There are 53 ratings for the drug: SAVELLA in the Askapatient database.

Key to ratings for savella: 5-Very Satisfied: this medicine cured me or helped me a great deal. 4-Satisfied: this medicine helped. 3-Somewhat Satisfied: this medicine helped somewhat. 2-Not Satisfied: this medicine did not work to my satisfaction. 1-Dissatisfied: I would not recommend taking this medicine.

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Rating	Reason	Side Effects	Comments	Sex	Age	Time Taken and Dosage		Date Added
				F  M
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3	Fibromyalgia	I went off of Cymbalta and started Savella. This was in addition to Lyrica. Initially the Savella gave me more energy but it did not decrease my pain. I had to take more break thru meds. After 5 months, I weaned off of it and went back to Cymbalta and feel much better.		F	50	182 days 50 mg 2X D		8/31/2010
5	Fibro.	Heartburn, dry mouth and bit of anxiety.	After slowwwllly uping my dose to the full dose, I am having luck for once with a drug that is supposed to help with fibro. Most of the slight side affects are gone. I have barely a need for my ibprofin or Tramadol. I took 50 mg. only once a day for about 10 days, then every other day I took another in the afternoon. I am now taking it as rx'd, 2x's day. I am not hurting! Also lost allot of the brain fog.	F	45	1 months 50 mg. 2X D		8/12/2010
5	fibro	No sleep for the first 2 nights (at 12.5mg dose), 3rd night, i slept fine only to increase the dose the next day but have slept well ever since. Loss of appetite (lost 12 pounds in 3 weeks). no other side effects noted.	Pain free, finally. Tried Cymbalta and Lyrica and had reactions to both but Savella is working fine so far. My muscles haven't felt this good in years.	F	52	3 weeks 50mg 2X D		8/10/2010
4	fibromyalgia & nerve pain	nausea, sweating, fatigue, temporary loss of appetite	seems to really work for the severe nerve pain in my feet...also helps with sleep at night. Still trying to work myself up to 100mg a day but not there yet. Have tried almost all other types of drugs for treatment of fibromyalgia & this is the only one I can tolerate and still work daily.	F	41	6 months 50mg 1X D		8/9/2010
1	Undiagnosed muscle pain	Constipation, Insomnia, Excessive Sweating	Ummm... This drug does NOTHING positive for me. No relief in pain. I was recentely told to down grade from 50mg 2x a day to 50mg once a day to see if that helps my symptoms. The constipation is better ( Thank goodness! )... But the insomnia is still there and as for the sweating, well, even my sweat sweats. I want off it but the doctor said to give it about 3 months.... And since I am desparate for relief, I am trying....	F	37	20 days 50mg 2X D		8/8/2010
4	Fibromyalgia	Hot flashes, sweating and a bit foggy headed at first. High blood pressure and Tachycardia. Decreased sex drive and sensation.	The side effects I encountered with this drug are very unfortunate because it actually works for the pain ! I was ready to put up with the lesser side effects until the high blood pressure and tachycardia developed. This happened a week into the full dose after titration. I'm wondering if maybe the 12.5 mg twice a day would work. Going to rheumatologist next week. Savella works, but, not at the risk it caused me.	F	44	3 weeks 50 mg 2X D		8/6/2010
3	body pain	Extreme sweating! Whole head would get wet and it would drip down my back. This stopped when I totally got off the Savella.	It did help with pain.	F	58	60 days 50mg 2X D		8/3/2010
1	fibromylagia	Awful side effects. Hot flashes or Hot flushes and nausea--		F	57	60 days 25 to 100 1X D		7/27/2010
1	Fibromyalgia	Brain buzzing and auditory buzzing, severe hot flashes and sweating, increased heart rate, increased blood pressure, anxiety, irritability, aggression, bladder infection, upper respiratory infection, light headed, headaches, quick changes in mood, feels like fire is running through my veins, trouble concentrating, insomnia, shakiness	I too had hoped this med would help with fibro, but I had even worse side effects on this than when I took Lyrica (and that was bad enough). Will be calling my doctor tomorrow to get off of this medication. Seriously, when the side effects are worse than the illness, why take the chance! Especially of concern to me was the huge jump in heart rate (to nearly dangerous levels). Please do your homework before starting this and/or other meds...I do not think doctors and drug companies care WHAT the side effects are. They are in it for the money - bottom line!	M	54	10 days 25 2X D		7/25/2010
5	Fibromyalgia/depression	A little "high" at first but nothing now	THIS DRUG GAVE ME MY LIFE BACK!! After years of trying to cope with fibromyalgia pain and depression, I finally have found something that works. I feel like a new person! Increased energy, able to sleep well, improved concentration and memory, everything I was looking for. This drug, combined with Lyrica for fibro pain has truly given me my life back!	F	42	3 months 50 MG 2X D		6/27/2010
