Can Cymbalta Side Effects Cause Cold Tingling Sensation In Chest And Upper Arms?

Posted on Sat, 18 Jan 2014

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Sat, 18 Jan 2014 Answered on

Thu, 6 Feb 2014 Last reviewed on

Question : 29 year old female that just got over the norovirus and has a history of anxiety and panic attacks. Currently I am eating around 300-400 calories a day due to nausea, feeling faint, and uninterest in food. I take omeprazole nightly. Last night I took 20mg of Cymbalta about 4 hours after taking the omeprazole and around 5 hours after taking the pill was awoken from a sound sleep with a freezing cold tingling sensation in my chest and upper arms. The sensation was radiating from my chest. I sat up and broke into a cold sweat. The symptoms subsided after about 20 minutes. However, it has been happening about every hour since then for the past 12 hours and I have not gotten out of bed all day. Could this be the Cymbalta after a single dose or something else? I have taken Cymbalta in the past and did not experience these sensations. The last time I was on Cymbalta was 6 months ago. I just spoke with my psychiatrist and she has never heard of a side effect like this. She says if I keep taking the pill and this symptom keeps happening I will need to ask a Doctor if there could be anything else that is causing this sensation.

Answered by Dr. Preeti Parakh (1 hour later)

Brief Answer: Explained below. Detailed Answer: Hi XXXXXXX Welcome to Healthcare Magic! I agree with your psychiatrist this kind of adverse effect with Cymbalta is unheard of. I feel that the best way to be sure would be to stop taking Cymbalta for a few days and see if it makes a difference. Since you have taken only one dose, you need not worry about any problems on stopping this drug. Just wait for two to three days and see if the abnormal sensations are gone or not. If it persists after that, then Cymbalta is obviously not the culprit and you can try taking it again. This is the strategy that is followed whenever any patient reports any unusual side effect of a drug. The other thing is that you will obviously not feel comfortable in continuing with Cymbalta while constantly worrying that it is not suiting you. I hope this clears up things for you. Please feel free to ask in case you need any clarifications. Best wishes. Dr Preeti Parakh MD Psychiatry

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar