I am on 120mg Cymbalta and just increased my Topamax to 125mg. I have been a bad boy lately and due to me feeling great started taking 2 cups of tea or coffee daily. Bad decision! I feel screwed up again hence I increased the dose of Topamax.
2 Questions:
How long do you think it will take for me to be back at the 80%? Today is my third day since I stopped the tea and coffee.
What do you think I need to do about the insomnia? I know the insomnia is partly due to the caffeine but other than that when I was feeling good I still had sleep issues and I feel its got to do with the Cymbalta. I’m cutting back on the benzo use as well. Any ideas? Is Melatonin a good supplement for sleep without any withdrawal effects if I wanna call it quits one day?
Dr Silver prescribes Gabapentin (Neurontin) for sleep improvement. Is there any chance you could take 100mg a night - the smallest dose. I found that it put me into a deep sleep all night. Now I am off it, I am back to having more restless sleep with lots of vivid dreams and nightmares (caused by Nortriptyline).
Nabeel,
Can you do the Cymbalta in a divided dose? Am/Pm is what I do…
is it trouble falling asleep,or staying asleep?
you could try an over the couter antihistamine
Do you take any 5HTP?
I take 100mg at night. There are some that worry about taking it with an SSRI or SNRI, but I do, and it’s never been a problem. I would say start out low and see how it goes. You can get it at any health food store. Do a little research into it. It I the precursor to melatonin (another idea for you to try) and serotonin. The cymabalta works by keeping whatever serotonin YOU ALREADY HAVE in motion, but if you are having trouble making serotonin (due to genetics, diet etc…) the 5HTP are like little building blocks for your body to utilize.
Just a little more info…diet=protein=amino acids=5htp=serotonin
to do that your body needs the proper enzymatic activity and vitamins to make it happen…if there’s a breakdown anywhere, you end up with little serotonin…
What time of day are you taking the Cymbalta? I find that if I take it too late in the afternoon or in the evening I have a really hard time falling asleep or I’m not able to sleep at all. I’ve been taking it for the past three years.
What time of day are you taking the Cymbalta? I find that if I take it too late in the afternoon or in the evening I have a really hard time falling asleep or I’m not able to sleep at all. I’ve been taking it for the past three years.
— End quote
This. I cannot take it at night or I won’t sleep. I take it first thing in the morning with breakfast and it greatly improves my nighttime issues (though I am prone to bouts of insomnia as it is).
DizzyForLife? and bobbi - What is your current cymbalta dose and has it improved your VM symptoms?
MP - I remember you said DR Fife got you to do aggressive exercises in the gym whilst the high dose of Effexor was keeping your VM in control. How is the exercise routine going? Has your VM improved since then? I have noticed that my VM symptoms tend to get worst after a good work out in the gym. Is this normal?
Jem - Gabapentin is the older version of Lyrica am I right?
Scott - Yes waiting for the coffee to get out of my system and yes you are right my symptoms have improved. How long does coffee take to get out of the system?
Jem - Gabapentin is the older version of Lyrica am I right?
Hi Nabeel, yes that’s right! Dr Surenthiran uses it a lot for migraine variant and Dr Silver seems to use it to help people with sleep. I can see why as I think it causes fatigue and drowsiness so it isn’t suitable to take during the day for lots of people.
To answer your question, I take 60mg now. It has not improved my MAV symptoms - it has possibly helped reduce the intensity of my persistent visual aura, but honestly I’m not completely sure about that. It does help with anxiety, so I continue to take it for that.
I am at 60mg and I don’t take it for VM, I take it for depression and anxiety. It is the only antidepressant that has worked for me. I didn’t even know that it could be used as a treatment for VM until I started looking through these forums. I just started taking Nortriptyline for the VM last night at 10mg and going to bump it up by 10mg every two weeks.
bobbi how long have you had VM for? Since Nortriptyline is a tricylic AD and Cymbalta is an SNRI also an AD, did you neurologist give you the green light that you can take both together safely? What dose of Nortriptyline is he planning to put you on along with the Cymbalta?