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#1 Flower

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Posted 09 August 2018 - 03:16 PM

Good evening all

 

I took Fishinghat's advice and dropped straight from 60mg to 30mg after having to go back up to 60mg (only for 3 weeks) due to trying 30mg every other day and ending up in a real mess.

 

I just wanted to say its day 9 and I haven't had any withdrawal.

 

My next step was to start on September 1st Prozac and bead counting slowly as not in a rush..  although now I want some advice regarding the Prozac option and do most people take it at this point or can I drop maybe even just 1 bead a week without the Prozac?? 

 

many thanks to anyone that reply's


#2 fishinghat

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Posted 09 August 2018 - 06:28 PM

Many drop one or two beads a day until things get to bad. Then they slow to 1 bead every few days. If things get too bad then they switch to Prozac.


#3 gail

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Posted 11 August 2018 - 02:53 AM

Hello Flower,

Since you are not in a hurry, and as long as you are stable, why not go with the one bead a day. Like 1-2-3 etc.

One bead a week is mighty slow. This can done at the end, when you're at, let's say 5mg or so.

Along your merry way, you will see if you need the Prozac. If that happens, let us know, we will guide you. I can't remember the reason you were on Cymbalta, all can depend on that also.

Thank you for updating, let us know how it goes. Pardon me if I'm late in answering, haven't been feeling to hot lately. Bonne route, come back anytime!

#4 Flower

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Posted 11 August 2018 - 04:50 PM

Thank you Gail and Fishinghat

 

yes Gail I will try your way but not going to start for a few more weeks.  I was put on for depression when I was admitted to a clinic for severe depression..  I came off after 1 year but I now know this was done too quickly and ended back on Cymbalta and that was 4 years ago, although I have no major problems on 30mg I would like to have a clear head more than anything. I was advised by my gp here in England to try every 36 hours and this was fine but then 4 months later we tried every 48 hours, I was fine for the first 10 days just upset stomach but on 11 days I was suicidal, stomach problems not eating and ended up staying with my parents so my children didn't have to see me..  then went back up to 60mg for 3 weeks and now stable back at 30mg..   so want to stay here for 1 month until I start the bead counting.

 

thank you for listening  


#5 fishinghat

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Posted 11 August 2018 - 05:59 PM

Great plan Flower. The on again off again approach is very risky and seldom leads to success. Get your strength back and slowly drop.

#6 Flower

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Posted 24 September 2018 - 03:02 PM

small update

 

i didnt start my bead counting untill last week, also decided to try not taking prozac..

im only 6 days in and 6 beads down, slow but not in any rush ...  


#7 TryinginFL

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Posted 25 September 2018 - 03:29 PM

Thanks for the update flower. Slow and Easy Does It...

#8 invalidusername

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Posted 26 September 2018 - 07:07 AM

Hi Flower. Well done for getting to this point. I have gone 60 down to 30 recently, and had quite a bad response. I am as far as 20 now, but will be taking it very slowly from this point. Whilst the flu-type symptoms are there, it is the added depression that is hardest - so you are absolutely not alone.

 

Just a word about the approach of lengthening time between doses. You need to explain the issue of half-life to your GP. Cymbalta/Duloxetine has a VERY short half-life. Around 12 hours, but can be 6-7 hours for some. This means that 50% of the drug has left your system at this point. So just imagine what it will be after 24 hours. You can do this with Prozac and some other SSRI's but not Cymbalta. GP's NEED to know this. I have already explained to mine....

 

Wising you every blessing on your journey Flower.


#9 Flower

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Posted 03 October 2018 - 05:32 PM

invalidusername

I see your also in the uk

 

maybe good to keep in touch..  im on day day 12 down by 12 beads, very slow but been on Cymbalta for 5 years and had awful side effects in the past because of bad advice. Am i right in saying your now switching to Cymbalta? can I ask why you have gone onto this? 


#10 invalidusername

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Posted 03 October 2018 - 06:48 PM

Hi Flower,

 

Good to hear from you - and I am absolutely not switching to Cymbalta!! Trying to get off the stuff and cross-tapering with Citalopram as I know that I do not have adverse effects when on that. Much like yourself, the switch to nightmare med was due to ill-informed medical advice. I try not to bang on about the NHS over here, but why on earth can't more resources be put into mental health?! If it wasn't for Mind and Samaritans, I think the UK would be in a lot more trouble.

