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#1 CCHaskins

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Posted 21 December 2014 - 12:29 AM

Breathing problems started on day 12. Now on day 14. Like so many others blood pressure sky high and rapid pulse. Started w 2.5 mg of BP med but now il to 10 in the am and 10 in the pm. Not working. Horrible nausea, Nile taste, and here it is almost Christmas and I wonder how I'll be able to see my grandchildren?! I was given cymbalta for fibromyalgia about 7 months ago, only 20 mg. it didn't work, the doctor raised it to 30 mg p day. I had wet hair, wet clothes, backache and insomnia for the last 3 months. So on December 6th I decided to wean off. I spent a great deal of money on "The road back" supplements. Nothing is working and I'm getting sicker w new symptoms. Now the breathing problems and pressure on my chest. It is very scary! I do not want to stay on this medication but no one, no Doctor, seems to know how to help except to say"stay on a maintenance dose" and to put me on more medication for my blood pressure. I am a biologist by profession so I do understand much of the mechanism of the medication but this is not a normal SSRI or SNRI. Something is very very wrong here. There are too many postings reflecting the same problems I am having yet no solution is being offered and this drug continues to be prescribed. What can we do to protect ourselves from this type of medication being marketed?

#2 fishinghat

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Posted 21 December 2014 - 08:11 AM

I sympathize. There was research done about 2 years ago that documented the physical changes cymbalta makes to our brains in the amygdala and hippocampus areas. At this time all efforts to reverse these changes have failed. It is impossible for drs to keep up with the thousands of medical articles printed each year. Like many here I took it upon myself to share the info with my drs. Most are eager to read the articles but have no tools at hand to treat these changes. It is not just Cymbalta either. Other ssri/snri make changes to our brain as soes some of the benzos.

 

To change the marketing of these drugs you should read the legal forum here and see how some lawyers are trying to develop a legal case against Eli Lilley (manu. of cymbalta).

 

Very sad but unluckily not uncommon. Lawsuits against bad drugs are very common.


#3 FiveNotions

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Posted 21 December 2014 - 09:58 AM

CC, welcome to the forum, I'm glad you found us, and very sorry that you're having so much trouble ... especially at this time of the year! We'll do everything we can to help you get through this ... you can, and will, get off the Cymbalta!

It's a very good thing that you weren't on this stuff for very long before you decided to get off of it, and were at a relatively low dose ... typically, the longer the time on it, and the higher the dose, the more difficult the weaning process is. The first few weeks are the hardest, and you're right in the midst of those hard weeks now ... I quit, cold turkey (a very dumb thing, but I had no choice) last year, on December 4th ... so, I know what you mean about it being a lousy time to be going through this ...

You are 100% correct, this drug is vile and dangerous, and should not be on the market ... there are 3 things you can do to help fight it, and Eli Lilly: 1) get involved in the lawsuit against the company, as FH mentioned ... here's a link to the information he mentioned (quite a few of us on this forum are now involved in this effort, and represented by the Knox Ricksen firm) ... https://www.cymbalta...lta-withdrawal/2) file a report with the FDA (I'll get that link and post it here for you) ... 3) work on the individual level, by talking to those you know, and encounter, about the dangers of this drug, and others like it ... you're a professional biologist, and your professional credentials plus personal experience with the drug make you a superbly qualified advocate against the drug and Eli Lilly!
----------------
Now, let's see if there's something we can do to help you, specifically!

Please correct me if I've got any of this wrong ...

-- you went on Cymbalta for fibro about 7 months ago (approx. May, 2014), at 20 mg.
-- that didn't help / work, so the dose was increased to 30 mg.
-- on December 6, about 2 1/2 weeks ago, you started weaning, and have been using the "Road Back" supplements, but without relief/success

What weaning method have you been using?

The only one that we recommend is bead counting ... where you open up the capsule, count the number of beads, and then "count down," by removing a small number of beads (even just one), every day or ever few days ... gradually, over an extended period of time ...

Is this what you've been doing, or does the "Road Back" approach have you doing it differently?

Often, we suggest reinstating the drug at the last dose level at which the person was stable, with no symptoms, staying at that level until stable again, and then beginning to bead count down...

