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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 9 of 9. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by boomarang on September 10, 2004, at 0:19:01
Currently i take 200mg lamictal and tomorrow 30 mg of cymbalta will be added. If anyone is interested in following this combination, i'll be glad to post.
Posted by Sad Panda on September 10, 2004, at 10:50:18
In reply to Starting Lamictal with Cymbalta Combination, posted by boomarang on September 10, 2004, at 0:19:01
> Currently i take 200mg lamictal and tomorrow 30 mg of cymbalta will be added. If anyone is interested in following this combination, i'll be glad to post.
>
>Hi there,
Good Luck & keep us posted on your progress please, we are always interested, that's for sure. :)
What's your current diagnosis & what were you taking before Cymbalta?
Cheers,
Paul.
Posted by boomarang on September 10, 2004, at 17:19:53
In reply to Re: Starting Lamictal with Cymbalta Combination » boomarang, posted by Sad Panda on September 10, 2004, at 10:50:18
diagnosed with atypical depression and bp 4-5. no idea what that bp 4-5 is. i've tried every a/d imaginable but the side effects always got me. been on lamictal for the last 5 months topping at 350mg which gave me huge panic attacks. now down to 200mg.
started the cymbalta today at 30mg. taken with breakfast at 8am as my pdoc said it can make you nauseous. at 1030 while getting my hair cut i almost puked on the stylist. fortunately it passed and i didn't have to tip extra for cleanup. no sleepiness whatsoever. also the slightest glimmer that i may not be snapping at everyone soon. too much to hope for at day one.
Posted by boomarang on September 10, 2004, at 23:52:17
In reply to Re: Starting Lamictal with Cymbalta Combination, posted by boomarang on September 10, 2004, at 17:19:53
not to sound overly optimistic...but...today i can actually feel the serotonin going thru my system. perhaps because i haven't taken any ssri's or snri's for 9 months perhaps i am more aware of them now...but on day one on cymbalta i can feel the stuff working and know its there. needless to say, i am very in touch with the effects most drugs have on me.
hopefully this is an encouraging sign to feel the extra serotonin kicking in. hope no side effects come along to screw it up!
Posted by boomarang on September 12, 2004, at 13:38:42
In reply to Re: Starting Lamictal with Cymbalta Combination, posted by boomarang on September 10, 2004, at 23:52:17
day 2
think i may have to reduce my caffeine intake with this combo of lamicatal and cymbalta...seems to exacerbate caffeines effects...racing heart.no sleepiness. a bit of dry mouth, no problem. a titch of a stiff neck but not any further. keeping fingers crossed on that one as that side effect on an ssri was debilitating.
day 3
no increase in appetite. sexual side effects to date are none. noticing how much better i feel with the added serotonin...realizing how much i missed it when i was on just the lamictal. no increase in the stiff neck. restless legs are back but i can live with that. no change in sleep pattern.
Posted by 4WD on September 12, 2004, at 22:34:24
In reply to Re: Starting Lamictal with Cymbalta Combination, posted by boomarang on September 12, 2004, at 13:38:42
> day 2
> think i may have to reduce my caffeine intake with this combo of lamicatal and cymbalta...seems to exacerbate caffeines effects...racing heart.
>
> no sleepiness. a bit of dry mouth, no problem. a titch of a stiff neck but not any further. keeping fingers crossed on that one as that side effect on an ssri was debilitating.
>
> day 3
> no increase in appetite. sexual side effects to date are none. noticing how much better i feel with the added serotonin...realizing how much i missed it when i was on just the lamictal. no increase in the stiff neck. restless legs are back but i can live with that. no change in sleep pattern.
>Were you saying you had a stiff neck on SSRIs? I was completely unable to be on Prozac, Celexa, zoloft or Lexapro because of that exact thing.
Posted by boomarang on September 13, 2004, at 0:08:35
In reply to Re: Starting Lamictal with Cymbalta Combination » boomarang, posted by 4WD on September 12, 2004, at 22:34:24
absolutely had the stiff neck with several of the a/d's that i've taken. tried to stick it out but after awhile when you can't even turn your neck to drive, it becomes intolerable.
today on cymbalta i had some neck stiffness in the morning and took some tylenol. the stiffness never returned all day. i'm really hoping that this doesn't become a bad case of the stiffs. i'm so sick of looking for the right combo cocktail that i am almost willing to take muscle relaxants for my neck if it comes to that.
Posted by 4WD on September 13, 2004, at 20:43:17
In reply to Re: Starting Lamictal with Cymbalta Combination » 4WD, posted by boomarang on September 13, 2004, at 0:08:35
> absolutely had the stiff neck with several of the a/d's that i've taken. tried to stick it out but after awhile when you can't even turn your neck to drive, it becomes intolerable.
>
> today on cymbalta i had some neck stiffness in the morning and took some tylenol. the stiffness never returned all day. i'm really hoping that this doesn't become a bad case of the stiffs. i'm so sick of looking for the right combo cocktail that i am almost willing to take muscle relaxants for my neck if it comes to that.I've had half a dozen doctors tell me that SSRIS don't cause a stiff neck. I tell them it does. They think I'm a hypochondriac. It didn't happen on Effexor (37.5mg), Paxil, and so far it hasn't happened on Cymbalta. Maybe just a tiny bit. Prozac was the very worst. I'm only taking 30mg day though of Cymbalta. I think it's the serotonin without the norephinephrine counteraction that does it. I was thinking that if worse came to worst I came try an SSRI plus a small amount of nortriptyline (which is a selective norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor) to counter the neck stiffening effects of the SSRI.
I was on Prozac for nine years before I realized that was what was causing my neck to hurt so much worse (I have some neck problems). There were times I considered suicide it hurt so much and so constantly. Then I got switched to Effexor and within a month, the pain was reduced by about 70 percent!
Anyway, from a fellow sufferer,Good luck with Cymbalta,
Marsha
Posted by boomarang on September 13, 2004, at 22:07:40
In reply to Re: Starting Lamictal with Cymbalta Combination » boomarang, posted by 4WD on September 13, 2004, at 20:43:17
> I've had half a dozen doctors tell me that SSRIS don't cause a stiff neck. I tell them it does. They think I'm a hypochondriac.
>>I've had the same reaction from my pdoc. i can't believe they have never heard that complaint before.
>I think it's the serotonin without the norephinephrine counteraction that does it. I was thinking that if worse came to worst I came try an SSRI plus a small amount of nortriptyline (which is a selective norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor) to counter the neck stiffening effects of the SSRI.
>>that's good to know. i'm going to log that thought in case it does happen.
> I was on Prozac for nine years before I realized that was what was causing my neck to hurt so much worse (I have some neck problems).
>>it is hard to know what medication is causing what side effect. thanks for letting me know i am not alone in experiencing that. sometimes i feel like such a hypocondriac when i complain about the different side effects i get from a/ds.
This is the end of the thread.
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