[heatherb]

...then I definitely don't want to go there. :evil:

I've been on Cymbalta for about 10 months now. The reason I got on it to begin with was to help me better deal with some stress at work, as well as PMDD. Earlier this year, I noticed that I had gained a good bit of weight in a short time (at least 20 lbs), and that I had developed a nasty case of insomnia. I also started noticing the flu-like symptoms, especially just before and during my monthly visit from Aunt Flo. In short, by the time I made the connection between the Cymbalta and my symptoms and had made the decision to get off of it, I was feeling pretty crummy. By that time, I had also gone through extensive blood testing and a rather expensive (even with insurance) sleep study that gave me and my Dr. no definite reason for my sleeplessness, other than my brain waves were out of wack and not allowing me to get enough deep sleep--hence the daytime drowsiness.

I was initially on 60mg and the Dr. dropped me down to 30mg for a month before having me take 30 mg every other day. While I did have some flu-like symptoms maybe one or 2 days a week with taking 30mg every day, switching over to 30mg every other day (just this week) has been a bear. :cry: Not only am I having the flu-like symptoms, I'm also really moody and really anxious. While I've always liked having my own space before, I absolutely MUST have it now--quiet, without much outside stimulation. As a matter of fact, I've had to switch the kind of music I listen to on my car radio from classic rock (which I love) to smooth jazz, because the rock music is driving me bonkers! At this rate, the 30 mg capsules should last me until the end of Oct., where I will go to zero.

Right now, I really don't want to hear about, or attempt to, solve other people's problems--it's all too much for me. :cry: I'm wondering how I'm going to continue to handle the demands of my job. I've been able to keep my temper in check, but it just keeps on building up inside and I'm afraid that one of these days, someone is going to approach me with a question or problem at the exact wrong time and get a big dose of venom from me. :eek: This is one instance that I'm thankful that I don't have any kids.

I'd be absolutely cool with quitting cold turkey, if I knew that I could take some time off from work to get through the worst of it, but there's no telling how long the worst of it will last--a week, 2 weeks, a month? I've been upfront with my boss at work about all of this and he's been very understanding. I even joked around with my dad that perhaps I should just plan on taking 2 weeks off from work and coming up to his and Mom's house in Tennessee (I live in Florida) to get through the worst of it.

If it continues to be this bad or get much worse, I may get back with my Dr. and see if she'd be willing to prescribe some Prozac to get rid of the symptoms.

On top of that, I'm also on Yaz for PMDD and I'm thinking about getting off of that, as some of it's side effects are very similar to Cymbalta. I may very well wait until I'm completely off Cymbalta before attempting to get off of Yaz.

After this experience, I'm almost afraid to take anything else, other than medicines for obvious physical symptoms, like infections, allergies, etc.

I'm so glad this group is here, as my husband truly doesn't understand what I'm going through. I'm particularly interested in finding out how to deal with this and hold down a job at the same time.

Thanks!
Heather (who feels miserable, but hasn't given up hope)

[Attorney_Victim]

Heather,
As Greybeard mentioned, the every other day method does not work with Cymbalta because it has such a short half life. By taking it every other day, you are throwing your body into withdrawals every other day, which sometimes can be worse than just quitting cold turkey.

I am not a dr, but I have done a lot of research about Cymbalta. You will be better off if you take it every day but open the capsules and count pellets to taper down (the lowest dose available is 20mgs, so many people have done this counting pellets method with success), or switch straight over to another antidepressant like Prozac or Lexapro. These other drugs get rid of the withdrawal effects, but they have long half lives, so when you are ready to stop taking them you will not have withdrawal problems.

I did the Prozac route, and it worked very well for me. I still experienced about 4 days of pure hell, but I think that is because I didn't start the Prozac until Day 4 of withdrawals. If I had it to do over again, I would have taken the Prozac immediately, and increased the dose to 40 mgs after a few days (because I was going cold turkey from 60mgs, since you are already down to 30 mgs, the lower dose of Prozac may be enough). I took 20 mgs of Prozac for about 5 weeks, then stopped it without any problems.

Good Luck...you will get through this!! Please come here for support and information whenever you need it. Stopping this drug can take people to very dark places, so check in with us if things get really bad.

[wendy]

Heather, you can do it. May take a couple of months, but you'll get there. Just keep telling yourself that it will get better. I'm almost at 2 months off the Cymbalta and really it feels like it's been a year of dealing with this (can't believe it's only been 2 months). I'm just getting to the point where I'm not crying and having depressed moments everyday (and I'm actually drinking some coffee again, would make me feel awful before!). Zaps are pretty much gone, although I still have them every now and then, when I'm really tired. Plus I just had my wisdom teeth out last week (I've put my body through hell lately), and that has caused some zaps here and there (might just be the pain meds though).

Other than that, I am feeling SO much better. I actually feel free, like I've ridded my life of this crutch I kept leaning on but didn't need. Just take it one day at a time. When you feel horrible, just tell yourself it will pass, and it will. It will take some time, but you will get there.

Wish they would stop those stupid Cymbalta commercials. When I tell people some of the things I've felt while detoxing from this drug, they look at me in amazement that a pill could make you feel that way. Especially something that is supposed to be helping you.