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My 12 Week Wean


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#1 getsetgo

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Posted 24 January 2015 - 05:01 AM

Well, day one is just about done. I've taken one pellet out of the capsule and will continue on this dose for a week. The generic brand I'm on has 12 small pellets per capsule (60mg).
I've felt very much like I do when I have missed a whole dose but without the brain zaps. I've slept most of the day and am still exhausted! Having said that, I drank quite a bit at a party last night so perhaps I'm just hungover....
I've had my reduced dose for tonight so we shall see how I feel tomorrow.

#2 TryinginFL

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Posted 24 January 2015 - 10:58 AM

gsg,

 

Hope that things will go well for you!

 

You will probably find, as did most of us, that the alcohol consumption will go down as you progress.  Be sure to drink lots of water and get as much rest as you can.

 

Please keep us posted...


#3 getsetgo

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Posted 24 January 2015 - 06:00 PM

Thanks :-) so far so good today. I'm still tired and can't really be bothered doing much but that is pretty normal for me on cymbalta anyway. The only thing is that I'm aware of my eyes... That's a normal early in the day symptom for me when I have been late taking one or forgotten one...

#4 TryinginFL

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Posted 24 January 2015 - 07:24 PM

I still can't be bothered to do much of anything, and I've been off the crap for over a year now!

 

The eye pain is a common complaint during withdrawal.  I could handle mine with Visine, but we have a member here who had a terrible case of optic neuritis.  Just so you know that you aren't alone...

 

Take care


#5 getsetgo

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Posted 24 January 2015 - 11:26 PM

Feeling very tired and forgetting words. I think that's pretty much the worst of it today, which is good. I'm planning to have a nap and then go to a friend's bbq tonight .

#6 TryinginFL

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Posted 25 January 2015 - 10:24 AM

gsg,

 

So happy that so far so good for you - just remember to get lots of rest!

 

That "forgetting words" is another common symptom, I'm sorry to say...     I still have trouble finding a word when trying to say something and it drives me crazy - this just may be the way it is for me long term.  If that's the worst, I can live with it.

 

Enjoy your BBQ and take care!


#7 getsetgo

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Posted 25 January 2015 - 08:09 PM

The bbq was good, thanks :-) I spent a fair amount of it just quietly listening to everyone around me as I was still a bit vague. It was nice to be around a bunch of my friends though. I called it a night quite early and went home to bed around 10. Slept in until 9:30 this morning and went for a good walk with my boyfriend and our dogs. Now I'm ready for as nap! ( I've been up for 2 hours!)
I definitely feel best when I first get up. No brain zaps or any of the really unpleasant symptoms so far. I might try taking 2 pellets out tonight and see how that goes.

#8 TryinginFL

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Posted 25 January 2015 - 08:16 PM

If you do take out another tonite and feel any bad effects tomorrow, please reinstate that one for a few more days.  The whole idea is to remain as comfortable as possible - no time line here!  Just please go slowly - your body will let you know if you are down dosing too quickly - listen to it!!

 

Take your nap - you need the rest!!  (And don't forget to keep drinking lots of water! :))


#9 getsetgo

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Posted 26 January 2015 - 12:15 AM

Thanks for the advice. I will listen to my body and slow down if I need to.

#10 getsetgo

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Posted 26 January 2015 - 04:12 AM

I'm feeling really down today. Have slept on and off all day and feeling very teary


#11 TryinginFL

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Posted 26 January 2015 - 08:54 AM

gsg,

 

I'm sorry to say that teary stuff is another of the wonderful symptoms... :(  Hard to say how long it will last as we are all different! 

 

I still cry easily and probably always will.  Much of what I have been left with, I feel, is due to my age.  Hopefully your symptoms will fade away all together in time.  If what you are feeling is unbearable you can always add back that extra bead for a while.  If you can go with it, good luck but take care of you. 

