Hi,
I am 26 years old and have been on Cymbalta since I was 16. The main reason I was prescribed Cymbalta was for depression, but my doctor had also told me that it would help me quit smoking, and also help me loss weight. I was young, but not completely naive, and I believed it would help with my depression, but brushed off the fact that it could help me quit smoking and loss weight. I'm glad I didn't put to much hope in those two statements, because I finally just stopped smoking last May, and I'm still overweight. But as far as the depression I feel that it has helped. I have been seeing a new doctor for about 2 years now, and he has never liked the fact that I took Cymbalta. He keeps telling me that it is actually hindering my weight-loss efforts. He told me that I should consider stopping the drug. This has been a very hard decision for me to make, as my mother also use to take Cymbalta, she was on the 30mg dose, and was, excuse my language but, a heartless bitch, while she was weaning off of it. She even used the method of counting the beads inside the capsules, but my doctor says that is risking because you actually can't be sure of the amount you are taking because some of the beads are just placebos, and not the actual medicine. All of this has made me very nervous just thinking about stopping taking this medicine. Also, I had many weird side effects when I started taking the medicine, and have gotten these side effects even when I had missed a dose. I would feel as though I had bugs crawling under my skin, and would itch for hours, sometimes even 2 or 3 days. I also would have these electric shocks through my body, and pins and needles for no reason. I finally came to the conclusion that I had to stop taking Cymbalta. Last Tuesday I had forgotten to take my regular meds, so when I went to take my missed dose I decided not to take the Cymbalta. This last week has been hell. I have this continuous sensation through my entire body, I have pain in my upper back, every time I breath it hurts. I began getting extremely painful headaches. I am always tires, and can not concentrate. I have not told any one that I have not been taking the Cymbalta, because they would tell me that it is a bad idea to go cold turkey and that I should go to my doctors office to talk with him. I am a single mother of 2 children, go to school full time, and work a part time job. These withdrawal symptoms have effected my day to day routine. Is there any thing I can do to help myself get through this? Does anything make it easier? How long with the withdrawal last?