Fibromyalgia Support Group

I have been on a new fibromyalgia medicine called Savella, a friend of mine with fibro is on it as well, but most of my doctors have not had much experience with it, except my nuerologist, who prescribed it. I just wanted to get it out there that this drug has helped me sooo much mentally. The brain fog has been less, I am getting some cognitive function back finally. Emotionally I have been more stable, for the most part. The biggest difference, has been in my outlook overall it improved a lot and fast. Instead of " I have to get out of bed today , I feel like crap I don't want to do anything" it was more like " Okay , I am in pain and I am tired, but I am going to get out of bed and try to get this done today".... it seems to have helped the pain a little, but not as much as my lyrica does. The negative to this med is the anxiety, not so much mental anxiety which I am used to, but what I call "physical anxiety", my heart races, my stomache churns and knotts so much it hurts. but the dr said to give it 8-12 weeks and it should stop, so I am sticking it out. Just wanted to get other people's experiences with Savella, as it is so new.

I also take Savella and have seen a dramatic decrease in my pain symptoms, I also have MS but it certainly does seem to work except I've been dealing with one bothersome side effect, nausea/vomiting on occassion.. anyone else have that issue?

My doctor also percribed me savella I have not been bothered with any of the side affects I think it is because he started me off very slow with the medication. Yes it has helped me tremendeously I feel much better although I still have areas where if i am touched i will fly through the roof lol. And I do still have days when all the mediciine in the world wont help the fibro but what can you do. My brain fog has clear up though to some extent. But all in all feeling better.

I started on savella about a month ago. My pain has decreased dramatically also. I don't have problems with nausea but I am VERY moody and grumpy--much more than normal. It's also made my headache worse. I am so happy to have less body pain but I've got to be able to get my mood stable. I'm very good at compartmentalizing my headache and almost not feeling it but I sure do wish I could get it back to a #3 or 4 on the scale. I'm trying not to be too greedy though. I can function much more w/ the headache than the body pain.

I've been on Savella in the past for about 5 months, and I did decrease my pain level from about 7-8 to 4-5. I had to stop because of side effects. I started on another drug, Suboxone, for fibro pain. My pain level dropped to an average of 2-3. It is so much easier to deal with life with less pain, but I still have so much fatigue, insomnia and brain fog. My husband is planning to talk with my doctor soon about putting me back on low-dose Savella.

Is anyone experiencing improvement in the areas of fatigue, insomnia and/or brain fog with Savella?

I am experiencing nausia and increased headaches but can not be sure if it is due to savella or something else as I am having a lot of GI issues. The increased hear rate and stomach knotting is killing me but I am trying to hang in there with the savella because it has helped so much with the mood and brain fog... has anyone been on it with the racing side effects? has anyone been on their full dose for more then 2-3 months? my dr said the adrenalin rush should stop after 8-12 weeks so I am trying to stick it out...

I was on it for 5 months last year. My nausea got worse rather than better; I did not have problems with nausea much during the beginning of my treatment. It developed about 4 months later. I also had extreme sweats; they were horrible!! After stopping Savella, the sweats continued for about 6 months. I do know you usually develop more side effects at higher doses. If I do try it again, I hope to start and remain on a very low dose. I didn't have problems with an increased rate - that I noticed.

When I tried Savella my heart raced so badly I felt like I was having a heart attack, I almost went to the E.R!!! I went to Urgent care & they told me to stop taking the medication. Not a surprise because I am allergic to most meds for fibro and antidepressants.

I had the same problem; but I actually went to the Emergency room just to rule out a MI, Heart attack. The Doctors at the EC did not figure it out, I pretty much figured it out on my own. But anyway my Physician took me off of it immediately and put me back on Cymbalta. It works well for me. Sorry to hear that you are allergic to most meds for your fibro; that must be difficult; I'm allergic to NSAIDS, which I hear works well for our condition; I do take tylenol for pain. I don't know if you have considered a natural remedy such as St. Johns wort for an anti-depressant.

Maybe that will help; just check with your doctor to make sure that it is safe to do so

I pray something works for you.

Jenine