 

I think it would be a great strength to us both to keep in touch.

 

Well done for keeping it slow - I wish I shared your patience :)


#11 Flower

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Posted 04 October 2018 - 07:52 AM

Hi Invalidusername,

 

I have had both my GP and private Psychiatrist try to help but I have found this forum to give the best advice. Sadly a lot of info given to me was incorrect from GP and Psyc so doing it slowly without any other meds.  A very long way to go and when the time comes I will have to introduce the Prozac, something I really didn't want to do.

 

How Long have you been on Cymbalta?  Did you read todays article in the Daily Mail? 

 

 


#12 invalidusername

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Posted 04 October 2018 - 03:42 PM

I am not surprised you went private for your psy. The mental health team down where I am are nothing short of useless. I have been waiting for an appointment since June. They are meant to get people seen within 6 weeks. I gave them 2 months and have been calling every week since. Today, they told me that they couldn't even find my name on the list!

 

Been on Dulox (Cym) for 16 weeks now. Taper started almost 3 weeks ago under guidance of the forum as I am also getting no help or the wrong help elsewhere...

 

Not see the Daily Mail but going to google it right now!!

 

Sent you a PM so we can discuss further so we don't go off on a tangent in the forum :)


#13 invalidusername

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Posted 04 October 2018 - 03:49 PM

So many stories on the Mail website - you will have to narrow it down. But so shocking how the press eat up mental health... I counted 6 headlines before I stopped looking.


#14 Flower

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Posted 14 October 2018 - 07:07 PM

UPDATE

 

Anyone following my update from 30mg (original 90mg) I have been on 30mg for about 4 years and had several attempts to reduce with awful withdrawals, my worst being suicidal, loss of appetite, anxiety, upset stomach.

 

Today I'm down 23 beads.1 bead a day

A few days I have had to stay on the same amount due to bad Nausea and brain fog

 

I have come to terms that this is something I have to do alone although I have a wonderful family, they just cant relate to the withdrawals.


#15 fishinghat

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Posted 15 October 2018 - 08:03 AM

Glad to hear from you Flower. Sorry that you have to go that slow. What nasty stuff to deal with.

#16 invalidusername

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Posted 15 October 2018 - 08:09 AM

Well done! That's 25% already from your 30mg. You should be very proud of yourself.

 

Unfortunately, it can be very difficult for those who have not "been there, done that" and can be very lonely. But remember there are plenty of us out here. We can all help each other as best we can...


#17 gail

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Posted 15 October 2018 - 04:37 PM

Hello Flower,

Thank you for taking the time to update. One bead a day and if you can tolerate to go any slower, do it. We have someone here with one bead a week. Can't remember who it is. No matter, go as your body tells you to do.

#18 Flower

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Posted 13 May 2019 - 04:44 PM

Hello all from sunny UK

 

I'm always reading posts but keep myself in the background. 

 

I thought it might be time to do another update for those of you that might be struggling to start your tapering journey. 

You can catch up on my story above.

 

I started my Taper journey back in September 2018 I reduce roughly 1 bead a day, now down 210 beads , I count out every bead, every night so I still don't know how many I have to go and take every day as it comes.

 

Most days I have a funny head and I suffer with what I can only describe as blurred vision and blocked ears, not sure if anyone else can relate to this?

210 beads down and feeling good, no major withdrawals at this point.

 

I DO HAVE A QUESTION

 

I'm sure one of you can answer

 

Although the mini balls are different in shape and size, I wondered if they are all the same or have different things inside them?  My thoughts are the lower I go, do I need to have certain shaped balls within my amount?  Am I making sense?

 

Thank you for reading 

Flower


#19 fishinghat

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Posted 13 May 2019 - 04:47 PM

Hi Flowers. Good to hear from you again and glad to hear that things aren't too bad. There isn't too much you can do about the variation in size of the beads unless you go to the Eli Lilley brand which is fairly consistent.

#20 invalidusername

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Posted 13 May 2019 - 05:03 PM

Great to hear from you again Flower and so glad your patience has paid off. I have funny head in terms of blurred vision and dizziness at the moment - so we are in that together!

