Cymbalta...do you take it?

[yvette]

I'm considering asking my PCP for cymbalta for IBS related issues (D mainly) and I'm wondering what experiences you all have had taking it and how much are you taking? I realize Dr.s usually prescribe lower dosages for pain or IBS than say for depression. I was hoping jsut to get some feedback whether in your opinion you thought it was a good or bad drug to take.
Thanks!
y. :)

[Georgia L]

My doc just switched me from celexa to cymbalta. She said that it would not only help with depression / anxiety it will also help with nerve pain related to my IC and fibro. She started me on Lyrica at the same time. One or both of them is making me sleepy headed all the time.
I do think it has helped with anxiety but not sure about pain at this point.
Best Wishes!

[leelee88]

yvette,
I have been taking Cymbalta now for 2 months along with Elavil, I have see an improvement with my pain in my ureatha area and some with bladder pain.. I do no it makes me constapated, so maybe it will help your IBS-D..

Best of luck, I hope it works for you...

[ChrissySunshine]

Hi Yvette, I've been taking Cymbalta for about 5-6 weeks now. I'm just now beginning to notice a [I]slight[I] difference in my pain levels. It's really too early for me to tell if it's gonna be effective or not. My doc told me to stay on it, as it is a very good drug.....we'll see.... I've heard that others have had really good luck with it...I'm hoping for the same, and if you try it I hope it will help you!

[feresp497]

I have been on cybalta for 10 mts. It has helped me alot. I feel good if i follow the ic diet pretty well. I am on 60 mg. I wonder if they give you a higher dose. I have no side effecs with it. I take it in the morning so I will feel good all day. I am going to ask the doc for a higher dose. I mostly have pain in the urethra area. I don,t think the medicine reaches quite that far so I hope a higher dose helps.

[Elle]

I'm on 90mg and have found that it does help. I started out taking it with Lyrica, in addition to my regular pain meds (MS Contin and Ultram). I had to stop the Lyrica b/c I would sleep for several hours after taking it and feel groggy for the rest of the day. The Lyrica did help a lot with the nerve-type pain, but soon stopped working even at 150 mg 2x a day.
I don't think you could go wrong w/ the Cymbalta. It's really good for IBS-D and I like it b/c it doesn't cause any drastic weight changes.

[feresp497]

Elle, thank you for ansering. Do you still take pain meds. or only when you eat something wrong as i always do. Do you take cymbalta in the morning or at night and do you take it all at once. thank you

[bunnykinb]

I was curious on Cymbalta helping for urethral burning without the weight gaining side effect of Elavil which I am currently on.

[Briza]

Yvette
Back in January my dr started me on 30mg and I was supposed to increase to 60mg after a couple of weeks. Almost immediately I was very tired and was practically falling asleep at work all week, and taking a very deep nap during lunchtime...head on desk and out like a light. Also falling asleep by 7 pm and not wanting to wake up for work at 6 am and needed toothpicks to keep my eyes open while driving to and from work. For me it was like taking Ambien and having to try to stay awake and function. That was the effect it had on me. The doses I was prescribed were for depression, pain relief would have been an added bonus. I started Celexa 40 mg and Buspar for anxiety last week and so far no side effects but also too soon to see if these meds will help me with anxiety and depression. Best wishes :)

[sunshine_77us]

I have been taking 30 mg of Cymbata for several months. I've had no side effects and wondering if it should be moved up to 60. It does not make me tired or sleepy but none of my medicine does that. I have trouble sleeping. I tried Ambien CR but it didn't help at all so I quit taking that.

[yvette]

Wow you guys are flippin' fantastic! Thanks so much for you replies and your detailed results...I'm actually going to see my PCP today and see if she'll prescribe it (as I got dumped my Gastro, which I am fine with BTW). Its seems you all did pretty well with it, and no major difficulties to speak of.

Thanks again
hugs,
y. :)

[bunnykinb]

For those who have been on Cymbalta for more than 2 months, does it help with urethral burning? Does it make you feel hungry? I am really tired of feeling hungry all the time with Elavil. My butt even feels bigger now. My husband said I am too thin and it is good for me to gain weight. But, what I tell him is that a few pounds isn't bad but the pounds will just keep adding up.

I am feeling depressed because my urethral burning has started up again either because I am trying to cut back on Elavil or just because. Also, I am getting the run around with the insurance company saying that I only have a co pay for the primary care doctor and specialist then the insurance comes back and says that I a co pay for using the facility. That means I have to pay double for one visit. I see a specialist inside a hospital and now that hospital wants to collect a co pay too. I may need to switch uro's again even though my current uro is the chief of urology of a university which is good for me. The facility is also a research center. If I am forced to go back to a regular uro, I feel that I am back tracking.

Thanks for letting me vent.

