Too Much Prozac For Cross Taper?

Hello. I'm new here and am both relieved and terrified at finding this website. I have been trying to come off Cymbalta and on my doctor's recommendation have been doing this with the aid of Prozac, but I worry that I may have incorporated too much Prozac too early in the process, which will make coming off the whole thing harder. 

 

A brief history for you:

December '18: 30mg Cymbalta 

February '19: 60mg Cymbalta

March '19: 90mg Cymbalta

June '19: from 90mg to 60mg Cymbalta + 20mg Prozac for two weeks

July '19: From 60mg to 30mg Cymbalta plus 40mg Prozac for two weeks

July '19: From 30mg to 20mg Cymbalta plus 40mg Prozac for two weeks

 

The drop from 30mg to 20mg was awful and after that two week stint I was told to alternate 20mg every other day (while taking 40mg Prozac) for two weeks and then go to zero. Obviously reading your stories I now know that this is not the way. I alternated three days and felt awful so I went back to 20mg every day. I've now been on 20mg Cymbalta and 40mg Prozac for about three weeks and I'm scared to make any kind of jump down, but at the same time am desperate to get off Cymbalta. I feel like every day I take the 20mg is making it harder for me to reach my end goal of zero. Should I lower the Prozac dose and increase it again when I get to zero cymbalta?

 

Initially prescribed for fybromyalgia, depression and anxiety, it did nothing to help the pain and only made my depression worse and gave me wonderful new types of anxiety I didn't think were possible. 

I've only slept through two whole nights since February. At least the nightmares have stopped since I dropped to 30mg but I've been exhausted and foggy for the last three weeks. Both of my last drops have been accompanied by a few days of severe vertigo and nausea.

 

The thought of taking out a single ball a day and tapering that way is so depressing I can't bear it. I'd like to taper as fast as humanly possible without feeling on the verge of death.

 

My question to you lovely people is, does anyone have any advice for a rapid taper plan and also strategies to deal with tiredness, headaches, nausea, dizziness and vertigo? I wanted to be off in two weeks but I'm starting to think this is unrealistic. Any advice would be appreciated. 

 

Also, any recommendations for empty capsules would be great. I found some vegan coated ones on Amazon (advertised as such) but a couple of the reviews said that they didn't work as advertised and wouldn't make it to the gut. How am I supposed to know if this is the case? How terrible is it if the cymbalta starts dissolving in my stomach? Oof, so many factors to consider. 

 

I just want to be able to sleep again and stop ballooning like a.. well.. balloon. Not peeing every hour would also be nice and I wouldn't say no to clear skin again. 

 

As an aside: I have been experimenting with Kratom for anxiety and it has been a godsend, otherwise anxiety would be in that list also. It's also been amazing for my fibro pain, and not something I would have considered in a million years but out of desperation and coincidence. I've had no luck with CBD oil and melatonin for sleep, anxiety or pain. Cannabis has helped for pain but I wake up the next day feeling like I've been hit by a truck, and can't function on it. I'm trying to move away from painkillers but turn to codeine for severe migraines and the worst fibro pain. 

 

I am so sorry to ramble, this was supposed to be a short, coherent intro and it's turned into the opposite. I hope you're all doing well with your own Cymbalta journeys and I'm sorry that we're all here in the first place. 

Oh, a final note. Any advice with concentration would be appreciated -- my brain has been all over the place since dropping to 20mg and I do not want to fall behind with work. 

So if I read your notes right you have been taking 20mg Cymbalta plus 40mg Prozac since 7/16 (22 days)
It takes the Prozac 6 to 8 weeks to fully kick in so you are only half way there.

"I feel like every day I take the 20mg is making it harder for me to reach my end goal of zero"
NOT TRUE. Every day you hurry the withdrawal it makes it worse and less likely to succeed. DO NOT RUSH, PLEASE.

Stay on the 40 mg of Prozac until it kicks in.

"The thought of taking out a single ball a day and tapering that way is so depressing I can't bear it."
That is the only way to succeed. Slow and even slower. Don't underestimate this withdrawal.

"My question to you lovely people is, does anyone have any ...strategies to deal with tiredness, headaches, nausea, dizziness and vertigo?"