2	Fibromyalgia	increased brain fog, increased GERD symptoms, fatigue, dizziness, shortness of breath, increased heart rate, sweating and chills, rash inside mouth	I was so disappointed that I had to discontinue Savella, because I read that you just have to stick with it to get past the side effects. I was really willing to keep going until the rash in my mouth. That's when I figured it was time to call it a day. I've had fibro for 8 years or longer. I am usually an active person (even with fibro), but the Savella slowed me down to almost a grinding halt. Can't think straight, can hardly keep my list of chores organized in my head. I've had to double my PPI dosage, and the sweating is as bad as menopause (so I'm told, because I've not yet gone through that). I'm glad that it's working for some folks, sad I'm not one of them.	F	52	3 weeks 50mg 2X D		6/11/2010 Email
3	Joint Pain (Tentatively diag. FM)	Worst side effects have been nausea and sweating. Followed by headaches and sexual dysfunction (urethra pain?)	It has been very hard to stay on the "full" dose, and with Dr.'s permission have been adjusting dosing, however effectiveness goes down on lower doses and side effects stay about the same - so no overall benefit. Seems my best day occurred 2 days after quitting "cold turkey" from the "full" dose where joint pain was gone and I had no lingering side effects. Lasted a few hours and then I was "slammed" with the old joint pain.	M	39	6 months 50mg 2X D		6/9/2010
4	fibromyalgia	Sweating, craved salty foods. I took with food and didn't have much nausea. Had some muscle cramps I feel certain were caused by my dose of Savella.	I eliminated corn and all corn products from my diet and the fibromyalgia pain stopped. It took only 2 or 3 days to see the difference. Shoulder and back pain are gone now, as long as I do not eat corn.	F	54	10 months 150 mg 1X D		6/3/2010 Email
3	Major Depression	Nausea, Dizziness, Lightheaded, spaced out, increased anxiety and panic, blurred vision, mood swings, melancholia, high pulse rate, shortness of breath, Upper respiratory tract infection like symptoms, excessive sweating, hot flashes	Very shaky start up effects - anxiety and panic increased, felt an ominous fear all the time, mood swings and irritability, sometimes subtle euphoria and sometimes severe malaise and dysphoria. I think this drug is very dose dependent because of its very short half life of 8 hours. I felt disadvantaged because unlike other SNRIs like Effexor and Cymbalta there are almost very few patient ratings and information on use of Milnacipran in treatment of MDD. Side effects felt: Nausea esp first few days and when taken without food. Dizziness and lightheadedness, feeling drunk and spaced out. Blurred vision Hyper-emotionality mainly towards melancholia and sadness. Sleep - improved, but dreams are sometimes very lucid. Tachycardia - pulse upto 120 bpm, dyspnea Upper respiratory tract infection like symptoms - post nasal drip - sore throat, and nasty mucous - but without fever - which actually makes GPs treat it as allergy. Jittery, nervous and spaced out - especially in the evening when the effects kick in. This drug has apparently helped those who have failed ECT which should make it quite efficient, but I would suggest this to be definitely not the first line of treatment for MDD, and should perhaps be reserved for depression with anhedonia and apathy, not for melancholic depression. Probably its too early for me to have a definitive view.	M	30	20 days 25mg 1X D		6/3/2010
4	Fibromyalgia	Sweat really bad and anxiety attacks get worse in the beginning. Stopped it for a little while b/c I didn't think it was working so I stoped, but after a few weeks after stopping I realized it was working so I went back on. Stay on it if you feel it is working for you!			38	7 months 50 mg 1X D		5/27/2010 Email
5	depression			F	42	1 years 100 2X D		5/19/2010
3		I cannot stand how sleepy this medication makes me feel. Does this change eventually?? I cannot afford to be sleepy. I have 2 small children and my Dad is dying of Pancreatic cancer. Just lost my mother 3 yrs ago so this is devastating. I can't distinguish between the pain that I have and my abnormally high ANA results or just plain depression. All I know is that this makes me sooooooo sleepy and yet I do not sleep well. If someone could tell me that this passes after I get used to it, then I will continue to take it. Otherwise, I'm ready to trash it. Thanks		F	46	14 days 50mg 2X D		5/16/2010
