Anyone Else Trying Savella For Fibromyalgia? (Page 24) (Top voted first)

This is a new medication that just came out for fibromyalgia. I have several other conditions involving spinal degeneration , herniated discs, arthritus, etc.
I've been taking this medication for a little over 2 weeks now and have worked up to the full dose. My biggest symptom seems to be upset stomach but I don't know if it's from the Savella or from de-toxing from 7 other medications that I've been on for over 10+ yrs.
Is there anyone else out there that has started this medication that can give me any information that they may have on it?

REPLY

REPORT

I never had diarrhea, but the nausea was pretty bad, and now that I have been on it for almost 2 years, isn't quite as bad. I do think that is one of the side effects and should go away and get better. I would wait at least 2 months before you see if it helps with the pain, and it won't be totally gone, but at least you should be able to function! I still need lots of rests...but the pain is manageable without pain meds now. Sometimes I take Naproxin, but only once or twice a week.

REPLY

Was this helpful? 0

I was just DX'd with fibro about 3 months ago, but have had this pain for years. I have never taken anything but glucosimine chondroiton an fish oil. It got so bad that I was having problems walking in the evening. I just started the 5omg in the am and pm,,,so here I go. It is the final time to go up on the med. Hope it works. Stay in touch. I enjoy talking to someone who understands what I go thru daily. I work a full time job and am a single mom,,,,so I can't stop,,,even when I really need to.

REPLY

Was this helpful? 0

I would love to hear about the natural cure. I have started taking savella. Dignosed a week ago with fibro..I can see a huge difference as it is getting into my system. I do have the upset stomach but the pain has eased so much and I can sleep almost through the night now. I needed the medicine to get rid of the pain and help with the over all fatigue. I do not feel ready to run a marathon just yet but I can improvement starting. This can be very frustrating considering I used to be a personal trainer with high impact energy. I am looking forward to hearing about the natural way, I do not like taking medicine. Just looking for a way to get a part of me back...

REPLY

Was this helpful? 0

Hey, Tammy---I also take something called Protandim. You can look it up online. After being on the Savella for about a year, a friend of mine with Chronic Fatigue suggested I try taking Protandim also. Not RX. Now I have it delivered to my house every month, and my husband, who is a Dermatologist, has seen how much better I have been from taking it, he takes it too! The woman that owns the gym that I go to every day for Zumba found out about it independently from me, and she has been taking it too! It is worth a try if you can afford a month's worth. Mine costs about $45 a month now, but originally it was like $65. Also, before I got Fibro, I was doing Zumba every day and loving it so much! Then when the Fibro hit, I could hardly do it at all. I was so depressed! I just love Zumba! The Savella helped me a little, and then the Protandim made it so I could go every day again! I still have to take it easy. ONe time I tried to go to a Zumba-thon on a Friday night for two hours, and the next day I was TOAST! I could hardly get out of bed. So, it is not a cure all, just has made my life significantly better! Good luck!

REPLY

Was this helpful? 0

Although I switched gradually from Cymbalta to Savella I'm experiencing terrible side effects including severe sweating, dizziness, nausea, etc. Don't know if it's withdrawal or the Savella but after a week I've decided to go back to Cymbalta. I've never had a reaction to any of the medications I've taken before for my fibromyalgia & pain & this is horrible.

REPLY

Was this helpful? 0

I have been on savella fro a little over 3 weeks and am on 50mgs in the am and 50mgs in the pm and am just starting to feel better. I had severe nausea and the excessive sweating is still there. I was told it may not go away. I can stand the sweating to have no pain. The nausea comes some , but not too bad now. I have lost some weight,,,,this is good. My legs and joints felt almost normal today for the first time in years. I do have some trouble getting to sleep at night,,,but once I'm asleep,,I'm asleep. Hope veryone else is getting better.

