[grins181]

Hello everyene,

I have been reading some of the posts made here and it makes me feel so much better to know that I am not alone. Let me give you a little history so you know the whole story so you can better understand my problem. I used to get panic attacks to where i could not goto school or have a normal life. My doctor put me on paxil and then i took lexipro till about a year ago I started taking cymbalta, my doc gave it to me just like hay take this it better. Anyways after being on some kind of these drugs for years I decided I did not want to take them so multiple times I have tried to stop and failed. Let me tell you how I fel on the drug then you can tell me if you ahve felt the same.

on the drug-
sometimes mean, very cold, sometimes happy.
does not care about anything
does not feel anything exspecially with women, does not know if i like them or not.

now i'll tell you how I feel right now after the doctor cut my meds from 60mg to 30mg.
fuzzy headed
tired
depressed
out of it
very depressed

So having now know all this maybe you can help me with some answers.

how long does withdrawl last
what are the symptoms or withdrawl
is there a better way todo it then just cutting meds and/or stopping taking the med

thank you so much for any help that could be given. I feel so terrible right now and I don't remember how I was befreo i took the pills that I don't know what is better for me any info would be great thanks in advance.

Tony

[Attorney_Victim]

Welcome Tony,

As DC said, these withdrawals hit everyone a little differently, but most people are over the worst of the symptoms in about 2 weeks. Personally, I am a supporter of switching to a different med to alleviate the symptoms. I took 20mgs of generic Prozac starting on Day 4 of cold turkey withdrawal from 60 mgs. I wish I had started the Prozac on Day 1, it probably would've saved me several days of bad withdrawal symptoms. I do not recommend stopping Cymbalta cold turkey without unless a dr has prescribed another antidepressant like Prozac (or Lexapro) to take its place. Cold turkey can be very dangerous. I don't mean to scare you more, but it is a fact you should know.

There are basically two ways to get off this drug with minimal suffering...one is to take another drug like Prozac for a while, the second is to taper down to 0 mgs by opening the capsules and counting out pellets (you have to do this because the lowest dose available is 20mgs). Stopping this drug any other way will most likely result in withdrawal symptoms of varying severity. Some people on here stopped cold turkey from 30mgs or 20mgs and just relied on natural supplements, over the counter drugs (like Benadryl), and diet changes to help them...I'm not saying that is a bad choice, but those people still suffered the symptoms longer and more severe than people who did it the other 2 ways. Personally, I was too scared (and impatient) to count out the pellets, and luckily my psychiatrist was willing to give me the Prozac.

Whatever you decide to do, be careful and let your loved ones know what you are doing so that they can watch out for any signs of medical dangers. Come here whenever you need support or info...we've all been through it, and many of us credit this site with helping us, so we are happy to return the favor to newcomers! You will get through this...it does get better!!

[grins181]

Thanks all,

Thank you all for being so helpfull nothing worse then thinking your the only person that goes through this. I have no problem swithcing medacine, but I want to be albe to get off all the meds all together, does anyone know if the withdrawls are worse or better froe the other prescriptions. I would galdly switch to lexapro if the withdrawl was going to be less. SO i think it best to go talk to a doctor to set up a regiment to help me better. Any ideas or words of wisdom are greatly appreciated. Thanks again.

Tony

[Holly]

Tony,
I agree with everything that has been posted. Look at the other threads, especially those from Greybeard. He has a lot of great advice. And there is one web-site link that he gives...now I can't remember the name..but it gives some great advice about what to not watch on tv while going through withdrawals, the type of exercise, music, all kinds of things that really helped me. I am taking 20 mg. of Celexa to help with the withdrawal, and I have to say I am 90% better because of it. Cymbalta is pretty evil. I don't want to be over-dramatic, but it has been hellish for many of us to get off this stuff. Keep fighting for yourself and your own mental health. You are worth it.

Take care, Holly

[Jenofhearts]

Hi Tony,
A big welcome to you with open arms, we are all in the same boat or have been.. It is great that you have found this forum, I have clung to it for dear life at some pretty dim times. I am with Holly on this, Grey Beard and a few others like Divine Chemical, and Attorney Victim are very knowledgeable on this subject. I have read responses to my posts and everyone has been an angel. Funny isn't it.. how even though we have never met we all get it.
Everyday can be a struggle, no doubt, but you will have good days and as Grey Beard told me, try to remember and hang on to the memory of the good days, there are more to come. You will find your way through this, just take it one day, minute or second at a time, be patient, try to take good car of yourself, rest when you have to, eat when you can, also I have found the Omega caps pretty helpful, 1200mgs with each meal.
Let us know how you are doing, we all care!!
Jenny