Duloxetine and Sweating: What Users Say (Page 5)

• the...
• August 19, 2011

Duloxetine for Fibromyalgia "I am a 45-year-old male who tore major muscle groups in the right side of my back and neck 23 years ago. I have suffered horribly since then. I have had surgeries, but the pain was still bad after. The first breakthrough was Lyrica, as it addressed the nerve pain. Now, it appears Cymbalta may have dealt with the remainder of the nerve pain. It has only been a week, but I have cut back on Lyrica and feel only 10% of the pain I once had. If I can survive this ungodly string of opening side effects (sweating, anxiety, weakness, nausea, constipation, dizziness), things may end up OK after all this time. Due to comments on this forum, I am going to ignore the side effects and wait until they go away. If they do go away, then Cymbalta is amazing."

• Pam...
• February 26, 2017

Duloxetine for Generalized Anxiety Disorder "Please do not take this!!!! I have been taking it for 7 years. It never really worked, I don't know why I kept taking it. When I was diagnosed with a mood disorder, they put me on new meds and took me off Cymbalta. They did wean me off, but I was awful. The withdrawals were, and still are, 3 weeks later so bad!!! The brain zaps are the worst, and then there is sweating, shaking, nausea. Please don't even start it, even if it makes you feel good."

• Lan...
• December 16, 2018

For Depression "This is honestly the worst drug anyone could ever take. I took 60 mg of Duloxetine for over 5 years and had to come off it for surgery. I was initially prescribed it by a psychiatrist and left on it for so long because my GPs didn’t know what it was. The withdrawal is absolutely horrendous. I actually thought I was having a seizure at one point. I can’t even describe how awful it is trying to come off this drug. I honestly thought I was going to die. I had flashes of electricity through my brain every couple of minutes that rendered me totally unable to do anything. My head was fuzzy, I had awful dreams and sweats, I had stomach upsets and just a terrible feeling of paranoia. Please be aware before taking this drug - stopping it was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done in my life."

• Jk2...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• June 19, 2021

For Anxiety "Took this medication around 12 last night and right away started to experience weird side effects. Hallucinations and made PTSD worse. Tight chest and faster heartbeat. At one point, I couldn't move my arms or legs. Kept waking up because of sweating. Woke up for the final time around half past 3 this morning, being violently sick, and had to go to A&E. Doctors told me never to take this medication again, it can cause serotonin syndrome."

• Anonymous
• Taken for less than 1 month
• March 17, 2022

For Bipolar Disorder "I began at 30 mg. When it started to kick in, I essentially felt like I had taken some MDMA/amphetamine. Hot flashes, panic, uncontrollable sweating, and even explosive diarrhea to the point where I had lost multiple pounds over the course of one night. After that had mostly subsided, I could not stop grinding my teeth and moving around like I was coming down from some strong stimulant. The twitching was unreal, as were the intrusive thoughts. I was extremely exhausted but had so much trouble getting to sleep. For some reason, I had taken it the following night before I went to sleep. I awoke in a panic, feeling all of the blood pulse throughout my extremities and my vision so blurry that it was a struggle to make out anything around me. I ended up in the ER with stroke-level blood pressure and severe hallucinations. The hallucinations and severe anxiety persisted for about three days after taking it for two. Certainly not a fun time!"

• tan...
• March 18, 2011

Duloxetine for Depression "Have been taking this now for 2 years for anxiety and depression. I had minimal side effects when starting the medicine (needed minimal time to adjust as compared to other SSRIs) but can note I now perspire a lot more, and my cholesterol and blood pressure have increased. This medicine has worked relatively well for me and has made me better balanced. I still get some anxiety and depression, but it's not as debilitating. It will be disappointing if my cholesterol and blood pressure remain high, as I will have to seek alternatives. I have had some weight loss on this medicine and am not hungry all the time like I was on Avanza and Luvox. Fingers crossed, some weight loss will fix the high blood pressure."

