Empower Your Emotions: Duloxetine 60 mg helped me with depression.
When I was put on Duloxetine, I think she started me out on 20 mg, which was not enough. Then she raised it to 30 mg. Still not enough.
Duloxetine 60 mg was enough for awhile. Currently, I’m taking 120 mg per day. I believe she said that that is the maximum.
Altogether, I’ve had if you want to call it ‘good luck’ with Duloxetine. I really haven’t had any side effects from it. Duloxetine is the generic name for the brand name Cymbalta.
This medication is used to treat certain mental/mood disorders (such as depression, anxiety).
It is also used to help relieve nerve pain (peripheral neuropathy) in people with diabetes or ongoing pain due to medical conditions such as arthritis, chronic back pain, or fibromyalgia (a condition that causes widespread pain).
Duloxetine belongs to a class of drugs known as serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs).
Basically, it works by helping to restore the balance of certain natural substances (serotonin and norepinephrine) in the brain.
Duloxetine Many Uses
Empower Your Emotions: Duloxetine 60 mg helps develop inner peace. I use Duloxetine for depression, but it has many other uses such as for anxiety.
It is also used to help relieve pain caused by nerve damage associated with diabetes (diabetic peripheral neuropathy) or ongoing pain due to medical conditions such as arthritis.
Furthermore, it is used for chronic back pain, or fibromyalgia (a condition that causes widespread pain through muscle pain and stiffness).
How to use Duloxetine 60 Mg Capsule, Delayed Release Sprinkle
Take this medication by mouth with or without food as directed by your doctor, usually 1 or 2 times a day. If you have nausea, it may help to take this drug with food.
You may swallow this medication whole, or you may open the capsule and sprinkle the contents on a tablespoonful of applesauce.
Swallow the drug/food mixture right away. Do not crush or chew the mixture. Do not prepare the mixture ahead of time for later use.
Duloxetine Side Effects
Empower Your Emotions: Duloxetine 60 mg has some mild side effects.
Generally, nausea, dry mouth, constipation, loss of appetite, tiredness, drowsiness, or increased sweating may occur. If any of these effects last or get worse, tell your doctor promptly.
Also, this medication may raise your blood pressure. Check your blood pressure regularly and tell your doctor if the results are high.
Emphatically, tell your doctor right away if you have any serious side effects, including: confusion, easy bleeding/bruising, decreased interest in sex, changes in sexual ability, muscle cramps/weakness.
Also, shaking (tremor), difficulty urinating, signs of liver problems (such as nausea/vomiting) that doesn’t stop, stomach/abdominal pain, yellowing eyes/skin, dark urine).
Equally important, get medical help right away if you have any very serious side effects, including: black stools, vomit that looks like coffee grounds, seizure, eye pain/swelling/redness.
Also, widened pupils, vision changes (such as seeing rainbows around lights at night, blurred vision).
Tell your doctor right away if you have any serious side effects, including: confusion, easy bleeding/bruising. Also, difficulty urinating and stomach/abdominal pain.
It may also cause some people to have suicidal thoughts and tendencies or to become more depressed.
Some people may have trouble sleeping, get upset easily, have a big increase in energy, or start to act reckless.
What should I tell my care team before I take this medication?
They need to know if you have any of these conditions:
- Firstly, bipolar disorder
- Glaucoma
- High blood pressure
- Fourthly, kidney disease
- Liver disease
- Seizures
- Additionally, suicidal thoughts, plans or attempt; a previous suicide attempt by you or a family member
- Take medications that treat or prevent blood clots
- Taken medications called MAOIs like Carbex, Eldepryl, Marplan, Nardil, and Parnate within 14 days
- In addition, trouble passing urine
- An unusual reaction to duloxetine, other medications, foods, dyes, or preservatives
- Pregnant or trying to get pregnant
- Lastly, breast-feeding
Increasing Cymbalta from 60 mg to 120 mg
Empower Your Emotions: Duloxetine 60 mg gave me inner peace for a while.
At any rate, I was at 60 mg for a while and it was working for me. But it was almost like it just stopped working.
So, I’ve been on 120 mg for several years without any side effects. Usually I’m one of those people that would get most of the side effects if there were any.
