***Savella works great.***  But... the first week of side effects while on the titration pack are a bit uncomfortable if you do not take it with food.  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.  People should be patient and not unrealistically expect immediate improvement.  Very important to remember: **TAKE SAVELLA EARLY AND TAKE IT WITH FOOD**; always take it with food.  I take the first dose at 5 a.m., and the second one at 2 p.m. - halfway through my meals to prevent nausea.  As of June 15, I've been taking it 7 weeks now.  Wow!  Complete improvement of cognitive fog, memory problems, energy levels & fibro pain.  If Savella users do not take it correctly, it will cause headaches & nausea.  Please don't give up!  Take it correctly and just give it at least two months to work. If you take the second dose too late in the day, it will interfere with sleep. So it is critical that you take the second dose before 2 p.m., or no more than 7 hours before bedtime. Unfortunately, doctors aren't telling patients how Savella should be taken.  They 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.  It really bothers me to see negative reviews, because people who don't stop and think about how to take it correctly are discouraging others from experiencing the wonderful benefits of this medication. Savella is nothing like Lyrica.  They're totally different types of medications.  Don't let your bad experiences with Lyrica cloud your judgment and make you afraid of Savella.  This is the first TRUE HOPE for people with fibromyalgia.  JUST TAKE IT CORRECTLY - AND IT WILL HELP!

PD53310761

Fultondale, AL

I have chronic fibromalgia along with chronic migraines. So when one flairs up the other flairs up. Savella just came out on the market and my doctor wanted me to try it to try to give me some relief from some of the pain I suffer with on a daily basis. The started pack comes with a months worth of medication. Savella is a medcine that you have to taper up on the does over so many days. The first day I took it I was fine. THe next day I noticed that I felt sick to my stomach, didn't want to eat and felt kinda dizz. It felt almost liek really bad morning sickness that lasted all day long. By the fourth day I still flet sick and dizzy and a really bad headache. The fourth day I took the pill before bedtime around 11pm. I woke up at 1am in so much pain I was having the worse migraine in the world then I started to see things that weren't there. Thank God my oldest son could hear me crying he came in and called my husband who came home right away from work. The only bad thing because this is a new drug I had to just stop the drug and wait for the medicine to flush out of my system before I felt better. Because the medicne causes uptake in norephine It caused me to have a migrain because ephine is a trigger for me. So if you suffer from migraines please research this medicine first before taking it.

lpn733

Terre Haute, IN

I just started Savella and I am soo nauseated, Dizzy... Hot...Cold... Flush cheeks, stomach aching like diarrhea but yet constipated... Although I feel a bit less pain in my neck and low back hip area? Go figure... Pain less but symptoms will they Leave!!! Lots of prayers please!!!

LisaBowman

Connellsville, PA

**                      Words cannot express how miraculously this med has changed my life**, however, I will try nevertheless to explain. After years of frustration; pain; doctors who thought I was crazy; doctors, hospitals, family and friends who thought I was a hypochondriac or/and an addict; hundreds of different medicines that never worked as they were promised to; years spent in bed missing the first 5 years of my children's lives and almost being divorced countless times; suicidal temptations; Ballooning Weight and unstopable hunger and eating binges; interstitial Edema better known as plain old fluid retention; etc..., etc......,etc....., I am up for the first time, happy, not dying in pain, clearheaded, with a memory like i haven't had since elementary school, not feeling so fatigued that i can't even find the energy to shower or even change clothes at times more than once a week, no embarrassing trembling - shaking hands, no anxiety attacks and always being about 5 seconds from an emotional explosion.** I AM ALIVE!**                      Anybody who hasn't suffered through the pit of despairity called Fibromyalgia would not understand, but if you have, you understand perfectly what I mean. **I would come off of my Pain Medications first before I would ever go without the Savella.** I don't know how it works? I don't understand it either. I have spent what little time I did manage to have awake the past 5 years extensively researching and studying Fibromyalgia and any possible way to end it and still live and they all were a sham. Until the Savella.                      I mean honestly when my doctor said the FDA just approved a new drug for Fibromyalgia and I'd like to start you on this pack . . . I almost through them back in his face and I did say a bunch of rude things about the other "FDA Approved" drugs and the other medications doctors said would help but didn't. And then out of disgust and just an absolute what the hey . . . "I don't have anything left to lose" mentality, I took the starter pack and 3 additional samples of them home and tried one last time.                     They say it's not supposed to work immediately and I guess it may have been just the fact that my body and brain had deteriorated so significantly but the second day i realized i was only taking 2 naps a day and they were only 30 minutes long and i was waking up from them feeling like i had been asleep 4-5 hours and i wanted to play, to run, to talk, to laugh, to celebrate that I was finally ALIVE again and with everyday longer that I am on this medicine it only keeps getting better. **PRAISE THE LORD!** Don't pass this one by honey. I don't know why it works, I'm just absolutely sure and grateful one med finally really really does.

