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Can side effects be permanent? :(

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Posted 7/12/2012 3:46 PM (GMT 0)
I have fibromyalgia, depression, and anxiety. I have been taking 90mg Cymbalta for several months with no side effects. I saw the DR though b/c the Cymbalta, though it has helped at least a little with depression and anxiety, it did not help at all with the pain.
So, 3 weeks ago I took Lyrica for 1 week and stopped because my hair was falling out and my body was twitching frequently in various places. Then 2 weeks ago I took Elavil (amitryptaline sp?) for 1 week. Stopped taking after a night of hallucinating!!!
Thankfully no more hallucinations, but my hair is still falling out and my body is still twitching frequently in various places.

Could these side effects be permanent??

Any other suggestions/advice?
Thank You.
Jessica
Posted 7/12/2012 4:01 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Jessica,

Welcome to the fibromyalgia forum. To be honest I don't know if these side effect go away or not. I sure do hope so. Remember we can naturally shed up to 100 hairs a day on our heads. Maybe the summer heat is causing you to shed hair. I hope that is all that it is. Are you still on the cymbalta? Or did you go off when you went on lyrica? Cymbalta is a hard drug to go off of, that is why I am asking.

I am sorry you hallucinated from the elavil. My late husband took it when he had lung cancer and he hallucinated too. It was rather scarey for me that night. I ended up flushing them all.

I would talk to the doctor if the twitching and shedding doesn't stop. How long have you been off of the lyrica? Often side effects stop within a couple of weeks. I hope that they do for you.

I wanted to direct you to a very interesting thread on the forum. It is the first thread and is a sticky so it will always be there for your reading pleasure. It is called "fibro 101". I think you will find it very interesting. So when you get a chance, check it out.

Again, I hope that the side effects clear up for you. I am sorry that you are experiencing them. Did you read on lyrica whether these are typical? I would look it up, if you haven't already.

I hope that you have a good day today. Keep posting. I am sure that there will be more replies, and hopefully somebody who knows more about lyrica than I do will respond.

Take care Jessica...

Hugs, Karen
Posted 7/12/2012 4:35 PM (GMT 0)
Hmm....Did you speak to the Dr. about your hair? I wonder if it can be a side effect to the anxiety and not the medication. Or even something like diet.

And hopefully the Dr. will slowly wean you off the Cymbalta when switching over...Even the Lyrica and Elavil should be slowly tirated up or down. None of these medicines should be stopped abruptly if taken over more than a week or two.

Cymbalta and Lyrica are meant to help with the nerve pain that is a symptom of Fibromyalgia. It's thought that our brain is sending mixed signals to our nerve endings in different areas of our body. This makes sense because we can have sudden or sharp pain...but there is nothing physically wrong with us. As in no slamming hand in door, or breaking our legs...etc.

So, it's meant to help some with that type of pain but many with Fibro have muscle aches as well and only a muscle relaxer will help with that when massage, resting for a bit, acupuncture or other things do not help. Muscle relaxers are Flexeril, Skelaxin, Robaxin to name a few.

The other key with Fibro is not to sit around/lay around too much as it becomes a catch-22. We will become more sore by doing this. We need exercise/stretching each day that will help with both our Fibro pain but our mood. Increasing endorphin levels is key.

Same with making sure we get proper and good sleep each night. This is critical to our immune system and mood.

Along with eating healthy, maintaining a good weight and not smoking. These all make a big difference in Fibro symptoms.

If you stopped the Cymbalta abruptly...I would bet money the twitching is absolutely due to this as people can have actual seizures with stopping suddenly.

Again...make sure that you are communicating all this to your Dr. and asking questions and trying to get answers.

It really is trial and error finding the best possible comprehensive plan to help with your Fibro that includes many other things besides medication...

I wish you luck...keep us posted!
Posted 7/12/2012 4:40 PM (GMT 0)
Both cymbalta and lyrica are supposed to be difficult drugs to stop. I weaned myself off gradually, but think it took me a while for my body chemistry to return to normal.

See a doctor if it is worrisome.
Posted 7/12/2012 5:02 PM (GMT 0)
I am still taking the Cymbalta. Disappointed that it didn't help with pain, but I really need something for depression and anxiety right now.
Yes, I saw the doctor before stopping the Lyrica, and it has only been 1 week of a low dose. It's been 2 weeks since I stopped taking it. I just thought it wouldn't stay in my system this long since I only took it for 1 week.

Thanks,
Jessica
Posted 7/12/2012 5:10 PM (GMT 0)
I am on Celexa for depression, Xanex for anxiety, Lyrica for the nerve issues and Tramadol as needed for pain. I was just diagnosed with Fibro by my Rheumy 2 mos ago.

Prior to being diagnosed, I had been losing hair in clumps. However, I had a traumatic event in my life which caused PTSD. So I am chalking the hair loss up to that. Hair loss has lessened, and Lyrica seems to be doing what it's supposed to. (hoping we get my cocktail right soon, as I feel pretty useless)

I hope all works well with you. Maybe talk to your dr. about upping the dosage of your cymbalta? Anxiety and Depression do play a part in pain. (just a thought) :)

Hugs
-Amy
Posted 7/12/2012 5:43 PM (GMT 0)
2 more questions:

What is the best type of doctor for fibromyalgia? Maybe I need my internal med dr to refer me to someone else. Years ago I saw every dr under the sun (around here) but haven't seen any specialists in the last few years.

