Cymbalta and Pregnancy

[masha]

Hi All!
After 4 years of searching for a diagnosis and good treatment, 6 months of finding an appropriate treatment, and one year on Cymbalta (which has reduceed with the pain significantly), my husband and I have begun re-exploring the option of having more children. The doc that I go to for pain management is not being that helpful in weaning me off of Cymbalta, and the OBGYN is somewhat hesitant to have me on a high dose (60 mg) during pregnancy.

Here are the experiences/questions that I'm looking for:

1. Has anyone had any experience and/or done research with Cymbalta and pregnancy?
2. Has anyone experienced a pregnancy on or off medications? If so, what was it like (Was there reduction in pain? Did you need to go on bed rest)?

Thanks for your help and ideas!

[A's Mommy]

Masha,

I'm happy that you are considering having more children --- congratulations to you!!!

Question: who diagnosed you w/ PN and how did you get it in the first place?

I'm considering adding Cymbalta to my regimen and I'm not pregnant or considering getting pregnant because I'm post op and well, you know, THAT is impossible

I hope someone here can help you find the answers you need.

Love,
AM

[masha]

Hey AM!

I developed PN due to labor and delivery (3 and 1/4 hrs pushing, no vacuum or forceps) of our now 5 yr old daughter. Dr. Marvel diagnosed the true issues (all other docs thought pain was due to non-healing tear. Stitches removed 4 weeks postpartum because they weren't dissolving. Again, Dr. Marvel diagnosed that it wasn't because of healing issue, but because I had some immuno reaction during pregnancy which creates a lot of mucus discharge, which wouldn't allow the tear to heal.)

Cymbalta really helps me and I don't have that many side effects, although I hear that some others have a really hard time on it.

I hope that your op went well and the healing is quick!

Be well!
Masha

[Celeste]

No personal experience, but this link from the Physician's Desk Reference says that babies exposed to it late in the third trimester had serious complications from it. This is a reputable scientific source; it's information from the drug manufacturer, not somebody's opinion, etc.

http://www.pdrhealth.com/drugs/rx/rx-mo ... contentId=

I have heard Celexa is a safe antidepressant to use in pregnancy, however I don't know how well it works for neuropathic pain or how long it would take to get off Cymbalta to make the switch.

However I don't think I'd want to be on Cymbalta. "Serious complications" is not what I want to hear. That's just how I feel, maybe another person feels differently. Maybe your doctor could check into it and see if you could use it up until the start of the third trimester and then only have to deal with pain for a shorter time.

[masha]

Celeste -

Thanks for the info and link. I have already spoken to the regular OBGYN and a high risk OB about possible complications and have already talked about late pregnancy issues and the need to go off for the end (and probably beginning) of the pregnancy.

BTW, I'm so happy to hear that you were cured! How were the surgery and recovery?

[Celeste]

I only had pain on one side, so I opted to have only the painful side done. It worked out to be the right decision for me, though I do know of people who had to go back to have the other side done, too.

I was off work for 6 weeks, then went back full time. I was fortunate to have fast relief of pain, unlike the more common path of taking months to a year or sometimes longer to see results. My incision healed well and I've had no problems from the loss of the ligaments (which were in fact the problem). I'm very happy with the outcome; I only wish more people with good outcomes would participate on the forums, but it isn't mean to be.

Good luck with your pregnancy plans. Sorry I put all that PDR stuff up there, I didn't realize from your initial post that you already had all of that information from your doctor.