[leelee88]

Bunnykinb,

I have been on Cymbalta with Elavil, I want to try to get off Elavil, because of so much weight gain, so what my GYN suggested was to take 60mg of Cymbalta in the morning and 30mg at night, I am so scared to get off Elavil, because I know it works.. I will let you know how it does because I have to loose the weight, due to highblood pressure and other health problems..


Now as far as the burning, no it does not help..What helps me with that is drinking water and taking tums...
Now I also have another kind of burning and I have recently discovered that it was coming from PFD.. I wrote an article about PFD here on the ICN.. you should check it out and see if you have any of those symtoms..Good luck and I will keep you informed about the getting off the Elavil....

[bunnykinb]

I was in continous pain from July 2006 until mid Dec. 2006 with constant urethral burning. I currently get DMSO which is a killer. I told the uro I didn't think they help but he wanted to continue. Anyway, I started Elavil at 10 mg on 11/30/06 which was suggested by another IC patient. Within 2 weeks, I felt so much better with no pain. From 2/11/07 to 3/11/07, I had absolutely no pain whatsoever. Then, early March, the major sweet cravings struck. I can't work or think with feeling hungry all the time.

Please PM me or post a message here to let me know how Cymbalta is doing for you. I know it takes awhile to know how medications react. We could be fine with IC, but then the meds create another problem.

[ladylin]

I am so glad you asked this question! The PCP just put me on this and I didn't know a whole lot about it, she said it should help with my depression and pain, etc. Although I have only been on it for a few days, I find that it wears me out! And I can't take it at night because I have too many night meds:( But anyway, I also want to thank everyone for posting their replies!

[bunnykinb]

I had skipped some days of Elavil because of being hungry; then took 5 mg on Saturday night, felt great on Sunday from my bladder except that I was so sleepy Sunday and had to take a nap.

[Lenee]

Just started Cymbalta last week, still very sleepy during the day especially afternoons(I take it in the morning) Started on 20 mg and am suppose to up it every 2 weeks until I hit 60 mg. It's weird though I am tired throughout the day and seem to fall asleep okay but every night I have been waking up between 2-4 and then can't go back to sleep for several hours. Hoping that will resolve itself soon. It is suppose to help with anxiety but that has increased for me since I started it too~full blown panic attacks. It has decreased my appetite a little where when I took Elavil in the past I was hungry all the time and increasingly gained weight (due to medical history of diabetes and heart disease I elected to come off it). I haven't been able to get any type of continued pain relief since so when I read about Cymbalta I thought it might be a good alternative. Too early to tell though. I hope you do well on it.

~lenee

[yvette]

to all who have responded....You all are really great! :)
I went to my PCP who denied my request...good grief...I love my PCP, but sometimes we just don't agree, and i have to make concessions...altho she was very receptive to the idea of just seeing her...I don't want to see her staff anymore (RN's and such). They've been difficult to deal with and its more difficult when the staff keeps at a rapid turnover rate...ugh...sorry back to the main story.

I ended up seeing my Uro yesterday and lo and behold I got the Rx for Cymbalta (and Sanctura). Usually she's the one who needs convincing, and its like pulling teeth from a baby....just ain't gonna happen sometimes...but it worked out in my favor this time :D yipppppeeeee! So I'll have to post back, and let you know how I do after a couple weeks or so.

Thanks!!!
y. :)

[leelee88]

Yvette,
I hope you have good results with cymbalta like I have:smile tee
Keep us posted..

[toby75]

I have been on Cymbalta for 11 months now. At the 5 month mark I decided Cymbalta was not working for me and wanted to stop it. I tried and tried but the withdrawal was horrible. I don't know how I am going to get off this med. I can go 2 nights without taking it and the 3rd day is horrible. I am only at 30mg I never went up to 60mg b/c I was already having trouble stopping at 30. I don't want to scare anyone in to not taking it but just for me I still have not weaned off of it yet.

[yvette]

Hi Toby75, Please don't be afraid of scaring anyone...so please share.

What specifically is problematic for you...you mentioned withdrawal was difficult...is it that emotionally feel awful, physically or both?

If you don't want to share that's fine too, k? :)

[toby75]

Yvette

The withdrawal feeling I am talking about is extreme anxiety, dizziness, overall body ache and pain, the feeling that something just doesnt feel right mentally, feel locked in a deep fog, scared of what might happen next if you do not get the med in your system asap.

Your body just has extreme feelings of something bad is happening if that makes sense. As soon as you dose again, a couple hours later all those above feelings vanish. It's similar in a way to opiate withdrawal, when you stop taking your daily pain meds, ie oxycontin, lortabs, mscontin.

Being Cymbalta comes in capsules it's hard to lower your dose effectively, so thats one reason why I am having trouble. They make a 20mg dose but it's still not small enough. Doc says to take beads out of capsule and take half, but the beads are meant to be metabolized at different stages during the 24 hr period, so I don't see how that works?

