Dr. Bojrab's Story

Will the Medicine Change My Personality?

Dr. Bojrab

One of the common concerns that patients have when you start to have a conversation about the use of medicine is will this medicine change my personality? Will it change who I am?

And I think it's important that they understand that that's really not the case at all. Antidepressants are real medicines. They're not medicines that make people feel giddy or euphoric and they don't simply mask symptoms.

The medicines that we use in the treatment of depression really are focused on improving these symptoms.

What Can I Expect From Cymbalta?

Dr. Bojrab

One important thing to mention to patients up front is what they can expect when they first start the medication. So I usually have a conversation with patients about the types of side effects that they might experience. In the case of Cymbalta, the most commonly seen side effects include nausea, dry mouth and constipation. Most patients will see resolution of most of their side effects after one to two weeks.

You typically need to give the medicine about three to four weeks to see what type of response you're going to have with the medicine.

Mary

You know, just the—the basic necessities of—of taking care of myself, I was not doing. And now to be able to look forward to that every day and be able to do that, as well as, you know, just feeling a little bit better about myself. It is such a gift.

Dr. Bojrab

People can put up with an awful lot. People can put up with depression,and we can lull ourselves into thinking that this is how I'm supposed to feel, that this is my lot in life, and this is the way it's always going to be. But ultimately, you don't have to live this way.

One of the things that makes it so rewarding to treat this, because when people start to get better, when people start to feel better, you see not just symptom improvement but you see, you know, the whole person healing. You see the whole person getting better. And that's what we all want for our patients.