[pygmy]

I have been on Cymbalta 60 for over 2 years,,had lots of side effects,heavy sweating,couldnt finish sex ( you know what I mean).jitters,and so on,,I am 46 male and was put on for failed back syndrom,,I have had 4 back surgeries (ouch)..any way I have followed Dr advice and taperd down and now 5 days off,,HOLY SHIT is this bad,,I have feelings of hurting myself,,cry at the drop of a hat,,cant sleep..will argue with a fence post,,nightmares , shakes,,and brain zaps that almost knock me to my knees,,when the zapps happen my eyes wiggle, my face and down to fingers have electricity in them,I have been up for over 48 hrs and cant get calmed down,,My wife thinks I am FU*%^ng nuts,She tells me I act crazy and to calm down,I CANT HELP IT. Her getting mad at me doesnt help but she doesnt understand..This shit isnt funny.I DO NOT KNOW HOW TO DEAL WITH THIS,,IM SCARED

[autimom4ever]

I know how you feel..... I'm terrified too AND I'm SICK of feeling bad..

I was placed on it about 5 years ago (max dose of 60 mg a day)... Tried once to stop and thought I was gonna die...Went to my PMD (cause the psychiatrist who prescribed it stated I could go cold turkey!!! Yea, ok, where did HE get his degree???)... My PMD.. .What does he do, his answer was to just go back on it..

Yes, he convinced me, for a short time... but a little over a month ago, I missed a dose.. and I started with the same awful symptoms (heart racing, irritability, crying, tremors, etc)..
So, that made my final decision. I refuse to be on ANY medication that, if I miss just one dose, will put me over the edge...

So, I tried to call the provider (this was a different one).. All I needed was a 20 mg dose called into the pharmacy so I could slowly taper.. She never called me back (WTF is happening to providers these days, the caring has just gone down hill)...

Because she didn't call back, I went to the local urgent care. Let them know that I was determined to quit. So the doc at the urgent care prescribed the 20 mg for me..

Started taper at 40 mg a day for 2 weeks, then down to 20 for 1 weeks, then I had to "estimate" the beads in the capsules to try to make 10 mg, for a week..

I have been off completely for 10 days now and I STILL FEEL HORRIBLE!!! Shaky, dizzy, nauseous, irritable and I always feel like I'm in a panic attack.. I'M SICK OF IT!!!
Oh, not to mention, when I stopped completely, I started to have bad lower back pain!!!! I know this med helps pain too so I am wondering, DID THIS MEDICATION MASK PAIN THAT I NEVER HAD BUT DEVELOPED because of overuse of my back (I'm a nurse.... using your back is a daily thing)..

As you can read, I am super irritable right now and I HATE feeling this way.... and I AM SCARED because NO F'n doctor knows what they are doing!!!!!!!

[autimom4ever]

Oh.. and tell your wife to google, SSRI/SSNRI discontinuation syndrome....

That is what all of us have.

If she will take the time to read on it, she will understand...

It wasn't until I MADE my husband read it, he understood...
Now, when I pop at him and he looks at me strange, I say... You know what I am going through, either deal with it or get me help...

What I find helps take the "edge" off is dramamine (over the counter)
Drink lots of (non-caffiene) fluids

[outamymind]

Hi guys. You two are doing it really tough. ( hey autimom I'm glad your husband finally read up & is a little more understanding now. That's gotta help)

Pygmy your wife has obviously never experienced anything like this before. It's hard for them to understand just how terrifying this shit is.

Please believe me, IT WILL GET BETTER. I was positively evil, homicidal, suicidal, nausea, unbelievable aches & pains, & the brain zaps - I'm not even gunna go there. They have to be the most horrendous part of the withdrawal.

I'm 8 weeks "clean" now & all but normal. I do have lingering brain Zaps but there less often & less severe. The rest is pretty much gone. I had omega 3, 6, 9 recommended to me about 3 or 4 weeks into it. MY SAVIOUR. It's all natural & not something I would normally go for but I swear by it. I got it off eBay second time round. Much cheaper. People are probably sick of me singing this stuffs praises but it can't hurt to try. It helped me & I was in a bad way.

Pygmy try & get your wife to read up a bit & autimom you're already jumping hurdles. Hang in there & keep checking in 

[autimom4ever]

[quote name='outamymind' timestamp='1320576813' post='21669']
Hi guys. You two are doing it really tough. ( hey autimom I'm glad your husband finally read up & is a little more understanding now. That's gotta help)



Well..I THOUGHT he did.... He "messed up" when I asked him if he closed what I was doing on the computer this a.m.... He said, "I haven't touched that computer in a good while!!!" BUSTED... I'm sick of it...

[outamymind]

WTF! This clown needs a kick up the a$&! Is there noone else you can talk to at all? A family member or a close friend?

I feel a bit guilty. My other half was incredible through my withdrawal not that there haven't been issues in the past (part of the reason I was on this shit in the first place). Maybe he was on a guilt trip but whatever - he was there when it counted.

I'm really sorry autimom 