[ignazio]

my doc put me on 90 mg of cymbalta last yr i was in the best shape of my life 33 active and in the gym,since i started this stuff i've been sedated ive gained 20 lbs and dont even look at the gym so i decided to go cold turkey it's been 10 days and things are just getting started hot flashes ,headaches ,upset stomach and the worst case of insomnia ever was up over 24 hrs since i quit i cant eat i cry alot this is a bad drug unfortunately for me no one knows what im talking about so im glad i found you i just have to talk to someone who gets it some crazy stuff goes onin your mind when you don't sleep this is the third straight day with a migraine and my body aches from lack of sleep im a mess and from what i read im in for a bit of a challenge i refuse to take anymore pils besides my clonazpam because my anxiety has gone thru the roof also 4x10 mg a day

[ignazio]

hello this is ignazio closing in on 2 weeks my rage and anger are out of control my sleep habits are whack im either hot or real cold im un bearable right now from what i understand this gets worse.the doc prescribes welbutrin but i wont take it no after this exp. w/cymbalta i get shock like sensation when i look right or left real quick i was on cymbalta 1.5 yrs to long

[PenPenPenguin]

Going cold-turkey is NOT a good idea. You should have talked to your doctor first. I'm a 21 year old who has been on Cymbalta for 3 years now. I have experienced the same things you have just by skipping my pills 3 days in a row. From my experience, I know now that it is seriously dangerous to cut yourself off without a "weaning" period.

[Renee68]

I have been on Cymbalta 60mg for over 7yrs after being prescribed it for migraines and restless legs. I am day 15 after stopping coldturkey!! YAY Me! I will NEVER take Cymbalta again! I have missed doses before...tried to stop before but this time is IT!! I do believe cold turkey is the way to go...you have the same withdrawals regardless of how you stop this AWFUL drug. I have explained and read everything I could find to my close friends and loved ones so that they could understand what I am going through and with hopes that they will be patient with me... a great support system is what has gotten me through these 15 days. I no longer have the withdrawal headaches...however I am still dizzy, diarrhea, insomnia and have my RAGES...I have faith in God and myself that I will do this! I truly sympathize with drug addicts now and will never take another medication without knowing the withdrawal symptoms and just HOW addictive the medication is!

[ignazio]

hey guys its ignazio again thx for the response my exp. w/out cymbalta is getting worse but i am strong i spend alot of my time alone because im so volatile and not myself from lack of sleep and an excess of stress ..headaches anxiety is unreal crying anger can't make decisions im a zombie but a determined zombie cold turkey is no joke if your gonna do it be ready

[ignazio]

i do not recommend going cold turkey its testing my sanity it last to long

[autimom4ever]

ignazio, on 26 November 2011 - 06:14 AM, said:

i do not recommend going cold turkey its testing my sanity it last to long

.

ditto

[Jesusdied4us]

Renee68, on 21 November 2011 - 02:36 PM, said:

I have been on Cymbalta 60mg for over 7yrs after being prescribed it for migraines and restless legs. I am day 15 after stopping coldturkey!! YAY Me! I will NEVER take Cymbalta again! I have missed doses before...tried to stop before but this time is IT!! I do believe cold turkey is the way to go...you have the same withdrawals regardless of how you stop this AWFUL drug. I have explained and read everything I could find to my close friends and loved ones so that they could understand what I am going through and with hopes that they will be patient with me... a great support system is what has gotten me through these 15 days. I no longer have the withdrawal headaches...however I am still dizzy, diarrhea, insomnia and have my RAGES...I have faith in God and myself that I will do this! I truly sympathize with drug addicts now and will never take another medication without knowing the withdrawal symptoms and just HOW addictive the medication is!

I am having horrible withdraw symptoms and was only on this drug 2 weeks. This stuff is Poison!! I couldn't handle the side effects while taking it and my Doctor told me to just quit. WRONG!! He should know what people go through. Cymbalta completely alters your brain!! Scary!! I am on day 7 off of it. Does the ringing, brain zaps, anger, dizziness finally go away??

