What drugs can we use for pain caused by damaged or compressed nerves? I have tried Neurontin and Topamax. Neurontin caused weight gain so I stopped it. I just ate and ate...It did stop the pain though...Just cannot control what goes into the mouth....so cannot take it. My insurance company will not allow Lyrica...I think I am having problems with my eyes from the Topamax and am not certain it works alone, but might ask if I can combine it with the Neurontin to determine if it might curb the hunger, though I notice I get heart palpatations when I combine both drugs together at low doses...Anyone else experience this?

GJZH,

I have a compressed spinal cord in my neck which causes pain and tingling down both arms and into all fingers and thumbs.

I have neuropathy in my fingers/toes, hands/feet, forearms/lower legs from a blood condition. Numbness, loss of strength, loss of muscle mass, PAIN.

I also have fibromyalgia.

My son says if I were a horse they'd shoot me Good thing I'm a !!

I've found that both Duloxetine (Cymbalta) and Effexor XR work to pretty much stop the majority of the pain.

I could not open jars at all before I started taking the Cymbalta. Even if I hit them with a hammer beforehand. I can open brand new jars without pre-striking which means, I've gotten a lot of strength back -- especially in my left hand.

I stopped taking the Cymbalta when I left the clinical trial. I'm now taking Effexor SR. That's only because the Cymbalta was not available yet when I started taking this class of drugs.

For me, the Cymbalta worked faster -- full effect in one week. The Effexor XR took a full month to kick in.

The Effexor XR throws me into nasty withdrawals if I stop taking it for a week -- lousy transportation combined with snow sometimes makes it difficult to get to the pharmacy. I keep telling myself, I need to get my prescriptions mailed.

I could NOT tolerate the pain level before I started taking these drugs. The only other pain reliever I use is 800 mg Ibuprofen 1-3 times a day for the arthritis in my spine. I also get ESIs periodically in my neck and lumbar. I don't like them because they turn me into *THE* STEROID WITCH.

Barb

Barb,

My insurance company would not pay for the Cymbalta, but I would like to try it. I think my doc has to call it in or request it or something....

GJZH,

As far as I know, the Cymbalta and the Effexor XR are the only two drugs in that class (SSNI—selective norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor). They're similar to Prozac (SSRI—selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor) but work on different brain receptors.

5 or 6 years ago when I was taking Prozac, Medicaid changed me over to the generic prozac. I had a really bad reaction to it. I didn't know at the time that I could appeal the denial in light of the reaction. So, I cold-turkied it -- still paying for that decision.

Talk to your doctor and see if he/she believes that this class of drugs might help you. If he/she does think so, he/she KNOWS how to write the request so that it won't be denied again by the insurance company.That's what doctors do for a living -- learn how to write convincingly. It'd be a real shame if this class of drugs might bring you some relief and you're denied just because of bean-counting.

Good luck. I know how much that type of pain hurts. I hope you get some relief so you can get your life back.

Hugs.

Barb

Oddly enough, Effexor does nothing for the tingling, pain and other nasties in my feet. Course I was only taking 75mg. I'm currently in the weaning off process.

I've heard about Cymbalta for this kind of pain. What was your experience with the sides?

I was taking gabapentin for the symptoms. 600mg a day about an hour or so before bedtime. It turned me into a bloated zombie with suicidal thoughts. Not a good place to be.

For me, the Effexor XR and the Cymbalta worked exactly the same. The only difference that I found was that the Cymbalta started relieving the pain in one week as opposed to four weeks.

Come to think of it, when I stopped the clinical trial after about six months, I did not ramp down off of the Cymbalta and I did not get the MAJOR WITHDRAWAL that I get when I miss 7 days of Effexor XR doses.

In my body, in my experience, if one of these drugs worked/did not work, you'll have the same experience with the other drug. Although, when I was trying to find an NSAID that I could tolerate on my pathetic stomach, most of the other ones kicked me to the curb, while the Ibuprofen only 'bothered' me.

Because of the fillers and actual commitment to standards by the drug companies, you might see a difference. In my experience, the only time that differences between examples of one class of drugs have been really noticeable has been between generic and non-generic.

I didn't really have any side effects at all, other than dry mouth, from Cymbalta. Since it seems to kick in so quickly, it might be worth your while to give a try.

Good luck. I know how much this type of pain destroys your life. I hope you find a solution.

Barb

Effexor puts on weight too . as well as Neurontin , Lyrica . Cymbalta made me nuts so had to quit that one . I am now on Keppra and have been 1 yr .Seems to be working well . There is always Tegretol . Ameritriptiline also puts on weight.

I have experienced chest pain from increasing Neurontin too quickly.

Hope you have a nice day.

I will keep this in mind when increasing the Neurontin....I was thinking of taking the Topamax at night and the Neurontin during the day....

I wanted to add... I got chest pains when I increased the Neurontin by 300mg every 3 days, but I then switched to increasing it by 300mg every 7 days and it worked better! Some people, however, are fine increasing it faster (I'm not one of them ).

I haven't experienced any extra weight gain from the Neurontin, and I tolerate it well (other than the chest pain experience), and I am now taking 2700mg each day.