 

Liz 


#12 getsetgo

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Posted 26 January 2015 - 08:08 PM

Woah! So this is my first day at work since tapering. I just got off the phone with a client and I'm sure she thought I was a complete idiot! Forgot words, forgot what period I was auditing her for, struggled to explain things! Wow! I made it through though....

I took out two pills from the capsule last night. Struggled to get up this morning but once I was up I felt pretty good. I'm aware of my eyes again.... They are heavy and I feel hungover even though I didn't drink last night. Still no brain zaps though, and those are the things that will be likely to make me slow down the taper if I get them.

#13 fishinghat

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Posted 26 January 2015 - 08:12 PM

Take your time gsg. Hang in there.


#14 getsetgo

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Posted 27 January 2015 - 07:20 PM

Took out three pills last night. That means my dose was 45mg. Same symptoms as before. Heavy eyes, hungover feeling, hard to get going in the morning. Other than that, not too bad.

#15 TryinginFL

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Posted 27 January 2015 - 08:11 PM

gsg,

 

Wow - that is some rapid weaning!  I hope you don't have some serious symptoms after this...   if not, you're remarkable!  You can always add back a bead for a few days if this should happen.

 

All the best - you're doing great! :) 


#16 getsetgo

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Posted 27 January 2015 - 10:12 PM

Thanks! I'm feeling quite positive about it at the moment. I've said before that I'm impatient so I'm pushing the envelope. I want it over asap so I'm ok with putting up with some unpleasantness, but if it gets serious/intolerable I'll reimstate back to what was a tolerable amount of symptoms and slow down. I plan to take out four tonight and see what happens tomorrow

#17 getsetgo

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Posted 28 January 2015 - 05:28 PM

Ok, so last night I took out 4 pills. Means my dose was 40mg. I also drank about half a bottle of wine and didn't go to bed until midnight. You know what though, I was up at 7 and I feel fantastic. Chipper even :-) I wonder how long before I fall in a hole, but for now I feel great x

#18 thismoment

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Posted 28 January 2015 - 05:45 PM

gsg

 

Glad to hear it's going well! Deal with the hole when and if it appears. Anecdotal data indicates you will encounter some challenges at the end of the first week, but for now carry on!!


#19 getsetgo

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Posted 28 January 2015 - 07:14 PM

Thanks! So, quick question: is an upset tummy a withdrawal symptom?

#20 TryinginFL

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Posted 28 January 2015 - 07:26 PM

It sure can be....many here have suffered terrible nausea - thankfully, I wasn't one of them!


#21 thismoment

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Posted 28 January 2015 - 07:56 PM

gsg

 

Gastro-intestinal upsets, blow-outs, nausea, reflux heartburn-- all common.


#22 getsetgo

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Posted 28 January 2015 - 11:50 PM

Ok so wall hit at about 1pm. Started slurring words and finding it hard to make coherent sentences. Around 2:30 I sfarted stuttering a bit too. I went home about 1 1/2 hours early.

#23 TryinginFL

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Posted 29 January 2015 - 08:05 AM

I'm sorry to hear this, gsg, but again, typical withdrawal symptoms.  Try adding back that 4th bead today - you may have to go up one more if this continues for several days.

 

You are not alone - many have had these symptoms, you are not losing it!  Just try to stay at a dosage where you continue to feel comfortable before you drop again.


#24 thismoment

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Posted 29 January 2015 - 12:32 PM

gsg

 

You're going way too fast and it will become increasing more difficult to tell where you are. Symptoms take some days to manifest, and if you jack the dosage up and down willy-nilly, you'll never understand where you are in the process.

 

Back up to where you are stable-- might take a week or two; maybe even start all over. Once stable, remove 1 bead per week over 12 weeks (this is still a very fast withdrawal-- perhaps consider 1 bead every 10 days and be done in 4 months).

 

Be consistent and go slow. 

 

Take care.


