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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 14 of 14. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by WickedGirl on June 18, 2008, at 13:13:40
Hello! Given Cymbalta by p-doc and tried it for one day. I became an immediate couch potato. I was exhausted and could not move all day. Interestingly, the next day after taking it, I got up early (I am not an early riser) and proceeded to be extraordinarily productive. Since I cannot afford to be exhausted, I have not taken it again. Has anyone else had experience with this drug?
Posted by bleauberry on June 20, 2008, at 18:44:42
In reply to Anyone get wicked tired on Cymbalta?, posted by WickedGirl on June 18, 2008, at 13:13:40
It is hard to judge a drug by the initial reaction. It is the longterm adaptive changes that are meaningful. One day really doesn't say much.
Cymbalta did the same with me. I was careful though to retry it at a much lower dose...5mg (50 of the enteric coated beads from inside a capsule). I got that boost in productivity you mentioined, and only a fraction of the couch potato stuff. Over time I got more and more depressed, a lot worse than I started. A higher dose made it even worse. Felt better after I got off it.
Cymbalta is weird. While clinical trials make it appear as a superior med, there are enough people saying it does not make a very good antidepressant to make one wonder. Mileage varies. It is awesome for some people.
There is no way to predict what might happen 3 to 12 weeks down the road after starting off with the couch potato reaction. It might continue that way, or as your receptors adjust you might just come alive.
Personally I think the starting dose is way too high. I have heard of people doing perfectly fine with it at just 15mg (half of the capsule contents sprinkled on applesauce). As for me, it feels like very potent stuff even at just 5mg.
In the SNRI class of drugs, by far the best I've tried is milnacipran. Had to mailorder from overseas, no big deal, but it blew the other SNRIs in the weeds. Milnacipran had me cheered up, energetic, and productive within days along with awesome sleep. At just half a dose. It was all the good stuff you felt the next day from cymbalta, only better and cleaner, without the couch potato stuff.
Posted by Bob on June 20, 2008, at 23:49:26
In reply to Re: Anyone get wicked tired on Cymbalta?, posted by bleauberry on June 20, 2008, at 18:44:42
> In the SNRI class of drugs, by far the best I've tried is milnacipran. Had to mailorder from overseas, no big deal, but it blew the other SNRIs in the weeds. Milnacipran had me cheered up, energetic, and productive within days along with awesome sleep. At just half a dose. It was all the good stuff you felt the next day from cymbalta, only better and cleaner, without the couch potato stuff.So are you still taking the Milnacipran, and if not, what caused you to discontinue it?
Posted by bleauberry on June 21, 2008, at 20:50:18
In reply to Re: Anyone get wicked tired on Cymbalta? » bleauberry, posted by Bob on June 20, 2008, at 23:49:26
>
>
> So are you still taking the Milnacipran, and if not, what caused you to discontinue it?Milnacipran side effects are generally low and mild, except with me. I had no choice.
Posted by Bob on June 21, 2008, at 23:21:31
In reply to Re: Anyone get wicked tired on Cymbalta?, posted by bleauberry on June 21, 2008, at 20:50:18
> >
> >
> > So are you still taking the Milnacipran, and if not, what caused you to discontinue it?
>
> Milnacipran side effects are generally low and mild, except with me. I had no choice.
>
>
>And what side-effect(s) finally did you in?
Posted by bulldog2 on June 22, 2008, at 15:14:48
In reply to Anyone get wicked tired on Cymbalta?, posted by WickedGirl on June 18, 2008, at 13:13:40
> Hello! Given Cymbalta by p-doc and tried it for one day. I became an immediate couch potato. I was exhausted and could not move all day. Interestingly, the next day after taking it, I got up early (I am not an early riser) and proceeded to be extraordinarily productive. Since I cannot afford to be exhausted, I have not taken it again. Has anyone else had experience with this drug?
Was tired during the day and couldn't sleep at night. stopped after one day.
Posted by bleauberry on June 23, 2008, at 19:11:13
In reply to Re: Anyone get wicked tired on Cymbalta? » bleauberry, posted by Bob on June 21, 2008, at 23:21:31
> > >
> > >
> > > So are you still taking the Milnacipran, and if not, what caused you to discontinue it?
> >
> > Milnacipran side effects are generally low and mild, except with me. I had no choice.
> >
> >
> >
>
> And what side-effect(s) finally did you in?Genital problems...testicle pain, urination pain, fairly severe urinary retention/hesitancy.
Appetite decrease...at 6' weighing a scant 128 pounds, I could not afford to lose weight at a rate of one pound per week.
Clearly if I could figure out an antidote to those concerns, it would be a green light for another go of it. The only appetite things I could think of were Remeron (depressing to me) or Zyprexa. Kind of harsh to take an antipsychotic just to eat. Flomax would probably cure the urinary stuff, but the testicle pain is the wild card.
