Hello, new here

[Violet M]

That's an excellent article, Capricorn! Thanks for sharing it.

Violet

[April]

Yes, that is a great summary. Thanks, Capricorn!

[Violet M]

I was just looking at the article some more, including the resources at the end. The authors did a lot of research on the current publications on PN/PNE in writing this article. Pretty impressive.

I just found a more recent article that is also a continuing education activity. It has one of the same authors.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK562246/

It also has a great list of references at the end.

[capricorn91]

...

Thanks Violet and April, yes both articles were very interesting and provide lots of detailed information about the diagnosis and treatment options.

April, i was reading in another post you said you had started taking duloxetine/cymbalta, and i was wondering if it was helping your symptoms and if you have had any negative side effects from the drug or not? also what dose/amount you were taking?

...

[April]

Hi Capricorn,

Yes, I have been taking that for 6 or 8 weeks now. I'm a low dose (20 mg), especially given that it's being prescribed for pain. It's a medication that is prescribed for both anxiety/depression and nerve pain (e.g., fibromyalgia patients are sometimes prescribed it). It's always difficult for me to determine if something is helping me with pain in a short window of time, since my pain comes and goes (so if I don't have it, I don't know if that was the medication or would have that way anyway). But, I think I've only had one significant flare since I started taking it, which on the low side. The clearer difference, though, is that I am less emotionally reactive when I have a flare (small or big), and that is valuable. Side effects: The first week of it I was totally nauseated and had a slight headache. That pretty much went away by week two and now I don't have those symptoms. I do take it at night, though, so that if I do get nauseated, it's happening when I sleep. If I have more flares, I might consider increasing the dose, but for now I'm staying at the low dose.

Have you considered this medication?

April

[capricorn91]

Hi Capricorn,

Yes, I have been taking that for 6 or 8 weeks now. I'm a low dose (20 mg), especially given that it's being prescribed for pain. It's a medication that is prescribed for both anxiety/depression and nerve pain (e.g., fibromyalgia patients are sometimes prescribed it). It's always difficult for me to determine if something is helping me with pain in a short window of time, since my pain comes and goes (so if I don't have it, I don't know if that was the medication or would have that way anyway). But, I think I've only had one significant flare since I started taking it, which on the low side. The clearer difference, though, is that I am less emotionally reactive when I have a flare (small or big), and that is valuable. Side effects: The first week of it I was totally nauseated and had a slight headache. That pretty much went away by week two and now I don't have those symptoms. I do take it at night, though, so that if I do get nauseated, it's happening when I sleep. If I have more flares, I might consider increasing the dose, but for now I'm staying at the low dose.

Have you considered this medication?

April

...

Thanks April, it's good to hear that the side effects decreased for you. Yes, i was considering possibly trying this medication for pain, although none of the other medications have helped my symptoms, including antidepressants, in fact they seemed to make my nerve pain even worse.

I haven't tried duloxetine though, and i am not sure if i will take it or not, but it is helpful to hear about your experience on the drug, so thanks for sharing!

[April]

Hi Capricorn,

Let me know how it goes if you do start taking it.

April