Cymbalta for arthritis?

[redline99]

Yeah the docs apparently prescribe it also for Fibromyalgia

[Peaches]

Cymbalta is horrible, stay away, far far away!

I was on Cymbalta for 2 years & I am so happy to say that after 3 months of hell with the withdrawals I am finally off them for good. I still feel the brain shivers every now & then.

This drug is bad news & I truly believe it will be recalled someday, jmho. It never did anything for me, no help with depression, & pain, no way, it was useless for me & not worth the agony of getting off them.

Oh wait, it helped with one thing, menopausal symptoms & that's all, but the Wellbutrin I am on now works for that as well & from past experience on taking Wellbutrin the withdrawals were no where near as bad as Cymbalta.

If you haven't tried this medicine & your doc wants to prescribe it, RUN away!!!

[Alternate]

There are a lot of advertisements for Cymbalta for pain and arthritis. New off label use to get more people on this. Have also heard this is not the greatest a/d.

There are others that have less side effects and easier to w/d from.

Of course, there are some people that Cymbalta works well for. A/d's are like that - you have to find one that works and you don't have many side effects.

[mustang]

Ahhh - but, but, but you might become addicted.....

Chronic pain is all in your brain you know. At least that seems to be the new medical position at many levels.

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I'm prescribed Cymbalta, didn't do anything for my anxiety or arthritic hip.
I recently had a cortisone shot to the hip, helped very little.
Vicodin works the best for the pain, yet pain mgt. is very stingy with them, only 60 a month.
Go figure!
Wonder drug? I think not!

Oops forgot to quote.

[evemurmur]

Cymbalta is the only anti-depressant that's worked for me (tried Wellbutrin, Lexapro, Effexor, and Paxil). It completely changed my life, in more ways than I could ever recount. Short story: from near suicide to happily married and running my own business, within a couple of years. However, it doesn't affect pain. That is horse hockey, IMHO.

[spud]

I was prescribed cymbalta for arthritis in the back and hip pain. The medicine worked,although the pain never went away completely. Unfortunately, I experienced some side effects, the worst of which was sleeping problems. All the Drs. would do was to prescribe more meds to treat the side effects. I made the choice to stop taking all the meds and just start over. The withdrawal was terrible,but I've made it through it cold turkey. Others have had better results than I,but I will not try it again.

[Hugo]

Antidepressants have been among the 1st-tier drugs for neuropathic pain for a long time. Whether they have any effect on arthritis type pain is questionable, in my opinion. I have both musculoskeletal pain (severe spondylosis and lots of other stuff all through my spine) and neuropathic pain (from polyneuropathy), and I have never really noticed any benefit so far from antidepressants on arthritis pain.

Different things work for different people, though. Personally, I find the blend of gentle exercise (when possible), TENS/TSE treatment, and medication (opioids, anticonvulsants and muscle relaxants) to be of some help. I have not tried duloxetine (Cymbalta), but have been prescribed amitriptyline, imipramine and several other antidepressants in the past, with mixed results. The side effects were quite unpleasant, as I recall (tremor, dry mouth, grogginess, etc.). The newer SSRIs that I tried (fluoxetine, sertraline, escitalopram, etc.) had fewer side effects but did nothing to relieve my pain.

[Shayna]

After reading this thread, I now have two major concerns.

1) My husband is taking Cymbalta for arthritis pain. He had been on Celexa snd switched. Now I am scared for him!

2) I am going to lose my insurance at the end of this month, so I looked in the recommended pharmacies and found generic Cymbalta for him and ordered a 6-month supply for him. I am now worried about that because I had not seen anyone on the thread mention an available generic.

Thoughts?

[gotpitbull]

After reading this thread, I now have two major concerns.

1) My husband is taking Cymbalta for arthritis pain. He had been on Celexa snd switched. Now I am scared for him!

2) I am going to lose my insurance at the end of this month, so I looked in the recommended pharmacies and found generic Cymbalta for him and ordered a 6-month supply for him. I am now worried about that because I had not seen anyone on the thread mention an available generic.

Thoughts?

I posted I'm not a fan of Cymbalta, but @Shayna, I feel your stress! This is what pisses me off, dr.'s make us try these "great new" drugs but where the heck are they when comes time to pay? They all get tons of samples mailed to them, brought in my reps. Time for you to tell dr. your situation and have him load you up w/boxes of samples! They have them! Good luck

[teresita]

Last month my daughter just got prescribed cymbalta in combination with lyrica. Her insurance hasnt kicked in yet but I dont think it will cover much of this anyway. Its over $300 but its helping her so much. She did say her dream state is weird and nonsensible but has been helping her with back troubles she has had and fibro. They told her not to suddenly stop taking the cymbalta but nothing about the lyrica. She said alone neither one would probably help. I just dont know how much longer we can keep up with the cost but I want her to feel good like she has been. Initially the doctor gave her samples for a weeks worth but I agree, why cant they give out a lot more samples to people they know could not possibly afford them.

