I had decompression Last October, but still have had daily pretty bad headaches.
I am presently taking 3 100mg Topamax each night and ketoralac as well as Relpac for headaches but they haven't really been much help.
Last week my Pain mgt doc put me on Cymbalta for headaches she said they take 2-3 weeks to take effect, Im hoping it works!
I was on Cymbalta for 8 months (60 mg), it did not help my pain and I gained 20 pounds. I am medication naive and stopped it cold turkey without my doctor's knowledge this past April - do not ever, ever, EVER do this. Was never sicker in my entire life and after going to the doctor when I realized what was happening (withdrawal), my doctor put me on a 2 week leave of absence to recover.
I have heard it works for some people, so best of luck but watch the weight gain and if you ever decide to stop it, taper off.
I have recently been put on Cymbalta (2 weeks ago) and I am currently dealing with one of the worst HA's I have had since my surgery June 4. My NS suggested it to me due to my depression and pain (I think my need for the prescription is dealing with him but that is a whole other story).
Hopefully you will find relief.....it is all we are all really searching for.
I have had daily headaches since I was 19 and I am now 41. I found out I had Chiari in 2002 and had surgery in March 2003. I hoped the headaches would go away, but they didn't. Doctors tried different meds, but they either didn't work or gave me horrible side effects. I ended up taking 1000 mg of ibuprofen 3-4 times per day to function. I just went to a new headache specialist and they prescribed Cymbalta. They also prescribed a taper of steroids to get me off the ibuprofen, because my brain was so used to it. I prepared myself for a week of hell, because when I detoxed from caffeine, it was HORRIBLE. Believe it or not, I had very little pain. They prescribed a few pain meds if I did have headaches(Maxalt, Relpax and Diclofenac), but it has been two weeks since I started the Cymbalta and I have taken2 Maxalt tabs, 1 Relpax and maybe 7 diclofenac(most of those the first week). So, Cymbalta has been a miracle drug for me so far. The only side effect I have had is some insomnia, which I treated with a muscle relaxer I had been prescribed before. I have been going 24-48 hours without taking any pain meds except the Cymbalta. I was on 30 mg and now they have upped it to 60mg. I feel like a new woman.
Oh, and there is a coupon for a free script of Cymbalta, so trying it would be free. It is still not available in generic, so the coupon saved me $40.