[Attorney_Victim]

There are many different posts about symptoms and side effects of Cymbalta and Cymbalta Withdrawal. I wanted to begin a thread to compile a thorough list of effects and symptoms that are related to Cymbalta. (Pleae list symptoms/effects that are confirmed to be related to Cymbalta via your doctor or you just suspect them to be). Also, break your symptoms/effects into two categories: Side Effects (while taking Cymbalta) and Withdrawal Symptoms (while coming off Cymbalta). Also, please note "Dr" by a symptom that was confirmed by a doctor. I'll start by listing mine.

Side Effects:
Depression worsened
Lethargy
Irritability
Trouble sleeping
Nightmares
Withdrew from friends and family
Rage
Agitation
Spending/shopping out of control
Overall health declined: sick frequently
Weight gain
Suicidal ideation
Memory problems
Concentration problems
Vision problems

Withdrawal Symtpoms:
Nausea
Diarrhea
Headaches
Brain “zaps”
Dizziness
Numb fingers
Flu-like symptoms
Sinus pain
Runny nose
Hot flashes
Rage
Mood Swings
Crying
Suicidal ideation
Cold chills: Shivering accompanied by chest and abdominal muscle tightening
Memory problems
Concentration problems
Nightmares

[kderubeis]

I have had 14 of the listed withdrawal symptoms plus TREMENDOUS pressure in my inner ears! I haven't been sick with Upper Respiratory stuff in at least 2 years and I was just down for a week. I know it is because my immune system is bunk due to the withdrawals.

My symptoms were getting a little better every day and after this illness I started to experience them all over again. About 4 days ago mild zaps returned and all the other cognitive and GI problems are starting in again.

[schmb01]

Side Effects
Worsened Depression
Spending/Shopping out of control
Alternating period of not sleeping for 20 hours to sleeping for 20 hours
Memory worsened
Wicked night sweats
Self isolation from family/friends
Apathy (didn't clean, showered only once or twice a week, ick!!)
Weight gain

Withdrawal
Wild emotional ranges, rage, hysterical laughter, severe sadness
Vivid dreams
Auditory hallucinations, for lack of better word. I would hear loud slamming noises just as I was falling asleep. At 123 days off of Cymbalta, I still have this
Brain zaps
Chills (still have these occasionally)
Body aches

[Lori]

Side Effects

shortness of breath
high anxiety
mild depression
muscle weakness
aggitation
head explosions
sore joints
lightheadedness
slow thought process
confussion

Withdrawal Side Effects
Severe Anxiety
Depression
Lethargy
Irritability
Worry, worry, worry
Terrible sleep pattern (Days of no sleep, days of nothing but sleep)
Vivid, hard to shake, nightmares
withdrawal from family and friends (Isolation)
Confussion
Slow thought process
Rage
Memory loss
Vision was/is worse
Fleeting thoughts of suicide
Body aches
Muscle weakness
Sore joints
Brain Zaps
Nausea
Apathy
I can relate, Babby....sponge bath, night after night....ummmm washing my hair either twice a week or ONLY If going somewhere special....yep, icky)
Headaches
Lightheadedness
Mood Swings
Crying

[CathyH]

My Cymbalta withdrawal symptoms:

Brain zaps
Loss of balance (comes and goes)
Vision difficulty (comes and goes)
Sensitivity to noise
Vivid dreams
Hard time falling asleep
Fatigue
Weepy
Headache/body aches
Lethargic
Mental and emotional fragility
Irritability
Aggitation
Anger
Aggressiveness
Suicidal ideation (comes and goes)
Hung-over feeling
Fuzzy brain
Moderate GI problems
Complete and total mind f*ck (comes and goes)

[Cymbalta Survivor]

Has anybody else had visual hallucinations associated with withdrawal from Cymbalta? I had one serious hallucination where I saw an impossible MC Escher-like scene on a wall. The whole thing was in motion and the colors were very vivid. I am not sure how long it lasted. It felt like several minutes, but now that I look back at it, I think my sense of time became distorted and it may have not lasted that long. It happened during the strangest and most intense part of my withdrawal. Very strange indeed. Does anybody else have a similar experience?

