[New Girl]

I am extremely scared at the moment. I’ve been reading about the side effects of withdrawl from Cymbalta and am terrified that I’ve gotten into myself a mess.

I have depression, anxiety, fibromyalgia and am a diabetic (though I don’t have neuropathy pain). I went to my primary doctor 5 days ago because of severe depression that Lexapro was not treating. She prescribed me 60mg of Cymbalta and told me to take in the in the morning to avoid insomnia. She said it would help with my depression/anxiety and possibly the pain from the fibromyalgia.

This has been my experience thus far:

Day 1 – About 4 hours after taking it I started to get very anxious, my pulse raced, I felt dizzy and started getting hot and cold flashes. Also had some nausea. Skin itched from head to toe non stop but without a rash. I had to take .5 mg of Ativan to combat this because I did not want to have a panic attack. Went to sleep but seemed to wake up every hour and only “nap” throughout the night. Had constant hot/cold flashes.

Day 2 – Woke in the morning feeling like I had the best sleep of my life which seems ridiculous. This was the first time in YEARS I felt rested. Took my second dose and 20 minutes after taking it I felt like I mainlined heroin. (I’ve never taken heroin but I imagine this is what it feels like!) I started to giggle and was euphoric. This passed in about 15 minutes. Developed an all day headache. More hot flashes. Hands felt very shaky most of the day. Lost my appetite completely and had to force myself to eat. Went to sleep on time but again woke up through the night.

Day 3 – Did not wake up peppy like yesterday. Felt amped up throughout the day, but didn’t have the rush from yesterday. Still no appetite. Mouth dry, but maybe because I hardly ingested any liquids. Noticed my depression is 100% gone. Almost feel joy, not the anhedonia I have felt for years. Had a sporadic headache throughout the day.

Day 4 – Woke up early and feeling fairly rested. Jittery but not uncomfortable today. Still not depressed. No hot flashes, but a little warm off and on. Felt unusually aroused all day (HIGHLY unusual).

Day 5 – Today. All day headache, plus neck ache, a tiny bit jittery, arms are hurting badly today and I feel a bit shaky in the hands. Mouth dry again today. I believe the headache is completely related to the Cymbalta. Arousal from yesterday still present.

The neck ache and arms may be from being slumped over my computer at work for 10 hours a day every day this week which does flare my fibromyalgia.

I am very accustomed to the sweats and hot flashes that come with AD use. I had them when starting Proxac, Celexa and Lexapro and they don’t bother me. Headaches also don’t bother me too much because of my experience with blood sugar fluctuating headaches.

What scared me most so far is the shaky feeling in my hands and the euphoria. I check my blood sugar frequently because it feels like low blood sugar but my meter says it is not.

I didn’t mean to drone on but I’m wondering if I shouldn’t ask my doctor to switch me immediately to something else. I’ve read the withdrawal stories and I’m terrified. If it should suddenly stop working for me I will not go above the 60 mgs. I wonder if I shouldn’t lower myself to 30 mgs. I just know I feel more energy and joy then I’ve felt since I was 16 years old. Over half my life ago.

Is the Cymbalta just wooing me like an abusive person that is charming at first and then the true self comes out?

[RickWC]

New Girl,

It's nice to meet you and I don't mean to be rude but I'm going to be 100% blunt. Take your Cymbalta and flush it down the toilet. Do it now before you even think about taking another dose. I've been on it for so long that I don't really remember the initial side affects that I felt. But I can tell you about side affects down the road.

Lack of sexual desire and ability
Total indifference: I would go months without cleaning my house or car. I would drop something on the floor and let it lay there for weeks or months. This behaviour seemed to just grow worse and I just didn't care.
Increased alcohol abuse. I've always been a drinker but just noticed that it kept getting worse and worse. Just like the indifference, I didn't care. Do a search on this site about alcohol as there are some other people out there with stories to tell.
Depression! I realize that most people take Cymbalta to relieve depression but I started on it for nerve pain. It never did anything for my mild depression but have noticed in the past year that the depression has grown worse.
Loss in quality of life. If you take all of the above facts and add them together, you can see the pattern. I had no desire to do anything so I would drink more and more to make sure that I had a reason not to do anything. To sum it up, I just didn't care about anything.

Since I've been weaning off Cymbalta here are the things that have changed for the good.

