Duloxetine for Chronic Pain User Reviews (Page 4)

• tin...
• March 20, 2015

"Reduced pain within days. Drowsiness and dry mouth, but subsided after a couple of weeks. Felt brand new. After just four days, the diarrhea started, this just got worse and worse. So I was feeling fantastic in my mind and body, but could not be more than a few feet away from a toilet! Stopped taking, now in pain again!"

• Mar...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• December 20, 2022

"I took Cymbalta for a month at 30 mg and then increased the dose to 60 mg. It is a week later, and this morning I woke up to an almost pain-free experience. Cymbalta is strong: it temporarily made me overly wakeful at night, and my appetite has decreased. But this is a small price to pay for freedom from brutal arthritis pain and a more positive outlook. I am incredibly grateful for this medication, especially as I have now been able to stop taking NSAIDs for pain relief."

• Sut...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• May 18, 2017

"I started taking 30 mg of Cymbalta about a month ago. I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia and was prescribed Cymbalta mainly for depression, but I must say that Cymbalta has significantly helped the chronic pain. I had side effects the first two weeks or so, but they mostly went away. As far as depression goes, though, it hasn't really helped me."

• the...
• August 8, 2016

"I started out on 30 mg for one week, then moved up to 60 mg. Since starting the larger dose, I am having frequent dizzy spells, headaches, and fatigue. I am planning to give it more time, this Rx, so far, has been the only Rx that has lowered my pain due to chemotherapy. Hopefully, these side effects will stop soon."

• nes...
• March 1, 2016

"My husband took this drug for 1 month. He started losing his hair, and that was a deal-breaker for him. Not enough of a trial to know the effectiveness of the drug-but this bad rating was given because of the withdrawals. Brain zaps, nightmares, anger, vomiting, and nausea. We started reading up online concerning the dependency called 'Cymbalta Discontinuation Syndrome'... um, WTF?? Please look it up-people are staying on the drug ONLY because the withdrawal symptoms are so bad and can last longer than the time you were taking the drug. My husband could be suffering for a year-we are newlyweds! Please do not start this drug if you haven't already!!!"

• Mar...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• May 5, 2013

"I was prescribed Cymbalta for a combination of chronic pain from osteoarthritis and major depressive disorder with melancholia. I started with 30 mg for the first two weeks, but had to stop taking my daily 1200 to 1800 mg of ibuprofen and also quit drinking. For depression, it was amazing. I felt relief from my despondency within a handful of days, and that has continued through this, my third month. I had my dose increased to 60 mg to try and get relief from the chronic pain, but it has not been effective for me in addressing that - thus my rating. For depression, I give it a 10, but for pain (my experience) I have to give it at best, a 3. After consulting with my doctor, he said I could resume taking ibuprofen at a much lower dose."

• Doc...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• August 29, 2019

"I have chronic pain from degenerative arthritis in the LS spine. I also have had 2 surgeries for spinal stenosis and foraminal stenosis. I tried Cymbalta about a year ago, and it did diminish the pain, but side effects forced me to stop. I had severe insomnia, and after two weeks of only sleeping 2 hours a night, I was coming apart. It was also very difficult to void my bladder and caused impotence at the same time. I tapered off and had auditory hallucinations, like lightsaber sounds. If I could have tolerated the side effects, I would have continued since it did help the pain."

• Ric...
• May 15, 2016

"As this medicine may have helped with my nerve pain, it's not worth all the side effects I've experienced! This drug has horrible side effects! I'm trying to get off the medication, 7 days later, still have severe side effects! Look at the side effects before you start your regiment."

• Bel...
• July 13, 2014

"The first pill very strong, so waited till in bed, and when the severe pain from shingles hit, I took the 2nd pill... instant relief. I was so glad I had the medicine and still have the bottle of pills as I never needed another. One pill got me through the worst pain I had with shingles. I would not have a need for any now, but saved in case shingles returned. I think it's a tad bit too strong for most pain that could be treated with a lesser degree of strength. 2 pills used out of the whole bottle. It was expensive, but actually just one pill did the job."

