Often they won't believe a patient is having a severe life threatening reaction if they patient doesn't go to the ER. The reason is because drug seekers say they are allergic to non opiate medications to get opiates.. Why would anyone continue to take a medication when it makes their throat and tongue swell ?

Were you taking cymbalta for nerve pain? That's associated with depression too right?

I continued to take it because my tongue swells on and of anyway. And tbe medical field wanted to prove a point. Yes I was prescribed for nerve pain.

That sounds like angioedema. Some of my blood pressure meds will do that to people. I would take Cymbalta, but my insurance denied it. They told my doctor to prescribe me a different narcotic or a muscle relaxant first. I just don't like the fact that they doctors do not tell the patient that withdrawal from Cymbalta is just as bad or worse than Withdrawal from heavy narcotics, perhaps even harder than that. Patients need to be informed of this before they decide to take any medication. I'm on a nasty med that supposedly had horrid withdrawal symptoms, but I have no choice. Clonidine is the only med that levels out my blood pressure from the sitting to the standing position. But I have read that Clonidine needs to be slowly tapered or you can get a rebound effect in blood pressure and other adverse symptoms.

On the advertisement for Cymbalta, where they are advertising it for Fibromyalgia. It says Lyrica is believed to calm the nerves. Not that it does. It is a psyc med that is used off label for peripheral neuropathy. I tried Gabapentin, a similar medication and it did nothing to me. I had no side-effects and no pain relief whatsoever. I was up to the max daily dose for a few weeks and felt nothing. Some patients lose their balance and have visual disturbances on much lower doses and have to discontinue taking Gabapentin. Every patient is different. I hate it when doctors expect every patient to respond the same way to all medications. It doesn't work that way in the real world. I don't think patients are drug seekers just because non-narcotic meds do not work for them.

Sorry, I got Cymbalta and Lyrica mixed up unless they are similar meds, which I think they are,

No worries. I've taken all of those and had bad side effects. So I fight hourly through an insane amount of pain.

Enname,

I'd consider calling your Dr. if they give you a new med and it causes what seems like an allergic reaction. Yes they expect you to try medications they prescribe. They don't expect you to kill yourself taking them. If a medication is causing those kind of symptoms, you stop taking it and call your Dr.,

Enna,

Your phrasing stood out to me; wanted to share my experience. You said, “In a couple of days my throat and tongue started to swell... I continued to take it because my tongue swells on and off anyway.”

When I’m having an autoimmune flare, the tissues in my mouth get inflamed. Lining of the mouth gets red, my tongue gets puffy, and my teeth leave indentations on my tongue and inner cheeks. (Look up “scalloped tongue” to see what I’m talking about.) It’s uncomfortable, but totally harmless.

In contrast, I have an allergy to Pistachios... within a few minutes, my tongue/throat start to swell and it gets hard to breathe. Not totally harmless; time to get to the ER before anaphylactic shock kicks in.

I mention this because it took me a while to be able to describe the difference, leading to some unnecessary confusion for my healthcare providers. When you experience it, the difference is obvious... but depending on how you describe your symptoms, doctors are trained to respond as if you are having an allergic response.

Okay cool. It's sometimes to tell because crps effects nerves so many different ways. There are times I swore I had a viral sore throat and it was my disability. Then when it was a viral infection I let it go longer than I should have because it felt just like the nerve pain of crps.
I even went to the ER and the doctor got literally pissed off at me for wasting her time. But yes having lived with this so many years we learn a few differences along the way.

Tell the ER Dr. to Bite You! you aren't a Dr. and you can't always tell the difference when your taking a new med.