[Marcia]

Luckily I was able to schedule time off for the first full week of being off cymbalta. Not 10 minutes go by without brain zaps of varying degrees as well as severe tinnitus. At times its just the usual ocean sound, but at times it is a whooshing, pulsating pressure feeling/sound that is very disconcerting. Does anyone experience this and if so, does anything help reduce this. I is very distracting. I need to go back to work next Monday and I am nervous about this. I do feel better...less rage (on a scale of 0-10, I was a 8-9, now around a 5), more energy, less dry mouth and constipation. Because I have chronic pain I am not sure if the aches and pains are worsened or exacerbated because of the withdrawal. Unusual symptom, urinary incontinence. I know TMI. If anyone has any suggestions on how they work during this phase I would greatly appreciate any input.

Btw... sleeping is all off. Restless legs and vivid dreams not quite nightmares but very strange, unsettling dreams. God, I wish I never took this drug. Oh well, moving forward.

[julbug]

Marcia,

Hang in there! It gets better. Im home while weaning off. There is no way that I could have funtioned at a job, while going through this detox HELL. I was on 60mg. for over 4 yrs. (cant remember exactly) Started having side effects with the drug..constipation, lack of interest in ANYTHING, jaw pain and poping..slept more than awake...lost insurance back in June, due to divorce. Paying $160 @ month for 30 pills..got too much. Decided this was my way out! Jan.10th I started every other day 60mg...I did this for 7days. Then I took 60mg capsule dumped pellets out, eyeballed them, split in half...then into 1/4...at this point I counted about 28 (roughly). I packed ALL capsules right then...made my baggues labeled them 30mg./15mg./7.5 (very roughly) Decided it was what I hade to do! Happy to say Im hanging in there. I'm taking my 5th capsule from my 15mg. bagggie tonight.
As for my withdrawl symptoms..I want to start with the positive thigs I have found that have worked for me;

Nausea-fresh ginger, I get it from my sushi spot. It helps in digestion as well as natural anti-inflammatory..no more constipation.
Dry mouth- I drink as much water as I can. About 1 gallon a day.
Brain Zaps/swishing sounds- I pray through them and remind myself it only seems to be happening for 1-3 days when I scale down my doses.
Night sweats..open window, again lots of water, ceiling fan, if avaliable.
Insomnia-Unisom, over the counter, not habit forming..lol(the least of our worries at this point)my dreams, not too bad.
Itchy-Twitchies-I take 1 Benadryl allergy ultratab 2x a day.(kinda makes you sleepy too)
Urinary(not holding it well)-dont wait! Drink lots of water..let it go (it does get better)

With everything Im going through with this detox, I allow myself to eat what ever candy (the tiny ones) that I want. Jelly Belly's work! I take vitamin B12, multi vitamin, fresh ginger (I eat alot) Im gluten free..this helps in NOT getting constipated.

Be kind to yourself..this is HELL! I agree, I wish I never took this drug...but now THIS TOO WILL MAKE US STRONGER!!! HANG IN THERE GIRLY!

[Jenni]

Just wanted to say that I have found the first 10 days of each reduction to be the worst(now on day 12 of zero Cymbalta after lots of gentle tapering over 3 months). You may well feel a lot better by Monday.

The person above has given some great suggestions. I have to say that eating a little bit every hour is helping me. Rice cakes, bananas, nuts are working better for me than when I was eating cakes all the time - no surprise there! Also, try a regular anti-nausea medicine from the drugstore. I had a lovely chat with a pharmacist who was very sympathetic and reassuring and told me to treat the symptoms as much as I could. Sipping 7-Up (not the diet kind) is also good for getting fluids and sugar in you when you can't face anything else.

Is there any way you could get an osteopath/chiropractor appointment? My osteopath found that my neck was very seized up which doesn't help with neck/head/sinus/ear pain and tinnitus. All my symptoms felt better after my appt including the whooshing noise. Maybe a back massage or even just lying in a hot, shallow bath.

I think that the withdrawal has made me much more sensitive to pain. My 4yo standing on my toe is agony. Bumping my hand against something made me cry. It is getting better so this is probably temporary for you, too.

Every day is a bit closer to better. On Tuesday, I could barely drive. On Wednesday, I could use my sewing machine. Yesterday, I could drive just fine, many motor skills coming back, feeling rage but able to control it a bit better. Today, head and sinuses feeling a bit better, less pressure.

Definitely having problems with my bladder. They use antidepressants to treat bladder problems so it makes perfect sense that our bladders are affected until serotonin levels even out. Good news: it will resolve itself.

Work may actually help in that it will take your mind off things.

Good luck!