• Yel...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• December 11, 2014

"May have some help to relieve back pain. 60 mg gave me heart palpitations. 30 mg may be suboptimal. Tried to wean off several times but gave me some undesirable effects like malaise and anxiety. Urinary retention is a worrisome effect with Cymbalta for me."

• Deb...
• Taken for 10 years or more
• January 4, 2017

"I had a patient attack me back in 1997, resulting in left shoulder ligament tears, which required surgery. Months after the surgery, my left arm was very painful, cold, the skin hurt to touch it. I would cry with the pain daily. After seeing the orthopedic again just before surgery, I asked, what are you going to do about the cold temperature in my arm? To this point, I had only seen physician assistants. The MD took one look at my arm, canceled the surgery for the next day, and sent me immediately to see another doctor in Jacksonville, FL. This doctor took one look at my arm and knew that moment what it was: RSD, reflex sympathetic dystrophy. They tried several medications, and he sent me to a pain specialist. He started me on Cymbalta 120 mg daily."

• Leo...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• December 7, 2019

"I have been on Cymbalta 20 mg for the last 3 months for my neck pain. I am developing a skin rash on my neck. It’s itching and red. Also, little blisters too. Also, my appetite has decreased to the point that I have lost 10 pounds. My pain is still the same."

• tee...
• Taken for 5 to 10 years
• March 25, 2019

"Took drug for over six years. Couldn't say it was helping for pain or depression as how would you know how you would feel if you were not taking it? You have nothing to compare it to. I've been titrating off this drug for two months. I have every side effect listed. This is horrible. Please research before taking."

• Hig...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• June 24, 2015

"I took Cymbalta for 9 months. During that time, I was also taking OxyContin and Vicodin. I still had pain, and the Cymbalta raised my cholesterol 50 points. It also raised my blood pressure. The doctor didn't seem to be concerned with symptoms, which concerned me due to the fact that I had heart disease about 10 years prior to taking Cymbalta. I had 3 stents inserted into my arteries of my heart. I had heart disease at a young age of 37. The two doctors I was seeing at the time didn't believe that Cymbalta was raising my cholesterol. I had to do my own research on the internet to find evidence that Cymbalta does raise cholesterol. The manufacturer of Cymbalta indicated that raising cholesterol was a rare side effect."

• ang...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• September 12, 2018

"I have gained 50 lbs from this med, so I stopped it. I went through the absolute worst withdrawals. I've been off for 3 months and now just started back up tonight. I will figure out how to get the weight off, but for fibro pain, it has been the best one yet."

• Mis...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• May 27, 2018

"Recently, I was put on Cymbalta for fibromyalgia. It was the worst experience of my life. I had explosive diarrhea, could not even leave the house, anxiety went through the roof. Felt manic, and my heart rate went up sky high, and I already suffer from insomnia, and this made it totally impossible to sleep. I felt angry and jittery. I would not recommend this drug, it was a horrible experience."

• mr ...
• June 15, 2016

"I have taken Cymbalta for 5 days now, worked a bit to take some sharp pains away, but side effects outweighed the good. I started 30 mg, dizzy, headaches, very upset stomach, very gassy, burping, and farting. I had a lot of pain along the beltline from my belly button all the way to the left side of my hip. Today I passed bright red blood with clots 3 separate times. I had one other time months ago with severe pain in the same location and passed blood then too. Both times I was on Cymbalta, so today I got googly and found that Cymbalta can cause abnormal bleeding in intestines, stomach, etc., and mixing drugs such as aspirin can increase the risk of bleeding. It reads bleeding can get as bad as having a life-threatening hemorrhage. rxlist.com is 1 source."

