I was put on savella after being on cymbalta for sometime. I immediatly begin having terrible upper abdominal pain. I went back to my Dr. And was told to keep taking it because the paineant that the savella was gonna work good for me, im not sure where this Drs. Train of thought came from, anyway i believing the Dr. Knew best i took it again that evening. Of course the pain was unbarible. That was the last time i took it. But im suffering from pancreatitis now witch remarkably my Dr. Could never diagnose. Almost eight months later i ended up in the ER and i fineally got diagnosed with pancreatitis. The Drs are so quick to throw new drugs at people without evening questioning their side effects. Its been over a year now, i have had no relief from this pain, my Ins. Dropped me and now im just waiting to die.

This is a very dangerous drug folks! After almost two years after discontinuing Savella my body has just started to recover. It has been a nightmare and that is why I speak out…….hopefully so others will research the risks of this drug before using. I developed Serotonin Syndrome, very high blood pressure surges (blood pressure has been as high as 240/160), rapid heart rate, shaking/ tremors and difficulty walking and talking when having an episode. Reading through the posts on this site it doesn’t take long to see how the drug can affect blood pressure/heart rate and numerous other health risks. How many people have to go through these nightmares before the FDA takes action? I am no scientist but see a pattern of very concerning health risk to the public as the result of this drug. I realize that not everyone has side effects and that is has helped some but what is the ratio of people being helped vs. people developing severe side effects? This drug almost killed me and has robbed me and my family of two years of our lives that I will never get back.

what did they pay you to lie,Gina??

Just dealing with the heart conditions associated with Savella. I have been on it all of 3.5 weeks. Thursday I thought I was having a heart attack. Went to the hospital to find out I was having heart problems. Saw a cardiologist Friday and had a stress test. I passed. Back at the Er on Saturday. Er doctor decided it was Savella. Getting off this drug this week. Where is the lawsuit so I can join?

To Christina on 4/6 – your story is my story! i have asked for a titration pack to get off Savella. When i first started this drug 6 weeks ago i had a serious heart related drug reaction associated with Savella and Tramadol. Don’t take these two drugs together. My husband found me nearly unconscience in the bathroom floor with my heart racing. EMT thought i was having a heart attack. Pharmacist confirmed Serotonin Syndrome. i did research on interaction and it is a lethal interaction. Anyway, the Savella helped me mostly for the first two weeks and i have been in one big flareup since then. It has literally messed my whole body up – physically and emotionally. i have read all the comments and bits and pieces of many posts fit me. Why are the doctors so ignorant about drug related side effects and interactions? No drug for fibromyalgia has worked so i don’t know why the doc keeps insisting i have fibro. i think the doctor screwed up my nerves during my surgery and is not going to admit it. I would not only like to see this drug recalled, but i would like to see some accountability from the doctors who prescribe it.

Amy, my blood pressure went high too after being on this after always being low. Seriously, go to an endocrinologist and have them check your adrenal glands and do a test for your cortisol levels. Mine we checked a 2nd time today cause it is rare for this to be abnormal. THIS medicine was the only thing different in my life. Please here is a direction you can check. I had the full cardio work up and it came back ok even though my blood pressure it sky high and my pulse even went to 158 resting the other day. I was 10 points away from a possible stroke on blood pressure a bit ago too. I usually have a very low bp. I think the answers to our problems may lie here. Not that this is a good thing but it is what is wrong.

Following up to let you know that after 5 mos. ‘clean’ off savella, I still have bad hypertension…previous to 1yr on Savella always had LOW bp. THE SIDE EFFECTS ARE NOT NECESSARILY TEMPORARY. THIS DRUG DAMAGES THE BODY! Permanent heart damage is nothing to be trifled with.

GET A BLOOD TEST TO GET YOUR ADRENAL GLAND TESTED FOR CORTISOL LEVELS! I did and mine is very low after taking this. This is very serious. I only took the tritation pack! Do it today! See an endocrinologist NOW!

I have Fibromyalgia. Started Savella about 1 1/2 yrs ago with some relief for about 6 mos after reaching 100mg daily. I have not experienced any good things with this drug. On Feb 18,2011, I was in ER with SEVERE painful muscle spasms/contracting. Since then I haven’t been the same. I have been in one long drawn out flareup. I & my husband decided to start coming off any drugs that weren’t doing what they should or were prescribed to do. My doctor suggested Savella be the 1st, because to her knowledge it was the hardest & she has patients who weren’t able to even come off of it because of severe adema. So, on March 31st, I started weaning myself off. It has been a complete nightmare like none other! There are withdrawls from this med that are extreme as extreme can get! I dont know where all this stands in getting Savella off the market, but I hope that something positive is happening because it is NOT a Fibromyalgia drug – it just ends up hurting us more than helping us!

