[ExCymbaltaUser]

hi. i was on cymbalta for idk, 5 years maybe? maybe longer. pdoc kept increasing till i was at 120mg/day (60 am/60pm) then my insurance company decides not to cover it anymore, and i can't afford to pay for it out of pocket. pdoc wanted me to taper down 30 mg a week, bing bang boom.

i'm like are you nuts!? so he gave me a three mo rx, i started with 1 mg/week taper, sped it up here and there where if felt safe to do so, and i was finally down to 10/mg day when they ran out.

so i went from 10 mg am/pm to 10 mg am, (three days) and then ran out.

I have been freaking out like someone with their head on fire.

i walked out on my job
tore up my marriage (i'll be lucky if that holds)

i was on a two day raging adrenaline bender (that sucked a lot)

i am really scared. i know part of what is going on is withdrawal, and part of what is going on is adrenaline crash.
but mostly i am just scared.

can't really call pdoc, his only solution is to put me on effexor. he doesn't believe in the withdrawal effects and is all "hmm you must be really sensitive" like i am the only one who ever felt withdrawal. obviously having found a whole site dedicated to it, i can't be the only one

and to go from cymbalta to effexor? talk abt out of the frying fan into the fire.

my head feels swimmy, my vision is blurry, i'm all sweaty and i can't stop crying.
every muscle in my body feels like a wet noodle and i am scared to death.

thanks for being here
and letting me vent

sorry i am all rambly
i'm all over the place today

this is terrible
i hope it stops soon.

i read somewhere benadryl can help?
that doesn't make sense to me, but i am willing to try anything

[ExCymbaltaUser]

is there anything i can do to feel better at this point, or do i just have to ride the wave of side effects? please help if you can. i am feeling very scared, and very alone right now.

[RickWC]

I've been off Cymbalta since January and am happily free of side effects. I had some help because I hurt my back and my doctor prescribed Methadone for pain. Methadone caused numerous other side effects but the withdrawal symptoms from Cymbalta were not very noticable. I was having a hard time with it before starting the Methadone and Prozac helped a lot. Prozac doesn't cause any withdrawal for most people and was easy to stop. I quit Methadone cold turkey after being on it for about 45 days. That was horrible but not near as bad as the Cymbalta withdrawal I had when I quit cold turkey for 4 days.

I'm just telling you this so you understand that there are people who understand what you are going through. As far as helping you? I guess you just have to ride it out. Some of the people on this forum break open capsules and wean forever. I've talked to somebody that has been "weaning" like this since July 2010 and is still not off of it. There comes a point wher you just have to quit for good. Going from 10 to 0 is going to be rough but I went from 30 to 0 and made it. Search this forum for advice on vitamins and minerals and other medication you can take that might help.

Just remember that we are here for you so don't give up. We all felt scared and alone when going through this and I got very angry a lot of the time. This too will pass. I wish I could do more to help but hope my words have offered you some comfort.

[ExCymbaltaUser]

Thank you. I read a lot online abt amino acids, and protein, and vitamin c. so, i've added all of those.

I think I am past the worst of it now. I just keep crying all the time. At ridiculous stuff. Just a regular waterworks.
The rage scares me. I am hoping that doesn't come back again. It went on for close to 3 days straight.

It's unconscionable that pharmaceutical companies can release drugs that do these things to you.
Cymbalta never helped me as much as it hurt me.

I also have a benzo rx prn for anxiety and sleep. trying to use them sparingly. and benadryl.

If you told me if I stood on one leg and quacked like a duck I would feel better I would do it. That's how desperate I feel.

Thank you for responding Rick. It really means so very much to me. Ahh there I go crying again. Stupid cymbalta.

[RickWC]

It's funny. I have been Cymbalta free for 6 months. Although my head still doesn't always feel like it is screwed on right, I think the Cymbalta withdrawals are gone. Yes I can still share with you the things you are going through. Although I was not on Cymbalta for depression, when I stopped taking it, I got more depressed then I had ever been before.

