2 replies to this topic

[Pattie317]

Almost 30 years ago, I had a failed suicide attempt. I was sent to a psychiatrist who immediately put me on an antidepressant.  I was diagnosed as "bipolar" (or chemically unbalanced) even though there was little discussion about me or what was going on in my life and absolutely no blood tests or medical screening.  I have since taken a plethora of prescription cocktails from Lithium to Cymbalta.  Inbetween there was Prozac, Effexor, Wellbutrin, Neurontin, etc. etc.)  About 10 years ago, Attention Deficit Disorder was added to my "mental illnesses" and I've taken Ritalin, Concerta, and Adderall every day since.  Prior to the suicide incident, I had a very full and functional life and never remember being "sad" a day in my life.  However, I had a "Type A" overachiever personality which I guess was interpreted as "manic." I did not realize then what I realize now ... that I was being verbally abused and controlled by my husband.  However, the pills put me in zombie-mode and made life a little more bearable.  Now 30 years later, I am no longer "me" and don't know how to get it back. I have tried to quit taking medications; but when I do, I can do nothing but cry and/or sleep. I'm starting to realize I may have turned into a crazy person, because I have alienated myself from my friends and family.  My concern is now ... once I do stop taking these medications, will I ever be normal again? Thanks to ANYONE for some help.

[albergo11]

You will almost certainly need to switch to a medication with a longer half life, life prozac.  I would never recommend going cold turkey from this poison, because it could perminantly ruin your relationships and your career.  After 2-3 months, your life will start to resemble normality, but it could take 6 months to start to feel normal again.  If you're lucky, it may only take 1 month.  Everyone reacts differently to this poison.  Personally, it's been 10 weeks and I'm sort of normal, but still totally dysfunctional.  I'm going to have to switch to prozac just to stay in school and not drop out due to the dizzyness and lack of concentration.

[thismoment]

Patti317 and Albergo11- It's been a couple of months since these posts appeared, and I hope you are both well. 

 

The questions "How long does it take to get off Cymbalta?" and "Will I ever feel normal again?" appear a lot. These questions are common, but they are perhaps the most important ones to be asked.

 

For many, there will be few symptoms; these folks are the lucky ones.

 

How long does it take to get off Cymbalta? First of all, is Cymbalta is the only drug you are taking? If you are taking other mind/emotion-altering drugs, it may be difficult to determine what symptoms are coming from which drugs, so this is a compound issue that may be difficult to address.

 

Personally, I was taking just Cymbalta for 2 years, and my quitting strategy involved counting beads for 47 days beginning June 15, 2012. (See my log March 2012 'There is Hope' on this forum).  Certainly things improved a lot after 3-4 months, and everything looked much brighter!  But by 6 months, I realized that the recovery slope was a lot shallower and longer than I had hoped. Of course everyone is different, and I only speak for myself.  After a year I was very near to what I considered to be 'withdrawal symptom-free'.  

 

Will I ever be normal again? In my case, the answer is yes, and no: If 'normal' was how I felt before my depression, then that was perhaps a year before I was prescribed Cymbalta, so 'normal' was more than 4 years ago.  Then 2 years of Cymbalta followed by 1 year of withdrawal and recovery. While I feel 'normal' in the broadest sense, I am without a doubt 'different'. How could I really be the same from several years earlier? I had hoped it would be like I was under sedation for surgery, and when I wake up in Recovery, everything will be as it was just an hour or two before.  That didn't happen.

 

I wonder how anyone could NOT be different after enduring these emotional and chemical assaults that most certainly change the brain. Perhaps some brain changes are items that were simply forgotten, but can be re-learned- no problem.  But could some of the changes be in fact physical, the equivalent of scar tissue which remains forever?

 

Your brain is who you are; it's all you are; it's all you've ever been; it's where everything happens; it's all you have to offer anyone else; it's your creative well; it's the engine of your spirit. Bumping it can damage it forever. To think that flooding it for years with experimental chemicals that profoundly alter its function will have no long-lasting effect is, I believe, wishful thinking. While I feel 'normal', and everything works, I know I am different. But this is not a complaint, for I am thrilled beyond words to now have bright futures rising on my previously-bleak horizon.

 

Don't let the word "different" spook you; even without the chemicals we are all different than we were 5 years ago in every aspect.

 

In summary, the withdrawal slope may be shallower, and longer than you hoped, so don't try to assign a timeline of withdrawal, as you may be disappointed. How long doesn't matter, progress does. And finally, while it's okay to expect to feel normal when you get through this, 'normal' may not feel like the old normal, because you will have changed while you were gone. How can a painful isolating experience like this, combined with the passage of a number of years years NOT change you? 

 

 Best wishes.