Duloxetine and Headaches: What Users Say (Page 3)

• 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!"

• Spe...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• June 19, 2017

For Anxiety "I'm pretty sure that I don't suit this medication. The first three weeks were absolute torture with blurred vision, headaches, nausea, and no energy. After that time, the medicine did seem to help my anxiety and depression. However, after three months, the side effects came back worse than the first three weeks. I went to my doctor and asked to switch medications immediately. Coming off of the Cymbalta was the worst experience of my life. At one point, I had uncontrollable shaking and muscle movements. I couldn't even concentrate enough to go to the kitchen and make a sandwich. I know this drug works for many people, but for myself, it was like taking poison."

• 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."

• Anonymous
• March 12, 2008

For Depression "To begin with, I experienced nausea, excessive yawning, extreme fatigue - I'd fall asleep in the afternoon, sweating, and bad dreams at night, and really bad anxiety. These side effects lasted for a few weeks, but then I started to feel great. After 5 months, I decided to stop taking it - big mistake. I felt dizzy, sick, pounding heart, headaches, and the depression came back almost instantly. I started taking it again 2 weeks ago. Side effects aren't as severe this time, but they haven't kicked in either."

• Sie...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• March 5, 2014

For Osteoarthritis "This was great for pain relief for the two months I was taking it. The problems I had far outweighed any benefits. I was suffering from blackouts where I would do things and not remember doing them. The depression, nausea, and headaches were unbearable too. I have been off it for 2 months now and am just starting to feel better. I'll live with the on-average 8 pain."

• Lyn...
• November 13, 2020

For Back Pain "Doc prescribed Cymbalta for nerve pain resembling shingles. Entire right torso, front and back, feels like I had been dragged on asphalt behind a truck! I also have severe diabetic neuropathy in my feet and hands. 1st day on Cymbalta, I was a little nauseous with a noticeable headache. Had trouble sleeping. I didn't hear the alarm, so I overslept. 2nd day (today), still can't sleep. Even with Ambien. No change in pain levels yet. Going to try taking it before bed tonight. Hoping it will work for me. Would like to get off gabapentin. Taking 2400 mg per day, which can't be good for me! Thanks for listening."

• mr ...
• June 15, 2016

For Chronic Pain "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."

• 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!!"

• add...
• May 24, 2015

For Chronic Pain "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!"

• its...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• August 1, 2019

For Fibromyalgia "Cymbalta seemed to help at first, until the side effects became unbearable and it stopped working. It made me sleep over 12 hours a day, gain a bunch of weight, and made me have no libido whatsoever. Not to mention, it's extremely hard to come off of. I stopped it last week, and I'm still experiencing withdrawals -- brain zaps, nausea, headache. I would not recommend Cymbalta for fibro. It might help your pain, but it'll make your fatigue worse."

• Kyp...
• May 11, 2017

For Depression "Previous med Lexapro quit working after several years. Cymbalta seemed to work for the 1st week, but I think it may have been a placebo effect. After about a week, my body started hurting and feeling hot from the inside, especially my legs below my knees. After about 3 weeks, stiff neck, hot flashes, restlessness, anxiety, headaches. 4 weeks, all these plus talking in sleep, joint pain, body aches, stiff feeling, trouble focusing, and I asked to be taken off it. I was only at 30mg."

• Use...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• March 25, 2021

For Depression "The withdrawals were so hard on me. The brain zaps were the most painful thing. I did not know a human can experience electric, painful zaps in their brains. It was the worst headache I could imagine. I was never so severely dependent (physically addicted) on anything like duloxetine. Benzodiazepine withdrawals were child's play in comparison to these withdrawals. Not to mention it worsened my depression. It made me completely numb like a zombie. You could crash a car in front of me, and I would not even flinch. I had terrible anger issues when trying to quit this. Screaming and destroying things. I had to taper off by opening the capsules and counting the beads. There are about 170 beads in each one. It took me more than one year to taper off slowly. The worst single substance I have ever tried. I would not give it to my worst enemy."

• Boo...
• February 24, 2021

For Depression "I have depression and anxiety, so my doctor prescribed me Duloxetine (generic for Cymbalta). I tried other ones, but they either made me too sick or suicidal. He started me at 20 mg and moved me up to 60 mg. It’s helped me a lot. I take it with a combination of going to therapy. I admit when I don’t take it, I become an emotional psychopath. I start to pick fights with people and cry all the time. I also get lethargic, headaches, brain zaps, and dizzy (what happens depends on how long I stop taking it). It’s really great when I’m not being careless or self-destructive. Something I really like about it is that I don’t get sick if I don’t take it with meals. Sometimes I have to skip breakfast, so that makes it convenient. If you choose to take it, I recommend the first week or two to take it at night because it’ll make you really sleepy, but after that, start taking it in the morning because your serotonin starts flowing. It’ll prevent you from sleeping if you continue to take it at night."

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

For Chronic Pain "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."

• Anonymous
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• October 8, 2013

For Depression "I don't feel like this made too much of a difference and was prescribed to replace Zoloft, which I believe was better but made me gain a lot of weight. Getting off of Cymbalta was very hard, although I followed my doctor's instructions and decreased very gradually. By the end, I had to start taking motion sickness pills due to the dizziness and nausea I experienced from the withdrawals. I also experienced headaches and felt like my eyes would cross every time I took a step. Getting onto it was super easy. I went from 60 mg to 120 mg pretty quickly, and I lowered it from 120 to 90 to 60 to 30 over the course of about 2 months and still dealt with these withdrawal effects."

