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Cymbalta and Pain

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Posted 6/23/2007 4:39 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Everyone,

I posted this on the Chronic Pain board but am still looking for more responses. The more the merrier, well, sort of.

I have chronic pain, it is bearable with meds and prayer and my faith.

I also am dealing with other issues that are upsetting, and I do get emotional at times, with good reason and am also at mid age, if you know what I mean, hormonely.

I could go through most days fine and some days cry more than I'd like. Besides my pain, my husband has panic attacks daily that upset me so much and my son is in the navy, off to Iraq next month(in a Carrier). 

I was prescribed Cymbalta 2x already, the first time I passed, this time I put in the prescription.

It is for 20mg. I have just read such horrible things about it but also heard from 2 people who liked it, but one of them is bi-polar, so not sure if that matters.

Anyway, I would like to hear from any of you who has tried it, good or bad results. Right now, I'm leaning on forget it. I'm already taking 2 drugs, I hate that I'm on meds, and would not rather add more unless I knew it would help. But what I'm hearing is scaring me away.

Thanks in advance, and to those who read all of this!

~Denim~

Posted 6/23/2007 9:46 PM (GMT 0)
I've had no problems with Cymbalta; I take if or depression (60 mg); I've heard that it helps with chronic pain as well but have no personal knowledge of this. Good luck to you.
Posted 6/23/2007 9:54 PM (GMT 0)
thank u Slappy.
Posted 6/24/2007 9:16 PM (GMT 0)
I'm taking Cymbalta for neuropathic pain and it does seem to help. I think it is keeping my spinal cord nerves from overacting. Lyrica did the same thing for me, and it's safer, so I would recommend that instead. I did take 60 mg of Cymbalta for depression for about a month and all it did was make me apathetic for a week, and I did not like some of the side effects. I take about 20 mg now for pain and have no side effects. The thing is, Cymbalta and any other anti-depressant (and tramadol) are risky is you miss a dose, though some are more forgiving than others (tramadol is worse than Cymbalta for me in that matter).
Posted 6/24/2007 9:20 PM (GMT 0)
Denim~ I have been taking cymbalta for a while now and it works for me. I take 30mg of it. But it seems to work most of the time for me.  Some days I'm fine and the next I'm terrible plus it depends on the person for the side effects.  I take it for depression and with my anger problem I get.  It is up to you and I hope you find something that works for you.
Posted 6/24/2007 9:25 PM (GMT 0)
I tried lyrica and it layed me out the next day. I felt drunk, couldn't walk straight, I was very scared. I also read horror stories on lyrica. I guess you will read both if you're looking. If it works for you, that's what counts and you feel comfortable taking it, that really matters.
I take tramadol for pain and can easily subsitute something else for the pain, so far haven't had a problem.
I think I'm saying no to cymbalta, way too many bad stories and I really don't like the idea of a drug messing with my mind.
I'll stick to the ultram and ativan until I'm healed or something or someone has a better idea.
Thanks Cyborg for your input.
Posted 6/24/2007 9:27 PM (GMT 0)

nickylynn said...
Denim~ I have been taking cymbalta for a while now and it works for me. I take 30mg of it. But it seems to work most of the time for me.  Some days I'm fine and the next I'm terrible plus it depends on the person for the side effects.  I take it for depression and with my anger problem I get.  It is up to you and I hope you find something that works for you.

Thanks Nicky, I hope the cymbalta continues to help you and that you have more good days with it.

Barbara

Posted 6/24/2007 10:05 PM (GMT 0)

about Cymbalta & chronic pain.

Especially to denim, I've been taking 120 mg's of Cymbalta for at least a year now, along with about 6 other meds. I take it for depression, and was just recently diagnosed with bi-polar II. I also have fibromyalgia, bad pain, and Cymbalta is supposed to help with pain. I haven't noticed that. I can't tell if it helps with depression either. Maybe I would be worse if I weren't on it, how can a person tell? I just joined today, and was reading people's posts referring to "horror" stories about Cymbalta. I haven't heard of anything bad about Cymbalta, although I realize that all meds have upsides and downsides. Can anyone tell their negative experiences about taking Cymbalta? I'd appreciate it, thanks.

Posted 6/25/2007 3:28 PM (GMT 0)
I started taking Cymbalta in March because of my "occipital neuralgia" that causes pain in my head and face. I felt that my head had been blown up like a balloon, and 30 min. after taking the first Cymbalta, I felt that someone had opened up the end of the balloon just a tad and let some of the air out. That night I slept all night for the first time in months! I still have occasional pain and have to watch what I do, but I've never had the kind of pain I had before the Cymbalta. There are some side effects, but when I think of how I felt before, I don't even consider going off of it. One of the worst ones has been the inability to cry (or at least it's really difficult) - I went to a funeral where I should have been weeping my eyes out, and I couldn't cry. But I wasn't in pain, so figured it was worth it.

It's a difficult decision! I had 2 doctors recommend an anti-depressant for my condition, but neither told me that it could help with the pain. I thought they were just saying I was depressed, so my husband and I both said "forget it"! But when I read on this board that it could help with the pain, I agreed to it and have never been sorry!

I'll pray for you in this decision and am so sorry you're going through this chronic pain. It's difficult to imagine what it's like unless you've been through it.

Nancy
Posted 6/25/2007 5:30 PM (GMT 0)
It is a hard decision, sometimes I'm sorry I read so much and ask so much, because what I've read scares me so much and my pain is chronic in my legs but basically bearable and I do sleep at nights. If it totally took away my pain, it would be a miracle, but now I'm at a stand still, too afraid at the moment. And I know it's only me to make the decision. I can't imagine not crying for me, that would be odd but if it has helped you so much and you knew it right away, then it was just what you needed! And that's great, I'm happy for you. Thanks for sharing and may you continue to do well.
Thanks for your prayers.
Posted 6/26/2007 7:46 PM (GMT 0)
Lyrica's side effects last only a week or two.
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