Struggling to Wake Up on Duloxetine/Cymbalta

Hello alikes! I’ve been taking duloxetine / Cymbalta for just over 4 months now. It’s done absolute wonders for my fibromyalgia pain, and I have quite enjoyable vivid dreams. However, since I’ve been on it I’ve really struggled waking up in the morning. I used to be a person who could instantly get out of bed to an alarm and now I’m stuck in bed 45 minutes past my alarm and struggle to get to work on time. I also used to sleep in on weekends and my body would wake up around 8am naturally, and now my body will naturally wake up around 11am-12pm even if I’m asleep before midnight. I was told duloxetine should help my energy levels, but I’m a bit confused since it’s made it so much harder to wake up at a reasonable-for-me time in the morning. Has anyone else experienced anything similar with duloxetine or Cymbalta regarding increased difficulty getting up in the mornings? Thank you for your input!

Your answer

El_Even

1y ago

Hello! Sorry that I can’t answer your question, but how long did it take for duloxetine to work for you? I’ve been taking it for about 2 - 3 weeks and it hasn’t helped at all yet ☹️

Tahlvia

1y ago

My doctor takes duloxetine himself and told me it could vary for people and take up to about 4 weeks for me to start feeling the benefits of duloxetine and up to about 8 weeks to feel the maximum benefits it could offer me. For me, however, I started experiencing relief from my fibromyalgia pain very quickly after I started taking the medication, probably about 1-2 weeks for me. And the anxiety about 1-2 months, which lines up with what CozyVibez mentioned. My doctor asked me to send him an update after taking it for 4 weeks letting him know if it seems to be working for me or not and if I have any significant side effects that bother me and haven’t seemed to go away by then.

CozyVibez

1y ago

for a neuropathic relief effect, it was about 1-2 weeks. It can take 3-6 weeks to achieve a full psychotropic effect

CozyVibez

1y ago

When I took duloxetine at night, I definitely did not want to get out of bed. It's not as bad taking it in the morning, but I still feel some of the things you stated. Duloxetine is an SNRI, which mostly aim to decrease anxiety. Other indications are chronic musculoskeletal pain and MDD, but primary indications are anxiety disorders. I interpret it as they "provide more energy" by treating anxiety and spending less energy on stress by inhibiting re-uptake of norepinephrine and serotonin. It's kinda the give-and- take situation: would you rather have less pain and better mental health, or would you rather be able to more easily wake up at certain times that you are able to do without the medication?

Tahlvia

1y ago

Thanks for the reply! The significant pain reduction is definitely worth it! My doctor and I were just hoping it would be able to help my chronic fatigue syndrome as well, but even just the successful mitigation of my fibromyalgia symptoms has made me very grateful for the medication regardless of it being more difficult to wake. I take the medication in the morning since it was suggested by my doctor and the pharmacist. I was hoping for there to be some way to alleviate whatever is causing the difficulty getting up on the morning, but I suppose it’s difficult to get “everything” you want out of one medication, and sometimes we just have to be grateful for what relief we can get.

CozyVibez

1y ago

As always, I hope this helps, and I'm sending you CozyVibez ❤️

The content in this post is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition.

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