My sister was 28 . It was her 9-th day with Savella…Now she’s resting in peace….She decided to leave us. DON’T USE SAVELLA, PLEASE!!!

I am just finishing the starter titration pack of the Savella my pain care doctor gave me. I have tried in the past Lyrica with about a 60 lb. weight gain and swelling. Cymbalta that just didn’t do anything but make me want to cry all the time. I am 34 years old and have had fibro for almost 8 years. I also suffer from migraines and pinched nerves in the cervical area (C2-C6). I will have to admit that for the first 10 days or so I felt extremely nauseaus but now finishing up the pack and am up to taking 50 mg. twice a day. But the nausea has pretty much passed now. the only other side effect that I seem to be having at this point is feeling like I am having hot flashes. I seem to be about 10 degrees hotter then anyone else. I hppe this side effect will go away like the other one did… I understand that some medications react with people differently. I just would really hate for this medication to be take off the market because doctors are not doing their homework before prescibing to patients. That is part of the reason with dr.’s they ecourage patients to read all the infrum

When I first took Savella, I called it my miracle drug because finally, finally I felt like the person I used to be: healthy, happy, alert, free of pain. Within a month, the drug had turned my life into a nightmare. I didn’t have nightmares, I had night terrors. My speech became garbled as if I had had a stroke. I couldn’t find the correct words. Example: I went to the bank and said I wanted to get in my social security box, not my safety deposit box. The worst, though, was my inability to drive a car. I ran through two stop signs and a red light. I did not see them…and I found myself on the wrong side of the road, and those are just the times I remember. Luckily for me and others on the road, I was not alone and my passenger friend then became the driver. Since stopping taking Savella, I often feel as if I have foggy brain and am confused. Obviously, not a good drug for me.

I was on Lyrica for about 4 yrs with a lot of wt gain and swelling, and not much pain relief. DR took me off Lyrica and started the Savella starter pak 5 weeks ago…minor side effects such as nausea and a little dizziness, starting to be less and less… other then that I have felt better, more energy and have lost 18 lbs. So far so good for me! I don’t have that drugged out feeling like when on the Lyrica either.

well…. this has been very interesting reading. I have had fibromyalgia for approx: 12 years. I also have osteoarthritis, for about 10 years. I can appreciate the pain and depression associated with these. I tried various drugs in the beginning but they all had side affects, that I wasn”t willing to tolerate. So, for about 8 years, I just “lived with the pain”. I did find some relief about 4 years ago, by walking 4 miles a day and eating no nightshade plants and losing 40 lbs. Then I started working more hours and the walking stopped and frankly I just had to eat whatever was available. I am now 58 and the lbs and pain have come back. When my new doctor said there was a new drug, that was working for fibro, I jumped at the chance to try it. He gave me 3 months of samples and I couldn’t have been happier. I felt almost instant relief, after the 1st day of the 12.50 pills. I was estatic. I felt minimal pain, I could almost run again, except for the arthritis in my knees. However, when I started taking the 50 dose, twice a day, almost instant, severe headaches. So I have been taking 25, twice a day since december 2010. It worked well for me, with some side affects, the HEAVY sweating being the worse. Also, my hands have become very stiff, like the arthritis is excelerating. On April 8th, I woke up with severe chest pains, same on the 9th, I figured it was just stress and I needed to chill out. I decided to look online and research savella some and this blog came up. I didn’t take my pill this morning, some instinct told me not to. So now, we will see how long it takes for the chest pains to go away. Thank you all for your input, I believe the savella has really quit helping me at this point and probably would have harmed me if I hadn’t stopped today. I am sorry though, because it was wonderful for a while.

This drug is not for me !!! Please be careful taking Savella! Everyone, please listen to your body. I started Savella 4-5-11 the 2 Titration Pack for my just recently discovered Fibromyalgia (given to me by my Family Doctor of 31 years….. It’s not his fault!!!) Today is 4-8-11. I took my first stronger pill 25mg. at 10:00 a.m. 1 hour later I thought I was having a heart attack and or a stroke. My B.P. Was 140/92 with a pulse of 104. My normal B.P. & pulse is usually 112/55 @ 65 beats a minute. Well, I am still taking my B.P & pulse every hour and at a 4 hour laying down resting period readings were 137/98 @ 97 beats. I got up shaking/tremors, went outside sat down came inside sat down for 10 minutes and my readings are 143/100 @ 118 beats. I am praying this drug will leave my system ASAP. I’d rather deal w/ full body (internal & external) pain than have these heart attack scares. If my heart & B.P. readings do not go down in the next 3 hours, I will be forced to the E.R. While I was resting earlier today I started the Savella research on my iPhone. My God, I am a little scared that I will not have normal heart readings again. Also this drug keeps my wide awake. PLEASE RECALL THIS DRUG. Sincerely, Diane. P.S. I will give an update as soon as I know I am in the clear w/ a heart attack or stroke.

