This has worked so well for me so far that I wish I had someone to thank
Since around the beginning of COVID (it started on my lady's birthday. Happy birthday, right?), I've been sitting. My back pain was so bad that I couldn't stand for much longer than 3 minutes. I walked slow with a limp and waddle. I went from being athletic enough to play a few years of competitive Semi-professional football, to having fused discs in my neck from sitting and sleeping in the same chair for years. Because of the back pain and limited range of motion in my neck, I only sleep in a bed if we are traveling and staying in a hotel (which didn't happen often because of said pain). I missed out on countless vacations, traveling opportunities, and just plenty of memories that I only know through pictures. I became depressed. I went from being a social butterfly to having anxiety. I started day drinking because "The world has shut down" and "I'm not going anywhere." Honestly, I thought it was helping because I was in less pain and not thinking about my mental ailments.
Fast forward 6+ years: I'm almost 400 lbs. My psoriasis has gotten out of control. And then my lady goes on a cruise for 9 days without me (it was paid for for both of us but I couldn't go because of my back pain). That broke me. I'm all alone, my brother just passed away, and I started having really bad thoughts.
Then without me asking, and without telling my Dr about my depression, he tells me he wants me to try Cymbalta for my back pain.
I had started a diet about two weeks before taking Cymbalta so I had lost weight strictly by cutting out beer and sweets and adding portion control. But now that I've been on it for about 3 weeks, I have about 95% less back pain. I'm so happy to wake up every morning. I've had an initial session, and then one regular session of physical therapy. The first one was before starting Cymbalta; then I went for my first real session yesterday. I think I might go to the next session just to tell them thank you and that I won't be coming back!
This medicine might not be for everyone. I read this thread and Googled about this medicine for DAYS, all day every day, before I started it. I was scared of the side effects. Fortunately I haven't had any whatsoever. Maybe a little sleep loss, but that could be because I'm not drinking like I used to.
I ran down my stairs to bring the garage out (both running and bringing the garbage out haven't happened in a really long time), then went grocery shopping at a Walmart Supercenter, walked the whole entire store, and even brought the grocery cart back to the front of the store instead of the cart corral. My lady had to ask me to walk slower so she could catch up with me in the store lol.
I know that this is a long post, but this is my experience and hopefully someone that reads this will realize that some of the success stories can be inspirational enough to try it and maybe change your life. I'm down about 35 lbs since starting (about 70 lbs in total). And tonight I'm going to surprise my daughter by walking through the airport and picking her up at her gate. She knows a little of my success, but it's gonna be a real surprise when she runs to me and I pick her up (she's 21 lol).
Thank you to everyone who posted both positive and negative experiences on this sub. They have both helped me so much. Hopefully this will help someone else.