Here's my first post, to fill in on backstory:
https://www.cymbalta...-im-not-coping/
My symptoms got a whole lot worse than those listed above that I made an emergency appointment with my psychiatrist first thing yesterday morning after a horrific weekend of being a useless mess. He saw the distress I was in and immediately suggested I head in to the ER, he gave me a letter explaining the situation so I could be seen to quickly. I'm in Australia and I do not have private health insurance, so had to be admitted as a public patient.
It was a horrible night in the psychiatric ward of my local hospital. It was my first time as an inpatient of a psychiatric ward, so I was scared, exhausted, confused and alone so naturally everything was a whole lot worse. The nurses were incredibly busy and so nobody gave me any kind of explanation about what would happen. I arrived late in the evening (10pm, after waiting hours in the ER waiting room) was shown a bed, and they simply said "here's your bed, goodnight".
I couldn't sleep and had asked several times for some kind of sedative to help with my crippling anxiety. Nobody saw to me so I ended up sitting in the ward hallway crying uncontrollably out of fear, helplessness and desperation until finally someone took notice and sedated me so I could sleep in the uncomfortable tiny hospital bed, not far from a complete stranger who was snoring loudly.
I only spent a night there, I woke in the morning and explained to the psychiatric doctor on duty that I would be much better recovering at home as this place was stressing me out more than I can even begin to explain. I was prescribed valium and was able to come home today.
It was an experience I wish I never had to go through, and of course my withdrawal symptoms are no better; I'm just more sedated so hopefully I'll be able to cope until the worst has passed. I am absolutely refusing going back onto Cymbalta just to stabilise & then wean off. I am in the worst of the withdrawals so am determined to stick it out until I start feeling better. I am never, EVER touching this poison ever again, and deeply regret taking it in the first place.
One odd thing I will note, is when I turned up at my psychiatrists office a complete wreck before going to the ER, he said that in all his years of prescribing Cymbalta, he has RARELY seen reactions like mine, and reading all of the Cymbalta support forums I find that hard to believe. Surely as a psychiatrist he has to be aware of the debilitating side effects of coming off this drug, but he genuinely seemed surprised at my severe reaction.......
Anyway thanks for reading! I hope it's only up from here.