[Sarah J]

Cymbalta Survivor said:

Has anybody else had visual hallucinations associated with withdrawal from Cymbalta? I had one serious hallucination where I saw an impossible MC Escher-like scene on a wall. The whole thing was in motion and the colors were very vivid. I am not sure how long it lasted. It felt like several minutes, but now that I look back at it, I think my sense of time became distorted and it may have not lasted that long. It happened during the strangest and most intense part of my withdrawal. Very strange indeed. Does anybody else have a similar experience?

Yes, absolutely. I saw pretty blue and purple fractal-like patterns that were moving.

[Sarah J]

Attorney_Victim said:

There are many different posts about symptoms and side effects of Cymbalta and Cymbalta Withdrawal. I wanted to begin a thread to compile a thorough list of effects and symptoms that are related to Cymbalta. (Pleae list symptoms/effects that are confirmed to be related to Cymbalta via your doctor or you just suspect them to be). Also, break your symptoms/effects into two categories: Side Effects (while taking Cymbalta) and Withdrawal Symptoms (while coming off Cymbalta). Also, please note "Dr" by a symptom that was confirmed by a doctor. I'll start by listing mine.

Attorney_Victim - Sorry that you ended up here on this site but glad you are compiling a list like this one.

I am going to add to this list as well, but I wanted to make a suggestion to people who are making your lists. While including the negative aspects of this drug, also include what worked and for how long, in other words the positive aspect (this will be a short list for most of us). Listing out the short lived positive effects of this drug can only help somebody take notice.

There are a couple of reasons that I am suggesting this. One is that many of us took this for a mental disorder and that our claims will be dismissed because technically who can believe us? It's kind of the rape victim asked for it type of thinking. None of us expected or wanted this, but if we took it for any amount of time and were that uncomfortable, we should document why. Or am I off base here?

The other reason is that when I listed out the positive and negative effects my doctor(s) were able to help me find out what was really wrong with me, and it wasn't depression. The positive list was small, believe me.

I am glad that you were able to glean some benefit from the Prozac. It is absurd to have to take another drug to get over this, isn't it?

[Cymbalta Survivor]

I will simply list all the effect that I had and not label them as good or bad. I will leave that interpretation to the reader since something like effects on mood swings could be good for one person, while bad for another.

Effects that Cymbalta had on me while taking it:
Nausea (first day only) (confirmed by doctor)
Daytime Fatigue/Sleepiness/Laziness (decreased as the days passed, but never completely went away)
Shortened attention span
Decreased irritability/anxiety/stress
Decrease in periodicity and severity of mood swings
Felt very mellow/sedated most of the time
Decrease in social interactions (I became somewhat shy and reclusive)
Decrease in short-term memory capacity

Effects that Cymbalta had on me after I stopped taking it (the withdrawal effects began about a day or so after my last dose and lasted approximately 6 or 7 days. The peak in the effects occurred days 3 through 5)
Drastic and sudden increase in irritability/anxiety/stress
Increase in periodicity and severity of mood swings
Marked swings in "energy" (very energetic at times/very sleepy at others)
Increased attention span
Nausea
Severe depression
Severe suicidal thoughts/feelings of hopelessness
Time distortion
Audio and Visual hallucinations (only occurred during the most severe time of the withdrawal period)
"Brain Zaps"
Headaches
Paranoia
Became even more reclusive and shy (I spent large amounts of time in my bedroom [we have frequent visitors as I live in a house with two other bachelors] I did not want to be around people)

After about a week, the withdrawal symptoms faded and I returned to my old self (before Cymbalta). I am generally a happy guy, but I am known for my quick and severe temper. Right before I went on Cymbalra, my business was gong through a rough spot and I was having great difficulty in paying bills and keeping the doors open. I had become extremely irritable and severely quick tempered to the point that I was having multiple fits and tirades almost every day. This made the situation worse (of coarse). My employees came to fear me greatly to the point that their productivity feel which put us in an even worse economic situation. I went to my doctor on the advise of my business partner. My doctor prescribed me Cymbalta to help cope with the situation.

Here I will give my feeling of how Cymbalta treated what my doctor described as an anxiety disorder (this is an opinion and subjective in nature):
As far as reducing anxiety, I felt it did that very well. However, along with that my productivity also fell. I was very lethargic and lazy much of the time. I would spend hours in my office just pretending to work, while actually just surfing the internet. I would go to bed early and sleep late (I would often exceed 10 or more hours of sleep). I no longer felt driven and was just "on cruise control" much of the time, not really giving a crap about much of anything. So for me the drug did what it was supposed to, in fact it did it too well. I have said it before and I will continue to say it, I think Cymbalta may work well for some people. It did not work very well for me personally, but that does not mean it does not do so for others.

