[joe]

hello. i have been on and off this forum reading and digesting, getting frustrated and then other times finding relief that i am not the only one in this situation. today i finally thought it was time to share my story. it's not as horrible as some of yours, but miserable all the same.

i have been on cymbalta for about 6 years (put on it for low energy after delivering twins?!!?). i have never been on more then 30 mg. about three years ago i started slowly weaning till i reached 1/2 a 20 mg capsule...so 10 mg a day. each time i dropped i felt bad but it always eventually leveled. then i got stuck at 10 mg and couldn't go lower. i was advised to go every other day, tried that and was almost admitted to the hospital for migraines and vomiting, among other things. contacted the *doctor that originally prescribed the meds and he told me if i wanted to go off i needed to use prozac and it would be no problem.

*this doctor specializes in these meds. he believes that my body needs the cymbalta and that withdrawal symptoms occur ONLY for people who NEED the drug. like a diabetic needs insulin or a thyroid patient needs synthroid. if i didn't need the drug i wouldn't have withdrawal symptoms. he says my body doesn't care about my opinions. so if that is true, everyone on this forum needs the drug and that's why we can't get off. hmmm.

anyway. i want off and don't want to keep messing around with it for years. so i decided to try the prozac. i took 10 mg of prozac with my 10 mg cymbalta for a few days and then tried to stop the cymbalta. more headaches. so i started slowing taking less and less cymbalta each day to avoid the headaches. i have been off the cymbalta now for about 5 days and on 10 mg prozac. the plan is to stay on prozac another week or so everyday, then drop to every other day for a week, then off. i don't have any real physical problems which is a good thing. but i am mentally a wreck. i am having negative thoughts and very irritable w/ mild depression. i can handle it if i know these are withdrawl symptoms and are going to go away. wish i knew how long they would last...but i know that will be hard to say. this doctor would say that this is just how i am and that i need the cymbalta. what are your thoughts? do you think depressed state is just me or the withdrawals?? am i going to run into other issues?? if it's the withdrawals does anyone have any idea how long it will last?

if prozac is the way to get off this drug why am i not hearing more of in in this forum? i have read a few of you have used it. just curious.

so there is positive and negative in this story. the positive is that i am getting off. the negative is that i might need it to stay happy? i really have a hard time believing that since i didn't need it like this before. what i think i need is a magic pill to give me patience. hoping a little time is all it takes.

thank you all for sharing your stories and being here. i wish you all the very best and much success getting off this drug and staying happy!!

[cookie]

Dear Joe:

I guess we all started taking the drug around the same time (6 years ago).



Concerning the quote “withdrawal symptoms occur only for people who need the drug...” I have some comments. The first one is, drugs are human inventions, we were born without this drug. The fact that it makes our symptoms (depression, pain) go away it doesn´t mean that we need THIS particular drug. Maybe there are other treatments that also work for depression and pain, such as vitamins and minerals. The fact that your doctor mentioned Prozac as an alternative, is a proof that there are other ways to adress the problem. The second is, that I never suffered the symptoms I am experiencing in withdrawal BEFORE taking the medication 6 years ago (such as nausea, vomit, dizziness, hair loss, tinnitus, joint pain, mood swings, allergies, rage). So I think this symptoms are caused by this medication, since I didn´t have any of these symptoms when cymbalta was first prescribed. The third is, that if this quote is true, that we really NEED this medication, is because we became addicted to it, after taking it 6 years every single day. The medication made our brain and body, dependent to it, we depend on it, for our brains to do their function, so we NEED it.



My doctor also told me that quote. He always mentioned that I needed this medication the same way diabetics needed their medication. Turns out, that after 6 years of taking cymbalta I gained 50lbs and started suffering from high blood sugars, now I have to take an antidiabetic medication for the rest of my life. So instead of taking one pill I am taking 2 for the rest of my life.



I also got stuck at a certain dosage (at 20mg), but then I was able to decrease further. Instead of alternating days, I always took a certain dosage, and lowered little by little.



I have also experienced irritability during tapering. I have always been a calm and quiet person. I am now short tempered.



There are many posts of people who quit cymbalta with the prozac aid.



If you didn´t have depression before the medication, then it is not you, it´s the medication. In my case I did have depression before the medication. I have found, there are other things that help with depression and anxiety. Sunlight helps since it is a source of vitamin D. Vitamins and minerals help: B vitamins complex help, omega 3 or cod liver oil help, acupuncture helps, proper nutrition helps, exercise helps (for example yoga).



I am not a doctor. This is just my opinion, based on what I have lived over the years I´ve taken antidepressants. And the things I´ve learned on the road. I do not intend to replace your doctor´s opinion. But I write the things that have helped me to complement medicine/treatment and reduce dosage.

[joe]

hi cookie! thank you for your reply and input. not sure it was clear in my original post but i don't want to agree with this doctor. i think his what he says is a load of crap. i get the impression he just wants people on medication.

so are you still at 20 mg? i was for a long time then started splitting the cap in 1/2. have you been able to do that? it does seem like prozac is working nicely. i am hoping this irritability is just from the changes my body is going through. since i wrote the post i have stood on my head (yoga pose) and then took a 3 hour bike ride. i am feeling better again. so there is hope!

now i just have to get off the prozac.

thank you again!!

[cookie]

Hi Joe:
I was very close to zero (was taking 0,7mg) but had to updose because I started getting severe nausea, vomit, couldn´t eat, tremors, depersonalization, etc. After 2 months I stabilized and started tapering again. I am now taking 4,5mg. I realized that withdrawal symptoms do exist, and can vary in intensity from person to person. Always having the risk of relapse of initial illness. So it´s important to make the life changes to help with depression. Yoga is excellent I do the head pose everyday. Exercise has been very helpful.


The important thing is that you stabilize before making any changes on medication or dosage.

hope you feel better