Cymbalta

Constipation was my greatest issue and felt feeling less,overall good medication ,my crying reduced.

Body pain and depression is what it works for not for anxiety,I am now on Lexapro and Pristiq next week.

You might like this med.

Good luck.

Thanks Rockon, for all the info. I'll check it out. And I'll keep an eye on the eye issues!

Thanks Cilly. I'm sorry. Yes,jumping around with meds is so frustrating.

This is day 3 on cymbalta and for once I'm up in the morning without feeling like a monster. I even got up before my a,larm. It was easier to teach class because I was in a happier mood. I felt a flare coming on during hour two, so I popped a quick Tylenol and I was fine for hour 3. I don't seem as crazy super sensitive to everything, sound, light, (people in general, lol). Boy, I hope this trend keeps up!

It really makes me wonder what is going on this crazy brain of mine!

T

Hi Heart,
Thanks for the update. It seems a real range of reactions. Did your doctor give you anything else as replacement? Or to help with those symptoms?

It is so nice to feel bouts of normal. I hope it lasts for a while....
T

Yes, Tango,
I wanted to just kind of get back in touch with what I was like without any medications. It was not pretty, but I do that every few years just to check in with my unmedicated self.
After that time, my doctor offered me the generic version of prozac, called fluoxetine. She thought it would also calm the terrible hot flashes I was having from menopause. It really helped that, and did make the fibro pain more bearable as well. I have been on that for almost a year now, and it is still doing pretty good for me.
My advice for you is to use the cymbalta and be grateful for what it is accomplishing to make your life better, but know that you might have a struggle if you ever need to stop it. It sounds like the fibro is really affecting your life and the decisions you are making. It is at that point when a medicine is worth taking if it helps rebalance your life, even partially.
Blessings to you,
HEART

Heart,
Thanks so much for your comment. So kind. For two or three days , I felt so level headed. I drove into the city yesterday and enjoyed myself. Before, it gave me so much anxiety in the traffic and density of houses. I was thinking why did this bother me so much before. And the fibro pain was just sort of in the background.

I'm feeling more side effects as I continue and the insomnia really hit last night, and some more nausea. As I keep reading about the horrors of withdrawal, I am so up in the air about what to do.

T

Medications can be so tricky..but our issues are huge and we do need some kind of help.

Hope you can figure this one out tango

I tend to be med sensitive and have not tried many of these meds.

Its a real balancing act to get some relief, without too much side effect.

Wonder how long it took others to adjust to the medication?

I had a hard time coming off Cymbalta. I was on it for about 6 months when it stopped working. I slowly titrated the dose down, and then forgot to take it one night. I ended up in the e.r. with psychiatric symptoms. A psychiatrist put me on low dose Prozac and weaned me off the Cymbalta. I was able to discontinue the Prozac with no problem. So, just be aware that you might need assistance coming off this med.

I'm glad it's helping you. Cymbalta really helped my pelvic pain for awhile too. (I wasn't diagnosed with fibromyalgia at the time.)

I was extremely agitated, restless and angry. I was rocking back and forth. I was also paranoid, sure that everyone hated me even the doctor. I was talking about suicide. I scared my poor husband to death since this isn't typical behavior for me. They gave me a strong pschotropic med in the e.r. I don't remember much if the next few days. They talked about admitting me but their psych ward was full and another one in our city wouldn't take me because I have had c. Diff. recently. My husband decided not to take me to another city. The Prozac was the answer though. I had no more trouble after that and had no trouble discontinuing the Prozac. My pain management doctor says some people are very sensitive to serotonergic meds. My regular doctor pointed out that I shouldn't have tried to go off the Cymbalta without help. I hate it when he's right. :)

Ran into this today while reading old posts on this forum.
http://livingwithcfs.com/understanding-antidepressant-withdrawal/
"For those who have difficulty discontinuing antidepressants, Healy recommends a plan that involves converting the dose of the medication a patient is taking to an equivalent dose of Prozac, the rationale being that Prozac’s very long half-life will minimize withdrawal problems. "