9 replies to this topic

[morganbrooke]

As the title says I am in a position now where I can no longer take duloxetine. I recently returned to the states and had been taking duloxetine in Australia. After finally getting a perscription refilled here I found out the hard way that there is a little leeway in how the meds are manufactered in different areas. I had an allergic reaction which landed me in an ambulance/ER for the night. Needless to say I cannot taper off the medicine since I cannot handle taking even a bit of it without serious allergic reactions. I was perscribed Venlafaxine to take the place of my Cymbalta and I've been taking that for about a day now. I'm really nervous the withdrawal symptoms are going to get worse, but I'm hoping someone will be able to tell me that the Venlafaxine might help a bit. I've got most of the basic withdrawal sypmtoms already - brain zaps, dizzyness, fatigue, trouble sleeping/vivid nightmares, nausea and reduced hunger, wonky moodswings, etc.

 

I have been reading that some natural remedies seemed to help others as well, such as ginger/apple cider vinegar. At this point I just want to feel okay, and I'm really scared to experience worse than what I already am.

 

To give a bit more detail into why I was perscribed Cymbalta,  general depression, social anxiety and minor agoraphobia. I had been on it for a few months and had my dose slowly increased and never noticed any issues while taking it in Australia.

 

I'm really glad this support system exists and thank you for taking the time to read this!

[equuswoman]

Hi and welcome. I found this forum and learned about bead counting. Tool over 4 months to slowly wean off the Cymbalta poison. Prayers for you from TheEquusWoman♡

[TryinginFL]

Welcome morganbrooke!  We're happy that you have joined us and will do all we can to help you through this...

 

I am a cold turkey survivor of about 7 1/2 months now, and there are others like me on this forum.  Obviously the bead counting is not for you and I am sorry, for it would have been the easier way to go.  I didn't learn about it until I was about 2 weeks in, so just continued on the road to Hell! 

 

You will find much useful information here as well as the most caring, supportive and knowledgeable people I have ever met!  You can check out the different forums for all sorts of information and please feel free to ask questions, rant, ramble or whatever you need to do here.   It is a safe place and everything is OK...

 

Again, welcome and please keep us posted as to how you are doing.

 

Liz

[thismoment]

Hi morganbrooke

 

Welcome.

 

Venlafaxine is another SNRI like Cymbalta, with a similar half-life. It takes 4-6 weeks to fully upload, so you will be in Cymbalta cold-turkey withdrawal for some weeks.

 

Do you have anxiety, and if so, do you have something for it?  Keep us posted on how it goes.

 

Have you tried to get some of the Australian variety of duloxetine?

[brzghoff]

welcome morganbrooke!

 

coming off 120 mgs of the C sounds like quite a jump, even with ramping up on the venlafaxine . if i understand correctly, you were able to take duloxetine in australia but not here in the US. sounds like some of the ingredients used by the manufacturer of the generic you got in the US are what you are allergic to, not the duloxetine itself. has anyone suggested taking a different brand of the generic cymbalta? is that a possibility? i would think the ER would have mentioned such a strategy if it were an option - but wanted to ask. i used to be on venlafaxine when it was only available as the brand name effexor and then made a transition to cymbalta ten years ago with no side effects, but i tapered down one while concurrently tapering up the other - and it appears you can't take that risk, and least not with the generic version of dulox you got here. 

 

muscle and joint aches can be a biggie at the beginning. ibuprofen is always close at hand in my house. anxiety is another tough withdrawal side effect. for some of us benadryl takes the edge off anxiety and helps with getting some sleep, but since you are starting venlafaxine i would want to get approval from your doc before mixing the two.  

[morganbrooke]

Hello and thanks to all of you for the quick responses!

 

My mother had some of the non generic Cymbalta so I just tried taking 60mg of that. Hoping it goes well and there are no more allergic reactions. I'm going to try and get into my psychiatrists or just go to the ER as soon as possible to see what I can do.

 

They gave me 75mg taken 3 times a day of the Venlafaxine, and I've already taken about two days of that now.

 

I'm not sure if this helps but the brand of duloxetine I was using in Australia is called Coperin.

[brzghoff]

if you can handle the name brand cymbalta then that is a good sign you may be able to handle a different brand of the generic during your transition. haven't heard anything about coperin, but how drugs are manufacturered, dispensed and marketed are very different from country to country

[fishinghat]

Coperin is just another name for Cymbalta in Aussie land. There are several companies that make it.

[Carleeta]

Morganbrooke.  Welcome to the forum, I'm sorry you are going through this experience.  With generics here and in other companies, it's the fillers which vary, and there was some filler in there which you were horrifically allergic to.  My heart does go out to you.  I'm guessing you were not ready to quite Cymbalta and here you are left without any choice.  Lets see how well the Cymbalta from your mom works for you.  If it works well, when you visit your physician you will definitely tell them of this allergic reaction and you have documented proof of this, and possible be prescribed the Cymbalta.  When you are ready to get off this medication, if you choose to do so, there are wonderful members here willing to extend their knowledge, experiences, and opinions in helping you to do so.  Best of luck to you, and please keep us posted 

[ShadyLady]

Hi mb, welcome;) I was switched from 90mg Cymbalta to 150mg Effexor & 2mg Abilify last year after landing myself in a psych ward for 7 days after a 5150...whew, that's a lot of numbers in one sentence, right!? Anyway, I didn't experience any withdrawal effects with the switch but after I was released & followed up with my pdoc, he put me back on Cymbalta @ 120mgs because I was not doing well with side effects of Effexor & Abilify. Curious, looking back now with new found mental clarity:/ after being off the CYM for 10weeks now, if the bad side effects were related to the Abilify as Cymbalta & Effexor are both SSNRI's? What a mess it is trying to understand the reasoning of the docs and the experiments we are put through as guinea pigs in the world of anti-depressants!!

Hopefully, you have a good doctor that can help you unravel the mystery or quandary you have fallen into with the allergic reaction. I, too, had a reaction to generic CYM, mfg'd by Lupin, and ended up cliff diving off 30mg after having down dosed successfully with no side effects from 120mg to the 30mg over several months. The cliff dive from 30mg has been debilitating with the snack bar of side effects still plagueing me 10 weeks later.

Keep reading & posting, it has literally saved my life more than once since I joined in mid June. One of the gracious members here figured out the generic reaction I was experiencing & clueless about then guided me through a night of living hell when my brain exploded!! Think I'm still picking up pieces of it and trying to fit them back together like a jig saw puzzle!!

My best to you and please, hang in there, it does get better!!