[girley]

thank god i found this site........
I went to the doc after not feeling right fuzzy in the head, feeling dizzy like i couldn,t concentrate. The doc took my blood pressure and it was very high 175/121 i was taken off my cymbalta 60mg cold turkey. With everyday that went on istill felt not right. I was back to the doc every 2 days. I felt like i was going crazy i thought i had had a stroke because of the BP. I attempted to go back to work today and i lasted 2hrs the concentration, fuzzy vision got too much....... I came home jumped on the computer looking up anxiety etc typing in my symptoms. It wsnt till i looked up cymbalta and read the posts and i broke into tears because after 2wks i have an answer. i was getting frustrated because its hard to explain what i was feeling and no o
ne was understanding me.

i like the description of feeling like i am drunk, with a hangover..describes it so well

[ignazio]

my constant panic is out of control it's not even anxiety anymore just pure panic

[ignazio]

ignazio, on 02 December 2011 - 06:17 AM, said:

my constant panic is out of control it's not even anxiety anymore just pure panic

every nigh i finally sleep i pray the next day is the day everything will be ok

[nik]

ignazio, on 20 November 2011 - 04:22 AM, said:

hello this is ignazio closing in on 2 weeks my rage and anger are out of control my sleep habits are whack im either hot or real cold im un bearable right now from what i understand this gets worse.the doc prescribes welbutrin but i wont take it no after this exp. w/cymbalta i get shock like sensation when i look right or left real quick i was on cymbalta 1.5 yrs to long

Ignazio,
I am currently using wellbutrin I have been on that while also on cymbalta and lamictal, I am closing in on my 4th night without both of the latter and haven't had more than a headache and light headedness. I don't know if it is because of the wellbutrin, but it might be worth a try.

[coldturkey]

I just got off of Cymbalta going cold turkey. I am on day 8 now and it's been interesting. When I do look either way with my eyes I do get that zaping expierence you all talk about. I have been eating more and it feels like my digestive system is returning back to normal (thank God!). I have been in a better mood lately and have SO much energy it's amazing. In the evening I take hydrocodone I was prescribed to take the edge off and have a couple of drinks and it sure helps LOL. I am getting a tingling sensation around my limbs which is new, but my better half has researched the effects of me coming down off of it and is in complete support of me...YAY! I'm pretty sure it was having an effect on my sexual desire and function and that is the reason I stopped taking it. Has anyone else had that experience? Just wondering. Any advice or encourgement would be helpful!

[ignazio]

[quote name='coldturkey' timestamp='1322860291' post='22138']
I just got off of Cymbalta going cold turkey. I am on day 8 now and it's been interesting. When I do look either way with my eyes I do get that zaping expierence you all talk about. I have been eating more and it feels like my digestive system is returning back to normal (thank God!). I have been in a better mood lately and have SO much energy it's amazing. In the evening I take hydrocodone I was prescribed to take the edge off and have a couple of drinks and it sure helps LOL. I am getting a tingling sensation around my limbs which is new, but my better half has researched the effects of me coming down off of it and is in complete support of me...YAY! I'm pretty sure it was having an effect on my sexual desire and function and that is the reason I stopped taking it. Has anyone else had that experience? Just wondering. Any advice or encourgement would---hey bud i went thru the same thing lack of sexual desire digestive problems i gained alot of weight it's my 5th week w/out and im back in the gym i have intense enrgy the sex problem is gone you are gonna be fine a good support system helps have a beer for me!!!!!!!!!

