Hi from Minnesota
 

I have been on Cymbalta for about 2 years now. I hate taking any type of meds but this is one I will not do without. My life has changed a lot for the better becuse of the pain level being down.

Cymbalta seems to help with the morning stiffness. My Rhuemi put me on neurotin also 3 times a day. That has helped also. But I am still having to take my roxicodone. But the neurotin has enabled me to decrease the amount of roxi I take. Instead of 4 to 6 times a day I only have to take it 2 to 4 times a day. Hugs to all.

I used Cymbalta for awhile with no improvement, but had definite weight gain. Have you tried Lyrica? It's my lifesaver. I've had definite relief.

I've been on Lyrica. It didn't help actually made my feet and legs swell and hurt even more. That's when my Dr put me on the Cymbalta.

I'm on both... I've definitely noticed the weight gain with the Cymbalta :(
I' was given that for mental health problems rather than MS however, although my psychuatrist did say it might help with the pain.

I haven't noticed any weight gain. I've actually been losing but that is probably from my throid medicine which is probably countering the cymbalta.

I tried Cymbalta (30 mg 1x a day) for just a few days and it really helped w/ the stiffness, weakness & pain. However, I couldn't cope with the nausea, dizziness & loss of balance. I did not leave my apt for fear of losing my balance & fracturing a bone.

I've since learned that it comes in 20 mg. doses and I am considering asking him to start me on that and then titrate up to 60 mg. pd. I began having FMS symptoms just before I was dx'd w/ cancer -- 10 years ago -- and it worsened during & after chemotherapy. The most common diagnoses I was given were that I had peripheral neuropathy from the chemo & maybe some kind of undifferentiated autoimmune thing. EMGs, MRIs, etc. came back negative. It has taken me about 8 years to get a "sort of" dx of FMS. As have most people on this forum, I've tried all kinds of medications (neurontin, elavil, celexa, welbutrin, valium, you name it). None has helped nearly as much as Cymbalta.

I've heard that the nausea & dizziness disappear after 2 weeks or so. I'd love to hear of others' experiences w/ Cymbalta.

Antonina~ The nausea and dizziness did go away after about a week or 2. My prob with cymbalta is that I have massive amounts of hair loss in the shower everyday. I feel like I am going bald. I have a lot of hair but when you rinse and get about 5 each time you wash your hair you tend to either want to stop taking it or not wash your hair. Now I will tell you the combination of the neurotin and my pain meds is wonderful. With the neurotin, instead of taking 4 to 6 pills 30mg of Roxicodone a day, I ususally only have to take 2 to 4. Pills are pills no matter how you slice it and I hate taking them. Good luck to you and we are always here to talk and listen when you need. Gentle hugs to you and everyone else.
:hug::hug::grouphug::grouphug:

OMG! My hair has gone from bushy to seriously thinning ever since menopause (many moons ago) so the last thing I would want to take is something which worsens it. Thanks for the info. I'll bet the rx insert would omit that particular unpleasant side effect. Yikes!!

I took neurontin for about a year and as I mentioned, it did little for me. Does the Roxicodone have any brain fog connected with it?

Antonina~no I don't notice a brain fog. It does make me sleepy. It does come in 15mgs and I've been on it for a while, so they upped it cause I was having to take to many of the 15s. When I first started several years ago, I would take 1/2 of the 15 and it would knock the pain out or at least make it annoying and bearable. It never goes away. I haven't found that miracle pain pill yet...but I'm hoping. ;) :D:D:D:D