 

Regarding the bead size, Hat has said it as best it can be. Think of the balls like a Malteaser - the chocolate is the coating and the honeycomb is the medicine. Without cutting each tiny bead in half (obviously impossible!), there is no way to know the ratio of coating to medicine. But again, as Hat has mentioned previously, pharm's have to get this to within a relatively strict guideline, so a 20mg HAS to be within the ballpark, so don't worry too much!

 

Hope the taper continues to yield the good results.


#21 Flower

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Posted 13 May 2019 - 05:08 PM

Good Evening Fishinghat and thank you for your very quick reply.

I take Eli Lilley so guess from what your saying I don't have to worry at the moment regarding the size of them? I think I have about 60 more beads to drop. I'm being a little negative to ask will this be the worst time of my withdrawal? 


#22 Flower

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Posted 13 May 2019 - 05:10 PM

Thank you IUN

once again quick to answer and always such posative feedback, although I feel the worst is yet to come !!!!!


#23 fishinghat

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Posted 13 May 2019 - 05:32 PM

The last 20 beads are the worst. When you get to that point you will need to slow down even more.

#24 invalidusername

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Posted 13 May 2019 - 06:05 PM

How did you manage to score Eli Lilly in the UK?? The NHS would never pay for that :D


#25 Flower

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Posted 13 May 2019 - 06:33 PM

IUN  I was in a private clinic in 2013 and my GP carried on with my prescription and I get 3 months at a time...although I think they are trying to stop that. I didn't realise it wasn't normally given on the NHS. 

 

I know you didn't get along with Cymbalta, I was in such an awful state I would of taken anything at that point.

 forward to trying to come off is a different story


#26 Flower

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Posted 13 May 2019 - 06:39 PM

Fishinghat

 

I have all the time and patience and will happily take it slowly.

Do people just stay on a very low dose, rather than suffer the side effects?  even though I would like to come off , im also happy to stay on a few beads rather than relapse.  Are there many people here that successfully come off altogrther? I guess thats a stupid question buy something we all ask


#27 invalidusername

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Posted 13 May 2019 - 07:29 PM

IUN  I was in a private clinic in 2013 and my GP carried on with my prescription and I get 3 months at a time...although I think they are trying to stop that. I didn't realise it wasn't normally given on the NHS. 

 

I know you didn't get along with Cymbalta, I was in such an awful state I would of taken anything at that point.

 forward to trying to come off is a different story

 

I think a lot depends on where you are when you get the meds. Pharmacies will take the best deal at the time, which could be some dodgy place out in India, or some places in the back ends of Essex. They are a business and want to best bang for their buck after all. Hospitals tend to have the more favourable brands, and I am guessing that in private clinics you get the best stuff as you have paid for a good service....


#28 fishinghat

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Posted 14 May 2019 - 10:14 AM

Yes Flower, many do come all the way off. One of the problems is that when someone gets down to the last few beads rather then dropping even slower they get impatient and just go ahead and stop. When one tapers very slow the withdrawal is still bad but a lot less than cold turkey. Recovery can still take several more months after the last dose. As a previous member, This Moment, once said, this is a marathon not a sprint. Even if you do relapse after coming off there is no shame in having to go back on a different psych med to deal with things. That would be a time to explore other meds rather than ssri/snri for relief. Don't worry about that right now. There will be enough time to feel with that later.

By the way, If I had to do it over again (God forbid) I would probably take several months to do those last beads.

#29 Flower

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Posted 13 June 2019 - 10:20 AM

So today I was supposed to be on my way to Vegas with my husband. Sadly after a drop this week things went bad and I didnt go.

 

Any advice would be helpful

 

I had dropped a bead nearly everyday and got myself 230 beads down until BAM!! once again all the withdrawal symptoms started.  I panicked and upped 10 beads the following day and a further 10 beads yesterday, today I felt a little better apart from now have upset stomach.

 

Did I go up too much too quickly? and what should my next step be Please??

 

flower


#30 fishinghat

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Posted 13 June 2019 - 11:57 AM

Sorry to hear you are having problems Flower but once you get down a ways it gets tough.

 

The 10 bead increase was about right but you should have given it 3 or 4 days to have full effect. No harm done. When you were down the 230 beads about how many beads did you have left?

 

You upped 10 more beads yesterday (Wed) so I would think you will feel better by Sunday morning. Maybe not great but better. Stay at that dose until stable. That may be a week or a month or even 2. When ever stab le you will need to start dropping at 1 bead every 7 days until you see how you react. Time and Patience.





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