[blopez77]

I have been taking 60mg for the past 7 months since I was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia. I am 34 with 4 kids and the Cymbalta was not working for me and my so many pains were just getting too much for me to handle so I asked my regular dr to send me to a Rheumotologist to see if maybe there was something he can do for me. The new Dr decided to keep me on the Cymbalta, add Lyrica, Flexirol, & Tramadol. After a month of the combination of this new meds he would ween me off Cymbalta on my next appt which is scheduled in a week. I ran out of Cymbalta 5 days ago and in my mind, I thought I would just go cold turkey (finances not so good) this was the biggest mistake of my life. This is day 5 and I feel so lost. I'm irritated by any sound or noise and remember I have 4 kids oldest 12 & youngest 1 1/2. My husband is not being supportive either. I snap & he snaps worse which then since I'm so sensitive I cry. I dont know what to do, since I just feel so angry & short tempered, & back to sad. My husband doesnt know how to deal with my Fibro and now my withdrawal from Cymbalta. I dont have no support whatsoever, I feel so lonely. Who do I tell, who can I tell how bad I am feeling my kids??? My mom & sister live up north. I dont have much friends since my life is so hectic with a husband, 4 kids, full time work, fibro, oh did I forget to mention I also have spinal arthritis, scoliosis, & god knows what else since I feel so darn crappy & right now even crappier. Money is tough right now but today with the lil bit of money I went to buy my kids (the soooo needed clothes they needed) and that was going to be their christmas gifts, well due to this cold turkey I lost the bag of clothes ask me how I dont remember, I dont remember putting it down, I dont remember what happen, all I know is I lost the bag of my kids christmas gifts. I'm more angry, more depressed, more irritated. And my husband's first question is "how can you not remember 5 minutes ago?".....OMG I almost flipped but instead just started crying and crying (no I dont remember 5 minutes ago) With Fibro you already deal with the Fibro Fog but now it's also blurry, lost, and a drunken feeling. This feeling is horrible and cannot take it anymore. This medication is awful!!!

To keep my sanity I will refill my prescription of Cymbalta again somehow in the next few hours.....

I will need to go pick up my Cymbalta again because I am totally loosing my mind.

[blopez77]

I forgot to mention that my whole body feels like it's falling apart. I'm hurting even though I have the other meds inside of me but since this so kind Cymbalta is missing OMG! HELP.

[gumbelly66]

MY whole day was wasted today. I had planned on putting up the tree and tidying the house. But at noon time, after I walked the dog, I came home with a starting headache. I thought maybe I was just hungry because I had only a piece of toast for breakfast and a cup of coffee. So I decided to make myself a light but nutritious lunch. It was after I had lunch that I started to feel nausea and increaing headache. I felt queasy and could feel my breakfast and lunch starting to come up but I tried to stay as still as I can so as not to lose my lunch. Every slight movement of my head rewarded me with those horrible "zaps. I had experienced these zaps before when I tried to wean myself from Paxil. It was even a while before i realized that my irritability, flu-like symptoms, head-splitting headaches, nausea, vomiting etc were withdrawal symptoms from Paxil which i had been taking for years.

It's about a month now simce I started my journey to a cymbalta-free existence. I realized that it didn't help me with my depression. Intead, it kept me at home not wanting to socialze or do anything beccause my energy level has become zero with this drug. On the first day, I removed 15 granules (5%) of the total humber in the capsue. I kept this for a week and on the second week, i incresed it to 10%, then 15% and now I.m on 20%. i experienced very little discomofrt until today. So i can be functjonal tommorrow, I will go back to the 15% deduction and stay on it until there are no symptoms and then I'll move on.

This is s much better plan than the one I was on when I tried to wean of Pzxil, my doctor just told me to half the dosage . The consequences were terrible. I lay in bed for days at a time sick as dog. Now for me at least, I know that the way to do it is to do it very gradually. good luck to all

[sunnydaze]

Here goes day four of no cymbalta. I was on it for only six weeks but the side effects were terrible so here I am, trying to get it out of my system. Have never felt so terrible. Hurts to move my head, headache all day and now I know what everyone refers to as the "zapping". Sorry that there are others with the same thing, but at least I know that I am not going crazy. Can't sleep, can't eat, can't move and all I want to do is cry. Any idea how long this will last? I figured that only being on it for such a short time, I'd have no trouble coming off of it. WRONG!! My thoughts go out to all of you. Nice to know that I am not alone.