My problem with Cymbalta was the lack of communication from my doctor, pharmacist, and Eli Lilley about potential side effects THAT ARE LIFE THREATENING. The only thing I was told is that I may have some nausea the first few days. That's it. With side effects or withdrawal symptoms, the warnings should be proportional to the nature of the potential threat. When the drug has a potential to make people suicidal, a strong warning should be given at each of the levels (manufacturer, doctor, and pharmacist). I am not talking about fine print on some form or a tiny sticker on some bottle, but an honest-to-goodness, clear and strong warning. The lack of this type of warnings says one of three things about the doctors, manufacturers, and pharmacists:

1. They are ignorant about the potential threats. Given what I read on this forum, I believe that if they are still ignorant of the issues, then they are at least somewhat incompetent and not keeping up on the mos up-to-date information.

2. They are aware of the potential threats, but are lackadaisical in their approach to giving warnings. This tells me they are definitely incompetent and are not living up to their responsibilities as health care providers.

3. They are fully aware of the potential threats, but purposely cover them up for the purpose of making money or receiving benefits. This would tell me that not only are they incompetent, but they are evil, vile, disgusting human beings who completely place making money over human life. I sure hope this is not the case. But it certainly may very well be.

Thanks for reading my rant.

[moonrose96]

Effects that Cymbalta had on me while taking it:
Nausea for the first week (confirmed by doctor)
Daytime Fatigue/Sleepiness/Laziness (first few days)
Insomnia at night (when I was taking it at night, started taking am and had no other problems)
Shortened attention span
Decreased irritability/anxiety/stress
Felt very mellow/sedated most of the time
Major decrease in short-term memory capacity

Effects that Cymbalta had on me after I stopped taking it (three days after my last dose)
Sudden "weepy" moments
Low energy, very tired
Nausea
Depression
Fleeting suicidal thoughts/feelings of hopelessness
Inability to concentrate
Pain in my ears
GI upset
Brain Zaps especially when I shift my eyes from one side to the other
Dizziness
Headaches

I am totally pissed that my doctor didn't warn me about the withdrawl symptoms. I was really hesitant to start taking this medication in the first place. The medication really seemed to help (after the initial symptoms) but I don't know if I would have taken it if I would have known the problems I would have trying to get off of it.

[Attorney_Victim]

Cymbalta Survivor, you made some great observations. I feel the same way about the ignorance/cover up issues...that is why I am trying to find a lawyer willing to take on Eli Lilly in Cymbalta litigation on a mass scale! I too believe that Cymbalta may be good for some people. However, I am not convinced that the benefits outweigh the risks for ANYONE. Any drug that has made people suicidal (including people who are not being treated for mental health issues) seems more dangerous than beneficial.

In any case, ALL of the side effects and withdrawal problems should be made public by the manufacturer so that doctors and patients can make INFORMED decisions about this drug. It is incomprehensible that MOST doctors, even psychiatrists who specialize in these drugs, are NOT AWARE of the withdrawal problems AT ALL!! And doctors who are aware of SSRI withdrawal (Antidepressant Discontinuation Syndrome) seem to be of the opinion that it only occurs in a miniscule percentage of overall patients. Unfortunately, I think the withdrawal is a bigger problem that is possibly being covered up by drug companies; therefore, the doctors do not know the truth about how wide spread the problem truly is.

I was prescribed Cymbalta for depression and anxiety. I would describe my depression as mild most of the time, with some flare ups. The only positive effect Cymbalta had on me was that my anxiety went away. But, like Cymbalta Survivor said, the Cymbalta did the job too well because I became totally apathetic. It made my depression worse!

[tmouse]

has anyone had any problems with rapid heartbeat? i've been to the er with this and they said it was anxiety.i am having a hard time wih my concentration and vision. my doctor started weening me off of cymbalta 3 weeks ago. i was on 60 mg, she cut me to 30 for 2 weeks then a 30 every other day.im having a hard time writing this because im so shaky and cant seem to sit still. im taking xanax for anxiety but not doing too much good. any help getting of this stuff and trying to cope with the withdrawl would help.

