Darlene Epp Posted July 6, 2014 Report Share Posted July 6, 2014 If a Dr. Tries to give you a Rx for Cymbalta, run as fast as you can in the other direction! The supposed relief from this med is FAR worse than the FM Syndrome. Coming off of It is even worse!!! Fair warning! Read what the side effects are and also research the withdrawal symptoms. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sheagatzi Posted July 6, 2014 Report Share Posted July 6, 2014 :-( I'm sorry you had a hard time on and going off the medication. I'm always sick when I see the pharma commercials on tv for whatever drug they are promoting - and then the list of side effects that they say... it is crazy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darlene Epp Posted July 6, 2014 Author Report Share Posted July 6, 2014 What makes me really angry is that I asked about side effects. He said there weren't any. Stupid me, I believed him. I went to the Dr. for knee pain, and of course he knows that I have FM, but haven't taken any Rx for years. So I thought it was for the osteo-arthritis pain in my knee. Why he prescribed a strong anti depressant is beyond me! I was NOT depressed before but sure am now. Along with every other side effect except the rash and seizures, at least so far. A month ago I went back to the Dr. because the pain in my knee was worse. He doubled the Cymbalta! I am just now finding out WHY I'm sweating and dizzy, have horrendous headaches, trembling hands, extreme fatigue and the list goes on. My freehand quilting looked like a beginner did it! I haven't been able to quilt for several weeks now and have 7 custom quilts waiting to be done. One is almost finished and there it sits. To say I'm hoppin' mad would mean I'd have to have enough energy to actually hop. I can barely get out of bed without feeling like I'm going to pass out. This Dr. is going to get a tongue lashing when I can get a deep breath. Oh yeah. That's another side effect, shortness of breath. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sewingpup Posted July 6, 2014 Report Share Posted July 6, 2014 Hi....tongue in cheek here....but I figger the reason Docs prescribe anti-depressants to fibromyalgia suffers is to take their minds off of the chronic pain as the side effects from the drugs are worse...you know...kinda like treating a toothache by stumping on your foot.....I never had any luck with the ones they tried for my fibro...I dunno...I have heard of a few folks who it seems to work for.....but it seems far more have side effects that are pretty intolerable. and I have had Docs tell me there are no side effects too....go figure that one out....I try to manage mine as far as possible with a heated therapy pool and gentle exercise which does help...haven't been able to do that for a bit because I need to keep a splint on my finger and they will be redoing the pool sometime in July....so hopefully I will get some pool time in July and be back to my routine by August....oh....and I hope you are tapering off the Cymbata as per directions as going suddenly off those anti-depressants is not a good idea.....it does take a while.....oh...and I do have some depression but I just tell my docs now...that I can deal with my depression far better then with the side effects of the meds.....I am not a good patient from the docs point of view....but American docs seem to be trained mostly on giving drugs and not on other techniques to treat illnesses...oh dear...I am on a rant here.....but know you aren't alone with dealing with this type of issue with Docs....Lin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GMALKB Posted July 6, 2014 Report Share Posted July 6, 2014 I hate most of the ads on TV for RX things...........they tell you to take this or that and then talk really fast listing the numerous side effects, but then tell you to take it anyway. Too many people get sucked in wiith those ads and then maybe an unscrupulous MD will take advantage or gets a kick back from the RX company. Thanks for the warning Darlene. Hope you are feeling better sooner than later............... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RitaR Posted July 6, 2014 Report Share Posted July 6, 2014 One med I was given and had me living in a fog, and I didn't even know it, is Lomatrigine.. I was told to expect good things to happen for a very long time, when I quit using it.. Thank the Good Lord, my new Dr. didn't renew the prescription. Some of the meds hafe frightening side affects, and I need them to stay alive. Beware of the Lomatrigine. So many of the side affects, were most of the bad things that it gave me. It's a wicked med. I don't know anything about fibromyalgia beyond knowing its dibiltating, and quite painful.. so lets all pray for a med that will help stave off the effects of the disease. Sewing Pup, you are right, these Dr.s are trained and taught how to prescribe, not how to fix.. I'm lucky in that my Dr;s all look for things or ways something can be done to minimize or get rid of the pain. Praying for peace, Rita. