What Is Duloxetine (Cymbalta)?

Potential Side Effects

Most doctors claim that the side effects of this medication should be fairly mild. At least, the most common ones appear to be mild. This medication seems to cause dizziness and fatigue. Patients may feel sleepy during the day as well. This may be more common among the patients who experience insomnia at night. Regardless, however, they may want to avoid driving until they can determine how the medication affects them. It also seems to be possible for patients to experience flu symptoms such as nausea, constipation, and diarrhea. Some individuals may have an increased appetite as well. Others may find it hard to stay hydrated due to side effects such as low sodium and problems urinating.

It appears that some individuals who take this medication deal with excessive amounts of sweat. If they have diabetes, they may also encounter issues with their blood sugar control. Some severe skin reactions may also appear due to this medication. If patients take this medication for too long, it may damage some of their organs. Serotonin syndrome is also possible. This syndrome is a medical emergency. Patients should watch out for warning signs such as agitation and hallucinations. A coma may also occur.

Learn about the possible precautions associated with this medication next.

Possible Precautions

There seems to be a few possible precautions that patients and their doctors need to take with this medication. Women do not seem to be able to take it if they are pregnant or breastfeeding. This medication could negatively affect the baby. Suicidal thoughts also appear to be possible when patients first start taking duloxetine. This may be more common in children and teenagers. Due to this, doctors may choose to add extra monitoring to their patients in the first four months of them taking this medication.

It may also be vital to avoid drinking alcohol or smoking cigarettes while on this medication. Smoking, for instance, may decrease the medication's effectiveness quite significantly. Doctors may also check their patients for bipolar disorder before they recommend this medication. The reason for this may be because it can cause manic or rapid-cycling episodes in these individuals.

Get the details on the potential medication interactions next.