cymbalta/duloxetine for back pain.

[heapsreal]

Any one found duloxetine helpful for lower back pain?
Facet joint ablations i have for facet joint arthritis do help but dont take all the pain away but tramadol is very helpful. Of late the effects of the abalation i think are starting to wear off, not quite getting 12 months worth of pain relief out of it. So looking for alternatives to keep me going before i need another ablation.
Currently i take 200mg tramadol SR and understand interactions between tramadol and duloxetine(serotonin syndrome), thinking of talking to my doc about duloxetine and add 50mg tramadol when needed, this is dependant on if any reaction occur at that dose. ANti-inflammatories are out if used more then occassionally as i have had previous GI bleeds from chronic use of NSAIDS.

 

[Ema]

I took Cymbalta for lower back pain. It worked - sort of - at first. Then after a couple of weeks, it started to feel like someone had poured gasoline on my back and lit a match every time I was due for another dose. And don't even get me started on the side effects that lasted for years even though I took a low dose for only a few months. Cymbalta was by far the worst med I've ever taken and that is a long list.

 

[heapsreal]

good to know, yrs ago i had a bad time on effexor and worse time coming off it but used it for different reasons. Tramadol is effective but not 100 percent, lookng at another angle to attack pain from. Nsaids are also mo good for liver and kidneys which i need to be careful of while on antivirals

 

[Xandoff]

Any one found duloxetine helpful for lower back pain?
Facet joint ablations i have for facet joint arthritis do help but dont take all the pain away but tramadol is very helpful. Of late the effects of the abalation i think are starting to wear off, not quite getting 12 months worth of pain relief out of it. So looking for alternatives to keep me going before i need another ablation.
Currently i take 200mg tramadol SR and understand interactions between tramadol and duloxetine(serotonin syndrome), thinking of talking to my doc about duloxetine and add 50mg tramadol when needed, this is dependant on if any reaction occur at that dose. ANti-inflammatories are out if used more then occassionally as i have had previous GI bleeds from chronic use of NSAIDS.

Heapsreal,

I have taken Cymbalta since 2005 for my ME CFS pain. It took me three months to tolerate it. I had asked my ME CFS Doc about the serotonin syndrome while taking Tramadol and he said it was highly unlikely that serotonin syndrome was anything to worry about. I no longer take any pain meds after being on them for 8-9 years. It has been a difficult year managing pain. It was difficult managing my pain while on pain meds. This illness has so many ups and downs that it is a very slippery slope trying to manage the pain. I still take Cymbalta and Neurontin (gabapentin) but my world is always plagued by pain. I too have facet joint issues and DDD and arthritis. ME CFS just amplifies it, or my volume control gets stuck. The supplement SAMe helps at 400 mg doses only. SAMe seems to reduce my inflammation.