Cymbalta, anyone?

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flutterbee

Guest
So, on a few threads recently I've been saying how I never intend to go off lexapro. Never say never, huh. :wink:

I had a doctor appointment this morning and was telling her how I ache all over and how when I get up in the morning my ankles and knees hurt so bad that I can hardly walk. I hobble downstairs with most of my weight on the handrail. As the day goes on it gets better, although I'm stiff and sore for a few steps when I get up from sitting. This will go on for a few weeks and then it won't be so bad for a few weeks. The body aches were horrible prior to the MI, but they are still present.

My doctor asked me if I had ever been checked for arthritis or lupus, to which the answer is no. She then started a physical exam and started pushing on me in various places (learned afterwards that she was checking pressure points) and she told me that she thinks I have fibromyalgia. She ordered lab work and is checking for various other things to rule them out, such as lupus and arthritis, but she is thinking fibromyalgia. I briefly looked at fibro information on the web tonight (too tired to go in depth) and what I read sounded very familiar to what I have lived for several years now.

So....she wants me to switch to cymbalta as it seems to help with pain. I'm just looking for anyone with any experience with cymbalta. It took a long time for me to find an AD that works for me and I've been very happy - very, very happy - with lexapro; changing AD's scares me a bit. Ok. A lot. I don't want to go back to being scary depressed and I've been struggling with some issues anyway.

I'd really like to figure out how to trade this body in for a better model. Mine's defective. :rofl:
 

sameold sameold

New Member
Hi
My difficult child has been on cymbalta for a couple of years now. We have had some good results from it. This is the first medication that he has been on since he was 10 that has prevented him from saying he wants to kill himself daily.
 

timer lady

Queen of Hearts
Heather,

I've been on cymbalta for a bit over a year now - love this medication. Has really been a positive in my life.

Good luck with this.
 

Steely

Active Member
So I have been following your story closely since I have had high BiPolar (BP) since age 20, and am at high risk for everything you are going through. It scares me to say the least. Lately I have had really bad body aches, and so I read your post, and was perplexed. If you don't mind, would you mind enlightening me on your diagnosis - and what the body aches were like before you had MI? (which I am not sure what MI is - sorry).

I am currently adding on to my Lexapro, Wellbutrin, because my depression has been so bad......but I am getting ready to see my dr. again, so I want to be completely informed.

Sorry.......I hope I did not hi-jack this post.....since I really have no info on Cymbalta other than my friend is on it - "oh how helpful I am sure you are saying" :laugh:
You can PM me if you want to preserve this posts integrity.
 
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flutterbee

Guest
Honestly, I'm not even phased by the fibro diagnosis, if that is indeed what it turns out to be. I've had the aches and pains for a long time. This would just be giving it a name. I am very nervous about switching AD's, however.

I hope it works as well for me as it has for you two.
 

susiestar

Roll With It
I have had fibrosince I was in my early teens. Finally got a diagnosis of fibro when I was 22. Everyone is different with this dang disease.

Cymbalta is highly advertised as helping pain. The only people I know who have had pain relief from cymbalta alone are people with severe depression. Severe depression can cause aches, but it sounds like you have something else going on also.

Cymbalta alone did nothing for me. Didn't help anything at all. It did make me weepy. I DO react in strange and unpredictable ways to things.

If the lexapro is working for your depression maybe your doctor could keep it and add something like Lyrica. Lyrica seems to work well for nerve pain, which is what a lot of fibro pain is. (At least this is what I have been told.)

Much of the treatment for fibro is treating the symptoms. One of the medications I absolutely adore is lidoderm. It is a lidocaine patch that you put over what hurts badly. It sticks to you and doesn't hurt to pull off. And it doesn't give you any wierd, out of it reaction. I suggested it to my aunt. She asked her doctor and then got her doctor using the patches for his knee and shoulders. It is really wonderful.

Narcotics are frequently used to control the pain. My regular doctor and my rheumatologist both feel that you can go up on the medications until the pain stops. They supervise me closely, and have done a wonderful job of getting thngs under control.

I'm so sorry you have this, but at least you can get help with the diagnosis.

Hugs,

Susie
 
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flutterbee

Guest
WW -

I don't mind sharing. Heart disease is the number one killer of women and knowledge is power, although our risk doesn't match men's risk until the age off 55 whereas men start hitting the risky age at 45. Everyone's symptoms are unique, but there are some common symptoms of heart attack. Heart attacks for women often feel different than for men. Not all women have chest pain. A lot of women have no symptoms at all prior to having a heart attack and, even though heart disease is the number one killer of women, A LOT of doctor's blow the symptoms off as GERD or anxiety; even with women that have a history of heart attacks.

