@A MyFibroTeam Member Yes, I took both I originally was on Lyrica and switched to Cymbalta to see if I could go without pain meds. I didn't do well on the Cymbalta so I went back to Lyrica. Now I have CBD oil so the next test is to see if I can get off all of these meds. I may have to keep pain meds on hand for the really bad flares. But the goal is to go natural.

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A MyFibro...

I got diagnosed with fibromyalgia 2 months ago and I've been taking Cymbalta for the last 1.5 months. I started with 30mg and then up to 60mg after 3 weeks, following my doctor's orders. It made a significant impact for me.

It took me a few days to find the best time to take it. It ruins my sleep if I take it late. Taking it after the breakfast works well for me. First thing is the relief from the widespread body pain. The number of my painful days greatly reduced after starting Cymbalta. Some days I wake up stiff and painful, but the pains usually disappear after the dose. Second is that I am very impressed with how my brain fog cleared up and my mental efficiency improved after starting up. I was psychologically in a devastating situation before starting. Long-term anxiety was at the peak and I was also depressed after the months of mysterious symptoms and getting diagnosed with a chronic condition with no known cure. Holding on with the start up side effects, I started feeling relief from the dark mindset and anxiety. Hopefully the impact on the mind would keep on improving as it's still early times (1.5 months). These are the good stuff in my experience.

The bad stuff are not too bad, but there are plenty. The first days were not easy, with just 1-2 hours of sleep in the nights, nausea, feeling lightheaded and dizzy, headaches etc. But these cleared up in two weeks. There are some not-so-dominant side effects remaining, such as burning stomach, difficulty swallowing, yawning like a lion, increased appetite. The first days of increasing my dose from 30mg to 60mg were similar but not as bad as starting up. l also have CFS. Every day, 5-6 hours after taking my dose, I experience an afternoon crash. Not sure if it's CFS or Cymbalta's side effect, but I guess it's the latter because it always starts around 5 hours after the dose. During the week it appears around 1-2pm, and the weekends around 4-5pm as I take Cymbalta later. The crash stays for a few hours with fatigue and generally feeling unwell and a bit weird. If I'm at home, I take some rest and get better in a couple of hours. When I'm at work it gets a bit challenging. Hopefully this would go away or get better in time. I am still OK if it wouldn't, as the benefits are worth it. My last concern is the withdrawal. There are so many bad stories about how hard it is to wean off, but let's face this when the time comes :)

Every single person reacts differently to different medications, so I'm lucky that it is working for my fibromyalgia pain at the moment. I still have the occasional bad day with widespread pain, but it's tolerable. I hope it stays this way and the "afternoon crash" vanishes in the long-term. I could suggest you to take it in the morning rather than night time, but again you may not have the sleep problems that I had, so trial & error is the best way to find out. How long have you been taking it before upping your dose?

Good luck and best wishes.

I have been taking Cymbalta for over 2 years for my pain and it works great for me. It does take a few weeks for the medication to build up in your system to work. (Took 6 weeks before I felt relief) I also take Gabapentin. I haven't had any side effects.

I take 60mg of Cymbalta once each day and 75 mg of amitriptyline at bedtime. I take Gabapentin for occipital neuralgia also. The medications have helped with pain. I went to Michigan with my boyfriend in June and accidently left my meds at home. By the middle of the second day, I was feeling terrible, like I was going through detox. Rest or naps after work or on the weekend help with my fatigue, which is my worst symptom anymore. Does anyone know how to deal with the fatigue?

I take 60mg in the morning. It kept me awake so she had me take it in the morning so I would feel better during the day!!!☺ A friend of mine had to swich to morning too!!!