5	FMS	HBP, disorganized thinking, irritation and impatience, high levels of joint an muscle pain with each dose increase for about 3 days	My husband and I are both on Savella for FMS. I tend to be depressed and anxious, he tends to be depressed and flat in affect. I started 2 weeks before him. I had high blood pressure, and the other side effects mentioned but stuck with my dose. He had high blood pressure and the same side effects; but he went back down to 12.5/day on his dose. He is coming off Cymbalta 10 mg qd. He ran out of Cymbalta and two days later started taking Savella at 12.5 qd. 5 days later he went to 25 qd. His blood pressure and heart rate increased. Instead of moving to twice a day dosing, after 2 days he opted to cut his dose to 12.5. His BP has remained high with the reduction. He is having a lot of memory issues and his pulse is 102 compared to a normal level of 68. I am on twice a day dosing at 12.5 per dose and am feeling much better. If I am late on my dose, I feel agitated and hyper, though.I put my gender down as male since I am mostly reporting on my husband. There are no male reports so I am hoping to see some soon or to see someone check in on their progress. The posts are mostly pretty old.	M	60	21 days 12.5 2X D		5/11/2010 Email
4	fibromyalgia, other chronic pain	nausea, scalp itch, sore gums, raging yeast infection, all over itching, drying of the mucosal lining of my nose.	I had all of these side effects within three day of starting the titration pack. They were intense; my fibromyalgia is worse. I decided I could deal with nausea if the pay off was going to be pain reduction. I took tons of fluconazole for the yeast infection which lasted a week. I still take generic zrtec for the all over itching. My sore gums lasted a couple of months, but I found if I took my medication as near 12 hours apart as I could get, the better off I was. I was pain free for six weeks, then I started feeling some old familiar pangs. My PCP added Lyrica in case I was headed into another dark period. The side effects for it have been much harder, more severe. Savella helped me be and feel clearer than I had been in years. I felt like me again. I'm hoping once I adjust to the Lyrica, the Savella will still do that for me.	F	41	3 months 50mg 2X D		4/26/2010 Email
1	diabetic neuropathy feet, fibro	We all are different, have different reactions to medications. Savella has been pretty bad.Before starting Savella, I have lost almost 100 pounds, due to dieting and going to bed hungry, that is just what it takes for anyone in my family to lose weight or stay the same.I once took Lyrica and it added about 40 pounds onto me. I went off it and started on CYmbalta.I heard it blocked REM sleep, that is really not good.I searched the net and found conflicting info on the topic. My doctor said not all people's REM sleep was affected by it.I didn't gain back any weight on Cymbalta, in fact, it may have helped keep it off. With Savella,I have had dry mouth, been depressed and in a bad mood.I have had this feeling of doom in the pit of my stomach that will not go away, even when I'm "having fun and laughing", it's still there!It seems to not even be connected to me,just a general feeling of impending doom.I read on another post the same feeling and couldn't believe someone else was	I couldn't believe that people wrote they have lost weight on Savella, but i guess it's because we all have different body systems that react differently to meds. Wish I could find one to get rid of the pain and help with weight loss,and give me all my REM sleep! I'm giving Savella another week if I can stand it that long.The pain was worse today than it has been in a very long time.I would rather die or lose REM sleep than gain back another ounce of weight. I feel that Savella has made me start gaining weight back,and I seem to have blurrier vision.	F	48	9 days 50 2X D		4/18/2010 Email
1	fibromyalgia	nausea, anxiety, hypertension, shortness of breathe, dizziness, severe panic attacks	had nausea for the entire time. After two trips to the ER in one week for severe panic attacks my rhumetologist stopped the Savella to see if it was the med that caused the problem. i have been off Savella for only 48 hrs and my breathing has almost returned to normal. Panic is gone and it feels good to feel good. the pain was completely gone before i had to stop. the doctor said to expect severe rebound pain, this has me almost as worried as the panic attacks. we will try some other medications in two weeks, i am not looking forward to the other possiblities and their side-effects. Savella did great at removing the pain but the side-effects make it impossible for me to take	F	55	4 weeks 75 mg 1X D		3/18/2010
