Effexor Vs. Cymbalta

[dsdmom]

I have developed an extreme sensitivity to SSRI's and can no longer take them. I did not do well with Effexor (SNRI - same process really) as I had bad chest pain and headaches. I'm wondering if anybody else who had a bad experience with Effexor did ok with Cymbalta.....

[cmtaylor5]

Hi,

My husband took both. Effexor was a nightmare for him. He had horrible headaches and many other terrible side effects. He started taking Cymbalta after he was weaned off of Effexor and he has not had any problems with it. It works very well for him without any notable side effects.

Everybody is so different, though.

Good Luck!

Carolyn

[deucykub]

Hi, dsdmom:

I've been on both. Effexor was simply terrible. It was prescribed to me for Fibromyalgia, did nothing to stop the pain, and the withdrawal was horrific. My experience with Effexor was so bad that I refused to take any other form of SSRI or SNRI. Thank goodness my rheumatologist talked me into Cymbalta. It is my miracle drug!!! It has practically eliminated my neuropathic pain, which was debilitating. I don't have any major side effects. If I forget to take Cymbalta, I get really bad night sweats, not fun but do-able. I take 60 mg every morning. My script is actually for 60 mg twice daily, but I found that the one pill was enough for me.

My doctor ramped my dosage up, giving me sample pills of smaller doses. If I recall correctly, he started me on 30 mg in the morning, then went to 30 mg twice daily, 60 and 30, then 60 and 60.

I think it is well worth giving Cymbalta a try. In fact, I think my being on this before having POTS may have masked POTS for a while and probably helps with my POTS almost by accident.

Good luck!