[mojo]

This is my Cymbalta horror story. Looking back it's surreal how close I came to dying from this drug and a few others added in. I started Cymbalta about six years ago, switched from Lexapro because of chronic pain and hearing about this new wonder drug. The switch went okay, and being on Cymbalta was alright, not the miracle I'd hoped for though. After being on it so long and reading about the possible liver problems on it, and not feeling that great on it, I decided to get off it and go back to Lexapro. I had been at 20 mgs. for awhile, after having tapered from 60 mg. My doctor said to just make the switch right over from 20 mgs. to Lexapro the next day. She said it should be easy. Within a week the awful headaches and nausea began. Then came daily diarrhea and the most horrible anxiety I have ever felt. I had insomnia that kept me awake all night and felt I was going crazy. When I went into my doctor they prescribed Ativan to help the anxiety and the first dose was great, calmed me right down and I actually got some sleep. Too bad it didn't last though and within a week it wasn't working anymore and when I found myself wanting to take more and more and higher doses I decided to get rid of it. I didn't want to get addicted to another drug to get off another. Then I found myself on a downhill slope as I was getting more and more sick and anxious and was having suicidal thoughts. I have never had thoughts like this before. It was the scariest time of my life and I ended up in the mental hospital. Well, guess what the doctor did there. She put me right back on the Cymbalta, and also on Synthroid for a supposed thyroid problem. Well, when my anxiety went through the roof then they prescribed Klonopin and Ambien. Quite a chemical cocktail. Then they sent me home. Well, with the switch back to Cymbalta and stopping the Lexapro, plus the other drugs, I really felt like I was losing my mind. Three weeks later, after another night of no sleep, I was so desperate for some sleep that I got out of bed and found all the pills and took the rest of the bottle of Klonopin and all the Ambien. It felt like an out of body experience as I went to lay down and probably never to wake up. Well, about 2 hours later my eight year old boy tried to wake me up, then told his dad I wouldn't wake up. Then the ambulance came and the house was full of paramedics and they took me away. My husband thought I was gone, but they got to me in time and I had to drink charcoal and came real close to dying, then ultimately ended up in the mental hospital again. This time they added even more drugs to the chemical cocktail. Lyrica and Serroquel, which is an awful drug also. I was also in withdrawals from the Klonopin and the Ambien and my body was trying to recover from the massive overdose of those. They sent me home with my new drugs and the Serroquel, which is an anti psychotic sometimes used for sleep, was totally whacking me out. When I went to my doctor he said to just keep taking it and that it was a very safe drug and that I was just an anxious person so this was no different for me. Well, I know my own body, so after four days on that I quit it and I was trying to get off the other drug too. The insomnia was totally making me crazy. One morning after again getting no sleep I totally lost it. My parents were upstairs because I was staying at their house so they could keep an eye on me after the first suicide attempt. My husband was at work and my son was in school. It was weird because somehow I rationalized that they would be better off without me. i found some scissors and I went behind my parents big water heater and just started to stab myself in the wrist over and over. I was hoping I would get to the point where I would pass out and bleed to death but I was watching myself bleed for almost two hours and it would bleed and then stop and I guess I didn't get the right spot because I never did lose consciousness even though I was laying in a puddle of blood. Then my parents found me and again I was in the mental hospital. This time they prescribed Trazadone and it took a huge dose, but I actually started to get some sleep. My doctor did say there is a type of psychosis that you can get from no sleep and that is what happened to me. It's been two years since this happened and I am so thankful to still be alive. I still take the Trazadone, but got it down to a much lower dose. I have been on sixty mgs. of Cymbalta since then too, thinking that I would just have to stay on it for life. Now I am having all kinds of stomach issues and wondering what the long term implications are on this drug, and again am wanting to try to get off it. This is so scary to me, so I wanted to register on here where people are going through the same things and maybe my story will help someone who is wondering about this drug and if it will help them. I know it has helped some people, but it seems like there are just too many horror stories about this drug and I so wish now I had never taken it. It's an awful feeling to feel trapped on a drug.

