Having a SUPER rough day: pain wise, exhausted, so darn weak and just so "blah."
I had an appointment at the Pain Clinic today, because the doctor I see for Lyme won't treat for pain.
The appointment went only "okay." I had such anxiety over it, I didn't sleep hardly all night, as I now have such a phobia about going to any new doc after being treated so poorly and demeaned so many times. I am just so tired of it all.
Anyway, he wants to add Cymbalta to the mix. Not for depression, but for the body aches and joint pain. I asked if it would make me sleepy, and he said it would actually give me energy.
I just read a forum where people relay their experiences with Cymbalta, and I got about 1/4 of the way down the page, and out of almost 200 posts there was ONE positive post. This drug sounds EVIL, and I do not want to fill this prescription.
I also went to the site and the list of side effects is a mile long. Why are some of these meds even allowed to be prescribed?
Does anyone here have any experience with Cymbalta?
The only other thing he wants me to try is acupuncture, which I have considered before. This would be for my all over pain and my migraines and daily, chronic head pain. The only problem with this is we are not sure my insurance will approve it. Has anyone here tried accupuncture for pain with any success?
Posted by James1979 (Member # 31926) on :
I have not tried acupuncture, but it is well known that it is very effective for pain. It even works on dogs, and dogs don't have a placebo effect.
Also, many LLMDs recommend AP because it causes a huge boost to the immune system. Every time you're getting AP, you're killing more of the bugs inside you.
Posted by PTrain (Member # 28773) on :
I have been taking Cymbalta for a couple of years now (was originally diagnosed with Fibromyalgia). I am taking 60 mg a day and have no problems. The only problem is if I miss a dose which results in light-headedness and wierd feeling. Other than that it has helped at times with the pain.
I have also had accupuncture many times and that is really terrific.
Currently I am taking Gabapentine for the pain and that helps as well.
Pain is a constant battle and sometimes something will work well for a while then stop working gradually or abruptly.
Regarding opiates, I took Vicoden for a while and when first started that I almost cried tears of joy because I was pain free. Had gotten so used to pain I didn't know what it was like to be normal.
But, with opiates, that doesn't last because you have to up the dose to get the same results.
But back to Cymbalta, I read those forums too and was nervous, but I think the people who have good experiences with Cymbalta may not be as apt to post that as those who didn't. Make sense?
By the way, Shawshank is my absolute favorite movie of all time!! Take care of yourself and good luck.
Posted by sammy (Member # 13952) on :
Acupuncture does help. It reduces pain and helps me feel better overall. My insurance doesn't cover the treatments so my practitioner gives me a discount. I go about every 2 wks. You may need to go more often at first.
I have not used Cymbalta personally but know that one of my good friends takes it. She has a history of CFS and Fibro, has taken Cymbalta for several years. It helps her so much that she's willing to pay out of pocket for the med. Her insurance refuses to cover it.
Also, don't be scared by potential side effects. Even super safe over the counter meds have to list of these things. Just be aware when you take a new med, if you don't feel right you can stop it.
Posted by Fogged (Member # 32388) on :
Well, I can tell you I had an absolutely horrible experience with Cymbalta. It was explained to me that it was as effective at treating pain and depression (a diagnosis I didn't initially agree with but was slowly brainwashed into accepting) as Effexor, but without the problems of tolerance and dependence that Effexor had.
Well, after about a week I stop feeling the pain. In fact, I stopped feeling anything. I got bizarrely detached from everything in my life. My work, my possessions, my wife, my kids, my hobbies... everything. I became acutely aware of the meaninglessness of life, and my passion for life was replaced with an eerie calm that is impossible to describe.
Not a soothing calm, but something more akin to sociopathy. I felt almost evil because I didn't care about anything or anybody, not even myself. One afternoon I started to compose a list of all of my valuable personal possessions. The intent was to make it easier for my family to sell my them after I committed suicide. This is the gospel truth.
I was strangely detached from my own life and saw continuing it as a meaningless pursuit. Something compelled me to get online and look up "Cymbalta" and that's when I found all the horror stories. I went back to the psychiatrist who prescribed it to me and he just smiled that condescending smile and said he hadn't heard of a single case where this drug wasn't well tolerated, or that anyone had ever had any problems getting off of it. I fired him on the spot. I also fired the therapist who told me she wouldn't continue seeing me unless I was medicated.
I was lucky, because I only got moderate withdrawal symptoms, but they were very real, nonetheless, and very disturbing. Just to think that a drug could have that dramatic of an effect on me in such a short time, and that I would become dependent upon it so quickly was frightening to say the least.
