Duloxetine for Fibromyalgia User Reviews (Page 3)

• Fib...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• October 2, 2018

"After battling and dealing with pain for many years, I was prescribed Cymbalta. This drug works for pain. It kinda blocks it. That said, it was a rough start: dizziness, nausea, sweating. This fades, and then you feel better. Pain reduced in all areas. I could go about my day-to-day without pain stopping me. Then, after 2 years, it just stopped working. I don’t like pain meds, etc. As I knew all good things end, I decided to try and get off this med instead of increasing the dose. Well, let me warn the consumer, the patient: it was very, very, extremely difficult to reduce and withdraw from. I have a medical background, and a friend warned me. It was bad: vomiting violently (I don’t vomit ever), then in bed with headaches and chest palpitations that were scary. Finished withdrawal and reduced medications in general. Be careful with this medicine if you choose to access it for medical treatment."

• Cha...
• May 17, 2017

"Had been in a great deal of pain for over 3 years, was diagnosed with fibromyalgia 2 months ago. My doctor put me on Cymbalta 30 mg once a day 2 weeks ago. It took 5 days to kick in. Wow, I am very pleased, I feel 90% pain-free. I feel tired, but I would rather be tired than in pain. It's nice to sleep pain-free."

• Chi...
• February 8, 2017

"Just started Cymbalta at 30 mg, one in the AM and one in the PM for my fibromyalgia pain and anxiety and depression. It's been 8 days, and it is helping so much! It did give me nausea and an acidy stomach for 2 days. That went away. I also take gabapentin 300 mg, 4 times a day. I came off of tramadol 50 mg at 6-9 a day. Cymbalta helped with withdrawals for me. I still have pain from my fibro, but it is dulled. Hope this helps, xx"

• PM0...
• November 1, 2017

"I have taken this medication for about 2 years now, and it has helped me tremendously. Yes, the first two weeks were hard due to nausea and diarrhea, however, because it controlled the pain, I stayed with it. I weaned myself off at one point to make sure whether or not I still needed it, but within a week of being completely off of it, all the pain and muscle weakness came back, so I went back on it (no side effects this time), and the pain went away, so it works for me. However, the Dr. said that I was his only patient who had the amount of relief I experienced with the lowest dose. I also have Lupus (SLE), so it helps with the joint and muscle pain there too! I say give it a try as I experienced the pain relief almost immediately."

• Miz...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• May 3, 2018

"Worked reasonably for a while, despite the side effects like 0 sex drive, intense sweating, and something close to hemophilia-like bleeding from tiny cuts. I just kept taking it for 3 years or so because the BIG ISSUE is the insane withdrawal even from missing one dose. Trying to quit was a nightmare. Went from 120 mg down to 30 mg over time, which was pretty bad. Eventually just threw it away for good and spent the better part of a month in serious withdrawal condition. 5 months on, and I am worse than I ever was when starting it. The withdrawal process has triggered so much anxiety that I am now stuck with, and don't know how to deal with or get rid of. Thanks, Dr., for not warning me of any of this."

• Jan...
• August 24, 2017

"I have been suffering for years to the point I could not walk to the parking lot without having pain throughout my whole body. My legs would go numb to the point I couldn't walk and had to sit 'til I can feel my legs again. Since taking Cymbalta, I've been able to do normal housework, exercise a little, and wake up and get out of bed without pain. It's the worst feeling in the world to wake up every day and have every part of your body hurt. I'm on 30 mg, and I have been feeling like a normal person again. I love living again."

• con...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• February 19, 2016

"Cymbalta/Duloxetine is evil. I was prescribed it for fibromyalgia. I have had jaw pain and stiffness, 50 lb weight gain (very uncharacteristic for me, binge eating), leg pain, muscle pain and twitching, lung fullness and coughing, high blood pressure, blurred vision, chest pain, unsteady gait, shortness of breath. My doctor refused to accept Cymbalta/Duloxetine as a reason for symptoms and was upset with me. She increased the dosage from 30 mg to 60 mg to 90 mg in 6 months. My health kept deteriorating. She wanted me to do a sleep study, saying I must not be sleeping/breathing well. I am currently looking for another doctor and awaiting Cymbalta/Duloxetine in bead form (instead of the 6 pills in mine) so I can taper off at a 5% or less rate."