Share information you wish to be published on this page… I went to a rheumatologist and was prescribed Savella. I have been on it about 2 months and stopped taking it yesterday. I have had increased miigranes, increased body pain, excessive sweating both during the day and at night, my blood pressure has been in the stoke range and I have daily nausea and have vomitted several times and at times have difficulty even keeping water down. The 12.5 mg did not bother me much but when I got to the 50 mg inn the starter pac the side effects became full blown. I filled a prescription for the 25 mg but am not taking them. The physician apparently has had some sucess with this drug but it has not been a success for me. I think the headaches must be from the i ncreased blood pressure and I am done with being naaseated all the time.

I had my 2nd Cervical Fusion (this one C5-6, last one C6-7) in February 2010 and have been diagnosed with Fibro ever since by my Rheumatologist. I’ve suffered all over body pain, feeling like an adult is literally standing on top of me and I have to continue my daily life working fulltime and caring for my 6 year old, with this pain. I struggle in the morning and evenings mostly. I have good days and bad days and the bad days are awful, pain, crying, feeling of not being worth anything because I can hardly do anything. I’ve tried excercise on my good days, and it seems to make the next day worse, full of exhaustion and soreness. My dr is switching me to Savella, taking me off Lyrica and Cymbalta. I’m finally off Lyrica and Cymbalta, after gaining a good 40 lbs…..I have been miserable with the weight gain and dealing with the fibro as well. The Savella had a few side effects in the beginning, excessive sweating, a massive migraine, some crying and some dizziness. But, I’m trying to work through the beginning of it. Hopefully, when things stabilize, the Savella will work for me. I would love to lose a little bit of weight in the process. I’m all about having more energy, since I’m ALWAYS tired and sore. Sometimes it’s so bad I want to try to apply for disability and I’m only 40 years old. That’s really sad, especially since I love my job and wouldn’t want to give it up that easily. Sometimes I feel like no one understands or even cares about what I go through day in and day out. My daughter, who is 6 years old, keeps me going.

Just wanted to give everyone an update. Please please do not take this pill without doing research, my doctor gave me this pill without doing hers. I continue to suffer the effects even after I stopped taking Savella. I keep trying to go back to work but can’t make it a full 8 hours. I am about to lose everything due to STD not approving my condition. I have to see several more specialists now. After dealing with chronic pain for so long doctors have shoved pills at me non stop but I NEVER could imagined it could take my life away. The cost to fill the script is a joke compared to everything else it has costed me.

Hi, I started the titration pack and by the time I’d taken the second dose of 12.5mgs, my heart was pounding so hard I felt it in my throat. It woke me out of a dead sleep, which is a gift in itself, and was awoken in terror. The first night it happened, I didn’t recognize the trigger, but then it happened again and that’s when I put it together. That is what lead me to this site. I have no history of heart problems, blood pressure problems…..nothing like that. The only difference in my life was the Savella, so it was apparent that was the cause. Since stopping it, I haven’t had another episode, thank God. I can’t imagine being one of the unfortunate people who have dealt with the complications long after ceasing this medication. I don’t know though, it may still happen according to some of these posts. Just this afternoon I had to go to the hospital for an unrelated reason and I mentioned to the nurse who was taking my history, that I’d recently stopped taking Savella, and the reason. She wasn’t at all surprised at my reason for stopping it, so that just made me even more sure I’d made the right decision. I wish luck to everyone taking this medication, as it appears that most patients are getting ill from it….and the issues associated with it are not small. Feel well everyone~~

I wrote a comment back on March 18, that this medicine is wonderful. I decided to check this website again to see, I am sorry so many people have had such bad reactions to this medicine. I went back to doctor yesterday, my blood pressure is great, I still have no side effects, and I have lost 5 pounds since I have better mobility. I wonder why there are such different reactions to different people. ? this is the only medication I am on. Maybe it can’t be mixed with other medications?