3	IC (Interstitial Cystitis)	Tingling/cramping sensation in my legs. Sounds easy enough but it makes trying to fall asleep at night rather difficult.	I believe Savella is working for me (calming my pelvic floor muscles) but I may have to stop taking it or decrease my dose if I can't get rid of this annoying side effect.	F	27	3 weeks 12.5 MG 2X D		3/15/2010
4	Chronic Pain/Fibromyalgia	Take it with food, and don't take it too late in the day. The titration pack was HELL on EARTH: nausea, dizziness, light sensitivity, feeling spacy, brain fog, nervous, jittery, light-headed, hot flashes. Thankfully it didn't last long. Now, it's just a bit of occasional nausea when I first wake up or if I take it without food.	This does "take the edge off". I am still in significant pain, but it seems to rearrange things in my brain to bump up my pain tolerance. I've been able to stop using tramadol, which has been good for me. The pain, while not gone entirely, is more of an annoyance now. I seem to bounce back quicker from bad days also.		33	2 months 100 mg 1X D		3/8/2010
2	Fibromyalgia	Weight loss (yeah!), couldn't take a nap during the day no matter how hard I tried. Harder to sleep through night even though I'm on a prescription sleeping med.	Savella replaced Gabapentin and Doxipen along with my anti-flammatory med put 40 pounds on me which I could NOT take off. I lost 15 lbs without even trying, kept 10 of them off. Switched back to old meds because Savella didn't control the pain nearly as well. However, it really helped the chronic fatique during the day. However, I'm sleeping better at night now without it.	F	57	5 months 60 mg 2X D		2/27/2010
4	Fibromyalgia	Much more energy, little bit of nausea at first, some sweating and heart palpitations	I am currently tapering off of Cymbalta. I am on 30 mg for the next 2 weeks and then I will be done. The Cymbalta worked great for pain reduction but caused more fatigue. I currently take Lyrica 75mg 3x per day in addition to the Savella.	F	49	17 days 50 mg 2X D		2/24/2010
1	muscle pain misdiag of fibromyalgia	Slurred speech, out of it, feeling of doom, slow muscle control, confusion	Too scary for me to continue. Only took 2 doses 12.5 at night then 12.5 in am. Took about 6 hours after 2nd dose for side effects to stop. Did not notice if pain was gone as these side effects were greater than the pain.	F	43	1 days 12.5 mg 1X D		2/23/2010
1	Chronic neck/shoulder pain	Nausea for first 3 days, sweating so severe I could not get out of bed. I lost 10 pounds in 6 days.	I am so disappointed that my body cannot tolerate Savella. By day three, I was pain-free. The sweating was not your usual "increased sweating" posting we see here, however. This sweating was so severe, it was like having a slow-dripping faucet above my head. I'd get a hot flash, followed by a new round of sweating. This sweating does NOT stop. It was from my head to my ankles. The cool air in my house would hit my skin and I'd go crazy--FREEZING to death!! I had to stay in bed all day. I never thought that sweating could be a dibilatating condition. I'm glad it's over. I lasted 8 days on Savella. I found out from others on this drug, that if your body reacts in this manner, it does not go away after a few days. If I'd been assured otherwise, I would've kept on going.	F	44	8 days 2X D		2/5/2010 Email
1	chronic pain	Let's see, where do I start? I was on Savella 2 weeks before I called my dr. and said I couldn't tolerate it any more. Scalp tingling, rapid heartbeat/palpitations, hot flashes. Then I mistakenly took an NSAID (ibuprofen) and have been bleeding an entire week, even after stopping the drug. I found no relief whatsoever, and because of the bleeding, I cannot take anything else that might get me through the pain. I have extreme headaches, shoulder and neck tightness and pain, but until I can reach my dr. again, I can take nothing for my discomfort.		F	60	14 days		1/30/2010 Email
1	post viral syndrome / fibromyalgia	intense scalp burning, mood swings, rapid heart rate, elevated b/p,	I started the titration pack and only got up to 25 mg/day. The scalp burning was terrible. I also had crying episodes. The good thing was the pain was decreased by 85-90% until the 2nd week of 25mg/day. Ended up in the emergency room with Seratonin syndrome (HR 180, BP 180/98, extreme agitation, etc.) Was told that this could have killed me. I really wanted to try to stay on the meds due to the pain relief but the side effects would have killed me. Hope they can come up with something that helps as well without all the terrible side effects.	F	46			1/12/2010
2	FM	Fast Heart Beat, excessive sweating and smelling in the armpits, insomnia	I thought this drug was doing pretty good. I did the titration pack and although the first week or two was a little rough, I was desperate to keep taking it to help with my pain. I was on this about 5 months before I had no choice but to stop. Over the five months, my pain didn't go away, almost like taking a sugar pill, and I ended up very depressed, no energy (worse than the CFS I already had), and generally sad or mad most of the time.	F	45	5 months		1/11/2010
