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Argument Leads To Panic Attack


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#1 waterandsun

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Posted 03 August 2015 - 06:41 PM

 I have been weaning off Cymbalta for 7 months, and a week ago I went from taking ~9mg to stopping altogether.  I figured it's summer and I want to be off it before I start work in September.  The first few days I was dizzy and nauseous. Then the physical symptoms went away.

 

Yesterday, my parents met my boyfriend's parents for the first time ( we live together and have been talking marriage, so this was big). On the ride home, we got into a fight about something and it just escalated.  I had to get away from him, so I made him stop the car and when he wouldn't I started screaming at the top of my lungs over and over. :( This isn't like me, I don't think of myself as a dramatic person but I needed to get away from him.  He managed to get me back in the car, since we were 50 miles from home, but the whole way I was hyperventilating and feeling nauseous.  I had the overwhelming feeling that I couldn't handle this relationship anymore and I wouldn't stand another fight with him, so I said I wanted to break up.

 

Today, I don't know what to think or feel, because I don't think I can mentally handle another fight with him but at the same time I love him.  Anyone else feel that they can't handle the arguments they have with their partner?  I don't want to attribute it to getting off the medication, because that seems like a cop-out, but I also don't want to end a relationship and realize in a few months that it was all due to the drug withdrawal.

 

Love this forum and reading your thoughts.

 

<3 Zoe


#2 thismoment

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Posted 03 August 2015 - 10:07 PM

Zoe

 

It's NOT a cop-out: What you are describing is familiar to me! The most destabilizing emotional reaction I ever had was just after stopping Cymbalta, and it  was exactly as you describe-- the emotion just escalated and escalated and escalated beyond anything I had ever experienced. 

 

But he should have stopped the car when you requested it.

 

Don't beat yourself up about this launch of emotion-- it's not something you planned-- it just happened as a result of many prior causes that you cannot possibly know. But Cymbalta played a part.

 

Perhaps you could talk to someone you trust-- a therapist or dear friend. Perhaps you wish to review your marriage plans. Perhaps you need more time.

 

Take care.


#3 lady2882Nancy

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Posted 04 August 2015 - 01:22 AM

I jumped off at 15 mg and had the same sort of reaction as you did.

The physical symptoms lasted a bit longer but the outbursts of emotion last for a long time as well as the panic attacks.

 

My suggestion would be to go back on about 5 mg and don't try to rush the whole process or for sure you will have more of these episodes and there is no time line for the emotional upheavals to end.

 

For me it took another medication to settle me down plus quite a bit of time to get over these emotional upsets.

Also at the time this was happening, I was questioning my marriage and questioned if we were good for each other. At one point I almost left him. Today I am so glad that I didn't but that is only a question you can answer

 

Take care of you and be well

 

Nancy


#4 waterandsun

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Posted 07 August 2015 - 11:33 AM

Thanks Nancy and This Moment.  The crisis passed but my partner and I are realizing that he needs to change how he responds to my emotions and I need to understand that he is learning, too.  I am going to stay off Cymbalta for good, meeting with my PCP next week to figure out if there is anything else I can be doing.  

 

I really didn't think that getting off the last little bit of medication would have such an effect, because weaning from 60mg to 9mg was not terrible.  

 

So good to hear I am not alone in this :).  On the positive side, being off this medication I feel more creative and energized, so I think we are all doing the right thing.

 

-Z


#5 thismoment

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Posted 07 August 2015 - 01:54 PM

waterandsun

Right now you just need time-- and a way to pass that time in a manner that focuses outward.

I'm so glad to hear that you are feeling more creative and energized-- use that creativity and energy to create interests and distractions that direct your focus away from self-scrutiny. Encourage others to withhold criticisms.



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