[CymbaltaHell]

Hey all,

I'm brand new to this forum but like most of you have been scouring the internet for answers and stumbled across this site. I've been on Paxil, Lexapro, Wellbutrin in the past and I have never experienced withdrawal like this. I was on Cymbalta for a year before I decided to quit cold turkey. I was on 30 and 60 mgs but most recently 60 when I quit.

The first week after I quit I had the usual dizziness with brain zaps and emotional sadness that I was expecting but seven days later I had side effects I had never dreamed of. I began to have panic attacks that became severe at night. I literally thought my heart was going to stop and I was afraid to go to sleep. Along with this came severe breathing problems. I felt like I couldn't take a full breath and my throat and neck felt tight and constricted. I've never had asthma before but what I felt is probably pretty close. My doctor gave me an albuterol inhalor and even that doesn't relieve the problem completely. I even ended up taking a trip to the ER because I was so scared. It felt a lot like dying.

It's now 2 months later and I am still using my inhalor and having some panic issues returning. I would have rather dealt with the depression than experience this nightmare. The brain zaps and most of the dizziness subsided after a month and a half, but I consider those the least of my problems. I am curious to hear of anyone else experiencing similar events. I can only imagine how long the side effects are going to last. I have already reported this to the FDA.

[cookie]

I also experienced asthma when I reached lower doses. I also felt I couldn´t take a full breath. I´ve never had asthma before. I had to updose because symptoms were unbearable. I also experienced severe dizziness. I am so preocupied to be having new symptoms that I didn´t have before the medication.

[CymbaltaHell]

cookie, on 18 August 2011 - 06:15 PM, said:

I also experienced asthma when I reached lower doses. I also felt I couldn´t take a full breath. I´ve never had asthma before. I had to updose because symptoms were unbearable. I also experienced severe dizziness. I am so preocupied to be having new symptoms that I didn´t have before the medication.

Thanks for your reply. Sorry to hear that you are also having breathing issues. Dizziness is something I've also been experiencing. When you updosed did your side effects get better? I'm scared to go back on this stuff anymore although my doctor said prozac can be used to wean off more safely since it has the longest half life of any antidepressant.

[HighStrungAmbition]

CymbaltaHell, on 18 August 2011 - 03:43 PM, said:

Hey all,

I'm brand new to this forum but like most of you have been scouring the internet for answers and stumbled across this site. I've been on Paxil, Lexapro, Wellbutrin in the past and I have never experienced withdrawal like this. I was on Cymbalta for a year before I decided to quit cold turkey. I was on 30 and 60 mgs but most recently 60 when I quit.

The first week after I quit I had the usual dizziness with brain zaps and emotional sadness that I was expecting but seven days later I had side effects I had never dreamed of. I began to have panic attacks that became severe at night. I literally thought my heart was going to stop and I was afraid to go to sleep. Along with this came severe breathing problems. I felt like I couldn't take a full breath and my throat and neck felt tight and constricted. I've never had asthma before but what I felt is probably pretty close. My doctor gave me an albuterol inhalor and even that doesn't relieve the problem completely. I even ended up taking a trip to the ER because I was so scared. It felt a lot like dying.

It's now 2 months later and I am still using my inhalor and having some panic issues returning. I would have rather dealt with the depression than experience this nightmare. The brain zaps and most of the dizziness subsided after a month and a half, but I consider those the least of my problems. I am curious to hear of anyone else experiencing similar events. I can only imagine how long the side effects are going to last. I have already reported this to the FDA.

Yep, same experience here. I was on 60MG for 2 years and recently tapered quickly off over three weeks. i had the normal foggy thinking, dizziness, and inability to concentrate as I tapered and then for a few days when off completely. I thought I was doing well when BAM! One evening out of a deep sleep I awoke to the most intense panic attack i have ever had (and I have had many). i thought i was having a heart attack in addition to just a complete sense of doom that is really indescribable. I went to the ER and after one hour the attack subsided and they sent me on my way with Lorazepam - chalked it up to heart palpitations. Anyway, that event triggered a quick slide right back into generalized anxiety that followed me throughout the day, and unfortunately I put myself back on the 60MG. Feeling like I was before tapering, which is great except that I have ED on Cymbalta and needing to take Levitra.