[lys]

ignazio, on 16 November 2011 - 12:04 PM, said:

my doc put me on 90 mg of cymbalta last yr i was in the best shape of my life 33 active and in the gym,since i started this stuff i've been sedated ive gained 20 lbs and dont even look at the gym so i decided to go cold turkey it's been 10 days and things are just getting started hot flashes ,headaches ,upset stomach and the worst case of insomnia ever was up over 24 hrs since i quit i cant eat i cry alot this is a bad drug unfortunately for me no one knows what im talking about so im glad i found you i just have to talk to someone who gets it some crazy stuff goes onin your mind when you don't sleep this is the third straight day with a migraine and my body aches from lack of sleep im a mess and from what i read im in for a bit of a challenge i refuse to take anymore pils besides my clonazpam because my anxiety has gone thru the roof also 4x10 mg a day

Hi, I just came off cymbalta two weeks ago i was taking 60mg w/ 150 mg welbutrin and read somewhere on the internet to come off slowly I took a few pills and took out a little out of each pill for 3 days then the next 3 days a little more and so on while still on my wellbutrin. I know this sounds weird maybe but I had very little side effects just felt a little off for a couple days when I finally came off totally. The measuring was a pain to try and get it just right and my Doctor would kill me if he knew but it's a lot better than going thru all those withdrawls. I don't know if this can help anybody but it might be worth the try for someone. Good Luck.

[lys]

gumbelly66, on 11 December 2011 - 06:28 AM, said:

MY whole day was wasted today. I had planned on putting up the tree and tidying the house. But at noon time, after I walked the dog, I came home with a starting headache. I thought maybe I was just hungry because I had only a piece of toast for breakfast and a cup of coffee. So I decided to make myself a light but nutritious lunch. It was after I had lunch that I started to feel nausea and increaing headache. I felt queasy and could feel my breakfast and lunch starting to come up but I tried to stay as still as I can so as not to lose my lunch. Every slight movement of my head rewarded me with those horrible "zaps. I had experienced these zaps before when I tried to wean myself from Paxil. It was even a while before i realized that my irritability, flu-like symptoms, head-splitting headaches, nausea, vomiting etc were withdrawal symptoms from Paxil which i had been taking for years.

It's about a month now simce I started my journey to a cymbalta-free existence. I realized that it didn't help me with my depression. Intead, it kept me at home not wanting to socialze or do anything beccause my energy level has become zero with this drug. On the first day, I removed 15 granules (5%) of the total humber in the capsue. I kept this for a week and on the second week, i incresed it to 10%, then 15% and now I.m on 20%. i experienced very little discomofrt until today. So i can be functjonal tommorrow, I will go back to the 15% deduction and stay on it until there are no symptoms and then I'll move on.

This is s much better plan than the one I was on when I tried to wean of Pzxil, my doctor just told me to half the dosage . The consequences were terrible. I lay in bed for days at a time sick as dog. Now for me at least, I know that the way to do it is to do it very gradually. good luck to all

Hi I did the same thing but Im on wellbutrin so I think that helped a little, I'm totally off it now but my pain is coming back in my shoulders so now I have to find something else. But I went on this for depression and I was more depressed because I was so tired didn't want to go out after work or even get out of bed sometimes now I have energy again. Good Luck

[woozy]

if you've only been on cymbalta for a short time, the company has a 2 month money=back guarantee!!! I plan to receive it!

[Paul]

Renee68, on 21 November 2011 - 02:36 PM, said:

I have been on Cymbalta 60mg for over 7yrs after being prescribed it for migraines and restless legs. I am day 15 after stopping coldturkey!! YAY Me! I will NEVER take Cymbalta again! I have missed doses before...tried to stop before but this time is IT!! I do believe cold turkey is the way to go...you have the same withdrawals regardless of how you stop this AWFUL drug. I have explained and read everything I could find to my close friends and loved ones so that they could understand what I am going through and with hopes that they will be patient with me... a great support system is what has gotten me through these 15 days. I no longer have the withdrawal headaches...however I am still dizzy, diarrhea, insomnia and have my RAGES...I have faith in God and myself that I will do this! I truly sympathize with drug addicts now and will never take another medication without knowing the withdrawal symptoms and just HOW addictive the medication is!