[zoniemae]

I have personally known a couple of people who had to stop this med due to the side effects. Apparently it can cause neurological as well as cardiovascular symptoms.

[Shayna]

@gotpitbull - thanks for your support. I am trying not to freak out and just calmly refill everything I can now before the end of the month.

Does anyone know if the generic Cymbalta being sold through IOPs is genuine?

I sure hope so otherwise I am out a bunch of cash. If it is all right, it would be such a godsend for my husband as he already does better on the Cymbalta.

[It is me]

I heard something about a continuous release hydrocodone they were working on ,it seems like this is a good idea for fibro patients . But unfortunately you will probably have to carry your severed arm into a clinic to get a script for 2 pills.

[gotpitbull]

[hi @teresita! Nice to see you. They can give out more than a week of samples, really. As much as I hate asking for them I can't afford not to! Maybe your daughter can call, talk to his assistant, and really pour on the cost is killing your family! They have closets full of that stuff. If they want her on it, by God, they owe it to her to help her. Take care /QUOTE=teresita;208399]Last month my daughter just got prescribed cymbalta in combination with lyrica. Her insurance hasnt kicked in yet but I dont think it will cover much of this anyway. Its over $300 but its helping her so much. She did say her dream state is weird and nonsensible but has been helping her with back troubles she has had and fibro. They told her not to suddenly stop taking the cymbalta but nothing about the lyrica. She said alone neither one would probably help. I just dont know how much longer we can keep up with the cost but I want her to feel good like she has been. Initially the doctor gave her samples for a weeks worth but I agree, why cant they give out a lot more samples to people they know could not possibly afford them.[/QUOTE]

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@Shayna, if no insurance is gonna be the problem, the drug co. will give you a discount card. Look at the box, see who makes it, google them, go to their site and print out a discount card. Hope that helps!

@gotpitbull - thanks for your support. I am trying not to freak out and just calmly refill everything I can now before the end of the month.

Does anyone know if the generic Cymbalta being sold through IOPs is genuine?

I sure hope so otherwise I am out a bunch of cash. If it is all right, it would be such a godsend for my husband as he already does better on the Cymbalta.

[Shayna]

@gotpitbull -- the card from the company is a great idea, but my husband already got a free month that way. That is why I looked for a lower cost alternative.

Overall, both my husband and I are on several medicines each, but only one (his Lunesta) is a scheduled drug. I have done pretty well finding most of what we use at one popular vendor. However that vendor does not carry any antidepressants.

He can substitute valerian for Lunesta, he says -- I hope he is right. I just feel like I am letting him down for losing my job and COBRA would be over $1000/month for us.

[Blackmore]

I get mine from Canada, 150-180 for 90 day supply. It's a legit pharmacy so you have to mail them the prescription. They are made by Lilly, in Istanbul. I did not notice any difference when I switched from the 3 months of samples my Dr. gave me and the Canadian ones.

But I am going off because I was hoping it would help my chronic neck pain and it didn't. I heard the withdrawals are going to be rough. It never ends...

[Shayna]

@Blackmore -- I ordered my husband a 6-month supply from one of the pharmacies listed in the top-rated pharmacies section for a bit less than the Canada prices.

[Blackmore]

@Blackmore -- I ordered my husband a 6-month supply from one of the pharmacies listed in the top-rated pharmacies section for a bit less than the Canada prices.

Probably an Indian brand. Some of them like Cipla make good meds. Not sure about Cymbalta. He should know within a couple days if it is equivalent. I was going to try the generic but couldn't find much info on them. But the legitimate Canadian pharmacies also carry the generic Cymbalta from India. I would think they would remove them if people were complaining about them. The Canadian Pharmacy I buy from from was sanctioned by the State of Minnesota until the Federal Government started butting in about buying drugs from Canada. I hope it works out for you.

[Shayna]

@Blackmore - I believe you are right about this being an Indian brand. The manufacturer is Sun Pharma, and the brand is DLX.

[Blackmore]

@Shayna- Any chance of an update on the generic Cymbalta. I am going off...went from 60 to 30(feel like crap), but might want to buy 20mg generic pills next. The Doctors just say to go off cold turkey(or in a week) and I go insane when I do that do that. I need to do it slower..Thanks