Fibromyalgia Support Group
You're not alone in your pain. Fibromyalgia is a condition that can be difficult to diagnose and manage. If you're trying to cope with pain throughout your body, sleep problems, general fatigue, or other common fibromyalgia symptoms, you're in the right place. The community is here for you to talk about therapies and share your challenges.
for a follow up since i got off cymbalta 1.5 moths ago.
we went over my medicine history: effexor gave me tachycardia, cymbalta put my colon to sleep (numbed it), amitryptaline & flexaril made me plain SICK, can't take savella due to it's listed side effects of tachycardia and constipation, Lyrica just plain SCARES me..... must i go on??
did i mention that i'm still having withdrawals from cymbalta?!!! i told them that! guess what the doc said? "well i think we should just go with the natural solutions, EXERCISE and PSYCHOLOGY." WTF? i told him i swim several times a week and i'm still in pain i can't sleep right. he said "well the psychologist teaches COPING skills, so we;ll go with that for now"
basically i just gotta "cope".... i'm stuck this way.
but i did tell them i'm following up with neurology soon and they want to start me on topamax (in junction w/ the gabapentin i'm on). oh i can't wait to see NEUROLOGY! i don't even know why fibro is still treated in the rheumatology dept. they are USELESS!!! at least the neurologist is motivated to help and treat me. they great me with open arms! and ask me how i'm coping and is there anything they can do to help me, etc. anyone else having issues with ignorant docs in the rheumy dept?
you know, there's more treatment than just meds out there that they could be tryin to get me! like water therapy!! i asked about it, and he just sat there and looked at me puzzled. i said i'm waiting to hear about it from my PCM and so far nothing yet! he COULD have said, "hey i'm gonna go check on that and make sure you get water therapy"... something's better than nothing!!!!
anyways.... i'm still having withdrawals, so if any of you want to try cymbalta be very careful. this stuff is one of the worst nightmare-ish meds i've ever been put thru. and if your doc is an ignorant dude/lady then go to another doc. in my case, i'm just gonna forget the whole department and let neurology handle it.
take care y'all and if you have any advice, i'm all ears!
we went over my medicine history: effexor gave me tachycardia, cymbalta put my colon to sleep (numbed it), amitryptaline & flexaril made me plain SICK, can't take savella due to it's listed side effects of tachycardia and constipation, Lyrica just plain SCARES me..... must i go on??
did i mention that i'm still having withdrawals from cymbalta?!!! i told them that! guess what the doc said? "well i think we should just go with the natural solutions, EXERCISE and PSYCHOLOGY." WTF? i told him i swim several times a week and i'm still in pain i can't sleep right. he said "well the psychologist teaches COPING skills, so we;ll go with that for now"
basically i just gotta "cope".... i'm stuck this way.
but i did tell them i'm following up with neurology soon and they want to start me on topamax (in junction w/ the gabapentin i'm on). oh i can't wait to see NEUROLOGY! i don't even know why fibro is still treated in the rheumatology dept. they are USELESS!!! at least the neurologist is motivated to help and treat me. they great me with open arms! and ask me how i'm coping and is there anything they can do to help me, etc. anyone else having issues with ignorant docs in the rheumy dept?
you know, there's more treatment than just meds out there that they could be tryin to get me! like water therapy!! i asked about it, and he just sat there and looked at me puzzled. i said i'm waiting to hear about it from my PCM and so far nothing yet! he COULD have said, "hey i'm gonna go check on that and make sure you get water therapy"... something's better than nothing!!!!
anyways.... i'm still having withdrawals, so if any of you want to try cymbalta be very careful. this stuff is one of the worst nightmare-ish meds i've ever been put thru. and if your doc is an ignorant dude/lady then go to another doc. in my case, i'm just gonna forget the whole department and let neurology handle it.
take care y'all and if you have any advice, i'm all ears!
Lyrica scares me cuz i've seen more people have to get off it than ones that benefit from it. most of em say they get mentally loopy. or get just plain sick. i don't want that, and i['m tired of side effects that make me miserable. some of the side effects i've been thru are just hell, to the point that i'd rather put up with Fibro flares than have the side effects. sad, huh? i wish there were more answers, but there is no magic pill.
I got to be honest I don't think any of them know what this FM is about or what or how bad the pain can get with it. I think there is allot of frustration for us and also those who are trying to treat us and they are unsure of what to do to help.
