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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 5 of 5. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by jms600 on April 8, 2010, at 18:07:03
I started Cymbalta about 5 weeks ago - 60mg per day. It's had a modest affect on my depression and anxiety so far, but like many other antidepressants the side effects kicked in a lot quicker. The drug has affected my sex drive - delayed orgasm and less desire fairly severely as well as increasing my appetite. Since starting the drug i've already piled on 8lbs.
Does anybody know of anything i could take to help reduce both of these unpleasant side effects? Viagra is not really an option as it's too expensive. Any other ideas?
Posted by morganator on April 8, 2010, at 18:27:08
In reply to Some help with Cymbalta, posted by jms600 on April 8, 2010, at 18:07:03
I'm not sure if you can do anything to boost libido. L-Arginine combined with Pycnogenol may help, it's worth a try.
What other anti-depressants have you been on?How bad was you depression and anxiety before taking Cymbalta?
You're only getting a modest benefit from Cymbalta? Have you or your doctor considered raising the dose?
It's only been 5 weeks, hopefully the side effects will subside and the benefits will increase beyond modest.
Personally, I see no reason for staying on an antidepressant like Cymbalta that I'm only receiving modest benefits from. In a month and maybe with some dosage adjustment, if you still have the same side effects and your are only recieving modest benefit, it probably will be time to consider another treatment.
Posted by mistressjes on April 12, 2010, at 2:37:26
In reply to Re: Some help with Cymbalta, posted by morganator on April 8, 2010, at 18:27:08
I'm no expert, but in my research, it seems that some pdocs will add wellbutrin to a cocktail to reduce the side effects (particularly sexual) of other SSRI/SNRIs.
If it's not working after a while longer (ADs can take up to 3 months to work), might wanna try something else.
Posted by chujoe on April 17, 2010, at 8:07:18
In reply to Some help with Cymbalta, posted by jms600 on April 8, 2010, at 18:07:03
When I started taking Cymbalta -- because sertraline gave me a bad tremor -- the effects were slow and patchy to kick in, but my doc upped the does to 90mg (from 60) and after a couple of weeks things settled down & my anxiety pretty much disappeared. I do experience some sleepiness, especially if I have unstructured time, but that side effect seems to be diminishing.
Posted by Deneb on April 17, 2010, at 23:58:23
In reply to Re: Some help with Cymbalta » jms600, posted by chujoe on April 17, 2010, at 8:07:18
Hello Chujoe!
Welcome to Psycho-Babble! Thanks for sharing your experiences with Cymbalta! I'm sure many will find your post useful.
Deneb
This is the end of the thread.
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