• Lee...
• May 11, 2019

Duloxetine for Anxiety "I got bad/severe serotonin syndrome from Cymbalta 60 and tramadol 50. Everyone thought this was strange, as both are low doses. Recently tried Cymbalta a few months ago as monotherapy, after a month, I got mild serotonin syndrome, confirmed by my psychiatrist. I had delirium, nausea, delusions, sweating, and diarrhea. Could this both times be from my huge caffeine intake I’ve had for years, as caffeine and Cymbalta are both CYP1A2 substrates? My son had severe reactions to multiple 2D6 substrates, and gene testing confirmed he is a normal metabolizer. Was just too much medication hurting his 2D6 enzyme. Thoughts on my caffeine abuse with my Cymbalta nasty reactions?"

• Luk...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• October 8, 2021

For Major Depressive Disorder "I've only been on a 20 mg dose of this medication for two weeks, and the effects have already been life-changing. I'm able to make calls and send emails for work without feeling like I'll explode from stress, I can feel happy without any melancholy. I'm sleeping better than I have in 20 years, and I can watch aspirin commercials without crying when the headache goes away. So far, the only negative side effect I've experienced was some profuse sweating and flushing after about 1 week, but those have already faded to the point that they're no longer noticeable."

• Cat...
• November 7, 2011

Duloxetine for Fibromyalgia "I have taken Cymbalta for about a year and a half for fibromyalgia pain. It is great as a pain reducer and an antidepressant, however, the side effects outweighed any benefit I got from it. I had trouble with restlessness, being tired constantly, dizziness, dry mouth, numbness and tingling in my feet, and horrible sweating. I am being weaned off of it now. Went from 60 mg to 30 mg and now to 15 mg. I will be off completely in about a week. The fibro pain is coming back, but I would rather deal with it than the side effects."

• MPP...
• March 11, 2012

Duloxetine for Depression "I have been using Cymbalta for the last 5 years. I started at 30 for a month, then 60 mg, and finally 120 mg because I was under treatment for severe post-traumatic stress disorder, where initially I started with Effexor XR 250 mg, a very bad medicine for people with high blood pressure (made me sweat like crazy and I have up/down mood issues and increased the feeling of hunger). Then the doctor put me on Paxil... even worse. During the last year, I tried to leave Cymbalta for good, but it did not work, I started feeling very anxious, upset, very depressed, and electrical shocks feeling in my head, nausea... I went back to my doctor, and from 30 mg, I went back to 60 mg."

• Sal...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• August 9, 2021

Duloxetine for Anxiety "I have just started week 2 on Cymbalta. I was on Lexapro for 3 years and tapered off. After 1 year, my anxiety attacks started to return. It got so bad that my periods skipped or stopped altogether due to stress. I was crying off and on all day and was paranoid from sunup to sundown. Cymbalta has already started making minor changes in my life for the better. The first few nights, I suffered horrendous panic attacks, excessive sweating, and ice-in-my-veins sensations. (That also happened when I started Lexapro years ago.) I can say that most side effects have subsided, with the exception of low appetite. I am focusing at work, I feel lighter and happier, and have not experienced an anxiety attack since starting the medication. I feel better than I have in almost a year and look forward to this new journey. Thank you, science!"

• Lus...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• September 30, 2019

For Depression "I was put on Duloxetine for depression due to chronic pain. I can say it improved my mood very much, but I did get some side effects. I found I would sweat terribly on it, my bed was soaked nearly every night. Summer was a nightmare. I’m from the UK, and our summers aren’t that great, but I’d be covered in sweat from doing the slightest tasks. My sex drive was also reduced quite badly too. I decided to stop taking it myself and gradually weaned myself down to one 30 mg every other day. When I did stop, I had dizzy spells and nausea for roughly a week. I feel better for coming off it."

