Cymbalta and Insomnia: What Users Say (Page 4)

• Deb...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• January 21, 2018

For Back Pain "Do not recommend. It made my back pain somewhat diminish at a major price. Side effects: short-term memory loss, severe headaches, severe hair loss (my shower drain clogs from all my hair that is falling out!), chronic numbing/tingling right arm, dental issues, body odor, extreme sweating and body heat spikes, complete loss of sexual interest, extreme fatigue, insomnia, malaise, more hair loss, constipation, confusion, technicolor disturbing dreams, felt like I had the flu, ocular issues of dry scratchy eyes and floaters with flashing lights, weight gain. Had to then take a Benzedrine to sleep, migraine meds, and a chemo nausea control drug. Had no get up and go. Flatliner. Just weaned myself off of Cymbalta and feel like myself again!"

• Jan...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• November 15, 2017

For Anxiety "I've suffered from anxiety and depression off and on for most of my life. I've tried many antidepressants (mostly SSRIs) without success. The side effects of these drugs were unbearable (mainly acute insomnia and panic attacks). Finally, after 30 years of intermittent mental suffering, despite running 30 miles a week and seeing a therapist on a regular basis, my primary care physician prescribed Cymbalta. It is a miracle drug. Although I've only been on it for 3 weeks, I'm already feeling relief from a major depression that started 6 months ago. I no longer have suicidal thoughts, negative, obsessive thinking, panic attacks, and I sleep like a rock. The world is so much brighter - I feel a sense of calm, contentment, and happiness."

• San...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• October 25, 2017

For Fibromyalgia "I broke my hip the day before July 4th. I had surgery and was in the hospital for a week, then in a nursing rehab home for a month. I can't take opioids, so I took ibuprofen for the pain. I am 67 years old and also have afib. I was getting around fine when I came home. Then in September, I had pain all over my body. It would jump around. I had extremely bad insomnia and restless leg syndrome. My legs felt heavy, like they were filled with cement. I went to my MD, and she ran blood tests, especially looking for rheumatoid arthritis. The diagnosis is fibromyalgia. She had me take steroids, one tablet a day for four days, and Cymbalta 30 mg twice a day. I had no bad side effects. I slept better, and the pain is very bearable, just mild hip pain."

• Jam...
• April 15, 2017

For Generalized Anxiety Disorder "My new doctor recently switched me from Klonopin to Cymbalta. I'd been taking Klonopin for two years at a low dose with no issues, but this doctor can't help meddling. Anyway, this Cymbalta is a nightmare. I'm not depressed, just have anxiety, so why am I taking this? I've been so edgy and nauseous since starting it. I can't sleep and sit in meetings at work spacing out. Never take this medication. I'm seeing my doc next week and am just going to flatly say I'm not taking this anymore. Luckily a different doc prescribes the Klonopin."

• Nic...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• January 22, 2017

For Generalized Anxiety Disorder "I'm 10 days into my treatment, the hospital started me on 30 mg, then told me to increase the dose to 60 mg after 7 days. So far, so good. I have to say that I'm getting on well with the drug, but I'm experiencing some insomnia and so take Valium for that (around 10 mg). I hope that as time goes on and my dose of Cymbalta increases, this drug continues to work and I feel even more of its benefits, as I want to start reducing the Valium at some point in the future. I'm in the UK, and so do not pay for this drug, and as my doctor has certified me as being unfit for work, I don't have to pay for any medication at all."

• cut...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• December 31, 2016

For Generalized Anxiety Disorder "I was on 30 mg for GAD and insomnia. After a month or so, I became so hyper, and my insomnia went from only sleeping a few hours every day to having days of no sleep. Ativan, which had always helped me sleep, no longer worked. My thoughts were scattered, often terrifying, so it was good they were brief, I guess (it 'cured' the anxiety, as I couldn't worry about something before the thought of it was just gone). I couldn't focus, became unable to work at all. I was weaned off about two weeks ago, still can't function at all. I am a bit better now than when on it, but far worse than I was before. I wish I never touched this stuff, I feel like I will never get my life back again, certainly never my career."

• Mat...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• December 20, 2016

For Generalized Anxiety Disorder "Was put on this after 5 days of no sleep with anxiety. It took a week or two to kick in, but has saved me. I am much more level and less anxious, no sleepless nights, although I do take Phenergan (antihistamine) to help with that."