Over the years, I have been on Prozac, Wellbutrin, Zoloft, Paxil, Serzone, Cymbalta (all SSRI-type drugs) and maybe one or two others I can't recall at the present. Valium and Xanax for anxiety, too, as well as a few tricyclics. Had a go with Trazadone as well. Left me tired all the time, 10 pounds heavier, and ended with an embarrassing case of priapism that nearly landed me in the ER.
The first drug I was on was an old one called Ludiomil. I thought the doc was prescribing it because I admitted that I was having a bit of a problem with cocaine usage (this was the "Snowy 80s") and I wanted to stop it. He told me to just try the Ludiomil for 30 days and it would make a huge difference. Well, it sure did. I turned into a confused idiot, and I became filled with rage that would explode out of me at the slightest provocation. My wife actually was afraid I might hurt her or the kids in one of my rages. To top it off, I gained almost 20 pounds in 30 days. All I could think of was eating and sleeping.
After the 30 days I went back to the doc and he wanted to up my dose! He said I had been on a minimal dose to start, but I needed to increase it if I wanted it to work. When I told him about the weight gain, he said, yes, that was one of the side effects. Since I had been struggling with my weight for years, I asked him why he didn't tell me about it. He said, "Well, if I told you that, I never would have gotten you to try it in the first place, would I ?"
Fired that sucker on the spot as well, but I was never able to lose the weight.
I don't know what my malfunction is, but I don't think pyschotropics are the answer. Maybe my malady is just brought on by living in a cold, cruel world where compassion seems lacking everywhere I go. I don't want a drug that will either hide that from me, or make it more acceptable to me. I want and need to be in the here and now, something that equates to life itself to me.
I used to have a very close friend who was a psychiatrist, and when I asked him what he did in his clinical practice he said, "I f*** with people's brain chemistry." He did feel it was the right thing to do, but the way he described it to me left a sour taste in my mouth. We have no idea at all exactly how these chemicals will act on our brains and nervous systems, but they are very powerful and can have profound and lasting effects. They are not to be used lightly, or maybe not at all IMHO.
Posted by Nemo (Member # 22783) on :
I have been wondering about acupuncture myself as my doctor (not LLMD but learning and agreeable to become as proficient as he can with my urging) has began to press me to try it for a variety of problems I'm having, namely lack of energy and chronic allergies.
So it is recommended for pain,huh?
Which pain?
Muscle, nerve, joint, all of the above?
Please tell me more!
I have chronic Lyme neuritis that flares from time to time.
I hate the pain which can reach an 8 on the pains scale and hate even more having to take the vicoden 5/500 in order to suppress it.
I would definitely do acupuncture if it would help.
I've just delved into learning yoga in an attempt to increase my strength and flexibility.
He has also recommended Lyrica to me but I already use Neurotin for my neuralgia and do get some relief with it as long as I don't take it for too long.
Take it too long and it makes me feel weird so I back off.
Anyone taken Lyrica for the nerve pain and have you got any relief from it?
Posted by HopesAlive (Member # 29774) on :
Thank you to everyone for sharing your honest experiences. I do appreciate your input!
And I AM very excited about the acupuncture, but I fear my insurance is going to turn it down. Send out prayers and positive thoughts that they will somehow accept that I need this! I would love to try it.
The Cymbalta. I still have very mixed feelings. I do realize that more people tend to post negative experiences than positive. I do realize everyone is different. But the extremes of the symptoms I read about was very frightening. One symptom I kept reading about was "brain zaps!" I get these often enough with the Lyme! I don't need them from a medication!
I wrote to my doc who treat for Lyme. Told her my concerns. She said to at least try it, it is a "Godsend" for some. However, my concern with that is that many people on that board shared their experiences with tapering off the Cymbalta. Some of those were worse than being on it! So, I am still frightened to try it. I do not like the idea of being on an anti-depressant when I am not depressed. I do want to try things to relieve this horrible pain, but this one truly scares me. I will have to think about it, but will it really be worth it, even to try it?
Another concern: He told me he extremely worried about my weight. So is my Lyme doctor. At 5'7" I am now down to 109 pounds. Before my surgery in December I had battled for THREE years to get back up to 125 pounds and was feeling and looking pretty good! I read several posts where the Cymbalta causes weight loss. Why would he put me on that, when he told me to DECREASE my Topamax (migraine preventative) because he feared that was contributing to my weight loss?
Still scared and having trouble deciding what to do. I will give it some time, I guess.
Thanks, again, for all your replies!
Posted by James1979 (Member # 31926) on :
Have you considered trying a strict anti-yeast diet? It's possible that the yeast are stealing all of your food and nutrients, and it's very difficult to gain weight like that. But maybe my logic is skewed because I just finished an anti-yeast book...