One last thing, please don’t “flush” your unused drugs, this puts them in the water supply. Most municipalities DO NOT filter them out or even test for levels of pharmaceuticals. Which means everyone (including pets, wildlife, animals raised for food, etc.) who drinks or swims in water may be ingesting someone else’s unwanted meds that may act as “poison” to them very scary! Please dump the pills into the trash and send them with the garbage men.

If you are sensitive to meds/stimulants PLEASE DON’T TAKE THIS DRUG! i was given the titration pack of Savella in late December 2009 by a doc, new to me, he said he knew it was only approved for Fybromyalgia which I never had but that we could go “off the chart” his words, to treat my depression and pain in my upper right rib cage. I was feeling a little better at first but started getting agitated and hyper about mid-way through the 25mg tablets, by the afternoon of day 8 (after first 50 mg tablet) I was totally out of control screaming and freaking out for no significant reason and ran out into the freezing cold without shoes or coat and proceeded to speed off in my truck attempting to drive it off a local pier. Thankfully, a new barricade had been erected and a couple taking photos of the lake in front of it made me slam on my brakes. Anyway, my heart was racing uncontrollably and I had millions of thoughts running through my head, my husband couldn’t calm me down when he caught up with me. The next day while attending a TSO concert I felt the urge to leap over the balcony and I was raging about every little movement or sound. I went off the drug immediately and contacted my doctor’s service he didn’t even respond for 10 days and when he did it was just to talk me into trying the 12.5 mg dose which cost me big bucks as my insurance didn’t cover it. I never took one pill after my local pharmacist gave me the medication guide sheet that comes with the drug from the manufacturer. My area of the US is one of the highest for Thyroid Disease and this drug increases your risk substantially. I believe the guide should be being given out with every “sample ” titration pack out there because all of the problems patients have noted in this string are cautioned of in it. I was given NOTHING with my pack. Anyway, I have lost the last 15 months of my life with my children and husband to the long lasting side effects I attribute to this medication. Memory loss, loss of mental clarity, no drive to complete any tasks, loss of activation of any pleasure centers in my brain, upper right quadrant abdominal pain, extreme weight-loss (50 lbs), anxiety, massive depression, constant thoughts of death and dying, inability to function with daily activities let alone as actively as I was able to just 16 months ago. I have even been to a world renowned Clinic (partially at my expense) for treatment of the abdominal pain and they could not come up with a diagnosis even after many CAT and Doppler scans. I am so frustrated with the medical community! I am curious though if any of you suffering from chronic pain/Fibromyalgia are O blood types (wheat intolerent) or have you ever been tested for Celiac Disease or Gluten intolerence or wheat allergies? Any one of these conditions causes increased inflammation throughout the body when you ingest the protein in wheat, barley and rye and the medical profession is very leary of diagnosing these problems. I figure they fear they would put themselves out of business with all their pain meds and treatments becoming unnecessary. I hope no one else loses their life or their ability to live it thanks to this horrible medicine. I have had serious reactions to meds in the past but never anything that lingers like this stil does 15 months later. Pain relief isn’t worth the risk of dying to me.

I just took my 1st pill tonight and after reading this, I am terrified! I am bipolar with ADD so I am on anti anxiety, depression and ADD meds….so many uppers and downers to have to worry with this as well! I do have a lot of aches and pains but I just figured it was from the tension of the anxiety so when I read a little on savella for fibro pain, I thought that it might help…now I am scared to even open the bottle again! Just paid so much for it b/c the dr didnt have samples…I dont need any more tears, suicidal thoughts or aggression….my dr knows that! Does he just not know enough about this drug??? He knows my depressive history and this makes me feel worse that he would even prescribe it knowing all of my history!!! I am so grateful for finding this site…it may have saved my life! I am a single mom of two kids and all they have…cant risk losing my life with them to this medication!!!

My doctor had given me the 2-week titration pack to treat my fibromyalgia. After two days taking Savella, I was having a lot of trouble urinating and it was painful. Then the headaches began. I felt very flushed and was sweating a lot. My fatigue felt worse. After 9 days on the medication I finally decided to stop taking it. Just couldn’t take the side effects. Can’t wait for the day to come when someone finally comes up with something safe to treat fibro.

To all those that are befuddled– GET OFF IF YOU HAVE ANYTHING LIKE A BAD SIDE EFFECT! You CAN live with pain- (I’ve had Fibromyalgia for 21 years) you can not live long with Heart, kidney or BP problems. Don’t listen to your Doctors if your common sense or gut tells you “something is wrong”. i’ve moved several times and have run into some fairly uneducated, even stupid doctors- no common sense. There are LOTS of doctors out there shop for a good one. Join a support group if you can.