1	Fibro	Hot flashes, sweating and fast heart beat.	I was happy at first about Savella, but it ended in disaster. The weirdest thing happened. After three months of taking Savella, I started self-destructing and cutting myself. I don't know why or anything, but it does similar to prozac where it makes you think and do weird things. This is a newer drug and there is so much hype, but it does not do anything at all for pain. I was not depressed and did not need a antidepressant, but Savella made me want to die. It was so weird. Other than that there was no real side effects but there were hot flashes and fast heart beat. Be care with this one please.	F	40	4 months		12/22/2009
4	Fibro/Myofascial pain syndrome	Initially, nausea, hot flashes, flushing, difficulty sleeping, mild headaches. Got through the first two weeks and all side effects have been easing up. PLEASE give it at least the full 2 weeks. This med really may help you.	Finding after 2 weeks my energy is increasing and my pain is easing up to the point I can take less Soma and oxycodone as well as celebrex. Definitely better then Lyrica, side effects are more tolerable to me then they were with cymbalta. Overall, very happy with this medicine so far.	F	37	2.5 weeks		12/11/2009 Email
4	Fibromyalgia	Main one was periodic nausea, & it seemed to lessen my appetite. The other was how it affected my mood. Spent 3 days crying when I first got to 100 mg, so had to adjust the dosage a few times.	Savella has been the best medication I have been on for FMS. Once I found the right dosage for me, it has helped alot with the pain & fog. As mentioned I have had some mood changes with it, and am currently adjusting the dosage again to see if that improves. My pain & fog has been severe for years, & this medication has overall helped more than anything I've been on. It has saved my life in regards to giving me the first real break from FMS symptoms I've had in years.	F	37	9 months		12/10/2009
5	Fibromyalgia	Nausea,hot flashes, sweating, tachycardia, insomnia, HOt flashes seem to last more than the other side effects. No longer have nausea or insomonia. Side efects get better the longer you take it.	Almost immediate improvement in pain. Taking with food, lots of fluids and dosing early in the day helps. Ride out the side effects and it will be worth it. There is not a medication made that does not have possible side effects. I would recommend it to others that have already tried all the other medications for fibro.	F	54	2 months		12/6/2009
2	Fibro	Sweating, Headaches, Upset stomach, Diarhea,	Does not help with pain at all, Does help some with energy but keeps you awake more than normal.	F	33	4 months		11/15/2009
5	Fibromyalgia	Nausea, perspiration.	I started with the titration pack, and the first week was tough on my stomach (felt nautious). I also felt sudden increases in heart rate and was sweating more. After about 3 weeks, the side effects went away, and so did most of the pain. This drug really works if you can stick with it.		42	8 weeks		11/9/2009
4	Fibro	Occasional headache, hot flashes, weight loss	Aweful side effects for first week, then disappeared mostly. Hot flashes and sweating were common at first, then only occasional episodes. Pain is still here, but not as bad as before taking it. Lyrica was good for pain, but the minimum dosage still left me with too many heavy side effects. Savellla worked for 50 mg twice a day, but increased another 50 to make it 150 mg a day. It is better on the higher dose though, and may ask for the maximum of 200 mg a day because my body metabolizes drugs faster, as shown through blood levels, so it takes a higher dose for me. When I increased to 150 mg a day, the side effects increased temporarily and now is back to just occasionally again. I think it is a great medication, but it still does not take away all the pain. Nothing has taken away all of it though. Give it a chance, because I never would have found out that it was a steady and stable drug if I didnt stick it out the first week or so--especially with the terrible sweating and hot flashes. Thank goodness they disappeared, at least for the most part.	F	38	4 months		11/9/2009
5	Fibromyalgia	Nausea, increased heart beat, hot flashes.	A little tough to stomach at first, but I am really glad that I stuck with it. The pain is much, much better, I feel like I can function again.	F	39	5 weeks		11/6/2009
