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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 9 of 9. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by alloftheabove on August 7, 2007, at 9:51:17
Hello everyone,
I just started taking Cymbalta (1 week) 30 mg and will move up to 60 mg today. I have been e-searching into this drug and it seems as if most people have more negative things to say about it than positive. This is a little disheartening since I am swithching for the ubermillionth time in search of that magical pill we are all looking for. I am also taking 300mg Wellbutring xr and weaning off Lexapro. The reason for the switch was weight gain and just not ever feeling quite right. I also take Klonopin at night to help me sleep.
I am so tired of this constant search. This is such a horrid illness. I just can't believe that the pharmaceutical companies haven't found better solutions to this problem with not so many side effects or even worse not any effect at all.
I'd love to know about your experiences with this drug.
Posted by ClearSkies on August 7, 2007, at 12:11:07
In reply to Any Cymbalta experience!!! Pleaaaseee!!!, posted by alloftheabove on August 7, 2007, at 9:51:17
Hi there, and welcome to babble.
I actually had a very positive experience with Cymbalta. I took it for over a year and a half and it controlled my depression and anxiety combination very well. It suddenly pooped out on me :-( and now I'm ramping up to a therapeutic dosage on another AD, Remeron. Funny enough, I miss the anti-anxiety properties almost as much as I miss the antidepressant properties of Cymbalta. I would not have stopped taking it if my body hadn't decided that it wouldn't accept it any longer.
Before Cymbalta I was on Effexor, a similar medication, that also worked well for the depression until it suddenly stopped working.
Did you have any specific questions about Cymbalta that you were looking answers for?ClearSkies
Posted by Racer on August 7, 2007, at 13:11:45
In reply to Any Cymbalta experience!!! Pleaaaseee!!!, posted by alloftheabove on August 7, 2007, at 9:51:17
I took Cymbalta for about a year and a half, and out of all the serotinergic drugs I've taken, it was probably the least offensive in terms of side effects and general crumminess. It was moderately effective as an antidepressant, and didn't cause sexual problems for me. Stopping it, when I did, wasn't a problem, either.
For me, it wasn't the answer. Then again, I have treatment resistant chronic depression, so I'm hardly a good canary for the antidepressant coal mine. I don't have anything negative to say about it, though, which makes it rather unique amongst medications I've tried.
The only problem I had with it was a sort of amotivation/lethargy, but I get that on virtually all antidepressants, especially serotinergic ones. Adding Wellbutrin or Provigil didn't help, so I stopped the Cymbalta. For a baseline, though, Wellbutrin with Concerta still leaves me with that same sort of amotivation/lethargy, so I think we can call that idiopathic, rather than directly drug related. It did improve joint pain a very great deal for me. So much so, I'd consider trying it again.
Good luck with it. While it's a bit on the mild side as an antidepressant, in my experience, it also seems to be very user friendly. I hope you find it to be so, as well. And I hope it works well for you.
Posted by Phillipa on August 7, 2007, at 22:26:30
In reply to Re: Any Cymbalta experience!!! Pleaaaseee!!!, posted by Racer on August 7, 2007, at 13:11:45
First time I took it got up to 60mg and no side effects but no improvement either. I weaned off with no problems and found that it had worked well for pain as now I had back pain. It's for neuropathey too. Good luck. Love Phillipa second time didn't trust the new pdoc so it wasn't a pleasant experience but I believe it was not the cybalta but my horrible relationship with that pdoc.
Posted by simcha on August 8, 2007, at 4:06:15
In reply to Any Cymbalta experience!!! Pleaaaseee!!!, posted by alloftheabove on August 7, 2007, at 9:51:17
> I just started taking Cymbalta (1 week) 30 mg and will move up to 60 mg today. I have been e-searching into this drug and it seems as if most people have more negative things to say about it than positive. This is a little disheartening since I am swithching for the ubermillionth time in search of that magical pill we are all looking for. I am also taking 300mg Wellbutring xr and weaning off Lexapro.<
Yes, it's terrible finding that Cymbalta has so much negative press on the internet. My experience has been positive so far.
I have been taking Cymbalta at 60mg per day for about 8 months now. It seems to be doing the trick for me in maintaining a somewhat euthymic state. I went off of Celexa (predecessor of Lexapro) to get onto Cymbalta. I have been taking 300mg Wellbutrin XL for a couple of years. Also I take 1600mg of Neurontin. This combination seems to work with me.
