[Dylan]

I happened upon this board because, as slow as I've weaned off, I'm still getting mild 'brain zaps' and wanted to see what others experienced. I was surprised to learn that the stuttering and inability to find words are part of the withdrawal syndrome. More surprising was finding an entire board dedicated to Cymbalta and its side effects. It strikes me as strange that, with so many side effects and the horrific withdrawal syndrome, this and many other psychotropic medications like Cymbalta are still legal. But I guess that's big Pharma.

My experience was that I was prescribed Cymbalta in conjunction with Seroquel for PTSD symptoms. I'm quite sensitive to drug side effects, so I was started at 10 mg (prescribed a 20 mg and split it using empty capsules I bought at the health food store). I was on the 10 mg for only about 2 1/2 months. I didn't like the side-effects and was worried about some of the mind sets and decisions I seemed to be favoring. My personality was becoming somewhat skewed. Nothing dramatic or severe, but subtle changes were there that, had I been on a higher dose, I might have missed.

So, having experienced "Side-Effexor" issues years before, I weaned off very, VERY slowly. I began splitting the capsule amounts down to deliver only 5 mg at a time. I did this for probably 3-4 weeks. Then I split the amount yet again and was getting only 2 1/2 mg at a time. I stayed at that does for a week or so, then discontinued.

Even with that incredibly slow, long weaning I've had withdrawal side-effects (the 'brain zaps', dizziness, stuttering, can't find words).

So, my feeling is that there is no way to wean off TOO slow. If you want to spare your brain trauma and a withdrawal syndrome strong enough to make you sick, do yourself a favor and take it VERY slowly. I know it's hard to be patient once you realize how toxic these drugs are, or even if you just feel done with the meds, but IMO the best way to be responsible for my health is to not rip away a substance from my body/brain that its become dependent on. Slow and steady - that's my watchword.

[theascheffect]

Sorry to hear about your difficult time. :-/ I went cold turkey without realizing I had a dependency. I took it for only a month so I figured I'd be okay just starting my new pills my doctor prescribed. He either thought the same as me or forgot to mention to wean off. I took one pill after 4 days cold turkey because the doctor wanted me to start weaning but I figure since I already went through all the horrible feelings, I might as well jus stick with it. i'm slowly feeling better although, at times, it feels as though it's worse. I hope you feel better soon!