Hi everyone,

I have finally allowed myself to go back on meds, give them another whirl.

My doctor gave me Cymbalta after telling him how my nerves are shot, I have several panic attacks a day and I'm severly depressed pretty much ALL the time. He said that this "new" drug (how new is it??) has been getting great reviews, has lower side effects and works much quicker than other anti-d's. He said this drug should help with BOTH my depression and anxiety, therefore, he didn't give me anything else. My anxiety is extremely strong, I am a severe worrywort so I'm not too optimistic that this will help in that area - but I'm willing to give it a good try.

By any chance is there anyone on this drug? Can anyone tell me more about it? I went to its website, but I really need to hear feedback from ppl who have taken it.

I just started today. 30mg a day for 1 week then up to 60mg a day. I go back to see my doc in a month. I'm anxious but hopeful.

Any info or support would be WONDERFUL! I have avoided taking meds for the last 3 years. It's definitely time to get over it my fears and embarassment and try again. I've been struggling too long to not try to find the right drug.

Thank you so much.

Anyone have experience with Cymbalta?

:confused:

hi i have taken cymbalta my doc too was excited about telling me it will help my depression and chronic pain i gave it a fair shot and took it for two months, sorry to tell you this but my depression got worse, it did nothing for my pain, i actually became suicidal which has never happened to me once i realized it was the med making me sucidial i immediately stopped taking it, the good thing is i had no withdrawls even stopping c/t. but remember everyone is different it may work great for you so go into it with a good attitude and mabey good things will happen for you. please don't be embarassed by taking medication everyone is different some of us need medicine to be able to function and we shouldn't be looked down upon because of that and neither should you, mabey just don't tell anyone about it, it isn't any of their business anyway, it is your body and you know what is best for your body. good luck to you and i hope it helps you.

I've been on Cymbalta for over three months now. When I tapered off Celexa I immediately went back to a severely depressed state, but it was causing weight gain and that was a big deal for me. Cymbalta is much like Effexor, its an SSNRI. I believe it was approved by the FDA on August 2004, so its pretty new. Its also used for Fibromyalgia and some other conditions. After starting Cymbalta, about a week or two later I didn't feel as depressed but my depression is still very prevalent. In other words, it relieved the symptoms of depression but didn't completely eliminate it. I've been able to be a bit more functional after going on the medication but I still feel depressed on a daily basis, just not as depressed. As far as side effects are concerned, when I started the med my appetite decreased a bit, it was like I wanted to vomit when I encoutered food, but that later disapeared (unfortunantly). During my sleep I usually sweat a lot, which happened on the Effexor as well, its sort of annoying, but I'm sure you can live with it. It hasn't caused weight gain, which is great, but neither did Effexor, so I was expecting the same. I do suffer from fatigue and some drowsiness, but I don't think its due to the medication (but who knows), I've had this problem even before starting Cymbalta and even when on 400mg of Provigil, now I'm on 40mg of Ritalin and its not as bad. I sleep 8 hours but I feel exhausted throughout the day without the Ritalin. Go figure. Anyway, all in all, I think this medication has helped me, but unfortunantly, the effects were not dramatic and I'm hoping to try something else. Throughout my experience with Cymbalta I have felt very numb and in a few cases suicidal. Don't be afraid though, we're all unique when it comes to medications. I was afraid to try out this drug because it was fairly new, but so far there haven't been serious side effects. I'd give it a go, some people have had a good experience with it. Good luck and I hope this was informative!

Damian

hello,
i have been on cymbalta for 3 months and its working great for me. i have even lost about 12 lbs. on it b/c it seem to curve my appitate. whooo! :bouncing: sure needed to loose weight but more would be great! :) anywaz, i have severe pms and so far i havent had any symptoms... and i dont wanna sllep all the time and i do have energy. my sleeping patterns are getting better, im finally starting to sleep most of the night. whooo! :p but i cant seem to sleep late in the morings on the weekends. :eek: oh well! i know the side efeects are horrible at first but give it time and they will get better. i had dry mouth badly, and still do and carry a drink everywhere i go! lol! at first i got no sleep and loads of energy and i felt very strange, hard to explain like in a fuzzy world or something. :confused: but it gets better. so i would say to anyone, never hurts to try, esp. if u have tried every depression med. out there. hope it helps!

Thank you SO much for the replies.

I have now been on the 30mg for a week, and then upped to 60mg for a week.

I have the same side effects mentioned... Horrible dry mouth - that's probably the worst effect so far. No matter how much water I drink, it doesn't go away. Eck.

Secondly, I get hot very easily and sweat more, especially at night/when sleeping.

Third thing that seems to have increased is my fatigue/day sleepiness. I know my depression caused that anyway, but since being on Cymbalta it has increased where I almost doze off sitting up in a chair - that has never happened before.

Oh, and with the weight loss... I have lost two lbs! After I eat, I almost feel like I'm going to throw it all up. The thought of eating sometimes makes me nauseous too. That's strange, but super 'cos I have to lose weight. I just want THAT side effect to last and the dry mouth/sweating/tiredness to go away, lol. So, actually, I sound very much like you all who replied. Sorry mjbbt that it made you worse. I know some drugs can do that to some ppl. Good luck with finding the right one.

So far, so good. Depression not gone (don't think it can be 100%) but it has weakened where it's a tad bit easier to face the days. My fingers crossed that it will get even easier. I haven't cried since I've been on it, so that's good. It almost feels like it'd be hard to cry. Odd. I had that reaction when on Zoloft too.

I'm going to hang in and see how it goes. I go back the my doc the first week of June. I may still ask for anxiety meds, we'll see. I still panic but it's not as bad. Still bothersome though.

Thank you again for the encouragment and feedback - it's greatly appreciated.

i have been on the cymbalta for 3 weeks. Was taking effexor but that didn;t seem to be doing the job. The 30 mg cymb gave me really painful gas (like after surgical anesthesia, if you know what thiat is like) but that got better a]fter about 10 days. Now I have been on 60m for 3 days and .............I don;t know for sure.............The stomach problems have not been bad, but I can;t hardly stay awake at work sometimes. When I am up and moving it is okay, but I have to sit and do paperwork in an office by myself part of the night, and boy! I can barely keep my eyes open. And that was aftertaking caffeinne tabs. But............I was still very depressed/sucidal yesterday, but definitely in a better mood today. So hopefully it will be worth the side effects and they will get better. Hope this helps you.

runnercb, I know how you're feeling. I'm the same way at work. And I have bene drinking an unusually large amount (for me) of coffee lately and it hardly helps.

I suppose this will eventually pass for us. I haven't had painful gas (sorry to hear, hope it gets better soon) but have had more gas than usual and I am not having bowel movements as often as I normally do. I don't know if it's a coincedence or if it's the med.

I wanted to ask... Is 60mg a day the normal dosage or will he increase it more?

Those of you just starting out on Cymbalta, I'd love to keep in touch here...... note our progress, etc. Anyone already on it for a while or on it in the past, I could use your input as well. I could really use the support. Thanks...

I was on it for about 6 months and the fatigue never went away so I had to go off it. :yawn:

It has a very short half life so it gets into your system fast and leaves fast so be careful how you taper it off if it does not work for you. I had a bit of trouble getting off of it.

I know others who think it is great .......... :bouncing:

Good Luck !