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Has anyone ever been on Duloxetine (Cymbalta) for nerve pain?

Posted by dougs72 @dougs72, Jun 22, 2024

Has anyone ever been on Duloxetine (Cymbalta) for nerve pain? I've had 2 doctors push this on me. I know that the side effects can be terrible and getting off of it difficult as it requires titration. One time I remember taking one pill, and not liking the way it made me feel, so not taking any more, and still feeling the "weirdness" from it 2-3 days later. and that was only 30 mg Please pass along any experience or advice from this medication?

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cdammen | @cdammen | May 20 6:10am

I, too, have reacted negatively or not at all to many meds. Recently I discovered I had 0.0 activity of CYP2D6. In particular codeine has no effect and my body does not tolerate duloxetine and Metroprolol. I expect pharmacogenomics to be the future of medication—where we truly learn why meds work or do not work with the bodies we have.

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ams | @ams | May 20 1:28pm
In reply to @ohiogirl48 "I take Duloxetine for my fibromyalgia. The problem is, it's not going to be available much..." + (show)
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I take Duloxetine for my fibromyalgia. The problem is, it's not going to be available much longer.

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@ohiogirl48 Why is duloxetine going away?

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ohiogirl48 | @ohiogirl48 | May 21 5:52am

Express Scripts told me a few months ago it would be unavailable until further notice, but from reading all these posts, that isn't the case with everyone. I spoke with a pharmacist at Express Scripts today, and they told me that they haven't had it in stock since February. That seems silly since I've been receiving it since then, and I currently have half of a 90-day supply and a full 90-day supply left. Apparently, the supplier Express Scipts uses can no longer get it from the manufacturer. The pharmacist couldn't tell me why. They also told me I could get 90-day supplies from a retail pharmacy, so the retail pharmacy's supplier isn't having any trouble getting it. So, it looks like this is an Express Scripts issue only. Sorry for the confusion.

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susanfrei | @susanfrei | May 21 3:57pm
In reply to @cdammen "I, too, have reacted negatively or not at all to many meds. Recently I discovered I..." + (show)
Profile picture for cdammen @cdammen

I, too, have reacted negatively or not at all to many meds. Recently I discovered I had 0.0 activity of CYP2D6. In particular codeine has no effect and my body does not tolerate duloxetine and Metroprolol. I expect pharmacogenomics to be the future of medication—where we truly learn why meds work or do not work with the bodies we have.

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@cdammen did nothing. I love my gabapentin

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jsb932l | @jsb932l | May 22 10:10am

For me, nothing. Depression and nerve pain, no help. Weaning off now.

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cman55 | @cman55 | May 23 9:47am

My Girl Friend takes Duloxetine for Depression, and she say's it works for that, but doesn't feel she is getting much help for nerve pain. She was prescribed Journavx, and thought that she was getting help from that. However, it is a new pain reliver that is a non opioid, but can only be prescribed for 10 days. It hasn't been fully studied. Maybe you can ask for it just to see if it will help, but you have to be prepared to be frustrated that you can only have it for a short time if it does help.
She is often in pain, has the SCS, but times of relief are limited to hours, not days.

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denisek1971 | @denisek1971 | Jun 6 11:17am
In reply to @captoblivious "@calofmichigan FYI - My daughter was diagnosed with psoriatic arthritis last year. She takes Otezla and..." + (show)
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@calofmichigan FYI - My daughter was diagnosed with psoriatic arthritis last year. She takes Otezla and says it's night and day. She also says she didn't realize how much pain she was in until she took it and the pain abated.

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@captoblivious I took Otezla and it helped tremendously. I felt like a different person. Unfortunately, it caused severe stomach pain which forced me to stop. We’re trying Otezla XR now, 75 mg, once a day. I’m praying it doesn’t cause such severe stomach issues. 7 days now and so far just nausea. Fingers crossed, but I know exactly how your daughter feels. I’m 55 and have suffered from psoriatic arthritis for over 30 years, only diagnosed in the past 5 years.

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marja27 | @marja27 | Jun 6 12:28pm
In reply to @jason321 "I was given Duloxetine by a physio for severe sciatica and took it for around 8..." + (show)
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I was given Duloxetine by a physio for severe sciatica and took it for around 8 weeks. No side effects at all and didn't do me any good either so I stopped taking it. Just nothing. Never had any kind of effects when I stopped either. She said it was supposed to be one of the most successful types of meds for long term pain.

Similar with Gabapentin, again nothing. Then Amitriptyline which caused headaches. Then tried me on Pregabalin and that was awful, I was dropping things and my legs were like rubber soon as I started it. Horrible.

These type of meds didn't work for me but we are all differen, one of them could help you. I'd at least try them and see how you get on.

I ended up having to take Tramadol and then Morphine which are great painkillers at first but your body gets used to them and they become far less effective over time. I wouldn't consider them a long term solution. Even if you up the dose to compensate you'll end up itching like hell as well as appetite loss and constipation. Use them very sparingly if you have to go down that road.

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@jason321 I tried it, and it made me very sleepy. Be careful with amounts. It helped somehow, but not very much.

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sapphiregirl | @sapphiregirl | 1 day ago
In reply to @emo "I know that some have benefited from Cymbalta and other similar medications, but everything you and..." + (show)
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I know that some have benefited from Cymbalta and other similar medications, but everything you and others have mentioned are reasons I personally chose with my care team not to try it. I’m very sensitive to medication, and even things that are “generally well-tolerated” either aren’t, or I need to start at a much smaller dose.

But for what it’s worth, my neurology NP specifically didn’t recommend it for me when it came up because I tend to experience strong side effects. She also said her patients have had significant difficulty weaning off it if they need or want to stop it. I’m always very cautious around any kind of drug like that, but everyone has a different comfort level.

PT geared toward pain neuroscience and neuroplasticity has been a much better fit for me, and in a way it’s the most effective thing I really have access to because my central sensitization affects how I process medication. From living with chronic pain for almost a decade (!) now, it’s my opinion there still aren’t great options for chronic pain, especially for those of us hesitant or sensitive to medications. Then again, some people report life changing experiences with things like Cymbalta, Lyrica, etc.

I also take LDN (low dose naltrexone). It helps with fatigue, but I can’t really say for certain it’s helped my neuropathy.

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@emo I was put on Cymbalta and Gabapentin 2 years ago. In the beginning, they both seemed to have helped but over time, I guess the effectiveness wore off. I’m weaning very slowly off both. Tired of the menagerie of drugs I’ve had to try and the expense.
I know people that swear by cymbalta and gaba. My body has always reacted in different ways with drugs.

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suecutuli | @suecutuli | 18 hours ago

I hated cymbalta.
I got ever single side effect and when the whites of my eyes turned yellow I started quitting.
It was a horrible withdrawal. I had extreme itching 3 month after my last titrated dose. It was the worst drug I’ve ever taken, and I’ve taken many.
It did not help with my pain.

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