REPLY

Was this helpful? 0

Overthehill53---Yeah, i'm almost to the top of the hill myself,50 in december!! I'm with you on the savella.Way too many side effects for me2! I'm so happy to hear all the positive feedback from soooo many people that the savella has worked for them,but like all medicines,each individual has different situations--personally.I'm currently on 14 RXs per day,including pain meds,antidepressants etc & the savella just didn't mix well with my other RXs.I had the SEVERE dizziness,sweating,nausea,vomitting,lost all control of my motor skills and sooo many more side affects.I have now been off it for I think just over 1yr now & I swear I'm still 'getting off of it'.Took me about 2 months of intense occupation/physical/psych therapy to get probably 95% of my motor skills back.Does the cymbalta really work for you?How much of your pain does it take away?I'm curious cause I 'tryed' it awhile ago and it just didn't seem to help with my pain enough,that my doc just took it away.I've had chronic pain since 1995 from a botched surgery(17 minute ankle surgery!!!)& now have so many other issues that have arose from that initial injury, somedays, I just don't think it's even worth trying to get up out of bed at all! I wish you the best, but please lmk how long you've been on the cymbalta,what mg u r on & anything else you can tell me.I seriously don't want to ADD to my RXs DAILY MEALS but I am willing to re-try RXs again cause I'm just too darn old to be on strong pain meds,ya know? TakeCare BeSafe Stay in touch,k?

REPLY

Was this helpful? 0

Phyllis--I'm curious to know if you take just the savella for pain meds or are you on additional ones? Do you have additional diagnoses' besides fibromyalgia? I know first hand how painful it is. If you are on additional narcotics,OTC etc can you let me know how long you've been on them and how you feel each one works.Thanks TakeCare

REPLY

Was this helpful? 0

No, I am not on any pain meds or anything else. I take glucosimine chondroitin and fish oil and savella. I have osteoarthritis of the right knee and fibro. I have had fibro for several years and just finally got DX'd about 3 months ago.

REPLY

Was this helpful? 0

I've been on the Cymbalta for years due to multiple issues including several herniated disks (I sneeze & there goes another one), inflammatory problems, arthritis, etc. I've never felt I received great pain relief from it but it helps get me out of bed when I just want to stay there. I also take Wellbutrin for the constant exhaustion but I refuse to take pain killers. Done the epidurals, blocks, etc & none of those helped. I hoped the savella might help but my head was spinning & pounding & the sweats were horrible, not the "hot flash" type but dripping wet from head to toe. So I'm stopped the Savella & starting feeling better in a day. For now I'm taking low dose Cymbalta.
I try not to dwell on the pain & the fact that I can't find much relief but I do get frustrated by my limitations & the fact that no one can really understand although they try to be sympathetic.

REPLY

Was this helpful? 0

I truly beleive that , as you said, learning to live with the pain is the main point. I do not htink there is a medication that will completely stop the pain. I have noticed a little relief,,but not much. The sweating is horrible,,,but I will give the medication 6 months before I decide. Like you,,,,paim meds are not an option. I cannot take pain meds,,,,they make me feel horrible and sick.

REPLY

Was this helpful? 0

I wish you the best. I have a friend who swears by it but I couldn't get through the side effects & function so it's back to Cymbalta. As soon as I'm back to normal I'm going to add Lyrica & see if that helps.

REPLY

Was this helpful? 0

Savella does cause nausea,,,that will get better and severe sweating,,,that may or may not go away. But, I am up to the final dose now,,,50mg in the am and 50mg in the pm and am noticing some relief. I work full time,,,am a single mom,,,and I go to a gym 3-4 times a week. the exercise helps also.I know that nothing will control the pain completely,,,but it is helping. I do not take pain meds,,,they make me sick,,,so,,,I am going to give Savella 6 months and hopefully it will keep getting better.

REPLY

Was this helpful? 0

good luck!

REPLY

Was this helpful? 0

Wow,terrific news for you, most of you,congratulations.As we all know it's so complicated to find a happy medium,In the 15+ yrs I have been in chronic,daily,24/7 pain I have been on probably close to all of the narcotics available by RX.I was able to go 4-5 yrs without any narcotics,but I was put on stuff like,neurontin,celexa,fentanyl patches,oxyfast,oxycontin,percocet,tramadol, etc.You are right that absolutely nothing,no single med,no combination of meds,will ever take all the pain away.After being off the narcotics for a long period of time,My nerve injuries and multiple traumas to my body,I had to go back on something.I just could not function what so ever all day.I was back to 6 out of a 7 day week in bed,unable to bend at the waist,bend at the knees,bend my arms etc.So again I started on narcotics,started out very very slow and eventually got to 1/2 of what I took after my original 'botched' surgery.We learn, we live,,,,I would just like to live&learn with a smile on my face and a skip in my step and just have 1,just 1 day a week where I had no pain at all,wouldn't that be nice for all of us?? At this point,I cannot stand for more than 4 minutes without my knees going out from under me,can't sit down or in the same spot for more than 5-10 minutes,walking,well as long as I rest,alot,I can walk maybe 1/2 mile. I just want to thank everyone that writes on this wall. All the information,opinions and suggestions are appreciated and I'm going to make a change in my daily RXs. ThankYou. StaySafe,BeWell&TakeCare