• Cym...
• March 6, 2021

For Fibromyalgia "I’ve been on Cymbalta for 4 months, and my psychiatrist recently added Wellbutrin for fatigue. It reduces my pain significantly. It’s not as “happy” of an antidepressant as Zoloft, but I prioritize minimizing the symptoms of my fibromyalgia. It’s the only health condition I have besides a minor bulging disc and DDD in my lower back that mostly doesn’t cause people pain, and I'm 45 lbs overweight. I will update as I keep taking it, but honestly, I’m holding on to Cymbalta and Wellbutrin for dear life as long as it works. IDC if I never come off it. I’m working on getting back to work and believing in myself again. Side effects so far are constipation and sweating like I got rained on. I also noticed a significant decrease in my normally high sex drive, which is good. My goal to help this work as long and as well as possible is to get myself to a healthy weight and take care of myself strictly."

• Kra...
• Taken for 5 to 10 years
• June 6, 2018

For Depression "I've been on duloxetine for about 9 years now, and I absolutely love it. I struggled with sleepiness as a side effect of just about every antidepressant I've ever used except with Cymbalta. I do suffer from a couple of side effects (hyperhidrosis and HBP-treated with a cheap BP med), but the good outweighs the bad. The only real surprise and drawback has been a recent discovery that my generic duloxetine made by manufacturer Solco is complete rubbish. I've never had a problem with any generics in the past, and it took me a few weeks to figure it out. I'm having horrible fibromyalgia pain and depressive episodes because the Solco version is NOT working!"

• Anonymous
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• July 5, 2022

For Major Depressive Disorder "I'm a 48 yr old woman, and finally, finally, finally got a correct diagnosis and prescription. I had tried so many other SSRIs, but now I've been on Duloxetine 60mg for 6 months. I have never felt this great in my life. Ever! My excessive crying has subsided, my intrusive thoughts are not as persistent, my nightmares have just morphed into weird dreams, my anger and rage, which was so intense, has turned into an irritant or a feeling of inconvenience. I'm more calm, level, and rational. My anxiety and nervousness have almost disappeared. I have been sleeping so well at night! Duloxetine has worked for me and my issues (anxiety, depression, frequent urination, diarrhea, anger, rage, complex PTSD, fatigue, intrusive thoughts), and for the first time in my life, I finally feel good. The first few weeks were uncomfortable regarding the side effects. The nausea was awful, I had constipation and diarrhea and sweats, but they've almost all subsided now. Allow an adjustment period for your body to acclimate."

• dir...
• August 19, 2011

Duloxetine for Depression "I have been on Cymbalta for depression for 3 weeks now. I have had a wide range of side effects: sleeplessness, stomach cramps, loss of appetite, sweating, nausea, a constant bad taste in my mouth, and a total loss of libido. I spoke to my doctor about this, and he said it may take a few weeks to really kick in. I hope it hurries up. I had been on other antidepressants a few years ago with no side effects. After 2 days, I feel the medicine has lifted me slightly, but not as much as I would have hoped."

• Anonymous
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• April 14, 2019

Duloxetine for Major Depressive Disorder "Cymbalta does its job for depression, but with possibly some of the worst side effects I have had from a medication. If I start taking this or up my dosage at any time, I am vomiting and sweating with terrible stomach pains. Withdrawals do exist with this med, and they make you shake a lot. It keeps you from doing anything harmful but leaves you in quite a daze and sometimes unable to feel emotions."

• Pet...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• October 17, 2017

For Diabetic Peripheral Neuropathy "Started on 20 mg per day, increasing after a few weeks. At first, I had the expected nausea, dizziness, and feeling of being slightly out of it. However, I was told to push through and give them “time to settle.” Mistake! My symptoms quickly worsened to hot flushes with profuse sweating and a pounding heartbeat, where just being inside the house was way too warm. Then, the mental confusion worsened to the point where I couldn’t even work out simple things like how much money to give when I went shopping. I was getting very confused and clumsy, dropping things and tripping over my own feet. Finally, I began losing control over my upper body. It would freeze up solid with every muscle rigid, and there was nothing I could do to relax."

