Cymbalta: My Experience with the Antidepressant Drug

I was involved in my very first car accident a little over a year ago. The pain went from annoying to unbearable, and consequently I became extremely depressed. And so began my year-long journey with Cymbalta®.

Like many others, I was initially prescribed Cymbalta® as a means to lessen peripheral neuropathy, or some types of nerve pain, in conjunction with depression and lack of energy. I tested positive for nerve damage in my left leg, and experienced constant agony . I had never felt real, intense pain, and certainly hadn't lived with pain for any length of time. I had no idea about what to expect, and naturally placed all of my faith and trust in the doctors to take the pain away.

Besides the Cymbalta®, I had four epidural steroid injections, a nerve block, and a slew of tests to find out where the pain was coming from. I went from hydrocodone to oxycodone in four months, and took every commonly prescribed muscle-relaxant available. As is the case with many sufferers of sudden-onset back pain, the doctors prescribed many treatments and drugs at once, hoping that one would prove to be the answer to my problems.

Cymbalta® was very "in" in the fall of 2006, dispensed to many for symptoms as different as depression, nerve pain, general feelings of anxiety, etc. Most people in my situation will find that a doctor does not explain the nature of the prescribed medication. I grew up watching House and ER, so this concept came as a complete shock to me. Doctors do not deign to enlighten us simple folk as to the side effects and reactions that may be expected, nor even how the medication actually works. I was simply told to take the Cymbalta® and to pay attention to how it would impact my pain mental state. At this point, the pain had started a chain reaction that ended up with serious feelings of depression.