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Car2cam

New member
Joined
Feb 25, 2014
Messages
2
Reason
DX FIBRO
Diagnosis
02/2014
Country
US
State
IN
Hey everyone, I'm newly diagnosed with fibromyalgia and I want to learn as much as possible about it. My Dr. Started me right off with Cymbalta at 30mg, and I'm not sure how I feel about it yet. I've only been on it 3 days now, and I feel worse than when I started it. I take tramadol for painful periods, and it works great for fibro pains as well, but my dr refuses to prescribe it anymore. She says that all she will prescribe is antidepressants or anti-seizure meds. Please tell me that Cymbalta works better over time, because that seems to be my best option of drugs that will not make me gain weight.
 
Those types of medications are hit or miss, I myself had zero luck on many of them, and when I say many, I've tried well over a dozen over the last more than year. You should watch for side effects for sure. Always take as prescribed and give it at least 3-4 weeks before assuming it won't work (as long as no bad side effects occur) as some of the meds can take up to 6 weeks to show full effectiveness... I'd say if your pain from this med doesn't lighten up in another 2 weeks or so, call your Dr and let them know it's making you feel worse... Also, who told you that these meds can't cause weight gain? I would be careful with that statement because I know many people who have gained a lot of weight due to these medications.... It's actually in the warnings/side effects.... You need to monitor yourself on the weight gain and all other possible side effects, as everyone is different on how their bodies react to any medications.
On a side note- on my fibro adventure, I have come to find out that some Dr's firmly believe that patients with fibro do not respond well to pain meds (opiates and such). They believe that it has no effect on how our brains interpret pain signals and does not aid/help our pain, which is not necessarily true for every patient due to everyone's bodies react differently.... Also, there are some Dr's that will diagnose and treat fibro, and seem like they might maybe believe or at least care, but they themselves do not 'believe' in fibro, rather think that it's either a cr@p-shoot diagnosis or I've even heard people say that they don't believe the patients diagnosis because another Dr diagnosed the fibro and since there is not real tests or strict guidelines (again this is according to some Dr's.... Not my opinion lol) that fibro isn't real or that the patient is faking/mimicking the issue in order to try and obtain pain meds..... They label the patients they believe to be doing this as "drug seekers".

Good luck with the Cymbalta! Make sure you monitor your body's interaction with any medication you put into your body.. And hope to see you around the forum! :)
 
Hey everyone, I'm newly diagnosed with fibromyalgia and I want to learn as much as possible about it. My Dr. Started me right off with Cymbalta at 30mg, and I'm not sure how I feel about it yet. I've only been on it 3 days now, and I feel worse than when I started it. I take tramadol for painful periods, and it works great for fibro pains as well, but my dr refuses to prescribe it anymore. She says that all she will prescribe is antidepressants or anti-seizure meds. Please tell me that Cymbalta works better over time, because that seems to be my best option of drugs that will not make me gain weight.

I agree with the 'hit or miss' comment. I can't take tramadol because it caused migraines, but take hydrocodone. I can't take Cymbalta, for some reason. It was either because I'm breastfeeding or because I'm bipolar and it could cause adverse reactions. It was awhile ago when we discussed it, so I can't remember. I hope that it works for you, but I haven't heard of it making someone feel worse, then better.
 
Oh no! Cymbalta was the WORST thing I ever did to myself. I know a couple people who take it for actual depression and they love it, but I've never talked to anyone who has had any luck with using it to treat fibro. I was on 30mg a day of it for 13 days, and I had to quit taking it cold turkey. You're not supposed to quit suddenly as it causes major withdrawals, but it was making my fatigue so much worse and was doing nothing for the fibro pains. It also made me suicidal, which shocks me. I'm a huge fan of life, I'm religious, and suicidal thoughts just aren't my style. I seriously contemplated death for about a week while on Cymbalta. I was a complete and total zombie on it.

Honestly, I'd stay far away from Cymbalta!

What worked for me was going to naturopathic doctor who could heal my body as a whole instead of just looking for and treating symptoms. I cut all sugar and grains from my diet, and I'm doing my best to exercise daily. Exercise is super difficult for me, but it is helping a lot. I just use Xbox Fitness (I happen to have an Xbox One,) but I know the 360 has great fitness programs too and they're getting pretty cheap now. I also have found that acupuncture and chiropractic care are a HUGE help, but I've been going regularly for years. I've found they don't help much in small doses, but work wonders if you consistently go. I go 3x a month to both, but the average person could go less often and get great results. I'm not the average person.
 
i took cymbalta. there are a few things that stood out for me... at 30mg i craved carbs like potato chips bad. at 60mg that went away. walking from my car to the supermarket i noticed i was actually walking, i knew i didnt look like i was in pain. you know what i mean. you can tell how a person walks if they have pain. over time the med seemed to not work as well. after about a year, i started getting hives so i decided to get off the meds hoping that was the problem. it wasnt doing much for my depression. so, i came down to 30 mg, got those carb cravings again. now here is the scary part... i knew it was comming because it happened when i came of effexor (also ssri)... within one day of no meds you get brain zaps. (best way to say it) it's like a bad tension headache with electric shocks periodically shooting in your head. you can ween off like the doc says, open your pills and devide the granules, taper everyother day, you will get the dam zaps anyway. for me they lasted about 3 days once off med completly. so, overall, i am scared sh**less of any ssri. and don't recomend it.
 
I have been on Cymbalta 30mg 2x a day for 3 months & Lyrica 150mg 2x a day for 1 month. About four days ago, I was washing my hands after I got up and stopped dead in my tracks as I realized.... "I HAVE NO SHARP PAIN IN MY BODY!"

Like everyone says, give it time. I had the same questions for everyone when I started and I got all kinds of horror stories about side effects (Lyrica too) or how it didn't work for them, etc. I for one cannot even take pain killers as they do not work anymore, unless it is IV. Even Hydromorphone, the strongest pain-killer the ER was allowed to send me home with, did not stop the burning of my hip.

I've tried many, many anti-depressants and anti-consultants, but it wasn't until the Cymbalta that I finally noticed a difference. It wasn't until the 2 1/2 week mark, and it was subtle....and it wasn't the pain. I noticed that my MOOD was better - my FOG was lifting! I was getting smart again! I wasn't spending as much time in bed, I was cooking dinner again. Of course once I forgot to take a dose I noticed the difference. (Same happened yesterday when the Pharmacy couldn't fill my Lyrica. WHOO! Was there some pain!) That's when I realized that maybe it WAS making a difference in the pain.

Once my MD added the Lyrica I REALLY noticed a difference. I even have days like the other day when for a little while I don't feel sharp, burning tender points....then I start a project and an hour later there they are.

My point is, give the Cymbalta some time. Just because you feel side effects now (and you probably will - most people do), or if you feel some in a week, most of the time they go away just when the pain is starting to dissipate. And, if the Cymbalta doesn't work, there are two more medications that have been on the market for awhile now which have been used for Fibro/CP and another just introduced.

Good luck!
 
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