Hi, after a very tough few months and reaching crisis on Monday when I was admitted to a hospital (an experience I would not want to have again as it scared thee hell out of me) I have finally succumbed to trying Duloxetine, 60mg a day in the morning. As with all anti depressants its the side effects that worry me sick but I was in such a black hole that I decided to take the plunge and try this so I can get to a place that I feel normal again and start to put things in place to get my life on track. I took the first one this morning and so far I feel really good...not sure why and I am always second guessing as to why the drug has made me feel normal again...has this happened to other people? and since its only the first day do the proper side effects occur a few days later i.e. will I feel the side effects tomorrow? At the moment I am not trusting this feeling if that makes sense. What are other peoples experiences with this drug? I will pretty much post daily to show you all how I feel and this will help me and others who might want to try the drug for the first time. I have tried Prozac in the past and it worked at a point but then it did not work anymore and coming off it was a total nightmare and I also did it on my own which will not do that again in future. I am sure coming off Duloxetine eventually will be but had to give it a try as I was/am in a dark place. I am also seeing a Psychotherapist privately for now until I have been referred (13 weeks....too long...honestly especially when you need it now and would be more beneficial)...yes its costing me £50 a session but its beneficial to me in the end so its money well spent now. I would like you all to read and reply at will...it will be good to hear what other people are experiencing/experienced with Duloxetine
hi, i had to spent 5 days in hospital too. i was on 225mg venaflaxine at the time. they changed my meds to duloxetine shortly after. ive been on 90mg since july,and i dont feel any benefits from it. im suffering from tummy cramps and the runs, but the docs dont seem too worried about it. im still having really low moods and thinking about things one shouldnt be thinking. im on a waiting list for CBT but i had to sign myself up for it, luckly its though the NHS because there is no way i could pay for it.
i hope your feeling better tho x
Hi, since July is a long time. Was your previous anti-depressant not working? I too am not feeling great lately..to be honest there are periods when I feel okay and I can feel it's working but then there are times where my mood dips low, all this happens in a space of a day...so not sure what's going on and it's very confusing to say the least...those this happen to you - fluctuations? I'm off work at the moment and do you think 3 weeks and 4 days is too early to say whether it will work? I'm worried about changing meds after the 4 weeks as maybe I've not given it enough time? how long where you on your previous meds?
my last anti-depressant dose was increased twice by my GP in the weeks just before my crisis point, im guessing they didn't work that well. it wasn't until i had left the ward and started to attend the day hospital that they changed my meds to duloxetine. changing the meds was a real killer as they dropped the old med doseage by 1/4 in 3days. i was feeling so sick, i was dizzy to the point i couldn't stand up with out holding onto something.
my old meds i was on for about 5 months and before that i was on 2 other meds. when changing over to other meds have never effected me as when i changed to Duloxetine.
After 3 weeks of starting 60mg duloxetine they increased it to 90mg and after a week i felt an improvement, however it didn't last long, i dont know why tho. it might have been to do with work because they were on my case to come back, this caused me some great distress, i have never been albe to over come this and have remained in low mood. Yes some times i feel ok but it never seems to last longer than a couple of hours.
I think its worth while giving it a bit longer, as everyone states it takes time for it to work, however if you are finding it increasently hard to cope you should seek advice from ur GP asap, he may increase the dosage or change the meds. You shouldnt worry about changing meds tho, you will find that your GP will be keeping a close eye on you while you change meds. i had a team of mentel health experts looking after me at the time.
ps sorry for any spelling errors, I'm Dyslexic.
that's what I'm experiencing - some hrs I'm feeling normal bit then it changes....I don't get it do you? so how long have you actually been on it? and what's the dr said about feeling the way you feel? I'm worried about changing meds due to side effects I can experience from a new med...also did you have a strange side effect on duloxetine of muscle twitching as this effects my sleep as I'm trying to get to sleep but as I'm about to I have a severe leg muscle twitch which wakes me up as then I can't fall asleep again...have you experienced this? would like to hear more about your experiences?
i dont really get it either! i dont worry too much about changing meds, i hope that this might be the one for me, i wait and i wait and it never is!!! been on duloxetine for about 8 weeks now. the only side effects i have is the runs (badly) and not sleeping! im on sleeping pills but only a small dose, i find it helps me get to sleep but not to stay asleep. never had mucle twitches tho.