Thanks
Amy

[yvette]

I know when I was taking celexa...I had tried drugs before that, they just didn't work for me either. I've been told anti-depressants can involve a lot of trial and error before you find the right one for you. I overlapped drugs when I was *searching * for the right one. I'm wondering if overlapping drugs might work for you (unless you're already doing this)

in other words maybe put one a small dose of another drug, while you wean off the cymbalta....maybe that way you won't be cut off trying to quit and the other drug could buffer the withdrawl you're having.

I hope somebody can help you...that just sounds awful. there's no reason to suffer like that.
hugs,
y. :)

[toby75]

Good Idea Yvette! Maybe taking another antidepressant known for less w/d symptoms would be something to go onto and then taper off that one!

Have you ever had w/ds from any AD?

[toby75]

Lenee

In your post you said that you take cymbalta in the mornings and get very tired. When I first started cymbalta I took it in the morning and it knocked me out. I had to leave work a few times b/c I was falling asleep at my desk. I switched to taking it at night and it helped me sleep and I was not tired the next day. This side effect will wear off soon. I don't get tired at all anymore with it.

Good Luck
Amy

[sunshine_77us]

I take Cymbalta 30mgs. at night. Nothing makes me sleepy. I also take ativan at night and it usually takes a hour or two for me to go to sleep. I was hoping the Cymbalta would make me sleep.

[TRINKLES]

Cymbalta was a horrible drug experience for me. I took it for apprx 3 months and lost my mind. Thank God I weaned myself off. I slept off and on all day and night. I would often pray to God to not let me die. It felt like I was slipping away from reality. I was not at all myself. I stayed on it for 3 months trusting my doctor that this was the answer to help me deal with my pain, anxiety and depression at the same time. I was dizzy, nausea, stared into space and just sick of the stomach constantly. I have never tried meth or any other street drugs but this experience could be the closest I have come to it! Please speak w/ your doctor and understand the side effects. If you are a little hesitate about any drug, ask others like this network but also remember everyone react to different drugs in different ways. But we still must thank God for this network and friends that has experienced various prescription drugs, pain killers and procedures before us. :bow:
good luck,
Trinkles

[jen74]

I have not taken cymbalta myself, but do have a script for it. My GI gave it to me for pain. I read the side effects and chickened out and did not take it:(
I do have one friend who takes it and loves it. She said it takes all her pelvic pain away. She has nerve pain in her pelvic area due to surgeries. Well it has been a god send to her. If you take it, I hope it works that well for you too.
Jen

[Lenee]

Amy~

Thanks for the suggestion, I was afraid to take it at night due to the insomnia I've been having with it. I can't explain it, I am tired/groggy a lot but don't sleep good either. I did finally sleep through the night for the first time since starting it 7 days ago. I hoping this goes away but I have a long road still since I have to up the dose two times in the next 5 weeks. The anxiety is the worst effect right now which they gave Lorazepam to help, that compounds the tired feeling so I have to be careful when I take it. All said though, it is worth the try for me if I can get long term pain relief and the medicine symptoms eventual get better. I am still on the fence for the drug for now. I hope everyone will keep us posted on how they are doing and how the effects come and hopefully go. One good side note: I have lost 2lbs this week so at least unlike the Elavil I am not gaining weight with it.

Thanks,
Lenee

[bunnykinb]

I don't like the affects that Cymbalta is having while you are trying to get off of it. I was thinking of asking my uro about Cymbalta too. Now, I am scared. I have been on Elavil since 11/30/06 and I tried to get off for 4 days because of the hunger, my head felt weird and I felt anxious too. I started it back up slowly since my urethral area is burning once again to the point that I want to cry.

I hope someone has some good information for you on weaning off.

[toby75]

Bunny in your post you wrote this:

"I don't like the affects that Cymbalta is having while you are trying to get off of it."

Did you mean to say Elavil instead of Cymbalta?

If you meant Elavil, you should read my post above in this thread about the awful time I am having trying to wean from Cymbalta which in my personal experience is much worse then weaning off Elavil. Cymbalta is a much strong drug to try to wean off of. So it comes down to if Cymbalta works great for the nerve as they advertise it is suppose to, me I have not felt the pain relief, but I am sure some have. But you have to take it obviously to see if it will work and if it does that is great because you would probably stay on it for some years for the relief but if it doesn't help I just want to warn people that I have had a very hard time coming off Cymbalta, its miserable.

I cannot speak for everyone just myself. But had I heard bad stories about weaning off Cymbalta I can tell you I would have never tried it. But as with all drugs we take there comes a time we have to wean off of them so we can't just not take a med in fear of w/d. But I truly believe somebody should do a study on all AD ssri and the other one I can't think of and rate the w/d problems on a scale. So at least we know what we are getting ourselves into.

