anyone taking Duloxetine for Stress UI??

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Hi, I am 5 months removed from a prostate procedure that, so far, has left me incontinent. I go thru 1-2 pads a day, and wear a diaper at night. The rate of urine loss seems to be improving, but still has a long way to go. My urologist put me on a daily dose of 30mg Duloxetine Delayed-Release (ie. Cymbalta) a few days ago. It is not yet approved for incontinence treatment in the US, but evidently trials in other parts of the world have been positive. So far it hasn't helped me, but I'm wondering if anyone else has tried it, and what results you've had. Thanks for your feedback!

 

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I only know that Cymbalta is used for depression. I hope it works for you!

 

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Duloxetine is classified as a "SNRI" antidepressant. That means it works by affecting serotonin and norepinephrine levels in the body (specifically in the brain and spinal cord. It is thought that by increasing the norepinephrine levels helps "tighten" the urethral sphincter tone thereby decreasing the amount of leakage. There are many medications on the market that are frequently used for "off label" uses, meaning they were developed for a specific condition ( such as Cymbalta for depression) but is used for another condition (such as incontinence) because its mechanism of action has theoretical (or proven) effect on the secondary condition (e.g. incontinence)

 

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Dougsbc, thanks for the explanation. Would you know how long it should take before I start to see some positive results from taking this medication, assuming that it will help my situation?

 

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Although not approved by the FDA for this use in the US yet, there has been some promising results reported from abroad. If it is going to work for you, you should start seeing improvement in 3-4 weeks, but this is only a guess based on the amount of time improvement is seen with depression. Although two totally separate issues, the effects on the "neurotransmitters" starts to work almost immediately. I am not sure how soon that would start effecting bladder control since there is no documented evidence of this question. Be consistent, take it the same time, every day and give it at least a month before discussing it with your urologist. He/She may even try to safely increase your dose to 60mg/day before abandoning it in favor of another possible option.

 

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I've taken Cymbalta 90mg daily as a pain adjuvant for many years. I still have urge incontinence. It never improved it. It may help you. Fingers, instead of legs, crossed.

 

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I have had urge incontinence for about 4 years now. Cymbalta has theoretical improvement but it's not a slam dunk. I tried everything on the market for my incontinence and was still wetting my pants 4-5 times a day. Finally after the Interstim device was put in and after multiple program adjustments i can finally go out without wearing diapers. I still have the occasional accident if i have to try to hold it too long but for the most part I'm dry everyday now. Its still a little upsetting to wet my pants from time to time because i used to have amazing control but at least it's not a daily occurrence anymore.

 

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So far, three weeks into taking it, I have seen some definite improvement, but it's not to the level of improvement that I had hoped for. I have stress incontinence but no urge incontinence. Just a steady drip-drip-drip.

I did just start a 10-week incontinence rehab program that is outlined in a book by Vanita Gaglani (www.vanitasrehab.com), which focuses on recovering from incontinence due to having a prostate surgery/procedure. I will report back after I'm further into the program, to let everyone know if/how it is benefiting me.

Thanks for everyone's comments!