[Marcia]

Thanks so much for taking the time to reply. I have totally been off the cymbalta for a week. I am getting a lot of ginger. My friend does reiki and something called quantum touch. It seemed to help with the whooshing sounds in my head for a bit. luckily she experienced something similar about 10 years ago and is very supportive. I have been trying to go gluten free and sugar free which may be contributing to my headaches. It will make us stronger that is for sure... Especially with the support network of others like you that take the time to reach out. Thank you.

 julbug, on 26 January 2012 - 09:02 PM, said:

Marcia,

Hang in there! It gets better. Im home while weaning off. There is no way that I could have funtioned at a job, while going through this detox HELL. I was on 60mg. for over 4 yrs. (cant remember exactly) Started having side effects with the drug..constipation, lack of interest in ANYTHING, jaw pain and poping..slept more than awake...lost insurance back in June, due to divorce. Paying $160 @ month for 30 pills..got too much. Decided this was my way out! Jan.10th I started every other day 60mg...I did this for 7days. Then I took 60mg capsule dumped pellets out, eyeballed them, split in half...then into 1/4...at this point I counted about 28 (roughly). I packed ALL capsules right then...made my baggues labeled them 30mg./15mg./7.5 (very roughly) Decided it was what I hade to do! Happy to say Im hanging in there. I'm taking my 5th capsule from my 15mg. bagggie tonight.
As for my withdrawl symptoms..I want to start with the positive thigs I have found that have worked for me;

Nausea-fresh ginger, I get it from my sushi spot. It helps in digestion as well as natural anti-inflammatory..no more constipation.
Dry mouth- I drink as much water as I can. About 1 gallon a day.
Brain Zaps/swishing sounds- I pray through them and remind myself it only seems to be happening for 1-3 days when I scale down my doses.
Night sweats..open window, again lots of water, ceiling fan, if avaliable.
Insomnia-Unisom, over the counter, not habit forming..lol(the least of our worries at this point)my dreams, not too bad.
Itchy-Twitchies-I take 1 Benadryl allergy ultratab 2x a day.(kinda makes you sleepy too)
Urinary(not holding it well)-dont wait! Drink lots of water..let it go (it does get better)

With everything Im going through with this detox, I allow myself to eat what ever candy (the tiny ones) that I want. Jelly Belly's work! I take vitamin B12, multi vitamin, fresh ginger (I eat alot) Im gluten free..this helps in NOT getting constipated.

Be kind to yourself..this is HELL! I agree, I wish I never took this drug...but now THIS TOO WILL MAKE US STRONGER!!! HANG IN THERE GIRLY!

[Marcia]

Jenni, Thanks for your reply. I am scheduled for a massage tomorrow so maybe she could work on the shoulders and neck. I hope to find something to help with the tinnitus and whooshy sounds in my ears. As I told the writer above, my friend does reiki and Quantum touch. There is a chiropractor who shares her office space so maybe I will chat with him to see if he feels he could help. I have not seen a chiropractor in years but am willing to try anything.

Glad to know the I am not the only one with the bladder issues which seem to have worsened since coming off the med. I guess with cymbalta's anticholinergic effects, I am now seemingly going more. Yay! it will get better! Thanks.

 Jenni, on 27 January 2012 - 04:09 AM, said:

Just wanted to say that I have found the first 10 days of each reduction to be the worst(now on day 12 of zero Cymbalta after lots of gentle tapering over 3 months). You may well feel a lot better by Monday.

The person above has given some great suggestions. I have to say that eating a little bit every hour is helping me. Rice cakes, bananas, nuts are working better for me than when I was eating cakes all the time - no surprise there! Also, try a regular anti-nausea medicine from the drugstore. I had a lovely chat with a pharmacist who was very sympathetic and reassuring and told me to treat the symptoms as much as I could. Sipping 7-Up (not the diet kind) is also good for getting fluids and sugar in you when you can't face anything else.

Is there any way you could get an osteopath/chiropractor appointment? My osteopath found that my neck was very seized up which doesn't help with neck/head/sinus/ear pain and tinnitus. All my symptoms felt better after my appt including the whooshing noise. Maybe a back massage or even just lying in a hot, shallow bath.

I think that the withdrawal has made me much more sensitive to pain. My 4yo standing on my toe is agony. Bumping my hand against something made me cry. It is getting better so this is probably temporary for you, too.

Every day is a bit closer to better. On Tuesday, I could barely drive. On Wednesday, I could use my sewing machine. Yesterday, I could drive just fine, many motor skills coming back, feeling rage but able to control it a bit better. Today, head and sinuses feeling a bit better, less pressure.

Definitely having problems with my bladder. They use antidepressants to treat bladder problems so it makes perfect sense that our bladders are affected until serotonin levels even out. Good news: it will resolve itself.

Work may actually help in that it will take your mind off things.

Good luck!

[Jenni]

Marcia
Thank you so much for taking the time to reply to my posts. I am really glad that I could offer some more information/support. I am heading off to stay for two weeks with an old friend who sells Shaklee products and is a bit obsessive about vitamins and supplements. I know she has a plan to help me with all this - lol! If it does help me, I will share it with everyone here although I suspect that two weeks in the Rockies with my family and my old friends is also going to help the healing process. Take care.