cookie, on 20 May 2011 - 01:24 PM, said:
I have been weaning slowly for a whole year. I started to have new symptoms, which I never had during tapering or before the medication
-I have a disconnected feeling in my brain. My brain feels confused and weird. It feels like the blood doesn`t circulate the back of my brain, and my right ear seems "asleep".
-Severe Nausea, diarrea, dizziness,
-Vision problems, sensitivity to light and noises,
-Talking and comprehending written or spoken language is very difficult.
-The exhaustion is unbelievable. I am extremely tired all the time
-I was recently told I have an Hyperactive thyroid. Never had thyroid issues in my life.
Are these cymbalta withdrawal related?
Have you had these symptoms?
I have had thyroid problems for several years now. I blame this problem on long-term antidepressant use (there are MANY studies which have shown PROFOUND metabolic issues when using many psych meds which cause primarily hypothyroid issue and serious metabolic-related weight-gain, lethary and MOOD issues). I have mostly dealt with low level of thyroid, but when my meds get off (mostly when I am not taking my psych meds as prescribed (as in weaning or frequent skips),highly associated, hmmm?).
Anyway, your symptoms do sound like withdrawal compounded by your of hyperthyroid issues. When I am hyperthyroid I experience: anxiety, panic attacks, diarrhea, loss of appetite, weight loss, dizziness, brain fog and hair loss (handfuls in the shower and more than normal on my brush), hand tremor, ADD/ADHD attentional /memory deficit symptoms, insomnia, and despite feeling jittery and exhausted, insomnia and or un-refreshing sleep.
Keep in mind that the thyroid is responsible for regulating many hormones and neurotransmitters produced elsewhere in the body as do antidepressants and other psychotropic drugs. In my case I took anti-depressants because of my bipolar disorder and serious suicidal issues. However, I am / have been in a much more stable place whereby the effects of medications on my body impact my mood and self-image more than my illness (we are talking weight gain despite reduced caloric intake and activity, inability to stabilize my thyroid, and serious mental fog / reduction in IQ and reasoning abilities). There are so many natural / nutritional options for regulating mood that taking neuro-psychologically addictive drugs that are JUST as hard physiologically and emotionally to quit as heroine and nicotine, that the side effects aren't worth it, FOR ME (disclaimer). When the continuation of a drug creates / continues many of the same symptoms it is purported to resolve, it stands to reason, why continue to take it?!
Some of the brain foggy issues I think (I AM NOT AN MD - another disclaimer). I am however degreed (or is that pedigreed?) in developmental neuropsychobiology (say that fast 3 times while withdrawing from cymabalta
) which focuses on the neurological aspects of development throughout the lifespan.
I would caution you to think very carefully about the risk / benefit of continuing to commit to antidepressants to treat symptoms. I was truly facing either death, ECT treatments or drug therapy, I chose drugs. My daughter committed suicide two years ago in August (she had schizoaffective disorder) and putting my remaining 2 children, family and friends through surviving that again is not an option, nor was ECT, which I had in the late 90's that took me 9 years to re-gain the cognitive impairments caused. I am currently quitting Cymbalta cold turkey (I have strong opinions on cold turkey vs tapering) and have come here for support. Like many others who suffer from addictions, I firmly believe that unless you've lived it, you don't know what it is like to recover from it. Not that I'm saying finding empathy isn't possible, it just isn't like talking to others going through the same experience. I think if more Psych and General Practice Physicians (more importantly FDA decision makers) were required to take the meds short term and suffer withdrawal, there would be VERY few FDA approvals / stricter controls and then prescriptions written for these drugs, despite the financial bait / lure pharmaceutical kickbacks. But that is a fantasy better left to mull over during a manic episode.
Off the soapbox and back to you.
Don't ignore treating your thyroid, hyperthyroidism can kill or permanently disable you. Take the meds prescribed to regulate it. However, don't compound your problems with the concurrent use of anti-depressants for anything less than a life or death situation. As you continue weaning from psych meds as well as improving your thyroid levels there will be a time of overlap of symptoms in which you will not be able to tell what is causing what. As your thyroid becomes regulated, then stabilized you will know better. When your thyroid level begins to be within the normal range (make sure your doctor checks TSH, free T3 AND T4 levels) you will find many of the issues you have never experienced during withdrawal before resolve.
Sorry if I've repeated myself or meandered through this topic, I am suffering withdrawal brain fog myself at the moment. Educate yourself about thyroid function, it is true that "information is power."
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