• DAP...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• November 11, 2013

"I found Cymbalta to be a miracle for me. Within a week of taking it, most of my aches and pains disappeared, and even my massage therapist stated she noticed a big difference. The problem was the side effects of sexual dysfunction and dry mouth. I added Wellbutrin and love that medication as it greatly improved my mood, but still did not help with the sexual dysfunction. I am now on Lamotrigine and Wellbutrin, but the pains in my joints worsened unbelievably, it was intolerable, really. I think I will be dropping the Lamotrigine and going back to the Cymbalta, and just put up with the side effects."

• Gre...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• October 12, 2015

"I have been on Cymbalta for about two weeks. I have severe depression, two failed back operations, and neuropathy in my legs and feet; those stabbing hot jabs of pain and also pain throughout my body and joints. On day three of being on Cymbalta, I had body and joint pain relief and some increased sensitivity in my feet. Still having back pain, but that was expected as my back is toast. The vivid dreams were disturbing for about a week, but have gone away. I had hallucinations as I was awakening each morning. That has gone away as well. My depression seems to be lifting, and I feel more active. Good luck on Cymbalta."

• Anonymous
• February 14, 2016

"I have had fibromyalgia with chronic depression for years. Started Cymbalta two weeks ago. I was very lightheaded and dizzy at first. I continued on. I am at two weeks now, 30 mg per day. I sure can feel when I need my dose, the pain is unbelievable when it comes back. I am looking forward to bumping my dose to 60 mg per day. I am keeping my fingers crossed. Good luck to all of you out there, I hope this is a miracle drug for all of us."

• cym...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• May 15, 2013

"I take Cymbalta for both dysthymia and fibromyalgia. I am a female in my mid-40s. Overall, I am at least 70% better than before taking Cymbalta, though not pain-free. I find that I get maximum benefit when I take 120 mg (two 60 mg capsules at the same time) of Cymbalta daily, combined with enough sleep and daily exercise (e.g., at least 20 mins. brisk walking). Also, I need to avoid/minimize physical and psychological stressors (including unpleasant people)."

• mh2...
• September 3, 2013

"I was on 60 mg of Cymbalta for a year or more. I did not want to be on antidepressants all my life, so I weaned off it 2 months ago. My fibromyalgia pains have returned with a vengeance, more than before. I am going back to Cymbalta as I want to have some quality of life. I feel debilitated at the moment. I have been taking this tablet in the morning, but after reading the reviews on this forum, I will change to night."

• Bet...
• August 17, 2014

"I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia in 2004. I started out taking Flexeril and Tramadol 37.5. It was helping, but I still had bad days. My doctor told me I would have good and bad days. I also tried Lyrica and another medicine (can't remember the name that started with an S). Came off of Lyrica and then the S. I was put on Cymbalta, started with 60 mg a day, then upped to 120 mg. It does not help with the fibromyalgia, but it does wonders for my mood swings and hot flashes."

• Rac...
• March 26, 2017

"I was prescribed Cymbalta when I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia last year. Cymbalta is by far the worst medicine I could ever imagine being on. It did nothing for my fibromyalgia pain. I stayed on it to see if it would work with time, nothing. I told my doctor I felt no better about my fibromyalgia pain and decided to wean off. This is the ugly part. My dose went from 60 mg to 30 mg for the next two weeks, and then I was told to take it every other day for 2 weeks, and so I did. Here I am, 3 days off of it completely, and I feel horrendous. Muscles are stiff, mouth is constantly dry, diarrhea is nonstop, vomiting, constant nausea, headache, body zaps, brain zaps, feeling exhausted but can't sleep. Cymbalta is hell. Please avoid at all costs."

• Dar...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• September 19, 2019

"I have just started on Cymbalta 30 mg. It's working wonders for my chronic pain, but the side effects are horrible, such as chest pains, dizziness, muscle weakness in arms and sometimes legs, drowsiness, mental confusion, insomnia, increased anxiety, nausea, and it feels like my throat is a bit tight, plus heart palpitations. It's also difficult to urinate - it seems I have to really push. I plan on taking Cymbalta 30 mg for the rest of my life because it helps with the chronic pain that I'm in and works well. But I could definitely go without the yucky side effects... bleh. I'm 21 years old. I have Borderline Personality Disorder, anxiety, depression, fibromyalgia, and POTS (Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome)... So yeah, I'm in constant pain."

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

"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."