I have cleaned my entire house.
I have quit drinking.
I have taken a desire in thing again although I have a ways to go.
My sexual drive is improving but also has a way to go.
I still have a long way to go on a lot of stuff.

Here is the scary part. Cymbalta withdrawal symptoms.

Vivid, abnormal, and sometimes frightening dreams.
Extreme depression.
Overly emotional. Get sad about everything, even things that normally would not even seem important. Crying over the smallest things.
Irritation, anger, and even rage. People lose control of this one and sometimes scream and yell at people they love. There have been stories about some causing physical damage to others but I've never had that problem.
Brain zaps. Search on this one. It's not pleasant.
A multitude of other mental and physical symptoms that some people encounter.
There are so many withdrawal symptoms that there is no way I can cover them all.

Ok, I gave you a lot to think about. I spent 2 weeks in November weaning off Cymbalta but threw my back out and gave up. Now I have been weaning off it for a second time since December 18th. It is not any fun and I, like many other people on this forum, are afraid of getting off this nasty drug. I went cold turkey for 4 days a couple of years ago and wanted to die so I know that things are probably going to get worse before they get better for me.

I understand that you have depression but find something (anything) else for it. Throw your cymbalta away before you end up addicted like the rest of us on this forum.

Rick

[pamela]

Rick,

I think that flushing it down the toilet (while PERFECT advice ) is putting that crap in our water supply. I know that there are places that take medication and other hazardous materials so that they don't get into our drinking water.

PS. Can you come clean my house? Even though I am down to 9mg I still HATE, HATE, HATE to clean my house. Alas...I am off to scrub the bathroom.

[RickWC]

Point well taken. Putting the crap in our water supply is not what I meant. I just meant to get rid of it. No, I don't want to clean your house. I never said that I enjoyed it. Just that I've finally found the willpower and desire to start taking care of things again. Good luck.

[catscan]

New Girl,
You are so lucky you had the sense to come to this website before yore in too deep...Its a personal decision..but at least now you know what you're in for..I hate this stuff and will never ever take another anti depressant in my life... HOWEVER...it got me through the time I needed it too..It helped my anxiety and trich so for that I am grateful. I just believe that some other drug could have probably done the same thing without all the crap..

[Red.Headed.Blonde]

 catscan, on 09 January 2011 - 07:46 PM, said:

New Girl,
You are so lucky you had the sense to come to this website before yore in too deep...Its a personal decision..but at least now you know what you're in for..I hate this stuff and will never ever take another anti depressant in my life... HOWEVER...it got me through the time I needed it too..It helped my anxiety and trich so for that I am grateful. I just believe that some other drug could have probably done the same thing without all the crap..

Catscan! I found someone else in here who has trich. I'm happy. But I have found Cymbalta to make my trich worse. I used to go 3 weeks or so without pulling, but since I started on Cymbalta, I pull EVERY day and sometimes I lie in bed at night and pull for hours and cannot go to sleep. That doesn't happen often though, but I do pull every day. How is your trich now with being off Cymbalta?

[New Girl]

Thank you all. I think I have my answer. Day 6 was another day where the euphoria hit. I had an appointment that day with my therapist who I explained all of this to. He said that alot of the side effects sound to him like someone who is on speed. I didn't sleep most of that night and woke up exhausted. Did clean the crap out of stuff I put off for months. Late in the day my mood swung the other way and I've been teetering on the edge of a major depressive episode again. Yesterday was day 7 and that was filled with more depression and no sleep. Exhausted today and time to call my doctor.

The ONLY thing I'm afraid of is how much it is helping my fibromyalgia pain right now. I haven't had relief in 2 years and to suddenly be relieved of it is hard to give up. However, widespread pain is better than all the potential side effects I think.

[ALLIE]

I started Cybalta about a year ago and have tried to wean myself a few times with no sucess. I was give the drug for fibromyalgia. Now I want to come off the drug because of the side effects. I stopped the medication and was okay for almost 4 days. Then I had a panic attack over a situation that left me crying for hours at a time. I took the 30mg capsule of cymbalta and a few hours later I was back to normal. That was on Saturday. I havent taken any since than. I really don't want to take this drug anymore. I get these crazy tingling sensations from my waist down and my fingers grow numb on me. I have had the brain tics when I tried to stop the med before, along with the nausea and vomiting, loss of appetite. Can some one please tell me what is the best way to get off this drug. I was taking 30mg a day.

