Sick Again 4 Weeks Later ?

Heya everyone.

First time posting here.

I tapered off with all the usual side effects 4 weeks ago and seemed to get over them all pretty well after about 14 days tapering off.

It's been 14 days since my last dose of 30mg and I am sick sick sick again.....all the symptoms are back and I feel like i have gone backwards in getting better.

Is this usual? I thought the longer it was, it would get better, yet here i am today back to square one after getting what i thought was better as i had stopped getting "sick"?

thanks for your support x

Hi Mands and welcome to our little family!

So you started tapering 4 weeks ago? And this was done over a period of 14 days?

Then a very simple answer to your question is YES. What you are feeling is completely usual. It does sound like you have come off way too quickly from the meds. Cymbalta is not a good drug to withdrawal from. Most of us here have taken months (and in some case years) to get to 0mg. 

You have gone through what we call the "honeymoon" period of feeling ok right after the last dose, and now the symptoms will hit. Whilst you may be one of the lucky few who may ride this out for 3-4 weeks and be fine, there is every chance this will not be the course - and I take no pleasure in telling you this Mands. I just don't want you to suffer.

So first, can you tell me the history of your use of Cymbalta - how long you were on it, the dose you were on... and please confirm what I understand to be your taper period. Do I also assume you have not started another drug after this?

It may be that you need to go back to a low dose and taper more gradually to prevent more problems - or start Prozac or similar to "bridge" the issues, but I would suggest the former for now as you are so close to your last dose. Alternatively, we can find some non-medicinal aids if this would be the better way to go.

Any way - let us know, and we will see you safe...

IUN

Welcome Mands

Wow!! You tapered over a 4 week period and did fine. Most of use taper off over a 3 to 6 month period and continue to have symptoms for another 6 to 8 months. You have been incredibly lucky. In regards to your question, normally symptoms start as soon as you get down to around 10 or 20 mg and just continue. On the other had there have been a couple that had symptoms that got a lot worse after being off for 2 or 3 weeks but that is unusual. What symptoms are you having?

I did...1 day...2...3....4... then Dr said if i wasn't sick to keep going so i did...that was 4 weeks ago.... I kept going as I had lesser side effects and GP said to stay off it as it wasn't as bad and it was getting better.

I thought I had beaten it !! Then this week i have been severely depressed, anxious, hot and cold sweats, nauseous, moody, and the vertigo is back along with all the usual suspects. Today I am back to being freezing cold so I knew things had gone backwards....so cold I am shivering and it's really hot outside. But, my GP won't go back on it at all. I see my psych in 5 days but he didn't seem too phased by the trouble i was having coming off it either. All he said was "Yeh a lot of AD will do that to you". I am also on Mirtazepene 90mg and have been for 12 years. The reason for going on the Cymbalta was my mental health went into crisis fast so my psych put me on it. I got sick on it so there was no point staying on it and then of course, as you all know the withdrawals started. I was only on it for 3 months.

I don't know what to do .....also it only comes in 30mg capsules here and no other brand names.

So....i am not imagining this? I am still going through withdrawals? and with more to come?

Thanks again.

Mands.

Yea, I am afraid so. If you still have some capsules you can do some bead counting. Open a capsule and count the number of beads inside. Give us the number of beads and the total number of capsules you have and we will try to set you up with a program that might take the edge off of things. Also you can talk to your dr about clonidine, hydroxyzine or benzos to help with the symptoms. I would suggest you stay away from the benzos unless you just can't handle things as they are very addictive and have a bad withdrawal as well.

Poor Mands...

As FishingHat has said, this is for sure the withdrawals, and I would definately suggest the bead counting as previously stated. So if you came off on 30mg, it might just as easy to reinstate the 30mg and stabalise and then reduce slowly whilst listening your body for warnings. I was on Cymbalta for 10 weeks, stopped 11 weeks ago, and still going through it all. What this drug can do begs belief. 

As much as you might not want to go back on it, tell us how many beads are in each capsule, and between Hat, myself and the rest of the crew, we will come up with a way forward. But for now, we need to get you stable before the s%*t hits the fan!