I just started Savella’s titration pack, i’m on day 3. Before the doctor put me on this med i asked what the side affects were, he said just nausea. So i was thinging what the heck, why not try it. Day 1 had hot flashes and my heart felt like it was going to burst out of my chest, Day 2 hot flashes like i turned on the faset and my heart felt like it was being kicked into over drive. Now the whole heart thing only happened to me about 30 min after taking my dose. I go back to the doctor in two weeks, but if these symptoms keep happening and I get no releif from my fibro i’m calling the doctor. I’m only 27 and i dont need any heart failure, or suicidal thoughts, since i have a mild case of bi-polor. But after reading everyones posts i’m scared to conitnue my trial pack. Well ill stick it out for another couple of days to see were it leads me.

Sorry my post was so long, but it’s been a long 2 months. My heart rate has been high for 2 months and my blood pressure will go super high then super low. I’m still having chest pains so I assume I will have to have my heart tested as well.

I have had a L4L5 fusion then last April I had a Medtronic pain pump put in. I have continued to have pain despite the oral meds and Lidoderm patches. I began taking Savella over 2 months ago when my doctor told me this was “a wonder pill” and that “it will take a couple months to see the benefits.” So, here is the “wonder” that I now have. Multiple visits back to my PCP because my pain had increased 10 times, nausea, vomiting, eye pain, headaches, twitching/jerking, weakness, tired, joint pain, rash on scalp, changes in vision, stabbing pains, pins/needles, felt like razors in breast, cough, night sweats, brain fog, major mood swings, trouble speaking, many brain effects, knew what I wanted to say but then the right words wouldn’t come out, symptoms similar to dystonia, sound/light sensitivity, my first panic attack, almost killed myself, and I’m sure I’m leaving things out. I was admitted to a hospital twice that almost killed me and the administrator never showed. My 1st ER trip they told me I had internal bleeding and needed a bold transfusion, I asked if it was bad and they said yes, I then asked if I needed to call my family in and they said YES. We made what I thought was my final phone calls to family and me and my partner of 7 years said our good-byes. Then a couple hours later the nurse walks in and said, “good news we mixed up your charts and you do not have internal bleeding, but you have a bad infection that we can’t find” and walked out. I was admitted and sat waiting for the doctor to show up. I sent my partner home finally about 2 am to get my routine medication because they said the dr. had not signed off on my chart. After 2 days in the hospital asking to speak with the doctor we finally asked for the administrator who never showed. Finally the doctor showed up and was PISSED. He started bullying me so the 2 people with me packed my things and said we are not letting him do this to you. The mixed up chart had followed me upstairs. I asked for my medical records twice and they told me I could not have a copy of them. I went home and we took my IV ports out standing in my kitchen. I went to another hospital to find out I was now dehydrated. (How do you end up that way IN a hospital) I went home only to end up back in forth to my PCP. I went to see my pain management dr who saw me and immediately admitted me after shooting me up with something. I’m not sure what it was I was in and out of it. He checked my pump and changed the meds and said it couldn’t be my pump. They moved me upstairs and left me there alone. Finally a nurse came in and I explained I was in a ton of pain, she didn’t understand the orders so she left. I waited and waited and nothing so I went downstairs to get a juice because I was dying of thirst and there was not even ice brought to me. I had my first ever panic attack. I came back and collapsed in the bed. Two nurse walked in and told me I have to leave and if “I just wanted pain medication it wasn’t going to happen,” now lets just pause for a moment…I have more pain meds in my cabinet then a pharmacy. I took myself off about 15 pills a day after the pump was put in. So, I told them again I did not feel safe at that hospital and they were not listening to me. The nurse said fine take her IV out, they took it out and I walked out of the hospital and called my dr back. I left a voicemail telling him I was on foot walking from the hospital. He never called me back. My partner found me at a gas station sitting on a curb. The next morning I called him again to explain what happened at the hospital and they would not let me explain, the nurse said “the doctor is dropping you as a patient you need to come in right now so we can drain your pain pump. I asked if they could tell me where to find another doctor who could fill it and she said, “you can ask the doctor when he drains your pump. That afternoon I was rushed to a 3rd hospital because I was much worse. My whole body was jerking so badly that they couldn’t hold me still. It looked like severe dystonia. They attempted to run an IV, I ended up with 9 blown veins and they finally had to put it in my neck. There was then a problem with the IV line in my neck that missed the vein when they put in the meds. What do we know now…adverse drug reaction to Savella. They told me to stop taking it now. I am now in the detox stage and it’s no fun either. While I understand it has helped some, it almost killed me. I have been out of work for over 2 months and more doctor bills then I can count. I will be seeing all new doctors period. I still don’t know what the long-term effects will be. I am still missing MANY memories from the past 2 months.