However, from what you've described, it sounds like there hasn't been a "stable point" for you since you started taking the drug ... am I correct? If I'm wrong, and if, in fact, you felt "better" than you do right now while on the drug, please consider reinstating immediately, and staying at that dose during the Christmas/holiday season, and then start the weaning afterwards ...

If reinstating isn't an option, the only two approaches I can thing of (Fishinghat, chime in here, please) are for you to use the "cross-over" taper approach ... which involves starting on another SSRI with a longer half-life (like Prozac or Zoloft), and then tapering down on the Cymbalta... after which you'd get off the second SSRI ... the problem with this is that it takes a bit of time (possibly 2-3 weeks, sometimes even a little longer) for the new SSRI to get ramped up in one's system and kick in, meanwhile, the Cymbalta symptoms continue....

or, to just ride out the "cold turkey" symptoms that you're having now and get through this the way you're doing now ... which I know sounds harsh and like telling you that you're consigned to Hell ... that's how I got off this stuff, and several others of us here ... we either didn't know better/different at the time, or had problems with insurance/docs and couldn't get any more of the med, etc... we made it, it's just really tough ...

The symptoms you had while on the drug, and are having now while getting off, are common/typical. For example, for the 7-8 years I was on crapalta (our "pet name" for this poison), I had profuse, soaking sweats ... night and day ... woke up in soaked bed clothes and pajamas, sweat through my work clothing etc... I also ended up with very high blood pressure and tachycardia ... and on meds for both conditions ... lots of other issues as well ... all of which my doc denied could have anything to do with the Cymbalta ... but, after I started doing my own research, I found that these, and many other side-effects are connected directly to the drug ...

What specifically are the Road Back supplements? We've had others on the forum report trying that approach, and I recall just one who said they seemed to help ... I research the Road Back, and found that it's a Scientology group, and all money/profits go to the "Church" of Scientology ... so I won't touch it, or recommend it ... and, I gather that their products cost a lot of money ... another of our long time members, ShadyLady I think, said that she'd spent a lot of $$ on them ...

The basic supplements that we recommend are: multi vitamin, B complex, Omega 3, and chelated magnesium. (But before you take the chelated magnesium, be sure to check this list of drug interactions it has ..https://www.cymbalta...s/?hl=magnesium..... Fishinghat posted it, and at least one of us discovered she can't take the mag, as it causes her anxiety ...)

The magnesium may help with your chest pressure/pain symptoms.... I had those as well, and the magnesium seemed to help a lot ... it also helps with the muscle twitches/spasms and flu-like aches and pains that a lot of us got during the early stages of withdrawal/discontinuation ...

Please stay with us, and keep us posted on how you're doing/feeling ...

#4 xman

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Posted 21 December 2014 - 01:39 PM

Please report these reactions to the FDA-via their website, phone or snail-mail. Along with this forum, that is how we get the message out about this drug.


#5 CCHaskins

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Posted 21 December 2014 - 03:01 PM

Thank you so much. I am deeply grateful for the obvious concern and empathy. I can't sleep and have been "up" for 26 hours. I found some nortryptaline that was prescribed by my neurologist and took it @ 7am today. I have had a light nap for about 45 minutes. All that you say re the symptoms on and off are identical. I am sure you are right about the changes being biologically permanent, I hope you are also right I have time and relatively low dose on my side. When I contacted my pain Dictor to tell if these withdrawal problems I was told by her that everything I'm experiencing is typical. My gp hasn't returned my call yet. I am getting emotional support from my family but my husband doesn't seem to realize what I'm experiencing is from the medicine. Please send me any information you may have regarding the permanent or semipermanent biologically permanent changes. This interests me deeply. I know Eli lolly is powerful but why would this type of medicine even be on the market after years of patient problems? Is it because we aren't dying? Or not going "postal"?

#6 fishinghat

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Posted 21 December 2014 - 05:06 PM

Dieing won't even help CC. Cymbalta has one of the highest suicide rates of all ssri and snris and that doesn't keep it of the market. They just add a warning to the literature that comes with the med and keep collecting their profits.

 

As far as temporary or permanent damages caused by Cymbalta I would refer you to the section "Cymbalta in the News". You will find many articles that link Cymbalta to permanent sexual damage (PSSD), liver damage, damage the amygdala and hippocampus in the brain and many more. So sad.


