Duloxetine for Back Pain User Reviews (Page 2)

• Anonymous
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• March 18, 2013

Cymbalta (duloxetine) "I started taking Cymbalta for chronic low back pain and to my surprise my daily nightmares stopped immediately after the first dose of 40mg. I just started this medicine a month ago and need to get my script filled. I took my last dose 2 days ago. For the last two nights I have had nightmares! My script is expensive, costing $60/month even with insurance. If this medicine continues to prevent these constant nightmares and gives my boyfriend a decent night sleep, myself included, then I will figure out a way to pay this added expense. I am 30 yrs old and have dealt with nightmares since I was a child. They have gotten worse as I get older. I have been to sleep disorder clinics and had plenty of tests. I can only hope this medicine continues to help me."

• Sincl...
• July 1, 2016

Cymbalta (duloxetine) "I wanted to write this in the hope of helping others. I've been dealing with chronic back pain that got a lot worse and intolerable the last few months. I couldn't sit, or drive without back spasms and shooting nerve pain. I was at my wits end. I tried a medrol 5 day pack, it didn't seem to help much. My doctor suggested a low dose 20mg of cymbalta. I was desperate so I thought I would try it and it's made a major difference- almost immediately. The side effects were bad for about 3-4 days, super tired, yawning non stop, very fuzzy, and no appetite. But I've been on it now for almost a month and I'm back to light workouts, and able to do mostly normal things. It does effect your libido though. My Dr also recommended Valium at night."

• Bende...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• August 5, 2016

Cymbalta (duloxetine) "After reading all the reviews and trying just about everything under the sun, I have found something that works for my lower back pain. I was in a car accident when I was 14 and broke my L4&5, since then I have been dealing with back pain (I am now 40). Last year my Dr. Discussed cymbalta with me. After doing some research I decided to give it a whirl, I was almost turned off the idea due to some of the negative experiences...glad I tried it. I am currently pain free, I did experience some side effects all of which dissapeared before 5 months; Excessive yawning Not being able to ejaculate during sex Feeling of tiredness Some anxiety Sweats Weight gain Vivid dreams kept peeing a little after I thought I was done Give it time, if you try!"

• Dirk...
• September 30, 2019

Cymbalta (duloxetine) "When I first started taking Cymbalta, it really helped my back pain. Now, after 30 days it’s barely helping my back pain anymore. Therefore, my doctor is suggesting to take me off slowly of Cymbalta and start taking a low dose of Lexapro. In the past , When I used to take Lexapro it gave me back aches and neck pain. Thanks for having a Forum. Dirk"

• KenWo...
• Taken for 5 to 10 years
• February 9, 2018

Cymbalta (duloxetine) "Wonderful until you come off it. 8 Years on Cymbalta for Chronic Pain and now 2 years of Brain Zaps, Fog ,Fatigue, Anger, depression etc. It is worse than crack. I wouldn't recommend it to my worst enemy."

• Cooper
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• January 25, 2015

Cymbalta (duloxetine) "I started taking Cymbalta about 6 months ago, and I'm finally starting to feel better. I have chronic lower back pain, and have previously been prescribed Hydrocodone/Tramadol, which basically was like putting a carrot on a string for my brain to be preoccupied. The only down fall I have experienced is the terrible night sweat. Is there any relieve from it?"

• Anonymous
• Taken for less than 1 month
• September 18, 2018

Cymbalta (duloxetine) "I took my first pill at 9:30am. It’s 1:48 am now and I can’t sleep. I am very anxious and fatigue. I’ve noticed that I yawned several times today and felt super uneased. Never taking the drug again. I’m trying to flush my body with water to get rid of it. Terrible side effects."

• billy...
• March 12, 2013

Cymbalta (duloxetine) "I started with 30mg dosage and was increased to 60mg daily. It was helpful with the constant burning in my feet that is secondary to peripheral neuropathy. My dosage was increased after a couple of months to 60mg twice daily. I didn't last a week! This medication has always given me increased sweating, especially night sweats! My doctor prescribed Hytrin (mostly used for hypertension and benign prostate hyperplasia) to combat the sweating and it seemed to help because the incidents of night sweats decreased. That all changed when my dosage was bumped up. I was having night sweats EVERY night and had a major increase of insomnia. I am getting 2-3 hours of sleep a night (or day because I work at night). I went back to 60mg daily and see my doctor tomorrow."

• Trace...
• March 31, 2015

Cymbalta (duloxetine) "I had left S I joint pain for 8 yrs been to a million drs, tried a million remedies. But my dr put me on Cymbalta. A few days later I ended up in ER with excruciating pain. But when they added a shot of Lorazepam the pain I'd had for years went away. For 9 months, with the combo of Cymbalta 60mg and Lorazapam 2 mg I was completely pain free, but after 9 months the effectiveness has waned. I still take both meds to take the edge off the pain but nothing else really works. Except when I was told I had Fibromyalgia and night sweats and I found out those are caused by LYME DISEASE. Luckily I found a LYME LITERATE DR who is treating me."

