Hi everyone,
I thought I would share my Cymbalta story. A year and a half ago I was put on 60 mg, and took it every day since. The last month I tapered and am now completely off. My doctor had me cut down to 30 mg for the first two weeks, and the second two weeks I was on 30 mg every other day.
It hasn't been totally easy - have had stomach aches, fatigue, headaches occasionally. However I feel that with the taper she put me on, and the supplements/vitamins that I have been taking to help myself, it isn't as bad as it could have been.
I have been taking liquid magnesium supplement (Floradix brand), Vitamin B, Vitamin D, multivitamin, Omega 3 (very important!!) , probiotics for my tummy, and CBD (cannabinoid) oil, which you can find at dispensaries online or in your hometown. I live in Canada, where cannabis is going to be legalized in a few short months, and CBD oil will be as well. It contains no THC and has no psychoactive effects.
The combination of vitamins and minerals helped me so much to the point that I had NO brain zaps whatsoever - they are helping my mood as well. Although I get a bit cranky still from time to time (not quite a week off, has been about 5 days totally off), I really credit these things with helping me. I came off of SSRIs and benzos before several times in the past, (benzos only once, as who the hell would want to do that again - LOL), and because I was not supplementing with natural remedies, the withdrawals I believe were way worse.
Now that I am off I have been taking an herbal Liver support tincture as well. These pharmaceutical drugs effectively destroy our gut and our liver - so getting these both back into proper shape is crucial. Your seratonin etc is produced IN your gut, so replenishing good bacteria etc is highly important when getting off of these drugs. I am thinking I might also get a colonic or two, to help flush my tummy/colon.
I hope you are all doing ok, and thank you for reading! I was so scared to get off of Cymbalta because of the things I read online, but there were also a lot of helpful tips and tricks including these natural/vitamin remedies that I am super blessed to have found.
Be well <3