Cymbalta Miracle-Not so much

I can relate to this, even though it's regarding a different drug. I had such a bad reaction to it, that 3 days before my next PCP visit, I stopped it, even though I knew this was a drug that should be tapered in both directions. When I saw my PCP, I explained that I made a "unilateral decision" to d/c this drug, and once she saw me she said, for me, in this circumstance, in this particular case, she understood and supported me.

Note: I would never d/c a med w/o asking/informing my doc. One just doesn't do that when one is on a concoction of various meds. I want to pre-empt my post with how important that is.

I'm also not even remotely suggest this is what you do.

This is what I'm wondering. When I did start on the drug, I actually felt improvement initially, and had great hopes since it was so widely recommended and referred to for neuropathic pain. Buuuuut, and this is what I wondered, if my bad reaction was due to the drug itself, or, from going up too fast on the dose, I'll never know, but I do know my symptoms got so severe and I felt (and later, as did my PCP) that my health was endangered, so I d/c that drug. I obviously am unwilling to try it again at a lower dose, nor any other "similar" drug for managing neuropathic pain, simply because my symptoms got so much worse, so much more intense and severe, then came other side effects.

I'm sorry you had to actually pass out for them to listen to you. When I saw my PCP those 3 days after I abruptly stopped the drug, not only had I rapidly gained a significant amount of weight (fat? edema?) but she could tell I was in so much pain and appeared very "out of it" and disoriented.

I'm glad your doc got to look at you and I wish you the best. Please keep us informed.


Sookie

Cymbalta also didn't work for me.

The first few days at 30mg, I was nauseous but otherwise felt fine (maybe placebo, but seemed more calm); then for the next 3 weeks, I was quite lethargic. After a whole month at 30mg, my PM raised me to 60mg. Unfortunately, the lethargy got worse. I had no energy, barely could get myself out of bed for a few minutes each day, could get no work done, was very depressed, and got no pain relief.

Finally, after about 2 months, I went back down to 30mg for a few days then stopped altogether. I returned to Tramadol 300mg and since then have been doing far, far better.

Let me add that while on Cymbalta, I had constant heartburn, so if you have ulcers, that too might have been an issue.

Although many people find no relief from Tramadol, it has been the best medication for me -- almost fully gets rid of my hip pain (except for weather changes, too many stairs, lengthy cramped sitting (e.g. on a plane), etc.) and also does better for depression than the standard anti-d's I've tried.

Of course people react quite differently to medications that affect the brain, but you might want to talk to your doctor about Tramadol. I take the 300mg time release. I started at 200mg back in 2007 and move up to 300mg in 2009.

Bear in mind that if you passed out from Cymbalta, it could have been a seizure due to serotonin syndrome. If that is the case, then Tramadol wouldn't be suitable as it raises serotonin through a different mechanism. Most anti-depressants increase neurotransmitters by shutting off the reuptake receptors -- thus synaptic levels are increased. Tramadol, by contrast, stimulates serotonin release, and so not only increases synaptic levels that way but also doesn't inhibit their reuptake (which may -- I wonder -- be relevant to overall cognitive activity).