[chicagodan]

After 17 months, I'm finally free from Cymbalta. My mind seems to be fully functioning for the first time in a long time. The dry mouth is gone. The stoned not-giving-a-crap attitude is gone. Yeah, I get a bit more upset now that I did while on the drug, but the upside to getting angry is once again feeling joy. And while I had no problem absorbing the world around me while on the drug, I'm now able to connect the dots and use the knowledge that I've taken in ... my writing is improving drastically.

Here's my story ... I tried three times to get off Cymbalta before. In each case, I tried to tapper slowly. But then I'd hit a road block, I'd have an emotional reaction to something that scared me, I'd suffer through a tough withdrawal day during a stressful time in life ... and I'd go back to the drug, often going right back to full (60 mg) strength.

This time, I was determined to do it fast. I didn't want the withdrawal horror stories dancing around my head. I scheduled it around the end of the year when I had about two weeks free from work ... if I had to sleep longer or take naps, I could make it work. It still wasn't simple, I have three small kids at home. But it was manageable.

I weened to 30 mg ... the first five days were tough ... brain zaps (more like brain power surges in my case) and flu like symptoms were prevalent. But by the sixth day, my body had adjusted. So I stayed at that level for three more days and took the big plunge, complete cold turkey. A similar story ... five tough days. Someone on this board recommended red wine in the evening ... and absolute Godsend. The red wine took away the symptoms completely and helped me get to sleep.

Once again, by day six, the symptoms had largely gone away. I still had some of those power surges and ear ringing. But my real personality slowly returned. It's now day 12 of Cold Turkey and the symptoms are 90 percent gone.

Okay, so I'm not suggesting that Cymbalta withdrawal doesn't exist nor recommending that anyone follow my path. What I am suggesting is that how your body reacts to going off Cymbalta will vary and there are psychological elements to it. If you're thinking of going off the drug and you read some of the responses here, it could scare you and delay or even prevent you from taking a beneficial move off the drug. Yes, consult your physician ... yes, stay in touch with your physician ... alter the program as necessary as you go.

But I wanted to say one final word about the capsule breakers ... I think what you folks are doing is dangerous and perhaps nonsensical. The beads inside a Cymbalta capsule are time released. Are you actually separating them by when they'll dissolve in your stomach or do you assume that every bead is the same? You do realize, also, that the Cymbalta half life is only 12 hours? If you're at the point where you are taking a few beads of Cymbalta a day, your addiction is far more likely to be psychological than physical. I don't mean this to slam anyone, I just question anyone who devises their own black box solution. A more sensible ween is to get some 20 mg pills and go 60 to 40 to 20, then off. I don't believe in every-other day weening because it's just extending the withdrawal period over a longer period. But that's for your doctor to decide with you, not me.

[rach2424]

First off, congrats on getting off Cymbalta! I am glad to hear that with each new day you are feeling better! I do however, want to mention that in speaking with 3 different doctors about the best way of getting off this drug, I have been told that quitting "cold turkey" is the most dangerous way to get off this drug. People need to be very careful when taking this route.

That being said, NO doctor is going to tell you to tamper with your medication and take beads out, and hope for the best - they could loose their license over that. But, what everyone on this site needs realize is that different things work for different people. For me, taking beads out was the best way to go. The side effects I got after 2 months of weaning off this drug was awful. Therefore, if I had tried to cut off cold turkey, I believe it would have been way worse. I'm not sure that counting beads is "nonsensical." Rather, I think it is quite wise Bottom line: talk to your doctor and he/she will help you figure out what is best for you.

[pamela]

With all due respect I don't think that labeling people as capsule breakers who are nonsensical and dangerously toying with their medication is a fair assessment. I can assure you that the people who post here are suffering, physically and emotionally. Implying that some are simply psychologically addicted to Cymbalta is insulting and insensitive. Myself, as well as many other people have been on this drug a lot longer than 17 months....some of us have been on it every day for years and years. That's awesome that your wean was quick and your symptoms weren't debilitating but not everyone's experience is like that.
I know for a fact that the half life of Cymbalta is only 12 hours. I have done hundreds of hours of research and reading and learning about why this medication does what it does. I have been on between 60 and 90 mg for 5 years and trust me I have attempted the wean that you deem more sensible. It doesn't work for me. It doesn't seem to work for a great number of people.....hence the people who repeatedly attempt to get off this drug. I could point out how using alcohol to deal with the withdrawals would probably not win a lot of approval from Dr's either.