[RickWC]

New girl,

If Cymbalta is the only thing that helps you with the pain then perhaps it is right for you. Just remember that the side effects tend to get worse over time for many people. And once your body becomes accustomed to Cymbalta, quitting may be impossible. Many people have tried and failed over and over. Good luck on your decision.

Allie,

From my experience, cutting back on the dosage or weaning it the only way to go. Cold turkey is going to give you the worse symptoms. Also see if your doctor will prescibe Prozac for you for awhile. It has reallly helped me. I weaned from 60mg to 30mg then started taking 30mg every other day. I have slowly extended the time between the 30mg dose and now am on day #7 with no Cymbalta.

Good luck to both of you.

[ALLIE]

 RickWC, on 11 January 2011 - 11:55 AM, said:

New girl,

If Cymbalta is the only thing that helps you with the pain then perhaps it is right for you. Just remember that the side effects tend to get worse over time for many people. And once your body becomes accustomed to Cymbalta, quitting may be impossible. Many people have tried and failed over and over. Good luck on your decision.

Allie,

From my experience, cutting back on the dosage or weaning it the only way to go. Cold turkey is going to give you the worse symptoms. Also see if your doctor will prescibe Prozac for you for awhile. It has reallly helped me. I weaned from 60mg to 30mg then started taking 30mg every other day. I have slowly extended the time between the 30mg dose and now am on day #7 with no Cymbalta.

Good luck to both of you.

I just recently stopped taking Cymbalta 6 weeks ago. I stopped cold turkey, but it was suggested that I take Fish Oil capsules and lots of exercise and so far this has worked well. I would get a brain freeze every now and than, but that has almost stopped. My body aches during the night and I get tingling sensations and that is from being diabetic. I have lost about 30 pounds in the past year and am doing failrly well. But the withdrawals weren't that bad. I did have some highs and lows and would cry alot. That was due to some situations in my life. However I am no longer in that place and am doing much better. I pray alot and have developed a closer relationship with God and this has really helped my mental state. Praise God I am doing well. I hope things work out for you.

[Bi Polar Two]

Can some one please tell me what is the best way to get off this drug. I was taking 30mg a day.
[/quote]

Switch to Prosac for six weeks. Then, just quit taking it. No withdraw.

[runslikeagrl11]

Hi New Girl-
I am weaning off of Cymbalta like alot of users here however if it werent for the fact that pretty soon my husband and I were going to have a baby I think I may still be taking it. The only side effect I ever had while taking it was a low sex drive. But that was something I new going in. My problem was extremely frequent night terrors (daily at the worst points) and high aniexty related to PTSD. I weighed the pros and cons and decided to try to the Cymbalta.

I dont want to lead you wrong with this, everyone's body is different but I liked the Cymbalta. I HATE THE WITHDRAWS. HATE!!! I have turned into a raging, angry, nick picky pyscho. So just a fair warning if you continue to take it just keep in mind when or if you decided to stop to wean off of this slowly. But sometimes I wonder if no matter how slowly you wean off these withdrawls are inevitable. So in essence, be prepared for the possible withdraw symptons. I took 60 mgs for 3 1/2 years and right now I am on my 5th week of weaning. Still withdrawing too. its a huge pain in the ass.

You see to me, Cymbalta was great while I was taking it- coming off- it reared its ugly head and made me loose mine.

[RickWC]

 runslikeagrl11, on 17 February 2011 - 01:56 PM, said:

Hi New Girl-
I am weaning off of Cymbalta like alot of users here however if it werent for the fact that pretty soon my husband and I were going to have a baby I think I may still be taking it. The only side effect I ever had while taking it was a low sex drive. But that was something I new going in. My problem was extremely frequent night terrors (daily at the worst points) and high aniexty related to PTSD. I weighed the pros and cons and decided to try to the Cymbalta.

I dont want to lead you wrong with this, everyone's body is different but I liked the Cymbalta. I HATE THE WITHDRAWS. HATE!!! I have turned into a raging, angry, nick picky pyscho. So just a fair warning if you continue to take it just keep in mind when or if you decided to stop to wean off of this slowly. But sometimes I wonder if no matter how slowly you wean off these withdrawls are inevitable. So in essence, be prepared for the possible withdraw symptons. I took 60 mgs for 3 1/2 years and right now I am on my 5th week of weaning. Still withdrawing too. its a huge pain in the ass.