[Paul]

WOW, Newbie, I'm right there with you. I'm now only THREE days cold turkey and, as an Interior Designer, am grateful that I am not busy as I wouldn't be able to do a THING. I'm dizzy and feel pretty awful..like I had four too many margaritas last night, kinda awful. However, I'm hoping that being off this drug will be better for me in the long run. I've been taking 60mg for about a year and a half and in that time have gained 20 pounds, lost interest in anything outdoors (I love tennis, hiking, running, the gym..) and have found that my anger/rage worsened with the drug. My partner agreed that the edge was sharper than ever before. I've tried to take myself off and lasted about four days before I had to go back on. But, it isn't worth it. My doctor even admitted that Cymbalta withdrawal is what it is. You just have to get through it. Now is Christmas and New Years the best time to do this, probably not, but I don't have time in my schedule to sit on the sofa and watch HGTV when I'm dizzy and sin and thought this was the best time to do it. So, my question to those in a similar boat, what am I headed for? By the way, I'm new to the prescription drug world. Stressful times (no real depression, just high anxiety) had my doctor prescribe Wellbutrin initially which did nothing at all, so they switched me to Cymbalta and I've just turned into a total jerk. I want the old me back, and hope this works. I know this is a horrible question, but what does alcohol do when attempting to come off? If I have a glass of wine will I be up all night vomiting? If I smoke a cigarette will it calm me down? Any advice would be great.

[woozy]

Hey, Paul. I wonder if dark chocolate would help... it helps serotonin levels. I may try it tomorrow. Meanwhile, I'm going to take some tylenol and try (hahahahaha) to sleep. I took some of the advice I've seen here and had a lot more water today, and I think it helps. May try some detox tea tomorrow, too.

by the way... spoke to a person at the company today, and they told me to wean to 30 mg/day over a couple of weeks, then go off the drug. Pretty funny, actually, since I was only taking 30 mg/day.

I can function as long as I don't move my head quickly; that's when the vertigo hits.

[MessieJessie]

on pyschotropic meds now for roughly 8 years..starting with prozac. i currently am taking cymbalta, lamictil and abilify. why? docs told me so. as of a week ago, i decided to cut out cymbalta cold turkey, yes cold turkey. my body is having severe withdrawal symptons, but i tell myself on a daily basis, that i can do this. i know i can. i may not have a rehab house to go to, but i have my will power and determination. yes IT IS HELL!!! but damn it, we can do it.

[sunnydaze]

It has been almost a week since my last pill and I think I can finally see a bit of light at the end of the tunnel. (just a bit)!! Not so much zapping thank goodness. It is the not sleeping that is so hard to handle -- 4.5 hours last night of sleeping and bad dreams and then up for another day of headaches and nausea. Does anyone have any idea how long it will be before I feel fairly normal??

[gumbelly66]

I'm also going through a very hard time tapering off. I've been in bed for several days now because of the dizziness, headache, nausea,vomiting, brain zaps, you name it. I can't sleep so I have to take ambien. A little history: I have been on Cymbalta for maybe 2 or 3 years. Over the past 20 years, I have been on some kind of antidepressant: Prozac, zoloft, zyprexa, trazodone, effexor, wellbutrin, etc, etc. The doctors were only too willing to hand me these prescriptions like they were candy. Now I know better and I hope it's not too late for my body to recover from all the poisons of the last 20 years.
Anyway, from 120 mg., I dropped to 60 mg without telling my doctor. The withdrawal effects were terrible but i stuck with it because there was no way I am going back after I have learned of the toxicity of these drugs. Then I read other people's posts about how they tapered off by removing granules from the capsules, gradually increasing the number removed. I decided to try that method by removing 7 granules and staying there 3 or 4 days before increasing. I am now removing 70 granules (from the 60 mg cap) and this is the time that I am experiencing the worst withdrawal effects. But I've come this far and I'm not going back. I plan to stay on this dosage until I'm not feeling sick and then will again increase the granules removed and so on until I'm totally off it. By the way, cymbalta also comes in 30, 20 and 10 mg caps which I could use instead of removing granules but I still have several bottlesful of 60 mg caps which I will use intead of buying smaller dosage capsules which my doctor will probably be reluctant to give me a prescription for, when he learns I'm tapering off the drug without his consent.
So, if you are struggling with this issue like me, hang in there. There is a light at the end of the tunnel.

