Cymbalta??

[emzee]

Has anyone had experience with this drug? My dh who has diabetes and neuropathy was prescribed this yesterday by the neurosurgeon. He said to give it a try and see if it helps with his neuropathy pain. Anyone had results with this medicine?

[RoadLife]

DH is diabetic with neuropathy. He is on Cymbalta and alpha lipoic acid (600 mg). He hasn't complained in a long time about the leg pain and cramps he was having.

The alpha lipoic acid can take a while (3-6 mos) to provide a noticeable difference, so just continue to take it.

I am on Cymbalta and Celebrex for fibromyalgia. They work wonders.

[jims1]

It works great for me as well. It works well on arthritis pain and spinal/nerve issues for me. My problem is I do have days where I have "Breakthru" pain and theres not alot you can take with the cymbalta in your system.

[emzee]

Norm, my dh's neurologist suggested ALA (alpha-lipoic acid) when he first went to him. He took it for a little while and didn't notice too much change. I will tell him about this. I was thinking maybe he didn't take enough, I don't think he took it 3x's a day. Thank for the heads up.

[normared]

TRY this! After trying a number of RX's I have found that a combination of Gabapentin and a supplement called ALA (alpha-lipoic acid) works best for me.

When I read ALA is approved in Germany as a prescription for diabetes and nerve-related symptoms, I tried it - and it was a godsend. No more needle-sticking pains in my feet, it's worked great, and has helped me for over 2 years.

I take my Rx of Gabapentin X3 a day (as written) and add one single 600mg of the ALA at each dose (morn, noon, night).

I buy ALA at GNC, I like their version's vanilla scent (be sure & sign up for the GNC card, and always buy in the first week of the month - big discounts!).

[emzee]

My dh had terrible heartburn the other night, never had it so bad. After reading that post about heartburn I am thinking that the Cymbalta did it.

[Pangaea_Ron]

My wife takes Cymbalta for back and neuropathy pain, and it works very well. She tried stopping it by progressively reducing her dosage for ~3 weeks, and things got worse very quickly. She then progressively boosted her dosage again, and things improved very quickly. We just had an appointment with her Neurologist and he confirmed her observations. Cymbalta is her future.

[AnacortesMarily]

I took Cymbalta for a couple of years for post-polio neuropathy. It did an amazing job of killing the pain, allowing me to be pain free and active again. Unfortunately, one of the side effects can cause problems with delayed stomach dumping. After about a year and a half, I started having terrible heartburn & indigestion. Stopping the Cymbalta cleared up the stomach problems and oddly enough, the neuropathy hasn't been a problem since then.

[emzee]

2peas, this is funny. I was coming in here to ask if anyone had any side effects. My dh is experiencing dizziness. Bad enough that his neuropathy has him unbalanced, so dealing with dizziness isn't good. This just happened when he went to the 60 mg. pill.

[2peasinapod]

emzee wrote:
Has anyone had experience with this drug? My dh who has diabetes and neuropathy was prescribed this yesterday by the neurosurgeon. He said to give it a try and see if it helps with his neuropathy pain. Anyone had results with this medicine?

My wife has chronic back pain as well as neuropathy. but not diabetic. They put her on it for a short while until she started having disturbing dreams, Gangs of New York type dreams where she was slicing people up. I hid all the knives in teh house until it was all out of her system.

[emzee]

DL I sure hope it works for you!

[DLBrad]

I understand how someone would be depressed when they have chronic pain. I have spinal cord inury and have had fusion. Then I got Lymes disease. All this togethr add up to MIGRAINS! Even John Hopkins Hospital Headache Clinic can do so much.I am going to ask aboutthe Cymbalta. Lyrica blew me up like a balloon! Thank you all !

[emzee]

Don't forget that Cymbalta will be cheaper at the beginning of the year. Also I needed a specific medication (Diovan) and the doctor wrote the prescription stating it was necessary and I had no problem. You can go to some of the drug manufacturers web sites and they offer coupon and cards to get the meds needed for less.

[CA_POPPY]

I've heard that the drug manufacturers sometimes have negotiable prices when a person needs but can't afford a certain medication. It seems that the manufacturer has to be contacted directly but I'm not sure if the Dr or the patient does that. Maybe someone here will know. It wouldn't hurt to ask your Dr or your pharmacist about that program.

[hooligan]

raindove wrote:
My dr gave me samples to try and it really helped. . They wanted me on a cheaper drug. Tried that, didn't work. .

Some insurance will cover meds if alternatives have been tried and are ineffective. Doctor must confirm the brand name med is "medically necessary". May be worth looking into-