies are not very accessible. On the flipside though access to specialist is easier. I was able to talk to neurologist straight up. Unfortunately, many doctors here, including neuros, still believe that fibromyalgia is a somatoform disorder. Quite frustrating this.
The funny thing is that my pain levels are not out of control. I was seeking medical help for something in my throat. It feels like something is always stuck or a flap closing my throat, making it hard to breathe or talk. ENT doctor cleared me and refereed to neurologist. Internet says that this problem in throat swallowing can be fibro symptoms. I even heard from some people here who had similar problems.
Anyway, just hoping that it goes away with the new drugs and I will be able to focus on work again.
"What the medical profession is trying to do is use these drugs to improve mood primarily,
which comes first is a toss up, because pain increases mood, like having a tooth ache, it gets you down."
Not sure this has much Foundation although will be true in some cases. Using CBT etc as an adjunct therapy is definitely worthwhile.
A larger toolkit is needed and not all the tools will sit the job/patient at hand.
The toolkit is indeed necessary for a more holistic approach to managing symptoms.
In my early days of this condition, there was a big toss up between which co first psychological or physical conditions, with very little understanding from medics as to which, all but a majority favour physical feeding mental conditions. The med results we now have today clearly show the strong link between but to a lesser extent that psychological illness feeds physical illness although this is gaining more support.
CBT is a great tool to manage behaviour, individuals need to understand the concept of thought, mood, behaviour, a primary tool in moving forward in life, understanding the individuals approach or thought to something and how this affects their behaviour.
My overall experience with individuals in this group is that psychotherapy a greater tool for recovery, but not as widely promoted.
I feel it important to establish why a behaviour is happening, to establish a catalyst, get to the core of underlying issues.
I feel this this can help the individual to understand their triggers more clearly, with the use of regression the individual can obtain a clearer picture, to enable them to measure the relationship between one value and another. In mental health treatment alone this can be fundamental, to establish ones acceptance of there condition and the deep routed experiences that may be adding fuel to their triggers.
Have you any experience you can share in the area of psychotherapy as a tool to help individuals in this group?
It's a tool like any other and not appropriate for all jobs. Rachel zoffness would be one person to look into not just for her approaches but also her attitude.
That's interesting, a friend of mine had severe anxiety a condition known as globus pharyngeus she could not swallow, felt like she was going to choke. It went on for years without change. Some years ago now.
I've been treated with anxiety pill and admittedly I am an anxious person. The ENT doctor suspected neural dysphagia which is medical term for difficulty swallowing for neural reasons. I don't understand why he would prescribe these meds for dysphagia. But I don't have anything else to hope on so I chose to just believe the doctor.
I understand your anxiety, I too had high anxiety up to recently, My final meds is venlafaxine slow release, 75mg and the results were good, problem for me is the widespread pain, sleep and pain, none of the drugs I have taken over the years including the two you are on now reduced pain or if they did not for very long. Now weening myself off all meds for good.
Not sure if you have looked at CBT cognitive behaviour therapy, it is worth studying there is a free online study course I took some years back with a company called futurelearn.com here they have a course with reading university in the UK called "Understanding Anxiety, Depression and CBT" University of Reading it is self paced and gives some great advice and understanding of these conditions, easy to understand.
I have just booked private therapy for the mind, it is a combination of psychoanalysis and meditation, for May, I am hopeful it will give me some answers, the treatment works on your subconscious, now after over 10 yrs with fibro my feelings are that one's anxiety is subconscious behaviour based on the experiences we have learnt right back to childhood. I will post my findings if I find some relief. Good luck😊
Duloxetine and pregabalin
Changed to Cymbalta /Duloxetine for Fibromyalgia 
Lyrica (Pregabalin) , excitalopram and colestiramine
Update taking Duloxetine -uk 
Should I take Duloxetine again?