4	Fibromyalgia	Horrible side effects to begin with, horrible headache, vivid dreams, nausea, stomach upset all during the titration period. Also very high blood pressure.	The initial uptake of this drug was very difficult. I didn't think I would make it through the starter pack, but I am so glad I held on. I still have some side effects, high blood pressure and headache, but the fibro pain is so much better and I can't remember the last time I slept so well. For me, the drug makes me sleepy so I have not had to use the flexeril since starting the savella. If you have been through many drugs like myself for fibro, give Savella a chance. It seems like we might have a drug that works on fibro which is a rarity.	F	48	4 weeks		10/28/2009 Email
2	RSD/CRPS	Tried out Savella for RSD/CRPS (already on Lyrica, Ultram, & a bunch of other stuff). Suffered through the whole trial pack with the severe sweating, red face & neck, shaking, etc. I finally broke down and called the doc when I couldn't handle the anxiety attacks and shaking anymore. (when I called the pharmacy, they told me I should maybe check myself into a rehab!!!) My doc told me to stop immediately and have an appointment next week to discuss other options. Boy, I guess I'm the FDA posterchild for bad side effects!!!		F	45	1 months		10/23/2009
5	fibromyalgia	headache, nausea, hot flashes	if you continue through side effects for some of us it will work, quality of life better than in many many moons am definitely an advocate	F	55			10/21/2009 Email
3	Fibromyalgia	Hot flashes, sweating for no reason which caused a rash on my legs and arms, at times it feels like I've ingested poison.	I definately feel more energy and reduced pain. However the hot flashes and sweating became extreme after taking two 50mg doses a day. The rash is most likely from the sweating. The doctor cut my dose in half and its day 4 of the reduced dose. I feel terrible. The pain has increased everywhere in my body. I feel dizzy and I'm having nightmares. I rode out the side effects of the titration period and really thought this was a great medicine until now. Hopefully my body will adjust to the lower dose and I'll still be able to see some benefit since all of the other fibro drugs don't work for me.	F	42	45 days		10/21/2009
5	Fibromyalgia	A little hyper at first, heart palpations, hot flashes, sweating	The side effects seemed heavy the first few days, but disappeared completely after a week. Once in a while I will get a sweat for no reason, but its rare. It took away a lot of my pain, although nothing has ever done anything 100 percent for fibro. Out of all that I have tried, Savella is the best, with the least side effects. I felt more mobile and less pain throughout my body. I am on 50 mg now, but I will ask for an increase to 100 mg, the max per day, because I feel it working real well. Since there are almost no side effects after the first few days, I can tolerate Savella real well. I just hope that 100 mg will not give me side effects. This new drug has potential. Beautiful.	F	37	6 weeks		10/20/2009 Email
4	fibromylgia pain, headache daily	dry mouth, some constipation, more calm during the day, sleeping better at night.	I believe my pain is being reduced little, by little. It is taking time and my Dr said to give it a chance of at least 2 weeks. my appetite seems to be reduced, has anyone experienced this???		53	10 days		10/20/2009 Email
3	FM	some nausea, some loss of appetite, terrible insomnia	I am still taking the titration pack and I know it takes a while to really affect the FM but I have noticed that I am a little clearer the past two days, I have horrible "fog" . It is almost as debilitating as the fibro pain because I just can't function, I have high hopes for this medication, I have been miserable for years and Pray PRAY that this really works!	F	33	7 days		9/29/2009
2	Fibromyalgia	Tremendous increase in arthritis pain--i.e., I had only manageable pain in my feet and it got to the point where I simply couldn't walk for exercise if I had done anything else that day.	Many other side effects that I am not so sure of--doc yesterday told me STOP TODAY. I have been diagnosed with fibro since 1988, am the anecdotal subject of a scholarly article. I urge anyone who's been recently diagnosed to start with generic gabapentin, which is a lot less expensive and a mainstay for me.	F	53	60 days		9/12/2009 Email
4	Fibromyalgia pain	Lost appetite, more pain, headaches and sleepy in the beginning(took it at night with my flexeril & vicodin) for 2-3 weeks. But, I read to stick it out, and boy am I glad I did! I also have vivid dreams. I really haven't had dreams in such a loooong time. The only real side effect is occasional constipation!! And randomly I have had an eye twitch for the last week...not sure if that is from the savella tho?	I take it on an empty stomach. First thing in the morning and earlier in the evening(I take half a 10mg Flexeril, so sleep is no problem). I feel like I am 75% better with pain and my muscle twitches have almost(except for the eye twitch) completely stopped. It is not perfect, but, I feel pretty great. I wish it could work like this for everyone. On a side note: my insurance took quite some time to approve my coverage for this, so I had to only take 50 mg per day for about 4 wks, I think that helped with my tolerance and side effects alot. By not increasing it so fast. I am not suggesting everyone do this...but, I believe it helped me.	F	37	4 months		8/23/2009
