First day on Cymbalta
 

Hi everybody!

Ok, the subject isn´t quite right- I´ll take my first pill this evening. I wanted to wait until I did my exam presentation this Friday because the result there is quite important for me and I am afraid of having all the side effects on Friday morning, but the pain plus the depression went really worse. The pain in my jaw and the muscles were so bad this morning I could barely open my mouth. Don´t mention my speaking abilities.

So one of my physician told me I should IMMEDIATELY start with the ADs. And an opoid. Damn.

So now I am freaking out....I took 50 mg Amitriptilin and got nearly EVERY NEGATIVE SIDE EFFECT. From total dizzy- and sleepiness, not being able to read because the eyes weren´t able to focus, dry mouth....Now I am afraid that it would be the same with the Cymbalta.

Well, I hope that they do their job...but I am more afraid of taking it.

Thanks for letting me vent!

Kate :bunny2:

Hey Kate,

You never know, Cymbalta may do wonders and it could just be the answer you need. I am wishing all good things for you.:hug:

Good Luck
 

I had horrible side effects for nerve pain. Some people do great on seratonin uptake inhibitors. Good Luck hope it helps Angela

I am scared to take it too, but I have chronic pain and depression (amongst other things :( ) and my doctor said I should give it a try. Please, fill us in on how you are doing as you go along!

Hi everybody!

Ok, now is really my first day- I took it yesterday evening.
I had to take an opioid as well, so my guess is that most of the negative thinks I expierience at the moment (dizzyness, sleepiness, low blood pressure, headaches and a sick stomach) is due to that.

The only "real" cymbalta thing is a dry mouth. But drinking a lot of water is healthy anyway...:^:

hope4me: Thanks!

Angela1970: That doesn´t sound promising...But I guess trying it is my only chance...If it doesn´t help, I´ll have to switch :(

SoulBliss: :hug: We are in the same boat!
I never wanted to take ADs- and I surely never planned to take heavy pain meds! I hesited for years with the ADs and for months with the pain meds because I have abused alcohol in the past. I am sober for 3 and a half year, so I don´t wanted to risk something. And I feared those side effects....
But things went worse, and more worse...My only chance at the moment is to go through all those horrible side effects. I really hope that they will pass- and if not, cymbalta is not for me.
I´ll report here (and maybe bore all the others :D ). You can PM me if you want!


Kate :bunny2:

My husband is on Cymbalta for nerve pain. It has been a godsend for him because it combined with Lyrica have been the only meds to even touch his nerve pain. Narcotics didn't even work unless they were strong enough to knock him out.

WHen he first started the Cymbalta, he almost quit taking it after the first dose, but the doctor had asked him to try to ride it out for at least a week. He was very dizzy and dopey, and didn't think he could make it a week, luckily he didn't have to. The side effects passed after only a few days (I don't remember how many, but it wasn't the entire week).

The doctor later had to increase the dose, and DH was afraid that he'd have side effects again, but he didn't experience any with the dose change.

I know the timing is pretty inconvenient for you, but I hope it all works out.

Hello everyone.. I was on Cymbalta for a month and I loved it.. I only had one bad side effect and it was that I woke up in the middle of the night and every morning like I was pregnant with morning sickness.. but it helped my depression, back pain, and i lost 6 lbs the first week.. unfortunetly my insurance wouldnt pay for it...so they have me on Zoloft which is making me feel bloated and every day I fight with my weight... Just thought I would share my experience... I hope it helps you out also

Hi!

Not on my first day with Cymbalta anymore....I am still have side effects. It makes me sleepy and dizzy. And I guess it causes headaches. And my stomach is....:(

The strangest thing is that from time to time some muscles (mostly in my leg) are moving- without my consent! A bit funny to watch....

But I guess as soon as I can stop taking the pain meds it´ll be better.

needinsupport: I´ll have that waking up thing and the morning sickness as well!
Too bad that your insurance made you change your meds! :( Sometimes I don´t understand insurance choices- maybe if they would be for a more expensive med now they would save more money in they long run. Money they are going to have to spend to help with the bad effects of the "cheap" meds...

kaplods: I´ll hope the side effects go away as they did for your husband! Is he still taking it?

Yes he's still taking it, and he is already talking about being afraid that when his insurance runs out in November, that we won't be able to afford it or Lyrica. At least with Lyrica there is a similar drug that has gone generic that he might be able to try, but there isn't anything like Cymbalta on the market. He will be eligible for medicare the following August, but we're not sure how/where we'll find insurance for him for those 9 months.

Without Cymbalta, he wouldn't even be able to sleep more than two hours at a time at night. He was even crying in his sleep when he did fall asleep. I don't know what we'd do if he had to go without.

When you mentioned it, I also remember him feeling like his muscles were twitching or moving around under the skin. I think this lasted a little longer than the dizziness and nausea, but it also went away for the most part. Once in a great while, he'll still notice it.

Ok, I nearly made a whole week on Cymbalta. And since two days most of the side effects are gone away....:D and hopefully they don´t come back.

There are only a few things left: a dry mouth, the freaky, uncontrolled moving of my legs at night and I have a little problem with going to the toilet:o . But the last thing could be due to the pain meds.
Ok, and I am still a bit dizzy. But the weather is unusually warm and dumpy today, so it´s ok.

I don´t know if it´s just wishful thinking, but I noticed that I don´t have so much appetite ad hunger anymore.

At the moment, the hope that it will work for me grows....:D

My appetite definitely decreased on cymbalta. I've been on it for almost a year now and most of the side effects that I experienced initially resolved themselves. The stomach pain went away after about a month, though the dry mouth didn't. I've gotten into the habit of just taking a water bottle everywhere. I can't say anything about the muscle spasms as I am also on topomax which prevents that. Hope things work out.

Hi. I went from Prozac to Cymbalta, and was sooo greatful I did. I don't remember the SE's, though I do have dry mouth (though that could be from any of the other meds I take, including my allergy pill). Like you said, though, more water is good :)

My doc told me to take the Cymbalta at night to help avoid as many of the SE's as I could, so maybe that is why I didn't feel them. I do know that I generally sleep better on it than I ever did on Prozac, and my moods are totally stablilized. I actually feel things and have a "normal" response to them. On Prozac I often felt like I should feel something, but just couldn't get the right emotion. Very fog-like.

Good luck with Cymbalta. I love it, and if the SE's are already going away for you, that is a great sign.

Lynn

Hi, I'm trying Cymbalta again after having been on it before. Constipation and dry mouth are common side effects. So is nausea/lost appetite. It got dizzy when the dose went up from 30 to 60mg, so I stopped taking it. When the depression started getting the best of me again, I started back on only 30 mg. If something will help keeping me from turning to food for comfort, I'll put up with just about anything!

I have been taking Cymbalta close to 6 months, starting out I took it when I went to bed because it made me so sleepy but that has worn off. The side effects in my estimation are a small thing compared to the benefit that I get from Cymbalta. I have been irritable all my life and finally I feel like I can be calm and maybe someone would like to be around me. I do have a pinched nerve in my back and my doc has added Topamax to help with my leg pain at night, so that also helps with the headache side effect. Constipation is one of the side effects, but I am doing WW core plan and that usually takes care of it since I get plenty of water and fiber. If not I take an over the counter product called Correctol. I heard from someone that Cymbalta has some Prozac in it. My pain management doc also said that if you take 100-200 mg of topamax it can help you lose weight, my friend says that it helps with cravings and such, haven't tried it yet.
Vivian