Hi Everyone,
So glad to have found this group with all this great information. I've been trying to read as much as possible in order to figure out how to continue to taper off my meds.
A little back story about me. I had back surgery that went wrong (surgeon tore my dura) ten years ago and ended up not being able to walk, sit or stand much. My pain doctor had me on 120 mg of oxycontin and 90 mg of Cymbalta, in addition to other meds. As I improved over the years I stopped taking cymbalta and realized quickly that something was very wrong. I kept telling my doc that I felt weird and had these strange feelings in my brain. Of course he had no clue what I was talking about. I went online and read that I needed to wean off slowly and was able to do that.
Two years ago I went on cymbalta again because my nerve pain was worse due to reducing my pain meds further. I really want to stop taking Cymbalta because I believe it has caused my extreme weight gain. Since starting it I've gained 20 lbs. It makes absolutely no sense because I've started to become more active and walk/hike again. Yet every doctor says that at my age it's normal to gain weight and I should just eat less.
I have taken it upon myself to reduce all meds. I am currently on 20 mg of cymbalta . From what I've read here I probably shouldn't have dropped to that dose from 60 from one day to another. Might explain why I feel like crap and have bowel and stomach issues. This was over a month ago so shouldn't I feel better by now? I also reduced my oxycodones drastically and only take 2.5 mg a day.
Yes, I'm in pain and no I don't care. I have a spinal cord injury that is diagnosed and documented, yet get treated like a drug addict when I see any physician except my PCM. I'm not addicted, just dependent, just like with Cymbalta.
My question is has anyone else weaned off of both meds simultaneously? What supplements can I take to reduce the anxiety, fatigue. Should I stay on the low dose cymbalta until I'm off of the pain med or vice versa? Any ideas, insights or thoughts are appreciated.
Thank you.