• China
• October 12, 2017

Cymbalta (duloxetine) "I used this medication for 3 weeks. It worked so good for my back pain and my anxiety. I was so happy I was finally found something that would help me, get off my pain meds. One day I woke up with chest pains. I thought nothing of it. I went to work and it got worse and My blood pressure was 197/110. I left work, went straight to the ER. We found out this medication side effect was raise blood pressure. I am a healthy 120lb 38yr women. I'm doing much better now. BP is back to normal, but I have pain. Now I'm trying something new with back doctor. I hate pain meds. I been on and off for 5 years. I have herniated disc and bulging and anxiety due to a car accident. I had some signs of chest pain before. So don't ignore it."

• Mrsofty
• April 26, 2016

Cymbalta (duloxetine) "I would not have taken this medication if I knew it was going to effect my sex drive. I am thankful that I was only on it for a short time and I have stopped taking it a few days ago. I have been married for a longtime but we have a very active sex life now that our children are gone from the house. If I would have known that I wouldn't be able to have a orgasm during sex I never would have agreed to taking this drug. So if you value your intimacy with your partner do not take this drug or expect a lot of frustration !!!"

• Jordi
• Taken for less than 1 month
• October 3, 2019

"I was on duloxetine for neck pain and it worked very well. Then fatigue set in and I decided to discontinue, under my Dr supervision. I was on the full dose for 30 days. It is now 15 days after weaning off and the withdrawal is awful. Between brain zaps, sweating, visual disturbances, I can not believe a drug has this many side effects."

• Heat
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• March 1, 2018

Cymbalta (duloxetine) "I was on 150 mg of imipramine for 30 years but it was not working any more so was switched to cymbalta and suffered with the sweats and sleepless nights. It eventually all went away but it wasn't easy. I still don't seem to have much energy and daily life seems forced so not sure if I should increase from 60 mg to 90 mg. I am still having severe lower back pain going for laser treatments and chiropractor. Any suggestions?"

• like2...
• November 11, 2015

Cymbalta (duloxetine) "Though I read so many negative opinions about it, I decided to try taking Cymbalta. After two months I decided to stop taking it. First of all, my relationships got bad, I was careless, and numb. I also had a very strange feeling from time to time, like i was dreaming. Sometimes was anxious, and couldn't sleep, and had very vivid and bad dreams, and panic attacks. It had immediate effect on my libido, which got so low, it almost disappeared. The main problem with the drug was, that i felt good, even tempered most of the time. This state always took my mind of the very bad side effects of the medicine, and i was so relieved from the pain, i set aside all the negative effects of it. It's day 1 without it, and i feel dizzy and so tired, i..zzz"

• Rayray
• Taken for less than 1 month
• February 10, 2021

Cymbalta (duloxetine) "This drug should be taken off the market. I have suffered from extreme dehydration. I had to go to the ER. Extreme diarrhea for five hours at a time. My skin felt electric. Blood in diarrhea. I’m weaning off after four weeks and it’s a living nighmare. I feel like the weaning is going to be impossible. Migraines. Shaking and shivering. My doctor never mentioned this to me. Pharmacist never mentioned this. I have quit my job because I cannot work. Everything is aching. I’ve been in bed for two days. Do NOT take this medicine. Read about the life long side effects."

• jay
• Taken for less than 1 month
• June 14, 2023

"I only managed to take two days' worth, and I took the generic kind for back pain. I did not notice it helping, but I felt sick from it. I took it at night and sleep/dreams/songs playing in my head were weird. Then the day after taking it all I wanted to do was lay around from nausea and fatigue. I'm not saying nausea and fatigue lightly, like a miserable, weird feeling."

• McQ
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• February 22, 2018

Cymbalta (duloxetine) "I was put on Cymbalta and Lyrica at the same time. Back and nerve pain improved, but was like a zombie on this. My family said had a blank look in my eyes like "no one home". Short term memory was gone. Since was only on it for about 2 months when weaned off didn't seem to have negative withdraw symptoms. Still on lyrica and pain level seems ok."

• Lucy...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• July 17, 2022

Cymbalta (duloxetine) "My doctor prescribed 30 mg of Cymbalta for my chronic back pain. I took my first pill at 9:00 a.m. I got hot sweats, cold shaking chills, had a headache, my pain level was three-fold, I felt angry and suicidal; and I could hardly make it to the bathroom to throw up and have diarrhea. My body felt horrible, with the sensation of electricity running through my arms and legs. I could not hold still. I had no strength to get out of bed. This continued for about 5 hours. I should have been in the hospital, but I was too sick to go. My experience with Cymbalta was horrible . . . an absolute nightmare!!! I needed to be hospitalized, but I was too sick to go. I would have had to call an ambulance. I was in bed the entire next day. I finally felt better by day three from taking “just one Cymbalta pill.”"

