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

Posted by dougs72 @dougs72, Jun 22 7:24am

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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clayobx | @clayobx | Dec 18 11:32pm

In reply to @bunnybear "Cymbalta helps me greatly with no perceived side effects on my 2nd time trying it at..." + (show)

Side effects after two months rendered my wife immobile. Ie. Unable to walk 200 ft. On level surface. Beware terrible drug, just saying the truth!

danhofsink | @danhofsink | Dec 19 10:34am

Ya currently on that and Pregabalin..tried to wean off duloxotine and had same problem, was on 30 mg e very other day and started having shocks from it so went back to every day. This was in November before back surgery. Had laminectomy and discectomy done. Stayed on duloxotine and am still on it as im on plethora of other drugs. The surgery helped but now pain shooting down my leg again as i wean off pregablin. Was on 600, started weaning off several weeks ago. Now down to 400. It wasn't too bad at first now i can hardly sleep at night anymore cause of weaning off effects

duendecito3 | @duendecito3 | Dec 19 3:54pm

In reply to @dianeflorida "Cymbals made me feel great but caused low sodium and some side effects from that" + (show)

I am also dealing with low sodium. How did you establish the connection? I wasn't aware of it. Thank you.

duendecito3 | @duendecito3 | Dec 19 4:15pm

In reply to @danhofsink "Ya currently on that and Pregabalin..tried to wean off duloxotine and had same problem, was on..." + (show)

I share your feelings about the pain, and I am very sorry. Several actions worked to control my pain. 1. Notify your doctor or go to the ER immediately. you may have a clot in your leg, and they are obligated by law to control pain to the limit of what's possible. 2. Make sure your nutrition is sufficient and complete. 3. Keep the leg at a level higher than the heart. Clonidine (the medicine adjuvant to blood pressure) helped me with the weaning anxiety for several hours, under medical supervision. 3. Ensure your nutrition is OK. 4, Relax, listen to music, and have a good conversation, trick your pain with distraction. ALL PAIN IS TEMPORARY AND TREATABLE.
Good luck!

katth | @katth | Dec 19 4:35pm

Yes! Vertebral and disc injury in lumbar. Duloxitine does wonders for the neuropathy that always comes with.
Duloxitine (Cymbalta), is an snri antidepressant with a built in pain reliever. Yup, depression causes physical pain.
Often, when managing pain, a decent doctor will use Duloxitine in tandem with an actual pain killer.
What a great thing that is.
Yes, Duloxitine is a hard med to get on and to get off. It takes everyday of 8 weeks to get on it. There's good days and not so good days. Just get past that 8 week mark ( assuming there's no allergic reaction) and you're good to go!
If/when this med stops helping, you'll know it. Pain level rises ( breakthrough pain). You may even feel like you're suddenly getting the worst flu you've ever had.
That could be serotonin syndrome.
Of course you'll need to stop that med, if it happens. Getting Duloxitine out of your system can take , again, 8 weeks. It's not fun, but you will feel better.
Patience, distractions, physician and family/friends support will all help.
Once you're on Duloxitine and a pain killer, you're set for a long time.
My combo lasted 18 years.

danhofsink | @danhofsink | Dec 20 8:11am

In reply to @duendecito3 "I share your feelings about the pain, and I am very sorry. Several actions worked to..." + (show)

Thank you!

robertwp | @robertwp | Dec 21 9:12am

I've been on Duloxitin with Gabapentine for six months now for severe nerve pain after 5 low back surgeries in the last 6 years and it's been a life changer for me. Took away 90 percent of all of my low back and leg pain. Yes,it takes a while to get used to it but it's so worth it for me.

dougs72 | @dougs72 | Dec 22 7:15am

Is the Gabapentin not enough? I was consideing starting it but am scared of nerve meds. My symptoms or situation is not as severe as yours, but it's affecting my life enough that I'm at the point where I need to do something.

sue417 | @sue417 | Dec 22 8:21am

In reply to @bunnybear "Cymbalta helps me greatly with no perceived side effects on my 2nd time trying it at..." + (show)

Hi
I was on it 14 yrs ago after knee surgery. Also because I have fibromyalgia and the pain was crazy
I don't know how many mg , I know it worked but it was wicked to come off. I have now a compression fracture in my thoracic spine thinking about trying it but unsure. Going to try celebrex first

jonesycanuck | @jonesycanuck | Dec 22 12:37pm

In reply to @dougs72 "Is the Gabapentin not enough? I was consideing starting it but am scared of nerve meds...." + (show)

I took Gabapentin for back pain, 10 years ago. It was not effective, so my doc suggested Cymbalta (duloxetine), and it worked well. Cymbalta is no longer being produced by Eli Lily (stopped in late September 2024), and I've had trouble finding a decent generic, without success. I've tried TEVA, SANDOZ, ACCEL (Montreal), none of them gave the results I wanted and in fact introduced side-effects. If you do go to a generic duloxetine, start at a low dose (30 mg?) and scale up if you find it useful. Side effects (for me) included disorientation, nausea as the drug kicks in intermittently, and irritability. I have a friend who has been on the TEVA generic and finds it works for him. I thought TEVA was worse than useless because of side effects. Good luck.