I have been suffering with fibromyalgia for 5 years. I was in fear of trying cymbalta or lyrica because it causes weight gain. I have been on Savella for 2 months. I have had no side effects whatsoever, and I am feeling better than ever. I still have some bad days of aches and pains, but for the most part my mobility has increased dramatically. If they take this off the market I don’t know what I will do.

I was recently diagnosed with fibro–after being in widespread, intense pain for months. I’m on day 5 of the Savella titration pack. My muscles feel better, I have more energy to actually get up and do things, but the rest of me feels AWFUL. My BP, which is usually low normal, is now borderline high, I’m having night sweats and insomnia, and I can’t even turn over in bed at night without getting dizzy. Nausea comes in waves. Right now, my scalp feels as if it’s crawling with bugs. I’m stopping the meds before I get farther into the titration pack and have even more problems trying to get off of it. A Medrol pack about every 6 weeks helped and at least I can deal with the side effects of predisone. I think Savalla is a terrible drug, but I’m glad it’s working for some people.

The effect was good with less pain and weight loss as compared to Lyrica and Neurontin, but all of a sudden I too my usual drug for bad headache and off to the hospital I go after I had sent a scathing resignation. Then the depression following kept me in the hospital a week. This drug is not rsted enough. My blood pressure went WAY UP and the mental health of a patient is just as important as the physical health. I may have damage to organs as a result of the reaction not to mention loss of a job. Please take this drug off until further testing and correction is done to help those of us that got the SEVERE side effects.

I cannot use Lyrica or Savella so I have to take Vicoden & grit my teeth. I agree with Colleen 24 Jan. 2010. If you think it’s just a mental something, Walk in our shoes a month, & see what you think then. Various doctors have tried various depression drugs on me, but they don’t work. There is nothing wrong with my brain!!!! The FDA approved the generic Premarin also & caused alot of women trouble big time !!

I cannot use Lyrica or Savella so I have to take Vicoden & grit my teeth. I agree with Colleen 24 Jan. 2010. If you think it’s just a mental something, Walk in our shoes a month, & see what you think then. Various doctors have tried various depression drugs on me, but they don’t work. There is nothing wrong with my brain!!!!

After 8 days on Savella, I will see my doctor tomorrow, lose more time from work also, to detail how I have had a very negative experience on this med. He had me stop Lexapro and Wellbutrin, and start Savella gradually, but by the 4th day when I should have increased, I could not. I could not stand the fear of increased cold sweats, fogginess, irritability and crying…all the time, breaking down and crying out of the blue. My Lexapro and Wellbutrin doses were minimum, so I am not withdrawing from them. I tried to double the Savella to at least get near where I should have been getting, but the symptoms got worse. Family and co-workers are worried about me. Heck, I’M worried about me.

I took savalla for almost 6 months, had to get off the drug because of increased BP. My sex drive was gone and i still have problems. Couldn’t stand the way it made me feel like i was burning up all the time..

My Doctor put me on Savella and Seroquel. I took them for only 5 days for Fibromyalgia. I started feeling worse. I felt like crying and felt so tired and I started hurting more in my knees and legs and getting cramps and having hot flashes, sweating. One night around 2:00 my top lip and tongue felt big and my face was pulling to the right. I couldn’t talk right. The next morning my blood pressure shot up to 187/124. It felt like someone sitting on my chest. Rescue Squad did an EKG and by the time they left, my blood pressure was 166/112 and they told me I needed to go to the Emergency Room. I didn’t go but called my doctor and the nurse said to just stop taking the meds. For the next week I kept having chest pains so I called my family doctor and he said come in now. I did and they did another EKG; blood work; chest x-rays and they called a heart doctor and scheduled me to go have a stress test and echo test done. The other doctor tried to tell me I had a panic attack but I told him I did not have a panic attack. He asked me if I had ever had a panic attack and I told him no. I am not hurting as much now and it’s been about 2 weeks and I am suppose to have the stress test and echo test on 3/31/11. Those medicines did this to me and I will never take them again.

