Duloxetine help pain?

[Strike me lucky]

Specifically neuropathy and post shingles pain. Ive had bad experiences with other snri and a nri.

Were low doses enough for duloxetine ?
30mg caps are the lowest dose, atleast pills i could cut.

How long before pain Relief noticed?

And side effects eg over stimulated causing insomnia. Weight gain or loss?

Anything else worth noting?

Thanks

 

[Remy]

Specifically neuropathy and post shingles pain. Ive had bad experiences with other snri and a nri.

Were low doses enough for duloxetine ?
30mg caps are the lowest dose, atleast pills i could cut.

How long before pain Relief noticed?

And side effects eg over stimulated causing insomnia. Weight gain or loss?

Anything else worth noting?

Thanks

Cymbalta/duloxetine was one of the worst drug experiences I have ever had.

It did help with the pain at first but it also created a strange, catatonic state in me where I was unable to sleep, yet unable to do anything but lay in bed and stare at the wall all day. It was awful so I stopped taking it after a few weeks. Then I got rebound pain, so bad it was like someone had poured gasoline all over my body and lit a match. Thankfully, I had not taken it at high doses or for very long, but I still had side effects in some areas for years afterwards.

 

[Who Me?]

Try nurofen

 

[ShyestofFlies]

I've been on it for a month and a half or so- no symptoms changes other than minor cog fog relief. Nothing for pain. No side effects either though. Also it oddly is not seeming to be very effective for my depression or other mental illnesses at all. My case seems to be rare, from what I've heard most people either love or hate cymbalta.

 

[Paw]

Duloxetine eliminated most of my worst burning pain (all over, related to neuropathy) within a week. Also, surprisingly, it really helped with IBS, which I'd been dealing with for 15 years or so.
Didn't do much re mood, or for my RLS. It certainly didn't touch my fatigue, but I don't think it made it worse either.
I started on 90 mg day, but now I'm down usually to 60. (My RX is weirdly for 75 capsules per month, 30 mg each.)
Been on it a couple years. IBS has been returning somewhat over the past half year. Burning is periodic and situational, but not the norm like it used to be. Myalgias remain.
It's not easy for some people (like me) to discontinue (brain zaps, etc). So I wouldn't recommend getting too deeply involved with it unless it helps as quickly and dramatically as it did me.

 

[Strike me lucky]

Cymbalta/duloxetine was one of the worst drug experiences I have ever had.

It did help with the pain at first but it also created a strange, catatonic state in me where I was unable to sleep, yet unable to do anything but lay in bed and stare at the wall all day. It was awful so I stopped taking it after a few weeks. Then I got rebound pain, so bad it was like someone had poured gasoline all over my body and lit a match. Thankfully, I had not taken it at high doses or for very long, but I still had side effects in some areas for years afterwards.

Thats my concern. Similar experience years ago from effexor, especially trying higher doses.

 

[Strike me lucky]

Saw my dr today. He wanted me to see a pain specialist who uses injections into nerves etc. Guessing botox, so i will be like the beautiful people lol. But these are specialist at private hospitals so cost $$$$. So trying one other option first.

Im going start duloxetine tomorrow at 30mg which i hope works
Once i know i can tolerate it i will do another couple of days on prednisone.

No headache this morning when i woke up but in a couple of hrs it starts brewing. Late this afternoon was just lying in a dark room hoping the cocktail of painkillers would kick in, eventually .

Go duloxetine

 

[Cort]

Saw my dr today. He wanted me to see a pain specialist who uses injections into nerves etc. Guessing botox, so i will be like the beautiful people lol. But these are specialist at private hospitals so cost $$$$. So trying one other option first.

Im going start duloxetine tomorrow at 30mg which i hope works
Once i know i can tolerate it i will do another couple of days on prednisone.

No headache this morning when i woke up but in a couple of hrs it starts brewing. Late this afternoon was just lying in a dark room hoping the cocktail of painkillers would kick in, eventually .

Go duloxetine

Go duloxetine! Good luck!

It can certainly help with pain in some people - http://www.cortjohnson.org/forums/t...some-symptoms-in-me-cfs-but-not-fatigue.1919/

 

[Strike me lucky]

Antidepressants are said to take 1 to 2 weeks to work. I have always noticed effects the first day. I have read the pain relief effects can work quicker.