• CGW...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• December 6, 2016

For Depression "So far, so good. I haven't been on it very long, but I definitely feel like my overall quality of life has improved. Mild headache and nausea the first week or two, which went away. I still get sad when sad things happen, but it no longer feels overwhelming. The 'doom and gloom' is definitely gone. I take 2 a day in the morning."

• abn...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• August 11, 2015

For Chronic Pain "Was given 30 mg Cymbalta for pain in hip as well as depression due to chronic pain. It's been 2 months, after about 3 weeks of many side effects: diarrhea, nausea, headache. The pharmacy told me to stick with it, they will pass. They have, except I've gained about 5 lbs. The depression is better, the pain isn't any better, in fact, it seems to be getting worse. I don't think the Cymbalta is making the pain worse, I think my hip is just getting worse. But not happy about the weight gain since I was fighting my weight before I took it. And being heavier can't be good for a bad hip."

• Anonymous
• February 3, 2010

For Depression "I have taken this medication before and ran out because I don't have insurance and had to go through one of the drug help agencies to get back on it. I started back on the medicine (30 mg capsules) and have had severe eye problems, on the edge of my seat, tremors, OCD issues such as twisting my hair, and constantly walking the floor. I can't sleep when I take this medication, and the night sweats and low-grade fever are miserable. I have also had a constant headache while taking this medication along with a low-grade fever. I have no sex drive at all, and I am in school, my mind goes blank. I feel like my head is sometimes floating above my body."

• Cia...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• October 10, 2021

For Anxiety "I've been taking this for two weeks now, and I must admit that I wanted to stop after 2 or 3 days because of nausea, brain fog, and headaches, but I pushed through, and I'm so glad that I did. For the first time in such a long time, I can feel life returning to normal now. I can get out of bed in the mornings now and actually look forward to going to work. I'm two weeks in now and on a 30 mg dose, and I am so glad that I took this leap of faith. I understand that this won't work for everyone, but you must push past the initial 4 or 5 days to be able to make a solid decision. Life is good now."

• Anonymous
• April 18, 2009

For Fibromyalgia "I took it for fibromyalgia for 4 weeks. I had loss of memory, dizziness, and fainting. I weaned myself off with the help of my doctor. Withdrawals were horrible. Headaches, slurred speech, loss of memory, heart racing and palpitations, trouble breathing, and dizziness. It lasted nearly 8 months. It was the worst time in my life. I'm happy for those that can tolerate the side effects and are successful on this medication. This is just my story."

• Pan...
• May 3, 2016

For Generalized Anxiety Disorder "I've been on Cymbalta for a few years now (on various doses) alongside clonazepam (0.5 mg twice/day), and I have to say it's been the worst experience of my life. I was put on it after Effexor XR basically stopped working after 4 yrs. At first, Cymbalta seemed to 'take the edge off.' I didn't notice many of the initial side effects because of my severe withdrawal from Effexor. But after about 9 months at 30 mg, Cymbalta just stopped working and actually started to make me experience anxiety and panic attacks that were insanely intense. I have moved up to 60 mg and back down to 30, upped my clonazepam, and it's just gotten worse and worse. Weight gain (50 lbs), severe panic attacks, GAD, severe depression, OCD, stomachache, IBS, headache, ..."

• RJa...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• November 29, 2020

"I have depression, anxiety, PTSD, and fibromyalgia. I titrated off 40 mg of Prozac two weeks ago and started 30 mg of Cymbalta one week ago. This drug is a game changer. I already feel so much better, and apparently it’s only going to get better. After suffering for so long, I now feel so hopeful, have more energy, and focus. I did suffer some side effects and still have a headache, but that’s nothing by comparison to how much I was suffering before. I hope that this review helps others."

• Ash...
• January 26, 2018

For Fibromyalgia "Started this medicine on 1/17/2018. It has worked wonders for me. I haven't known what pain-free was for 10+ years. The first day or two, I was a bit nauseous and had on-and-off headaches, but felt a decrease in pain immediately. After the 2nd day, nausea passed, and I've felt great, other than being tired all the time, but I'm used to that. I hope everyone else can feel relief with this medicine like I have."

• Jus...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• October 15, 2017

For Diabetic Peripheral Neuropathy "Was prescribed 20 mg of this when my hands started burning, which caused me more anxiety than the idiopathic nerve damage in my feet that was detected on an EMG. Feeling much less anxious, no nerve pain in my hands, and 80-90% less tingling/vibrating in my feet. The first week on this, I had severe headaches in the morning, which I pushed through and didn't have after about 10 days. I feel noticeably less energetic and groggy in the morning than I used to. Other than that, I haven't noticed any side effects, and I usually react to medications (which makes me cautious). I am not on any other meds. I would rate this a 10, but the awful headaches in the morning were a pain, and feeling groggy until noon-ish is tolerable but not ideal."

• Dan...
• July 23, 2015

For Fibromyalgia "I have fibromyalgia as well, and I stopped taking Cymbalta because my pains improved a great deal, but I had extreme nausea and exhaustion (especially in the AM). Now my pains have come back to kick my behind. Day 2 of Cymbalta. Seems as if it makes me light sensitive, which gives me a headache and dizziness. Like my eyes are heavy and my skin was clammy. I will continue. I'll get back to you in a few weeks."