I would suggest you start reading the thread "Cymbalta Withdrawal Review" in the Medical Support section as it is a summary of what every one has tried and what helped and what didn't. It also includes a lot of medical research.

IUN will probably come along soon and he has some good choices on capsules.

"How terrible is it if the cymbalta starts dissolving in my stomach?"

https://dailymed.nlm...f2-c185fbad64ba
"In extremely acidic conditions, CYMBALTA, unprotected by the enteric coating, may undergo hydrolysis to form naphthol. Caution is advised in using CYMBALTA in patients with conditions that may slow gastric emptying (e.g., some diabetics). "
The toxicity of the naphthol can cause a variety of issues.

The skin and bloating issues are temporary and will pass in a few weeks.

IUN is our resident expert on kratom, CBD, Canabis, etc and will be along soon.

Thank you so much for your reply, and sorry for the slow response. For some reason I can't post anything when I'm logged in on my mobile so I have to wait to get to a computer to respond. 

 

I have been on the prozac since early July so it's around 5 weeks now. I was doing fine on 30mg cymbalta and even felt really motivated at work, but the drop to 20mg has been a nightmare. For the last three weeks I've been exhausted and my mind is all over the place. I can't focus on anything and my memory is shot. I'm worried because I'm doing really badly at work. Should I wait it out or should I do the next drop now? It's been three weeks so I'm not sure it's going to get any better than this.

 

Also, will these work for capsules? It says they are coated but some of the reviews refute that:

https://www.amazon.c...5JP1GGF7M3K0HA1

 

Finally i am seeing  a new doctor on Monday. I was thinking of asking for something to help with the concentration, even Ritalin or something like that while I'm going through withdrawal but I don't know if that's something that she will be willing to prescribe or if it will interact badly with cymbalta/prozac.

 

Kratom was really helping me with focus before but these last few weeks have just been a bit of a mess. I'm upset because the drop from 90 to 60 to 30 seemed to be going so well and I was beginning to congratulate myself on being in the minority of people who don't react badly. 

The wean to 30 mg is usually not bad but as you drop further below 20 mg it gets worse and worse although there are some exception. I definitely would wait. It may take you 2 or 3 months to stabilize so this will be a game of patience. To completely wean off often takes a year or more. Some supplements that may help would be 2000 plus mg per day of Omega 3 high in epa and dha. Also 500 mg of vitamin C per day OR 600 mg of NAC per day (N-Acetylcysteine.), The best thing I have ever used is A water extract of Lion's Mane Mushroom (see below)

https://www.amazon.c...e?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Wow two or three months to just stabilize from 30mg to 20mg? This is quite a process. I was hoping to be Cymbalta free by the end of August but I guess that was very wishful thinking on my part (and my doctor's part, who said to take one every other day for two weeks and then stop). 

I've never heard of Lion's Mane Mushroom but I'm open to trying anything. That's very interesting, did that help you just through withdrawal or do you take it now for focus as well? I'll order some along with my empty capsules and let you know how it goes.

I appreciate the advice. 

I used it during my benzo withdrawal and was impressed. I hope you ordered the same one I referenced as there are two types. Water extract and alcohol extract and both have different characteristics. I do not take it now because it lowered my white blood cell count some. It would not be an issue but do to high radiation exposure I was very low on my white blood cells and in reverse isolation. I plan on trying it again after my issue resolves.

There are many who have little to no withdrawal but if you are already suffering it is not a good sign.

Hi Eve... apologies for the delay getting round to writing here - been one of those weeks.

 

So Kratom and the variants. I also didn't get on too well with CBD - I got a tolerance to it very quickly which only meant it would get more and more expensive - and regarding weed - steer clear as this will not do you any good. You get a come down and brain fog which is simply not worth the short-lived "buzz" you get from it.

 

Kratom on the other hand is far safer, has no after effects provided you are sensible with the dose and the frequency, and as you say, it can really help to calm you. I expect you are already familiar with the strains and their respective effects? Can you tell me what you are taking, dose and frequency?

 

If there is anything you would like to know about anything along these lines, please feel free to ask...

 

IUN