Does Cymbalta hinder weight loss?

I wonder if there's a better alternative, since Cymbalta is so hard to get off of?

Well, there's Lyrica and Gabapentin. Those are both anti-seizure drugs. I'm sure Topamax has probably been tried off-label for it, along with most of the anti-depressants.

And of course Savella which I talked about in my other response. It's an anti-depressant of the SNRI (vs. SSRI) variety. Seratonin is a major component in the pain response system, as is norepinephrine (the N part of SNRI) so increasing the levels of both in the brain appears to help some people, myself included.

I've also been reading quite a bit about low dose naltrexone. It can be hard to find a practitioner who is willing to prescribe it, it's definitely an off-label application. It sounds interesting, and I'd look at it if nothing else worked.

And of course there's the herbal stuff like kratom and if it's legal in your area, marijuana or other cannaboids.

Right now there's so much we don't know about fibro and its cause(s) that it's a situation where most people have to try a bunch of stuff until they find what works for them.

I would take Cymbalta over gabapentin or lyrica in a heart beat. It's safer. It's also an SNRI, so it works much more like a stimulant than a traditional antidepressant. GABA-analogue drugs like those can also cause rapid weight gain more than SNRIs.

I've had to cease taking Cymbalta once, for my weight loss surgery. Even on a high dose it was uncomfortable for 2-3 days, but I evened out very quickly. At 30mg the trick is that you can't titrate down much from there.

I'm glad you only had a couple days' discomfort with it. I had 2 weeks of sheer hell - brain zaps, anxiety attacks, feeling like I was going out of my mind... it finally started ramping down at about day 10. I took advantage of a school break and a light load at work to go off of whatever the lowest dosage is (can't remember if it was 20mg or 30mg at the time, this was several years ago) cold turkey.

While on it, it worked OK, so when my rheumy wanted to use it for the fatigue I told her my issues going off of it and said I'd take it if she had a plan for getting me off of it if needed. She said she'd rather try Savella then and it worked GREAT. Which is good news for me, because it's also her preferred drug for fibromyalgia, and since my insurance had already approved Savella and I didn't have any issues on it or getting off of it, we just started it back up with my fibro diagnosis.

I won't refuse Cymbalta, but I will insist that my doc and I have a good plan for getting off of it. :)

Of course, I'm the person who almost always has all of the side effects or reactions that "only a tiny percentage of people have".

So far I've had cardiac arrhythmias from a drug for daytime sleepiness, hives from Valtrex, airway swelling from doxycycline, fever blister outbreaks from naproxen, thyroid nodules from sulfasalazine, and a flushing/rash/tachycardia from methotrexate.

It's a good thing I have a high tolerance for high doses of benadryl!! ;)

Well, I'm an outlier where pain and medication symptoms are concerned, and certainly what I do is not for everyone. I have RA, Hashimoto's, and Celiac, and control all three with diet, primarily. My antibodies dropped from over 25k to under 1k after I changed my diet. It's very strict, however I don't even take OTC pain killers despite needing joint replacements.

I am familiar with Savella (I work with psychiatrists) and while it often is more pleasant, I have also seen clients go through discontinuation like with Cymbalta and Effexor, albeit rarely. It may be because Savella affects norepinephrine and serotonin reuptake far more equally than the earlier drugs despite having a far shorter half-life.

I'm not saying that you shouldn't take it, however if you are prone to reactions, it may be that it can affect you.

Still, I am fortunate and have no complaints. Luckily there are a multitude of options for the varying needs everyone has. :)

Surprisingly, I have had no issue with it (Savella), and I titrated completely off of it for several months and am now ramping it back up. ::knock on wood:: Everyone's experience is different. I think Cymbalta is a good drug. I just wish they were more open about the issues some people have getting off of it, and offered more options for it.

I'm still coming to terms with the fibro diagnosis, but the Savella is working really well with it so I guess I have to accept that I really do have fibro. Or my PCP has been right all along and my depression causes psychosomatic syptoms. :/

Fibromyalgia sucks, for real. I have had it for years, apparently, but the symptoms have gotten worse this year, and finally went to a rheumatologist who feels certain that's the explanation for my collection of symptoms. It's so weird how the pain can be there one day, like my right shoulder will hurt like crazy, but the next day it's perfectly fine, but my left foot is killing me. Or my elbow. It just varies. At lease since I've started on Cymbalta when I get up in the morning I don't walk like an old lady. It really has helped with hip joint pain.

Thank you again for all your input! I appreciate it so much, as I'm just beginning to learn about all of this.