[tmouse]

its been two weeks off off of cymbalta and i feel like im having a nervous breakdown. i was on cymbalta for a year and a half.i felt sadder on cymbalta and went thru mood swings. thoughts of suicide.ive also been on xanax for about 10 years [as needed-3 1mg tabs daily] also take trazodone for sleep.[300mgs] ive probably been on a dozen different antidepressants sincemy depression was diagnosed 10 years ago. nothing seemed to work. id feel somewhat better but not myself. [isuffer from ptsd and clinical depression] but this has to be the worse ive felt on this med. my biggest complaint is blurred vision, along with lack of concentration. anyone else have this? i cant stand the shaking and inability to sit still.this is followed by extreme fatigue.im dying to get out of the house but i cant concentrate to drive. im trapped. itried walking on a treadmill but because of back pain i end up on the couch watching tv not understanding what i just sawon the tv.i started taking omega 3 as suggested by several people on this site but still feel rotten. now im going thru chills and extreme sweats. i explained this to my doc,she weened me off of cymbalta [weening not a good idea acording to greybeard] and put me on zoloft starting at 25 mg and now up to 50. im so tired of the side effects im either going to start this med again or end it all. could smeone please explain whats going to happen next? is anyone experencing the same? ive been reading a lot of the posts everyday over and over cause i cant remember what i just read. the xanax helps otherwise i wouldnt be off the couch writing this[ i was shaking to much and my heart was pounding] i havent experenced any brain zaps yet - any advice would be appreciated.

[tmouse]

no more thoughts of suicide. i want to live! i had a good day. i had a fitful sleep but i got up,showered, and got out of the house![its a big thing for me to shower, just dont have the drive] didnt go far-just to the grocery store and to fill my meds, but i did it.still having trouble concentrating,couldnt focus on all the stuff on the shelves in the store.but i got what i needed.as far as what houti says about getting on the treadmill, i cant . i have back problems i need 2 surguries but have no insurance till sept when i get medicare.[ which seem to have gotten worse since ive been off cymbalta] the reason i got on cymbalta is because the tv ads say it was good for depression and pain.i want to thank you all for corsponding with me to help me thru this, you are are a godsend.

[Attorney_Victim]

Tmouse,
When I found this site, I had the same feelings of being at the end of my rope. The info and people on here helped me through my darkest times of withdrawal.

I went back to my prescribing dr and she prescribed Prozac to help me through the symptoms. I started that 4 days into my withdrawal, and it was a big help!! I felt a lot better within 36 hours of my first dose of Prozac. Within 3-4 days, I felt almost no withdrawal symptoms.

Many others on here have good success with taking Prozac or other anti-depressant during withdrawal. Others do not want to take any other anti-depresants...it's a personal choice for someone to make in consultation with their doctor. But, I always like to mention it to new people because it helped me so much.

Good luck to you...it does get better!!

[Deana]

I wanted to stop taking Cymbalta because of intense dizziness. I could be lying on my bed with my eyes shut without moving for a long period of time when suddenly the whole room would start spinning so much I thought I'd fall out of my bed.

My doctor weaned me off of it in 3 weeks, which I don't think was sufficient time. I got weepy & emotional. My skin was very itchy, which absolutely drove me crazy. I looked it up on the internet, which said that it can sometimes cause the blood vessels under the skin to become swollen which causes itchiness. I called my doctor who prescribed Xanax to help with the withdrawal symptoms.

Now my feet & ankles are swollen. I don't know if this is from Cymbalta withdrawal or the fact that I've been sitting in the ICU waiting room for several days waiting for my dad to wake up from quadruple bypass surgery.

[2blessed]

Icannot remember the side effects while talking Cymbalta for these last nearly two years. I think there were times when I'd have vivid violent nightmares whenever I missed a dose. It was a Godsend when I first started taking it in early 2007. I'd been on Effexor for years, and it was no longer working.

The Cymbalta made me fill like I was alive again. As a journalist at the time, my productivity at work improved, and I wasn't crying so much. It made me feel like life held many promises for me and that I could face whatever it threw my way. Before Cymbalta, I wanted to hide from the world in my bedroom with the blinds drawn and in the dark. I was fearful and felt like everything was too big for me to handle. I rarely went anywhere other than work, constantly felt sorry for myself because of the problems of my past and often prayed to die.

I'm experiencing withdrawal symptoms only because of a problem with my insurance that won't be resolved for a couple of weeks. I ran out of my Cymbalta three days ago and can't afford to pay the full price for the medicine. I was on a 60 mg and a 30 mg tablet for a combined daily dose of 90 mg. It costs nearly $300 for a one month supply of both the 60 and 30 mg tablets without insurance.

