Antidepressant Duloxetine for Treatment of Back Pain – Not!
In addition to its use for treatment of depression, duloxetine is approved for treatment of diabetic peripheral neuropathy, generalized anxiety disorder, and fibromyalgia.
Are you ready for this?: The most common side effects reported in the back pain and osteoarthritis trials were nausea, dry mouth, insomnia, drowsiness, constipation, fatigue, and dizziness. Other serious side effects, which occurred in less than 1% of patients, included liver damage, allergic reactions such as hives, rashes and/or swelling of the face, pneumonia, depressed mood, suicide, and suicidal thoughts and behavior. I have patients who come in with insomnia, drowsiness, constipation, fatigue, and dizziness as there chief complaints – who needs additional side effects.