8 weeks is a fair amount of time to allow for a anti depressant to work...what's the doctor said? he/she going to switch the meds or is it your choice in the end. people say medication is only half the battle which I understand but when you waiting for the meds to work and it doesn't then it's quite a setback...so I'm not sure whether I'm coming or going as my mind is struggling with everything...recently I've not even had periods where I feel like it's working..do you still get these?
today I've got headaches which I've not had in the past! which sleeping pills are you taking and what dosage. They gave me some zoplicone 7.5mg but I'm pretty much a bit spaced out the next day.
hi, how you doing on the duloxetine? I went to the doctor today and I've been on duloxetine for 26 days now and she suggested taking 60mg at night as I'm constantly tired in the morning and she has added 30mg to be taken during the day so now I'll be on 90mg. When do you take your medication if you don't mind me asking? and she has advised I start taking zoplicone sleeping tablets every day now for 7 days. All these changes and I'm expecting the worse as I still feel horrible..not even getting those okay feelings like it's working...would be good to hear from you.
hi im on 3.75mg zopiclone, i found that when i took them i was a zombie the next day, my key worker told me to take em every night and ive found that works a lot better as i dont have a nasty taste in my mouth any more and dont feel so sluggish in the mornings.
i take my duloxetine at night.
i have an appointment with my GP on friday, so im hopping he can sort me out, cos i find no pleasure in anything any more not even walking the dog.
I too have no pleasure in doing anything...I also think I'm the worst person and a total screwup for feeling this way!! I can't even enjoy the simple things in life like watch a nice TV program, listen to music, go out with my current girlfriend and I can't stop thinking that hey she will eventually leave me if I'm always down, feel like crap and just don't seem to get a smidgen better!!!! all I hear from my family is it's up to you to get better and I can't rely on meds...also that I should start working and going to the gym etc...maybe that is the road to recovery but it's so damn hard when you feel awful daily, thinking the worse of yourself and the world etc. do you force yourself to do things even though you don't feel or enjoy it now but did once when you were not depressed are you going to the drs in thinking of changing meds?
I too have no pleasure in doing anything...I also think I'm the worst person and a total screwup for feeling this way!! I can't even enjoy the simple things in life like watch a nice TV program, listen to music, go out with my current girlfriend and I can't stop thinking that hey she will eventually leave me if I'm always down, feel like crap and just don't seem to get a smidgen better!!!! all I hear from my family is it's up to you to get better and I can't rely on meds...also that I should start working and going to the gym etc...maybe that is the road to recovery but it's so damn hard when you feel awful daily, thinking the worse of yourself and the world etc. do you force yourself to do things even though you don't feel or enjoy it now but did once when you were not depressed are you going to the drs in thinking of changing meds?
sorry so many questions to ask you....so how long have you been taking zoplicone in a row? and if I understood you correctly you feel a lot better for it?
been taking zopiclone for as long as duloxetine (8wks ish). and yeah found it much better taking it every night.
im hoping GP will increase does or change it but I think he will increase it as it was a mental health doctor that put me on it. I don't care really as long as I get results.
I haven't found pleasure in anything for at least 16wks, I feel like life is pointless and im worthless, I screw everything up in my life and every one would be better off with out me. I am always thinking about death and suicide. and have attemted it twice in 16wks.
I find it so hard to do anything. I was forced to return to work and when not at work I.e the weekends I stay in bed and sleep most of it.
I hate everything about me and life.
it's so difficult and I truly hope you feel better and some type of medication gives you some relief! I went and forced myself to the gym tonight and took 30mg of duloxetine, I feel a bit wired to be honest and that's not good. Hopefully I'll sleep with the zoplicone. My tummy is on and off but I suffer from IBS so its very difficult. I really thought I'd be feeling myself more around the 4 week mark but no - just still not myself (whatever that is as im not sure myself anymore) and more like a lab rat with meds! my job requires me to be pretty much on the ball mentally so how am I supposed to complete work if I feel this way - only God knows!!
How you doing today small steps? I can't got some reason at all think of anything positive in my life...it's just negative after negative after negative...how is that possible on medication? if you don't mind me asking how has your depression reared it's ugly head again? was it something that happened in your life that's triggered it. I wish I could just love myself like I see other people who like themselves. Hope you having a more positive day today :-)
hello, been to the docs today, he's changed my meds to Mirtazapine. I guess its a good thing as this one might work however im really scared as im having to lower my intake of duloxetine before starting the new one. I went through hell coming off Venlafaxine and im dreading the next week as I come off Duloxetine. this time its going to be harder as I HAVE to go to work and wont be under care of Crisis.
hope ur feeling the benefits of the 90mg of duloxetine ur doc has given u.
well I hope the mirtazipine works for you! I really hope it does:-) I have heard that coming off duloxetine is a bit of a nightmare but make sure you taper really slowly! I'm not looking forward to coming off it when I need to. I've had two good stable days now on duloxetine on 90mg at night so hopefully that will continue... did you feel better after upping the dose of duloxetine? or did it feel like it's working and then pooped as they say after a few days? I'm going back to work in a week so let's see how that goes for me.
It would be good to hear how the tapering off is going from the duloxetine if you get a chance to post. I unfortunately have a cold which dampens my spirits! I could do with several days in a row in feeling better! I do however still have work to tackle when I'm back! I have an older brother who constantly puts me down and says I should be in work and says things to my parents (which I live with) like 'he doesn't want to know a brother who lives off the state!' - it's a bit nasty and he doesn't get depression and I think he never will! I often think it's the weak minded that are depressed...but surely that's not true??? what do you think? it's harder when you have some members of the family who are kind of at war with you even though I'm trying to beat this again!