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I Cant Tell If Cymbalta Withdrawal Is The Cause Of My Latest Mental Illness Or Not.


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#1 Solauerbach

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Posted 20 December 2016 - 11:47 PM

i was initially hesitant to post about this.
this is a bit long, but ill try to make it as short as possible.

i recently came down with a mental illness called misophonia, an illness in which my body gets sensitive trigger reflexes to different noises. its a rarely known illness that few drs in the world treat.
im getting psychological treatment over the internet.
it may or may not have some as a result of misophonia withdrawal. I HOPE it didnt. 
it came after i spent two whole months working round the clock, 24/7 running from place to place (usually synagogues and stores) all over new york and new jersey to hang posters and weekends + i did other hard work on weekends and all the major jewish holidays that come in september and october.
on september 17th i got really agitated when i heard somebody whistling so loud, soft, and obnoxiously.
ever since then, my body gets bad triggers and reflexes often when i hear people whistle.
at that point i was down to 15 or 10 mg of cymbalta (beeds were 5mg).
i had been tapering off cymbalta in may 2016, started at 60 mg, went down by 5mg every two weeks.
i first started using cymbalta in july 2015.


i had not felt a single negative symptom from my cymbalta the entire time taporing off from may until that night in september, and it was the beginning of two month VERY OVERLY stressfull work period in which i worked almost 24/7, non-stop, including weekends and 4 jewish holidays that took place.
i clearly overworked myself and pushed myself beyond my work limit stress-wise in ways i never did since way back in my younger days.

on november 16, i started to feel i MUST take a vacation due to all the overload of stress from work.
it was then that my body started becoming very sensitive to sounds other than people whistling.
example: people chewing started bothering the shit out of me, other sounds got to me, sometimes even the way some people sounded when they talked started bothered me, and its been getting worse ever since.
i had been off cymbalta since october 20 so based on all the overload of stress from 24/7 work for two months and the fact that prior to the beginning of that stressful work period i had not felt any negative symptoms from tapering off cymbalta it didnt even dawn on my that cymbalta withdrawal could have played a roll in this.
i thought it was just the stress, but i need to know if you think getting off cymbalta was a cause for this.

one more thing:
september and october IS generally the most stressful work time of the year for me and i have felt sick other years after the end of such work periods even without cymbalta, but in prior years i usually took vacation after 5 or 6 weeks (this year i waited till 8) but whenever i did get sick from it, it wasnt as bad as misophonia.

do you think cymbalta is what caused me to get sick with my sound sensitivities (misophonia) or was it just the stress?
i hope its the latter,
my misophonia drs dont know much about cymbalta withdrawal.
please let me know asap.


#2 fishinghat

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Posted 21 December 2016 - 09:32 AM

Sorry it took so long to answer Sol.
 
This is very typical of Cymbalta withdrawal. For most the serious psychological effects do not start in earnest until the last 5 to 10% of the withdrawal. Sensitivity to stimuli is extremely common, anger, panic, and even crying spells are common. I am a little surprised that the drs didn't recognize this as common withdrawal symptoms. I remember that for me I had no TV, no music, no conversations, etc during the height of my withdrawal. Then you combine the withdrawal with your heavy work load and it is a disaster in the making.
 
You might talk to your dr about trying hydroxyzine or clonidine to help bring you through this time. Neither are addictive or have withdrawal. You might also try a low dose of diphenhydramine (a component of Benadryl and over the counter sleep aides), say 25 mg. Be aware that it may make you a little drowsy and your body does get accustom to it so don't use it all the time.

 

Keep us posted.


#3 Solauerbach

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Posted 21 December 2016 - 05:03 PM

i thank you for responding.
how long did it take for the sound sensitivity to go away?
very few drs know of or treat misophonia and the ones that do are saying 
that it never goes away but that we have to learn how to live with it the rest of our lives and simply manage it.
its been two months since i last took cymbalta (5mg).
what are your thoughts on this?


#4 fishinghat

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Posted 21 December 2016 - 05:14 PM

Misophonia is a symptom and your recovery depends on the cause. In the case of Cymbalta it is due to the lack of control of serotonin because the Cymbalta has regulated it for so long. The serotonin not only affects the amygdala and hippocampus  (centers of fear, anger and panic) but also the processing of ocular signals. That is why so many in Cymbalta not only have emotional swings but also misophonia, tinnitus and other ear related issues. Nerves are very slow to adapt. For those with tinnitus it usually takes 3 to 4 months to recover but can take as long as 1 to 2 years. It is essentially the same for the emotional swings. Months to 1 to 2 years. These same type of situations have occurred in many of our members who become very sensitive, even angry over smells, colors and other sensory cues. It should fade away with time.

 

You might want to do a search on this forum for the word 'sound' and see what pops up.


#5 Solauerbach

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Posted 22 December 2016 - 02:31 AM

holy crap!!
how does anyone cope with situations like this?


#6 Solauerbach

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Posted 22 December 2016 - 02:45 AM

i took my first hydroxoline tonight. nothing really changed except i feel really drowsy.
what should i do to regain my serotonin?


#7 fishinghat

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Posted 22 December 2016 - 09:25 AM

Cymbalta controlled the serotonin levels but now that you are off the body doesn't remember what to do. That is why you get such emotion swings. Up one day and down the next as well as shifts/changes in physical symptoms. During this recovery time serotonin levels vary a lot as your body adjusts. It is not just about adding more serotonin but getting it to the right areas in the right amounts. That in the most part is controlled by enzymes and hormones.

 

Your body begins producing serotonin first thing in the morning. It is triggered by the rising of the sun and the perception of sunlight by the brain. Serotonin is made throughout the day until the sun begins to go down. At that time any serotonin is converted to melatonin which causes drowsiness and helps you fall asleep at night. This is why most medical conditions (mental and physical) feel worse in the evening and nighttime (less serotonin).

 

The best trick is to expose yourself to as much light as possible so you produce the optimum amount of serotonin, Your body will still have difficulty using it though because the enzyme/hormones that are used for control are in kaos as well. The body has not been making them like they normally do because the Cymbalta has been controlling everything. It is just a waiting game. Your body will recover but the brain and nerves respond slowly. That is why withdrawal from psychiatric meds can take months and even years to fully get back to "normal".

 

By the way, on exposing yourself to more sunlight, don't try sunbathing in thus weather, you will freeze to death in minutes.  lol

 

What dose are you taking on the hydroxyzine and what is your schedule?


#8 gail

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    5 months on cymbalta, scary side effects, to get help and to return the favor if I can.

Posted 22 December 2016 - 05:46 PM

Wow! Interesting, everyone going through withdrawal or not should read this.

But, as we are all different, I feel better in the evening than in the morning.
Go figure!

#9 Solauerbach

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Posted 22 December 2016 - 06:32 PM

i actually feel much better at night,
but i do have to confess that i have spent quite too many days in my room either all day or till late at night the passed month.
also, my OCD is crazy with intrusive thoughts and images i thought i conquered yeasr ago, but i guess its back due to my depleted serotonin
and the fact that ive had to give up doing so many things i enjoy doing like music or eating with people (peoples chewing has started to agitate me, music i can only listen to a few hours a day before my brain gets agitated. for years i listened to music all day to keep myself happy. im working wiht a CBT therapist and hypnotherapist on getting that back)





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