Posted 26 November 2009 - 12:28 PM
Hi,
I don't know how specifically describe what a brain zap is, but for me I get chills that start in my back and quickly work up to my head and then it feels like a circuit misfires. Almost stops me in my tracks for a second and then it feels like I can feel my hair growing. Kind of feels like your brain gets a bit of a shock or "zap". As far as going off cold turkey, I would not recommend it. I was only on Cymbalta for two weeks. I didn't care for the way it was making me feel (flu symptoms, insomnia, zaps), so I decided to go off (cold turkey) last Thursday. I beat a meth addiction, on my own, three years ago (which was pretty hellish). I figured that if I could do that on my own, that this wouldn't be a problem. I was completely wrong and experienced the worst three days of my life, to follow. It was so painful and nauseating and a complete mind @#!#. I have heard it compared to the withdrawals of crack and heroin) I only went to my doctor for seasonal affective disorder and he put me on 60mg of cymbalta. I can't fault him too much because he is only an internalist. I don't think that he had enough knowledge of the drug to know what could happen. However, I fault myself for not researching the drug before getting on. By the time I got on, it was too late. Your brain becomes addicted within the first to three doses and you will be better off to step down, rather than going cold turkey. I have an extremely high thresh hold for pain and I am generally in a mindset that my thoughts don't hurt me. I understand that thoughts are just thoughts and they happen but don't control every aspect of my life. However, with quitting this drug cold turkey, my experience was a tremendous amount of nausea, blinding headaches, insomnia (which I also have when taking the drug), knots up and down my back and lining the insides of my shoulder blades, fatigue, high emotional outbursts (not anger or sadness- just overwhelmed by emotions which brought tears, exhaustion from feeling nauseous and headache..it was freaking gnarly...Some people have way worse withdrawal symptoms. By Monday, I was on my fourth day off cymbalta and figured the symptoms should be subsiding. They weren't. I began to read and read about cymbalta and withdrawal. I talked to people in forums and also my best friend, who stepped down with very little side effects. I was so completely torn about starting back up and trying to step down. I did NOT want this drug back in my body, but the pain and nausea was not subsiding. Finally, Monday afternoon, I broke down and poured out more than half of the beads, from a pill leaving about 200 beads in) and ate it. Within three minutes, the burning muscles started to calm. The burning in my back had been excruciation, but all of the sudden it felt like someone poured ice cold water into the muscles. There was still pain and burning, but I could tell that my body had been begging for the drug, like a junkie. I went to talk to the walgreens pharmacist on Tues morning (on my way to work). He said that the only people who came in with these horror stories about cymbalta, were the people who quit cold turkey. I am not measuring out 30mg and taking that, daily, until i go see my doctor Dec 3rd. I am going to tell him I want off, what my experience has been and that I want to step down off this drug. As far as the pain, my back, neck and head still hurt (probably because I'm withdrawling from the 60mgs still). I was taking ibuprofen for pain, but it was adding to the nausea. I found that Excedrin helps best with dulling the pain and keeps me less nauseous. Anyway, this has been my experience (not to scare you, but to suggest weaning of the drug, rather than quitting cold turkey)
Help
