Need advice about whether to try Cymbalta

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SKZ

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Hi everyone,
I have ben a long term poster on the neck board, but now I am moving to this board because of back issues. I had a neck fusion in Jan. 07 at C5-C7. It helped a lot, but I am still stiff as a board in the upper back and neck. NOW I am stiff as a board in the lower back too. I call myself THE CARDBOARD CUT-OUT lady.:jester: Anyway........ I fell in 2001 and have Sacroiliac Joint Dysfunction. As i got older (I am 52) that has gotten worse and worse. I am seeing a pelvic PT and I cant seem to progress because my lower back is now a big issue, too. I just had an MRI and I have spinal stenosis and arthritis, and bulging disks at L3-4, L4-5, and L5-S1. I had one set of steroid injections (before the MRI) at L5-S1 and the right SI joint, about 5 weeks ago. They helped a little. I like to say it was the difference between being in excruciating pain and bad pain. Now that my MRI was read, this coming Wed. I am getting more steroid injections in the facet joints and the SI Joint. This isnt an epidural, (either were the last ones)just those fluroscope guided injections. A couple of questions, please:
1) My physiatrist is kind of poo pooing the stenosis stuff and focusing more on the SI Joint. He only wanted to inject the SI Joint, but I wanted more facet injections. He made light of the bulges and the stenosis, because I suppose many people of my age have this with no pain. After all, I am no spring chicken. heh.Maybe he just wants to see how much of my pain is from the SI joint? I am not having leg pain (yet). Just some annoying butt pain. When I walk it hurts so much, (I kinda limp) that I cant walk or stand for any length of time. I walked about a half a mile last week and I had to really pay the price for that later. I cant substitute teach now because i cant stand even a half a day to do it.
2) I am a really upbeat person by nature. But I have had so many health problems for 15 yrs. straight (oy dont ask). This year alone I was in the hospital 3 times for gallstone removal, even though my gallbladder was removed in 2002. I also have chronic sinusitis and a lot of surgeries up the wazoo. My physiatrist suggests trying CYrabALTA. I am afraid that I will feel totally weird on it like I did when I tried Paxil (which I hated). I also tried an anti-depressant when my neck was a really bad. I forgot the name, but it made me feel even worse. I have a lot of anxiety from the health stuff, which is leading to a little depression. Not horrible...more anxiety issues than depression. (although I dont feel like jumping up anjd kicking my heels a whole lot).Valium helps the tight muscles and the anxiety, but forget that long term....its so addictive (unfortunately).
CAN THOSE PEOPLE WHO HAVE TAKEN CYrabALTA TELL ME WHAT I MIGHT BE IN FOR, IF I TRY IT??????????
Will I gain weight? I already am 25 lbs. overweight at 5'2".
THANKS YOU GUYS!
 
I took Cyrabalta for two weeks last year. The first week I was fine. The second week, my liver enzymes skyrocketed, and I lost my memory for basically that whole week. Had to ask my husband where we were going when we were on the way to the hospital for testing. I didn't know who was sick, or with what. it was me! I wouldn't recommend this drug after my experience. They did attribute the liver enzymes issue and the short term amnesia to the Cyrabalta. Hope this helps!
 
Hi SKZ, and welcome to our little corner of healtrabroadoarRAB!

I started on Cyrabalta in February, much for the same reason you're thinking of it. Years ago I tried several different anti-depressants for this same thing, chronic wearing pain, and had very weird side effects. Paxil was one of 4 or 5 that I tried. I was not well monitored by my lousy doctor at that time and have since switched doctors. I had horrible side effects, including dry mouth, dizziness so bad that I almost fell going down the steps in my own house a nuraber of times, etc, etc, but the straw that broke the camel's back was when I started hallucinating during an all-night party I did for a little group of girls. That scared me! I wasn't in danger, nor were the kiRAB, but I was very shaken and stopped the anti depressants, vowing never to take any ever again. But after this last fusion surgery, as I came to grips with being disabled and needing to take pain meRAB for the rest of my life, I emerged from my denial and talked to my new, excellent doctor. Actually, I cried in his office for 15 minutes. He wanted me to give Cyrabalta a try.

The Cyrabalta gave me very mild dizziness for a few weeks and some weird tingling around my mouth. I started at 30 mg/night for a week, then went to 60, which I'm still on. For me, this is a wonder drug! I feel so much better. The dizziness was very mild and is now gone, and I feel normal! I don't have feelings of euphoria, like some of those meRAB can give you, I just feel nicely leveled out and "even." I had gotten so it was hard to be around people, I was feeling so low, but I look forward to interactions now. The best way I can describe it is that I feel normal for the first time in many years.

Some people on here have had opposite experiences with Cyrabalta. It's not for everyone. But for me, it's been very, very helpful.

I hope this helps.
Emily
 
Hi, I have been on cyrabalta since January. I am sad to say that I have gained 30 lbs. which is very frustrating since I worked so hard to take off 35 last summer. I did not change my eating habits really - it just has piled on.

I am taking 60 mg. I feel that it has helped with the nerve pain but I still am experiencing alot of nerve pain. I did not realize how much it was helping me until I had to go off it for a mylegram recently. Which brings up anther tidbit of information. This is not a drug that is easy to stop. It is extremely difficult and if you do a search even on healtrabroadoarRAB you will find the difficult that some people experience coming of the med. When I have tried to go off it, the brain zaps and headaches are unbelievable.

I believe this med is a good medicine but beware there are side effects. With that said, if you research any of the other nerve medications weight gain is common. The only one that does not cause weight gain to my knowledge is topomax and it has it own host of side effects.

Good luck in your decision.
 
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