And yes, I went through the rage thing and it is probably the most scarey part about the whole Cymbalta withdrawal syndrome. I am not and never have been a violent person but when I was getting off Cymbalta, I has unexplained and uncontrollable sessions of pure rage. I said things to people that I would never have said in a normal state of mind. Thankfully I never hurt anybody but there were times during these rage episodes where I really did want to cause physical harm to other people. The horrible part is that these people hadn't done anything to deserve what I felt for them.

As far as crying goes, I did a lot of that. The depression was horrible and I felt so sad and cried that the most stupid things. I've always been emotional but never to that extent. If you cry for what seems no reason then that is just the Cymbalta withdrawal as well.

One thing that you have not mentioned is the disturbing and extremely vivid nightmares that I had. Plus the brain zaps. Maybe you never had these and I prey that you never do. So many people on this forum have tried to describe brain zaps but I think it is impossible to understand by anyone who hasn't had them. I'll give you an example that seems to fit. I wear glasses and live by the great lakes. One summer many years ago, I and some friends rented some jet skis to take out on Lake Michigan. Because I can't see without my glasses, I bought a strap that held mine to my face while riding the jet ski.

The lake was choppy that day with 2-3 foot waves and I found myself at the bottom of one of the waves. When trying to break the crest of the wave, I got a huge facefull of water. The force of the water hitting my face and the sound of it hitting my strapped on glasses made this loud "zing" sound. That sound and feeling and thinking that I was drowning stuck the instant in my brain for good. I never felt anything like that again until I started getting brain zaps from Cymbalta withdrawal.

I know that I talk too much but I'm just trying to make you feel better by knowing that others have gone through what you are now going through. You can stand on one foot and quack all you want and it may help. But I think that time is the only real healar for this addiction. Trying to sleep for as much as possible seemed to help but that can be bad for jobs and family. Plus you can only sleep so much without chemcical aid and that adds more danger.

Good luck and let me know how you are doing. PM me if you want.

[cookie]

[Every night I wake up with severe itching in my arms, hands. Do you get this??????? What is this, an allergic reaction????

[ExCymbaltaUser]

cookie, no itching for me, but i think i have seen that mentioned elsewhere as a withdrawal symptom. can't take my word for it though, i am so screwed up right now. hope it goes away soon for you.

what i am noticing is pain. in my ankle and my knee which i injured abt 1 1/2 years ago. i thought they were better, but the cymbalta must have been masking the pain. it's like an added door prize! yay me!

Rick, you don't talk too much at all, my comprehension is down these days, but i love to know that i am not alone here. it is SO scary right now. (ah crying again!)

i freaked out b/c of withdrawals and quit my job. i am going back to work tomorrow and i am terrified.

i am not getting zaps per say, but my brain HURTS, a dull ache, nothing at all like a headache. it hurts all the time. and it feels like it is not quite secure inside my skull, like it swishes around in there, instead of moving with the rest of my head at the same speed. and i feellike i can't think straight.

this so sucks. idk how long this is going to go on, i can ask pdoc for effexor, the med the ins. co will cover, but i understand the withdrawals are just as bad w/that so why go from the frying pan into the fire. my tdoc doesn't even think i am depressed, not clinically anyway. just have no coping skills cuz i had sucky parents who were poor models, and i never learned how to deal

so i started self medicating young, then onto psych meds when i was a teen because my parents couldn't deal with me not being able to deal. i've had a lot of episodes of situational depression tho, and at least 2 suicide attempts. the only one my parents knew abt and for which i was hospitalized, they kicked me out of the house afterwards because they were "tired of my sh*t." like i said sucky parents.

anyway, thanks for posting ... idk how i am going to get through this. but i am determined to try my best. it just makes me so mad. stupid cymbalta.

[RickWC]

Sorry about the delay but I don't always get on her as often as I used to. The forum used to email me when there were new responses but not for awhile now. It sounds like you are actually doing better even though it probably doesn't seem like it do you. Some of the things you are feeling will be with you for awhile until you are truly clean. And Cymbalta can take a long time to leave your system.

Cymbalta does indeed mask pain. That's why I started taking it to begin with. My struggle when quitting was that I hurt my back at work while I was weaning off and the pain became unbearable. I went from a 3 week wean back to full 60mg per day but it didn't stop the pain. I had to go on some serious drugs for that. Long story and bad results. My back is better and I'm off Cymbalta and pain killer and that's what counts.

