4 replies to this topic

[anestesiarte]

Hello! I started taking Cymbalta on August 15th, a few weeks ago. I started on 30mg for one week exactly and then was bumped up to 60mg. So I've been taking 60mg for a little over a week and a half. Though I haven't even taken the drug for a full month yet, I'm ready to be done!!

 

I can barely sleep at all. I started college last week, and already I've nearly missed classes from exhaustion. I can no longer orgasm. Already I feel absolutely miserable from these things, and from reading about this drug I know that the orgasm trouble definitely isn't going to clear up.

 

I'm very familiar with taking medication with depression- the last drug I was on was Lexapro. I had the same side effects as I did on Cymbalta, only worse. My biggest regret was taking the medicine for a full month... everyone told me to stick with it, but I knew that it wasn't right for me. I quit cold turkey after one month, and though the withdrawal was rough, it cleared up after a week and I was finally free. However, that month absolutely ruined my grades, and I ended up barely passing my classes (for comparison, I got a 4.0 GPA the next semester when I wasn't on it).

 

My question is: is it too early to quit? I know my psychiatrist will be angry if I give up this early, but I can't continue on like this when I've done it before with a different drug and know what's coming. Will my withdrawal be severe if I quit taking it cold turkey this early on? Or should I try to taper off somehow so I don't get knocked down? 

[thismoment]

anestestiarte

 

Welcome.

 

If you truly want off at only 3 weeks-- just quit cold turkey right now! Without a doubt there will be some symptoms, but probably not for too long. Nausea, dizziness, GI, sleep patterns, edginess etc. But it will pass. Do you have a therapist? Do you have anxiety, and if so, do you have meds for that?

 

Perhaps fishinghat could inject some knowledge and wisdom here-- I think the cold turkey is better than tapering off  at just 3 weeks as tapering would expose you longer-- even though it would be in reduced amounts. I don't really know, but it's what I would do.

 

Best wishes.

[fishinghat]

Anestestiarte, welcome to the site.

 

At 4 weeks your body has reached full strength on the Cymbalta (or close to it) BUT youo have not had time to store up any cymbalta in your liver or fat tissue. I would think you would have a fairly strong withdrawal but with no extra built-up in your system it shouldn't last as long as many of us. It is possible that the side effects you are experiencing may moderate with time but I doubt if they would go away. If a ssri/snri is really needed then there are other ones that have a much longer half life (Zoloft. Lexapro and Prozac) which may work for you and not pose as big a withdrawal threat. If you are interested in that route you can decrease your cymbalta at the same time you go on the new ssri/snri. You do not have to come off the cymbalta first. If your goal is to try and get by without any ssri/snriis then I would think you start at removing 7 or 8 beads a day and see how your body handles it. (Remove 7 beads on day 1, 14 beads on day 2....). If your body handles it well then  try 8 beads a day, etc.

 

Now in regard to TM's recommendation. You are right at that point where it is hard to predict how you are going to react or even if you will react. You certainly can go cold turkey and if things go bad you can go back on the cymbalta, stabalize and bead count from there.

 

It is a tough decision but unluckily it is one that only you can make. Keep us posted on how you do. We are always here if you need us, even just to vent.

[FiveNotions]

Hi Anestestiarte, welcome!

Great screen name -- am I correct that it's the Spanish for "anesthetizing"? If so, as far as I'm concerned, that's a synonym for Cymbalta!

I think we need a bit more information .... As FH asked, do you need to be on an antidepressant at all? Why did you start the Lexapro? Were you on something else before that?

Also, as TM alluded to .. do you have something to take for anxiety? It would be very helpful, perhaps essential, to have something on hand to use while getting off the Cymbalta...

I quit cold turkey, from 60 mg after 7-8 years on it ... so I can't speak from experience about bead counting, but I do have some thoughts ... factors to be considered in the approach you use to get off the stuff (an excellent decision, by the way!) ...

1) you're in school, and want / need to maintain your academic performance at the same time you're quitting Cymbalta
2) you're having some strong side effects while on cymbalta, after a bit less than 4 weeks
3) you had even worse effects while on Lexapro, which you stayed on for 4 weeks, then quit cold turkey, with a week of withdrawal and ruined grades academically
4) given that you had worse side effects on the Lexapro, but just a week of withdrawal after a cold turkey quit, perhaps you'll have an easier withdrawal with a Cymbalta cold turkey quit
5) it's early in the semester, and a better time to do this than later on, when graded activities start to intensify

So, building on what TM and FH said, here are some options for approaches that occur to me (TM and FH, weigh in here, please)

First option: you could first try to quit cold turkey from the 60 mg, and see what effects you have as a result ... if they're sufficiently "low intensity" and don't make it impossible for you to maintain your schoolwork, stick with that approach ... it's early in the semester, and (hopefully) you'll be able to get off the stuff and stable before graded work becomes a factor ...

If it becomes apparent that it's going to be too much for you to handle withdrawal and school, just get back on the stuff and slowly bead count your way down, over a longer period of time ... you might find you can reduce beads relatively rapidly, or, if you bump into problems, go slower ...maybe even a whole semester if necessary...

Option two: Rather than quit cold turkey, try going back down to 30 mg from the 60, and see if you have any effects from cutting the dose in half (you've only been at 60 for a brief time) ... then, if you make that drop easily, try dropping the rest of the way cold turkey ... and, if you then have strong withdrawal effects, hop back on the Cymbalta at the 30 mg and bead count down from there ...

Option three: Use the bead counting method from the get-go, from the full 60 mg, over time ... if need be, the whole semester ...

Option four: If you feel you need to be on an antidepressant of some sort, such as Zoloft or Prozac, start taking that and let it ramp up in your system at the same time you're bead counting down and off the Cymbalta...

You can definitely do this, and we'll help you any way we can. Please keep posting!

[thismoment]

anestestiarte

 

I like what FH and FN posted.

 

Consider what FN said about dropping straight to 30 and see how that goes for a couple of days. If it's okay or not too bad, then your dilemma would be to either go cold turkey or wean off from the 30 (of course if the drop to 30 is horrendous, then go back to 60 and do a longer-term bead count).

 

Make your decision and let us know.

 

One other thing: the withdrawal and discontinuation will be distracting, and a lot of that relates to not knowing if symptoms are real or imagined, or benign or truly threatening. This cycle of thought can occupy much of the bandwidth of your mind, and therefore isn't ideal for scholarship. We can help with those concerns. The symptoms ARE real, and they often resemble other medical issues, but virtually all of them fade over time.

 

Take care.