I was wondering if Cymbalta helps for more than just pain issues for you? Does it help with the fatigue, brain fog, sleep, or other FMS symptoms as well? Also Lyrica; does it just help with pain or other symptoms as well?

Lyrica was the ONLY thing that put down my attacks at first--but also seemed to be the cause of them???

I took it for RSD pain--it worked GREAT--but the does was large--600mg per day--and my feet/legs started to swell badly --muscle athrophy was a problem--and I had to reduce the dose. I did this over two weeks--as it says to do--to 400mg per day.

Then months later decided I was again swelling and tried to come off it b4 hernia surgery--also just so as to NOT have to worry about drug interactions with post op pain meds. The stuff kind of makes me a bit loopy. Again I did this per instructions--gradually slacking off over the space of two weeks.

This is when it ALL hit the fan for me! MANY trips to the ER--bad attacks--severe shaking--stroke symptoms even! It went on for months and no one had a clue--but one doc SWORE it was drug withdrawal from Lyrica.

Calls to Lyica's offices with nurse on hand said can't happen. He got REALLY ticked at me when--in complete desperation--I got back on it just to see if anything would help!

It did???? And did so immediately? But it seemed I still had to have at best 100=150mg twice a day to get by.

Still a large dose--that immediately gave me severe swelling again.

It took almost a year of Ve-eeeery slow backing down the dose (harder to do with capsules) to finally wean myself off the stuff. I will never touch it again. Tho it works for pain--it caused muscle athropy to the point I was too weak to walk--and kept me swollen to the point of not being able to wear shoes--and with constant urinary tract and other infections.

Getting off of it--for me--caused a severe whiplash effect of pain, anxiety, rapid pulse and shaking/dys symptoms. Seemed to take about 4 weeks at a reduced dose to stabilize--even reducing the dose very slowly at 25 mg per time.

Still it worked--with NOTHING else would. But at what cost later? Though swelling issues subsided pretty quickly--It took a year of working out to get my strength back and 6 weeks of antibiotics to clear unrinary and sinus infections--6 MONTHS of antivirals to clear opportunistic viral infections.

I wasn't going to write this--'cause at one point--for me--Lyrica was my ONLY help. But it came at a VERY high price later--so I felt I had to say so since so many think this drug is VERY harmless--even at higher doses.

My experience--for what it's worth~~~
Hope it helps someone.

Thanks Sandy, these drugs can have a lot of effects on us that change from person to person and many have no idea what the full cost can be when we start taking them.

I started on Cymbalta four days ago and by day three I was pretty sure I wasn't going to be able to tolerate it. LOTS of nausea and shaky serotonin syndrome feelings. So I didn't take it today and am feeling completely washed out now.

Then I started wondering why I am on it in the first place; is it for FMS pain or does it help with the other symptoms; fatigue, brainfog, sleep disturbances, etc.

As I've posted before, my only pain issues arise from inflammation in various joints and I don't have that classic FMS muscle pain or flu-like pain. My tender spots only hurt when pressed on so they don't trouble me otherwise. I was just wondering if there was more to be derived from these meds other than FMS pain relief, my understanding it that they are not effective for inflammatory pain.

I have many orthapedic problems--from life as an active person who has ALWAYS been a bit dizzy and clutzy.
Lyrica helped the
"sympathethicially maintained" nerve pain of RSD--an entirely different sort of pain than the arthritis in my knee from the old knee surgery--or my spine issues--which it didn't do much for at all.

I DO have large pain issues--in all sorts of places I've had injuries in the past--and in my spine which has the "standard" scoliosis troubles of MVP dys.

I've posted this b4--but just in case.

A transdermal topical anti-inflamitory drug called Voltaren Emugel works great for all sorts of pain--for several hours--without side effects. It HAS been FDA approved --over the counter even--for RSD, arthritis, and such in in the USA recently. A first in the history of USA pain meds!!!But I've yet to see it on the shelves around here since it's a new thing for the USA.
http://www.ameinfo.com/148525.html

The active ingredient--diflucan (sp?) has been in use for many years by perscription--but--as with most anti-inflamatories--tended to cause GI problems when taken by mouth.

So now there's an answer!!! Take it transdermal--put it ONLY where it hurts! It's magic!!
http://www.planetdrugsdirect.com/Drugs/Voltaren-Emulgel/101036/

You can get it lots of places online --without fear--since it IS approved for use in the USA and is OTC. This stuff works on both kinds of pain!! Is used constantly where we lived in Honduras--but is new to the USA.

So far the ONLY people I've seen use it here are doctors who have pain issues and have done thier homework--my neuro doc with a fused spine for example.

This IS the answer!

Please try it---the dose when given transdermal is so small as to have no drug interactions! And it REALLY works!

Mccainless - my doctor is seeing if the addition of Ativan along with the Lyrica will fix my sleep problems. Lyrica has really helped with the pain. I had been under the impression that Cymbalta was to help with sleep. Melatonin had helped for 2 weeks and then I was back to the same old cycle of not being able to fall asleep and then waking up. Although I don't usually think of About.com as reliable as MedlinePlus or the Mayo Clinic site, I found this article interesting: http://chronicfatigue.about.com/od/treatingfmscfs/a/fibromyalgiamed.htm

Hi all,

Taking Lyrica initially helped with my pain, but then it stopped making the pain go away. When I took more, i started halucinating and wanted to kill myself. THE GOOD NEWS is, that with a lower dosage (doesn't make the pain go away), but it decreases my number of migraines! What a relief! My migraines went from 1-3 a day to 1-3 a WEEK. That's why i'm still taking Lyrica, but other than migraines, Lyrica hasn't helped with any of my other symptoms.

Hope this helps
GoArmy

Cymbalta was the freaking miracle cure for my dys for two months. Then ppppbbbt, nothing, back to where I was.

And I was *exhausted* *exhausted*. I had to nap every day. I could barely move. They thought I had a spinal leak. They put me on 2 months of bedrest! Now at least we know it's dys :-).

I don't remember if it helped pain or not -- I have constant back pain from a bad disc and bad knees from who-knows-what but I don't remember if those were better on Cymbalta. I can't remember; I slept the whole time! :-D LOL.

Cardiologist said he might consider Cymbalta at *night only* for me to fix the sleeping problems if Clonodine doesn't help. But I hestitate to go back on that stuff.

I just started taking cymbalta 6 days ago. I had a lot of nausea at first, but taking it with dinner (my biggest meal of the day) really helped. I tried taking it once before but I took it in the morning and the nausea was unbearable.

I am taking it in the hopes it will help with POTS symptoms...nothing yet...fingers crossed.

I've been on Cymbalta for about a year and a half. It has been very helpful for me. Of course, very helpful means I function about 4-5 good hours a day, but at least don't feel so completely blah even after my good hours.

Its hard to say what all it helped with as I've made some other positive life changes as well this year. But, I do have less pain, my brain fog is greatly reduced, and I do have just an overall better since of well-being. My nausea is hardly a problem compared to the torture that it was. However, I started cymbalta, propranalol, and increased tramadol (now virtually unhelpful...but, i've been on it for almost 8 years!) Not sure if its helpful at all for my sleep. That part of my life is still ridiculously awful. Also, I just wish there were something - anything that would make my initial waking hour better. I will say it is finally tolerable where it didn't used to be - but, I still have to FORCE myself to get out of bed and face the day. I don't feel depressed (been there)...just overwhelmed and COMPLETELY unmotivated. Maybe I'll start a thread about that...I'd like to see if anyone has any ideas!

sheri