SEP 2011 - It seems I have turned a corner. While I can't say I've recovered, I can say that I now see significant improvement over the course of the past month. I'm taking Cymbalta 30mg for the nerve pain, at about 11:30am. That way I'm not a zombie during the workday, but feel sleepy after 10pm or so.
Sleeping itself is very disrupted - like your brain goes at warp speed when you are trying to shut it down; I am very reliant on Ambien and wake regularly.
As opposed to the Lyrica and Neurontin, which each gave me terrible brain fog, fuzzy vision, memory lapses, and all day sleepiness, Cymbalta keeps me more sharp, clear and focused. Yes, I still yawn a lot, but once I got used to it (after about a month) I stopped falling asleep in boring meetings. Well, mostly. haha
As opposed to the Lyrica and Neurontin, which each gave me terrible brain fog, fuzzy vision, memory lapses, and all day sleepiness, Cymbalta keeps me more sharp, clear and focused. Yes, I still yawn a lot, but once I got used to it (after about a month) I stopped falling asleep in boring meetings. Well, mostly. haha
I've cut way back on klonopin. I no longer need it every day. Nor do I need the topical benzocaine every day; in fact, I'm no longer carrying it with me like a life preserver, as I did for the past 26 months. I do have setbacks still; typically on days the weather changes, and tense/stressful days. But the burn I feel on those days is no longer the norm, it is FINALLY the exception; maybe 1-2x/week.
I can't tolerate the cold any longer, that really ramps up the pain. I have business trips to cold locales during the winter, so that's a problem. The rest of the year I'm in the South so it's ok.
I can't tolerate the cold any longer, that really ramps up the pain. I have business trips to cold locales during the winter, so that's a problem. The rest of the year I'm in the South so it's ok.
I'm sharing this info with you to give others hope that when all seems hopeless, there is still a good chance you will improve in time. For me, it seems to have taken far longer than for others. I can't say why. I still have pain level of 4-5 most days...but considering I was 8-9 for nearly 6 months, then 6-8 for nearly a year, it's a definite step in the right direction. It may be the best I ever get. I'm now at 2 yrs 9 months past injury date. Hard to believe
I do hope to get off the Cymbalta in a few months. Right now, I have too much going on to toy with withdrawal symptoms and the posssiblity of pain returning. But I'm hoping this little pain holiday retrains my brain to teach it that pain should NOT be the normal way to feel.
How is everyone else doing?
I was reading about some of the suspicious behavior of Septodont (the company that makes the popular local anesthetic Septocaine / articaine) on World Law Direct. I am VERY interested in getting more information out there about a drug that is obviously causing problems (and a company that might be hiding that information). I wanted to encourage everyone to think about reporting their situation, if it was an adverse drug reaction to Septocaine / articaine, to the FDA. The pharm company won't pursue research on the flaws of their drug - let's help bring it to light! Here is the site "http://www.fda.gov/Safety/MedWatch/HowToReport/default.htm"
ReplyDeleteDid you try amitriptyline and lyrica??? I feel they make me drowsy and off focus. Cymbalta sounds like a good one I should try. Not o ly am I in pain it is screwing me up me mentally. I had enough of this garbage
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