Has anyone used Cymbalta for nerve pain?

Posted by kr601020 @kr601020, Jan 6, 2024

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

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weatheryone | @weatheryone | Jan 25, 2024

In reply to @merlek2a "“Everybody is different “ is an axiom that is totally true when it comes to peoples’..." + (show)

@merlek2a

“Everybody is different “ is an axiom that is totally true when it comes to peoples’ reactions to medication of any kind. When I first developed chronic pain, almost 15 years ago, the Doctor who diagnosed it, carefully and systematically went through every treatment known to possibly be helpful. When we got to Cymbalta, she titrated the dose very carefully, starting with the smallest and working up to 60 mg a day; that took 2 months. All I can say for my experience with Cymbalta is that it gave me a headache every day, but never helped my pain. I took it because I had a friend who had experienced the “magic bullet“ effect. He said it got rid of every pain he had in his body. That sounded very appealing, But that’s not what happened with me.
I was also tried on Lyrica. Just when I got up to the maximum dose of 150 mg twice a day ( I think), I got terrible pains in my joints and was advised to get off that medication entirely. What did work for me, among other things, was taking Neurontin, the brand name for gabapentin. I had to alternate the dose between 600 a day and 700 a day in doses of 200 mg three times a day, with an extra 100 mg added in every other night.
I arrived at that schedule because I had no side effects at 600 mg a day but if I tried to take 700 mg a day, never mind the recommended 300 mg three times a day, my feet seemed so numb, swollen by edema, that I couldn’t feel the sidewalk under my feet. So on my own, I experimented with taking 600 mg one day in divided doses, and 700 mg the next, by adding an extra 100 mg to the nighttime dose, and it worked! And I’ve been on it ever since.
I tried the generic as soon as it came out but had a horrifying experience. I had asked the pharmacist how long it would take me to know if the generic was as effective as the brand name, and he said five days . After the fifth day, I felt like I was back in hell, meaning, I had no therapeutic benefit at all, and felt like I did before I ever tried anything. As soon as I went back on the brand name, the therapeutic effect returned. It may be that the fillers that that company was using affected how it was dispensed in my body, but I couldn’t take the chance of trying every generic out there, as more began to make the medication, especially since you can never be certain what generic the pharmacy has purchased in any given month and you could be switched around. I couldn’t take that chance. I settled on purchasing the brand name, Neurontin, and paying the up charge for it.

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I have been using it for months without any relief whatsoever.

merlek2a | @merlek2a | Jan 25, 2024

In reply to @weatheryone "I have been using it for months without any relief whatsoever." + (show)

That’s why I found talking to a pharmacist in the marijuana dispensary to be indispensable. I took CBD alone for months with no effect whatsoever. And then you go and buy a product w a small amount of THC, and it’s a whole different ball game. There are a lot of different strains of marijuana out there and you definitely need guidance. Once, I consulted a doctor recommended by my pain team at a well-known New York Hospital, and found that she really knew nothing about the subject. The advice she gave me was wrong and useless. I just went back to what I had been taking that I knew helped me. But because there is hardly any official medical research out there right now, doctors are loathe to recommend anything based on just individual patients’ anecdotal reports. That’s why I trust the people actually working with the various marijuana products to be a better source of information.
But why stay on something that hasn’t helped at all? There might be something out there that could help you, but u have to search it out. Even when you work with traditional medication’s for any illness, there’s always a trial and error. Until you and your doctor find the right medication and the right dose. Think of this is the same kind of thing.

merlek2a | @merlek2a | Jan 25, 2024

In reply to @weatheryone "I have been using it for months without any relief whatsoever." + (show)

Then it’s not the drug for you. You have to keep looking because there may be drugs out there that would be more helpful to you. Don’t keep using something that doesn’t help. It will just make you feel hopeless and frustrated. Good luck.

weatheryone | @weatheryone | Jan 25, 2024

Thanks for your comment. I am on a titration schedule to quit taking it. I no longer need it after getting spinal cord stimulation implants.

clayobx | @clayobx | Jan 31, 2024

In reply to @goodday100aye "Hello, Up until about three months ago I was taking Cymbalta for nerve pain from Cervical..." + (show)

@goodday100aye

Hello,

Up until about three months ago I was taking Cymbalta for nerve pain from Cervical Spinal Stenosis. I was prescribed 60mg in the morning and 30mg at bedtime - I was taking that amount for about 7 years . I will say I believe it was helping but looking back 60mg a day worked better- Cymbalta is a SSNI or something like that that Serotonin is a big part of it. I was also taking 300mg twice a day which also helps nerve pain and restless legs syndrome and with sleep. But the same newer doctor increased it to 600mg 4 times a day. Looking back increasing it caused issues as it to has Seritonin and it worked better at much smaller doses.
Then after a surgery i was taking Norco which is a opiod with Seritonin ,!. i have major sleep issues and was taking 50mg Benedryl to help with sleep// I couldn’t sleep well and every two hours about 4-5 times I woke up and took 50mg more after 8 hours or so -I woke up confused and completely agitated and scared as something was wrong- my pupils were big and I figured out that benydryl has Seritonin in it and I had Seritonin Syndrome which I’ve never heard of but Seritonin is in so much stuff even over the counter products line Vitamin D3. So happens I should have went ER but I couldn’t think well and was scared. They monitor you and use klonopin to reverse the dangerous issues. I take Klonopin so I took more until the syndrome went away then i read up on how you can die from it.
Basically I could tell Cymbalta was enlarging my pupils and making me agitated and decided to slowly taper off- it took a while but I didn’t realize how it was effecting me until i was off.
Another pain management doctor started me on lyrica and i also take less gabapantine and take lyrica 50 mg three times a day.
Google Seratonin syndrome and seratonin is in so much but never warned about it-
I wont take SSRIs anymore and even though I remember when lower doses of Cymbalta did help, I think Lyrica works much better. just read up on each pill you take and be careful with the Serotonin ingredient- too much can cause death

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Cymbalta after effects if not my insistence to taper off completely most assuredly would have maimed my wife both physically and mentally. Beware read pages upon pages thus books on the extremely dangerous side effects…beware. I speak from a husband/long term well informed caregiver.

mgru | @mgru | Dec 14, 2025

I have chronic nerve pain from a spinal cord injury. Cymbalta worked well for me. My neurologist also prescribed Lyrica later on. The combination of the two made a big difference in the level of pain

716daytonabeach | @716daytonabeach | Dec 19, 2025

I have had severe pain for over 2 years from Damage to peripheral nerve in lower calf after dropping a bag of rubber mulch on my thigh. Shots relieved the pain for two weeks at a time but damaged the surrounding tissue. Shots could only be given on six week intervals. Currently have NALU device. implanted at the site. Relief was immediate.

sandrac | @sandrac | Dec 20, 2025

In reply to @mgru "I have chronic nerve pain from a spinal cord injury. Cymbalta worked well for me. My..." + (show)

I am also on this same combination for myofacial pain syndrome, similar to fibromyalgia without the fatigue, and it works well for me. A bonus is that Cymbalta also helps tamp down the anxiety that comes with chronic pain. If I take it in the evenings, it helps me get a better night’s sleep also.