Posted by med_empowered on April 18, 2005, at 21:24:36
In reply to lower dose Cymbalta, posted by jessers11581 on April 18, 2005, at 20:02:12
Hey! In Lilly's studies, 60mgs somehow turned out to be **the** dose they recommend. Lower doses didn't have the same risk:benefits ratio, higher one's didn't have significantly more benefits but did carry more risks (typical AD stuff plus the blood pressure problem) so 60mgs is now the recommended dose. Plus, its kinda cool to have dosing that easy with an AD...you know, flat, one-dose-fits-all. But, of course, one-dose does not fit all...if you're elderly, a lower dose should (one would think) do the trick. If you're taking a tricyclic anti-depressant, you may need lower doses of one or both anti-depressants. So on and so forth...if you're on a lot of other meds, www.cymbalta.com has a link to the study summary. Personally, I'm on the other end of the spectrum...my shrink recommends 90mgs on the theory that even if it doesn't help depression, it does help concentration. Riiiiight. So far, I'm not impressed. Anyway, here's my take on the situation: we all need to listen to our bodies and our minds when dealing with any meds, but especially psychiatric ones...you really do only get 1 brain, so be good to it. If 30mgs/day works for you with no particularly bad side effects, it may very well keep on working, stop working, work less well, or cause side effects down the road. That's not just w/ cymbalta; that's with every anti-depressant or other psychoactive med there is. The best advice I've heard is "start low, go slow"...remember also that your doctor is treating your problems, but you set the goals of treatment. Your goal is to feel better, not to take 60mgs cymbalta a day. Your doctor thinks you need 60mgs to feel better; you feel better on 30. I think you should win out on this one. Personally though, I'd do this, both because I love to play with my shrinks, and b/c I'm incredibly thrifty: tell your doctor you want to do the 60mg/day thing, but that you want to introduce it gradually and maybe break up the dose to reduce side effects. He/she might moan and groan, but if you're convincing enough you should get an RX for 60 30mg tablets for the month, instead of 30. If you stay at the 30mg/day dose, that's 2 months in one, which basically cuts your co-pay in half. Just a thought. (I admit to doing stuff like this). Good luck!
poster:med_empowered
thread:486180
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20050418/msgs/486216.html