Duloxetine - how long to work and side effects

[desikated]

Hi

I posted before in response to another thread but looking for some general advice about duloxetine. I had to taper off sertraline - horrible horrible experience while slowly increasing Duloxetine dose.

I have now been taking 60mg Duloxetine/day for a week. When might I feel an improvement in depression? and what side effects have people experienced? at the moment it is making me very quickly tired/zonked out at night, some nausea and, I think, making my legs hurt/throb. Sadly not decreased the appetite (if anything..increased).

I have had depression/been medicated for a really really long time so i know not to expect miracles.

thank you

I have been taken 30mg of Duloxetine since July.
Had been suffering from terrible anxiety since coming off Venlafaxine in January.
Within a week or so I began to feel less anxious. Now feeling much improved. Been experimenting with the time to take it, as it makes me feel tired & a bit disorientated.
At the moment I take at about 5pm. Don’t feel so exhausted in the mornings. However I do seem to feel a bit more anxious until the next tablet is due.
Other side effects are weird dreams, I feel achey too. No nausea or drop in appetite yet.
Good luck, I’ve had lots of different A/D, it’s probably the best one other than Citalopram. Had to stop taking that one due to low sodium level.
This drug has also lowered it but it’s just within the acceptable guidelines.

Thank you. I'm so glad you've had some relief.

Yeh the achey muscles are weird! Also really vivid dreams but I just assumed that was me being a bit mad.

Ok, will keep on. I am better than rock bottom so that is something

Taking different A/D is challenging. As the anxiety is awful, any improvement seems wonderful despite the side effects. Then you become more used to ‘feeling yourself again’
I find that I then get fed up because I want to feel ‘normal’ physically as well as mentally. After a year or so I convince myself I would be better off the tablets. So begins the cycle. Taper off, all is well. Then maybe 3/6 months later the anxiety returns. I’ve had every type of counselling imaginable but it seems only A/D help.
Give it another week or two & you should definitely start to be ‘you’ again. Sending you 💐

I've been on duloxetine since early Aug and I'm only getting relief now I'm at 90mg. Its been the slowest grower and it's been very disheartening. I can only go up one more dose so I'm glad I'm starting to see the effects. A guy on another platform said it took 6 months to fully work .
Hang in there! It didn't make me tired but sore legs yes! I've got restless legs anyway so got a wee tiny pill to counter that called pramipexole and it's really helped!
Let us know how you get on x

Thanks @Dawn1331

I hope you get some positive effect soon.
Yeh the legs is the thing bugging me - I can't really describe - like a throbbing or that they are constantly tensed and I can't relax them. Does that sound like you / RLS?

I just hope I haven't done a stupid thing by changing meds and that the D is more helpful in the longer term.

@desikated I feel like its good once it works its just a slow grower. My legs are the same, I had a few weeks of it then I rang the Dr to say I'm losing sleep because they are so tense, sore and twitchy and he said it's common with duloxetine but I've always had restless legs so he gave me the other pills.
They really helped x

Ah ok. Well that's weirdly reassuring to hear - also that there might be some remedy!

Yeh I know I need to stick at it. Also after the taper off sertraline I feel ok I owe it to myself!

@desikated It's hard going when you're wading through the anxiety glue and you feel there's no end but you will get there! There's always someone here to listen x

I honestly felt terrible on Duloxetine. Nausea, dizziness, chills - felt like I had flu. I spent most of the 5 weeks I was on it lying on the sofa ((only got to 30mg). Then I developed a tremor and that was the final straw so I stopped them. It took two months to go after I stopped the meds. With hindsight I shouldn't have been put on the Duloxetine as I'd had the same reaction (the tremor) to Prozac earlier that year after being on it for years.

I can't tell whether it worked as obviously I was pretty depressed that I felt so ill! It worked quite well for pain though which was one reason I was given it.

I've been on duloxetine for just over 5 weeks now. 30mgs for 5 weeks then 60mgs for 5 days.
Side effects- some insomnia and headaches.

I found it helped my anxiety quite quickly, still to work on my low mood though.
I did really well on venlafaxine so hoping duloxetine is as effective.

@AllLopsided I'm so sorry that sounds grim. I hope you are free of it now.

Good to hear re pain though (although I imagine it didn't make much of a difference as you felt so bad!). I have endo so while D isn't used for that kind of pain the psych thought it might help a bit.

Coming off sertraline for me was a bit like what you describe below. But added I absolute bananas mental health and feeling really really depressed (more than 'normal'). Thankfully that's passed.

I hope things are better for you now x

Thank you @Torvean good to hear re anxiety.

The D is absolutely wiping me out so no issues with insomnia altho I have felt a little more energetic in the mornings (well a couple of mornings so not getting my hopes up). I hope the headaches pass for you x

@desikated @AllLopsided @DemelzaandRoss @Torvean have any of you guys just had better results for panic and anxiety with something else? I'm due a review in a week and the old anxious thoughts are back, I had a full on panic attack on Tuesday.
Dr wants venlafaxine next and I'm torn. I'm just so sick of this

So sorry to hear this. I think Venlafaxine is very similar to Duloxetine, but maybe a bit stronger.
I did well on it apart from graphic nightmares & weight gain. Coming off it is challenging. I relapsed & began Duloxetine.
If you have funds I would suggest referring yourself to a private hospital. GPs aren’t trained particularly well in Mental Health.
I had an hour & a half consultation which was so helpful. Have had GA & HA since I was very young & now need to accept I will be on A/D always.
Alternatively, give Venlafaxine a go, once you get over the initial side effects & correct dose, I’m sure you’ll gradually get better.

@DemelzaandRoss you are an angel. I think mental health and menopause are two grey areas for doctors so I'm going to look into a private assessment.
If I gain weight I don't care I would rather feel good in mind than body.
My np seems to want to lump ga, ha and menopause in together x

I think a face to face appointment to explain what has happened to you in your life & detail all the medication taken would help.
In the meantime try & get through each day as best as you can. Stay in the day, tell yourself nothing will harm you this day.
Don’t really think about the future, only the present.

Hey @Dawn1331 I'm really sorry to hear that :( sounds horrid.
My anxiety is bad, but was off the scale a few years ago (like thought people were following me, constant panic attacks, couldn't sleep). Quetiapine helped a great deal. I know this is typically for bipolar but I was prescribed it for anxiety and it helped loads and loads. I hope you get relief soon.

@DemelzaandRoss I agree I need to just stick to each day and no worrying about tomorrow. There are no face to face appointments with my Dr which I feel is part of the problem. He's not seeing me.
@TheBuggerlugs aw I'm sorry you came off citalopram with bad effects. I'm 46 and been on hrt since February and it helped a lot but I think I've accepted the fact I'm on meds for life which I don't mind if I'm stable. Hrt really helped all my other symptoms like flushes etc.
@desikated now I have read about quetiapine for panic disorders but my Dr has never offered it. I'm so glad it's working for you!

Well, maybe ask them? honestly - it worked wonders for me a few years ago. Granted I'm still where I'm at now, but god knows where i would have been without the Q.

@Dawn1331 You are so right about face to face, my GP has never seen me since Covid.
When I asked her if I should start taking Venlafaxine again, she told me I had to decide for myself!!
That’s when I referred to the private hospital.
Sending you 💐

Thank you @desikated @DemelzaandRoss you guts really lifted me up x

@Dawn1331 Glad to help.