[jake]

I am new here I've been on Cymbalta couple years. Its has worked wonders on my depression. went all the way to 120 mll,now back down to 30. yesterday quit all together,Big mistake,wife of 35 years passed away in march,cant even think about that now with out breaking down.got breathing problems,dizziness joints hurting,eye strain,. Also used for back pain,all coming back.Quit because of cost.wonder even if get over withdrawal witch is terrible,will I be right back where I started? And no didn't know about withdrawal effects.I made choice to take ,but now don't know ! what to do,what to do.start again?On disability,and in doughnut hole with no help.Oh yea the panic attacks another reason I took all coming back.Wheres the generic? Really don't want to take but what is alternative? Well I'll try to stay off.Thanks for letting me vent!

[cookie]

Hello CymbaltaHell:
When I planned to quit the medication I expected relapse of initial symptoms which was basically depression and anxiety. Like you, I found the medication caused me other physical problems I didn´t have when I started the medication. It is horrible. Not only my initial symptoms are 10 times worse, but I am getting a long list of physical symptoms. I also experienced SEVERE breathing problems at lower dosages. Couldn´t take a full breath. Never had asthma in my life. Started getting gastro problems. I would it and the food would get stuch between the esophagus and stomach and wouldn´t go down. I would be very hungry because the food didn´t get to the stomach. I started getting joint pain, which I never had before, in my knee and wrists, and cracking sounds of my joints when I moved. Brain fog and severe fatigue. Difficulty finding words to speak. I proved that all these symptoms were withdrawals because when I updosed again, the symptoms went away. I tapered very slowly for more than a year. I can´t imagine what people go through when they stop cold turkey coming from a high dosage. I feel trapped. The medication didn´t solve my depression/anxiety issues, I don´t feel like myself with the medication, but feel also bad without it, do to these new physical symptoms. I am kind of giving up, on quitting the pill, because the breathing problems and gastro problems are very hard to bear, and I am not able to function. What I am doing is to stay at the lowest dosage I can.

[CymbaltaHell]

Hey guys I am the original poster of this thread and just wanted to give an update on what I've experienced since stopping cold turkey back in June and what's working and what's not. It's been exactly 6 months now since I stopped 60 mg cold turkey so here's what's going on.

My current symptoms (which I have found a way to manage and will get to that in a second). I have the brain zaps and panic attacks which feel almost like mini seizures. My breathing is still terrible. I have quite a bit of nausea and I have consistently had nightmares although not as intense and when I first stopped it. I also get these heart palpitations and I have noticed my entire response to supplements and medications has been way off like my nervous system is over reacting. Example 5 mg of Lexapro caused me tachycardia (attempt at switching from Cymbalta) I'm really hoping these symptoms will go away on their own but I refuse to go back on this stuff.

Managing this has been really challenging, because most doctors swear that an antidepressant cannot cause these effects this far out. However, I did find a good psychiatrist and have been working with my GP to at least find a manageable solution. The number one thing that has worked for me and saved me from having to restart Cymbalta is Klonopin. It has really helped the panic attacks, brain zaps, nausea, and alleviated the tightness in my chest that felt like severe asthma. Also I can also finally go to sleep at night. I'm currently on .75 mg but started off at .5 mg. I usually break the pill in half in the morning and half at night to avoid drowsiness. I've been on it about three months now and don't really notice too much drowsiness anymore. I know that benzos are equally hard to stop for some people but I can't see anything being worse than Cymbalta.

The second crucial thing for me has been my Symbicort inhaler (Advair or something similar probably works too). I am finding that the Klonopin and Symbicort inhaler combined have alleviated the withdrawal symptoms enough to allow me to continue cold turkey. If I stop one of these drugs the breathing gets worse or panic attacks resume. Also I find that caffeine makes the brain zaps and labored breathing worse. Magnesium has been the one supplement that has helped with the panic attacks outside of medications.

I really hope someone finds this information useful to alleviate the trial and error process that led to a lot of personal suffering. I'll continue to update as time goes by and let you know where this experience takes me.

On a side note - HighStrungAmbition - in my own personal experience I was able to go between 30 mg and 60 mg without any withdrawal symptoms and 30 mg did not kill my sex drive like 60 did. I don't know if you'll have the same experience but I wish you the best.