• AJano
• Taken for less than 1 month
• April 12, 2021

Cymbalta (duloxetine) "I only took 1 pill at 9:45 am and by 10 am I was moonwalking in my room. I'm jittery and keep moving around. I'm going to take it for 2 weeks to see how I feel, I'm assuming this is a temporary side effect. If you have an interview or anything important on then schedule it BEFORE you take a dose."

• Steph
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• February 12, 2021

Cymbalta (duloxetine) "I had insomnia badly for the first couple of days, but taking it in the morning helped. I also experienced lack of appetite for the first couple of weeks and felt very energized. It faded, but same things when the dose was increased to 60mg. It was great for anxiety, even helped with things that I didn't know were from anxiety; however, I had no relief of back pain unfortunately. I currently have no side effects after 2 months."

• MariaP
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• October 23, 2022

"Switched to duloxetine from pregabalin for back pain. Pregabalin took the pain away completely (my pain is quite severe. 3 herniated discs compressing multiple nerve roots) but I couldn't handle the side effects of pregabalin so the Dr suggested duloxetine. I started on 30mg once daily. The first few days I was lightheaded but it went away. The other uncomfortable side effect was sweats. An hour after taking the pill I would start sweating a lot for an hour or two. After a few weeks that subsided. The pain was a lot better but still present so I went up to 60mg once daily. The same side effects - lightheaded for a few days and sweating for a few weeks. The pain improved somewhat with a higher dose. I still have some pain sometimes but not enough to disrupt my life, so I am happy with duloxetine. The side effects that I actually liked were lower appetite and my anxiety just disappeared (although it was mild to start with)."

• Kay
• March 27, 2015

"I have struggled with back pain for years sick of taking every pill for pain known to man as well as feeling like I couldn't get out of bed anymore I asked for cymbalta. I couldn't be happier I did, I realized the constant fatigue and well as heaviness was severe depression that lifted after a week (a week of side effect hell I might add). My pain is 80% gone and with two bulged disks and spinal arthritis everywhere I am so glad. After the 1-2 week a fog lifted and I could live again I am very thankful i continued with this med even after reading the horrible reviews and sticking with the side effects which were horrible as well. Within two weeks side effects were gone, three months later I can not be more pleased"

• Doesnt...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• January 11, 2021

Cymbalta (duloxetine) "ZERO STARS ! Twice now have been prescribed this and twice quit it cold turkey. (DO NOT QUIT COLD TURKEY VERY DANGEROUS!) I just did not react well with this medication. It did help a bit with the pain alongside topamax. I just didn't like the fact that you must have this with you at all times and cannot miss a dose. I’m not going to be “handcuffed” to a medication because if you miss a dose you start horrific withdrawals. Sounds more like a street drug to me ? Took weeks if not months to get out of my system completely. Never, ever, ever, ever again. I’d rather live with my SI joint dysfunction pain than use this as a bandaid ! I did however finally find a surgeon who specialized in SI joint fusion. No more band aids on a fixable lower back issue ! Please do your research. Effexor is even worse !"

• Getting...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• March 10, 2019

"At first duloxetine was a God-send, all pain went and I could get back to work and be normal again. It did have a side-effect for me that I couldn't stay asleep so was prescribed Amitriptyline. I noticed a definite decrease in libido to the point where I had NO sexual thoughts at all. I was made aware that I had started to withdraw from social situations and friends and could see no reason why this was the case. After reading reviews I realise I am not the only person affected this way. I am coming off them but having problems, too many to mention I am now almost 8 months down the line, I seem to be pain free and haven't taken a tablet for over 10 days, I don't feel back to normal yet but feel a bit better but feel as though there is a way to go yet. DO YOUR RESEARCH - DO NOT TAKE THIS MEDICATION UNLESS ALL ELSE HAS FAILED. I will definitely source other options if/when my back issues return."

• Do...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• October 29, 2022

"I was prescribed 30mg of Duloxetine for chronic arthritic pain and low mood. As advised I took one dose with evening meal. I woke at 2am feeling extremely nauseous, with stomach cramps and such an intense headache that I could not lie down. My symptoms continued throughout the night. I chose not to take a second dose as my symptoms worsened - I could not eat, could only drink water, felt exhausted yet suffered disturbed sleep. After 4 days I felt slightly better but still very unwell. This drug should be taken off the market as the side effects make it impossible to function as a normal human being. AVOID AT ALL COSTS."