Hi all!
First, Avery- no cold turkey! I know that at times you get impatient with the weaning off process, but you at least have to step down some before going off of a medication completely. It gives your body time to get used to not having as much opiates in your system. Or any med for that matter! And if you go off of a med too quickly, your pain will get worse! This is because your brain stops making as many endogenous, or natural, opiates. It figures, hey- I've got all of these drugs coming in already, why would I expend the energy to make my own? (The brain is lazy!) So if you stop too quickly, you not only cut off the drugs coming in, but your brain isn't making as many of the natural counterpart. So you're not only down the artificial meds, but you're down from your natural levels of neurotransmitters! So the result is increased pain (if we're talking about painkillers) or increased depression (if you cold turkey anti-depressants.)

Also, I'm on a really high dose of Cymbalta too. It's the only anti-depressant that has ever worked for me. I've been through them all! And yeah, the carb cravings make me eat too much. But instead of Lyrica, I'm on topamax. It's a GABA agonist like Lyrica, which means that it increases the levels of the neurotransmitter GABA. (I'm assuming that you have no background in neuro, so if you do and this sounds condescending, I'm sorry! ) But what I have found is that Topamax and Cymbalta are the perfect combo! Topamax suppresses your appetite and Cymbalta increases it. So somewhere in the middle it kind of levels out. Talk to your doctor about it. Neurontin and Zonegran are other GABA agonists, but I have found that they have many more side effects than Topamax. When I was just on Topamax and not Cymbalta, I had to remind myself to eat- I'd set a little alarm on my cell phone! I could literally forget to eat for a whole day.

I just wanted to say that I am so sorry for your loss of your little angel. When I was younger my best friend's little brother died of a brain tumor when he was 10. We also lost his other little brother from leukemia when he was 7. While I can never comprehend what it is like to lose your OWN child, I've got a little window into what it is like, and what it did to the people that I love. If you ever want to talk, just let me know. Also, my degree is in neuroscience and I'm a nursing student, so if you ever need help navigating the technical world of RSD just let me know!

Desi! Yeah fentanyl is a big gun! That's what they put you on during surgery for surgical pain. But all of the opiates are pretty big stuff. But if you use it properly you should be fine. It's just like anything else- the horror stories happen if you misuse it, but if you're responsible with it everything goes fine.
Linnie