3 replies to this topic

[cajunpink]

I have been on cymbalta 60 mg for about 2 years for chronic pain and depression. Long story short
Brain tumor had surgery got it all out left me with many post op issues 2011
20 years fighting endometriosis last surgery 2012
Fibromyalgia appears in Jan 2013
Cymbalta helped at first but now having suicidal thoughts so went see my psych doctor who suggested I wean off cymbalta went from 60 mg to 30 mg for 7 days on day 7 added 5 mg of Brintellix
Today is day 15 first day with NO Cymbalta and 5 mg of Brintellix for a week if I tolerate it then I go up to 10 mg. the doctor said I should not feel as bloated, possible weight loss and increase energy. I hope and pray she is right. Couldn't sleep tonight been up from 1 am until now which is 5:45. Nauseated with very little energy. I am in mid phase which I heard was the worst time. Any comments would be great thanks

[thismoment]

cajunpink

 

Welcome.

 

You've been through some tough times, and hopefully you can look forward to better days.

 

Brintellix is a SMS (serotonin modulator and stimulator) called Vortioxetine (Lundbeck and Takeda Pharmaceutical).

 

I think you were taken off the Cymbalta too fast (more-or-less cold turkey), and yet it takes 6-8 weeks for Brintellix to fully upload. Therefore you could be in for several weeks of unpleasant withdrawal symptoms (the nausea, disturbed sleep cycle, and low energy are typical, but there could be more). 

 

The Brintellex is claimed to be good for anxiety. They say you can stop it cold turkey without much difficulty, and that would be partly due to the fact that it  has a long half-life of 66 hours, which is similar to Prozac; Brintellix has been used in the past to piggyback off Cymbalta- which is kind of what you are doing.  (Prozac, a SSRI is commonly used for this purpose- then you wean off the Prozac which is easier to do).

 

A benign piggyback regimen would be to gently taper off Cymbalta over 6 weeks while uploading the piggyback drug. The purpose is to reduce the withdrawal symptoms of the first drug by slowly tapering it while simultaneously uploading the second and allowing the necessary time for it to become effective. 

 

There is a long list of drugs that interact unfavourably with Brintellix (as there is for all drugs), and the two no-mixers are Trazodone and Wellbutrin.

 

Keep us posted on your progress. Best wishes!

[ittybittysmitty]

Cajunpink,

So sorry to hear about everything you've gone through...is Brintellix an antidepressant? I've never heard of it...

It's good he took you off the Cymbalta but he was wrong to stop the Cymbalta cold turkey...you should still be taking it and then slowly weaning yourself off of it as the Brintellix has a chance to build up in your system....when you get off drugs like Cymbalta, what is called 'Cymbalta Discontinuation Syndrome' occurs which is why this website exists. Read the thread on going cold turkey...

Are you having brain zaps or dizziness? If not, that is great news for you! Are you still having suicidal thoughts?

Have you read any of Fishinghat's posts? He is an expert on weaning...Hopefully he will comment on this...

I wish you the best and am so glad you found this website....there are so many wonderful people here and we're all in this together...I will pray for you after I'm done here...

Get some rest today...;o))

[fishinghat]

Interesting ThisMoment. I found reference to two studies done on Brintellix for anxiety. In one it worked better than placebo and in another it had no effect. At this point the FDA has rejected approval for anxiety. The medical research I read refered to it as a SMS (Seratonin Modulator and Stimulator). The manufacturer's website (Takeda Pharmaceuticals and H. Lundbeck)(which is about worthless) doesn't even categorize it.

 

It has a high affinity to beta-adrenergic sites (a type of adrenaline receptor) although not its primary mode of action.

Wikipedia refers to it both as an SMS and an SRI as well as a NET (norephinephrine transport blocker).

The FDA says no withdrawal from it but that "patients experienced transient adverse reactions" when stopping it.

What the ....is that? That is withdrawal!! Idiots.

 

Don't you love new medicines. It is no wonder drs get things wrong.