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LisaC Posted July 6, 2014 Report Share Posted July 6, 2014 I had first hand experience with this horrible drug that was prescribed to my elderly mother for pain relief for neuropathy in her feet and to help with mild depression. Her home health nurse called her doc and he prescribed over the phone 25mg on her recommendation! Right after she started having some simple hallucinations like my daughter coming home from college and visiting; she believed these 100%. (I didn't put 2+2 together at this time) The nurse didn't think it was doing its job so they doubled her dose. She started having evil hallucinations nightly about people trying to kill her; being stuck in a time bomb; all kinds of bad stuff. Mom was entered into skilled nursing for other medical reasons just after; none of the staff knew any different and thought she had dementia. I kept telling them THIS IS NOT MY MOM! I finally researched Cymbalta on my own and found very little except blogs from other people experiencing the very same thing. I talked with her new doctor at the skilled nursing facility and he titrated her off the drug and she got normal again after many, many weeks. She remembered every one of those hallucinations and felt so bad for the things she did to the nurses. She accused them of all kinds of evil as well. I felt so strongly about this drug I reported Cymbalta on the FDA website. My doctor said she would never have prescribed a new drug like that to an elderly person as the elderly have so many more side effects than younger adults. I agree with you, Darlene!!! RUN from this drug; if there are any other prescriptions you can take instead, do so! I am so sorry you experienced this. God Bless you, Darlene! Hang in there! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anniemueller Posted July 6, 2014 Report Share Posted July 6, 2014 Oh Darlene. I am so sorry that you went through that ordeal. I hope you are feeling better now and find a better solution for the pain. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mamu Posted July 6, 2014 Report Share Posted July 6, 2014 I use doTerra Essential oils...and yes I was a huge skeptic about these 'snake oils' until I tried them and they started working for me, my husband, my pets and even my horses! I only use doTerra because they do THREE tests on every batch of oil for purity and if one batch does not pass the testing then it is rejected. If I am going to pay for 100% pure then I want to make sure that is exactly what I am getting. Most of the 'health food store' oils claim purity, but I found out that all they have to have is 3% of the plant oil in it and then they fill with whatever and their plants can have pesticides and other contaminants. Since essential oils are not regulated by FDA, they can claim purity when they are not 100% pure. DoTerra is the only oil on the market that does testing to make sure their oils are pure. We take them topically, internally and aromatically. I am constantly surprised at how well they work. http://www.mydoterra.com/laurarosenwald/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sewingpup Posted July 6, 2014 Report Share Posted July 6, 2014 hummmmm....essential oils....maybe that is why for the last 3 years I have bought a chocolate mint plant and planted it in a big planter on my deck....I just love smelling it while I am out there....I wished it tasted as chocolately as it smells! I will maybe have to try making an oil out of it so I can enjoy it's smell during the winter...I have a herbal book around here somewhere that describes how to do this although I don't know if I can get the 100% oil made at home...the book describes how to get different concentrations of the actual oil if I recall right....I am going to have to go search it out....as if I don't have enough UFO's now! Lin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darlene Epp Posted July 6, 2014 Author Report Share Posted July 6, 2014 I am just starting the withdrawal from this nightmare drug! Tried for 2 days to go cold turkey but I got worse very quickly. Finally followed the advice of many on the health boards and will wean off of it gradually. I took one at 8 last night and the dizziness was better in 20 minutes. Someone likened this drug to trying to get off of heroin! I now have a very small inkling of how drug addicts feel and why they go back to the drug that made them Ill in the first place. This stuff does a real number on your brain! And to be honest, I can hardly wait for 8 pm to take another one, although I didn't get to sleep until close to 4 am. I'm going to take one a day (down from 2) for a week and then try to take one every other day for a week, and so on. WHY the Dr. just assumed I had FM pain and depression instead of knee pain, I have no idea, but I am sure going to ask him for an explanation! I have dealt with the FM pain and brain fog for years with herbal products, which did NOT have ugly side effects. Right now I'm up 15 lbs since starting Cymbalta, even tho' I'm just not hungry and am eating less than half of what I would normally eat. This is another stated side effect: loss of appetite and weight gain! My sister gained 25 lbs in a month before she weaned herself off of it. I just wish she had told me about her experience with it before! BTW, we have the same Dr. We like him very much, but he's now beginning the process of retirement and I think he bought the bill of goods the drug company salesman sold him without researching it for himself! