hipmama42
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There were a few research studies (very small studies) which appeared to show that duloxetine (Cymbalta) relieved the pain of fibro with a mechanisim unrelated to its antidepressant effect. That was enough to prompt some doctors to begin to prescribe it off label for fibro. I ran across several of those studies on the net if anyone is interested, PM me. I asked my primary if I could try it, since I have to be on a med for depression anyhow. When I first started taking it I was on 30 mg daily and then she wanted me to work up to 60 mg daily, which is what I am taking now (for the past 4 months). It does not make me drowsy, in fact, when I took it in the evening I had a hard time falling asleep, so now I take it first thing in the morning. The maximum recommended dose for fibro patients is 120mg daily, effective dosage range 60mg to 120mg daily. Here's a website to check out for more info. Cymbalta differs from the SSRI's like Paxil, Zoloft, and Prozac because it also inhibits the reuptake of norepinephrine as well as seratonin at the nerve synapses (so does Effexor, but that one is not indicated for fibro)and is known as a "SSNRI" instead of an "SSRI." So far I'm doing fine on Cymbalta, and it's hard for me to evaluate how good it is for pain because I just came out of a bad flare...now my pain is not too bad again. So it may be doing more than I thought it was.... http://arthritis.about.com/b/2007/08/30/cymbalta-decreases-
pain-in-fibromyalgia-patients.htm |
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