alisonsaucier

Robertsdale, AL

My doctor prescribed me Savella a few months ago for my fibromyalgia. My doctor was involved in the end-stage clinical trials for the drug, and she felt that it was very promising. I've been on it for a while now, and here are my thoughts. I don't have an actual diagnosis of depression, but I have found that, since starting Savella, my moods in general are much better. I attribute this to the fat that I am in less pain and that Savella is an SNRI. I didn't think that Savella was doing anything for my pain until I accidentally forgot to take it for a few days. Boy was I wrong! My pain doubled! It has clearly reduced my pain levels, even though I ddin't realize it. I do not thhink that Savella has done much, if anything, for my chronic fatigue. I have not yet experienced any side effects from the drugs. No weight pain or loss, no headaches, no nausea. If it continues to work, I will stay on this medication long-term, because I am happy with the results and the side-effects. It is expensive, though.

boobalah

New Fairfield, CT

Hi, I have taken this med now for 4 days and I am sick as a DOG. Vomiting, dizzy, and severe headache, migraine to be exact. I do not know if I will be able to make it. I called my PM DR today and he casually said, this was all to be expected. Honestly, people?? Is it worth it? I was on cymbalta for 4 years it did nothing for me. Oxycontin 20 mg nothing.. My pain is so bad. I have an appointment at our local teaching hospital on April 4th, if I can just hang on. I have been in pain for so long and have tried so many things. It is so discouraging. Then I read all the notes where people want this drug off the market?? It scares me. Thanks for listening. Thanks for caring. God Bless

kd14

Inverness, FL

I was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia 8 years ago after I had my second son. I've had lots of stress in my life and I had Epstein-Barr (in college in the late '80s which I never felt I fully recovered from) which I think led to the fibromyalgia. I've tried all of the pain meds (can't tolerate them - they make me itch all over and hyper), several SSRI's (also can't tolerate - zombie-like), and anti-inflammatory drugs don't help. Neurontin (100mg) helped when taken at night, but I was groggy the next day. So when my doctor suggested Savella last month, I was skeptical. Needless to say, this is the only medicine where I feel I am close to normal! My pain level is down (0-3!) from (3-8), my energy is up, I get things done, I can concentrate and I feel like a real person again! Granted, I am experiening some side effects: hot flashes - my body seems to be hot, then cold, but I'm used to feeling overly cold (sweated at night a bit for the first week); occassional heart palpatations; feeling jittery/hyper (esp. after coffee); headache in the afternoon; face flushing; occassionally feel dehydrated. **BUT, I am on week 5 and side effects are all dissipating!** I read parts of the FDA study that said that these side effects almost completely disappeared after 8 weeks. SO, I recommend that if it helps, tolerate the side effects for 2 months and then reconsider. Now, I've kept myself at the 25 mg bid level and haven't upped to the 50mg level yet. I'm scared to make such a big jump after the low doses. I take it exactly 12 hours apart - 11am and 11pm - with food. I do wake easily at night if there is any noise, but I wake rested!! It's so strange trying to adjust to a "normal" life! I just hope it keeps working!

mischa869

Jacksonville, FL

After suffering with Fibro for several years and it progessively getting worse these past several months I had to find help. I couldn't think, couldn't be happy because I hurt all over so bad. The morning stiffness was the first to hit, then back pain, then neck pain....followed by a list of other problems. Once it reached my chest (Chostochodritis) I couldn't clean my house anymore. I lived on pain meds but eventually reality hit me hard. I had to manage this better so I can live a normal life. After speaking to my doctor he mentioned I might need to still have my B12 checked even though the Fibro may be the only culprit of my chronic fatigue. He placed me on Savella and I have been on it for 2 weeks. The past 3 days have been awesome. I am clear minded, focused, and sleeping without pain. I still don't have the energy I need and I hope to see more improvement as the medication states it takes a month to see the full potential. I had an upset stomach the 1st night but not once since then. Thank God for some relief...it means everything to me! I do get goosebumps and it is actually a relaxing feeling...sounds strange but I have read it is a side effect.

camos74

Watkinsville, GA

used for treating fibromyalgia and pain i to had to stop takeing due to side effects. my lasted even when it was to the point where the side effects should have been less. the night sweats ,headache non stop, eye twitching   

jesmgill

Lawton, OK

So I've been on Savella now for a few months, and let me tell you what a difference. Although the side effects for the first few weeks were pretty terrible... I decided to tough it out because I noticed after my first few doses I was already feeling about 30% better. This hasn't increased too much... but I have noticed that I have fewer flare ups. A little background. I'm a 25 year old female suffering from Fibro for years but only recently (about 3 or 4 months ago) sought treatment for it. I have a family history of Fibro as well.  I take one 50mg tablet twice a day, at bedtime and before I leave for work. My initial side effects included intense sweating, flushing, goose bumps, and constipation. These were quite bad but I decided to continue to see if they would pass. I have had no issues taking this close to bed time or without food like so many people report. After the first few doses I felt about 30% better almost immediately. I was hopeful that this would continue to improve. It really hasn't too much, but I have noticed that I have fewer flare ups. So that is always a plus. I still remain somewhat sore and stiff on a daily basis and when the weather is bad its always worse. But it is manageable and livable.

justj3n1ca

Easton, PA