This board is supposed to support people and have us share our experiences. Granted not everyone's experience is the same and some are worse off than others. That being said, we are here to support each other not call each other names and do what you said you didn't mean to do....'slam' other people.

Please respect other peoples experiences and don't make people feel weak or 'nonsensical' for trying their best to get through this tough situation.

[rach2424]

Well said Pamela - couldn't agree more

[Namaste29]

I have been on Cymbalta 60mg for about 5 years. I have MS. I am taking control of my life and body. Last year, I retired on disability, due to not being able to function with a very stressful job. My body and cognitive skills were falling apart. After 10 months of yoga, and a 25 lb weight loss, I am feeling much more in control. I don't know if pains and difficulties that I currently have are from MS, or all of the awful medications. I decided it is time to get control. After reading all of the posts, and other sites online and elsewhere, I have made the choice to go cold turkey. Today is day 1...no cymbalta. I will keep you posted.

Much love to all that have to go through this.

Namaste!

[pamela]

Namaste29, on 05 January 2011 - 01:21 PM, said:

I have been on Cymbalta 60mg for about 5 years. I have MS. I am taking control of my life and body. Last year, I retired on disability, due to not being able to function with a very stressful job. My body and cognitive skills were falling apart. After 10 months of yoga, and a 25 lb weight loss, I am feeling much more in control. I don't know if pains and difficulties that I currently have are from MS, or all of the awful medications. I decided it is time to get control. After reading all of the posts, and other sites online and elsewhere, I have made the choice to go cold turkey. Today is day 1...no cymbalta. I will keep you posted.

Much love to all that have to go through this.

Namaste!

Namaste............PLEASE work with your doctor before you make the decision to attempt to get off any medication and especially this one. We have all done different ways to wean but I think that everyone would agree that having a doctor aware of your decision is the best way to go. I don't think that anyone would be able to stress that enough especially with the MS. Please talk with your doctor first......

[wanttostopcymbalta]

I don't think that Pamela is trying to call anyone names or tell them that they are doing anything wrong. I just experienced the horrendous withdrawal symptoms from not taking Cymbalta for just 2 days and I want off of it! I did not go off of it purposely, but was in the hospital for a hysterectomy and forgot to let them know that I needed the medication. I suffered two days of a severe headache, nausea, emotional "rollercoaster" responses to everything, diarrhea, dizziness, and vertigo. To say it simply I felt like I was dying, I could not care for my children or function normally at all. I have been having some minor physical ailments for quite some time, but never attributed them to the Cymbalta. I want off, but am scared to death of going through the withdrawal, does anyone have any suggestions as to stop the withdrawals??[c

[magillicuddy]

Hmmm just posted elsewhere... I split a 30 tonight to try to get off... I live in France and when I told my MD about this site, he was like, get off the net... he thinks I should be doing one day on and one day off, but when I do that it's hell.... what does the half life of 12 hours mean? everyone says that but what does it mean?

Thanks....

[JenBR]

Hi,

I have been planning to taper off of my 60mg of cymbalta by eliminating 20mg per week. I know that others might find this terribly fast, but I want to try it. However, after reading many posts in this forum, I was hesitating to try and taper at all! I just read your post and regained a bit of hope. Just wondering how things have been for you since you posted this?

Thanks!
Jen





After 17 months, I'm finally free from Cymbalta. My mind seems to be fully functioning for the first time in a long time. The dry mouth is gone. The stoned not-giving-a-crap attitude is gone. Yeah, I get a bit more upset now that I did while on the drug, but the upside to getting angry is once again feeling joy. And while I had no problem absorbing the world around me while on the drug, I'm now able to connect the dots and use the knowledge that I've taken in ... my writing is improving drastically.

