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I'm a 42 yo mom of 3... Work full time.... Primary provider of the house...
Before all this started I was taking 3 meds. Levothyroxine for hypothyroidism, Protonix for GERD and Cymbalta for generalized anxiety.
The anxiety stems from childhood and adulthood.... childhood wasn't the best... pretty chaotic...no abuse... just a lot of stress (dad left, mom had a bought of alcholism, sister had anorexia/bulimia, teen pregnancy)...
Now I am the primary provider of the house... have 3 children .... one is married with a child of her own, 2nd one has autism.. 3rd one is a teen now and has his own thing going on.. not to mention my husband has a medical disability himself...
Last year, I decided (after 5 years of taking this) to try to come off of cymbalta.... that is when it all fell apart...
Not only is the withdraw from cymbalta total he@#, but while I was weaning, I started to have a bad lower back pain... so, because of this pain, I started to go to more doctors to get an answer on why I was having this pain...
I was NOT out for the pain meds... In fact, I'm terrified of them... Scared of addiction.
So, 3 specialists, 2 MRI's, a lot of lab tests (for rheumatogic conditions) later, NOTHING.... Everything came back normal.... but I still have the pain..
The Neuro I see says it's all stress..... and NOW I'm on 2 more meds... Neurontin for the nerve pain (which helps a little) and Atenolol for palpitations.... And worse yet, I'm BACK on cymbalta..
Any thoughts?
Is anyone else going though anything similar?
Have you considered seeing a Chiropractor?
I had issues with pain and after seeing a chiro for awhile, I've never felt better!
I think our bodies (skeletal system) get out of alignment and it causes all sorts of issues.
I do think chronic pain can cause mental issues.
Yes, it can. Severe depression can cause physical pain, anxiety does all kinds of weird things to your body, and people do get conversion disorders where psychological symptoms are turned into physical pain. Cymbalta is actually one of the antidepressants that is used to treat physical pain from depression and anxiety. I know it sucks having to take it, but if you were thoroughly checked out for physical illnesses and they couldn't find anything it might just be worth it to take it. Does your physical pain go away when you take the Cymbalta and did you withdraw from the med long enough to see if the pain would stop once your body was free from the medication?
Yes, it can. Severe depression can cause physical pain, anxiety does all kinds of weird things to your body, and people do get conversion disorders where psychological symptoms are turned into physical pain. Cymbalta is actually one of the antidepressants that is used to treat physical pain from depression and anxiety. I know it sucks having to take it, but if you were thoroughly checked out for physical illnesses and they couldn't find anything it might just be worth it to take it. Does your physical pain go away when you take the Cymbalta and did you withdraw from the med long enough to see if the pain would stop once your body was free from the medication?
I never had pain prior to starting cymbalta... Only was started on it for anxiety. The pain started while weaning down off.
I was off cymbalta (0 cymbalta) for a 2 full months and was still having awful withdraw and pain.
I still have pain while taking cymbalta and the neurontin... it is constant burning type pain in my lower back.
I'm sorry to hear that the cymbalta and neurontin are not helping. It is strange that the pain did not start until you were withdrawing from the cymbalta. Perhaps try a different doctor? I'm sorry I don't have any better advice. Good luck finding a treatment for your pain because I know that chronic pain can really get you down.
I agree, depression can cause chronic pain.
You could have a pinched nerve, that's really what it sounds like....I've never heard of the meds causing pain...they may have just been masking it while you were on them.
Regardless of what the cause...I still recommend Chiropractic care for whatever type of pain issues you're having.
At one time I was told my back pain was due to depression and that nothing was wrong with my back. Later, it was found that I had three herniated disks in my back from weight gain. Also, I have osteoarthritis. I went to a pain medication doctor that discovered all this. I had 7 spinal "treatments" injections because of pinched nerves...I forget of what all it was, but finally he burned the nerves so I wouldn't feel the pain and it's worked for the past four years. The pain got so bad I was basically bed ridden for a couple of years before I had the surgeries. Don't let the doctors tell you it's all in your head. You need to find the right doctor to figure out what it is. If there is pain something is wrong with your body.
Burning type of pain is generally associated with nerve impingement or other effects on specific nerves. While a neurologist is usually the evaluating MD, they are not as skilled in long-term pain issues particularly with lumbar pain.
Depending on where you live: have your personal MD make a referral to a Neuro group associated with a teaching hospital/affiliated with a university, for further work-up. The more unusual cases they handle help them gain more experience/help to obtain a true diagnosis, as they do not give up after a test or two.
BTW, MRIs are not the be-all, end-all...other tests can be done in addition...so continue to search for a cause for your back pain ie lumbar myeleogram etc.
Chronic pain clinics are expert in finding and treating back pain complaints as well. Cymbalta is prescribed in conjunction with OTC pain relievers.
There is a link between depression and stress/pain. Most chronic pain patients generally see a psychologist at the same time as medical treatment. Also, Neurontin is used often for nerve pain usually with good results.
Good luck
Quote:
Originally Posted by autimom4ever
I never had pain prior to starting cymbalta... Only was started on it for anxiety. The pain started while weaning down off.
I was off cymbalta (0 cymbalta) for a 2 full months and was still having awful withdraw and pain.
I still have pain while taking cymbalta and the neurontin... it is constant burning type pain in my lower back.
I've had a lot of success with Lyrica. It's for nerve pain too.
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