Since my ‘apparent’ recovery from BPPV it’s all been downhill from there. Headaches, visual vertigo have returned full on to plague me again!
Prior to the BPPV saga I’d asked my neuro for a script (to replace Dothep which I’d titrated off) to help with symptoms of peripheral neuropathy (which he diagnosed a couple of years ago) and the Dothep was keeping under control. Cymbalta is his med of choice. However, now I have had this relapse I’m not sure it’s the best choice for the headaches & visual vertigo, etc. as well as the neuropathy and I certainly don’t want to be taking three meds.
Has anyone had experience of Cymbalta controlling headache and visual vertigo? A couple of family members have taken Cymbalta and had bad experiences with it which also increases my reluctance to try this drug. I’m staying on Topamax (100mg) which presumably isn’t enough on it’s own. I don’t know which way to ‘jump’! Any suggestions ?
Thanks Jem - sometimes the thought of trialling yet another med is so very disheartening. Have to take the plunge tho.
Thanks for that Scott - feeling very ‘jumpy’ at the moment and disappointed that my happy times were so short lived!
Sure Kelley will be willing to share her story when she wakes up!
Barb
Barb I am on 100mg of Topamax and 120mg of Cymbalta. I never had the headaches as a form of migraine and only just recently realized that I do not experience visual vertigo which most migraineurs experience. What I do experience though is a 24/7 persistent migraine aura which consists of visual snow, after images, blue field entopic phenomena, and a couple of other wierd visual symptoms that do not come under the visual vertigo umbrella. Why I believe it does not come under the visual vertigo umbrella is because migraineurs experience some form of dizziness or just feel off or just cant stand to look at stripes or patterns and have to look away to feel better where as in my case I experience this shaky vision 24/7 and now I am so used to it that it just does not bother me as much though its the most annoying thing to live it. My theory may be incorrect but this is the way I see it as my 24/7 condition is one of the rarest form of migraine. The cymbalta has not helped my visual problems at all. However it was the first drug that actually helped with the MAV i.e. heavy head/rocking/ground moving sensation.
Also I suffered from Massive anxiety when this all first hit me. The Cymbalta got rid of all my anxiety. I am not sure if my Cymbalta story has helped you in any way but I am sharing my experience for you and others to read who may need it.
Cymbalta seems to have less than stellar results with migraine stuff from what I gather, though some people do really well on it. For me, it has certainly helped squash my anxiety but isn’t all that great for migraine. It’s not making it worse, and may be the reason my persistent visual aura is dulled down (not 100% sure though).
If Cymbalta doesn’t work, have you thought about Lyrica? It’s used for both neuropathy and migraine.
Thanks everyone for your input - I’ve have had plenty to think about from a good mix of opinions.
Kelley has passed on her experience with Cymbalta -found it to be a good med for her (not sure whether it worked for headache control) and offered titration advice, etc.
I discussed the possible change with my GP who was quite surprised and said she didn’t think she would prescribe Cymbalta for me! She did say that just because my son had a bad experience with it didn’t mean that I would too. :roll:
Emailed Dr Granot again to discuss other options. In the end, taking into account I didn’t do well on the lower dose of
Dothep (still had the headaches & balance issues), decided to trial Cymbalta and increase Topamax to 125mg. I’ve just
taken my script down to the compounding chemist who is going to make up some 15mg caps. Cymbalta only comes in
30mg or 60mg capsules here in Australia. The 30mg is only for 2 weeks before jumping up to 60mg. So hopefully this will be a much milder med than Topamax - however, I’m still going to take it ‘low and slow’ (Kelley’s advice!).
I have great respect and trust in this neurologist. My GP might not prescribe Cymbalta for me (and, let’s face it it might not work) but am sure Dr Granot has a lot more knowledge about Vestibular Migraine, my history and possible med interactions. The fact that he was prepared to answer my emails yesterday evening to help me try and sort this relapse out shows me what a caring person he is.
Barb
Thanks everyone for your input - I’ve have had plenty to think about from a good mix of opinions.
Kelley has passed on her experience with Cymbalta -found it to be a good med for her (not sure whether it worked for headache control) and offered titration advice, etc.
I discussed the possible change with my GP who was quite surprised and said she didn’t think she would prescribe Cymbalta for me! She did say that just because my son had a bad experience with it didn’t mean that I would too. :roll:
Emailed Dr Granot again to discuss other options. In the end, taking into account I didn’t do well on the lower dose of
Dothep (still had the headaches & balance issues), decided to trial Cymbalta and increase Topamax to 125mg. I’ve just
taken my script down to the compounding chemist who is going to make up some 15mg caps. Cymbalta only comes in
30mg or 60mg capsules here in Australia. The 30mg is only for 2 weeks before jumping up to 60mg. So hopefully this will be a much milder med than Topamax - however, I’m still going to take it ‘low and slow’ (Kelley’s advice!).
I have great respect and trust in this neurologist. My GP might not prescribe Cymbalta for me (and, let’s face it it might not work) but am sure Dr Granot has a lot more knowledge about Vestibular Migraine, my history and possible med interactions. The fact that he was prepared to answer my emails yesterday evening to help me try and sort this relapse out shows me what a caring person he is.
Barb
— End quote
For the future, if Cymbalta is formulated the same way there as it is here in the states, the capsules can be split. At least here, the delayed release part is built into the little beads inside and not the capsule itself, so you can split them at home and empty part into an empty gelatin capsule. I had to take my dose a little slower, and I was told to do this. It may be worth asking your pharmacist about if compounding is as expensive there as it is here - obviously take their info over mine.
DizzyforLife and Kelley
Haven’t tried the Cymbalta yet - the chemist will have it ready on Monday. We will we away next week so won’t be able to try it till next Friday .
The compounding cost is about $50.00 for a 60 cap packet and I can claim half that cost on my private health cover. I think using 15mg caps will be easier to deal with than trying to half a 30mg caps with beads - less stress is good! I did the same with the Dothep and used some I had left over to titrate down which made the process much easier.
Nabeel
You are on a very high dose of Cymbalta - at what dose did you notice it helping your rocking/ground moving sensation? Did Dr Granot prescribe it for you? He has suggested upping the Topamax to 125mg for me - was that an option for you at all?
Sorry to hear you are still searching for relief from your migraine aura - you have tried so many meds I admire that you haven’t given up and are still trialling so do hope there is something that will give you relief.
Barb
barb cymbalta started to help my rocking at 90mg no less. granot did not prescribe cymbalta to me. it was prescribed to me by someone else for anxiety and by fluke it started to work for my MAV. i recently asked granot if i cud increase my topamax to 125mg and he said that i can try but he said that he has not seen many benefit from it it at a dosr higher than 100mg.
barb i will continue to try meds all my life and research all my life if i havr to o and dedicate myself to find a cure for this crap so that the future generation dont face the shit i face every day of my life