Anyway, my pharmacist suggested that I ask my doctor about taking Paxil until I can get the Cymbalta because I can get the Paxil for a mere $4 a month at Wal-mart. But I'm not sure I'll return to Cymbalta because of what I'm going through now with these withdrawal symptoms. If Paxil works well for me in the next couple of weeks, I won't go back to it.

I've also been taking Wellbutrin for the last few months. That was added after a horrible two-month flare-up with my Fibromyalgia kept the Cymbalta from working as well as it should for me, according to my doctor. So, I haven't experienced the suicidal tendencies that some here have said you can get from withdrawing from Cymbalta. I think the Wellbutrin has prevented that.

Here's a list of my symptoms:
-Brain Zapps (Just learned this term at this site. I didn't know what to call that strange buzzing feeling in my head when I blink my eyes or shift them from right to left or up and down). THESE, TO ME, HAVE BEEN THE WORST! They have been ongoing since the evening of day one without my Cymbalta. I'm definitely going to get the Benedryl that I learned about at this site to see if that eases this symptoms.
- Sleeplessness/restlessness (I've had only five hours of sleep in the last 48 hours).
- Crawlies (Feels like bugs are crawling on my face and body which makes sleeping difficult)
- Nausea, Vomitting and Diarreha (On this third day, for awhile, everything I ate was being thrown up and made my stomach upset).
- Headaches (especially on the second day of withdrawal. Not so much on this third day).
- Concentration and memory problems
- Flu-like aching (This could be my fibromyalgia. I'm not sure. But my fibro has been under control lately. The achiness didn't start until the eve of day one of my Cymbalta withdrawal, and my fibro pain meds aren't helping it).
- Moodiness and irratibleness
- Occassional numbness in my fingers as someone mentioned at this site. (I wasn't aware before that, that this could be related to the Cymbalta withdrawal).
- Episodes of a loss of balance ( I had this in the evening of day two. Again, I saw that someone had mentioned this as a symptom at this site. I did not know it might be related to the Cymbalta withdrawal).
- An overall feeling of yuckiness.

[me_be_yaya]

As I saw on another post, I also ran out of insurance money and couldn't afford to pay the $130 for a 30 day supply that it would have cost me to refill my prescription. After seeing some of the posts about how Cymbalta did or didn't help people, although this has been hell... I am glad I am getting off of this. I'd been on this for about 1 1/2 year and although Cymbalta did help my anxiety and lowered my blood pressure, it also added about 30 pounds of weight gain. This didn't help my already lack of energy ~ why take the time to shower if you don't have anything you can fit into attitude. I couldn't believe it when I saw someone put clutter as an effect. That described me to a tee. It bothered me that my house has clutter everywhere but I couldn't focus long enough to actually do something about it. I'm still shocked that I hadn't heard how severe the withdrawal was... This definately needs to be vocalized greatly to potential Cymbalta patients.

My Withdrawal Symptoms:
Headaches ~ Brain Zaps especially when I moved my eyes from one side to the other ~ dizziness ~ lightheadedness ~ nausea ~ vomiting ~ diarrhea ~ Flu-like symptoms ~ numbness & tingling in fingers, arms and face ~ hot flashes ~ vision issues ~ Concentration problems ~ mood swings ~ Anger ~ Rage ~ Crying... lots of crying ~ Body Aches ~ uncomforable creepy crawly hard to explain feeling throughout my body ~ loss of balance ~ Anxiety ~ irritability ~ suicidal thoughts (although I knew I wouldn't do it, I so understood why others did) ~ muscle weakness ~ low energy ~ depression ~ frustration due to the emotional rollercoaster ride I'm on ~

One thing is for sure... it's nice to know that I'm not some nut job that is totally out of control. Also, I'm glad to hear there is a light at the end of this looooong tunnel

[Sherry]

HAIR LOSS ANYONE? My fiance is a drummer and his hair is so important to him. Musicians are a bit different from the 'norm,' in my opinion... so, when his hair starting coming out in clumps, he freaked. He was on 60 mg. of Cymbalta and when he told his shrink that it wasn't helping his depression, he told him to DOUBLE UP! He did. Now, he is really going through HELL. I have watched him cry like a baby when he sees a hungry stray animal. He carries animal food around in his trunk (just in case!)