• add...
• May 24, 2015

"Instead of helping my headaches, Cymbalta made them worse. With each dose increase, the severity of the pain increased, and so did my weight. In the year that I was on Cymbalta, I gained sixty pounds. When I passed my pregnancy weight at nine months, I had finally had enough and took myself off. Never again!"

• Ron...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• September 11, 2023

"I started Cymbalta in January 2023 when my neurologist prescribed it for nerve pain from peripheral neuropathy (non-diabetic). I was initially on 30 mg/day, but she moved me up to 60 mg/day after about a month. It was doing okay for a while but started to lose its effectiveness. My psychiatrist just started increasing my dosage to 120 mg/day last week. I'm currently at 90 mg/day for a month, and then I'll step up to the full 120 mg. In less than a week, the change has been significant. I was having moderate to severe pain in my feet, knees, and back. Since I was already on Cymbalta, the psychiatrist decided it would be beneficial to increase the dosage. My pain has significantly reduced to almost nothing, and the electric shocks and muscle twitching have stopped. I can't believe how much of a difference the increase has made! Not being in constant pain and agony has done wonders for my depression as well. I feel so much better!"

• MsB...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• October 10, 2012

"I have been using Cymbalta for several years now as part of my treatment plan for chronic pain. My pain is related to having fibromyalgia, osteoarthritis in my hips, spine, knees, and neck, impingement in the hips as well, and trigger points throughout my body. After trying several other medications and gaining some amount of weight, my doctor wrote the prescription, and I started at 30 mg for the day. I now take 60 mg in the morning and 60 mg at night, and it makes a huge difference in maintaining my pain levels. I use it now as part of my daily 'medicine cocktail' and hope to continue for a long time still to come!"

• Tmf...
• February 22, 2016

"Awful, awful medicine!! Started taking 30 mg once a day for chronic pain. At day 19, I had horrible heart palpitations. My doctor suggested I get off the medicine by taking one every other day. I tried that, after taking one, then skipping a day, the next day I took another, which gave me an awful migraine! I have Imitrex for migraines but couldn't take it because I was on Cymbalta, so I suffered through a 24-hour migraine! I had to just stop taking it at this point. I've had awful electrocution feelings in my brain for 10 days!! I'm enraged, and I'm never like this! Awful, awful drug, the people that made this should be ashamed of themselves!!!"

• Vet...
• January 6, 2017

"I have Tumor Necrosis Factor Receptor Associated Periodic Syndrome (TRAPS Syndrome) and am in near constant pain (joints, pleurisy, and abdominal). I started with 90 mg of Cymbalta after breakfast, and it certainly takes the edge off of the pain! I don't really have any side effects to speak of. I also take Plaquenil and Sulfasalazine for joint stiffness and rash with fever."

• Jen...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• January 30, 2015

"I was placed on Cymbalta for chronic pain as a result of injuries sustained in a head-on car accident right before my 19th birthday that also caused 2 very rare recessive genes to activate (hemiplegic migraines (neurological migraines) and Raynaud's disease (circulation disorder) in my lower legs and feet). At first, the pain control was unbelievable. However, 2-3 months into my treatment, I began having psychological repercussions where I felt like all my emotions were trapped inside my head. Although I felt angry, sad, happy, etc., I was unable to exhibit those emotions. Cymbalta was discontinued. My head injury was suspected to be the issue as to why I had the adverse reactions I did because my brain didn't function or process normally."

• Gin...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• March 14, 2013

"I can't take NSAIDs anymore, so I tried Cymbalta. Worked great for my pain and my depression. However, I had to stop it because of horrible side effects. The worst headaches I have ever had, dizziness, and eventually mood changes. I took it for about 7 months total, the last 2 months were tapering off. My doctor had a patient end up hospitalized when they rushed the taper."

• HHg...
• August 6, 2015

"I have been taking Cymbalta for joint and muscle pain due to hemochromatosis for about 6 weeks now, and it has made a huge difference, and I find that I have almost no side effects. For the first week or so, the side effects were terrible, but they eased up after that."