Posted 4/1/2014 11:25 PM (GMT 0)
Hi everyone,
I'm hoping to hear from others about what time of day you take Cymbalta, and how it's working for you.
A little background: I've been on Cymbalta 60mg for the past seven months, and I have to say I'm doing fairly well on it. It took a good 6 to 8 weeks to kick in, but once it did, I started noticing good results, as far as mood is concerned.
For the first few weeks, I did nothing but work and sleep. I would sleep through weekends, getting up just to eat and for bathroom breaks, I was OK at work during the weekday, but also had no problem sleeping through the entire day and still sleep through the entire night on days when I wasn't working.
The other side effect was gas. I'm talking constant, seriously grotesque smelling gas, to the point where I had to run to the bathroom very frequently, otherwise I would stink up any room that I spent more than a few minutes in. This was very inconvenient for work, but also took a toll on my social life. Obviously I couldn't be around anyone for any long period of time, and how do you explain to people that you "can't be around anyone 'cause I've got this gas problem..."
Anyway, that eventually lessened to the point that it occures less frequently, and on a more predictable schedule, LOL, strangely enough, about an hour or so before the time I take my dose for the day. It seems to be less of a problem when I avoid dairy products(?).
One thing I have definitely found out is NOT to mix Cymbalta with alcohol. If I so much as drink one beer, I can expect to be down in the dumps the following two days. I have noticed that this is not the case if I put some time between the Cymbalta and the alcohol though. For example, I take my Cymbalta around 6:30pm every day with dinner. This means no alcohol with dinner, or at any time in the evening.
However, I can have that beer around noon, and have no issues. I've concluded that the best time to have a drink, is between 12 to 18 hours after I take the pill. That way the two don't overlap in my system (at least not as much) and I don't have the extreme sadness for the nest few days.
This leads me to why I'm asking the question about taking the Cymbalta in the morning. I've always been a shy guy. Without going through all of the accumulated psychological issues about why that is (and I'm working those out as best I can), let's just say that I have a past to "justify" the shyness and lack of confidence.
I don't drink, but having one or two really loosens me up in conversation, especially when out with friends, where there are other people around. My thinking is that if I start taking my Cymbalta in the morning, say around 9am, that would allow me to have that occasional beer in the evening, or later in the night, and it wouldn't affect me as badly as it does with my current dosing schedule.
I know that there are worse things than no being able to have alcohol, and I don't like to overdo it, but not having to be afraid to have one or two in the evening would certainly be nice.
Thanks for taking the time to read this. I look forward to your thoughts...