Although, I was surprised I didn’t with Duloxetine. For the most part my mood has been stable. Although, if the microdosing goes according to plan, I will be off of it.
Duloxetine Hydrochloride Interactions With Other Meds
Explicitly, do not take duloxetine with a monoamine oxidase (MAO) inhibitor. Do not start taking an MAO inhibitor within 5 days of stopping duloxetine.
Hence, if you do, you may develop confusion, agitation, restlessness, stomach or intestinal symptoms, sudden high body temperature, extremely high blood pressure, or severe convulsions.
Duloxetine may cause a serious condition called serotonin syndrome if taken together with some medicines.
Even more, this medicine may increase your risk for bleeding problems. Make sure your doctor knows if you are also taking other medicines that thin the blood.
Such as aspirin, NSAID pain medicines (eg, ibuprofen, naproxen, Advil®, Aleve®, Celebrex®, or Motrin®) or warfarin (Coumadin®).
Duloxetine Cost
How much does duloxetine cost without insurance?
Empower Your Emotions: Duloxetine 60 mg doesn’t cost as much as some meds.
Furthermore, if purchased at full retail price, expect to pay $230 for 30, 60 mg capsules of generic duloxetine for one month’s worth, and about $3,000 for a year.
Duloxetine belongs to a family of drugs called serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs).
By the same token, they work very similarly to more widely known antidepressants called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) such as Prozac (fluoxetine) and Zoloft (sertraline).
Here are some more foolproof ways to make duloxetine affordable.
1. Take advantage of SingleCare’s prescription discount program
Rather than pay $230 for a 30-day supply of duloxetine, people with a SingleCare discount card can pay as little as $7 at a SingleCare participating pharmacy. That’s only $84 per year as opposed to $3,000 a year.
2. Shop for the lowest price
Generally, shopping different pharmacy prices could save hundreds of dollars per prescription. Check the prices at your local pharmacies using SingleCare’s pharmacy finder.
3. Get a 90-day supply
Likewise, higher-priced generic medications typically cost less per tablet when purchased as a 90-day prescription rather than filled every month for three months.
Duloxetine is no exception. Compare 30-day and 90-prices to see if you can save money.
4. Fill the prescription at a community clinic that sells discount medications
Community clinics, health centers, and hospitals may have a program that offers prescription medications at a steep discount to needy patients.
Therefore, called 340B providers, most will have income eligibility requirements. The prescriber or local health officials can provide a list of 340B providers in the area.
5. Switch to a different medication
Consequently, there may be cheaper prescription drugs that can work just as well as duloxetine such as SSRIs, tricyclic antidepressants, anticonvulsants, or NSAIDs.
Empower Your Emotions: Duloxetine 60 mg. There will be differences, however, in effectiveness, side effects, and drug interactions. Start by asking a healthcare professional for medical advice first about switching to another drug.
What are the pros and cons of taking duloxetine?
| PROS OF CYMBALTA | CONS OF CYMBALTA |
| Treats several conditions | Risk of suicidal thoughts & behaviors, especially in younger people |
| More effective than other antidepressants in treating pain | Potential for withdrawal symptoms |
| Generally well-tolerated by most who take it | Common side effects can include dry mouth, stomach issues, headache & more |
| Can be effective in treating nerve pain | Increased risk of bleeding & bruising |
What organs does Cymbalta affect?
Is duloxetine hard on the liver or kidneys?
Particularly, Duloxetine therapy can be associated with transient asymptomatic elevations and has been linked to rare instances of clinically apparent acute liver injury.
Does duloxetine affect the heart?
In the placebo-controlled trials, the authors determined that duloxetine increased heart rate by a mean of 2.22 beats/min and raised diastolic blood pressure by a mean of 0.82 mmHg vs placebo, which is not likely to be clinically significant.
Does duloxetine cause weight gain?
- Weight gain is a possible side effect of Cymbalta (duloxetine). But it can also cause weight loss during the first several months of taking it. Weight gain can happen from taking it for a longer time.
- You can help manage weight while taking Cymbalta by making healthy lifestyle choices. This includes exercising and eating a healthy diet.
Why was Cymbalta taken off the market?