Here's my story ... I tried three times to get off Cymbalta before. In each case, I tried to tapper slowly. But then I'd hit a road block, I'd have an emotional reaction to something that scared me, I'd suffer through a tough withdrawal day during a stressful time in life ... and I'd go back to the drug, often going right back to full (60 mg) strength.

This time, I was determined to do it fast. I didn't want the withdrawal horror stories dancing around my head. I scheduled it around the end of the year when I had about two weeks free from work ... if I had to sleep longer or take naps, I could make it work. It still wasn't simple, I have three small kids at home. But it was manageable.

I weened to 30 mg ... the first five days were tough ... brain zaps (more like brain power surges in my case) and flu like symptoms were prevalent. But by the sixth day, my body had adjusted. So I stayed at that level for three more days and took the big plunge, complete cold turkey. A similar story ... five tough days. Someone on this board recommended red wine in the evening ... and absolute Godsend. The red wine took away the symptoms completely and helped me get to sleep.

Once again, by day six, the symptoms had largely gone away. I still had some of those power surges and ear ringing. But my real personality slowly returned. It's now day 12 of Cold Turkey and the symptoms are 90 percent gone.

Okay, so I'm not suggesting that Cymbalta withdrawal doesn't exist nor recommending that anyone follow my path. What I am suggesting is that how your body reacts to going off Cymbalta will vary and there are psychological elements to it. If you're thinking of going off the drug and you read some of the responses here, it could scare you and delay or even prevent you from taking a beneficial move off the drug. Yes, consult your physician ... yes, stay in touch with your physician ... alter the program as necessary as you go.

But I wanted to say one final word about the capsule breakers ... I think what you folks are doing is dangerous and perhaps nonsensical. The beads inside a Cymbalta capsule are time released. Are you actually separating them by when they'll dissolve in your stomach or do you assume that every bead is the same? You do realize, also, that the Cymbalta half life is only 12 hours? If you're at the point where you are taking a few beads of Cymbalta a day, your addiction is far more likely to be psychological than physical. I don't mean this to slam anyone, I just question anyone who devises their own black box solution. A more sensible ween is to get some 20 mg pills and go 60 to 40 to 20, then off. I don't believe in every-other day weening because it's just extending the withdrawal period over a longer period. But that's for your doctor to decide with you, not me.
[/quote]

[Robb]

I am currently still having certain withdrawL symptoms: insomnia, constant abdominal pain, and still have some brain zaps.

I had been on Cymbalta for anxiety for about a year. During that time I started to have symptoms that I first thought were from my PTSD, but when I started to lose my appetite, and then big weight loss (35lbs.),major tremors,brain zaps,bouts of crying for no reason,muscle jerks,changes in vision,constipation and finally when I thought that I was dying, I started to have suicidal thoughts.

The MD who put me on this medication had no idea of the serious side affects that this pill can have, and was clueless of the recommended dose. When I asked her "could these symptoms be from Cymbalta" she said NO. I was sent to a GI doc. For the stomach and a Neuro. doc. For the numbness that sometimes come occur in some of my finger tips.
Plus CT scan of abdomen/ pelvis, my entire GI tract was 'scoped from top to bottom,numerous blood,urine and stool samples taken- all NEGATIVE.

I finally decided that Cymbalta was my problem, and started to wean off from 90mg to 60 mg to 30mg and finally none. This took three weeks.

It wasn't off of this awful med. for several weeks when my mind started to clear, and I could laugh at the anything (wonderful feeling). Still having problems with appetite and putting weight
Back on, but now I have a clear vision of my future.

What is interesting, is that a second shrink told me that the other doc. shouldn't have put me on Cymbalta, because I have PTSD there is one made just for that, and that the previous doc.
had me on a dose higher than advised. Now here comes the interesting part, he told me that I could quit Cymbalta cold turkey and only have a flu like symptoms.

When I saw the second doc. two weeks later, he now tells me that people should slowly wean off of the med. Over a period of time, and that the withdrawals were worse than Herion.
He obviously did some checking.
If it wasn't for my online research on the Internet, I still might still have been on this, thank God I am not.