#7 FiveNotions

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Posted 22 December 2014 - 01:29 PM

CC, how are you doing/feeling today? Please let us know!

#8 CCHaskins

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Posted 22 December 2014 - 01:40 PM

The breathing is slightly better and I was able to get about 5 hours of rest. The nausea and bile are very bad. I am still unable to eat without getting ill. I'm profoundly angry as the costs of this withdrawal have nearly reached 1000$, and here it is Christmas. I've been unable to do any holiday shopping or activities. My Family has been adversely affected. My husband is a heart transplant and this has caused immeasurable emotional problems for him. This has totally ruined this Holiday Season. Since he has very little time to live I feel particularly angry towards FDA, Eli Lilly and our so called watchdog agencies. It is unconconciable (so?) to me that this can happen in a civilized society. So much has been made of a few deaths and incidents lately on the news yet this drug continues to be prescribed as well as advertised all over the place for "fibromyalgia" and depression relief. I like many others have taken antidepressants in the past and when the situation becomes manageable have ceased taking the drug. The few days of discomfort are familiar. But this is truly truly criminal. Be youn criminal. Psychopathic just as a serial killer would be categorized. I'm not exaggerating in the least. Chris

#9 FiveNotions

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Posted 22 December 2014 - 06:38 PM

oh Chris, I am so, so sorry you're going through this ... and also to learn that your husband has his own health issues, and is being impacted hard also by this.

You are gong to be okay, you're going to make it through, and you'll be so happy you got off this stuff. But, for the short term, these symptoms are, indeed with you ...

 

Thank goodness you're breathing is better, and really good news that you finally got some rest.

 

I'm going to go dig around in the forum archives right now to see what "remedies" we've got stashed in there that may help you with the nausea and other symptoms. I'll post links to any good discussions/threads that I find right here for you.

 

When you say the costs of the withdrawal are about $1,000, is that for the "Road Back" supplements? Are you still taking them, or did you stop?

 

Also, are you completely off the Cymbalta now, or still weaning?

 

Hang in there, please ... it does get better, I promise you. You were at a relatively low dose, for a relatively brief time .... and that you're reporting improved breathing, and ability to sleep are two very good signs that you're moving forward steadily. The nausea will start to fade soon.

 

I quit cold turkey last December 4th (lost my health insurance, etc. and had no choice) ... I'd been on 60 mg for 7-8 years ... and, my general health/physical condition was lousy, so I didn't have any strength or stamina to help me through ... the first 3-4 weeks were the hardest for me ... and you're already doing much better than I was ... bravo!


#10 fishinghat

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Posted 22 December 2014 - 06:53 PM

If I remember right a lot of people had good success with dramimine. Myself, I used pepto and it worked well.


#11 FiveNotions

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Posted 22 December 2014 - 07:02 PM

Chris, I had a total brain fart ... I had bad nausea, just re-read one of my earlier posts (it's linked below) ... I had great success beating it with ginger ... I chewed on raw, fresh cut ginger root, drank ginger tea, even used the powdered ginger in my spice cabinet ... and, of course, the standard ginger ale ...

Here are links to two threads where I list the ginger and all my other home remedies/tricks for the nausea ...

https://www.cymbalta...usea/?hl=nausea

https://www.cymbalta...usea#entry40406

and here are links to a couple other threads where nausea is discussed ... there's one post that mentions using "gravol" to help it ... gravol is the Canadian name for Dramamine ... http://en.wikipedia..../Dimenhydrinate...

https://www.cymbalta...yone/?hl=nausea

https://www.cymbalta...usea/?hl=nausea

This thread discusses both breathing problems and nausea ..

https://www.cymbalta...-end/?hl=nausea

---------------------
Here's a question Chris ... do you think reinstating the Cymbalta would be possible? And then get stable again, stay on it through the holidays, then make a plan for bead counting and start coming off it slowly over a longer period of time? Or, were the side effects you had while on it worse than what you're feeling now, and thus make reinstating not an option?

Keep us posted, please!

#12 CCHaskins

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Posted 22 December 2014 - 08:44 PM

Thank you my husband just went to get me ginger. I took a few balls this afternoon but nothing changed. I'm probably too far into it. I'm feeling sleepy today so that's a plus after months of insomnia. Chris



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