• Sar...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• March 6, 2023

"The drug was difficult to start, side effects were awful, such as visual hallucinations (especially in dark environments), agitation, and involuntary spasms. Cymbalta 30 mg worked okay for generalized anxiety disorder and fibromyalgia, not a miracle worker. It suddenly stopped working around the third-year mark, and my side effects worsened too (constipation as 1-2 bowel movements per week, sexual dysfunction, excessive sweating, lethargy, etc.). The worst part is the discontinuation syndrome, it literally feels like dying. I was told by medical professionals that at a low dose (30 mg) it's safe to quit cold turkey, but apparently, there are patients like me who can't tolerate such a fast taper. People on the Internet with zero knowledge of medicine or pharmacology state that the only safe tapering method is by opening capsules and counting microbeads, lowering the dose by 5-10% every 2-3 weeks. In other words, it would take at least a year to safely taper 30 mg. Avoid this mess by never starting it."

• DMa...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• August 7, 2019

"I took one dose of this medicine, 20 mg, and with an hour had severe diarrhea, a horrible headache, and then panic and anxiety set in. It was so bad that I had to leave work 2 hours into my shift. On my way home, I actually stopped at the ER and sat in the parking lot debating on whether to go in. Luckily, I was able to reach my doctor's office, who gave me the go-ahead to take a Xanax to counteract these side effects and didn't have to go to the ER. It was so bad that I even had my husband leave work because I was too scared to be home alone. I would rather suffer through pain than have to do that again."

• Mat...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• October 12, 2019

"I saw all these negative comments when my doctor suggested it for my fibromyalgia pain and took it anyway. DON'T DO THE SAME! For me, this is the worst drug ever created. I don't usually like to write negative comments, but this drug actually destroyed a year of health for me. Be extra careful if you decide to take it (which I don't suggest!)."

• Sun...
• April 29, 2015

"I felt less pain, but the side effects were NOT worth it. I ended up becoming very depressed and apathetic and slept for 12+ hours a day, missed work, didn't clean or eat. I was taken off after I crashed my car."

• Kri...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• September 22, 2015

"I have been on Cymbalta for my fibromyalgia since Nov. 2014. I had loved this med, helped somewhat with my pain and also helped my moods. (I called it my happy pill... lol) I have been experiencing many months of restless sleep and extreme sweating! I never considered it was my wonder drug. But it is, it has to be... Cymbalta is the only drug I take and the only change for me in a year. Also, I have gained an excessive amount of weight! I cannot handle this extreme sweating, also very fatigued. I am starting today to wean off of it... my doc started me on Lyrica. I sure hope this helps! So tired of being tired and in pain..."

• lad...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• January 4, 2016

"This medicine was great and did relieve my pain. However, now it has been discovered that it is terribly hard to stop taking. The side effects are unbelievable. It can take a year to get off this medicine. Please go to the forum here about Cymbalta and also on Facebook. I have currently started tapering off this medicine after taking it for 4 years or so because I believe it is causing other problems for me such as memory loss, brain fog, being tired all the time, tinnitus, night sweats, etc."

• Med...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• June 11, 2017

"I did not notice a change while taking this med. I still took it for 2 years even though it was not effective. The reason I continued this med was because everything me and my Dr. tried to get me off the med, it did not work. Finally, after 2 years, I was able to stop taking it by starting Prozac the next day of my last dose of Cymbalta. I took the Prozac for 10 days with no side effects, and then I stopped the Prozac. I am finally free of that prison."

• Me ...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• August 16, 2019

"I took Cymbalta for 1 month for my pain. After about 2 weeks, bad side effects set in. I had stomach pain, memory loss, nauseated feeling, no hunger, dizziness - almost falling over. I felt so bad I knew not what to do. Finally, I told a few close people about what was going on, and I decided to call my doctor to get off Cymbalta. The doctor told me to stop immediately and rest. I did and slowly began to feel better. It's been 3 days and I'm still not normal, but a little better. I'm putting my words out there that if you're afraid of stuff like this, please stay away from Cymbalta. I think it should be taken out of the pharmacy. It is horrible."

• Anonymous
• August 7, 2019

"I started Cymbalta to help with pain. I had horrible side effects. I was extremely nauseous, tired, sweaty, and more. I took this medicine for about a month, and the side effects never seemed to go away. So I stopped taking it, even though I know you’re supposed to slowly do so. I just felt sick taking it, and I still feel sick after stopping. I can’t stop throwing up. I honestly don’t even think it’s worth trying this medicine. I would stay away at all costs."