Many of you know of my back pain issues that I've had most of my life (20+ years). For the last couple of years you guys have seen it escalate and my constant search for a resolution.
About 6 weeks ago I was discussing something else with my doctor and he menioned Cymbalta for chronic pain. I was like wait, what? Isn't that the drug for depression? He explained that it was initially intend for that but they discovered that it also helped people with Fibromyalgia. They kept testing it and discovered that it helped people with lower back pain. I believe it's now been FDA approved for depression, Fibromyalgia, lower back pain and it's on it's way to approval for just "chronic pain".
The best thing? It's not a narcotic. It works on the pain receptors which science is discovering is closly releated to seratoinin and norepinephrine neurotransmitters. Basically people that absorb too much of these chemicals that are produced naturally, are extremely sensitive to pain.
Considering how long I've lived with the chronic pain and how much it rules my life ( I make all my daily decisions based on how much it's going to hurt my back) I thought it was worth a try.
Withing a couple of days the pain was almost gone. Within a week it was completely gone. 6 weeks later and it's still gone. I still have to take it every day and it will probably come back if I stop but for now it's completely worth it.
I know some of you guys have chronic pain issues too so I thought I would share. Talk to your doctor about it. You should know the side effects the first week are severe: increased anxiety, feeling of stoned (kind of like that feeling before something like ecstasy kicks in), out of it, lethargy, dry mouth, extreme depression and vivid thoughts/imagery of suicide (you should talk to your doctor if you don't think you can separate this out) but all of that went away after the first week (thank goodness no way I could have continued on it otherwise) I still feel more lethargic than I used too and a little not like myself, but I'm willing to sacrifice it for the lack of pain. Anyways this a little more personal than I would normally get but anyone who decides to try this needs to know the potential side effects before they start.
About 6 weeks ago I was discussing something else with my doctor and he menioned Cymbalta for chronic pain. I was like wait, what? Isn't that the drug for depression? He explained that it was initially intend for that but they discovered that it also helped people with Fibromyalgia. They kept testing it and discovered that it helped people with lower back pain. I believe it's now been FDA approved for depression, Fibromyalgia, lower back pain and it's on it's way to approval for just "chronic pain".
The best thing? It's not a narcotic. It works on the pain receptors which science is discovering is closly releated to seratoinin and norepinephrine neurotransmitters. Basically people that absorb too much of these chemicals that are produced naturally, are extremely sensitive to pain.
Considering how long I've lived with the chronic pain and how much it rules my life ( I make all my daily decisions based on how much it's going to hurt my back) I thought it was worth a try.
Withing a couple of days the pain was almost gone. Within a week it was completely gone. 6 weeks later and it's still gone. I still have to take it every day and it will probably come back if I stop but for now it's completely worth it.
I know some of you guys have chronic pain issues too so I thought I would share. Talk to your doctor about it. You should know the side effects the first week are severe: increased anxiety, feeling of stoned (kind of like that feeling before something like ecstasy kicks in), out of it, lethargy, dry mouth, extreme depression and vivid thoughts/imagery of suicide (you should talk to your doctor if you don't think you can separate this out) but all of that went away after the first week (thank goodness no way I could have continued on it otherwise) I still feel more lethargic than I used too and a little not like myself, but I'm willing to sacrifice it for the lack of pain. Anyways this a little more personal than I would normally get but anyone who decides to try this needs to know the potential side effects before they start.