My adivce is to go through the pain and get it over with. Prozac seems ok for helping with weaning but stay away from the newer anti depressants. Some are just as bad as Cymbalta and you will just end up with a new addiction to get rid of. My EX doctor kept trying to just give me more anti depresants for every complaint that I had. That is why he is my EX doctor. Depression does hurt, just like the TV ads say. But feeling numb is not much better if it gets to where you care about nothing at all.

Like you, I have done plenty of self medicating in my past. My Mom was great but my step dad was not. I understand about sucky parents and growing up with out support. All I can say is that the doctor presribed drugs have screwed me up much worse then anything I took to self medicate.

Don't worry about getting angry, either. I haven't taken an anti depressant since March of 2011 and I still get angry sometimes. Living without Cymbalta is definetly better but there are times where a little dose of not caring would feel good. Take care.

Rick

[ExCymbaltaUser]

 RickWC, on 10 August 2011 - 10:10 PM, said:

My EX doctor kept trying to just give me more anti depresants for every complaint that I had. That is why he is my EX doctor.

Do we have the same doctor? That's why I have been reaching out on the web. All he wants to do is put me back on the anti-depressants. He doesn't seem to "believe" in the discontinuation syndrome at all. Talk about crazy.

Thanks for the response. And glad to know you are doing so much better, mentally and physically.

I'll be ok when my brain stops whishing around inside my skull independent of the rest of my head. Really hard when driving.
I don't mind feeling again. The hard part is living in a world where feeling is judged so harshly. Must have our game face on at all times. "never let em see you sweat" and all that.

Which by the way, omg, i thought i was sweating badly when ON cymbalta, it's gotten SO much worse now that I am off.

I really appreciate your kindness and support. I've gotten a lot of crap on various support forums because i didn't taper down 1/mg every month for the next however long that takes. That's not always an option. And it's hard to know what's the right thing to do when your doctor says taper down 30mg/week and then wants to put you back on meds because he doesn't seem to get the withdrawal aspect. Now I have to find another doctor and that could take forever. idk what i am going to do.

my therapist firmly believes that I do not need medication, and it's just a stumbling block to my healing. that my issues are more axis 2 than axis 1.

but when everyone has a different opinion, it gets very confusing.

hearing from others like yourself who have gone through the same thing and understand your situation? that's golden, and i can't thank you enough for taking the time to share some of your experience with me.

[RickWC]

Hey, sorry it's been awhile. I don't get on this forum too much anymore. I'm not positive about your time line but I would think that you are about 2 weeks off Cymbalta by now? How are you feeling now? Hope it is better. I never noticed increased sweating with or without Cymbalta but it did seem like I sweat a lot more then other people. I even asked my doctor about it once and he said it has a name and that is is common among diabetics. I can't honestly say if it is better off Cymbalta or not.

Don't let your doctor get to you. It's your mind and body and if he doesn't get it, then fire him and find somebody else. I have 2 doctors, one for general and one for diabetes. The diabetes people are good people and have no realy problems with them. They set me up on a weaning schedule for getting off Cymbalta that most on these forum don't like. Instead of a really slow daily taper, I did the reduced dosage every other day thing. I was still taking a full 30Mg but gradually increased the time between doses. I think I got down to where I was at 30mg every 6 days when I decided that there was no sense in taking another dose.

Don't let other peoples opinions make a difference. Just like the withdrawal symptoms can be different for each person, the method used for stopping can be different as well. You are certainly doing it the hard way but you will be over this a lot sooner then somebody that spends months weaning. Good luck.

[ExCymbaltaUser]

I am feeling better, thanks! I read somewhere cymbalta acts on the same place in the brain as where sweating resides. (bad sentence sorry, time for bed, lol) it's a pretty common side effect. it's been miserable.

i have totally decided to fire the pdoc. i'm going to go a different route than the psycho pharm wagon. i am NEVER going through what i just went through again.

i am going to be in charge of my health from here on in. not big pharma. yeah, jaded and cynical, that's me. but these last few weeks have been sheer hell. not making that trip twice.

thanks for checking in Rick. you're a good egg.