This morning 8am i took duloxetine and by 1130 i could feel the noradrenaline effects which is more alertness and a light sweat happening. Generally within an hr of waking up i have a dull pain on left side of head where shingles were and gradually pain spreads until my whole head aches and feels like a brick.

So far this shingles pain is more a sensation on left side of head. I feel more alert and pain is down. Still early so we will see if it effects sleep which is a concern i have. Hopefully shingles stuff keeps improving.

I still dont really understand why they say that ADs take weeks to work when i feel effects from them the first day.

 

[Strike me lucky]

Second day on duloxetine and i cant say its helping today. I've had to take other pain meds etc. But no negative effects from it or effected my sleep. I will continue and see if things change. Tomorrow i will also do a couple of days on prednisolone to try and calm this inflammation down.

 

[Bigdiesel]

Specifically neuropathy and post shingles pain. Ive had bad experiences with other snri and a nri.

Were low doses enough for duloxetine ?
30mg caps are the lowest dose, atleast pills i could cut.

How long before pain Relief noticed?

And side effects eg over stimulated causing insomnia. Weight gain or loss?

Anything else worth noting?

Thanks

 

[Who Me?]

@Bigdiesel hi! You quoted @Strike me lucky but didn't say anything. Lol. Been there.

 

[Bigdiesel]

I've been on Duloxetine 60 mg for about 2 years. I'm also taking Lyrica 200 mg X 2 and Dialudid 8mg, all for pain. Each one helps in a different way and I still have considerable pain. NSAIDs are now pretty much out because I'm on blood thinner for unprovoked DVT and multiple large pulmonary embolisms.

The Duloxetine helps keep my mood decent. I take it in the morning and find for a few hours I feel better, then the daily flu hits and I feel crummy until bed when the body aching keeps me from sleeping until Dialudid kicks in for a while then I start all over.

Short answer, nothing really works for me, but each one does something

 

[IrisRV]

ETA: In an effort to shorten my overlong posts and make them less difficult visually for some members, I have deleted the majority of this post.

A number of years ago, I took duloxetine to help with intractable muscle aches that, among other things, were keeping me awake or waking me in the night. For me, it reduced the aches to the point where OTC pain meds could handle it. So I didn't get 100% pain relief, but it made the difference between constant aches that nothing touched and manageable aches.

 

[IrisRV]

@Bigdiesel hi! You quoted @Strike me lucky but didn't say anything. Lol. Been there.

Haven't we all, lol!

He did say something, it's just inside the quotation box, so hard to find. Happens to us all.

@Bigdiesel, it looks like the square bracket /quote square bracket at the end of the quote might be messed up. Perhaps it is not complete, or it might be at the end of the post instead of the end of the quote. You can click Edit on your post and fix the end quote and see if that helps.

 

[Bigdiesel]

A number of years ago, I took duloxetine to help with intractable muscle aches that, among other things, were keeping me awake or waking me in the night. For me, it reduced the aches to the point where OTC pain meds could handle it. So I didn't get 100% pain relief, but it made the difference between constant aches that nothing touched and manageable aches.

Mine was an exaggerated, but dull flu-like muscle pain all over rather than sharp pains, if that makes a difference.

I had no side-effects I was aware of.

I stopped taking it after a long course of Valcyte reduced or eliminated many of my symptoms. I still get joint and muscle aches during PEM, but they are manageable with OTC meds.

It continues to amaze me how differently we react to medications. I don't see a pattern, either, so I don't know how we're supposed to evaluate whether a particular med might be great or horrible for us. It sux that we have to experiment blindly when we already feel lousy.

It is like blindfolding yourself, spinning around and trying to hit a speck on the wall with a dart

 

[Who Me?]

@Bigdiesel not to get off topic but are you a PR refugee?

 

[Strike me lucky]

At the momeny duloxetine isn't doing two fiths of bugger all and same with prednisolone. Lyrica is helping but try to avoid it during the day as it makes me groggy but currently its not an option.

I will keep taking duloxetine as they say effects can take weeks to occur.

 

[Bigdiesel]

@Bigdiesel not to get off topic but are you a PR refugee?

??

 

[Bigdiesel]

At the momeny duloxetine isn't doing two fiths of bugger all and same with prednisolone. Lyrica is helping but try to avoid it during the day as it makes me groggy but currently its not an option.

I will keep taking duloxetine as they say effects can take weeks to occur.

Prednisone is my "deal with the devil" but I can only take it on rare occasions. I feel as close as I can get to normal but then crash for the next few days after.