One thing I do notice with the Cymbalta is that I sweat so much. Sometimes I feel like what my Mother used to describe to me as hot flashes. The sweat would just pour off of me.
Other than that, things seem to be going well...
Simcha
Posted by alloftheabove on August 8, 2007, at 13:24:00
In reply to Re: Any Cymbalta experience!!! Pleaaaseee!!! » alloftheabove, posted by simcha on August 8, 2007, at 4:06:15
Thanks for you reply.
I hope I have as good results as you all did. I guess I am scared because I begin work in a week and I am afraid of any bad side effects or even worse the med not working at all and falling into a downward spiral which I know would take months to get out of.
I have been on Cymbalta for a week at 30mg and will go up to 60mg and I am yet to feel a difference.
Thanks again for your reply.Greetings
Alloftheabove
Posted by LlurpsieNoodle on August 8, 2007, at 15:30:42
In reply to Re: Any Cymbalta experience!!! Pleaaaseee!!!, posted by alloftheabove on August 8, 2007, at 13:24:00
Hi aatabove,
I don't want to scare you, but I had horrible side effects when I started cymbalta did 2 weeks at 30 and they started to go away, and came back when my dose went up to 60.BUT- it was a very effective AD for me. Didn't do crap for my anxiety though. It had some side effects, like it made my heart race at night sometimes and it made me drowsy during the day. I eventually went up to 120 mg and by then the sexual side effects were really bad, so I asked to be taken off of it. You can read my chronicle of cymbalta withdrawal from the month of march 2007 on the /withdrawal/ board. Um. it was a little rough. Again, I had been on high doses for a long time, so take my advice with a grain of salt.
I hope you get anti-depressed soon :)
-Ll
Posted by alloftheabove on August 10, 2007, at 23:39:55
In reply to Re: Any Cymbalta experience!!! Pleaaaseee!!! » alloftheabove, posted by LlurpsieNoodle on August 8, 2007, at 15:30:42
> Hi aatabove,
> I don't want to scare you, but I had horrible side effects when I started cymbalta did 2 weeks at 30 and they started to go away, and came back when my dose went up to 60.
>
> BUT- it was a very effective AD for me. Didn't do crap for my anxiety though. It had some side effects, like it made my heart race at night sometimes and it made me drowsy during the day. I eventually went up to 120 mg and by then the sexual side effects were really bad, so I asked to be taken off of it. You can read my chronicle of cymbalta withdrawal from the month of march 2007 on the /withdrawal/ board. Um. it was a little rough. Again, I had been on high doses for a long time, so take my advice with a grain of salt.
>
> I hope you get anti-depressed soon :)
>
> -Ll
I am noticing some increased anxiety but I always do with ssri's. It usually subsides in a couple weeks. I am however feeling a little better, hopefully it lasts. Thanks for the well wishes.Greetings,
alloftheabove
Posted by barbaracat on August 12, 2007, at 19:59:00
In reply to Re: Any Cymbalta experience!!! Pleaaaseee!!! » alloftheabove, posted by simcha on August 8, 2007, at 4:06:15
I've had great success with Cymbalta, but with a few caveats. First of all, I've been on just about every SSRI SNRI trycyclic, all of them. I'm also bipolar and I HAVE TO TAKE lithium, otherwise the SSRI will escalate me into a mixed state. I'm very sensitive to SSRIs because of the bipolar.
My first experience with 30mg Cym had me just about tripping - way too much at first. I broke open the capsule and starting taking just a few grains at a time by pouring out the contents, wetting my finger and dipping it into the granules. I noticed an effect immediately even on 4 or 5 tiny grains. Others on this board have reported the same thing.
I eventually (2 or more months) worked up to 30mg and thought to try 60mg all at once. I conked out on the couch and stayed there until I figured out it was the Cymbalta. Went back to 30mg and ramped up using the grain method. Now I'm at 60 mg and think I'll stay there for a while.
I also have fibromyalgia and it has helped with the pain tremendously, just like the commercials say. All in all, it's been the best one for me. I can still cry when I need to, laugh when it's funny. I still get anxiety so it's not entirely taking care of that, but I know it's helping, having recently gone off for a few months and then back on again and noticing a huge positive difference.
Hope this helps.
-BarbCat
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