Thanks Marv. Cymbalta is one of the drugs the doctor told me I would be going on. I will need to take away the Buspar first. So wed. will be my first try on the new drug.
I will read the article. The things you talked about cymbalta, are the same things the rheumatologist told me.
I think it was cheaper hearing it from you
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I know this isn't an "Ask the Pharmacist" and I don't know much about your condition, but a red flag that my husband keeps telling me about has kind of popped up here so I'll give you the information I know, and you can do with it what you want.
Doctors only have a semester of pharmacology in their medical training. They rely very much on what drug reps tell them, rather than understanding the drug itself.
Cymbalta is an SSRI it is in the same catagory of drugs as Prozac, Zoloft, and others. This means that the formulations are similar and it works in the same way. The manufacturers of Cymbalta chose to do studies on the pain relief side - so it can legally advertise as such. However, it has been known for a long time that all the SSRIs help in pain relief along with the depression. That is known as an off lable use. Doctors can prescribe drugs for off lable uses, but the manufacturers can't advertise for an off lable use.
What I'm trying to say is that Cymbalta is a rather new drug with no generic. It's very expensive. If you haven't tried any of the other SSRIs yet, you might want to consider that, because many of them come in lower cost generics which will save you money, along with your insurance company, which will help you in the long run. Just because it's the "new drug" out there, doesn't mean that it is necessarily better than the other SSRIs that have been around for a while.
What happens is when name brand drugs go off patent (which means generics can be made), the manufacturer will reformulate the drug into something similar enough that it can get it's own patent. Then it's advertised as the new great drug, when it's really no different from the generation before. Clarinex is a prime example - it's a prescription product, but it is extremely similar to Clariton, which is now OTC - so similar that most people won't know the difference. Lipitor is another example. There are earlier generations of statin drugs that can do the same thing, are cheaper, and sometimes with less side effects - especially for women.
More than anything, remember that your doctor's knowlege of many drugs come from the reps, not their education. If you get prescribed something new and expensive, talk to your pharmacist. Chances are, there is an earlier generation of the drug, that has a generic, that will do the same job.
Also in working in the Vioxx litigation - I learned that manufacturers will have the reps deliberately mislead doctors on the side effects, or the indications of a drug. In the case of Vioxx, reps were given a pamphlet called, and I kid you not, "Dodgeball Vioxx" for them to consult if a doctor asks about the studies showing heart attacks and strokes in people who took it.
This blew me away when I learned how it all works. However, I'm just sharing. You can do with it what you want. I just hope you get better. If you take anything from this, please start including your pharmacist in your health care team. Take advantage of the consultation counter and ask them about the drugs your doctor wants you to go on. That's what they are there for.
P.S. Celexa is advertised as an anti-anxiety drug. It is also an SSRI. My MIL takes a generic form of Zoloft for her anxiety and it works just fine for the off-lable use, and is much, much cheaper.