You see to me, Cymbalta was great while I was taking it- coming off- it reared its ugly head and made me loose mine.

Sorry you are still suffering after 5 weeks. Hope it is over for you soon. Most people here bad-mouth Cymbalta because they are freaking out from the withdrawal. But others, like you, have made positive comments about using Cymbalta and I'm not interested in taking sides. We can all agree that Cymbalta withdrawal sucks and that't the point of this forum.

I'm just curious about how severe your symptoms still are. I went through a strange experience when I quit Cymbalta and am still uncertain if I am suffering withdrawal or not. My doc put me on Prozac and had me doing a 60mg to 30mg wean for a couple of weeks. I was feeling pretty anxious at times but handling it at a reduced dosage. Then I hurt my back and went through 2 weeks of pure pain. I went back on Cymbalta 60mg and stopped the Procac and the pain wouldn't go away. My doctor finally prescribed Methadone for the pain but didn't like me taking Cymbalta at the same time so put me on an a very fast wean off the Cymbalta.

I started taking the Methadone and restarted the Procac on 12/18/10. I tapered very quickly and took my last 30mg dose of Cymbalta on 1/4/11 and I have to admit that I didn't have much for withdrawal while taking the Prozac and Methadone. I have been Cymbalta free since then. I started doing physical therapy for my back and wanted off the Methadone so I just stopped taking it. My last dose was on 1/31/11 and I have to tell you that doing this cold turkey sucked. It was a solid 2 weeks where I was just plain freaking out. My anxiety level was off the chart. The whole world felt like doom and gloom and I grew quite depressed.

I even asked my doctor for some relief on the Methadone withdrawal and he prescibed another habit forming antidepressant even though his records should show that I just got off Cymbalta. I limped my way through 2 weeks and I feel better. But there is still a nagging anxiety in the back of my mind like everything is not ok. I still freak out when I go out in public and find it difficult to make and then follow up on a decision. I'm tired of these feelings!

Here is my count. Cymbalta free for 44 days and Methadone free for 17 days. Can anyone tell me what I'm suffering from? I'd really like some input from people who had Cymbalta withdrawal for more then 4 weeks.

[LickiTyClick]

I've been on Cymbalta for years and years. It helped me so much. I never dreamed I would be going off of it and that there would be side affects. What a shame to make something that can actually help someone and bite you in the butt on the way out.

[twerp]

Last dose of Cymbalta today! I am fearful as to how the side effects will go now I am totally off the med. I began wd on July 12. Using this website, I chose the process of counting beads and weaning off 2 mg a day. Now... I have the advantage of being retired which helps on the bad days. I also found a website: www.theroadback which has a great deal of information on withdrawal from many kinds of meds. My withdrawal symptoms were like many of you....itching all over, sweating, nausea, crying WAY TO EASILY, blurred vision, slow thinking process (slower than usual),hot/cold spells...to name a few. And there was the rage. I have no filter!!! It just blurts out. My brain zaps were more like a brain buzz...not severe like I had experienced coming off Paxil years ago. What I am doing to help with the symptoms: the vitamins..multi, b's,c and e. Omega3. (Make sure you get your Biotin...many of us are low) I also used valerian tincture for the anxiety. The itching is relieved by an oral antihistamine. I also never realized that what I didn't eat made a major impact on how I felt. So, I eat "seratonin" foods such as turkey, bananas, dark chocolate, cottage cheese, avacado, pecans and walnuts, pineapple and drink my coffee!

I am not 100% yet, but, I am on the road. Don't get me wrong...I liked how I felt while on it and the Zanex. The apathy was convenient and the lack of anxiety was great! I could mask my true feeling alot easier. But now, when I look in the mirror, I no longer have anything to be depressed or anxious about...I AM RETIRED AND HAVE A GREAT LIFE!!! I didn't want to be dependent on a synthetic mind-altering drug. I can now explore natural remedies if needed and they have NO SIDE EFFECTS!

This website helped me realize I wasn't totally crazy regarding the wd symptoms! Thank you all for your posts. For those of you still in the battle or contemplating..."slug it out" and don't give up. Don't let the SPAWN OF SATAN (Cymbalta withdrawals)get the best of you! Be patient with yourself. Please know that we are here for you. God Bless.