I took Savella for 2 months before realizing that the problems that I was having were side effects of that drug. The first thing I noticed was that I was losing my vision quickly. I already wear glasses, but I all of a sudden noticed that I couldn’t focus on road signs, the TV, computer screen, etc. I was also having PVC’s (premature ventricular contractions), that little flip flop thing your heart does sometimes. Everybody has them occasionally and they are totally benign unless it gets stuck that way. Anyway, by the time I had increased the dosage, but not to the level that my doctor wanted me at, I was having at least 60 PVC’s and hour, and couldn’t see to drive. I just happened to notice on the label that Savella can cause blurred vision so I started researching and found out that it can also cause heart problems. That’s when it all “clicked” and I realized that the vision loss, PVC’s, nonstop hot flashes were because of the drug. Turns out my blood pressure had greatly increased, and my heart rate was very high too. I stopped taking it after 2 months, and I am still experiencing PVC’s and my vision has not returned to normal so I had to get new glasses. I am in constant pain from fibromyalgia, and am very tired of trying these new “miracle” drugs that leave you in worse shape than what you started in.

I stopped taking Savella on Jan 5th or 6th and my blood pressure still won’t go down. Before taking Savella I actually have low blood pressure. I had a full cardiac work up that came back normal but I still don’t feel better. I am not keeping food down and the flu like symptoms never went away. I am currently having all kinds of gastro type tests. I have taken many other kinds of medications but I will never touch this medication again. In fact, from now on if it hasn’t been out 20 years and have a generic available you can forget it!!! No more new medication for me. I feel like I am dying and I wouldn’t be surprised if I do before someone gets to the bottom of things. I am wondering if this drug might be causing problems in the Adrenal glands? Does anyone know?

I spent two days in the ER last week due to High BP and heart palpations. I have stopped the Savella and after reading all of the other comments will never take it again. I think it has not been tested enough. I am trying to cope with the FM with Tramadol.

I started taking Savella this week…I have had a LOT of side effects including dizziness, excessive sweating, nausea….but the scariest of all is the changes in my heart rate. On the second morning it jumped to 128 bpm, and I thought my heart was going to pop right out of my mouth. I’ve been taking my resting heart rate often from then on out, and it’s been sitting at 100…it’s never been this high consistently!

I have been on Savella for 1 1/2 years and have no bad side effects what so ever. It has helped clear up the fog I was always in and I am able to concentrate better and think clearly for the first time in many years. I still have the pain but it has been a great help with other symptoms. I am very happy with this medication.

I just received a sample month’s supply of Savella from my pain management doctor. I have fibromyalgia, osteoarthritis, degenerative disc disease (have had two back surgeries), high blood pressure, high cholesteral and irritable bowel syndrome. I take celebrex, oxycodone and skelaxin for pain. Was so excited to get samples of Savella and thought I would look online to see what others had to say about it. Well, thank God I found this site. There’s no way I will try this drug. I am 62 years old and have had hypertension for 25 years as well as plaque in my arteries and high cholesteral. I figure if I tried this drug I would most likely end up in the emergency room and so I will be throwing the sample in the garbage and will just have to continue to make due with the medications I have and continue to exercise and take care of myself. I am so sorry for all of you who have experienced all these terrible side effects. I hope you all feel better very soon and I am saying prayers that a safe treatment for this horrible disease will be found.

After 1.5 years of test after test after test to find out why a.) I wasn’t sleeping AT ALL b.) my body felt like it had the flu ALL THE TIME c.) my chest hurt so bad I couldn’t breathe sometimes d.) my labs were normal and EVERYTHING else except fibromyalgia was ruled out, my doctor and I decided to try Savella. She gave me a titration pack, and I’ve been on 50mg twice a day for a couple months since. If it wasn’t for Savella, life would not be worth living. I can work pain-free. I sleep. I can breathe. I can enjoy outdoor activities again. Hell, I can enjoy sex again. I wonder if some of the patients with such terrible problems tolerating the medication were started on 50mg. This medication should be started at 12.5mg twice a day and increased from there until benefits are felt. Like with any other medicine in the world, if one can’t tolerate it, then one should not take it. It is unfair to deny the ones it’s benefiting a worthwhile life by taking it off the market.

I decided to try Savella even after reading some of the posts here. Six hours after taking the 5th dose my husband had to call an ambulance because I slumped down to the floor and wasn’t alert. My heart felt like it was about to beat out of my chest and I thought I was having a stroke. My BP was unusually high along w/ my heart rate. Luckily, I survived, but still having chest pains today and reading more comments here I’m wondering if this medication has caused permanent damage. Yes, it gave me pain relief even the second day but is definitely NOT worth the risk. You only have one heart, people. To Diane, your comment about everyone will have some “problems” w/ meds, a 30 year old on the verge of heart failure, along w/ everyone else’s reports of side effects, should tell you this isn’t just a “problem” and that this medication is DANGEROUS!

