My horrible experience with Cymbalta.
Hello. I am going to tell you that Cymbalta totally messed up my world & my little family. :0(
I am married with a very busy busy little girl, that is 3 years old.
I saw a rhumetalogist on referral from the Gen. Practitioner that I see.
This Rhume. told me that she had no idea whay I was there, because all of the treatment(s) that she would have tried on me, I had already tried & been unsuccessful with.
So, she took me off of Effexor, which I had been on for at least 5 years & but me on Cymbalta. 30mg the first week & then 60 mg for the next 3 weeks. The first week, all I could really do was sleep & be nauseaous. I stayed in a state of "somnolence". http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Somnolence
By the second week, I realized that I could NOT remember ANY details from the first week!! From the 2nd-4th week..I was not nearly as drowsy, but I was just as nauseaous & the REALLY BAD PART of me taking this medicine is that it made me VERY angry. I would not just get mad....I would go into RAGES! I was not able to control the rage either. I could hear "me" in my head telling me to "stop. calm down. quit talking. walk away." But the Rage did not respond to any of the pleading going on in my head or my child crying & screaming. *sigh*
For the record, no, I did not physically hurt my child, but I certainly scared her. That is not something she or I will EVER forget.
I spent alot of that month self-loathing & hating myself. I had even contemplated going away or worse.
I went back to my Gen. Practitioner, due to my husband urging me alot!
We she walked into my room, she saw a small bottle that read "Cymbalta" on it & under the bottle was a small stack of papers. As soon as she read the label on the bottle, she grabbed it & threw it in the trash & loudly said "NO. You are NOT to take that. It is NOT good." I then broke down into tears & told her that I KNOW the medicine was not good for me. I proceeded to tell her everything that had been going on with me, including the rejection of the Rhume. that she had sent me to. (The Rhume. told me not to come back to her office again, as there was nothing that she could do for me. And to follow-up with my Gen. Prac. when the Cymbalta was through.)
After many tears, a bit of me yelling, & my doc giving me many hugs....she ordered a HUGE battery of blood tests & then put me on Savella & Pristiq. Pristiq was described as being a "Superman" version of Effexor & Savella is the 3rd medicine to be approved, specifically for FMS. (I think I have all of my facts correct there. I have not had much java yet this morning)
I have now been on these 2 meds for just over 2 weeks. I am so much calmer than I was!
By the 3rd day of the medicine change, I noticed a BIG difference in myself, so had my husband & our daughter. Which was a very welcome change.
I will be honest & tell you that for the first week, I was REALLY hungry & REALLY nauseaous. I would be so "hungry" that I would feel sick. I would eat something & then I actually did get sick! I dropped a good amount of weight in the first few days. My clothes & bras are noticably bigger. That was a nice change. *grin* & yes....to me....being THAT sick for the first week was DEFINITELY worth the calmness that the medicine offered. As I stated above...I have been on these 2 medicines for just over 2 weeks now. My severe hunger & nausea battle is over & I feel much more like me. It is a very nice feeling.
Due to what the Cymbalta did to me & the reactions that I had toward my husband & daughter while on this med has certainly caused some issues in my little family. We are doing our best to work through them. My Gen. Prac. referred me to a therapist & also refered my family & I to a Family Therapist. My husband & I think that talking to a neutral party will be a good idea.
Also, there are a few pending lawsuits agains the manufacturer of Cymbalta. I have been urged to pursue one of the lawsuit groups, but have not made a move to do that as of yet.
As for not sleeping, I often have insomnia issues as well. I take Melatonin 5mg
The trick is to go to bed when I feel the Melatonin kicking in & I am having a hard time keeping my eyes open, because if I push through that sleepy stage, I have then lost the ability to stay asleep most of the night.
I do wish you the best in all of your medical decisions. May you never have a bad reaction, like I had.
be well.
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http://www.webmd.com/fibromyalgia/news/20090115/fda-approves-fibromyalgia-drug-savella
http://www.pristiq.com
http://www.drugs.com/pristiq.html
http://www.webmd.com/sleep-disorders/tc/melatonin-overview