Hi everyone,
I am new to this forum and have a question about dizziness and withdrawal. I have had a few changes to my medications recently and I am not sure if the intense vertigo I am having is from the changes or from something else (like an inner ear problem).
I started anti-depressants when I was young, at age 15, for depression and have been mostly on them ever since; I am now 36 years old. I started 30mg of Cymbalta in 2009. I have mainly kept on taking antidepressants because I am afraid of the withdrawal and because I was convinced I needed them. My health insurance deductible went up this year and Cymbalta became too expensive for me, ($190 for a 30 day supply!) and so I asked my family doctor if I could switch to something cheaper. She prescribed Elavil and told me to take 30mg of Cymbalta in the morning and 25mg of Elavil at night for one week, then cut the Cymbalta the following week and take 25mg of Elavil morning and night. In the week with both meds I was very tired. In week 1 without Cymbalta, I felt a little nauseous and began taking 1,500mg of fish oil for the brain zaps (which helped a lot!). The Elavil would give me different symptoms each time: increased heart rate, insomnia, drugged-up feeling. I did not increase the Elavil to 50mg per doctor’s orders and tried 12.5 in the morning and 12.5 at night. I was still feeling pretty crummy and told my doctor that I wanted to try to get completely off of everything. She told me not to increase the Elavil and we came up with a plan to ween off. During the third week without Cymbalta (last week), the dizziness hit and I had to leave work. My doctor prescribed me 20mg of Lexapro thinking the Elavil wasn’t agreeing with me, but I was nervous about taking the full dose, and stuck with 10mg a day, and quit the Elavil. On Sunday, the dizziness was unbearable and my bf took me to the ER where they gave me Meclizine and said I had Vertigo for reasons unknown. They suggested that I see an ENT and said it probably was not my medication changes; they never heard of dizziness from Cymbalta withdraw. Yesterday (Wednesday) the vertigo was gone and I was feeling a lot better. Today, I woke up and its back; I can barely walk, the meclizine is not working. Tomorrow, I have an appointment with an ENT, just in case it’s an ear thing.
I am generally healthy, rarely get sick, and in good shape. I am frustrated because I am missing work, and school, plus I have two children to take care of; being this sick is scary and it sucks. My boyfriend has been a tremendous help.
Is this level of vertigo common with Cymbalta withdrawal or could it be something else? If it is the withdrawal, what do you recommend I do? Why does the vertigo come and go? I can’t afford to buy more to do the bead method. I am still taking 10mg of Lexapro a day. Any suggestions? Anyone else go through a similar experience?
