Experience with Lyrica or Cymbalta for Fibromyalgia

any other meds that are helpful?

ive done the rounds these last few years. the 2 things ive always stayed with is naproken for joints and amitriptyline, ive started a drug called pelxia ita taking a long time to level out as i was on a high dose of duloxitine for the nerve pain.

i also get reg messages to help with the pain, have tried tramadol and cocodamol but to be honest everything is tempory.

my life saver is a electric blanket lol and my hot tub my mummy and daddy got couple years ago.

if u dont mind me asking how long have u had fibro ?

My wife has had fb for twenty years but recently it has gotten much worse

Another rheum has confirmed her dx . she also suffers from osteoarthritis.

she's reluctant to try medication since her research and talking with others who have fb has not been encouraging.

I give her massages but the relief is temporary.

i would suggest trying the pelxia, your like my other half her does whatever he can to help.

yous are very special people.

Phil, I don't know where you are located. I am in the US. I have OA and Fibro as well. I'm only a week in with Cymbalta and I must tell you that I've already noticed a small initial effect. So far, it has taken the "edge" off of the pain. And, if this is the beginning, I can hope that it would continue to add further relief. Pain management is crucial to quality of life. What Cymbalta does as a nuerotransmitter is disrupt the transmission of the signals that are causing the pain. It is an antidepressant-which did give me pause initially. However, my doctor gave me a good analysis of the side effects to expect. The doctors may start you off with the lowest dose of 30 mg. I am overweight and asked about weight intolerance. He is having me stay on 30 for an entire month and then he can increase the dose. The side effects he described include a more moderate mood: lower highs and higher lows. I can take the higher lows but I do enjoy a good laugh 😃. However, I just could not do the daily pain much longer so it was worth the "risk" if any. Obviously this is how it helps those who ARE depressed. And, let's be frank, many with chronic pain can begin to feel hopeless from time to time. My husband goes with me to all appointments for two sets of ears. That is comforting. I don't think you can take another's experience as your own as everyone is so different in how they react or respond to medications. However, the "risks" with a medication such as this are very low. In fact, the only thing I HAVE heard is not to stop taking it cold turkey which would be true of any antidepressant and sage advice.

I have had Fibro for 22 years and about a year ago it started to get worse as well. I was only given 1 drug in the beginning which I had a bad reaction too and it left me with another problem, so like your wife, I am reluctant to take anything.

I have made it through the years, with the wonderful electric blanket as well, and hot bath after you know you will have aggrevated the condition. I have a ball called a Miracle Ball from America which stretches tense muscles. I do other stretches as well. I have found that the only massage which gives me longer relief is a good 2 hour Thai massage. Osteopaths and Chiropractors help for pain relief too.

I just discovered something recently which surprised and shocked me. I was angry, frustrated, had a little tizzy fit in my own head, because pain has now tipped over the bearable stage. I had work I wanted to do and I knew I would end up in agony if I did it. I took 2 panadol fast acting tabs before I started the work. I had intended to live on the tabs until I finished my project. I got so engrossed, that I forgot to take the second lot and at the end of the day, major pain had not set in. This was a serious change to my normal. I debated about taking another lot then, as I was expecting sheer agony to kick in as it usually does. I decided not to take any more that night as I really felt DIFFERENT. The pain did not kick in! I woke up next morning feeling better than I usually do. I was in SHOCK. I did the same thing for a week, just taking two panadol before I started work. I had the best week I have had for years, and I was able to keep plodding on without getting so exhausted that I become a danger to myself if I continue. I wouldn't say I felt energetic, but I did not flag with exhaustion. I experimented for 4 weeks. If I did not take the pain killers before I started work, I went back to my same old ways, onset of severe pain, exhaustion, and untold time stretching and trying to get relief. I was living on a cloud there for awhile, but then I injured my rotator cuff, and I am back to pain again.

Previously I only took pain killers after the pain had kicked and I could not relieve it with stretches. I would have to take 3 lots over an 8 hour period, before I got relief.

It would be interesting to see if your wife gets some relief from pain and exhaustion if she takes 2 painkillers at the start of her day as well. We have both had Fibro for a similar time frame , and we have both started to deteriorate, around the same time.

Doctor is currently looking at why I might be getting worse. Arthritis has been ruled out ! Yeah !. I do suffer injuries for no apparent reason, so they are looking into possible Ehlers Danlos for me, but there is an 8 month waiting for testing to be done.

I do hope your wife can find some relief some how. 😃

I am on pregabalin (Lyrica) and am OK on it. It certainly helped with the pain and restless legs syndrome.

Yes the initial side effects were difficult, and each time the dose was increased I put on more weight too - but they've settled down now. I anticipate having discontinuation symptoms if I come off it as I dropped my morning dose by 50mg a few months ago and was unwell for a week.

Would I recommend it? That depends on how much fibro is affecting you. I manage to go out more than before, and the resulting fatigue isn't as bad, and I recover a little faster.