Prescription Drugs 2 Go

Cymbalta for Major Depression

Cymbalta is not a psychoactive drug but it is used to treat major depression, generalised anxiety disorder and another disorder called fibromyalgia. Cymbalta is also effective in treating chronic pain.

Chemical Messengers

This drug acts on two neurotransmitters or chemical messengers in the brain and nervous system. Neurotransmitters basically pass on messages from one nerve to the other and hence control the functions of various parts and systems of the body.

The two neurotransmitters related to Cymbalta are norepinephrine and serotonin. The drugs is believed to stimulate these neural messengers

To understand how Cymbalta works, we must understand that it falls into a group of drugs called selective serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors. With an active ingredient called duloxetine, Cymbalta increases the levels of both neurotransmitters.

Serotonin and norepinephrine both affect mood. These chemical messengers are released by a nerve cell and remain in the space between that one and the next for a very short time before it is taken up by the next nerve.

What Are SNRIs?

SNRIs like Cymbalta inhibit the reuptake of both serotonin and norepinephrine so that there is more of them available for uptake. They therefore stimulate these neurotransmitter’s actions.

Major depression is not the same as mere feelings of being low. It is a psychiatric disorder and that needs to be diagnosed and treated by psychologists and psychiatrists.

Mental disorders as serious as major depression are related to chemical imbalances in the brain and need drugs to restore the imbalance that causes their symptoms.

There is a general loss of interest in the environment and everything around, low feelings of self-esteem and a sense of fatigue. In extreme cases, there is self-neglect as patients tend to remain motionless for extended periods of time without doing anything.

Cymbalta Treats Fibromyalgia

 Cymbalta is one of many drugs that can treat major depression. But it is also prescribed for a condition called fibromyalgia. This is actually a syndrome characterized by widespread and chronic pain in the muscle and connective tissue.

Patients could also experience fatigue, sleep disorders and stiffness in the joints. In extreme cases, there could also be difficulty swallowing and bowel and bladder disturbances.

Though this is a little-understood disease, Cymbalta is effective in its treatment.