Cymbalta anyone take it?

thanks for the warning!!!! I'm thinking it's going to be a no...have you ever heard of elavil?  does it have the same type of withdraw type of things? Scott

Another anti-depressant / mood elevator (hence the tradename!)

Thanks everyone for your replies....now after hearing all the bad side effects...I might just stick with the 5 or 6 drug ****tail i've been taking.  I didn't know cymbalta  could be so bad.......it's a tough decision.....it looks like I'm preop for some back surgery in the near future......which ****** me off to no end.  I had spent 2 years psyching myself up for  some plastics..and now I have to take time out to have this surgery recover ...etc..and deal with the emotional issues of having with back surgery.  KWIM?   anyway thanks for eveyrones imput. Scott

Cymbalta saved my life.  I was severely depressed/  In and out of the hospital.  They didn;t know what to do with me.  I was on a coctail of meds, antispychotics, antiseizure meds and antidepressants and nothing was working.  Then cymbalta came on the market and my doctor tried me on that.  It works differently from other anti-depressants and is found to be very helpful in chronic pain, from which I also suffer.  Since being on Cymbalta, I have gotten off of disability, gotten the revision to the DS, gotten a Masters degree and now work two jobs,  My dosage was changed after the DS to  60 mg twice a day instead of once a day because of the absorption issues.  I still take it and other meds, although the doctor is weaning me from the others, he says I will be on cymbalta for life.  That is ok, I'm in remission, not cured, depression isn;t curable, but like insulin for diabetes or antihypertensives for high blood pressure, you need to weigh the benefits and risks.  Would taking Cymbalta keep you from having surgery or off of narcotics or on a lower dose of narcotics?  Pain killers are definitely mind altering, have bad side effects and withdrawal issues.  I wouldn't totally rule out Cymbalta without talking it over with your physician or at least weighing all the side effects and drug interactions of all the other meds you are on.  The best of luck to you.

See the concern of mine is right now....I'm free of my meds meaning...i can take them or not.  I take more on  bad days..and less on "good" days....so I have some control over them...this would be a big alteration of the pain management I've been using for the last few years.  The Cymbalta will not prevent anything.....surgery is almost a definte at this point...just waiting to see what the neurosurgeon says. Scott

Scott & all, Again, it is a personal decision. For me, Cymbalta has not really had any affect on my pain management what so ever. But, it is definately necessary for my mental status. The difficult thing for me.  When I started Zoloft, I was depressed because I couldn't get pregnant. Infertility lasted for more than a year of effort.  Husband and I finally switched to adoption, which was where we should of been all a long. In between, I have suffered from Endometriosis and Fibromyalgia plus I am carrying a lot of weight on my body right now. OUCH. Pain management is  an issue. Now, with a toddler. More than ever, balanced mood and pain management are a priority for me. When I went through the week and half of no Cymbalta, debating on whether to just stay off the stuff with my head feeling like it was falling to the ground and these weird electrical synaptic zapping feelings....all because at one time I wanted to get pregnant...and now my Doctor, since I was still taking an anti=depressant though Cymbalta would take away excruciating pain... Well, ha ha ha... Some time, I will get off of it. A time, when my daughter is at school regularly and I don't do any mood altering around her. That is how we read those unimaginable stories in papers. The pill is a blessing for me, in that, I do go through depression. Or so I think. I just don't know. Because when I am off the meds, I am simply going through the withdrawal. KWIM. I never suffered from depression before the Zoloft/ Trying to conceive struggle. If you are not depressed. Don't do an anti depressant. They also have me on Topamax. It is for people with Migraines. I have noticed some results with that at 100 mg. Though, it made me tired for a few weeks at first. I am over the tiredness now. I was also on Lyrica. Now that rocked for nerve pain, but causes major weight gain for me!  So, that is when they switched me to Topamax.  Ask about the Topamax over the Cymbalta.

Cymbalta is an antidepressant but is also used to treat neuropathic pain in some.  It works on serotonin and norepiniephrine(adrenaline) both.  It helps with pain due to the adrenaline factor.  Some side effects can be constipation and nausea, especially if you take it on an empty stomach.  Take it with food, definitely.  It is best to take in the AM because of the adrenaline factor as well, otherwise some folks end up too alert at night.  No, it is not a drug you can become physically dependent upon, however like with most psych meds, they have to be tapered on/off gradually so a person does not experience side effects.  When beginning a med like this, some folksexperience headaches or dizziness but this passes after the body adjusts in a week to four weeks.  Other drugs used for neuropathic pain are neurontin and Lyrica.  I have used all three drugs and i prefer Lyrica for my pain.  I hope you discuss this decision further with your doctor.  Best of luck to you.  I know how chronic back pain can really rule your life.   

i was given elavil for fibromyalgia pain and it really helped, especially at night but for some reason after about 2 years it just stopped working. i had no problems going off of it all at once and had no side affects after the first month of taking it. i am now on cymbalta (for depression) and have had NO relief from my constant pain and i do have problems if i miss even 1 dose. like all other meds what woks for some may not work for others, and what causes problems for 1 may not cause problems for others.