13 replies to this topic

[Trishafox12]

I'm withdrawing from cymbalta for four weeks and I can honestly say it has been the worst four weeks of my life. I had diarohea and vomiting so bad I was admitted to hospital. The frustrating part is my psychiatrist says the symptoms have nothing to do with cymbalta

[FiveNotions]

Hi Trisha, welcome ! I'm so glad you found us !

 

I'm so sorry about what happened to you, and how your doc treated you.

 

He / she is a jackass ... as are most of our docs ... they deny all the problems related to Cymbalta, particularly the withdrawal hell ... and I assure you, all of us here assure you, we know that it is real ...

 

The docs know, and believe, only what the drug co reps tell them ... hell, many of them have gone through med school on scholarships paid by the drug cos, been taught by tenured professors whose endowed chairs are paid for by the drug cos, and they read research studies that have been financed by the drug cos ...

 

Many of us here have suffered greatly at the hands of docs, and have not been helped or healed by them....

 

I would not have been able to get off this poison, make it through hard withdrawal, without the wonderful people here on this forum! And we'll do our best to help you.

 

How long were you on Cymbalta, what dose, and for what condition? Did you quit cold turkey (not a good way to go, I speak from experience), or are you bead counting?

 

How are you feeling now, what symptoms?

 

Hang in there, life without this poison is well worth the hard work of getting off it ! Please stay with us here, and keep posting !

[Trishafox12]

Hi. Thank you do much for replying to my post. I was only on 60mg for 6 weeks and it was he'll. I stopped cold turkey. My doc is insisting it has nothing to do with the way I feel but I'm talking to a brick wall with him. I'm considering changing doctors as a result. I even feel my family think the same. I have mood swings. I cry do easily.I switch between vomiting and diarohea. I have brain zaps. Surely all these symptoms aren't in my head

[fishinghat]

TF12

 

Been there done that. Classic Cymbalta withdrawal. Drs are NOT trained on the severity of Cymbalta withdrawal so they don't believe these symptoms are withdrawal related when they happen. Even the manufacturer Eli Lilley says to wean slowly in their literature. 

[FiveNotions]

oh Trisha, I sympathize ... family and friends, as much as they love us and want to help us, just can't understand this drug, what it does to us, what it's like to get off of it ... none of it ... that's why sticking with this forum is so essential to getting through the process ! I owe my life to the wonderful folks here !

 

Everything you're experiencing is real ... and it is related to the drug, and weaning down off of it ...

 

Changing docs may not help too much ... because virtually none of them know anything about this ... they know only what the drug co reps tell them ...

 

Everything you need to know to get off the stuff, all the support, acceptance, and encouragement in the world, that's what you'll find right here !

[TryinginFL]

Trisha, welcome!

 

I agree 100% with FN and FH...  I also went cold turkey off of 60mg over 19 months ago and still have some residual problems.  The older one is and the longer you are on it plays a huge factor.  I was on it over 4 years and am definitely over 50!

 

If you try the bead counting you should not have much in the way of withdrawal since you were not on it that long.  Many here have been on it for up to 10years (it came out in 2004).

 

We have others here on the forum who can help you with the bead counting, so just ask! You will get the help you need and you are - for sure - going through withdrawal.  This is what you want to control.

 

Please let us know how we can help you - someone is always here!

[Sleepyhead]

The only comfort I have found for weaning off Cymbalta is this site. Even with very slow tapering and bead counting by 1's I get anxiety that I believe is worse than I've ever had. I believe it is not anxiety returning but a consequence of bead reduction and the process of withdrawal. Each reduction gives me anxiety for a few days and then goes away and I'm fine until the next reduction.

Im so grateful for this site and all the wonderfully informed and supportive people on here who are willing to take the time to write and offer information, support and advice.

As I write this I'm going through another few days of anxiety that thanks to this site I know will pass. But as we all know when you are having the anxiety you still feel terribly uncomfortable and act as fearful as if it was the first time you felt that way. I read the posts here and also remind myself that as in many instances before 'this one too shall pass'. It helps a lot bit gotta say ....have gone anxiety is just so awful!

[fishinghat]

Hang in there sleepyhead!!  Time and patience and you will win!

[gail]

Hello Sleepyhead,

Yes, the anxiety through withdrawal is a tough one. Most of us go through this.

You got the lorazepam, use it to get the anxiety down.

Where are you at in your reduction? Do you bead count?

FH said it all, time and patience(a lot). Reading the posts surely helps to see that you are not alone going through this.

Keep posting, it helps. You can hop in with us in the word game and have a bit if fun!

[FiveNotions]

sleepyhead, the anxiety is the worst part of getting off this drug ... I was terrified, absolutely terrified ... and it was my wonderful friends here who talked me through it ... and yes, it's the drug, not a recurrence of the underlying depression, etc... and yes, it does get better !

 

Hang in there, and keep posting / talking with us ... you're safe here, and we all know exactly what you're going through !

 

Life after crapalta is worth every bit of struggle involved in getting off it !

[Sleepyhead]

Thanks for your continuing support and encouragement! Gail I do bead count and can only take 1 bead away and then have to stay on that for awhile before taking another bead. It can be a week or two. If I go any faster I run into trouble. So I'm at taking out 132 beads right now which is little more than half of the original 30mg dose.

I do have the Lorazepam and am using so rarely that I could and should use it more to get through the anxiety. I'm a long way from being addicted and I'm giving myself the go ahead and use it if I need it. Thanks for reminding me that's it's OK.

Something has changed significantly in the past weeks and as a result maybe I can change my name from Sleepyhead to ImAlive. Seems that I'm not so sleepy now so maybe the drug has reduced just enough to relieve that particular symptom. I don't want to speak too soon but the overwhelming sleepiness is one of the side effects I could not live with in taking good Cymbalta. I have felt I've had no real life because of that.

But now I'm wakeful and able to get more exercise which is creating a healthier cycle of having energy to exercise and sleep better and feel better. It's the healthy loop I've wanted to have as a way to help my brain heal. The sleepiness got in the way of this but now it seems to be lifting as the dose decreases. (Knocking on wood!)

I'm staying hopeful about a better future. It's sure taking every bit of patience I've got. And the anxiety I got yesterday actually made me feel like i was going to lose my mind or have a seizure. I'd had a lot of sunlight and a big swim and a lot of social interaction. I feel my brain was over stimulated. Odd though....again I wondered if that was another withdrawal symptom because I've never had that before. Does that sound familiar to Amy on you? I took a Lorazepam and thankfully I settled down.

😊

[Sleepyhead]

Gosh when I read over my own post I see the strangest auto corrects. Haha 'good cymbalta' and 'Amy on you'

[fishinghat]

Sleepyhead. I think that that description would fit most of us. I would definitely say that you are overloading your brain for this severe of a withdrawal. Try not be 'hard' on yourself. This is a time to spoil yourself, get a lot of rest and reduce stress to a minimum.

[gail]

Sleepy I am alive Head,

We feel good and tend to overdo things and pay the price afterwards.
Withdrawal or not. This is known to be common in withdrawal.

Glad you took the ativan, I went up to 3 mg in withdrawal. Switched to Valium and tapered from there. As FH says, reduce stress to a minimum.

Over stimulation is not recommended, I know its hard, as I do tend to do it myself. I had planned a few things for yesterday and ended lying on my sofa all day. The tiredness as a result of pushing myself to hard last week. Take it easy.