After taking an estimated 7200 pain pills over 2 years. He finally said that it was time to start looking at a nerve pain medication. (I love my doctor he is the one that diagnoised my back issues he even had a tears in his eyes) He mentioned neruontin for nerve pain and then started talking about antidepressants I jumped in and said that is what I want. And something to help me sleep. He then said cymbalta. I tried it last night with everyone telling me it would knock me out. Well I was up till 2am and had some mild side effects but want to know how long did it take you to adjust to the medication? I am only on 20mg. My eyes don't want to focus but other than that my mind feels good. Oh the best part last night as I cuddled under the blankets I could feel them my blankets that is my legs were no longer numb. kind of excited but nervous with new meds.

First off, everyone responds differently to medications so keep that in mind. My mom could not take Cymbalta. However, I was on 30 mgs a day for a couple of years or so.
Previously had taken neurontin for nerve pain. It helped me sleep, but gave me a horrible headache. The doctor and I recently upped my Cymbalta to 60 mgs a day because it seemed that 30 wasn't working so well anymore.

It does help with pain, I have to say that. If you take it for awhile and then forget to take it, you may be dizzy so keep that in mind. Hope it continues to help you.

New to this forum, BUT...it is best to be evaluated by a psychiatrist for anti-depressants and such, and have them prescribe rather than your reg Gp, as they know and work with these meds all the time, and will be able to prescribe the best dosage and fine tune until you have the right dosage.

Most patients that have chronic pain and suffer from fibromyalgia have some depression my doctor is very well informed of my life and would not prescribe a medication to treat chronic pain and fibromyalgia w/depression if he was not informed of its use. He is a pain management doctor and has been for 15+ years. He is not GP.

I am not saying this to cause any problems, but I think it depends on the physician and on the patient. I would never sleep without my meds, and I don't feel like I need a psychiatrist in order to sleep. My ankles hurt and throb the minute I lay down and my physican does an excellent job adjusting my meds. I was his 4th patient and I don't trust anyone as much as I trust him. This is just my personal opinion and everyone has to decide for themselves.

As for side effects, these drugs can do all sorts of really weird things. I had stomach problems when I began a new medicine and it took several days to get used to the medicine. I get meds by mail. I have always taken one medicine as capsules. The last time the pharmacy sent tablets for the very same med. I couldn't take them and I had to get them to send the capsules.

Cymbalto gave me sever headaches. I take Lyrica for my fibromyalgia now and it has helped a lot.

I have been there...was on some very heavy duty pain meds for about two years...I decided I wanted to quit taking so much narcotic medication. I was taking it for several ruptured discs. I also have fibromyalgia and have tried everything that came along to get some relief. I tried Lyrica first but it caused problems. I started on 30 mg. of Cymbalta and then up to 60mg. It is the best thing I have found so far. I still have flareups, but not as often and usually not as bad.
Taking it one night is unlikely to have had any effect. It takes time to get a level in your blood. Once you build up a level, don't stop taking it suddenly. You will need to be weaned off slowly to avoid some nasty side effects.
It doesn't make me sleepy, I wish it did as sleep is a big problem for me too.The only effect I have is reduction of symptoms.
As Borntosew said, everybody responds to medication differently. It will take a couple of weeks before you have a constant level. Your doctor may be planning to start you on the lower dose then up the dose to 60mg. which is the usual therapeutic amount.
I salute you and your doctor for getting off the painkillers. One of the reasons I wanted to stop them; I was afraid they might mask symptoms if I developed another problem. There are times when I wish I had something strong, but I have learned to get through those times and feel I am better off this way.
It is difficult to live with constant pain but if you can find something besides narcotics that will work for you, you will be better off for it. I hope once you reach therapeutic levels you find it works well for you! :thumbup: :D :D

I tried Lyrica for 3 days, it was horrible! I had such a sense of empending doom, I would panic when the phone rang, I just knew it was bad news, didn't want my husband to go to work because I was sure he'd never come home! Now part of it may have been from being on strong narcotics for 2+ yrs but I couldn't stand it. Now I'm on Methadone twice a day. I still have constant pain but the level is USUALLY tolerable, unless I do a lot of sitting, like at work. I have a lot of different problems but nothing is to the point that surgery would help, part of it just comes with age but I wasn't planning to be "old" in my 50s :shock:

I have been on Lyrica for about a week. I have a ruptured disc in my neck and I'm waiting for my epidural. My pain management Dr. wanted me to try the Lyrica. I take 1 pill at night and so far I haven't had a problem. I don't think I will be on it long term, at least I hope not. I have only been in pain for 3 months and I can't imagine living most of my life in pain.

I did take lyrica and in one year gained 25 lbs. I got dizzy too. Dr took me off and there was no difference in my pain level and within a year I lost the 25 lbs without changing my diet! I also take cymbalta, no side effects and it helps with the pain and the depression I sometimes feel from the chronic pain. I have nerve and joint damage in my neck from an auto accident/ I was rearend!!!