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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 12 of 12. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Ayesha72 on August 6, 2005, at 3:01:38
I will NEVER take Cymbalta again. I had no idea it was the Cymbalta until AFTER I was completely off of it, but I had SEVERE headaches with pressure in the back of the head. No nausea, but would vomit within 15 minutes of eating all my meals... My speech became impaired and I was taken to the hospital for "stroke" like symptoms - but they found nothing... It was horrid. I have been back on Prozac and off Cymbalta two weeks and slowly returning to normal.
Posted by med_empowered on August 6, 2005, at 3:25:07
In reply to Cymbalta, posted by Ayesha72 on August 6, 2005, at 3:01:38
hey! Sorry about your ordeal with Cymbalta...I, for one, am concerned about the widespread use of such a new drug. Since alot of problems don't come out until *after* a drug has been on the market for a while, it seems like a *bad* idea to RX new meds too widely when older meds w/ well-known side-effects can be prescribed (and they're often cheaper, too). I just wanted to suggest that you report your problem to the FDA (I think your doc can do it, too..but you'd prolly be better off reporting it yourself). The "real" side-effect profile is based not only on clinical trials, but on reports made to the FDA; unfortunately, there isn't much of an effort to get problems reported, so its estimated that only 10%, perhaps less, of all adverse reactions/events are reported.
Posted by SLS on August 6, 2005, at 6:29:39
In reply to Cymbalta, posted by Ayesha72 on August 6, 2005, at 3:01:38
Hi.
> I will NEVER take Cymbalta again. I had no idea it was the Cymbalta until AFTER I was completely off of it,
Are you talking about withdrawal effects or side effects while taking the drug?
- Scott
Posted by Cairo on August 6, 2005, at 15:17:47
In reply to Cymbalta, posted by Ayesha72 on August 6, 2005, at 3:01:38
What dose were you on? Maybe it was too high. I had similar symptoms on 20-30mg, but backing it down to 5mg, they went away. Unfortunately none of the doses helped with pain.
Cairo
> I will NEVER take Cymbalta again. I had no idea it was the Cymbalta until AFTER I was completely off of it, but I had SEVERE headaches with pressure in the back of the head. No nausea, but would vomit within 15 minutes of eating all my meals... My speech became impaired and I was taken to the hospital for "stroke" like symptoms - but they found nothing... It was horrid. I have been back on Prozac and off Cymbalta two weeks and slowly returning to normal.
Posted by Ayesha72 on August 6, 2005, at 18:29:46
In reply to Re: Cymbalta, posted by Cairo on August 6, 2005, at 15:17:47
My doctor put me on 60mg to start.. It was for depression, not for pain, but it caused lots of pain and made me feel suicidal because I was soooo very sick that I could not imagine living like that! I also had very restless sleep, waking every thirty minutes to an hour. Very vivid dreams, but the worst was the headache that never went away and the stiffness in the neck, very similar to Meningitis symptoms. My personal opnion is that this drug needs ALOT more testing befoire it's safe for everyone.
Posted by Ayesha72 on August 6, 2005, at 18:34:03
In reply to Re: Cymbalta » Ayesha72, posted by SLS on August 6, 2005, at 6:29:39
Scott- it was both... While taking it I would puke after every meal, though no nausea was present... This means many days I didn't have time to digest the pills - so some days I was struggling through horrible side effects and other days horrible withdrawal. Even in withdrawal the headaches are he!! - but are better than those worst days while I was on it.
Posted by Ayesha72 on August 6, 2005, at 18:36:13
In reply to Re: Cymbalta, posted by med_empowered on August 6, 2005, at 3:25:07
> hey! Sorry about your ordeal with Cymbalta...I, for one, am concerned about the widespread use of such a new drug. Since alot of problems don't come out until *after* a drug has been on the market for a while, it seems like a *bad* idea to RX new meds too widely when older meds w/ well-known side-effects can be prescribed (and they're often cheaper, too). I just wanted to suggest that you report your problem to the FDA (I think your doc can do it, too..but you'd prolly be better off reporting it yourself). The "real" side-effect profile is based not only on clinical trials, but on reports made to the FDA; unfortunately, there isn't much of an effort to get problems reported, so its estimated that only 10%, perhaps less, of all adverse reactions/events are reported.
I intend to report it and if a class action suit comes about - I'll be on the band wagon because I had two months of my life ruined over this drug. None of the problems I had are on the little leaflet they give you of side effects, but all these problems HAVE BEEN reported by other people too - even the stroke like symptoms.
Posted by flmm on August 7, 2005, at 17:25:41
In reply to Re: Cymbalta, posted by Ayesha72 on August 6, 2005, at 18:36:13
All drugs have risks, why don't you just worry about letting the people who make the drug aware of it. Leave lawsuits to the real criminals and don't deprive people of other options in the fight against depression. Just because you could not tolerate it does not mean a majority of people can!
Posted by Cecilia on August 8, 2005, at 3:34:02
In reply to Re: Cymbalta, posted by med_empowered on August 6, 2005, at 3:25:07
What`s wrong with these doctors-why don`t they teach common sense in medical school? It just seems like it should be obvious to start someone on ANY med in a small dose and see how they tolerate it instead of starting with the maximum dose. Cecilia
Posted by Ayesha72 on August 8, 2005, at 8:58:13
In reply to Re: Cymbalta, posted by Cecilia on August 8, 2005, at 3:34:02
Cecilia - I totally agree. My doc thought she was doing me a favor because I am low-income and she had free samples she could provide to save me the rx cost. I kept thinking something was not right when I saw it said 60mg and I had been on 20mg of Prozac before the Cymbalta. If started on a lower dose my side effects and then the horrid withdrawal may not have been as bad. As it is, I still have neck stiffness and headaches that last hours to days on end. :(
Posted by Dr. Bob on August 8, 2005, at 10:15:06
In reply to Re: Cymbalta, posted by flmm on August 7, 2005, at 17:25:41
> Leave lawsuits to the real criminals...
Sorry to interrupt, but I'd like to redirect follow-ups regarding lawsuits to Psycho-Babble Social. Here's a link:
http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/social/20050805/msgs/539134.html
Thanks,
Bob
Posted by jane d on August 9, 2005, at 22:32:15
In reply to Re: Cymbalta, posted by Ayesha72 on August 6, 2005, at 18:36:13
> .... None of the problems I had are on the little leaflet they give you of side effects, but all these problems HAVE BEEN reported by other people too - even the stroke like symptoms.
Ayesha,
If the little leaflet you got is anything like the ones I get these days it's pretty useless (deliberately so I'm sure). For future reference you can find the full prescribing information on any drug on the manufacturers website. That still needs to be treated with skepticism but it's way more informative than the leaflets.
Jane, who remembers when you actually got all that stuff with the prescription, albeit in type too small to read.
This is the end of the thread.
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