Do any of you have fibromyalgia? Have you taken cymbalta, lyrica, or savella? ?
My mom has the sympyoms of fibromyalgia, and she wants to see a doctor soon, in the mean time I want to get some feedback on these medications from you guys. we read about them on webMD, but we want to know first hand accounts of ppl who took them. did any of them help? Did any cause problems? Feel free to add any other treatment you had, I'd like to hear any feed back please. also, my mom fears that if she gets on medication, she might get addicted to them, etc. she also has the depression as well as the other symptoms too.
Public Comments
1. i have had fibromyalgia for around 40 yearsi have tried numerous things.only got help from DR BEST D-RIBOSE NOT A CURE BUT IT HAS HELPED .ALSO THE GUMPTA PROGRAME HAS HELPED BUT EXPENSIVE HOPE THIS HELPS2. WebMD is just a marketing tool for drug companies, nothing more. Does your mom actually think she has a drug deficiency? Drugs only treat symptoms and manage diseases. They are NOT designed to cure problems, only make you dependent upon them. That is "MAKE BELIEVE HEALTH!"
Why doesn't your mom look for real answers that will give her real health instead. I suggest having her do something that may help. Many times people believe they have things like fibromyalgia, it is only a hydration issue. Here is a suggestion for her to try for 3 days to see if she feels better and can avoid the doctor who has no clue about nutrition or real health:
The average person needs water at the following rate:
Take your total body weight and divide by 2. That number is the amount of water in ounces that you need to drink each and everyday. Along with that, you should consume 1/4 teaspoon of "air dried sea salt" in conjunction with each quart of water you drink. This puts the electrolytes in your body that will give you proper hydration. The typical white table salt you buy in stores like the Morton Salt, for instance, is terrible for you and has loads of chemicals added. Avoid that junk. If you drink ANY diuretic drinks like, sodas, coffee, tea, alcohol, commercially prepared fruit drinks, energy drinks, etc., these all dehydrate you and you will need to add more water to the total to compensate for the water loss due to these diuretic drinks. Take the total ounces of the diuretic drinks and multiply by 1.5 and add that total to the original total to come up with the proper amount of water you need to drink each day.
ALL of the drugs have so called "Side effects" that are really direct affects based on your body chemistry. If the above does not help, they I would suggest seeing a nutritional therapist that can test her and help her become healthy, not dependent upon some drug that will damage her body on many levels.
Good luck to you
3. I have taken both Cymbalta and Lyrica, neither of which are addictive, and personally they did not help me, but I had many other issues going against me. Cymbalta is an antidepressant, and being bipolar, it sent me through the roof with the manic side of the illness. as for the Lyrica, it is ok if there are no stomach issues, such as ulcers or acid reflux, otherwise, it can make those problems worse than they were to begin with. Good luck, I hope your mother finds the treatment regime that works for her.
4. I have taken cymbalta and lyrica and between the two neither of them helped me. I am on a narcotic instead, which is an addictive drug but it helps me so much. It takes my pain away, but just because those medicines didn't help my pain doesn't mean that it won't help yours. As far as I know lyrica is the best of those three. It will knock you out though until you get used to being on it, then it wont make you tired.If I were you, I would tell your mom to try those medicines one at a time (if thats what the doctor agrees to) and see if it makes a difference. I wish you the best of luck.
5. there are many conditions that have similar symptoms to FMS
you cannot get addicted to cymbalta, lyrica, or savella.....
fms is highly overdiagnosed...most people actually have something else--some aren't physically ill at all..
even when doctors do blood tests--they miss a lot...
hoshimoto's/thyroid, vitamin deficiencies, hormonal imbalance, chiari malformation, lupus, lymes (look up lyme literate md), etc...
many docs falsy diagnosis pain from another condition or general pain as fms...a person will have spinal deformity causing pain or RA and the doc will automatically diagnose FMS..that is malpractice...and these are the experts and specialists
people who claim they have discovered a treatment never had fms to begin with
dribose looks good in theory
http://www.greatvistachemicals.com/biochemicals/d-ribose.html
but it is highly doubtful it would be a significant overall treatment
http://guptaprogramme.com/default.asp seems as reliable as the guai protocol that was proven fake
6. ? think it is better seeing a doctor in person to answer this kind of questions.
7. Your mother needs to a proper medical assessment to rule out other medical conditions or disease, as JMITW has said, there are many conditions that have very similar signs & symptoms to Fibromyalgia.
Fibromyalgia is a frustrating condition and good doctor will make a thorough assessment before diagnosing and treating someone for Fibro. There a number of medications such as those you mentioned, which have been helpful to people with fibro, but not everyone finds relief from them, so it a matter of trial & error.
Certainly some of the drugs used to treat Fibro could be addictive, but if taken in accordance to doctors orders, most people should be ok. Or she could look at herbal treatments such as Magnesium/Malic Acid/B vitamin, 5-HTP (anti depressant), Melatonin and Valerian (for sleep), Omega 3, Acetyl L-Carnitine (pain).
But if she goes with this she needs to see a qualified herbalist to make sure you take the right amount. And make sure her doctor & herbalist knows what herbal meds your taking as they may interact with your prescription stuff.
I have Fibro and have tried a number of different drugs, some have helped and some not, some I reacted badly to. I am on a combination of medications which have been mostly helpful, but it does not take to pain away entirely, I am taking Neurotin (similar drug to Lyrica) and Endep (Amitriptyline, which is a antidepressant), Tramadol slow release and di Gesic when the pain is really bad, and a prescription sleeping medication if I have not slept for a few days and I have to work the next day.
8. I have taken them all... Cymbalta was ok but made me severly sick to my stomach , the savella gave me migraines and i was stuck in bed with them .... The lyrica was the best for me. no major side effects and I got results