Posted by HopesAlive (Member # 29774) on :
Hi James,
That is something that my doctor is aware of, but something I should pursue further. However, I do believe my diet is contributing greatly to my weight loss.
Before my surgery I did cut out ALL gluten and sugar. That is when I started losing. Then after surgery, I just kept right on losing, and I haven't been able to stabilize since.
You would not believe how much food I can eat in a day! Yet I never feel full on this diet. There is another thread I started about this, and I do have to follow up on some great ideas offered by members here.
Thanks for the tip. I will follow up further.
Posted by Fogged (Member # 32388) on :
HopesAlive, I had treatment with acupuncture about 25 years ago and it was extremely helpful, but eventually the pain came back (about a month). Mine was performed by a real Chinese acupuncturist. She and her husband subsequently lost their license to practice in NY because they didn't have a NY certification!
Can you imagine? Learning this art in China, coming here to practice, and then being told that only Americans could practice it?
My understanding is that it works, but is not curative for many of the ailments it is supposed to cure. But that's OK for me. I went with as friend who was getting a treatment to help give him energy after they cut his thyroxin out following complete thymectomy for cancer. While I was there I decided to try a treatment for my advanced carpal tunnel.
I came home and started handling firewood and I suddenly felt like I had two good hands again. No pain, no numbness, and twice the strength in them that I had before the treatment. They stayed that way for about a week, then the numbness and pain gradually came back over the next month. I have no idea is several more treatments might not have provided a more enduring effect because the husband ad wife team had to leave the state.
As far as brain zaps and Cymbalta, yes... I definitely had them. They are like nothing else I can describe or have ever had, and, trust me, you will not enjoy them at all. FWIW, of all the SSRIs I've tried, I had the very best results from Wellbutrin. Best pain relief, best mood improvement, least side effects (actually improved sexual function for me, whereas the others made me lose interest in sex completely), and easiest to comply with. Problem was that it caused me to have high blood pressure, a relatively uncommon side effect.
Most all the SSRIs will help with chronic, low-grade pain because they act on your pain receptors as well as inhibiting serotonin reuptake. Zoloft wasn't anywhere near as hard for me to tolerate as Cymbalta, and Serzone was OK as well. Prozac worked really well, but it made me too edgy. Paxil send me right out of my body, but was very easy to get off.
Everybody is different, do doubt about it, but the whole truth is not being told about Cymbalta. Look online for yourself... tons of folks have a nightmare getting off the stuff, maybe even more than with Effexor. I get furious just thinking of the name, it is just dreadful stuff if it doesn't agree with you and I personally couldn't recommend it for anyone, just not worth the risk.
Posted by Fogged (Member # 32388) on :
Oops... had a "Lyme moment" for a minute there. I meant thyroidectomy regarding my friend.
Posted by sammy (Member # 13952) on :
If your insurance doesn't pay for the treatments ask for an out of pocket discount. These doctors are usually willing to work with you on payments. They genuinely want to help people feel better.
Posted by Mindy159 (Member # 31149) on :
I see my acupuncturist every week. 3 years ago I ended up in the hospital very sick. They thought it was in my head. Now, since I've been diagnosed, I know it was lyme. I was so weak and allergic to absolutely everything. The doctors gave me prilosec and prednesone (sp). I had a reaction to the prednesone 5 days later.
My acupuncturist helped me through. Every week she gave me enough of an immune boost to help me heal. It took about a year before I started feeling better. Keep in mind that I was on no antibiotics.
I can tell you first hand that the effects of acupuncture are cumulative. I go in every week and tell her what is bothering me, and I feel better when I leave. Lately it's been yeast, so she treats me for that and boosts my immune system.
My insurance doesn't pay for it, but I found a way to scrape up the money. If you can only afford to do it every two weeks, that's better than none. I did it every week for a while, then backed off to every two weeks for a while because money was tight. I'm back up to one treatment a week. Sometimes I wish I had more (herx week).
I'm hooked. Had I knew then, even ten years prior, what I know now about acupuncture, I would have done it a l-o-n-g time ago!
Posted by jlcd1 (Member # 18138) on :
I loved cymbalta. I took it for about 8 months when I was first diagnosed with fibro. My nerve pain was gone in 3 days. It helped with energy, depression, anxiety and pain. The anxiety got worse at first but was gone after a few weeks.
I stopped when I wanted to have another baby, planning to go back on it after, but instead found out what was really wrong with me.
Hope that the pain will go away with treatment and I won't need it again, but I would use it again.
Posted by pab (Member # 904) on :
Cymbalta has been great for my son. It's been great for his anxiety.
Do you live in the Twin Cities? We go to a pain clinic that we like.