I have had fibromyalgia for 14 years so I really have tried absolutely everything. From the chiropractor to physical therapy to finally pain meds. I have been on pain meds for about 13 years and my doctor feels she really is close to getting my pain under control! When I first went to my doctor (12 years ago) I told her I had a history of depression AND epilepsy. She put me on the fentanyl patch and of course an anti-depressant. Slowly through the years she cranked up the dose because it wasn’t working, trying all different kinds of pain meds, anti-depressants, and anti-inflamitories. About 4 to 5 years ago my epilepsy came back. I’ve been on Savella for about a year. When I told my doctor about my sweating “we” thought it was just me going through menopause, mood swings got me put on what I found out from a tv commercial was a bi-polar med! Two months ago when I went in for a office visit she was writing out scripts and she actually said out loud ” This medicine might interfere with your epilepsy, well…no…I don’t think it will.” Fortunately I had an appointment with my neurologist 3 days later,when he heard the new med that she put me he was livid! He had me stop it right away. As far as the bleeding side effect, I use to have 4 periods a year, now I have one every month and I spot in between. Has anyone else had a problem with any bleeding?

I had been taking Cymbalta for along time and it quit helping me so the dr suggested that i take Savella. It affected me when i first started taking the medication. I had high blood pressure and high pulse which is unusual for me. I than had intestinal problems like going to the bathroom 6 or 7 times a day. I was very sad and irritable and would cry about anything and had a feeling of mallice where i was so sick that i cried. I than started quivering inside all over and felt like i was going 90 miles an hour when i was doing anything. I felt like i was going to have a heart attack. This was just from taking the drug for 5 days. I called my Dr and he said to go off of it. It has been over a week now and i am still having the quivering inside and the sadness. Blood pressure and pulse are still high. Still a feeling of being very sick. Also i had very bad insomnia and couldnt sleep at night too wired up

I have been taking Savella for about 6 months. I have felt a marked improvement in my pain and feel so much better. I do get some extreme sweating sessions but it goes away eventually. It is worth putting up with this for a while in order to get the relief that I have experienced. I hope they don’t take it off the market. I have had fibro for about 10 years and this is the only thing that has helped.

I just recently started taking savella. So far so good, starting very slow and will not be taking mxdose, I am very sensitive to most drugs these days. Please do not tkae this off the market. Just because a few people had bad affects doesn’t mean it won’t help someone else. To Rosa..if it doesn’t work for you don’t take it but do not deny the help it may give to others.

Savella is a GREAT medication. For many, including myself, the only other alternative would be to increase the intake of narcotics. Savella has decreased my pain, improved my mood and increased my energy which in turn allows me to have a more productive life. The medication does need to be titrated (“increased”) by the ordering physician to a level that works for the patient. I would also recommend a pain management group and/or counseling for anyone that deals with chronic pain. The statements against Savella seems slanted–is it also being proposed to pull all decongestants (they have a similar ingredient to Savella that also can increase heart rate and blood pressure) and the most widely used category of antidepressants (they include a serotonin reuptake inhibitor like Savella which is why Savella lists the statement regarding suicide like the antidepressants do). Nausea, please show me a medication that doesn’t cause that. Normally nausea goes away once the body adjusts to the larger increase in serotonin. I could continue but the post is already long which I apologize for; it is just frustrating when things are pulling out of context and/or don’t have support. The possible side effects are listed; if a patient is willing to accept that one or more of those MAY occur (they need to list ANYTHING that occured to anyone during the trial whether it was proven to be from the medication or not) then the patient should be allowed to take the FDA approved medication. My increased heart rate is well worth it to me (high blood pressure can also be treated, if hypertension is treated then it does not increase the risk of heart disease)–the narcotic side effects are MUCH greater. I had taken Lyrica which worked well but the side effect of swelling got to be too great. Savella is a medication that is needed by part of the population, if it works without severe complications then let people take it. If it doesn’t work for them, they can stop it. I am a cardiac nurse and gladly accept the risks and benefits associated with it.

I am all for the Savella. I have had unbearable chronic pain for over 5 years. I have tried many other medications with less than desired results. I have had great results after only 2 months of being on Savella. my chronic pain level decreased dramatically. I am a 46 yr female and a 10 yr Veteran. I have had to stop the Savella due to the Veterans Administration unwillingness to renew the prescription for Milnacipran (Savella). I wish this kind of unbearable chronic pain on no one. I am unable to have any kind of a quality of life because of have to stay home, too much pain.