[RickWC]

Glad you are feeling better. I guess it just takes time. Hopefully you are over the worst of it. Good luck on finding a new doc. Taking charge of your own physical and mental health is the way to go but it can be scarey. I totaly know how you feel about not wanting to go through the withdrawal process again. That's why I fired my doc. He just wanted to give me other drugs that I would have to withdrawal from later down the road. That is not the way to solve things.

Take care and write if you want. I try to get on here at least once a week.

[JenBR]

I just read the above posts and wanted to ask you how long it took for you to be done with the bulk of the withdrawal symptoms? From all that I have read I am scared to death that I will end up in the hospital for months or longer due to withdrawal! I was on 60mg and am 5 days on 40 now. I will go down to 20 mg in a couple days and a week later will be off completely. But after all the 100s of posts I have read on cymbalta w/d I am in a state of panic. Does everyone suffer tremendously for months?

[ExCymbaltaUser]

well i had a temporary reprieve of symptoms after an auriculotheray session (like acupuncture, only just on your ear.)
and things are not as bad as they were, but i am still pretty miserable overall

it's the rebound agitation, rage, depression, suicidal ideation, and mild head spins that i still have.
it's been since august 1st.

it should be criminal to put people on this drug.

if it goes on much longer ... i honestly know how long i will be able to maintain the "ideation" level of things
i don't want to live like this, and i am terrified the effects may be permanent

[RickWC]

Jen, you are asking a question that I'm not sure anybody can answer. How long it takes to get over the withdrawals seems to be different for each person you ask. And I am not qualified to give an honest answer. I've stated in other posts that I withdrew from Cymbalta while on Methadone for a hurt back. I then quit Mehtadone cold turkey and had 3 or 4 weeks of pure hell. Anxiety was the worse symptom I had and when it finally ended, I could no longer tell what the withdrawal was coming from. The only thing I can say for sure is that after 3 months off Cymbalta and 1 month of Methadone, I had no further withdrawal.

It's ok to be afraid because we have all been there and understand. As Ex stated, there are many people who fear that the withdrawls might be permanent. I don't know if this is possible but do have one comment on it. After years on any anti depressant there comes a time after stopping that you start to feel drug free and normal. But I still don't feel right after all of this time and wonder if my brain understands and can even deal with normal anymore.

Ex, you are right about Cymbalta. It should be against the law. If your doctor prescribes an attictive pain killer, the government steps in and there are all kinds of regulations but anti depressants that can cause just as much addiction and withdrawal are handing out like candy. I had to fire my doctor because everytime I asked him for help, he would just prescribe more anti depressant.s

[ExCymbaltaUser]

yep, sounds like my doctor. just wanted to add more anti depressants. ~sigh~

i AM improving. but it's slow. and its scary.
i had a head spin today. yes just one. and it was when i had it that i realized that i hadn't been having them now for several days.

altho, i live on the east coast, and when i first felt the earthquake yesterday, i thought it was a cymbalta withdrawal side effect! lol
so i can still laugh anyway, so that's a good sign.

yeah, i think drs should have to show just cause for slapping people with anti depressants
but that will never happen, business is too lucrative.

[RickWC]

Hey, I know it's been awhile. Been very busy and going through a lot of stress. I live in Michigan and was told that some people felt the earthquake but I did not. How did you do with the hurricane? Hope you didn't have any major problems. I just had a death in the family and have to run. Take care and hope you feel better each day.

[ExCymbaltaUser]

Rick, so nice of you to check in. I'm so sorry for your loss.
I was very lucky in the hurricane, we didn't even lose power, but the earthquake was very scary as I had never experienced one before

My withdrawal symptoms seem to be gone, and i am very thankful, getting on with putting my life back together. onward and upward.
thanks so much for your support through all of this.

[RickWC]

Glad that you are doing better and faired well in the weather. I've been going through some major stress with employment and the death in the family. I haven't felt this much anxiety since I was withdrawling from Cymbalta and Methadone at the same time. It really sucks. I guess it just goes to prove that life can give you many of the symptoms that withdrawal causes. Take care and hope each day gets better for you.