Empower Your Emotions: Duloxetine 60 mg was temporarily taken off of the market. The ISMP report continued:
“We identified a serious breakdown at both the FDA and the manufacturer, Eli Lilly and Company, in providing adequate warnings and instructions about how to manage this common adverse effect.”
Additionally, the FDA-approved patient guide for Cymbalta was found to be “materially deficient,” giving no hint of the persistence or severity of symptoms.
However, it does not address basic questions about withdrawal like:
- What kind of symptoms are most common?
- Should patients taper off the dose, and if so, how slowly?
- What should a patient do if depression or other symptoms recur?
- Is there a way to tell whether these are withdrawal symptoms or the previous illness returning?
Foods to Avoid While Taking Cymbalta
Empower Your Emotions: Duloxetine 60 mg. According to medicalnewstoday.com, Cymbalta (duloxetine) is not known to interact with foods, but there are some things to consider if you’re taking it:
- Nausea. If you’re feeling sick, you can try eating simple, easily digestible meals to help with digestive discomfort. You can also try taking Cymbalta with food in the morning.
- Caffeine. Caffeine can disrupt sleep and increase your risk of serotonin syndrome, a serious drug reaction. You can try limiting your caffeine intake or switching to decaffeinated drinks.
- Alcohol. Cymbalta can affect the liver, so combining it with alcohol can increase the risk of liver problems. The prescribing information recommends that people who drink a lot of alcohol should not take Cymbalta. You can speak with your healthcare provider about a safe amount of alcohol to drink while taking Cymbalta
“Cymbalta Ruined My Life”
Cymbalta can have serious side effects that can negatively impact a person’s life.
Some say that Cymbalta has ruined their lives, causing them to feel like they don’t care about their family, to dislike people they used to love. Also, they have experienced suicidal thoughts. Other side effects include:
Abnormal behaviors: Occasionally, in teenagers and young adults, Cymbalta can cause agitation, irritability, or other abnormal behaviors.
Depression: Cymbalta can cause some people to become more depressed.
Weight gain: In brief, Cymbalta can cause weight gain, which can increase the risk of developing conditions like coronary artery disease and cancer
Cardiovascular disease: People taking Cymbalta are more likely to develop cardiovascular disease
Some side effects of Cymbalta are long-term, such as liver damage and angle-closure glaucoma. However, most mild side effects are temporary and only last a few days to weeks.
If you’re concerned that Cymbalta has negatively impacted your life, you can consider these resources:
Professional guidance: In any event, you can seek professional guidance to help you recover
Tapering: Your doctor can help you develop a plan to gradually taper off Cymbalta over a period of at least two weeks.
Counseling or therapy: In any case, you can consider counseling or therapy to help you cope.
Alternative treatments: You can explore alternative treatments
Healthy lifestyle choices: Overall, you can try to prevent weight gain by making healthy lifestyle choices, like eating a balanced diet and exercising regularly.
It’s also important to note that stopping Cymbalta suddenly can be dangerous and cause severe withdrawal symptoms.
Sum It All Up
Empower Your Emotions: Duloxetine 60 mg. Overall, I believe Duloxetine is a workable med. It has pretty much low side effects compared to other medications.
And I’m one of those types of people that if there are significant side effects, I will have them, no matter what.
Nonetheless, Duloxetine has worked for me significantly depression wise. I have had some intances of suicidal thoughts, but never acted on them (unlike before I started taking it).
So I give Duloxetine an A+ for depression and anxiety and low side effects. But still do your research on it before starting it. Until next time…
Articles About Duloxetine
-All About Duloxetine Oral Capsule
https://www.healthline.com/health/drugs/duloxetine-oral-capsule#fa-qs
-Duloxetine
https://www.nhs.uk/medicines/duloxetine
-Cymbalta Withdrawal: All You Need to Know
Have a Good One,
Cindee Murphy, One Voice In The Vastness Of Emotions
“Depression is the soul’s way of telling you to change something in your life, not to cut your own bangs.”—John Fugelsang
“Sadness is more or less like a head cold – with patience, it passes. Depression is like cancer.”― Barbara Kingsolver, The Bean Trees
“I’ve never really thought of myself as depressed so much as paralyzed by hope.”—Maria Bamford
“The things we fear the most have already happened to us.”—Robin Williams
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