PreGabalin and Cymbalta question!

Hi
Ive just read your post and thought I could answer a few of your worries. I have been taking Cymbalta and Pregabalin for nearly a year and have found them to not be good drugs. Initially they did help with the pain but I found I began to lose concentraton and my memeory definitely declined. Weight gain became a problem, my sleep pattern changed for the worse sleeping fewer hours and being dog tired during the day. Night sweats and leg sweats in particular began, doing any task at all prompts Niagarra Falls in terms of sweating and libido disappeared. My wife says my moods changed, less patient and definitely more snappy. Other medication (water pills) stopped my kidneys doing some fundemental things so like a lot of Diabetics I got gout. Man does that hurt. Niether of the drugs can help with gout so if I was to experience that level of pain it seemed pointless continuing with Cymbalta and Pregabalin so I consulted with my doctor and he agreed and said just stop taking them... It is now day 6 and I have been reading so much of other people problems of coming off Cymbalta in particular and the experience is truly horrible. I cannot sleep, I sweat non-stop i can only describe the sensaton of not being here, the withdtrawl symptons include what i can only describe as mind shocks, a little like looking at the world through a camera shutter, I am dizzy and experiencing muscle shakes, in my head it sounds like a colossal silence. I know this sounds whacko but scout's honour I am an ordinary working type 2 insulin dependant diabetic and thro' bad medical advce discover I have been taking a drug that for all intents and purposes has made me dependant. My doc should never have advised cold turkey. But they just believe ALL the blurp from the drug companies. I wish I had never started this drug, the pain would have been preferable. Some people suffer these withdrawl symptom for over a year. Please do more of your own research if you think I am exagerating.
Take care Sven

I have tried Gabapentin and Pregabalin and both gave me awful side effects-leg sweats, spaced out and one of them gave me the worst itching I have ever experienced, and other side effects too. My GP eventually prescribed Duloxitine for me, initially with ampitryptalene. This was all for fibromyalgia pain, but my HCP who looks after my diabetes says that duloxitine is being prescribed for neuropathic pain and is good.
Duloxitine was last on the list for me to be trialled on, as it was the most expensive, but it suits me good..no side effects at ll currently....however I am not taking huge doses of it, as my GP wanted to build me up on it gradually.

I have been on pregabalin for approx 6 months and I have had no problems whatsoever. However I was started on a very small dose an increased fortnightly up to the theraputic level. Maybe this helped. A friend of mine was put on the higher level straight away and couldnt cope with it.

People are different though.

Ps forgot to say I am on most of your cocktail of pills too

Hi folks. I just wanted to chime in and say that it's pretty well been established that the withdrawal symptoms SSRI and SNRIs, of which cymbalta is one, do not go away by themselves, which has been my experience too. The only way to be rid of them is to start treatment again at around the same dose, then taper it off weekly or fortnightly (you can find regimes through google). The process is quite a ******, if you'll excuse my English, but it's better than 'brain zaps' and dizziness forevermore.

To Donellysdogs - as far as I can tell, Cymbalta and Duloxetine are one and the same, so presumably the night sweats people have been suffering came from the Pregabalin.

Better health to all.

x

Hi All.
I was first put on Cymbalta and found it made me too stressed on edge and anxious
played havoc with my central nervous system! Certainly felt this as the drug
started to kick in , wasnt happy feeling so on edge unable to sleep or relax in
a chilled state!
Returned to see my neuropathy specialist and told him to take the drug himself as I
certainly 'wasnt' going to...
He agreed it indeed CAN affect the central nervous system so changed me over onto
pregabalin [low dose only at my insistence!]
Pregablin affects my memory storage, cant retain or remember what day/date it is, what things are called,
I end up describing needing eggs in the supermarket to my hubby as :
"them round things that come out of a clucky hen" - 'eggs ?' he will then say,or
its pass me the round that goes 'sizzle' - frying pan ? need to go to that place that makes my car go 'petrol/garage' ?
Find using charades with my family helping me , fills in the missing blanks!
Pregablin is a brain 'pain' blocking drug and can also block memory storing ability .
It is used popularly with epileptics blocks the signals to the brain causing the fits. [doc explained this to me]
I have noticed if I stick to a low dose it helps with the pain in my legs and feet,toes.
But the price I pay is the poorer memory function.
If pain is too severe at night I take a tramadol as this knocks me out and I can then sleep
getting some blessed relief from the pain spasms of the neuropathy.
Have been on pregablin 2yrs now, and its a drug you have to be weaned off like the cymbalta too.
I am happy on the low dose of it and do the charade's to remember things
Hope this helps?
Anna.

Ginnie
I don't have personal experience of Neuropathy, but my T1husband has.
Keeping better control has helped him the most. that's numbers at around 4 - 6.
I've also read in many places that many people have reversed neuropathy by improving their control. it can't hurt and might get you off a medication. less medication is always better if you can do it.
Hana