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joyce Posted July 7, 2014 Report Share Posted July 7, 2014 I took cymbalta a few years ago and decided to get off of it. To this day my brain still sizzles. never again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quilting Heidi Posted July 7, 2014 Report Share Posted July 7, 2014 Darlene I'm sorry you are having such a bad reaction to Cymbalta. MIL is on this and has been for a couple of years now and has no side affects at all, in fact is nicer than usual No plans what so ever to ever take her off of them She was however depressed when they prescribed them. I sure hope you feel better soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bonnie H Posted July 7, 2014 Report Share Posted July 7, 2014 It seems criminal to tell someone there are no side effects to such awful drugs!! I hope you feel better soon. Sometimes I hear of cases where someone has been involved in a murder-type crime and is on a certain medication, and it makes me think, wow, some of these drugs are REALLY bad and I do believe for some people it would be easy to commit an horrendous crime while on them or coming off them! I had to take gabapentin (Neurontin) about 7 years ago for a large herniated disc in my neck -- the nerve pain was awful and the gabapentin helped block the pain, but oh boy, coming off the medication wasn't fun. I ended up locking myself in the bedroom for a week because I couldn't trust myself to be nice to my husband and kids. I felt like my brain function was going crazy and was no longer mine! Do they have Euflexxa, Synvisc, Hyalgan, Supartz or those kinds of injections for your knees in Canada? I've been doing the series of Euflexxa every six months and it's been helping my knees glide a little easier. They are kind of expensive here, about $500 an injection, and normally are given in a series of three over a three week period. But it might be worth looking into for your knee arthritis. I usually don't like to take any kind of anti-inflammatories but am finding Aleve to be helpful for my arthritis on bad days. I hope they can find something that works for you soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HeidiP Posted July 7, 2014 Report Share Posted July 7, 2014 Darlene, I am so sorry you are having all these negative side effects and I'll be praying for you. Helped detox my mom four times. It's hard for everyone involved, especially the patient! She "tested" too many drugs. It's just wrong for a physician to not be totally honest with a patient when prescribing medications. More often they need to take the time, explain the +/- and let the patient decide if they want to take it. The pharmacy rep. brings lunch to the office so he can present the drug he's promoting and the doctors short prescribing it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darlene Epp Posted July 7, 2014 Author Report Share Posted July 7, 2014 Thank you all so much for your responses and prayers. They mean a lot! I'm on day 3 of the weaning process and not enjoying it one bit. I'm taking one capsule 2 hours earlier every day until I can get back to the original time of 10 am. I feel so much better after just 20 minutes that I'm actually able to get a few things done and put a complete sentence together when speaking. (You have no idea how long it takes me to type these notes and then go over and over them, correcting grammar and spelling!) Heidi M: If your MIL is nicer to you than she was before taking Cymbalta, I'm very thankful! Yes, keep her on it! LOL Heidi P: I'm so sorry you've had to go through this with your dear Mom! I believe that many of the problems with the elderly that are in Care Homes is the over medication of them. It's just easier to keep them doped up. So sad. Laura:Thank you for the info on the oils. I so completely believe in "alternate" medicine. Reflexology is helping my knee more than anything else! It really is amazing what she can do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