Here I was thinking I had beaten it. That I got through it very easily after only about 10 rough days...OHH NOOO

Sorry to burst the bubble Mand...as I said, it even has a name of "honeymoon period".

I went off Citalopram last year the same way.. took 14 days for symptoms. Venlafaxine in May... 10 days before it started.

Perfectly normal.... but we'll sort you out

OK i am hearing you all and thanks so much for hearing me !!!

So, in the space of 24 hours i have nearly all the symptoms back, going from none at all after 4 weeks free of them. That's how quick i have gotten "Sick" again?? 

I am not imagining this am I? Sorry but I am so confused at how I can go from being ok to going downhill so fast.

Mands.

No - you are certainly not imagining this.

The cymbalta will remain in your system for a few days, and even then residual traces will remain in fat stores and add to the supply that your body was used to. Quite when the sh!t hits the fan will vary from one person to the next. It is when the brain suddenly realises that the little pill that was doing all the work is suddenly no longer there, so it thinks "bloody hell, am I supposed to do this on my own now?!". Because it has had a vacation from worrying how much serotonin to put here and how much norepinephrine to put there, it sort of goes into shock when it is faced with having to do all this again. 

Think of it this way. You leave your job for 3 months. Someone comes in to cover your absence and makes a whole bunch of changes. Your boss makes changes, the rest of the team do this and that. Then out of nowhere, you get thrown back into your job without knowing what has gone on. It takes you a while, but sooner of later, you realise you don't have the faintest idea about what is going on. Where are those files? Who changed my wallpaper? And where on earth is my coffee mug?! Arrghhhh!

This is where your brain is at now...

Thanks for that great explanation.

It certainly sucks you into a false sense of safety, after taking the last pill 4 weeks ago, and now BAM !!! here it is again and I am sooo sick after thinking I got away easy. OH GOSH back to the Dr's for me as I am pretty sure I threw out all my pills thinking I would never need them again....that's IF they agree to put me back on it or give me another plan of action.

Thanks so much for your help. You will be sure to be hearing from me again with the way I am feeling. 

Could be a problem if you threw the last of your your pills away. But hopefully you will be able to explain the situation well enough.

Please keep in touch.

Hi.

Is it strange that I went from being sick again to not sick at all yesterday and today ...no symptoms at all?? Or is this the lull before the storm? I feel absolutely fine ??

I  must confess Mands that you seem to be coming through this very well. For most the suffering (anxiety/depression) is rather constant for several months after your last dose before you start getting breaks here and there. I am sure that there will be more ups and downs but with your current situation I am confident that you good spells will get longer and your bad spells will get shorter.

Those relapses are most common when you over do things. Too much stress, work hard, a lot of excitement, etc. Your nerves will still be sensitive for a while.

Thanks everyone.

Apart from a hot flash last night, i have been well for the last 3 days and so far this morning well again. As you say, maybe I am one of the lucky ones.

I have had a very bad episode of depression this week though, but have got through that as well. I don't expect that to magically go away as I live with crippling anxiety no matter what meds I am on. Just as long as withdrawal effects don't make life harder is a good thing. 

I will be sure to check back in if things change. Thanks for your time everyone . Cheers. Mands.

Thanks for sharing Mands - it is important for the good ones to come through as well!! 

It may makes the rest of us very jealous (!), but all the same, I am very happy for you and really hope this good wave continues for you. Each extra day like these are a good sign.

As Hat said, don't overlook the strength of your nerves during these times though. Keep away from stress and don't overdo the work!

Heya

I understand what you are saying.

Although 90% well symptoms wise...I noticed that after some stress i got vertigo and nauseous...not severely but I did have to lay down. I don't want to even complain compared to what others are going through...but it is there, waiting in the wings.

So, as you say...I will take care. And yes my anxiety is crippling so that is always a problem which need to be nursed as well as keeping an eye on my depression.

Lets hope i keep breezing through this "relatively" easily.

 Mands xx

That can happen as your norepinephrine and serotonin return to base line, which is significantly lower than your brain is used to. It may take a little longer for that to return to normal.