Struggling with Fibromyalgia Symptoms Despite Medication

I used to take Cymbalta for years and it didnt seem to do much for the pain although it helped with depression. Now Im on another antidepressant but much worse pain & depression wise. Unfortunately there arent many 'mainstream' or 'conventional' meds that work for fibro for most, myself included - I also tried gabapentin, amitryptaline,... I still recommend staying on cymbalta if its not making things worse. I recommend getting a neuro-immune specialist dr. And looking into special treatments like LDN (Low dose Naltrexone)

I take Lyrica and Cymbalta. I tried a few different doses until we got it right. Don't give up the fight. 🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼

This isn't enough to prove a misdiagnosis, but it proves that cymbalta isn't the drug for you! At least not by itself. I take lyrica and savella for my fibro, as well as a few supplements & creams and yoga. It may take some trial and error to find the right treatment combo and med dosages for you, but don't give up!

I have found that it takes up to a year to gradually see symptoms lesson, I also have found that I really have to focus on getting better sleep, and exercising on a regular basis, mostly stretching, when I don’t -I hurt so much more. At least 3 to 4 times a week would be so helpful.

Cymbalta definitely helps me manage my pain and other symptoms, but for a lot of people, it doesn’t! It might not be a misdiagnosis, maybe just not the right medication! Talk to your doctor and see how yall can work together to manage it!

I was given cymbalta right after my diagnosis as well but it did nothing for my pain 😩 I'm still on it though cuz it does help my depression. My rheumatologist added gabapentin and has upped that dose a couple times and it still does nothing for the pain 🤷🏼‍♀️

Cymbalta didn’t do anything for me except make me vomit uncontrollably and I’ve had fibro my entire life. There is more than 1 medication for fibromyalgia and your doc should know that.

I wouldn't say it means you were misdiagnosed, although that's always a possibility since fibro is a diagnosis of exclusion. But with pretty much any condition there's gonna be different meds that work for different people. Cymbalta definitely helps some people with fibro, but not all of us, and I'd personally be very skeptical of a doctor who told me that any one treatment would be guaranteed to work... Cymbalta was the first medication I was put on after my fibro diagnosis too, and it completely wrecked me. It didn't help my symptoms at all and I had horrible, horrible side effects - I still stayed on it for the "minimum" amount of time they say it should start helping and side effects should go down, but since it didn't improve I moved on. There are other meds out there that are used to treat fibro, so don't lose hope if this one doesn't help! That being said, if you don't feel confident in the diagnosis, a second opinion isn't a bad idea - again, fibro is hard to diagnose, so it never hurts to be as sure as you can be. In either case, I hope you find something that helps your pain!

I’ve been on Cymbalta a long time and while it helps a tiny bit with pain it certainly doesn’t alleviate it by any means. My suggestion to you is find a new physician and get a second opinion. I wouldn’t say you were misdiagnosed either, but out of curiosity what are your symptoms? I was misdiagnosed as strictly fibro for many years until they tested for SFN small fiber neurapathy (a progressive nerve disease) and now we are finally on a path to hopefully addressing my pain in a way that works. I hope you find relief that works for you!

This doesnt mean you were misdiagnosed, although that is one possibility. Depending on how long you have been on it, it may take some time to reach full effect. You may also need a dose adjustment. Different meds also work differently for different people. There is no one size fits all med for fibro. ❤️