[nursedeborah]

anon, on 13 February 2010 - 01:02 PM, said:

Might I suggest marijuana to you all? Sure, it's illegal most places, but for strange reasons. And, if you're going to use it for a medical reason, Cymbalta withdrawals seems like the perfect one.

Hey I am not against using it, but for some it cause so much anxiety
and anxiety is a major symptom for so many of us, add going through
withdrawls which causes much anxiety.

Besides it's great for pain, and sleep, but I would wonder about the
nightmares, night terrors. I don't think I would want to add it to
what is already so very hard.

Have at it, just not willing. Had enough excitement for 2 lifetimes

Debbie

[Junior]

I'd be very wary about using marijuana. It can trigger psychosis and in some people, schizophrenia. And that is WITHOUT taking the effects of Cymbalta into account.

Junior

[cymbalta sux 2010]

I smoked weed last year about 3 times per week and I can tell you straight up that unlike the weed of the 70's and 80's even this new stuff is stonger and can be addictive and there for you end up getting addicted to it even if you don't realize it or admit it and you go through withdrawls stopping it so in my non profesdioanl oppinion Do Not start this reccreasional drug to eleviate the withdralws from a RX one. Even with medical marijuana being legal here in MI I will not touch it again. I got enough anxiety as it is.
Besides a man with a legal RX for it was just fired from his job at Walmart for using it it t'is 0 tolerence policy in thier book. Just not worth it...

[cookie]

Dear Anon:
Marijuana works in brain neurotrasmitters.
When brain neurotrasmitters don´t work properly the mental health issues begin (depression,bipolar,schizophrenia, anxiety).
It is not smart to take marijuana, when people already have problems with neurotrasmitters
and the combination with cymbalta could be very bad
Hugs
Cookie

[cookie]

beentheredonethat, on 17 July 2010 - 08:36 PM, said:

I'm almost a week into cold turkey withdrawal. I'm coming from 2 years of Cymbalta usage at up to 90mg/day, tapered down over a period of several months to 20mg/day. Marijuana has helped me get through this process.

I know Marijuana is not for everyone and many people experience very bad paranoia and anxiety during usage, but this is not the case for me. Everyone reacts to drugs differently, some for the better and some for the worse and some not at all.

I use a vaporizer regularly which hopefully lessens the health concerns related to smoking. Pot really came through for me during the 90mg to 20mg tapering period. It reduced my irritability and seemed to help temporarily lessen or mask such withdrawal symptoms as nausea/abdominal pain, dizziness/vertigo/brain zaps/shivers, lack of appetite, and head and eye pressure. Nothing, not even sweet MaryJane, does anything to alleviate my all day bouts of chronic diarrhea, but eh, you can't win 'em all.

Now that I am 6 days cold turkey, Marijuana has been in some ways less effective. My cymbalta withdrawal symptoms are a gazillion times more prevalent and worse now, so MJ's lesser effectiveness is not entirely surprising. I have dizziness/vertigo/brain zaps/shivers all day long now, usually starting about 20 minutes after I get up in the morning and continuing into the night, the brain zaps/shivers usually keeping me awake. Pot doesn't lessen these sensations anymore, but it does help me avoid focusing on them as much, which enables me to get things done, rather than moping around feeling all crappy and sorry for myself. Obviously, pot still helps with my lack of appetite. That will never not happen. It definitely helps with the nausea, even though the nausea level has been kicked up a thousand notches having gone cold turkey. The head/eye pressure is still somewhat alleviated by pot vaporization.

I don't know. I am not a physician. I don't think pot is some wonder drug miracle cure, but it does seem to help me feel emotionally and physically better as i go through this bullshit cymbalta withdrawal. I suppose i would recommend trying therapeutic usage of marijuana to others who are not normally inclined to paranoia/anxiety while using the herb.

Good luck, fellow cymbalta junkies!

Hi beentheredonethat'
Marijuana acts on brain neurotrasmitters, by making you “feel good” and mask the symptoms, but at the end you are messing your neurotrasmitters. Besides combining it while you were on cymbalta is not a good idea.
regards

[cookie]

feather, on 19 July 2010 - 04:04 PM, said:

I think it could be argued that taking Cymbalta in the first place is "messing your neurotransmitters." Not that taking another drug is the answer, but my doctor told me to take Prozac while going off Cymbalta, and I said hell no to more pharmaceutics. Why exactly is combining marijuana and cymbalta "not a good idea"? What studies are you referring to here?

I am not a doctor, I can talk based on my own experience. Illegal drugs can have very serious consequences on mental health. I have a nephew who developed schizophrenia by using marijuana.

The insert that comes inside cymbalta´s package says that "Cymbalta should be used with caution when is taken in combination with other centrally acting drugs, includying those with a similar mechanism of action" (CNS drugs)

Marijuana acts on the neurotrasmitters.

[Hatchmo]

I have also been toying with the idea of blazing up. I had a terrible experience weaning from a one year treatment at 60mg to 30 for 30 and then stop cold turkey as the doctor first suggested. I then went 30 to 20 and finally gave it up last week. I did smoke once about a month ago and it did seem to help me focus on my work, but I again was struggling with the concept I would now have to focus on the herbs.

My new solution I think is the best and my days seem to go well. WORKOUT! My teenaged son trains me every other day in the local community gym. I lift and do reps with small weight/lower impact/more reps. I started racquetball a couple of times in between the workouts. My theory is now a reality. I wear my ass out. You don't have time to think about it because you're always sore from the workouts. Brain zaps still happen and I just slow down and wait it out and tell myself it will subside a little everyday. However, we are all on the same page; doctors are playing with fire with these head drugs and it's too bad I didn't come here first. I would have taken up drinking heavily or smoking chronic before dropping 60mg of Cymbalta. Hang in there brothers and sisters and keep reading the posts. I think it really helped me most to realize that I wasn't alone on this freak ride..