Hi I am a carer for my daughter with post stroke pain has anyone used Duloxetine for this what were your experience any side effects?
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@TopCat2 I suffer with pain all over, but GP unhelpful. Best of luck for you and your daughter 
I think I would of had different help if I would of had the same GP for years. My dealings have been so negative. But I am Scottish , I will struggle on 
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Hi hope you find something to help I’m searching for anything which might work. I have researched this duloxetine as its used for MS sufferers who have nerve lesions thought it might be useful. I looking at lots of pain research hoping to find something that works x
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Hello @TopCat2 - Welcome to the community.
Wishing you success in finding the pain relief you seek. Unfortunately, I have no experience or knowledge of Duloxetine and generally try to avoid medications where possible.
The fact you are asking on this forum, leads me to think, perhaps wrongly, you have already checked with your GP what might be causing the pain and hence how it might be eased.
Wishing you and your daughter all the best.
Namaste|
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Aloe vera has analgesic (pain-relieving) properties .
I find Earthing removes most of my pain.
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Hi @TopCat2 I am sorry to hear about your daughter, unfortunately I have never had any medication for my own stroke but I am sure someone on the site will have knowledge of Duloxetine. I wish you and your daughter my best wishes. Take care, Bert
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Hi,
I haven’t heard of the medication but I am currently experiencing post stroke pain on my affected side. The following are the things I have tried.
Tens machine helps to distract the mind from the pain.
Earthing, I use a grounding mat in bed overnight as that is when I am most aware of the pain.
Magnesium salts in the bath before bed.
Headspace mindfulness meditation on pain management
Amitryptaline helps with sleep and a little with the pain.
Massage helps ease the tightness and reduces the pain.
I hope the above helps, its trial and error to see what works for each individual.
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Magnesium Sulphate (epsom salts) is conductive, helping your body to discharge
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using a mat indoors is called Grounding
using a lawn outdoors is call Earthing
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Ha ha! Sorry its my stroke brain, It occassionally makes me type the wrong word. You are correct and I did mean grounding not earthing.
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I didn’t mean to correct you, just clarify:
PSP’s a bummer, I get it every 6 days, like today !
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It certainly is and night times are the worst. I can distract myself during the day but not so easy at night.
Hope you have a better day tomorrow Roland.
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Thank you Lizzie,
what I did yesterday was a great day , actually
I exercised a lot ; that means walking, Earthing, moving, Qigong
That turned a bad day into a successful day.
What this does is boost circulation, remove pain, and most importantly stimulate the larger ( wider circumference ) nerve conduits. Small conduits respond to pain ; large ones suppress it.
Here’s an excerpt from my book, containing notes about the day
Question: Why does exercise help my nerves (after stroke, fibromyalgia, spasticity, peripheral neuropathy)?
Exercise acts as a “master regulator” for your nervous system, calming overactive signals, repairing damaged pathways, and building resilience. It’s like sending targeted software updates to a computer that’s been hacked or has corrupted files. Exercise is the primary driver of neuroplasticity, encouraging the brain to “rewire” itself. Fibromyalgia is where the central nervous system becomes hyper-reactive, amplifying pain signals. In Pain Gate Control Theory, exercise stimulates large nerve fibres (for movement and proprioception). These signals can effectively “close the gate” in the spinal cord, blocking some of the smaller pain fibres from sending their signals to the brain. It’s like creating a pleasant distraction for your nervous system. Exercise releases endorphins, which directly counteract pain. It balances key neurotransmitters and stress hormones like serotonin and norepinephrine, often dysregulated in fibromyalgia. Exercise increases circulation, delivering more oxygen and vital nutrients to the damaged nerves. Gentle exercises can improve the mobility of the nerves themselves (nerve gliding), which can reduce irritation and improve function. Exercise releases anti-inflammatory cytokines, and helps regulate the HPA axis, teaching your body to better manage stress. Exercise is an antidepressant, boosting BDNF and endorphins. In summary, exercise helps your nerves because it directly targets the core dysfunctions: it rewires a damaged brain (stroke), calms an over-amplified pain system (fibromyalgia), re-educates faulty muscle control (spasticity), and nourishes damaged pathways (neuropathy). It is, in essence, the most potent and accessible form of medicine you have to retrain and heal your nervous system.
