[danni]

I just signed up for theis board to try to get some reassurance that Im doing the right thing. I feel sick, yucky, gross.

History~ Situational depression, at age 32. Went on Cymbalta 60 mgs. Taken with success for 2.5 years now. I am scheduled for lapband surgery for obesity in 18 days. A requirement is all meds must be crushed, chewed or liquid form (THERE GOES the Cymbalta) My NEW Primary Care Doctor, and the Weight Loss Surgery Shrink recommended CELEXA.

Ok, so for the past 7 days, Ive been taking Cymbalta 30 mgs (after taking 60 mgs for 2.5 years) I felt fine. No side effects, nothing. NOW, today is my first day with NOTHING. My doc said to go 2 days in between taking the 30 mgs of Cymbalta. SO, now tomorrow, I take nothing also! Then, I start Celexa, 10 mgs of liquid for one week, and then 20mgs for, I dont know how long???

Today, I feel so sick to my stomach, nauseous, I have diareeah, I have very anxious feelings, and, OH< those BRAIN ZAPS Ive been reading about on here, YES, thats me! I didnt know what they are called, I was saying that if my brain were a heart, it was skipping a beat!

Im feel okay knowing that the side effects Im feeling seem to be normal.

But, my main question is this: If I am going through withdrawal, NOW, do I really want to go on the Celexa, and HAVE to withdraw from that some day? Emotionally, I feel fine. Just confused!!!!!!!

DOES ANYONE HAVE EXPERIENCE WITH CELEXA? GOOD BAD OR INDIFFERENT? HOW DOES IT COMPARE TO CYMBALTA?

THANKS!

[Sarah J]

My new doctor put me on Celexa after the Cymbalta Withdrawal nightmare I went through.

I have been on it now for two weeks, they started me at 20mg for the first week, the past week I have been at 10 mg. I don't know Celexa was easier to start because my brain chemistry was so incredibly traumatized from being weaned from Cymbalta incorrectly, but I had no ill effects so far and dropping down from 20 to 10, wasn't a problem. From the research I am doing (let me tell you, I did not want to take another anti) it appears that Celexa does not effect as much of your brain receptors as Cymbalta does. Cymbalta worked for me well for about 9 months, and the two years that followed, it made me complacent and not caring about much.

No headaches, no jitters, no confusion starting Celexa, just relief. 10 mg working fine, next week we go to down to 5. My intention is to be anti-depressant free, and I am hoping that I can report to you that Celexa withdrawal is a thousand times easier than Cymbalta withdrawal.

If you feel fine at 10mg and do not feel a need to go up, let your doctor know. You can always go up if you need to. If the lower dose works for you, it works!!

Also, the pill form of Celexa is one of the $4/month prescriptions at Sam's Club!!!! I don't know about the liquid form, but hopefully, it will be much less expensive than Cymbalta.

Good luck with your surgery, let us know how you are doing with the Cymbalta/Celexa switch. It might help some others here, it really did for me.

[danni]

OH Sara! Thank you SO much for the info. I, like you, dont really want to be on anything, but knowing that it will be easier to wean off of Celexa, is very reassuring! Thanks again! Im going to start my Celexa tomorrow, after I call my MD and tell her that today was REALLY bad, and that I think I need Celexa tomorrow. Thanks AGAIN!

[schmb01]

Danni, 30 to zero was a big drop, and I understand that you had to do it quickly. The zaps are awful, but keep telling yourself it is your brain getting healthy!

Good Luck with the surgery, and I'm sure that the Celexa should help you a lot, as it really seems to have worked well for Sarah.