The basics are easy like narcotics and benzos, we pretty much all know they come with a price and that is w/d no matter how slow you wean and whatever your doctor adds to the mix to help the w/d easier it's a w/d of some pain, anxiety and what I call brain zaps. It's when your brain does a quick jump or jerk.

So Bunny if you could clarify if you are talking about weaning off Elavil or Cymbalta?

thanks
Amy

[leelee88]

Like I posted before I have been doing great on Cymbalta.. I still have breakthrough pain, but before I was in pain all the time...

[bunnykinb]

I didn't like hearing the effects of weaning off Cymbalta from posts here at this thread. I was planning to ask my uro for Cymbalta too since Elavil makes me real hungry. I started Elavil after a 4 day stop since my burning has come back with a vengence.

[Lenee]

As with most of the meds I've had to try for this and my pain over the last 6 years, there are pros and cons to them. I desperately tried to find some alternative to going back on an antidepressant type med because they all have some type of side effects. My goal is remission though not intermittent relief so my hope is that trying Cymbalta might be that answer and that I can deal with the cons to get the relief I so desperately want. I also I have read that depression and anxiety have both been issues with this disease and have been having problems with them off and on so I am hoping to get some resolution with one med. I tried Elavil but gained consistant weight and stayed shakey/groggy for most of the 7-8 mos I took it, so I weaned slowly off it. It wasn't totally taking the pain away either but gave me longer breaks between pain/flares, like maybe flares twice a month rather then twice a week or everyday pain. I since haven't found any alternative, I have stayed on the diet for 6 mos, Elmiron for 6 mos, physical therapy(which has relieved some pelvic floor pain and given me help in dealing with pain), TENS, allergy testing, etc but without any long term relief. I have had chronic pain for so long too, (frequency or urgency are not my main problems) so that was another reason I decided to try Cymbalta. I hope you all find what works for you and what is worth trying or not. It is truly up to each of us since we all react so different to meds and I am grateful for everyone expressing their personal experiences good or bad so we can make more informed decisions. Again I am still on fence for this one but decided to try it. Thanks again for this post.

Lenee

[yvette]

OMG...this is really tickin' me off. I got the script and tried to fill it...then BCBS denied covering it....ugh then my uro recinded the script, b/c she wasn't comfortable issuing a Prior Authorization for it....they want me to got to my PCP to get the rx for Cymbalta. I've already tried that last month and the PCP won't

...so now I have nothing...GRRRRRRRRR. It just sucks b/c I pay $500/mo for my own BCBS coverage, ya think I could help here....this is so boring. Bouncing back and forth between phonecalls and people and insurance...what a racket!
(and they denied to cover Sanctura too....bastards. :cussing: )

[bunnykinb]

I feel for everybody here that has to deal with trying to get medications for relief. It is not fun bouncing back and forth between specialist and PCP.

Elavil hasn't taken the pain totally away, but it gave me pain relief every two weeks. Feb.11 until March 7 was almost a month until the nurse put in the catheter too roughly and I was in pain for days.

[jenleigh]

I've been on Cymbalta five days. I too have been having awful feelings of not being in reality and numb to the world. Anxiety. Horrible bladder flare. Not sure if it is the drug. Sleepy, but also worse insomnia. I was hoping this would be better.

[yvette]

Holy smokes! I just about forgot this thread....

Update: I finalled called and ripped into the staff (daily) for 3 months straight to my uros office....It took them that long to get their head out of their ______ and get the paperwork straightened out with BCBS. not only did I get a ginormous amount of free Sanctura....I got the cymbalta too!(hooray)....

Now what if I was in the mental and physical state I was in when I first got IC? Could you imagine? You'd have to lock me away....:rolleyes:

In the interim of looking for a gastro who listen to me....I gt mad and angry and headed off to the ER looking for a doctor....not that anything was ailing me at them moment....I've just had it! So they see smething they don't like with my heart, so they admit me overnite....whatever. I know my hearts is fine. But yeah, sure...I'll run on a treadmill topless at 50mph. I was right, heart is great....but I've gallstones tht were overlooked by the Gastro who dumped me via phone this past Jan.

The only help I've now gotten is from a therapist/RN who sees me for anxiety issues....but bless her heart she's helping me with my IBS because no one else will....

Ok sorry for the rant, I had to let it out....I was taking cymbalta every other day and now I'm up to everyday....and so far so good....nothing extraordinary has happened but nothing tragic either....its just very "eh."

[jenleigh]

HI.I've been off the cymbalta for one day and going thru awful withdrawal. Even having all over body and head pain. I'm taking the celexa again. The feeling of unreality and staring into space was too much for me. bad anxieety and agitation. Hope it is a better drug for you all.