[LadyJ]

Hello everyone. I've been taking Cymbalta for seven years for depression and chronic pain. I'm not a big believer in drugs and even though Cymbalta has worked well for me, I'm very uncomfortable being on something that is so difficult to stop taking. I'd like to see how I do without it. I used to be on 90 mg and (blissfully unaware of the withdrawl horrors some people experience) gradually lowered the dose down to 30 mg over the period of a year just by skipping it every other day. (I wasn't aware this is not the ideal way to do it).

Last week I forgot to take my 30mg pill. I wondered why I felt dizzy and thought I was going to throw up. That evening I realized I hadn't taken Cymbalta that morning. I did a search online to see if severe nausea was a symptom and found this forum.

I've read a fair amount of posts and am going to take a positive approach to this. It's good to know what people experience but I'm not going to let it terrify me. I'm going to take one day at a time. I am incredibly sensitive to changes in my body and will do this as slowly as necessary, even if it takes 1-2 years. I will be taking 5HTP in addition to the supplements I already take (which include B vitamins, omega-3, and quite a few others).

I'm interested in the super-gradual approach of this member where you remove beads to lower the dosage. My question is: are all the beads the same? Does it matter WHICH beads you remove?

I'm also curious how many people have had success on this type of method?

Thank you so much!

[cookie]

Dear Lady J:

I also feel uncomfortable being on a medication that is so difficult to stop taking and I feel it is making my brain lazy to do its task everyday.

I have also been taking one day at a time. I have tapered slowly for a whole year. I was very close to zero, but started feeling bad (severe nausea, vomit, dizziness) so I had to updose. Now that I am feeling better I will start to taper again. I have never alternated days, I rather take some amount everyday. Cod liver oil and B vitamins have helped me tremendously, not with withdrawal but with depression/anxiety itself. I do not want to add 5HTP until I am completely off the med, because I am afraid of getting serotonin syndrome. I plan to add 5HTP in the future.

[LadyJ]

Thanks for the encouragement, Cookie!

No one knows if the beads are the same? If I remember correctly (from a long time ago) some were white and some where light blue...but that could have changed...

[Lundeliz]

Lady J, I've been tapering by removing beads for over a year now. I have never come across

any blue beads. My capsules in different batches, however, have had different sizes. Some

batches have tiny and more beads. Some batches of capsules have had larger and less beads.

So be sure and check that out to determine how many beads in your batch equals one mg.

[cookie]

LadyJ, on 20 July 2011 - 03:35 PM, said:

Thanks for the encouragement, Cookie!

No one knows if the beads are the same? If I remember correctly (from a long time ago) some were white and some where light blue...but that could have changed...

Mine are all white.

[JRDN]

They should be all the same. For 60mg pills, the box says:

"Each capsule contains 67.3 mg of duloxetine hydrochloride, equivalent to 60mg duloxetine."

So yes, there is only one chemical ingredient in the pills