No More Cymbalta

There have been at least two meds which have given Anna an immediate increase in head pain. And that increase persisted for as long as she took the med. Two I can remember are Zoloft and Diamox. And she tried each of them twice, with the same results. No good for her. They were stopped.

Two years ago she started Cymbalta. It was prior to seeing a new neurosurgeon who was about to do some complicated neurosurgeries. None of which provided much benefit in the form of head pain relief. A difficult, mind boggling, very exhausting time. She has had big struggles ever since those surgeries, and we've gone down a complicated path traveling to different states for answers. She has been on Cymbalta the whole time.

Her doctor doubled her dose of Cymbalta in April this year from 60 mg. to 120 mg. He saw her one month later, and he felt she had gotten even worse. He looked back in her chart and remembered what happened with Zoloft. He said Zoloft was similar to Cymbalta, and he wondered if Cymbalta was possibly making her worse like the Zoloft did. So he weaned her off Cymbalta.

It wasn't too terribly hard to do that (some people have big trouble). It has been over a month since she started weaning off it. No more Cymbalta for her.

Her head pain is better overall. Her nightmares are pretty much gone, and she sleeps better. She is happier.

We have to move forward and not think so much about the past.

Our number one concern has always been her head pain. And Cymbalta seemed like a logical med for her to take for the past two years. Good news--her head pain IS better now and hopefully will stay that way. I still think it needs to get better for her to get any sort of her life back. However better is better. And I'm clinging to that. We'll happily take this modest improvement.

But her back is pretty bad. Burning pain in her spine, legs and feet. I have a feeling that Cymbalta was helping that pain. Now being off Cymbalta, she is feeling it more than ever (even though she is still on pain meds). For whatever is wrong with her still...

A physician wrote this to me:

"No question that Cymbalta COULD simultaneously make her head feel worse and her back feel better.... you are right though, we can only move forward.

Medications are wonderful and horrible at the same time with benefits and risks.... and it really is so tricky to balance the pros and cons. It really seems that her GP is more thoughtful than most in reviewing each medication periodically, re-weighing that risk/benefit ratio.

Fortunately, most of the time, negative med effects are reversible, not permanent.
I hope that Anna continues to feel better overall."

So hopefully seeing a neuro this week may provide some more answers and direction. The timing is good to see him!

Thanks for reading this!

Cheryl

Cheryl,

Glad to hear that Anna is improved in some ways.

Personally I do have to wonder about anti-depressants and pain. I've been off all drugs of this class for a while and while my symptoms and the frequency aren't a whole lot better, I do feel better. The pain isn't quite so intense when things are ramping up. Also, others have noticed that I look better. I don't look quite so ill.

Just my own observation and can say I won't go back to that stuff. I was more ill while I was on it than when I'm off. While I might not be 100%, I'm not at 25%. For some this might be the key to solving their issues but for me, it doesn't solve it.

Becky

Cheryl, So good to hear of something to help Anna's head pain. Too bad it is making the other pain worse. I often find that when my head is really bad, I dont feel the other all over pain from Lyme nearly as much. When the Lyme pain is really bad, the head pain is more tolerable. I guess this is a blessing. I hope the next Dr. can help some more. Baby steps.....
Hugs,
Cindy

It has been pouring rain today, and she is able to talk. Normally she would not be doing that on a very rainy day, with her head pain.

How is Zoe doing?

Cheryl

That's great! We just had a bunch of stormy days and Zoe and I were both miserable. Zoe is not doing well, but she is making it to school most days at least 1/2 of the day. She has a very rough schedule and it goes 2 more weeks. She spends too much time in bed.

The Dr. was not too helpful last time. He came in and said"We seem to be running out of options". Luckily, the PA is great and had a few ideas. They suggested Periactin, which did nothing. Fioricet is not working as well as it used to. She is still on Inderal and Welbutrin as preventatives. The next step is either Botox or Neurofeedback. The only other preventatives they suggested all have depression as a side effect in teens and we dont want to go there again! We have already been turned down once for Botox by our insurance, but we are appealing. We'll see.
Cindy

Oh Cindy, it is so hard on kids and teens. They just want to be normal

Cheryl

I don't really know the whole story here. I do know I just read your post. It nearly brought tears to my eyes. Very sad story, very beautifully written. I wish you all the best. Gail

Cymbalta is bad, bad stuff as far as I'm concerned. I was on it for about 4 months, it actually caused headaches for me....

Then the withdrawls were terrible..... for about 2 weeks I seriously felt like my brain was rattling! Honestly, it was so, so bad....

Oh, and did I mention the weight gain???? Oh, yea, that too!

I'm stuck on Pentadolex. I have had one migraine in 10 days! And have only been on it for 1 1/2 months.

Sherri B!

It is wonderful how much you've improved, Sherri! Great news!

Cheryl

Cheryl..so happy to hear that Anna's head is feeling a little better..will be praying for her back as well.

Please give Anna our love.

Blessings,
greeneyes