• Rya...
• December 20, 2016

For Depression "Please be cautious before taking Cymbalta. I took Cymbalta for 20 months, then decided to quit after changing my lifestyle. After discontinuing my prescription of 60 mg a day, I endured brain zaps, insomnia, and eye pain for 3 weeks."

• Cym...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• November 19, 2016

For Fibromyalgia "I saw this medication as a marvel, until I started taking it. I had no problems, except for some nausea, during the first 2-3 months I was on it. And it seemed to help somewhat with pain. Then the fun began: restless legs syndrome, insomnia, horrible sweating even when it was cold, urinary incontinence and frequency, muscle spasms, elevated liver enzymes...but hey, there's another medication for all those side effects. Finally after 3 years, I had had enough and was ready to move on. Unfortunately, the Lilly recommended taper is downright dangerous. After the alternating 60mg/30mg and drop to 30 mg, I was in full blown Cymbalta discontinuation syndrome. Look it up; it's not pretty. Run away from this med as fast as you can."

• Lot...
• October 17, 2016

For Fibromyalgia "Helped the fibro pain completely. But my sleep is totally messed up, and I am tired all the time. Also, I feel emotionally flat. No motivation at all. For now, I'll keep on it, as having total body pain 24/7 was hell on earth."

• ItW...
• October 14, 2016

For Generalized Anxiety Disorder "I have GAD and mild depression. I initially had side effects such as insomnia, no appetite, and nausea, but they went away after a few days. This has helped my anxiety tremendously! It is not without side effects, though. If I forget to take it, I will get nausea, headaches, and dizziness. I did gain weight and some diarrhea, but it has had no bad sexual side effects. I have been taking this for a year now. I am finding that the depression is now increasing, so maybe time for a dosage change. Just keep in mind everyone is different, and sometimes the benefits outweigh the effects."

• Nbk...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• July 30, 2016

For Fibromyalgia "I took Cymbalta for depression, anxiety, and for severe fibromyalgia symptoms. The extreme mood swings, depression, constant thoughts of suicide, symptoms that mimicked my already existing fibromyalgia symptoms, and unfortunately made them worse. Sleepless nights-even days at a time, drowsiness, complete change in my personality. When I started, a physician observed a decrease with intention to quit Cymbalta altogether. I tried killing myself multiple times, shakes, tremors, skin crawling, brain and body 'zaps', nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, mood swings, hospitalization. Don't, just don't take it. There are other drugs and CBT therapies that are tried and true, whose long-term side effects are well understood and documented. Almost ruined me."

• Pl2...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• July 25, 2016

For Depression "Made me very sick to my stomach, couldn't eat anything without wanting to vomit. Sedated too much to the point I didn't want to get out of bed all day. Also gave me insomnia. (30 mg)"

• Wor...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• July 19, 2016

For Depression "Then everything went haywire. The psychiatrist kept me going until I was at 120 mg a day. Depression worsened, experienced disassociative episodes (foggy memory while on these episodes where I do not remember certain events), increased headaches, insomnia, irritability, and suicidal thoughts. I'm appalled that my psychiatrist thought it was okay to keep increasing the dose until it was more than double what I was taking initially (20 mg), despite symptoms getting much worse. During this time, I also had 0 access to adequate talk therapies, whether in a group setting or 1-1 with a trained counselor. I am absolutely sickened that these dangerous drugs are promoted as a band-aid fix-all solution when talk therapies are completely disregarded."

• Nat...
• June 1, 2016

For Depression "I've been on Cymbalta for severe depression for about six months now. I tried other depression medications that either made the depression worse or made me way too complacent and had a lot of side effects. With Cymbalta, my depression has gone away with almost no side effects, and I'm back to feeling like an actual human being instead of being consumed by the depression. The only problem I had was that it interfered with my sleep. I would half wake up multiple times a night and would be running my fingers through my hair. Basically, I was moving about in a half-awake state and not getting a proper deep rest. This was able to be resolved by combining this medication with another one I take before bed. Very positive experience, and I'm very grateful."

• AJA...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• May 11, 2016

For Fibromyalgia "Shakiness, jittery, insomnia, sweating, loss of appetite, nausea, dry mouth, and bad taste in my mouth. I had no pain relief from Cymbalta at 30 or 60."