He has had horrible bouts of EXTREME ANGER and I am afraid that he is going to have a bad case of 'road rage' one day and get into serious trouble. With the heat, humidity and air quality all in the danger zone, we people down South are like ticking time bombs. If we were all taking Cymbalta... well, I think that the obituaries would take up half of the newspaper!

BACK TO HAIR LOSS... I'm sorry that I keep getting off of the main topic. If anyone has experienced hair loss from taking Cymbalta, would you please let me know? Meanwhile, I'll continue researching and trying to find a way out of our 'self-imposed' nightmare. I thank you in advance!
Sincerely,
Sherry

[tmouse]

well last night the anger and rage finally reared its ugly head, just as i was trying to fall asleep.i have adifficult time falling asleep even with sleep meds because my heart is always racing. the dizzyness got worse and having a heard time focusing on the tv.im almost ready to give up and start taring the cymbalta again.i just feel weak, tired and shakey today.an nausus. wish i could just sleep thru this whole thing. i feel im missing the whole summer stuck in the house. cant drive, my head is to foggy. any words of incouragment would help

[Attorney_Victim]

Sherry,
Hair loss does seem to be a side effect of Cymbalta. It was for me and others on here. Just another reason to believe Cymbalta is more dangerous than the manufacturer is revealing!!

TMouse,
I am sorry to hear you are in a bad place right now. That was me only 2 weeks ago. Hopefully, each day will get better for you! It does get better!!

[tmouse]

a real bad day today. three weeks off of this cymbalta and i feel im going thru an emotional rollercoaster. woke up feeling anxious, couldnt sit still,figity as i feel now. i wanted to get out of the house but felt too dizzy. ended up watching tv as usual, but had a hard time seeing, like my vision is blurred. anyone else experence this? any ideas on how to stop the shakes?

[anton_chigurh]

Side effects:
Weight gain
Quick temper
Diminished sex drive
disturbed sleep pattern
Spacey
Lost interest in the thing i enjoyed doing
Flat emotionally
Lazy both mentally and physically
Anhedonia
More i can't think of 'cause I'm feeling really stupid.

Withdrawal: (I'm 5 or 6 days in)
Dizziness
Brain zaps followed by a feeling of my head being separated form my neck lasting a few seconds
Slurred speech. Thick feeling physical in mouth.
Inability to complete sentences because I forget what i intend to say before I stop talking
Inability to complete sentence because I (what was i saying?)
Inability to complete sentence because I I just stop talking and think the rest of what i meant to say.
All the GI stuff others are reporting
A feeling that my IQ dropped 20 points (like I can afford that!)
Feelings of anger even when i know intellectually that there is not reason for it.
Anxiety through the roof.
Feeling like I'm gonna cry over the most minor events.

[saddoc]

I am amazed (and glad) I found you folks here.....I am not alone.

Quick review: started taking Cymbalta about 8-9 weeks ago after going through a rough patch (very rough) involving my ultimately successful attempt to rid my work place of a bully boy employee who was also a sexual predator. This whole episode nearly cost my my own job and my sanity...Cymbalta really pulled me out of the deep weeds in a very short period of time. I have a long history of situational depression, can go years between episodes being off medication.

3-4 days ago I stopped taking it (60 mg q am) cold turkey primarily because I was experiending sexual side effects. After 2 years of NO sex, that part of my life heated up again in a big way (this is a good thing) and I found I was at least partially numb down there and having a very hard time achieving orgasm if at all.

I thought everything was going well until this morning when I realized I was just about totally decompensating. Was watching a Stevie Nicks concert on tivo and found myself blubbering like a baby. This brought me up real straight - wait a minute here!! Yeah, Stevie and Fleetwood Mac did play background music to my younger life, but .... I shouldn't be reacting like this!! And then I knew....withdrawal....it's been an ugly morning.

My symptoms:

severe insomnia (this started almost immediately) the last 3 nights have been a bitch
fuzz brain (I blamed this on lack of sleep)
lethargy
crying
irritability
gi upset

there's probably more, but I only figured all this out in the last 2 hours.

I raced into the kitchen and took a 30 mg cap.

After a very one sided conversation with my boyfriend (him talking, me unable to talk - sobbing) I dug out the Xanax which I haven't needed in well over 6 weeks. Took 0.5 mg. that was maybe 1/2 hr ago, I think it's starting to kick in, my eyes are wet but I'm not sobbing.

