Some Progress with Duloxetine

Hi everyone,

I've noticed some progress since I've switched from tricyclics to duloxetine and I thought people might be interested to know. I was going to post last week, but was in two minds because I didn't want to tempt fate and have a relapse! Well, as of yesterday, I have had a bit of an increase in pain again , but I've decided that I still should be optimistic and, whatever happens next, I've had quite a few better days over the last few weeks.

I've been on the duloxetine for about 6 weeks, started on 30mg and now on 60mg for the last 4 weeks or so. In the last three weeks my maximum average daily pain has been a 4/10. Now, I should point out that I think I'm quite conservative in rating my pain. I never rate it above a 6. Why? - Because when the doctors say 10 is 'the worst pain you can imagine', I can imagine a great deal! In my way of thinking, if it was a 9 or 10 I'd be on the verge of unconsciousness. So, 6 is my worst, but 6 is pretty darn bad. Anything above a 1/10 means it's disrupting my mood, though it's between 3 and 6 that really gets me down.

I've had quite a few days where my pain has been as low as a 1/10 in the last three weeks. Last week it was about 1/10 most days - which I'm really glad about. What's more, that's including some days when the external problem area has been slightly provoked by touch (though I've still been very careful about what I'm eating/drinking/wearing/washing with/sitting on). I don't know if my internal pain is any better because I have not investigated.

I don't know what (if anything) has made my pain increase today, but it's back to spiking whenever I empty my bladder . Hopefully it will calm down again soon. It's about a 3/10 right now.

So, basically, I just wanted to share that I feel more optimistic now than I have in a while. I feel like if I can have a few more weeks like last week then maybe I can make a dent in breaking the pain cycle more permanently. Even if have two steps forward and one back then that is still gradual progress. I think the duloxetine is playing a substantial part in the progress, although it is possible it's just random and I'm still having acupuncture and doing physiotherapy exercises also. But I continue to keep a pain diary, so I can reassess in another month or so.

This is fantastic to hear! Hope it continues for you.