cymbalta
hello, i finally had a diagnosis and the neurologist prescribed me, amongst other things, the antidepressants cymbalta as a migraine prophylaxis. i have had experiences with quite low dosages of effexor for depression and, aside from some very annoying but not horrible side effect, it was really good for depression. it also covered me from the worse of migraine though i didn't really know that. i'm not clinically depressed at this time, so i have no idea how it is to take an antidepressants when you don't have depression. unless migraine for your brain is basically the same thing. i just wanted some information, if you can, mostly from people who tried cymbalta only for migraines and not for a mood disorder. thanks.
Hi chiaragtl,
Yes, I tried Cymbalta for migraine prevention, but did not have good results with it. Cymbalta is used for migraine prevention and you may find it works well for you. Here is information from Dr. Hutchinson on this medication; https://migraine.com/blog/migraine-and-fibromyalgia/.
We're not sure the exact mechanisms that make antidepressants work for migraine prevention but do have information on this here; https://migraine.com/migraine-treatment/antidepressants-for-migraine-headaches/.
Nancy
I tried it and it gave me the worst nightmares ever. It also felt like someone was in my head with a little rubber band, snapping it over and over and over. I was sick to my stomach and I was dizzy. I felt horrible but it was even worse when I tried to get off of it. I had to take out a few of the little tiny balls out of the pill every day (like 5 at a time) or I would get very sick. It took a while but I finally got off of it. I would not wish that stuff on my worst enemy. I hope you have better luck. Look it up on the web. A lot of horror stories out there.
Good luck to you.
I wasn't on cymbalta but my doctor did put me on welbutrin to help me quit smoking. As a NOT clinically depressed person... being put on an anti depressant was pretty bad for me. I also had nightmares and I feel like it almost made me depressed. I didn't like the effects of the mood imbalances at all so I didn't stay on it very long.
I hate how migraine medication is always something else that might help for migraines.. like oh here is this blood pressure pill that might help with your migraines... but you don't have high blood pressure so you might get some pretty thin blood... and its just ok.
I have been on Cymbalta for a few months for depression and have not noticed any help where my migraines are concerned. I do think it is the best depression med that I have tried though, and I have tried sooo many. I am on 90 mg a day, which my doc put me on despite my misgivings, since I have read about all of the negative reactions. I was initially on 60 mg and I was not seeing any positive response, so I wanted off of it, but my doc convinced me to try 90 mg just for a month to see how I reacted. I was floored with the difference it made.
I know that for many people, myself included, depression goes hand in hand with migraines, so I hope that other people might give this a try because although there are many people that have negative experiences, there are also those of us that have very positive ones.