I had big plans for this weekend...not any more...I've got to get this under control.

We are not happy....

[panthergirl]

I was on Cymbalta 30mg for THREE DAYS last week. The side effects began immediately (I am now extremely glad they did) and included:

- Severe nausea. No vomiting, but thought I would at any moment. (Dr. said this might happen)
- Loss of appetite
- Extreme lethargy (Dr. said I "might be tired". The understatement of the century)
- Spacey, stoned-out feeling
- Muscle tightness in my neck and shoulder (very scary to me as I have experienced tortocollis (sp?) in the past, which is a severe cramping of the trapezius muscle. Pain that will make you scream. I was terrified that I'd move a certain way and that would happen again.)
- Depression
- Did I mention Nausea?
- Constipation

I immediately started researching the drug online and when I found forum after forum about people's horrible side effects and terrible withdrawal symptoms, I stopped. I have already experienced Paxil withdrawal and that was horrible enough for me.

After stopping the Cymbalta, I still experienced (4 days later some of these are still present):

- Some nausea
- Weird muscle tightening in my jaw and neck
- Extreme tiredness towards the end of the afternoon into the evening
- Internal "vibrations"
- Awareness of internal organs that one shouldn't be able to feel (like feeling my blood flowing through my veins)
- Anxiety

I am starting to take 2.5mg of Lexapro (along with my Wellbutrin which has been good, except for my. anxiety which is why we're adding the AD). I've been on Lexapro before with good results except for the 30 pounds I gained. This time, I'm hoping that the Wellbutrin and a low-carb diet will help with that.

With both Paxil and Lexapro, once they kicked in I didn't feel like I was on any drug at all (which is how it should be when your brain chemistry is straightened out). With Cymbalta, I felt completed drugged out, sedated and like I wanted to curl up and die.

[DobieCentral]

I'm new to this forum but unfortunately I think I fit right in. I was on Cymbalta 60mg and Wellbutrin 350mg for almost 3 years and just stopped taking both of them a few weeks ago. I did the whole step down gradually thing and silly me thought I'd be OK if I followed the protocol. I think I was very mistaken. The last few days I thought I was coming down with something but now I'm thinking it's withdrawals. Here's what I'm feeling:

Horrible aches and pains, almost flu-like, especially in the mornings - I can hardly get out of bed. I have a job where I'm on my feet alot during the day and the last few days it's all I can do to stand up, my legs and feet hurt so badly. Even my fingers hurt!

Weird almost dizziness, not sure if these are the brain zaps I've seen mentioned. It's like the room wants to spin but never quite takes off. I feel strange almost electrical sensations roll through me like I want to black out but never do. It's all mild and not debilitating or anything, but definitely annoying!

Total lack of coordination and effectiveness. I'm typically a very good, fast typer but the last few days I almost have to hunt and peck to get anything typed. I run into everything even more than I usually do.

Cannot remember sh*t! Not only can I not remember appointments, why I came into a room, etc, but where things are, how some things at work are done, tasks I'm supposed to accomplish. I'm typically known as the one that remembers everything and now I'm doing good to remember to feed the dogs!

Other annoying things like night sweats, shivering, mild diarrhea, agitation, decreased appetite (which I personally don't mind!) and lethargy.

Any ideas as to how long these will last? It's been going on for about 3-4 days and I've been totally off my meds for right at 2 weeks. Will these only get more intense or can I hope that at least some of them will start tapering off?

[steveacca]

I quit taking Cymbalta now for 2 days and it is horiable...I was on 90 mg and decided to cut down to 30mg on my own it was bad but got better after a couple weeks...my dr said I cut back too much too fast and to wait a month before going to zero...I decded to quit early should I go back to 30 or tought it out..my head feels like its going to explode...I am dizzy...I lost all my money gambling with no control...I am tired...I feel like a bad hangover all the time...how long to this goes away...I was on it for nerve pain...not depression but am depressed now for sure! I feel lost.