REPLY

Was this helpful? 0

I will pray for you to have better days. That's all we all want is to have days we feel somewhat normal. I will keep in touch with what my progress is. Have a wonderful and blessed Easter,,,all of you.

REPLY

Was this helpful? 0

you, too

REPLY

Was this helpful? 0

I will pray for all of us that need prayers to deal with REAL pain. Have a wonderful Easter Holiday!! Long weekend for some?? Enjoy

REPLY

Was this helpful? 0

I have not posted in ahile but I am surprised by the amount of feedback that has started to come in on a daily basis. I went off Savella about two monthes ago after being on them for two years. They were a miracle for the pain in my elbows, I had gotten to the point where I could not grip my own toothbrush or shift my car. It ony took three weeks to feel the difference, no pain at all. It did nothing for the constant pain in my neck and shoulders, not sure if that is fibromyalgia or eight car accidents, but I take Valium twice a day to try to keep my muscles relaxed, sometimes it works, most days I have some level of pain. I started working for a catering company after i went on Savella but the sweating and flushing got so awful that I could not stand it. I started to take half dose and within three weeks started to notice some pain back in my elbows so I started to drink Supple, it is a chondroitin glucosamine drink that has a huge amount of vitamin d in it. I had tried chon/glu in other forms over the years but it never did anything for me. Within six weeks I was totally off Savella and I drink one can of this a day and my elbows feel great. I am allergic to steroids and all NSAIDS so the only choice I have for neck and shoulder pain is Percocet or some other narcotic, but I refuse to live like a zombie. My insurance will not pay for theuraputic massage so I am paying for that out of pocket, it seems to help when I get really bad but can only afford once a month so the rest of the time my family pitches in and rubs out my knots. To look at me you would never know there is a thing wrong with me, I go to the gym regularly and walk everyday. I am fit and healthy looking but the pain never leaves, everyday there is an issue of some sort but i am learning to live my life and not give up. I hope to be able to stay off Savella, think it was a great drug for what I had but the side effects were affecting my self esteem which may sound childish but was the only thing I had left after dealing with chronic pain. I really do recommend the Supple, I was a definite non-believer but it is working. My doctor thinks it is the mega dose of Vitamin D, my level is not low but it may be that people with our issues need more. Good luck to all of you, may we all be drug free again someday.

REPLY

Was this helpful? 0

I will try Supple,,,,I have heard how good it is. I am so happy to be able to connect with others who understand what I go through. I love having you guys to talk to. Have a blessed and Happy Easter

REPLY

Was this helpful? 0

50 mg in the a.m. and 50 mg. in the p.m. (along with 30 mg cymbalta once a day) and - for the first time in 50 yrs. have...

1 REPLY

I'm a difficult case of fibromyalgia, poor treatment response since 15. I'm on a pharmacy of meds including 150m...

3 REPLIES

I was just prescribed Celebrex for fibromyalgia pain & need to know if I can still take melatonin for sleep ## Melat...

3 REPLIES

I just went from 60 mg to 80mg of cymbalta. I have fibromyalgia, neuropathy and depression and anxiety. Has anyone taken...

2 REPLIES

Has any one had success with the use of Zonisamide for pain with fibro and if so how long did it take ? Been on one week...

2 REPLIES

I have been diagnosed with polymyolitis and put on 15mg of panafcort per day. I am concerned that I may have Fibromyalgi...

Hello, I'm looking for a Dr who understands and is up to date on the most current Medical research and information c...

I have been taking gabapentin for one month for fibromyalgia... 500 mg a day...100 mg in the morning 100 mg in the after...

3 REPLIES

What are the best medications to treat fibromyalgia? I am always hurting somewhere on my body. Especially my back, knees...

10 REPLIES

I take this for fibro and back pain (had 2 back surgeries) also have lot of nerve pain. It only takes the edge off. I ca...

5 REPLIES