On Sunday, I woke up with acute day-5 fibromyalgia. What to do? Firstly, my mood was good and relatively calm. I had decided not to ground all night; however, I noted no changes. In the morning, I got Earthing in the wet, cold grass. I bathed my aching, twisted foot in Epsom salts to conduct away stray voltage. I stood firmly on Earth, felt better for doing so, but something was still missing. Then God spoke to me through Gaia. I felt cold, so I got the urge to walk, and move around barefoot. Things seemed no worse, and perhaps a little better? I thought of the “Horse Whisperer” Film with Robert Redford. What would the horse do with fibromyalgia? It would move, of course. And so, it was. Quickly my circulation was boosted; my cold right hand warmed up. Soon, I took my Timberland top off and imagined the day I would start running. Indeed, I even tried to. I knew this was the right path. Gaia had spoken to me, after my thoughts equalised and calmed, acquiring coherence of thought, wisdom, and creativity. I walked barefoot across my lawn, increasingly fluently. By the end of the 2½-hour session I was not cured, but perhaps half cured, and certainly much better off. Perhaps my body was creating an internal tightness, because I heard less bone-clicking in my spine, as I walked? It was also much easier to walk straight, barefoot without my stick. In the afternoon we went for a 3 o’clock walk on the Downs. This was harder than anything I did in the morning because my foot was in an Equinovarus foot with forefoot abduction (possibly wrong description) position, typically known as spastic foot. My favourite description was forefoot inversion. The key was standing, leaning on the 3rd 4th 5th toe, and relaxing to let muscles and nerves recalibrate into a more natural position. Solving this mystery was daunting, but I felt I had given it my best shot, today. I had the 2nd bowel movement (the detox type always sinks.) I returned to the lawn for more Earthing and Prayer, while listening to Sibelius Pelleas and Melisande. As the day lost its energy towards evening, so did my foot spasticity lose its hold. Fingers 3, 4, 5 were no longer so tight. The day had taught me a lot, and I could in no way consider it a wasted day.
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Hi @TopCat2
Welcome to the community, I’m sorry to hear about your daughters stroke and the pain she is experiencing.
I’ve had a check through the posts on here and there are some that have mentioned Duloxetine, I’ve put the links below for you.
Numbness and fizzing in limbs, Anyone else? - Online Community
Calling all Thalamic stoke brothers & sisters - About stroke - Online Community
Tiastroke - Share your story - Online Community
If you wanted to search for yourself, you can use the 
in the top right corner.
I hope you’ll find this community helpful. If you need anything whilst you’re using the Online Community, please don’t hesitate to tag me using the @ symbol and my username.
Anna
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Welcome to the group @TopCat2, I have been taking 120mgs of Duloxetine daily for over 4 years now since my stroke. I get pain in my limbs and constant burning sensation in my arms and legs. I don’t know whether this is a symptom of taking the medication as I don’t know any difference, all I can say is the sensations are still there. I was given other medications I.e. gabapentin and pregabalin to take alongside Duloxetine but I no longer take them as they made no difference. Hope this helps.
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Hi Michelle thank you for your reply. The burning you described is same as my daughter I am very sorry you are also experiencing this. I am always searching for something to help with this neuropathic pain. I thought this medication might be worth I try, but it sounds like it’s not stopped the pain we have also have tried amtryptline but didn’t work and caused sleeping problems and weight gain couldn’t wake her up. Also tried Pregablin and Gabapentine they didn’t work either. The only thing I found to stop the neuropathic pain is Scrambler Therapy in Rome it worked initially but after we returned the effects gradually wore off and the pain returned. It’s a treatment which only works on neuropathic pain but my daughter obviously needs regular boosters but that’s not possible when treatment is in Rome. Wishing we find something to work for this pain. Best wishes
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Thanks Roland, I am glad you found a way to turn the day around and improve both your mood and pain. I found your post very interesting, informative and food for thought.
I think listening to what our bodies are telling us is so important, even more so since having a stroke.
Its interesting that exercising even though you are experiencing such pain was so beneficial. Whilst I consider myself to have got off lightly on a physical level with my stroke, I am struggling with walking because of the neuropathic pain and a recently sprained ankle. Your post made me re-evaluate what I could do to help myself and whilst I cannot walk any great distance at the moment, I can still swim and do some of the Qigong exercises. I also use meditation as a way of taking the power away from pain and find music a great help.
Reading your post has helped me gain another perspective on stroke related pain and how there are many ways to deal with it.
Thank you for sharing it is very much appreciated.
Wishing you many more peaceful pain free days.
Liz 
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Thx Liz ; this is very much my style. Yes, exercise was the last thing on my mind, but one never knows ! My post was an excerpt from my book which I keep as a sort of journal. I thought, while every stroke is different, they certainly overlap. It’s just the phase I’m going through… I get obsessed that a particular pathway is right for me, and go with it. I’m never 100% right, interestingly !!
Listening to music was a huge trigger reminding me I’ve lost the ability to play my violin because of my stroke. But I no longer get upset, and listen to classical music a lot now… it’s great… and I gather it can structure water, and our fascia.
I’ve been through many a period of being unable to walk because of injuries… then it’s time to reinvent… invert the body… upside down cycling… invent anything that moves for your circulation…. don’t let it idle or it will pool (oedema) eventually.
Hope ankle picks up soon - good luck, R
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