[adbarry]

I am so glad that I searched and found this site about Cymbolta. Greybeard, thank you for caring enough about others and wanting to help. I have been taking it for about a year or so and was on 60mg. I had been having really bad vision problems for about 3 or 4 months and finally made an appointment with the eye guy. It had only been a year since my last exam. He said that my vision had changed so much that he didn't want to give me glasses until I went back to my regular dr. to have my sugar checked. Well,,I had just had it checked back in January due to some high points in sugar levels, (267). Could this have also been a symptom? Long story short, it turned out ok but he said that it looked as if it may happen down the line. So,,,I have gone back again and had blood work done but haven't heard anything yet. I don't expect to either. Why? My sister was on this drug also and her vision was affected quickly also. Her vision never fully recovered. Her doc. took her off and put her on something else right away. My doc. did not want me to be on anything but I refuse that. I know me and I MUST be on something to control my depression and anger. Ok, so here I am on my fifth day off cold turkey, he said he wanted the Cymbolta out of my system before going on something else, which he is putting me on Prozac.

Let me tell you what hell I feel:
very bad memory loss (while on the drug)
Severe nausea
dizzy and spinning when I move my head (dr. said that would happen)
cant think
short tempered!!!
horrible and vivid nightmares
upper lip feels big
joint aches and some swelling in fingers
overall body flu like symtpoms
upset stomach
ringing in ears and head
racing heart and breathing feels as though something is sitting on my chest
feel drugged and want to sleep all the time
cant walk a straight line, also makes it hard to drive and scary
skin feels crawly or something biting me all the time
Sure there are more but like everyone else I cant think straight

let me just say that if you are on the drug and are having vision problems, dont wait and not do something, I cant even see my food to eat anymore, before I only had very slight reading problems.

Good luck to us all and God bless......

[FibrogalJCW]

I have been taking Cymbalta for about 4 years now. Because I don't have insurance coverage, my doctor has been kind enough to supply me with "samples" because they have them in abundance. There have been a few times that I have run out, and gone one, maybe two days without them and was just fine. I currently take Cymbalta for two reasons - one is because I have Fibromyalgia - however, Cymbalta does not seem to help with ANY of the physical problems. Two - I suffer from PMDD and this medication seems to help the most. This past Sunday night I took my last 60 mgs. (I usually take between 90 and 120). I was really busy and kept forgetting to call the doctor to pick up my samples. On Tuesday, I noticed that I wasn't feeling "right". I felt like I was going to vomit, and I was getting the cold sweats. It NEVER occured to me that it could be the Cymbalta. I just thought maybe I was coming down with a bug. When I woke up on Wednesday morning - I still felt "off". Within a few hours - I was sweating SO BAD that my clothes were completely damp - but I was FREEZING!! I actually got into the shower to try and warm up (which is an odd thing to do in hot summer weather!) As soon as I got out, I started to sweat again - literally dripping it onto the floor. I don't know how I figured it out - perhaps it's because it was the ONLY medication that I was out of and not taking - but I figured it HAD to be the Cymbalta. The last time I felt THIS horrible was 5 years ago when I tapered down and quit taking methadone (which I was given for my Fibromyalgia pain - and it didn't work very well). Within a few hours, I had a horrible headache - I was dizzy, weak, shaking, sweating, freezing, nauseated and my heart was pumping a mile a minute. I called my doctors' office and my husband was kind enough to go pick the samples up for me. There is NO WAY I could have gotten in a car and driven at that point - I was actually ready to call 9-1-1 becuase I was so scared and feeling so sick! I couldn't even get off the couch to get a cup of water to take my pills with - that had to be brought over to me - and although I got them down - I was terrified that I might throw them back up before they dissolved. Thankfully, I kept them down, and fell in and out of sleep for about 2 hours. The meds finally kicked in and I felt about 70% better. As I said - I went through withdrawal 5 years ago - and it was HELL. I would not have EVER wished on my worst enemy what I went through. And what happened on Wed was a reminder of that time. But, to have withdrawal symptoms that are EXACTLY the same as going off an opiate or pain med - from an "Antidepressant" REALLY doesn't seem right to me at all! I was terrified and I will absolutely be talking to my doctor about what happened during my next appt.

[debp06]

Thankfully I didn't have side effects THAT badly (not able to achieve orgasm on a frequent basis) but the med didn't do much good, either, so I'm weaning off to try something else. At this point I would say I have the following withdrawal symptoms that I suspect are related to the Cymbalta. I would probably have had more if I'd been on a higher dose than 30 mg to begin with. Also, having visited here before I started to wean off, I had prayed that I wouldn't get anything bad!

Headaches
Hot flashes
Mood Swings (though mostly increased depression)
Concentration problems