This is a interesting article on WebMD talking about chronic pain with depression.... short sentence from the article says ...The fact that chronic pain and depression involve the same nerves and neurotransmitters means that antidepressants can be used to improve both chronic pain and depression.
Make sure to click at the bottom of each page think is 3 of them.
http://www.webmd.com/depression/treating-depression-9/managing-pain
Take care gentle hugs
lyrica is also an anti-depressant, just as cymbalta is. but they are meds that help treat pain as well. my neurologist prescribes cymbalta for migraines. and honestly, it's one of the best head ache meds i've ever had. nothing else worked as well, not midrin or oxycodone.
so the cymbalta wasn't prescribed to me for depression, it was for pain. unfortunately, it wrecked havoc on my GI tract. funny thing is, i've been off it this long and my GI tract still hasn't recovered fully. i'm still on ibs meds daily.
anyways, i'm happy for you that lyrica helps you. cool beans!
I was originally prescribed cymbalta for pain, but it has been increased as i am suffering very bad depression now too.
what do you mean by 'put your colon to sleep'?
i had water therady, hydrotherapy, but that really only worked while i was in the water, any beneficial effects wore off after about 30 minutes of coming out of the pool.
Rheumatology have now discharged me, and my neuro doesn't treat my fibro because i have not been additionally referred to him for fibro, only narcolepsy. However it was the neuro that prescribed the Lyrica on the basis that it may help my sleep.
The cymbalta/lyrica combo were not working on the pain, nothing did, until i got the buprenorphine patch, so i do question the benefit of continuing with them.
Can you say more about what the withdrawal symptoms of cymbalta/lyrica are please?
When side effects from Savella started, I called the office and staff referred me to my PCM who had never heard of this med. I also went off of 5 meds (and btw, Zoloft w/d causes brain zaps too!) in order to take this med.
Ended up at Cardiologist who started me on BP meds. That, after Rheum's staff told me to see my "heart dr" after I called to report increased BP & HR. I'm still on half the therapeutic dose of Savella. Pain has returned. I called his office to see where they would send me this time. Lo and behold! Have an appt this morning. I asked for and received an order for PT from my PCM and am in pool therapy. My Rheum is wonderful but his staff acts as a barrier for him. It is frustrating when a dr prescribes but won't be responsible when side effects show up! For that reason alone, I'm considering changing to a neurologist! I'm told that with fibro, we have to find a way to decrease stress. Alrighhhhty then!
dallin,
when i said it put my colon to sleep, i lost the urge (or feeling) that lets you know you have to go. and then my stomach would just bloat up and hurt terribly! i would sit on the toilet and nothing would come out. but then later end up having accidents on my self cuz 1, i didn't know i had to go and 2, couldn't feel anything coming out.
and even if i did sit down to pee and next thing i knew "stuff" was coming out the back side. i couldn't even FEEL it. it was a total nightmare! i didn't know what the hell was goin on.
it's something that happened gradually over time from when i began taking cymbalta. so it started out as just some constipation then it got worse and worse.
as far as the withdrawals symptoms go...
best way to discribe it was the head aches, nausea, dizziness, and pounding in my head. i felt SICK.
and the brain zaps... that's a whole nother story!! i'd have to say that the worse part of the withdrawals were the ZAPS. they were bad, very bad. it felt like someone had pulled back my skull, exposed my brain, and started shocking it with power cords. it would only last a split second but it was so frequent. it would also pulsate my eyeballs and cause my vision to quiver not to mention i would feel the waves of shock go down my arms and feet. it would cause me to almost fall or lose balance. i would have to hold onto something. it was pretty freakin disorienting and annoying. i couldn't even move my eyes side to side with out feeling it.
i hope this helps you understand it.
His offic e even had a couple of decent books educating you about fibro for purchase. ALong with the arthritis books. He asked me about several of the approved meds for fibro of which i HAVE TAKEN CYMBALTA AND WAS ABLE TO TELL HIM THAT MY mental state didnt seem to affect my fibro In other words you can put me on all the mental meds you want but my fibro is left un changed. Also I told him I already strech several times a week and walk as well so that is not something to tell me to try. I think he is going to run a bunch of tests once the bABy is born but until then its back tothe crappy pain specialist...