Has anyone used Cymbalta for nerve pain?

Posted by kr601020 @kr601020, Jan 6 9:50am

I just started Cymbalta wondering if anyone else has had sucess with it for pain in my feet and hands.

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@ripley

Have you ever taken the gabapentin alone and, if so, did it help relieve pain?

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Gabapentin is more for nerve pain than other pain. I've never taken it alone. It's always been with pain meds. There was a time I stopped for about a year because it didn't seem to help the nerve pain. I found out it really was because the nerve pain came back with a vengeance. I was hospitalized for 3 days for pain control in my legs. They warn against taking Gabapentin and hydrocodone together and that's why I only take it at night and never together. I take them about 3-4 hours apart.

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@carol1024

It took a little over 2 years to get settled but I got $3000. Other people got more. Some people attempted suicide, some had permanent neurological issues...the amount depended on your circumstances. Some people had no documentation at all, about anything. Those people got less than $100. They sent letter with breakdown of how much people got. I think the most that was paid out was about $100,000 but they were hospitalized and almost died.

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Did Eli Lilly receive any punishment other than financial? It sounds like they settled the lawsuit and didn't go to court, so I am guessing they did not. It doesn't say much for the FDA that they are still allowed to sell this drug and profit off of something that's been proven to be ineffective and dangerous.

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Quit taking it due to extremely high BP and eye aches. Much better without it. Nerve pain still there of course so look for something else. Naproxen works to an extent but one pill a day with pain meds.

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@mskow

Please read carefully and listen to the admins on Cymnbalta Hurts Worse. I believe finding that group and starting my taper saved my life. 20 years ago I started suffering from intractable lumbar and cervical pain. Started on Lyrica AND Cymbalta. I lost my mind, a job I loved, my teeth, a medium-sized body that worked ... almost a husband and my life. At one point I couldn't formulate a coherent thought and forgot how to spell the word "the", Not good for a professional consultant!

So sure I was in the throes of dementia or Alzheimers, I developed an Exit Plan. Luckily I had a doctor I trusted enough to tell her. She is the one that connected the dots about the combo of the meds causing the mental deterioration. I stopped lyrica first and am in the final stretch of getting rid of cymbalta. Tapering off it is NO joke, even when doctors who should know better laugh at the microdose withdrawal method.

Yes, some people say it helps their pain. If it does, I'm very happy for you. But for some of us, the toxic effects completely outweighed and benefits. PLEASE do your due diligence before starting this med. As someone stated in an earlier post, it took 50 years for the FDA to figure out that a very heavily prescribed med not only didn't work, it was acually harmful. Can you even imagine how many other medications there might be?

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I am on those 2 drugs, it's been 3 or more years. I have back surgery scheduled for Jan 26, however I have also been diagnosed with Fibromyalgia so I am not sure where we are going to go with the meds.

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@ripley

Did Eli Lilly receive any punishment other than financial? It sounds like they settled the lawsuit and didn't go to court, so I am guessing they did not. It doesn't say much for the FDA that they are still allowed to sell this drug and profit off of something that's been proven to be ineffective and dangerous.

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You could probably Google and find that info.

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This question sure has stirred up a lot negative responses. I’d just like to say that Cymbalta has benefited me greatly. I’ve been taking it for over a year now along with hydrocodone and Gabapentin for chronic pain that had really debilitated me. I was hesitant to start it because I had read so many negative things about it, but I was desperate to get at least some of my life back. My PCP finally talked me into trying it. We started at a very low dose and gradually increased. I’ve had no bad side effects and have benefitted greatly from the combination of the three medications. I am certainly not “cured”, but I am grateful that there are medications like Cymbalta that have increased my quality of life.

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@cincin3

This question sure has stirred up a lot negative responses. I’d just like to say that Cymbalta has benefited me greatly. I’ve been taking it for over a year now along with hydrocodone and Gabapentin for chronic pain that had really debilitated me. I was hesitant to start it because I had read so many negative things about it, but I was desperate to get at least some of my life back. My PCP finally talked me into trying it. We started at a very low dose and gradually increased. I’ve had no bad side effects and have benefitted greatly from the combination of the three medications. I am certainly not “cured”, but I am grateful that there are medications like Cymbalta that have increased my quality of life.

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Thank you. I hope this will give me some relief as well!

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@kr601020

Thank you. I hope this will give me some relief as well!

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Good luck!

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@cincin3

This question sure has stirred up a lot negative responses. I’d just like to say that Cymbalta has benefited me greatly. I’ve been taking it for over a year now along with hydrocodone and Gabapentin for chronic pain that had really debilitated me. I was hesitant to start it because I had read so many negative things about it, but I was desperate to get at least some of my life back. My PCP finally talked me into trying it. We started at a very low dose and gradually increased. I’ve had no bad side effects and have benefitted greatly from the combination of the three medications. I am certainly not “cured”, but I am grateful that there are medications like Cymbalta that have increased my quality of life.

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I take 90 mg of Cymbalta a day for neuropathy pain along with Lyrica (300 mg daily) and do quite well. I have SFN with autonomic dysfunction.

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@bunnybear

Cymbalta is a great pain reliever and anti depressant for me but I am going off it and trying to get another regimen worked out. Why? Because of what was a pretty severe weight gain. I don’t imagine everyone gets that side effect but I did. Like nearly everyone, I did slowly put on weight as I reached middle age. But when I started Cymbalta I experienced a rapid additional weight gain. I just hated that. I had a spinal cord stimulator placed in February after the Cymbalta and Lyrica couldn’t control my pain from osteoarthritis. I am currently working with my doctor to find what meds are still helping and which can be dropped.

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Ah, so sorry. I started taking Cymbalta years ago for clinical depression. I actually was feeling much better so with MD, I slowly weaned off it. No problems. However a good month or so after the last dose I began to realize my wreck of a spine - both lumbar and cervical spine - were really bothering me. (I have had 3 surgeries -2 lumbar and 1 neck for discs and spinal stenosis, etc. I can’t tolerate Gabapentin. Tried various things but eventually went back on the Cymbalta and it does help me. So I still take it.

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