[Rickw1959]

I have been on Cymbalta for about 6 years prescribed for nerve pain , not for depression... It was somewhat effective as the extreme numbness in my thigh almost disappeared totally so I justified the continued use. I should mention I have 5 severely herniated lumbar discs, moderate to severe spinal stenosis, among other back problems.
Since I retired 2 years ago on a disability retirement, I do not have the physical demand on my back obviously since the retirement, and feel that I have gained an enormous amount of weight (40-50+ lbs.), thus my desire to quit the Cymbalta. I have been on 60 mg. a day for the entire time. I know when I forget to take a dose or two, I get terrible "brain ticks" That's what I call them anyway.
I know this will have to be a gradual weaning and that's fine. I was thinking that instead of cutting the mg. dosage down, I would try lengthening the interval between doses. I always take my dose at the same time daily so I was thinking of doing one week of 26 hours in between doses. Them maybe a week of 28 hours. etc. Any ideas/advise/help?

Thanks, Rick in NY

[Imdone]

Hi Rick,

Welcome!

You might want to look around the internet a bit about Cymbalta weaning. It's kind of like getting off heroin! That is, you can't just do it cold turkey without horrible withdrawal effects. Likewise, skipping days will likely give you withdrawal symptoms too.

The most painless way is the "counting beads" method. This is where you actually open the pill and take out a few more beads every day. This is best explained here:
http://www.cymbaltaw...h__1#entry20147

I have been using this methods myself and would recommend it. It takes patience, but it's either patience or pain, take your pick.

I started about 20 days ago on 90 mg and am now down to 70mg. This has mostly been painless with a few bouts of severe fatigue that goes away after a few days. Because my last fatigue was bad, and because I have an important meeting coming up this week, I have decided to coast at 70 mg for a week, but then after the meeting, I'll be back tapering again. This is going to take me at least 90 days total, but I think doing it slow is worth it. If you wean by 1mg per day, it'll take you at least 60 days, and maybe more. Any time you get severe withdrawal symptoms, you should retrench for about a week and give your body time to catch up.

Getting off Cymbalta seems to be harder than getting off other antidepressants.

I have a lot of pain too (arthritis) (I am 62) and I have been expecting the pain to get worse as I taper, but so far, it's been ok. I was on Cymbalta for depression, but I'm pretty convinced that if I do this slowly the depression won't come back.

Good luck and keep posting and let us know how you do, even if you try your own methods.

[dunzo75]

Rickw1959, on 09 August 2011 - 08:15 PM, said:

I have been on Cymbalta for about 6 years prescribed for nerve pain , not for depression... It was somewhat effective as the extreme numbness in my thigh almost disappeared totally so I justified the continued use. I should mention I have 5 severely herniated lumbar discs, moderate to severe spinal stenosis, among other back problems.
Since I retired 2 years ago on a disability retirement, I do not have the physical demand on my back obviously since the retirement, and feel that I have gained an enormous amount of weight (40-50+ lbs.), thus my desire to quit the Cymbalta. I have been on 60 mg. a day for the entire time. I know when I forget to take a dose or two, I get terrible "brain ticks" That's what I call them anyway.
I know this will have to be a gradual weaning and that's fine. I was thinking that instead of cutting the mg. dosage down, I would try lengthening the interval between doses. I always take my dose at the same time daily so I was thinking of doing one week of 26 hours in between doses. Them maybe a week of 28 hours. etc. Any ideas/advise/help?

Thanks, Rick in NY

I was also on Cymbalta for nerve ending pain, not depression. I decided I didn't like being on it anymore after 18 mos. It did help me a lot, but I don't want to be dependent on a drug my whole life. I'm afraid of long term effects on my liver, too. I'm 36 and I was on 60mg. I didn't wean properly, or with my Dr overseeing the process. I just stopped taking it here and there (not the "right" way) and then on July 7th I took my last pill. Haven't taken one since. I had brain zaps and I was tired, but that didn't last long, and I got through it. BUT! The weight I've put on in 5 weeks is NUTS! 12 pounds slammed me! I am freaking out over that!

Since you've been on it this so long, and your pain level w/o it is probably really not something you want to deal with overnight, I'd ask your Dr for their input. My chest wall pain (costochondritis) came back within DAYS of stopping the drug. I now take one Aleve per day to help deal with that!