http://www.fiercepharma.com/story/lilly-trumpets-cymbalta-arthritis-med/2008-06-13?utm_medium=rss&utm_source=rss&cmp-id=OTC-RSS-FP0
I know a few people who take Cymbalta for devastating chronic pain, and they absolutely love the drug. It's not without side effects, and it's not a panacea, but it has allowed some people to live a far more normal life.
From the article:
"The company announced today that a study showed that 59 percent of
patients saw their pain cut by 30 percent with Cymbalta, and 47 percent
had a 50 percent reduction. That's compared with 45 percent and 29
percent on placebo, respectively."
I don't know...if those numbers have a range of +/- 5%......
30 percent reduction in pain could be 54% on Cymbalta vs. 49% placebo.
50 percent reduction in pain could be 42% on Cymbalta vs. 34% placebo.
I'm always amazed at how well a placebo can perform in a clinical trial. Amazed. Really good placebos these days, I guess.
[QUOTE=JasmineRain]I know a few people who take Cymbalta for devastating chronic pain, and they absolutely love the drug. It's not without side effects, and it's not a panacea, but it has allowed some people to live a far more normal life.
[/QUOTE]
If you click on the "more" link, there is an article that it has been approved for fibro (hasn't it been being used, though?). Hopefully, enough people have been on it that the side effects already pretty well known.
i know a few people who are taking it for Fibro pain and it's helped them. It's difficult to understand the pain/brain connections and this might be one of those drugs that work with those connections. Lindy
[QUOTE=Suzanne]
[QUOTE=JasmineRain]I know a few people who take Cymbalta for devastating chronic pain, and they absolutely love the drug. It's not without side effects, and it's not a panacea, but it has allowed some people to live a far more normal life.
[/QUOTE]
If you click on the "more" link, there is an article that it has been approved for fibro (hasn't it been being used, though?). Hopefully, enough people have been on it that the side effects already pretty well known.
[/QUOTE]
One of the people it's helped the most is a friend of mine who suffered a traumatic brain injury which left her partially blind. She had horrible, disabling headaches for years. The cymbalta allowed her to stop taking Percocet for the pain. She thought it was a bunch of BS at first, and only took it to humor her doctor. Within weeks, she felt like a new person.
It does seem to work quite well for pain. I know several people who take it on the AF(Arthritis Foundation)board and they swear by it. Jas, what kind of side effects are there? I take Effexor and I have to take it at the same time each day. If I forget and miss a day, I get these terrrible "brain swirls" where my whole head feels like it is spinning backward and I feel like I'm going to pass out. My heart also races right before the brain swirl. I am looking to make a change, and while I don't have a doctor's diagnosis for fibro, I really suspect that I do have it in addition to RA. So maybe a drug like Cymbalta might be better than the one I am on if it helps with pain.Many of the same side effects as other similar drugs, though Cymbalta's seem to be worse. Dizziness, nausea, hypomania, disconinuation syndrome when stopped (that's the "brain zaps" common to many SSRI's), adverse effects on the liver, changes in cardiac rhythm, etc.
Discuss it with your doctor. It probably would be a good idea to talk with your pharmacist as well, if you're thinking about switching.
Best of luck!
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