[zagoren]

Just though I'd share my experience...

Let's all remember that the internet tends to aggregate people with BAD EXPERIENCES.

I have been on 60mg, 30mg, and 20mg randomly, daily for the past 2 years for neuropathic pain from neck discs. I really never though that Cymbalta did much .... it was just impossible to get off of it without the ZAPS. For the past 3 months i have been on 20mg/day.....no ZAPS....feel normal...

I went COLD TURKEY on Saturday Night. 4 days later i am definitely very dizzy...pretty zappy.....its hard to use a computer....

BUT IT IS BY NO MEANS THE WORST WITHDRAWAL IN THE WORLD. (TO THIS POINT)

I have detoxed from opiates and that was much worse. So I just want to say that so far, at this point, I am going to CONTINUE COLD TURKEY.

[zagoren]

coldturkey, on 02 December 2011 - 04:12 PM, said:

I just got off of Cymbalta going cold turkey. I am on day 8 now and it's been interesting. When I do look either way with my eyes I do get that zaping expierence you all talk about. I have been eating more and it feels like my digestive system is returning back to normal (thank God!). I have been in a better mood lately and have SO much energy it's amazing. In the evening I take hydrocodone I was prescribed to take the edge off and have a couple of drinks and it sure helps LOL. I am getting a tingling sensation around my limbs which is new, but my better half has researched the effects of me coming down off of it and is in complete support of me...YAY! I'm pretty sure it was having an effect on my sexual desire and function and that is the reason I stopped taking it. Has anyone else had that experience? Just wondering. Any advice or encourgement would be helpful!

yes...i found it diminishes desire. i am on day 4 cold turkey...don't want to take it because it does NOTHING for me. prescribed by eager doctor

[iolanthe16]

Not quite cold turkey, but fast in the world of Cymbalta. I am on a 6-week weaning plan. Going from 60 mg to 30 mg was torture. 30 to 15 wasn't so bad and now I'm on 15 mg....till Friday Dec16. Then I am off.

I went to a naturopath - I wish I had done that in the first place to deal with my anxiety and depression. I just took the Doc's advice carte blanche. And she put me on Cymbalta. What was I thinking. Oh wait, I wasn't able to think very clearly....

So, what I am doing to get through the symptoms/side effects, as per my naturopath: Morning: 2 omega 3 tabs, 2 magnesium tabs, 1 probiotic, 1 B6 tab. Evening: 2 omega 3 tabs, 2 magnesium tabs, 1 multivitamin. I am also doing acupuncture and getting weekly vitamin B (12?) shots at the naturopathic centre. The acupuncture seems to have helped quite a bit. Will continue that throughout the rest of December and into January. (I am lucky, I am in Canada and have an EXCELLENT health care plan that covers a bunch of non-traditional treatment options so everything is covered).

The only symptoms I am experiencing right now are: crankiness (everything seems to irritate me), lethargy (I don't want to do much of anything). However, on days I missed my dose, I experienced wicked brain zaps, body tics, vertigo and extreme fatigue. I expect these will rear their ugly heads when I am completely off. So I made a plan....

Planned my exodus for over the Christmas holidays....I am off work from Dec 16 till Jan 3. Hoping I get through the worst withdrawal symptoms throughout that time. My family knows not to have high expectations of me this year.

The worst part of being on this drug has been the weight gain. 35lbs in 16 months. And I work out a lot. And eat super healthy. No matter what I did, I couldn't lose weight. Now my clothes are too tight and my self esteem is in the gutter.

The best advice I've been given is to be patient with myself. This terrible experience is just for now, not forever.

Be strong, and we'll all get through this.