[curlykate]

New to the board, SO relieved to discover that no,I am not in fact going crazy day by day. I was hoping someone here might have some advise on how to get through this transition. I have been on Cymbalta for 18 months, weaned from 90>60>30>0 over two months. The doctor I went to recently, after things got BAD, said she never prescribes the nastiness that is Cymbalta specifically because of its horrible side affects and withdrawal. After week one without any Cymbalta I was a wreck, and my doc prescribed prozac as a means of lessoning the withdrawal. I am arecovering addict so this has been hard, I literally have been fighting the urge to take the cymbalta...my body WANTS it. I have also been going through the transition to Lamictal, my doc says that Cymbalta never should have been prescribed to me as a patient with bi polar disorder.
Anyways (sorry to ramble, it feels good to write this all down) For the past two days I have been MANIC (boy the house sure is organized...) I havent eaten other than when my husband asked my to eat SOMETHING.
Has anyone else been given prozac to get through this? Does anyone else take Lamictal and experience Mania with the prozac? Could the cymbalta withdrawal cause the mania? I am so confused at this point about which med is causing what reaction. How long does this last? What the heck are these "Brain zappings" that occur? Did anyone else have excrutiating joint pain? HOW LONG DO I HAVE TO DO THIS? I would really like to get my life back and this is scary.
Thanks for letting me rant. Have a great one.

[curlykate]

Thank you, it is nice just to know that others have made it through this successfully. WOW, I can't believe this medication doesn't come with a HUGE disclaimer warning people about its negative effects. the shaking is so bad i am having a herd time typing, hopefully it will subside soon. I actually called my doc today and she said that I am experiencing all the typical side effects and am "right on the withdrawal schedule". I don't know whether to feel relief of frustration that there is prob. still more to come. the hardest part right now is the addiction feelings this withdrawal is triggering...up all night CRAVING Cymbalta...I actually had a daydream about breakking them open and snorting the stuff, but, I am proud of myself for knowing I can't ever go back to that place in my life. My doc wanted to give me a small trial of Xanax or Ambien to get smoe rest, but I am unsure if thats a good ides right now with the cravings as bad as they are.
Anyways, thanks for the reply, it helped me immensly today.

[Holly]

Curlykate,
I don't have BP, but know a lot about it as my brother does, and would describe some of my mood swings coming off Cymbalta as very BP. I would venture to say that your withdrawal symptoms are going to be that much more intense having BP. Celexa has helped me manage my mood, and be able to settle down and focus again. The Prozac will most likely help. Listen to Greybeard, you will get better, just hang on.

[curlykate]

thanks to everyone who has shared on this forum...its such a relief just to have a place to talk about this with others who understand. I just spoke with my mom, who lives out of town, and told her about how I was feeling, my symptoms, my loneliness, my mania, haven't eaten in two days, and she told me she had actually been in my town overnight but didn't call or stop by because she was just too busy. Wow, that sucked. thanks for understanding Mom. It is so hard when your illness makes people want to avoind you because they don't know what to say. I am not looking for them to solve any problems, but just a hug would have meant the world to me today

[Attorney_Victim]

CurlyKate,
I started taking Prozac on Day 4 of withdrawal. My symptoms started getting a little better within 24 hours, but some of the symptoms stuck around for 1-2 weeks (after a week my symptoms were pretty minor). The shaking/shivering stuck around for a few days at least. I remember that terrible feeling, so I know what you are talking about! I took Prozac for a little over a month and then stopped it about a week ago without problem.

Like you, I also experienced a few days of mania during the second week of withdrawal...I wasn't sure if it was the withdrawal or Prozac kicking in. However, I lean toward it being withdrawal related because it subsided after about 2 days and did not come back the rest of the time I took Prozac.

If you are a recovering addict, you should probably stay away from Ambien. It is considered by some to be "highly addictive." I took it (1/2 a pill per night) until recently, and even though I don't have a history of addiction, I could see how easy it would be to get hooked on the stuff. I've only been off it for a few nights and it is hard to get used to not having it!

Sorry about your mom not understanding, but that is not uncommon. Most of us here have come to rely on each other for support with this particular issue because our families and friends just don't understand...even when they want to and try.

Welcome to the forum and remember...It will get better!! Good Luck!

[curlykate]

Thank you very much. I hadn't seen too much about the use of Prozac with Cymbalta withdrawal, but my new doc (bless her soul) seems very current and up to date. My favorite thing about her office is that there isn't s big container of pharamacutical rep pens on the counter...those always make my heart sink. My mother is a lobbyist for the AMA (so it's doubly frustarating to go through this) and I used those pens all the way through high school, its amazing what power lobbyist have. I guess today really hurt because aside from trying to understand, I really could have just used a hug. Sometimes, that's the best med of all.
I decided not to take the ambien after doing a little research on its addictive properties, and I also decided to throw away the script for Xanax, seems like too much of a temptation right now. I had, no wait, have a severaly addictive personality and I am trying to steer clear of many of the meds commonly prescribed for anxiety/mania/OCD.
I want to thank you all for your support and kindness, I recently tried to file a complaint with the FDA, but it seemed pretty pointless. This drug is horrible, and there needs to more info available to potential users. I especially as a recovering addict do NOT appreciate the severe withdrawal and cravings, I have actually dreampt about sniffing some :cry: .
Oh well. my husband decided to goo flyfishing today through the weekend, sure wish I felt like doing anything besides rearranging the spice cupboard and vaccuming. Ha HA, it;s not really funny but it helps to laugh alittle, don't you think!

[Holly]

Curlykate,

Don't know where you live, but one thing that helped me while going through withdrawals was to go swimming. We have public pools that are clean and pretty nice. I went to the public pool, which fortunately wasn't crowded or too loud, and basically played and swam in the water for hours for several days in a row. Something about water is calming and I wore myself out trying to perfect the breaststroke. Hot baths help me, too.

My husband fly-fishes, too. Very calm personality with a lot of patience, but no clue as to how to relate to me right now. He's taking lots of business trips lately. It kinda ticks me off, because I don't want to be alone at this time. I'm sorry to hear about your mother's behavior. My therapist says to "mother yourself," sort of be your own mother when you can't get it from the real thing.

Prayers are with you!

[marbles]

I do not have B/p but like someone on here already said ,the symptoms range from manic to blah coming off cymbalta. I right now feel I need to clean my house but instead of B/p I have severe depression and I can`t hardly get myself to even want to do anything. On the flip side the manicky part made me clean,and I talked all the time.If I had no one to talk with I felt extremely anxious. As far as proxac for me ,I felt right in the beginning like I was walking on a wire and I went from it to zoloft which I stayed on for years. I do hope you find the right combination and feel better. I keep hanging on to this spot online as it makes me feel safe that others got better because sometimes I feel so frightened that i will not get better.