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cymbalta and nausea

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Posted 11/1/2018 9:36 AM (GMT -5)
Hello all I am new here. My Dr. and I recently had a discussion about getting off Lyrica and switching to Cymbalta. I have taken Lyrica for some time for chronic nerve pain. I'm not depressed or have severe anxiety issues. But she was concerned about the long term use of Lyrica. I started on Cymbalta at 30 mg and within a day or so my nausea and stomach pain was to the point that I was almost vomiting. I could barely eat by my third day on Cymbalta. So I contacted my Dr. and let her know that I was not taking it anymore. I have done some research on this and found that this is fairly common. My nausea was very severe and what made it worse was that I had a great deal of gas and stomach pain. My Dr. is wanting me back on this and I'm not sure that I can do it, since she wanted me to start 60 mg within a week of starting 30mg. Any thoughts advice?
Posted 11/1/2018 10:11 AM (GMT -5)
HI Carlosndenton,

Welcome to the depression forum. What I have learned about antidepressants is that the side effects (nausea) generally go away in 7 to 10 days. So it might be worth another try. Cymbalta has been known to work with pain. Some of the members here take it.

There isn't a lot out there for nerve pain. But some medications work in more than one way. I hope you find what works best for you. I tried Neurontin but it made me stammer. I never tried lyrica or Cymbalta. There should be others chiming in to help you. I hope you get some answers.

Nausea stinks. I got it from taking Chantix. I had to stop.

Hugs, Karen...
Posted 11/1/2018 11:35 AM (GMT -5)
I had pretty bad nausea and even vomiting with Cymbalta for the first few days, but my digestive system did habituate to it after about a week. Did you take it in the morning or at night? If it was the morning, try taking it just before you go to bed - that way you may sleep through the worst of it. Other than that, there is not a great deal you can do except wait it out for a week or two to see if it goes away.
Posted 11/1/2018 4:08 PM (GMT -5)
I took it in the morning, so that may be part of what was making me so sick. I took it in the morning because I had never taken it and if I was going to have a horrible reaction to it I wanted to be awake so I could go to E.R. etc. I may try it at night and see what happens. What made all of it worse was that 24 hours after my last dose I was still nauseated enough to feel like vomiting. I doubt I could sleep with my stomach in that kind of shape, but I may try it. On the bright side, my chronic pain isn't worse since going to one dose instead of two of Lyrica.
Posted 11/6/2018 1:46 AM (GMT -5)
Yes ,Cymbalta causes nausea for me too.
I am not on it anymore ,its expensive.

But it helped me a lot with depressive days.

In winter it really is needed.
Posted 11/6/2018 9:55 AM (GMT -5)
I recently switched from Effexor to Cymbalta in preparation for some major surgery. Part of my small bowel was removed near the stomach with some blood vessels and I also have a pre-cancerous esophagus. I have also been on both Lyrica and Gabapentin for other conditions.

So knowing a little about this, I must ask just how much food are you taking your meds with, and what type of food? I started having a donut (that's right) one donut every morning because it could absorb the caustic meds that I had to take. Also maybe take a PPI or H2B every morning an hour before taking your other meds to buffer the stomach acid. Taking them with fruit or dairy may be contributing to the acidity.

I haven't been in here much lately, but I recently posted an update regarding my surgery... https://www.healingwell.com/community/default.aspx?f=35&m=4078145&g=4080376#m4080376

Just how to get my daily meds was a major worry leading up to and throughout my hospitalization. The Cymbalta seemed to be gentler on my stomach than Effexor would have been. Now to see if it is as effective as Effexor had been. So far so good!
Posted 11/6/2018 6:27 PM (GMT -5)
Good luck with Cymbalta. I've been taking for quire a while and it works great for me. However, I find that if I bump up from 60 mg to 90mg/day I notice some fatigue.

Also there is a much less expensive generic for Cymbalta now.

I wish you well in your recovery.
Posted 11/7/2018 6:10 PM (GMT -5)
When I was on cymbalta I took it twice a day with meals and I have the melt away nausea pills.

drank lots of gingeale

I am now on exffexer which does not work as well, but makes me less nauseous

I use mindfulness and meditation and music to compensate

I wish you peace and strength
Trina
Posted 12/2/2018 1:44 PM (GMT -5)
Hi Trina - my experience was just the other way around. I am now back on Effexor and have not taken any Cymbalta for several weeks. I had tapered down the Effexor before surgery because I know I would not be able to put anything in my stomach for maybe a week. Then I switched to Cymbalta, hoping it would be gentler on my stomach once I was finally able to swallow.

But a couple weeks after surgery was over I was predictably down in the dumps. Cymbalta just wasn't doing it for me. Also I was having (and still am) unpredictable diarrhea, and could not be certain whether or not the Cymbalta was contributing to that.

Now I'm back to Effexor again. Sometimes a painful trigger enters my mind but I am able to guide my thoughts away from it. But while on Cymbalta I was amazed at how quickly I could get sucked into the pit of despair. Also the combo of Cymbalta and gabapentin wasn't really doing anything for my OA pain, so I saw no reason to continue taking it.
Posted 12/2/2018 6:32 PM (GMT -5)
Might ask your doctor about Zofran for the nausea. My daughter just started a med that makes her violently ill, which causes 'loss' of other meds she has to take to sustain her life! She already takes omeprizole to help her stomach from other meds. Hope you find what will work for you!
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