2	Depression	Sedation shortly after taking dose, marked insomnia, rapid heartbeat/pounding heart, severe difficulty urinating, loss of libido, decrease in appetite, mild jitteriness, intermittent nausea.	Had to stop taking it because of the usual intolerable side effects. Except for Remeron, almost every a/d I've ever tried has made me feel like I'm ingesting poison. They have to start doing a better job of refining these drugs! An enantiomer of Savella is currently in phase II clinical trials--maybe that will cause fewer side effects.	F	47	1 weeks		8/1/2009 Email
5	Taking Savella for fibromyalgia	It is helping the muscle and joint pain better than anything else ever has. It's almost like I don't have fibro. Still have some fatigue, though.	Drugs.com has a drug interaction check, and there are many meds that can't be taken with Savella-- including Ultram. If you are taking it, please do yourself a favor and check for interactions.	F		2 weeks		7/9/2009
5	Fibromyalgia	FIRST WEEK: nausea, headache, nervousness. TAKE IT WITH FOOD - AND TAKE IT EARLY IN THE MORNING AND BY MID-DAY, OR IT WILL KEEP YOU AWAKE AT NIGHT. Give it at least two months for it to fully kick in & work properly. It isn't an instant fix - and it is nothing like Lyrica! Lyrica is poison. Savella gives real hope to fibro sufferers - if taken correctly!	Savella works great. But the first week of side effects while titrating are a bit uncomfortable. After that, it's GREAT for energy, pain & brain fog, although it takes a couple months to see dramatic improvement. IGNORE any reviews from people who stopped taking it after the first week, because they most likely did not take it properly and just are not giving it a real chance to work. Savella is not a pain pill; it does not work instantly. Very important to remember: TAKE SAVELLA EARLY AND TAKE IT WITH FOOD; always take it with food. I take it at 5 a.m. & 2 a.m. (for 7 weeks now). If not taken correctly, it'll cause headaches/nausea. Don't give up; just give it at least two months to work. I take my doses halfway through my meals. If you take the second dose too late in the day, it will interfere with sleep. The second dose should be taken before 2 p.m. Unfortunately, doctors also aren't telling patients that because Savella is an SNRI, it SHOULD NOT be taken w/ other antidepressants or it'll make you sick (serotonin syndrome). Take it properly & give it a chance - because Savella helps A LOT for fibro sufferers! Wonderful for pain, energy & fibro fog.	F	38	7 weeks		6/16/2009
5	Fibromyalgia, depression	None.	This has helped me TREMENDOUSLY with my fibromyalgia pain and depression. I haven't felt this good since before I had my two children. My doctor said this has been used for decades over in Europe for as a treatment for depression. Good luck!	F	32	60 days		6/15/2009
4	Fibrromyalgia	High blood pressure developed after 14 days.	Other than HBP, this drug helped me more than anything I have ever taken. I feel like myself again.	F	42	30 days		6/9/2009
2	Fibromyalgia, depression	Started out on the tiration dosage pack of 12.5 to 50 in 3 weeks, the first week was great, the second week great, then the third week hit me and I literally could not get out of bed, I had extreme tiredness and fatique unlike anything I have ever had and I am a very active Mother of four, four grandchildren a gardener, etc. I stopped cold turkey when I read the precautions included calling a Dr. immediately if extreme fatique or tiredness happened. My Dr. was out of town. I need a drug to help me, I have tried sooooo many and need one, I take Tramadol for pain, (I believe it is the best antidepressant out there) and Xanax for anxiety. Good luck on Savella, I had such hopes for it, maybe if I went back to the initial 12.5 twice a day it would help?		F	55	1 months		6/9/2009 Email

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Average rating for drug: 3.2. This page is printer-friendly; use landscape print with background color turned on.

Key to ratings: 5-Very Satisfied: this medicine cured me or helped me a great deal. 4-Satisfied: this medicine helped. 3-Somewhat Satisfied: this medicine helped somewhat. 2-Not Satisfied: this medicine did not work to my satisfaction. 1-Dissatisfied: I would not recommend taking this medicine.

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