#25 getsetgo

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Posted 01 February 2015 - 01:23 AM

Thanks TM. That was definitely my worst day. The last couple of days have been much better. Still tired but more coherent. I haven't changed my dose since then. I'll stick to 40mg for a couple of weeks possibly and then look at tapering again

#26 getsetgo

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Posted 07 May 2015 - 08:25 AM

Ok, I have not posted for ages. I thought I'd pop in and give an update.

 

I'm completely off the Cymbalta and have been for 9 days.

 

As I was leaving work today it really hit me how much CLEARER I am. I feel like a FOG has been lifted from my mind. I've had a really productive week at work and feel like I'm getting back to being as sharp and quick as I was before Cymbalta. My job involves a lot of critical thinking and making connections between things. I'm feeling POSITIVE and HAPPY. I'm feeling LIKE ME AGAIN! I feel like I've spent the last 2 years as someone else.

 

Physically, I'm suffering the brain zaps - especially when shifting my gaze or focus. That (I'm hoping) will ease with time. I feel like I'm shooting lasers out of my eyeballs without the associated awesomeness of SHOOTING LASERS OUT OF MY EYEBALLS. I feel dizzy every time I blink. I was put on Cymbalta for muscular skeletal pain and PTSD anxiety issues orriginally. I'm finding that the pain was being managed by the Cymbalta more than I gave it credit for. I'm certainly feeling more pain than I was when I was on the 60mg.

 

Being an upbeat, optimistic and positive person again is wonderful. I can feel the pain and the brain zaps and the dizziness and I'm able to say "that's a good thing. It means I'm getting this crap out of my system. These sensations are my brain nuerons re-mapping and my nervous system re-learning how to regulate and manage my pain".

 

I had some really rough periods over the last three months while weaning. The depression and apathy I had been feeling while on C (which was the main motivation for quitting) got wwwwaaaaaaaayyyyyy worse between 60mg-30mg. I found it was worst of all when I was on 30mg. I had one spectacularly bad night and self harmed. I've never been in that place before and hope I'm never there again. The most terrifying part of that is I have no memory of the thought process that went into deciding to do that. I just remember doing it.

 

I broke up with my boyfriend while the wean was happening. I'm still trying to decide if that was a good choice or not.... I probably should have waited and not made such a big decision when I was going through that. We are still friends and he's been so supportive of my insane mood swings! I found I could be totally happy and chilled one second and a raving, crying lunatic the next. I'm very thankful for his, my dad's, my kids' and a couple of close friends' support through all of this.

 

I found the section between 35mg - 15mg was the hardest. I was a physical and emotional train wreck. I was in such a dark place. I would drag myself to work and often once I got home I'd just lie on the floor. Either just doing nothing or crying.

 

Once I hit 10mg it was like an instant change. It was like turning the windscreen wipers on in a heavy rain. Suddenly it all just looked different. I had a slight anxious feeling for a few days, but that passed pretty quickly.

 

Going from 5mg to 0mg happened a little earlier than planned as I found myself without my capsules one evening so I just figured "why not?" I'd only been on 5mg for two days. That was actually really easy compared to some of the earlier drops, although the second day on 0mg was really hard. I had to go lie down for an hour or so in the sick room at work because I kept feeling like I was going to pass out. Days two - six I found I had NO patience and NO filter. I'm surprised I still have a job after the way I spoke to my boss *blush*.

 

I also have had a NORMAL APPETITE again! I don't want to EAT ALL THE FOOD or DRINK ALL THE WINE! I even went to a cocktail party on Friday night with a three hour drinks package and just had a reasonable three drinks. I'm hoping that will begin to translate into dropping some of the 20kg I've stacked on during the Cymbalta period.

 

Since Monday I have just been myself. My real, authentic self. All in all, it was such a good decision to get off this drug. I used to say quitting smoking was the best thing I've ever done for my health but now I think that's number two.

 

Anyway. I hope your journeys are going well and you are finding some positives to reflect on as well.

 

xxxx


#27 tahneenco

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Posted 16 May 2015 - 01:18 AM

This gives me hope. Thank you for sharing your positive update and best of luck for your future!



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