Fibromyalgia Support Group

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Cymbalta stole about 5 years of my life

ccjgeorge
ccjgeorge
Hi members, my name is Cathy George, I would like to share with you my experience taking Cymbalta for the last 5 years. I was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis about 5 years ago and also started taking Cymbalta about the same time. My diagnosis was confirmed with an MRI and a Spinal Tap. I started having extreme fatigue, couldn't get enough sleep no matter how long I stayed in bed, I always got up in the morning feeling as bad or worse than when I went to bed, I never ever felt a feeling of refreshed in all the time of being on Cymbalta. I also felt different, I didn't feel like myself, I started to lose confidence in myself, I had at times difficulty finding a word that I was trying to express, always felt off my game, never sharp. I also was not as creative, felt kind of dulled out, didn't look forward to the future, lost alot of joy, didn't feel as kind or patient, I looked at life differently than I did before I started taking the drug. I mentioned frequently to the doctors that the fatigue and memory issues were very life changing and that it effected my life everyday, but no one ever thought that it could all be being caused by the Cymbalta, they all seemed to just associate it with Multiple Sclerosis, but I just realized 5 weeks ago that.....all of the above stated symptoms were from the Cymbalta....I stopped taking it about 5 weeks ago, just forgot to refill my prescription, which I had never done in 5 years, and within a week I started feeling much better and each day since I have been regaining myself to the point I feel like I did before I was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. ALL THE SYMPTOMS WERE CAUSED BY CYMBALTA......NOT BY MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS......I DO HAVE MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS, BUT THAT IS NOT WHAT WAS CAUSING THESE SYMTOMS...So I want to scream it from the roof tops, I have my life back, the Multiple Sclerosis is causing me issues with pain in my legs, neurogenic bladder issues and headaches, but not all off the issues that were literally stealing life from me everyday, I feel like a new person and I wonder if there is anyone out there that can relate to my story.....PLEASE LET ME KNOW!! THANK YOU FOR LISTENING!!!
ccjgeorge
ccjgeorge
Hi Fibro members, this is Cathy, I forgot to mention I also have had fibromyalgia for over 20 years, diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis about 5 years ago. Thank you again for listening, I just would love to hear from anyone, especially if you can relate at all to the experience I have had with Cymbalta. Thanks so much!
Fantod
Fantod
I've taken Cymbalta for about 8 years. Stopping this medication without weaning is not recommended. The symptoms that you attribute to Cymbalta are common for people with Fibromyalgia. My experience with Cymbalta has been good. Take care.
AnnNY
AnnNY
So sorry you had such a bad time on Cymbalta. I guess I was lucky that my first hours on Cymbalta were so bad I crawled into bed and when I woke up I threw out the whole bottle of pills.
curlykraut
curlykraut
Hi Cathy,
I have been on Cymbalta for 8 years. Any time I have tried to go off it, I have had the WORST side effects and debilitating pain. How were you able to cope with that? I hate taking pain meds or depression meds, but am unable to walk or live without this. Would love to be rid of it all, and be normal again. Are you taking any meds now? J
Patty1963
Patty1963
I'm very happy that you were able to find relief. I know you are so grateful. I am on Cymbalta and have had very good success with it. We are all different and react differently to medications. It's important to find what works for you! I'm glad you found relief.
beclinkay
beclinkay
Cymbalta did nothing for me, so I went off of it. I am shocked that you didn't have severe brain zaps by going off of it cold turkey. It's supposed to be a gradual thing.

Glad you are doing better.
PeaceN2You
PeaceN2You
Like other treatments, Cymbalta works well in just over 30% of patients who take it. Like others, I'm very surprised that you didn't have severe symptoms stopping cold turkey, which is very dangerous.

Glad you found out what was causing your symptoms.
ccjgeorge
ccjgeorge
I love hearing from support group friends, thank you for any response I appreciate it. I just wanted to let Fantod know that all the symptoms were from the Cymbalta not Fibromyalgia.....after being off of Cymbalta for about two weeks all those above stated problems that I was having stopped completely.....I have now been off of Cymbalta for about five weeks and feel better than I have in over five years. That is what for me has been so tricky is that the side effects from Cymbalta are exactly the effects many suffer from Fibromyalgia....but in my case the problems were all Cymbalta related....I just hope I can be helpful to one person who maybe experiencing the same issues. I also do not recommend stopping any medication without consulting your doctor and doing it slowly, I had been off of Cymbalta for a week before I even noticed that I hadn't had my refill and hadn't taken one in about a week....I feel extremely blessed to have not suffered with withdrawl symptons that so many people suffer with....God Bless Thank you so much for listening
mommason64
mommason64
Wow, that sounds like fibrofog and fatigue. I am curious do you have RR MS? Because the symptoms you had sound a lot like they could have been part of an exacerbation of MS. I was tested for MS prior to my Fibro diagnosis, because of the similarities in the symptoms they both share. I had those problems before going on Cymbalta. I have had a great reduction of symptoms with it, I still have issues but they are not as many as before so I am pleased with it for now. Sorry you didn't get better help from it. There are a lot of new medications out there for MS that a lot of people have had good results with I would do some research if your symptoms return there may be something more effective for you. Good luck to you.
puppymom06
puppymom06
I am glad that you have realized you are getting some negative symptoms from this medication and have decided that the negative outweighs the benefit. I have been on this medication at least three different times over the course of eight years. Each time I did receive a good benefit from it for a period of time before experiencing some horrific side effects. Unfortunately, i was advised by a doctor to stop taking this without weaning off. His reasoning was "how bad could the withdrawl be if you are this sick from the medication?" I ended up becoming violent, suicidal, and nearly being committed to an institution by my spouse (other family intervened). I would like to say this was the last time that I took it, but I was also convinced that things only got "that bad" because I was prescribed 1.5 times the max allowed daily dose and then was not weaned off, so I was convinced to take it one more time. That time I actually took vacation the week that I weaned off and things went OK. This medication may benefit many people, but I am not one of them.
songbirdj
songbirdj
Cymbalta sucks! I wasted 5 months on it. Made me more depressed and did nothing for fibromyalgia.
marioncooper1
marioncooper1
I have never been on Cymbalta and refuse to go on it. My understanding is that drs prescribe us medication because they believe the benefits will outweigh the bad. If Cymbalta only helps 30% of users, then, as with all medications, we need to monitor ourselves and have faith that our drs listen.

My meds have been around for decades and most of the side effects are known. At this point I don't feel the need to be a guinea pig for the pharma industry.

I only speak for myself here, There are many medical improvements being made everyday and we all have benefitted from them. But it does not serve us when pharma lies to the drs about the extent of their benefits. How many of us in pain were given oxytocin being told it was not habit forming? It may be a good pain reliever, but we need to be told the truth. Rant over.
larks
larks
I was so sorry to see that Cymbalta did not work for you, but glad you were able to get off it easily and feel better. I have been taking Cymbalta for almost three years, and thank goodness, it helps me tremendously. I was in so much pain before it and it gave me back a lot. Everyone is different. My own Mom cannot take it either and has terrible side effects.
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