Quick introduction. I have been on 60 mg generic Cymbalta for 2 years for joint pain and anxiety. Last month I picked up my rx and it looked different. 4 days later I could hardly function due to brain zaps, vertigo, dropping things, forgetting words. I realized the mfr of the Cymbalta was different, so I marched in to the pharmacy and complained. I could hardly form sentences to complain, but I at least tried to complain... She had to special order the drug from the prior mfr, gave me a 3 day sample, and a week later I was back to normal. Well, two weeks later it was the first day of school for my kids and in the morning chaos, I forgot to take a pill. I was so ill by the next morning I could not drive, I had gastrointestinal upset, brain zaps, I sweat through my t-shirt, had horrible nightmares, looking left and right was like a sci-fi movie. SO - that brings me to this website. I do not want to be dependent on a drug that gives me such horrible withdrawal symptoms. Yet, I am scared to taper. So I'm bead counting, and this website has helped so much. Thank you.
I painstakingly counted 300 beads (like little grains of poisonous sand) from the help of this website (empty pill into 1 bowl, lick a finger, count, say it out loud, put in next bowl). So there are 5 beads per mg. Days 1 and 2 I took out 10 beads. Day 3 I took out 15 beads. I'm just going to reduce by 1 mg every other day.
Question #1 - Does that sound reasonable?
Question #2 - Since I started Cymbalta I have been drinking way more than I ever have before. Has anyone else experienced that or is that unrelated?
Thanks.