Hello to All:
My name is Catfish. I’m new here. I just joined. I have chronic pain issues. I have arthritis & fibromyalgia. I am on Effexor for the Fibromy. pain & depression. My rheumatologist said there was nothing else I could take for the Fibromyalgia except Cymbalta. I have been on that and switched because it messed with my sex life. Well, the Effexor isn’t helping it either. And all of the SSRI’s mess with it(libido) as well. Sometime, I would like to switch to something else to try and have a sex life again. At the same time, I am worried that the pain of the fibromyalgia & arthritis will be too much to bear. Before I started the Effexor, I couldn’t stand on my feet upon arising without sitting back down on my bed, the pain was that much. I take Topomax, which is supposed to help physical pain, I also take that for my mood. I do have pain medicine (Tylenol #3, Tramadol), and I hardly take them unless I need to, only usually at night. I would like to try switching from Effexor to Wellbutrin slowly. I am nurse of 20+ years, and have knowledge, and I am difficult to deal with. I am just tired of always having to give up something for something, especially my sex life! I am going to ask the present woman shrink I have, and I am not impressed with her. I am giving her one more chance to see what she is made of. If she can’t come up with a plan for me, I am doing something else. My OB said if I could decrease the Effexor down, maybe my sex life would be better. That’s all he offered of course. If any of you have any solutions or ideas I like to hear from you, please. I am open to all suggestions & ideas.
Sincerely,
Catfish
Hi Catfish …Love the name…and the fish 
Try Lexapro for mood/depression…helping the depression helps the pain
some. I take Soma and Hydrocodone…we discovered the Soma kicked the
Hydrocodone into gear…None of them help me a lot…but anything is
better than nothing 
And the Lexapro hasn’t effected my sex life…so
maybe it won’t yours?? I’m one of those weird/hard to treat ones
also…side effects are sometimes as bad as my RA/OA…but we keep
trying.
HTH’s
Carla
On 6/7/07, catfish chronicpain-cpt4031@lists.careplace.com wrote:
Hello catfish,
Have you considered Duragesic? It’s the only thing that I have found to work for
me. I’m on the 75mcg/hr patch. Once every 3 days is much easier than taking a
bunch of pills.
–
Best regards,
Chris
mailto:guamchris@yahoo.com
You are so right. I am on 50 MCG every 48 hours with Percocet for break
through pain as well as Lyrica. I am an insulin dependant diabetic with
neuropathy, degenerative disc disease, fibromyalgia and currently have a titanium
cage in my neck with spinal stenosis and scheduled for fusion from the c4 to the
c7. This will be my 4th neck surgery in 10 years so I am a little nervous.
I hope all will go well but can not be avoided. I keep a positive attitude
and belief all will work out.
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