appr216 Posted July 7, 2014 Report Share Posted July 7, 2014 So sorry you are having problems with your meds. Don't blame you for getting off of them. I worked with a lady whose husband was a drug rep. She always told anyone that would listen to not take meds, not even aspirin! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IBQLTN2 Posted July 8, 2014 Report Share Posted July 8, 2014 WOW, This is scary stuff. My sister also had a problem with Cymbalta, it was given to her in the hospital when she had severe back pain. They also said FM not sure if this is what she has or not, but she actually was so out of it that she tried to cut her wrists with an aluminum soda can flip top. She didn't know what she was doing but was severely depressed to say the least. They got her off it pretty quickly once that happened, for sure!! Now she is on a different med but she is still having weird dreams/hallucinations, basically a zombie! I feel the side effects of the meds are usually worse than the original problem whatever it may be. I don't take meds unless it is 100% necessary. I will suffer thru the pain first! I hope you are getting back to your old self Darlene even if it means putting up with some knee pain!! Take care and thanks for sharing, you may save someone from the same misadventure!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darlene Epp Posted July 10, 2014 Author Report Share Posted July 10, 2014 Day 4 of withdrawal. I'm happy to report that I haven't needed to take another pill since noon yesterday. This evening I was feeling "almost" normal, except for some shortness of breath and the ongoing "hot flashes". I even walked my pup around the block tonight. (It's a small block!) Considering that I could hardly get out of bed for the last few weeks, that feels like a huge accomplishment! I see my Dr. tomorrow so it will be interesting to hear what he has to say. I've done more reading online, and found a lot of people that have had significant pain relief with Cymbalta, but as one lady said, it should never be given to someone who is NOT depressed! Many also felt that the side effects far outweighed the benefits and that over the counter pain meds were just as effective. I feel that most of the time, "less is more". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anne from Guam Posted July 10, 2014 Report Share Posted July 10, 2014 Hi Darlene! I hope you feel better soon. When you mentioned brain fog, I thought of wheat. Try removing all forms of wheat and white flour from your diet for one week. Try eating wheat again, if you get more brain fog it could be the wheat. I have the following problems when I choose to eat wheat : foot pain and stiffness , bleeding gums, drowsiness, hot flashes and weight gain. Check out wheatbellyblog.com there are other problems associated with wheat as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimerickson Posted July 10, 2014 Report Share Posted July 10, 2014 I'm becoming more and more hard of hearing. As a result, I've begun turning on the closed caption feature of my TV. It is amazing how much more attention attracting the cautions about side effects mentioned in the drug adds becomes when it is printed out on the TV screen. Makes me want to avoid all pharmaceuticals. If an add interests you, turn on the closed caption and see if the cautions are as unimportant as the add tries to portray them when the're printed out in bold print across your screen. Jim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sheri Butler Posted July 10, 2014 Report Share Posted July 10, 2014 Darlene, Im so sorry. I didn't know you had Fibromyalgia too. Jackie Lathem, and I both have it. NOT fun, is it girl?! I got off Celebrex about 8 yrs ago. BEST thing I EVER did. I did do triggerpoint injections, and it helped. I've been med free other than those injections for 8 yrs. I just live with the pain, or on occasions, usually the dead of winter, im hurting so damn bad, I will about 4-5 times thru the winter, take a pain pill. Other than that, im curled up in my chair all day and night. Im SERIOUSLY waiting (which will probably be after I die) for Nebraska to allow the medicinal marijuana to be sold here. I'm hearing ALL positive about its pain masking abilities. They draw a certain "oil"/extract out of the plant, and its just the portion that relieves pain. NO other side affects. NO highs...no munchies..etc. I WILL be the first in line, if it ever comes here to NEBRASKA! Soft hugs, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bernina2 Posted September 21, 2014 Report Share Posted September 21, 2014 Do some research on supplements. I refuse to take prescription drugs because of the side affects. I also have fibromyalgia, and take Magnesium. Prescribed by a environmental doctor that does not prescribe harmful meds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LindaSteller Posted September 21, 2014 Report Share Posted September 21, 2014 This drug does have its place in the grand scheme of things. When I was first recovering from a three-level spinal fusion, it was the only thing that would stop the convulsions in my legs and the searing pain running down both of them. I only took it for a few weeks and decided not to take it as I got stronger. I've had major flares of the sciatica a few times over the six years since surgery and have had to take it again, but only for about a week at a time, until the pain subsided. Sorry to hear it caused you so much damage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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