• Des...
• May 10, 2016

For Depression "I had started with Prozac (20 mg) about 4 months ago, but it wasn't steadily effective, and I felt worse the week before my period. It would also make me tired during the day. The doctor switched me to Cymbalta while weaning me off Prozac as such: - week 1: take 20 mg capsule of Prozac with 30 mg capsule of Cymbalta a day - week 2: take 30 mg capsule of Cymbalta a day - week 3: take 60 mg capsule of Cymbalta a day. Going forth, I felt great with Cymbalta just in my first week: more energy, felt kind of high like on E, but in a good way... just happy. I experienced a few days of insomnia my first week, which I battled with Melatonin an hour before bed (10 mg). I experienced headaches for a few days, but that also went away. Feel great!!"

• Dmh...
• April 23, 2016

For Depression "I would give Cymbalta a 10/10, however, I have not been on it long enough to give it a perfect score. I have tried Prozac as well as Wellbutrin to help cope with my crippling depression, but they just didn't do the job. Before Cymbalta, I was easily agitated, hating the world around me, and contemplating suicide. Now it is like a weight has been lifted off of my shoulders. I'm not irritated by small things anymore. I have more motivation. The only downside I have had is some insomnia, but it should pass. Don't be scared by all the negative reviews. I was until I took it for myself. Everyone is different, however, you will have to try it for yourself to know. I take 30 milligrams once a day in the morning."

• Tra...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• February 14, 2016

For Anxiety "I began taking Cymbalta six weeks ago for generalized anxiety disorder. Although the initial side effects of disrupted sleep were difficult, it disappeared after about three weeks. I started on 30 mg and increased to 60 mg after one week. The results have been incredible. For the first time ever, I can sit quietly without a million thoughts running through my head. I no longer feel 'stuck' on certain thoughts. I feel calmer, more relaxed, and happier. I also find that my thinking is very clear. Overall, feeling very, very good. Highly recommend Cymbalta."

• JFM...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• February 11, 2016

For Osteoarthritis "Tried Cymbalta for pain and slight depression. It helped for maybe 10 months. Then began experiencing panic attacks, anxiety, mouth sores, racing heart at bedtime, insomnia, and increased pain and cramps in legs. Took me about 3 months to figure out that the Cymbalta wasn't working. I tried increasing from 30 mg to 60 mg, and that made it worse. Have changed meds. Made the change easily in one week, but I had already gone back to the 30 mg dose. The anxiety, panic attacks, etc. have stopped."

• Was...
• Taken for 5 to 10 years
• February 9, 2016

For Depression "Many failed attempts on depression meds and lapsed into severe depression, suicidal thoughts, head-to-toe severe pain. The psychiatrist put me on 120 mg of Cymbalta a day. Boom, the pain and depression were gone. Instant relief, it was a godsend, but I very quickly realized that the depression was not actually gone. It had shifted into my anger/frustration emotion controllers, which for the most part I could deal with, but after a few years, the side effects add up. I have the horrible next few months of coming off this drug, but need to as I now have insomnia, chaotic dreams, extreme lethargy, and suicidal thoughts, which you don't feel like acting on but still have. It does work, but it is not a long-term solution, and I should have changed years ago."

• mel...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• January 15, 2016

For Depression "I rarely have side effects to medication. In fact, I think there is only one other drug I have been on that I have had a side effect from other than this, and trust me, I have been on more than I can even count. But this one was AWFUL. Within the first day, I was shaky, my heart was racing, and I felt dizzy if I stood up quickly, but what was even worse was the insomnia! I thought I could get used to the medication, but 5 days later and it still wasn't any better. My doctor gave me trazodone to help me sleep, but the other side effects were still there, so I went off it after 2 weeks."

• Anx...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• December 15, 2015

For Generalized Anxiety Disorder "I have experienced anxiety and mild depression for several years. I finally decided to get help. Cymbalta has really helped. I noticed a change in the first couple of days. My anxiety has all but disappeared. I experienced dry mouth and interrupted sleep the first several days. I have experienced tiredness, but that has lessened over this month, and I hope it will go away altogether."

• lik...
• November 11, 2015

For Back Pain "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 I was anxious and couldn't sleep, and had very vivid and bad dreams and panic attacks. It had an 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 off 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."

• Roo...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• November 8, 2015

For Fibromyalgia "My pain diminished somewhat, and I don't feel shitty anymore. One annoying side effect: insomnia, but 20 mg zolpidem 'fixed' that. Maybe the trouble sleeping will lessen, and the efficacy will improve after 6 weeks. 2 weeks on 30 mg/day."