Hi everyone! Went to my PCP today and he doubled my tegretol. So now I'm taking 400 mgs per day, 200 in the a.m. and 200 in the p.m. He also changed my depression med from Celexa (generic) to Cymbalta. He started me out of 30 mgs and said we will go up to 60 after about 4 weeks.
Does Cymbalta help with TN?
Hi ChipperRoo,
It is one of the anti-depressants that are also used for pain. I know they commonly use it in the management of fibromyalgia. Coincidentally, my DR just gave it to me yesterday. I have been having a lot of problems and am going to be seeing a new specialist. My DR has long suspected that I may have fibromyalgia and I also have MS in my family.
Well, I was doing some reading last night and I am a little nervous to start it. This is just my opinion and I am not in the business of giving out medical advice but this is something I am reading about...that it is a difficult medication to get off of. I know all anti-depressants are but apparently this one doesn't have a very good reputation. May be worth doing some research on. Hopefully someone will chime in that has actually used it. I am curious as well.
Jane
Thanks JustJane! I have read that it is hard to get off of once you get on it. I have been on the generic version of Celexa for probably over 10 years now. I would imagine my body has just got so used to it that it's not doing a good job anymore.
As far as the Cymbalta, the doc said let's just try the 30 mgs for 4 weeks, come back and let's evaluate. I think that's a good plan for now.
I'm just hoping it will help with the TN also. :)
I tried it several years ago for some back pain -- gave me a HORRIBLE headache.
Keep us updated ChipperRoo. I am holding off on starting it for now but would love to know how you make out. I am really nervous with all of the medication.
I am also interested in this since nortriptyline gave me heart palpitations.
H
Did you try Amitriptyline?
haach76 said:
I am also interested in this since nortriptyline gave me heart palpitations.
H
no, but i think maybe cymbalta would make more sense for me. First, I heard that elavil (amitriptyline) has a pretty bad side effect profile and also it doesnt do much for anxiety. Whereas cymbalta helps with anxiety also.
The only downside of cymbalta is the horrifying stories you read about discontinuation syndrome.
H
It does have some side effects. I was on it twice for more then a year. It worked very well for me. Knocked my ATN tooth pain right out. Side effects were fatigue (only take at night before bed), a bit foggy, dry mouth and some tummy troubles. I got used to it pretty quickly and functioned very well on it...work full time, have a daughter, was a single mom for a long time.
All these meds are not ideal right? And we do tolerate each one so differently. Overall I do recommend Amitriptyline but am not advocating for it.
I am on Nortrip right now. It hasn't worked so great for pain control. I am just on 30mgs and dealing with flare ups as they come. Bidding time and looking around at options for pain control. Story of my life!
haach76 said:
no, but i think maybe cymbalta would make more sense for me. First, I heard that elavil (amitriptyline) has a pretty bad side effect profile and also it doesnt do much for anxiety. Whereas cymbalta helps with anxiety also.
The only downside of cymbalta is the horrifying stories you read about discontinuation syndrome.
H
Hopefully some people that have used cymbalta will respond :)
if you do a search on the forum on cymbalta there are a lot of results.
Also there are a few new SNRIs (same class as cymbalta), just because doctors haven't gotten around to prescribing them for TN doesn't mean they are not good for it. I wish someone would give them a try and report back their experience:D
One example is savella: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milnacipran
H
I tried it for a week and was upset I had to discontinue because it made me a complete insomniac… I always wonder if it could have helped but you can’t be up all night every night…
I have taken the Cymbalta since December and it has really worked well for me. I took it at first waiting until I was able to see a neurologist for additional medications and it was a life saver. It wasn't a cure all, but it helped tremendously and works well now with all my other medications.
I had blackouts from Cymbalta. Every person reacts to medicine differently. I usually have one of my friends "babysit" me while my husband is at work whenever I start a new med or have a big dosage change.