I decided to stop taking Cymbalta about a year ago after my mother suffered and died from what I believe was partly due to serotonin syndrome as a result of Cymbalta and reactions with other medications. I have been so scared knowing the withdrawal symptoms I would be going through that I waited almost a year before finally taking the leap. About 6 months ago I dropped from 90mg to 60mg and then about 2 months ago I talked to my doctor about my desire to stop taking Cymbalta entirely. He wanted me to drop down to 30 mg for two weeks, stop for 5 days, and then start taking Zoloft. I waited another month to start taking 30 mg because I knew there would be some withdrawal symptoms and I had a big exam coming up.
About 2 weeks ago I started the 30 mg of Cymbalta and about 3 days later I called the doctor as symptoms became unbearable. He then told me to do a week of Cymbalta 30 mg every other day and then start to take the Zoloft after a week. I started the process on Sunday 04/02/17 but when I skipped my first dose on Monday 04/03, my symptoms on Tuesday were so terrible that I decided that there was no way I was going to put that poison back in my body and have to suffer every other day. So, as of today, I have been off of Cymbalta for 4 days.
Today I went to the doctor because my hands and face are numb, the vertigo is unbearable, and the brain zaps in my head won't stop. I have the kind of job where I have to concentrate and I can't. I'm falling behind in my work. The doctor literally looked at me like I was crazy. He said he couldn't believe that I was having this much trouble and he had never had any other patient experience these withdrawal symptoms. He was completely unsympathetic and he told me the only relief would be to take another antidepressant. He said I could take St. John's Wort but that's the same thing as Cymbalta but that all chemicals basically natural. WTH???? I asked if there there was another antidepressant I could try that didn't have the severe withdrawal symptoms and he said "well, we don't prescribe these medications with the idea that people will stop taking them".
Right now, I have decided to take tomorrow off work and start taking St. Johns Wort tonight. If I don't have any relief by Sunday evening, I'm going to try the taper method by going back on Cymbalta and removing beads very slowly over the course of several months. I really hate the idea of putting that poison back in my body.