• lum...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• September 17, 2017

For Fibromyalgia "Started on 30 mg XR. Didn't make it past 3 days. This drug was really hard on my body. Nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, excruciating acid reflux, sweating, pupil dilation, tremors, and depersonalization were all experienced. The only way this drug would be helpful would be if they made it in smaller doses. It did, however, help my nerve pain. The pamphlet says specifically not to open the capsule and dump out some of the enteric-coated beads, but this is the only way I could see this drug being tolerable."

• Bex...
• March 8, 2017

For Chronic Pain "This medication gave me all of the bad side effects of (dry mouth, sweats, nausea, etc.), but did nothing for my pain. I am infuriated that now that this 'generic' is out, the original is through the roof expensive. The generic is NOT the same. Total rubbish."

• Mam...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• June 4, 2019

For Fibromyalgia "I took this and got a hoarse voice, a severe, headache-breaking headache, a clenching jaw, profuse sweating, and an unusually peppery taste in my mouth. I got so scared and stopped. Later, I found many testimonials about this drug being unsafe, addictive, difficult to taper off, and I think that my body's reaction to it helped me dodge the bullet."

• Jac...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• November 13, 2020

For Depression "First day on duloxetine, within 4 hours had to run to the bathroom, horrible diarrhea. Although I did feel it helped my outlook plus the pain in my back. Skipped a day and talked to my doctor and told her my reaction and didn't think it was for me. She said try it for a few more days, that many of her patients were on it and I guess did fine. So next day took 30 mg capsule and no immediate reaction until about 2:30 a.m. I woke up with an awful pain in the rectum area internally and went to the bathroom and proceeded to feel so awful, my forehead and chest just started to pour sweat. I felt real faint and weak. Tried to stand up and felt shaky and unbalanced, then scared for my life. Lasted about 5 to 8 minutes, I believe, before the sweating and faintness went away. Rectum pain lasted I'm guessing an hour, never again. Called the doctor and then threw the rest out."

• Mik...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• March 9, 2018

For Chronic Pain "Well, I am currently using 60 mg of Duloxetine at night for chronic back pain. I was also told it works as a muscle relaxant and a sleep aid. So far, I have not noticed any improvement in back pain, nor does it relax my back muscles, nor does it ever help me sleep, not one single bit. I sweat on this medicine, and I also use Zacin cream. When I sweat, then the area I applied cream to sweats massively and stings like an extremely bad sunburn for many hours. I am sure my doctor had no idea that this combination of meds leads to this and has me feeling very uncomfortable due to stinging and sweating all day and all night. I am coming off both of these meds as soon as I see my doc again. For me, Duloxetine is not a good medicine."

• Fib...
• October 1, 2015

For Fibromyalgia "Started on 30 mg… took at night and couldn't sleep at all. Took in the a.m. and it really reduced pain and cognitive issues! But I was so nauseated, headache, sweating, just sick. Doctor said take every other day…that worked pretty well, so after a few weeks, I started back with one a day. After 7 days, I was deathly ill again, so I went back to every other day. The day off the med was great…no pain, feeling good. The day on the med was awful… sick, headache, sweats. Worse than before! So I got switched to 20 mg…it is only slightly less poisonous. It's been about 2.5 months… I am going to get off it. There is no way this is better."

• Pen...
• April 20, 2019

For Osteoarthritis "I am a 61-year-old woman, and I began taking duloxetine in January 2019 for osteoarthritis of the lumbar spine, hands, knees, and feet. It clearly took the pain away. I then forgot to take the medicine for two days, and the pain began to come back. I got back on track, and the medicine began once again to take away the pain. Then in March, I began getting hot flashes and sweating like never before. On April 20th, after taking my 30 mg dosage, about an hour later, I began to develop hip pain and took 800 mg Motrin. I also had hot flashes and profuse sweating to the point that my pillow was soaked, my sheets, and a towel were soaking wet. I really don’t know what to do at this point."