Posted by WickedGirl on June 24, 2008, at 0:32:11
In reply to Re: Anyone get wicked tired on Cymbalta?, posted by bleauberry on June 23, 2008, at 19:11:13
bleauberry, It would be interesting to see if taking a formula containing Saw Palmetto while taking the Milnacipran would help with the urinary system issues. In addition to the Saw Palmetto formula, I would take D-Mannose daily as well. Why? Well, right now, I have a migraine, so I will leave you to do the research. But, I will say I am a rather spectacular herbalist (if I do say so myself), and I also know people (including myself) who have had spectacular success using these products for urinary system issues. The two items I would recommend are Jarrow Formula's Prostate Optimizer and Solaray's D-Mannose with Cranactin. I have listed the two below with links to the best pricing in case your interest is piqued.
http://www.luckyvitamin.com/item/itemKey/66782
http://www.luckyvitamin.com/item/itemKey/65160My second source that I trust:
http://www.vitacost.com/Jarrow-Formulas-Prostate-Optimizer
http://www.vitacost.com/NSI-D-Mannose-with-CranForteInterestingly, for those men who take Claritin for allergy problems, the same urinary system issues are listed as side effects. Even more interestingly, although I do not have a prostate, when I briefly took Claritin, I had your symptoms (minus the testicular issue of course). It sucked. I stopped the Claritin after one day, but I suspect that if it was absolutely necessary for me to take it, the supplements that I mentioned would help quite a bit.
I also suspect that more than anything else, hydration is of prime importance. I know that when we lose our appetites on these drugs, the desire to drink is usually gone as well, even though we are thirsty. Forcing yourself to hydrate with pure water while taking drugs that impact the urinary system is way beyond vital.
I agree with you though....6 ft and 128 is not good. I can see why you would not want to take the Milnacipran any longer. However, if this comes up again with a medication that you like, please keep my suggestions in mind.
On another note, I have ordered Tianeptine from an overseas pharmacy. Hopefully, it will be shipped and I can try it out. I suffer from PTSD and the cognizant difficulties that they are finally beginning to attribute to the disorder. I am hopeful that the Tianeptine can rebuild certain neuronal pathways and protect the Hippocampus from further degeneration as I have read that this drug can do. I will post again if I get to experience it.
Posted by bleauberry on June 25, 2008, at 20:01:01
In reply to Re: Anyone get wicked tired on Cymbalta?, posted by WickedGirl on June 24, 2008, at 0:32:11
Thank you very much for the herbal tips. I will take a look at them.
As for Tianeptine...you and me both. We'll have to keep in touch and see how each other is doing with it. For now, just watching the mailbox, but still a bit too soon.
Posted by bleauberry on June 25, 2008, at 20:16:31
In reply to Anyone get wicked tired on Cymbalta?, posted by WickedGirl on June 18, 2008, at 13:13:40
Since you have a knack at herbals, I thought I might ask if you could research some ideas for me.
1. Something that makes someone a lot hungrier than normal.
2. Something that causes weight gain. While antipsychotics do that, I can't help but think there has to be a plant of the earth that does too.
Posted by WickedGirl on June 25, 2008, at 20:20:18
In reply to Re: Anyone get wicked tired on Cymbalta? » WickedGirl, posted by bleauberry on June 25, 2008, at 20:01:01
Me too (watching the mail box). I had plenty of follow-up to multiple questions that I asked from where I ordered, but so far, no shipping info or anything. It has only been a few days, so I am keeping all my fingers and toes crossed. The charge was just made to my credit card yesterday, right after we finished our dialogue (the company and I), so hopefully, this will be good.
Posted by WickedGirl on June 25, 2008, at 20:40:43
In reply to Re: Question Wicked Girl, posted by bleauberry on June 25, 2008, at 20:16:31
Yes. There is. Being a girl, and fighting weight gain, I usually avoid researching weight gain. But, I have seen a quite a few posts on this in both the bodybuilding and cancer support forums that I have been researching in lately. Let me look around and get back to you. In the meantime, a good B-Complex (please not from Walmart, Target, Rite-Aid, etc), will help increase the appetite. B-1 and B-12 are especially important. B-Complex in a capsule is my preferred choice, and no higher than 50mg per each B, simply because higher than that at one time can induce nausea. You can take more than 50mgs of the B's (no more than about 150 or 200 for B6 though please, but spread it out throughout the day). I will get back to you with more though.
http://www.fitnesstipsforlife.com/thiamin-b-complex-vitamins.html
http://www.ext.colostate.edu/PUBS/FOODNUT/09312.html
Posted by bleauberry on June 26, 2008, at 17:26:53
In reply to Re: Anyone get wicked tired on Cymbalta?, posted by WickedGirl on June 25, 2008, at 20:20:18
>The charge was just made to my credit card yesterday, right after we finished our dialogue (the company and I), so hopefully, this will be good.
It does usually take 3 to 5 days just for companies to make the financial transaction with your card. Then they ship it out. That will take another 10 to 14 business days. You'll probably see it second week of July, plus or minus a week. Not sure who you purchased from though.
Posted by WickedGirl on July 21, 2008, at 10:02:24
In reply to Re: Anyone get wicked tired on Cymbalta? » WickedGirl, posted by bleauberry on June 26, 2008, at 17:26:53
Hey bleauberry! I hope you are doing ok and that you got my babblemail to you. Sorry it took soo long!
This is the end of the thread.
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