MI is myocardial (sp) infarction - heart attack. Prior to that I had progressively worsening health, including: severe muscle weakness (couldn't hold the brake in the car and would have to put car in park at traffic lights), body pain and burning - severe, crushing fatigue - severe, brain fog - severe, shortness of breath, a bubble in my throat that I thought was heartburn even though antacids didn't help - I now know that was angina, headaches everyday to varying degrees, tightness in my shoulders - angina, inability to get warm - i had goosebumps most of the time, I was so cold. I also had pain in my teeth. Looking back I really don't know how I functioned at all. I was diagnosed 6 weeks before the heart attack with chronic fatigue. I don't have chronic fatigue, we now know.

After typing this I realize that a lot of these symptoms are the symptoms of fibro, too. My doctor did tell me today that she thinks that the untreated heart disease would have made the fibro more pronounced. I still have most of those symptoms - except for being cold - but to a much, much lesser degree.

The heart attack didn't feel anything like I would expect a heart attack to feel. Nothing like what you see on tv. In fact, they gave me morphine in the ER and I told them I didn't need it. I found out later that morphine also works as a vaso-dilator (sp). My heart attack symptoms started out as severe body pain all day. Then the bubble in my throat and an all over feeling of malaise. My abdomen bloated, too. That happened most of the time when I had that bubble - I could actually watch my abdomen bloat. I was told I had IBS. I haven't had any IBS symptoms since the heart attack. Anyway...then it all kind of dissipated. The next day, I got the bubble again and just felt bad all over. Then my shoulders started to hurt and I felt pain in the upper part of my chest. Not severe at all, just uncomfortable. Then had shortness of breath. That went on for 2 days. By the 4th day, it was mostly in my upper back and shoulders and felt like a pinched nerve and it went down the back of my left arm - just a line right down my arm that felt like a pinched nerve, too. It also went up the back of my neck. With exertion, i.e., walking across the room, I had pain in my upper chest and shortness of breath. It was so non-dramatic. In fact, I took my daughter to the doctor - 30 minutes away - for an ear infection on the 4th day. I almost didn't go to the ER. Finally decided to after being nagged by a friend and really thought I would be sent home with a prescription for nexium or an anxiety medication or something. EKG was normal. Only had one of the enzymes come back elevated. I had 4 blockages: 2 at 99%, 1 at 50% and 1 at 40%, plus many small arteries - too small to stent - blocked at 30-40%.

I've never had high blood pressure. My cholesterol was barely high. I was a smoker. No strong family history...barely any family history at all and none at a young age.

As far as what the body aches were like - there wasn't a part of my body that didn't hurt. All the time. I really don't know how else to explain it. There was just no way to get comfortable and advil didn't do much to help with it.
 

DammitJanet

Well-Known Member
As you know, I have had fibro for quite some time and I have the arthritis on top of that.

I havent been put on cymbalta because I cant take AD's but I have heard of lots of people who do like it. I was just given a script for Lyrica so I will see how that does.

Now Im 3 seizure medications...LOL.

check out http://www.immunesupport.com for good info on fibro.
 

Steely

Active Member
Thanks Heather.......that helps a lot. I am in constant fear of his happening to me, especially given the stress I am under. I appreciate your candor, and as I have been doing, I will continue to be monitored by a doctor. I just don't want to be over-dramatic, and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) about the whole thing. I have been hospitalized twice for chest pains, which has lead to no true diagnosis, but leaves me wondering what truly is going on. They make such a big deal out of chest pains at the hospital, that at this point I will just see a doctor if this happens again.

The body pain is mainly in my legs at this point. I can't walk in the morning like you described, and now I am having trouble with my joints like my knees and arms. At this point, seeing a doctor seems unproductive, but maybe I am just being stubborn.

Thanks again for the info.
 

DammitJanet

Well-Known Member
WW

go see a rheumy doctor if you are having problems with pain in your legs and joints. Some are good...I hear..lol. Actually I did see one really good one.
 
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flutterbee

Guest
I was going to suggest that, as well. Also, if you're at high risk for heart disease you may want to rule out peripheral artery disease, too. Better to be safe than sorry.
 
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