Help
Hey, I was on 60mg of Cymbalta for three months, along with Vyvanse (for ADHD), sometimes Aderall (for ADHD), and almost Concerta (for ADHD), all over a period of 3-4 months. Not being entirely pleased to have become a guinea pig for my psychiatrist, and a form of intellectual stimulation for his questions about world issues and the UN I decided to ween myself off of my medications, and go back to letting my brain deal with things on its own. As it happens I do not have ADD or ADHD, I have GAD (Generalized Anxiety Disorder), so the coming off of the amphetamines has been a wonderful experience. The coming off of Cymbalta has not.
Thankfully I am not dealing with sickness or physical pain, but as many people described, it I am dealing with a severe case of these 'brain zaps'. It has been 5 days now without Cymbalta, and it took 3 out of those 5 days to start feeling the side effects.
I am experiencing what I would describe as stutters, or a record skipping on my neurons. I go through moments where I lose the motor function in my hands, and experience a kind of spot-numbness in my finger tips and in the skin on my face. It's somewhat like touching a live power socket and feeling the after shock, not the initial shock. During these brain zaps I am unable to read, letters on a computer screen or in a book become jumbled and unrecognizable, and as soon as I attempt to focus on what I am trying to read I get another neurological shock through my system, which is sometimes followed by a brief headache, as if my body is telling me "not now, just go lie down."
These stutters can also be described as similar to brief moments of vertigo, as if my blood pressure is rapidly dropping. I am amazed that I can still walk in a straight line without falling down, for the sensation can become so severe that I need to stop and regroup.
I have also been having very vivid, lucid dreams since I stopped taking the medication. (I am not one for weening myself off, I stopped cold turkey from 60mg). And my body temperature has been running as if I broke my thermostat somewhere a long the way, especially at night, where I have started sweating and over heating, only to freeze again.
My level of agitation has increased, and the triggers for my anxiety are much more broad than they usually are. Simple situations are unbearable, and I find the only way to deal with it is to sleep, or go for very long walks until I tire my body out ... and then have a nap.
I have tried taking magnesium citrate, but it makes me incredibly nauseated, with or without a full stomach, so that has turned me off that supplement for now.
I am not worried that it will not go away; I have gone through some rather awful withdrawal from other medications before--and for some reason just forgot why I stopped putting chemicals into my body. To consider what effects these medications are having on one's body is somewhat of a concern, when the withdrawal has such a potent neurological withdrawal pattern. These withdrawal patterns are similar to that of coming off impure street drugs.
I would highly suggest that anyone going through withdrawal write up a detailed letter to your doctor, or your psychiatrist, print it out and give it to them. Verbally telling them doesn't always get the message across and often I find that I forgot to mention important things when I'm talking on the spot.
And if you're considering going onto any new medications, pressure your medical practitioner to tell you all of the possible side effects, and symptoms of withdrawal, or do a lot of research on it before hand. Your body is your temple, so be careful of what you're putting into it.
-Aryia
PS: I'll add a post as to when the brain zaps stop; but don't forget that everyone's body is different, so the amount of time it takes for me to go back to normal may differ greatly from the amount of time it takes you!
