Pain Medications
Thu, 07/02/2009 - 16:06
Anyone on Savella?
I was just diag. with fibromyalgia and my Dr. switched me from cymbalta to Savella just wandering if any of you have tried this since it is such a new med. And could any of you clarify for me is fribro and myofascal syndrom (sp) the same condition or different? Just wandering because I saw a new PM this week and he said I have myofascal syn. along with the fibro. I thought they were both the same condition but I'm new to all this fribro. thing.
thanks
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L4-L5 Bulging disc with annular tear, Hernitated L5-S1, Narrowing of lateral recess w/nerve impingment, left neural foraminal stenosis, Bulging C3-C4, sciatica,Multi-level DDD, multi-level facet osteoarthrosis, nerve damage in left leg, Breast Reduction, P.T., Chiro., Tens., and many different docs. in 8 years. Darvacet, Flexeril, Lexapro,Topamax,Atenolol... Just diagnosed with Fibromyalgia and Mysofascial Pain Syndrome
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Nobody has replied so..
I've not used this med, but I do know that it's an SNRI which is a combo SSRI/SNRI combo (serotonin and norepenephrine reuptake inhibitor). At the basic level, this just means that most likely the drug will take 2 to 6 weeks at least to take full effect, so give it some time(maybe even 8 wks). Please write back when you've had some time with it, I'm sure there are many here interested in how well it works vs. Cymbalta/etc.
JWM
L5-S1 7mm anterior 5mm central. Central stenosis and foraminal stenosis. Severe sciatica w/terrible mobility. ESIx2,etc.
Meds: ALL generic, feel free to ask.
Plan: upcoming surgery(2010).
Spoke with my pain mgmt doctor who wanted me to try this. Been on a few days and it is going well. Will let you know how I feel, I had lots of neuropathic pain previously, seems to help now- but won't know for a bit.
Wendy
L3 L4 canal Stenosis with herniated disc,DDD, had laminectomy and diskectomy in May of 2008 which did not resolve the constant sciatic pain in right leg and left knee. Re herniation of disc in same area and facet arthritic changes. Mild L-4 bulge in disc. Had dural leak and hematoma after surgery. Subsequent foot drop on left foot after surgery, which is now improving. On Ultram and cymbalta, nabumetone for pain management.
Fibro & Myofacial aren't the same thing - but for some odd reason many people with Fibro have Myofacial pain too. (I'm not a doctor but these are my own doc's words.)
Please update later on how Savella is working for you.
Regards,
Jasro
(2004) Fibromyalgia - disabling.
(2009 Cervical MRI):
C3-C4 disc protusion w/mild indentation on thecal sac.
C5-C6 moderately severe foraminal narrowing; disc bulge w/mild indentation on thecal sac; reversal of lordosis (aka Kyphosis).
(2009 Lumbar MRI):
Mild Levoscoliosis.
L3-L4 mild hypertrophy of facet & lig. flavum.
L4-L5 moderate hypertrophy of facet & lig. flavum; disc bulge.
L5-S1 partial tear of annulus; disc bulge in contact w/L5 nerve root; prominent facet & lig. flavum hypertrophy; moderate foraminal narrowing; lumbar canal stenosis.
Misalignment & displacement of sac joints.
2 sacral perineural cysts.
S1-S2 dehydration of nucleus.
Meds: Cymbalta, Ibuprofen (daily), Vicodin (as needed), Valium
I always seem to be the one who gets the side effects of any drug.
I have noticed increased sweating, hot flashes, dry mouth and nauseous with this drug. I am not even menopausal yet get all the joys that come with it!
It does seem to make a difference with my leg pain, but I am not sure it is enough to justify for the side effects. My back still hurts, which is what the doctor told me would be the case, it really just seems to help the neuropathic electric shock leg pain for me.
I have cut down the dosage with the permission of my doc to see if we can cut the side effects. Still testing this one out. You can order the generic from Canada for much much cheaper by the way. It has been used in Europe and Canada for awhile.
Just an FYI update.
Wendy
L3 L4 canal Stenosis with herniated disc,DDD, had laminectomy and diskectomy in May of 2008 which did not resolve the constant sciatic pain in right leg and left knee. Re herniation of disc in same area and facet arthritic changes. Mild L-4 bulge in disc. Had dural leak and hematoma after surgery. Subsequent foot drop on left foot after surgery, which is now improving. On Ultram and cymbalta, nabumetone for pain management.
@OP
Although I have not taken either Cymbalta nor Savella I have some thoughts that I thought might be helpful, or at least informational.
Have you taken any SSRI/SNRI before for the pain you are experiencing? If so, did it help at all?
As you may know Cymbalta is in the same class of drugs but is actually quite different. It has no ratio of SSRI/SNRI making it almost 1:1, Cymbalta also effects almost every other receptor in the brain, including: dopaminergic, adrenergic, cholinergic, histaminergic, opioid, glutamate, and GABA receptors. Because of this Cymbalta is typically classified as a reuptake inhibitor of the entire 5-HT and NA receptor systems.
Savella on the other hand is highly specialized (when compared to Cymbalta) because it acts solely on the norepinephrine and seritonin receptors in the brain. It does this in a 3:1 ratio, respectively.
Seritonin is thought to be linked more to depression than chronic pain and vice versa for norepinephrine. This makes Savella much more likely to help you with pain that you are experiencing than the other medication.
Another advantage of Savella over Cymbalta is the correlation between taking the medication with food and not. With Cymbalta the time it takes to get Cmax in plasma with food and with out can vary from 2-6 hours, which seems to me to be quite a different. With Savella on the other hand there is little difference taken with food or not as Cmax is usually obtained within 2 hours either way.
These are just some of the differences/advantages I have noticed when browsing through literature.
L3/L4 - L4/L5 - L5/S1 Herniated disc -- Scoliosis -> Car Accident 08/08