[TimC97124]

Yeoooow! I hope you can find out how to get off of all these drugs safely. There are so many unknown interactions between various drugs. They do these clinical studies and report that only some very small percentage of people have any trouble with a combination of two drugs. Well, isn't that great - not! What about that person in the small percentage. And none of knows if we're that one or not. It's hard to believe that these dopey doctors just keep throwing different drugs at you. I'm not a doctor, but it seems fairly clear that you need to taper off of Cymbalta slowly. I wonder if you can taper off two drugs at the same time.

Best wishes,
TimC

[mojo]

TimC97124, on 01 September 2010 - 11:47 PM, said:

Yeoooow! I hope you can find out how to get off of all these drugs safely. There are so many unknown interactions between various drugs. They do these clinical studies and report that only some very small percentage of people have any trouble with a combination of two drugs. Well, isn't that great - not! What about that person in the small percentage. And none of knows if we're that one or not. It's hard to believe that these dopey doctors just keep throwing different drugs at you. I'm not a doctor, but it seems fairly clear that you need to taper off of Cymbalta slowly. I wonder if you can taper off two drugs at the same time.

Best wishes,
TimC

[mojo]

Yeah, I definitely need to taper off Cymbalta much more slowly. That doctor told me just to go straight from 20 mgs. to Lexapro the next day. Most doctors seem to have no idea of the side effects of trying to get off these drugs. Right now I am taking 40 mgs. of the Cymbalta and I think I will stay there for a few weeks at least. I am so scared of getting off this drug after what happened last time. It's weird to think how close I came to dying and I am so glad that I am still here.

[Elaine]

mojo, on 30 August 2010 - 05:57 PM, said:

This is my Cymbalta horror story. Looking back it's surreal how close I came to dying from this drug and a few others added in. I started Cymbalta about six years ago, switched from Lexapro because of chronic pain and hearing about this new wonder drug. The switch went okay, and being on Cymbalta was alright, not the miracle I'd hoped for though. After being on it so long and reading about the possible liver problems on it, and not feeling that great on it, I decided to get off it and go back to Lexapro. I had been at 20 mgs. for awhile, after having tapered from 60 mg. My doctor said to just make the switch right over from 20 mgs. to Lexapro the next day. She said it should be easy. Within a week the awful headaches and nausea began. Then came daily diarrhea and the most horrible anxiety I have ever felt. I had insomnia that kept me awake all night and felt I was going crazy. When I went into my doctor they prescribed Ativan to help the anxiety and the first dose was great, calmed me right down and I actually got some sleep. Too bad it didn't last though and within a week it wasn't working anymore and when I found myself wanting to take more and more and higher doses I decided to get rid of it. I didn't want to get addicted to another drug to get off another.

I too, am on Cymbalta and trazadone but also Buspar. I am tapering off the cymbalta now through the www.pointofreturn.com program. Everything is going smoothly and I am sleeping well and feeling calm. Anxiety is my main issue so calm is most important to me. You may want to check point of return out as they have a lot of success in getting people off antidepressants and benzodiazepines. Best wishes, Elaine

[mojo]

Thanks Elaine. I looked at the pointofreturn program. Do you take all of the supplements? I would like to try, but I noticed all of them together would be quite expensive. I do take a high dose fish oil now. My biggest problem before in trying to quit was the anxiety. It was horrible and that led to insomnia and it just spiraled down from there. Do the supplements help with that?

[Elaine]

I am taking all of the supplements. I feel it is a small price to pay to get off this Cymbalta. I have had no problems except slight nausea for a couple of hours on a couple of days. I have cut back to half of what I was taking and am sleeping better than I have in over 2-3 years at least. If you can't afford the program from POR then try to find the best quality supplements you can that are the same as theirs. They also had me add vitamin D, Magnesium and B-Complex and a good quality probiotics. I really feel much better than before the supplements even though tapering. The sweats are still there though. I kept thinking they were menopause since I am 50 but they did coincide with taking Cymbalta too so I hope they will disappear with the cymbalta gone.
Best Wishes,
Elaine

[mojo]

Hi Elaine, I was just wondering about the POR program and it you buy the whole anti-depressant package with the books and the supplements, how long the supplements last? I could see paying for it if it lasted awhile, but if it was only a one month supply, I don't see how I could afford it. I am not sure where I could find a similar supplement to the one that helps you make glutiathone. Do you think other companies might make anything similar?