Rachel Posted January 20, 2009 Report Share Posted January 20, 2009 I started Cymbalta 12 days ago. I've had some rough days with side effects, but those are lessening as time goes on. I haven't seen any improvement in my dysautonomia symptoms, though. For those of you who have taken/are taking Cymbalta, how long of a trial did you do before you knew if the med was helping or not?Rachel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ernie Posted January 20, 2009 Report Share Posted January 20, 2009 Hi, Less than 24 hours. I always know very fast if a medication helps me or makes me worst.With midrodine it took 20 minutes and with propanolol it took 30 minutes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
desiree942 Posted January 20, 2009 Report Share Posted January 20, 2009 I recall it taking only a couple of days, less than a week. What dose did they start you at. I started at 20mg and have found that works best for me -- I tried 40mg and 30 mg but I had side effects. I vaguely recall dr. grubb saying that I might not feel anything at 20mg but I definitely had pretty immediate results. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajw4790 Posted January 20, 2009 Report Share Posted January 20, 2009 Rachel,Hi! My experience may have been a little different in that I had to wean completely off of Wellbutrin and lower my Zoloft dose to start Cymbalta over the time span of 3-4 weeks and then began the Cymbalta. I would say I saw some minimal positive affects early on. I had a lot of bad headaches the first month or so that went away. Then after things leveled off I saw more of the positive affects. So, it took me a little while. It still hasn't been incredibly beneficial to me, but there are some days were I have spurts of more energy and alertness than I do without it. My HR seems to be up, but more consistant (if that makes sense), BP is good... a little on the high side for me. And the biggest result I noticed since taking Cymbalta is being able to drink warm/hot liquids and soups again, which I hadn't been able to without a lot of side effects for years. But, I would say give it 3-4 weeks or less the side effects are too bad. If it is the headaches, ride those out if you can, because those did get better for me. I had them daily like clockwork, and then they were gone! (and I did not miss them!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dsdmom Posted January 21, 2009 Report Share Posted January 21, 2009 I'm curious - what would happen if you drink warm/hot soups/liquids? I can't do it either but I don't know if it's for the same reason that you had. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darlene Posted January 21, 2009 Report Share Posted January 21, 2009 i was prescribed lexapro, but my medicaid would not pay for it, so then I was prescribed cymbalta, they say they are similar, they are not, I took cymbalta a few days, maybe a week, and had terrible side effects, the Dr. faxed a paper to medicaid to get them to cover Lexapro, and they did, I have tried zoloft, paxil, prozac, and wellbutrin also, lexapro is the only ssri I causes me no side effects.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajw4790 Posted January 21, 2009 Report Share Posted January 21, 2009 dsdmom, My response to hot drinks/soup is from it causing an internal heat intolerace type reaction in the viscera, much like many of us get from too much heat in the environment. It causes the blood vessels to dilate in the gut and for blood to pool. It causes a stomach upset, nausea, overheated, shaky overactive ANS type reaction in me. Cymbalta has seemed to lessen this. See my previous thread from a while ago and others replies.http://dinet.ipbhost.com/index.php?showtop...;hl=hot+liquids Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
njfainter42 Posted January 21, 2009 Report Share Posted January 21, 2009 I think it can take about 2 months to really kick in. I did faint badly 3 weeks after starting cymbalta but have not fainted since then. Just a few minor faints where I recovered easily. In the beginning I loved it...It gave me a drunk&tired feeling which I no longer get. I also switched to morning doses instead of evenings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rachel Posted January 23, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 23, 2009 I took 20mg for a week before upping the dose. I've been on 40mg for 8 days now. I thought I was mostly through with the side effects, but apparently not. I still have extra burning in my hands and feet (I used to just have burning feet), and more sleepiness, and increasing fatigue. I'm getting worse with each dose, so we'll be dropping it back down to 20mg tomorrow. If I do okay/see improvements at 20mg I'll stay there. Otherwise I'll wean off completely.My mom is going to come and help me out during this time. The side effects are too much to handle, and my husband is going to be gone at school most of the week starting on Monday. I'm so thankful that my mom is able to come stay with us. I can't completely take care of myself right now, much less my 3 year old too!Here's to another failed med trial. Rachel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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