Hi, I know that I am new here and all, I was reading this particular area without registering and felt compelled to tell my story, so I registered on your site and found this area first. If you don't mind, I would like to tell you my experience with Cymbalta before I check out the rest of your seemingly nice forum here.
I had a car accident in Jan. 05. I was making a left hand turn onto the road that I live on. The driver who hit me decided that he was going to pass me about the same time that I made the turn. I was hit so hard that I never saw where my door window went to and I had to be cut from the vehicle that I was in.
I had hit my head on the door frame, taking 10 staples in my head. I suffered from two bulging discs in my back and had severe nerve damage done to my shoulder. I was also diagnosed with post concussion syndrome and had suffered from short term memory loss, knowing in my mind what I wanted to say but couldn't get it to come out at times which was extremely frustrating.
Anyway, I started taking pain pills for my back and all too quickly I got to the point where I was taking too many. Long story short, when I made up my mind to just stop taking pain medication, after the w/d's were gone, the pain settled back in and a depresssion followed like nothing that I had ever experienced before in my life.
I didn't clean house, I didn't cook, and I didn't want to go anywhere. All I wanted to do was lay on the couch and stare at the television. I couldn't tell you what was on it, because I really wasn't watching. All I did was stare at it and thinking depressing thoughts. This went on for days. My darling husband went out and bought me a much desired laptop that I had been dreaming of for a couple of years. It sat in the box for weeks. I just wasn't interested in anything.
Finally, I went to see my pcp and told her how I was feeling. She put me on celexia. A week later, I went back to her office telling her how horrible that this medication was making me feel. I felt like I was all disconnected from my own body. I was attempting to get up and around but I always felt that I was walking around in a fog and it was like I was watching myself struggling to get around. I was moving but would wonder how since I felt that I wasn't exactly in my own body. I don't know really how to explain it but if any of you have ever had that disconnected feeling then you will understand.
Anyway, I went back and my doctor changed my medication. She started me off on Cymbalta 30 mg. for a week and then gave me another prescription for 60mg of Cymbalta to be taken once daily in the mornings. Within a few days, I felt wonderful. It took a little while for me to return to full capacity from where I was so out of shape from just laying around for a couple of years but it wasn't long until I returned to normal.
After about 6 months, I plateaued on it and have days that I really want to just do nothing again, but those are the days that I have to force myself not to go back into those dark lonely days of hell. I have taken on new hobbies, and find things to entertain myself with on the days that I feel this way. I asked my doctor if there was anything that could be done and was told that the 60 mg was the highest dosage that Cymbalta recommends a day. So, I just deal with it. The bottom line is, that at least I am up and around now and I do feel a whole lot better than I did a few months ago. Life is much better than it was.
Cymbalta was a life-saver for me. Apparently like any other medication it works well for some and not for others, but I think that you owe yourself the chance to see if it will before you just dismiss it. All medication is trial and error until doctors find what works for you so at least take a chance to see if it will work out for you. I'm glad that I did.