Would it be too much to try a dose of 120mg Cymbalta? I was thinking 90mg is already pretty high.
Posted 7/12/2012 6:57 PM (GMT 0)
I think it all depends on if the doctor you are seeing is fullfilling your needs. If you are getting pain relief from your doctor now, I would stay there. But if you aren't satisfied, then I would ask your doctor what is the next step. And don't increase any meds without talking to the doctor first. I am not sure what the max is on cymbalta.

I never got pain relief from these types of meds. I take pain meds. Works well.

Have you thought about that? Or would you rather stay away from those types of medications? I hope you find what works for you. Keep posting, and know that we all care.

Hugs, Karen
Posted 7/12/2012 7:40 PM (GMT 0)
Jessica,

Hi! I see a PC for my fibro. I saw a rheumy once, basically to confirm the diagnosis, and she did. She then said she couldn't do any more for me than my regular doc already was, so that was that.

As Karen said, it really does just depend on the docs in question.

As far as doses of drugs, that's something we aren't qualified to say yay or nay on. That's where you need a good doctor you can trust. Same with the side effects - although my gut feeling is that no, they probably wouldn't be permanent.

Debbie
Posted 7/13/2012 6:31 AM (GMT 0)
Cymbalta gave me the jerks and twitches. I had a serotonin reaction to it. I am on remron for depression. I love it because it helps you rest also. It has something in it to keep your mind from racing at night. It's also cheap drug. Lol
Posted 7/13/2012 1:50 PM (GMT 0)
Hi, Jessica, and welcome!  I see an Internist, too, but I also see a rheumatologist so I think that would be  your next step.  They are good with dealing with fibro patients...at least most of them are.  Be sure to check to make sure they treat fibromyalgia patients before you make your appointment. 

 

There are other things for pain.  I take none of what you are taking.  I was offered all of them but turned it down and did my own searching.  I didn't want to deal with the side effect like you are.  I can't see taking medication that makes me feel worse!  I didn't have the depression problem, though.  Perhaps another antidepressant would help you more with your depression, since Cymbalta isn't helping you with the pain issues.  Your doctor probably thought it would help both problems with you.

 

I use ibuprofen with food, extra strength Tylenol, malic acid/magnesium supplements, vitamin D3 supplements, and an alternative product called Curamin.  These all help me be in control of the pain and fatigue.  I do take one prescription med that has helped with my fibro and that is Robaxin, a muscle relaxer.

 

I also do daily gentle stretching exercises, a daily exercise like walking and swimming, and I pace myself when doing things.  All of the above has allowed me to be in control of my pain and hasn't stopped me from enjoying my life!  Oh, a positive attitude helps a bushel, too.  That's about as good as any medication.  It will help your depression, too.  Just start looking around you and seeing all the blessings in your life instead of focusing on the crummy things going on.  We all have far more positive things than negative things but we just don't look.

 

Be sure to read Fibro 101...the first thread on the forum.  There are links to good info about fibro and you will learn a lot there.  Good starting links for you would be Symptoms and A Thorough Explanation of Fibromyalgia.  There are links about some of the supplements I mentioned and how they work in your body and also a link about maintaining a positive attitude.  All of these could really help you.  They have helped me!

 

I'm looking forward to getting to know you better.  Don't hesitate to ask questions because we are here to help you.  Hope to hear more from you soon.

 

Sherrine

Posted 8/30/2012 2:16 PM (GMT 0)
Well, thank you for your reply. I was feeling so hopeless and down at the time. I am almost off the Cymbalta now and have transitioned over to Lexapro. about 6 years ago it helped my pain, but it wasn't this bad then. So far, nothing has touched the pain in the past year.
I am looking into the Curamin. I took Skelaxin years ago, and it didn't help. Is Robaxin worth a try just since it's a different muscle relaxer? Is malic acid important? I am just taking magnesium with D3 and calcium, no malic acid.
Have you heard of Cellgevity?
Last fall I stretched regularly throughout each day, and I was walking almost daily. It did not help, and by winter, I could not walk any more without it causing severe long term pain. I did try swimming but came home with the worst headache ever from my neck muscles tightening up.
I have been tested recently for lupus and RA, and I think lyme, just to make sure we've got the right diagnosis. They were all negative. Most everything else looks reasonable good, like my thyroid. My sed rate was 24. I will be seeing a rheumatologist next week. I guess I just don't feel that hopeful about seeing him though b/c it seems like I've already tried everything. 5-8 years ago, I tried so many different things with a different rheumatologist. I have been working on my attitude, by the way, but it's really hard!
I will go study the links you suggested.
Oh, it is completely normal with fibro to have pain mainly in places that are being used? I.e. right leg from driving, right hand from using dominant right hand, etc.? I read that fibro pain must be on both sides of the body. Mine is, but it's much worse on the right side.
Thank you so much!
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