Purposes:Pain, Fibromyalgia, and Depressed mood(Started Sep 01, 2010)
Date
Dosage
Pain
Efficacy
Fibromyalgia
Efficacy
Depressed mood
Efficacy
Side Effects
Adherence
Burden
Oct 23, 2011
50 mg
Daily
Date
Oct 23, 2011
Advice & Tips
My dosage was incrementally increased 10 mg at a time. With the initial 10mg, I had a little bit of dry mouth and constipation at first. The dry mouth stopped after a short time, and the constipation was very manageable with fiber...until the last 10mg.
When I moved up to 50mg the dry mouth returned and has persisted, and the constipation is decidedly harder to manage. If I miss the fiber pills or don't drink enough water for a single day, there are repercussions (and I have plenty of fiber in my diet too).
This last increment also affected my sleep for better and worse: I can now fall asleep quite easily, stay pretty soundly asleep, and wake up feeling rested (very good), but it also makes me sleep for very long periods--10, 12, even 14 hours. I have found it difficult to wake up if I've slept less than that. (not good!). It's hard to describe, but there's a sort of heaviness that's come with this last 10mg.
I've had a particularly hard time with concentration and thinking through work related issued. I'm not sure if that's all the fibromyalgia, or if the med is actually contributing.
In terms of depression--which is what this stuff was originally meant to address--I'd say, I'm a bit more cheerful than I was, but at the same still feeling very negative. It's like I'm a bit depressed, but it seems to matter less. That said, the fear of not being able to make a living eats at me a lot, and the loss of focus makes that a genuine issue, so there's real stress too. Hard to parse this out.
Meanwhile, the med doesn't entirely get rid of my fibromyalgia pain, but does definitely make it ignorable on most days and nights.
I am now six weeks on with this dosage and both the dry and constipation continue. It's possible that the long, long sleeps might be improving...not quite sure yet. I'm waiting to see if these side effects abate with a little more time. Will go confer with my m.d. soon.
By the way, when I was on a much lower dose--maybe it was 20mg or 30mg, I accidentally let my prescription run out, and was without it for a few days. On day 3, I find myself vomiting on the side of the road. Learned my lesson, and I'm religious about taking this every day.
Cost
< $25 monthly
0 helpful marks
Radiantmeg
Data Quality: 1 star
Sex:
Female
Age:
31y
Condition:
RA (Rheumatoid Arthritis)
1
additional condition(s)
This med's side effects were too severe for me and they were on the serious side. Taking it wasn't a problem, but the effects interfered with my day to day life. I kept dropping things because I was shaking so bad, walked into the refrigerator because I was so lightheaded and dizzy. It seemed to work on the higher dose, but the higher the dose, the more severe the effects. Heart palpitations, etc.
This medication did nothing at a lower dose and so the doc told me to take more and suddenly I was wide awake and very hyper for almost two days. It was awful. It also made me feel shaky and gave me dry mouth.
Purpose:Aching burning throbbing body pain(Started Mar 12, 1990)
Date
Dosage
Efficacy
Side Effects
Adherence
Burden
Jun 25, 2010
25 mg
Daily
Major
None
Always
Not at all
Jan 12, 2009
25 mg
Daily
Major
Mild
Always
Not at all
Side effects:
Dry mouth (xerostomia)
Date
Jun 25, 2010
Advice & Tips
If I don't take it, I really feel the tingling in feet and legs.
Date
Jan 12, 2009
Advice & Tips
Have taken it for years...doesn't take away the tingling, etc., but I am not constantly aware of it, so it doesn't drive me nuts.
Like Clonazepam, don't just quit...taper off!
Updating results…
0 helpful marks
First
Prev
