Recently Diagnosed with Fibromyalgia

You can use the search button on this site to find links to discussions about Cymbalta.

Is Cymbalta helping you? I haven't taken Cymbalta because I read that it's very addictive and hard to stop taking if it doesn't help you, and that it only offers partial relief for about 30-35% of the people who take it. If the drug isn't helping you much, I would do some research on the difficulties of stopping it before I continue on it. Lawsuits have been filed against its manufacturer, Eli Lilly, alleging that they did not adequately warn patients about the risks of withdrawal and dependence associated with Cymbalta.

I find these three drugs help me: 1. Low dose naltrexone. This must be purchased from a compounding pharmacy. You slowly work up to a maintenance dose, usually 4.5mg. 2. Cyclobenzaprine (Flexeril) a muscle relaxant. Studies are finding it helps, also in low doses. I take 5mg about 30 minutes before bed. 3. Magnesium Glycinate helps relax muscles. It's OTC and I take 250-300mg about 1 hour before bed.

That's just my opinion, I do not mean to give medical advice.

I took Cymbalta as well as gabapentin. They are similar. Read the literature about them. From that as well as my personal experience I would never take them again. And recommend that no one does. There is a new drug just approved for treatment of fibromyalgia. It is a small sublingual dose of a muscle relaxer that has shown promising results. The brand name is Tonmya. Diet exercise and SLEEP also can help you on your journey. Good luck and God bless you.

Tonmya is a reformulated version of the drug cyclobenzaprine (aka Flexeril) that has been on the market for years as a muscle relaxant. It's available as a low cost generic. Tonmya is that same drug reformulated to a lower starting dose and taken subliminally rather than as a pill you swallow. The initial dose for two weeks is 2.8 mg (1 sublingual tablet) once daily at bedtime. After that, the dose is 5.6 mg (2 sublingual tablets) once daily at bedtime.
By reformulating the drug, the drug company can charge lots more money (approximately $250 per month.). When I have a fibro flare, I take a 5mg tablet of cyclobenzaprine (lowest dose available) before bed. I think it helps with sleep and pain.
An article by Pradeep Chopra, MD (a Harvard-trained pain medicine specialist with over 25 years of experience treating complex chronic pain and multisystem disorders) said: "In summary, sublingual cyclobenzaprine (Tonmya) is essentially a repackaged low‑dose formulation of cyclobenzaprine, marketed as a novel drug through its patented delivery system. Its pharmacokinetic differences are small, its clinical benefit is modest and comparable to existing oral formulations, and its unique adverse effects may outweigh the theoretical advantage of reduced metabolite formation. Clinicians should therefore critically evaluate manufacturer claims and consider whether simple, low‑dose oral cyclobenzaprine would provide equivalent benefit at far lower cost."