Day 1 on weaning off

I have been on Cymbalta 30mg for 6 months and tired of being a zombie. I am so tired all the time and feel that life is passing and I am just here. Did real well at first but want to come off and be myself again...depression and all. I started as the doctor told me to take every other day....what in the world was he thinking???? This was two weeks ago...it totaly messed with me and I have been so cloudy sense. Went to a new doctor and he told me to wean slowy breaking the capsules in two to ..splitting to around 15mg and take 5mg of Lexapro with it and slowly wein off each week and then f/u with him.

Tonight is my first night and to be honest I am scarred to death but tired of not being able to foucus at work. I have to get off this medication and deal with the side effects. Sooner the better. I am going to try to think positive ....maybe it will be better than I thought.

If anyone else is just starting or has any advice ...please contact me. I need support badly.

I have been on Cymbalta 30mg for 6 months and tired of being a zombie. I am so tired all the time and feel that life is passing and I am just here. Did real well at first but want to come off and be myself again...depression and all. I started as the doctor told me to take every other day....what in the world was he thinking???? This was two weeks ago...it totaly messed with me and I have been so cloudy sense. Went to a new doctor and he told me to wean slowy breaking the capsules in two to ..splitting to around 15mg and take 5mg of Lexapro with it and slowly wein off each week and then f/u with him.

Tonight is my first night and to be honest I am scarred to death but tired of not being able to foucus at work. I have to get off this medication and deal with the side effects. Sooner the better. I am going to try to think positive ....maybe it will be better than I thought.

If anyone else is just starting or has any advice ...please contact me. I need support badly.

Welcome! Taking a pill every other day, as you found out, just keeps you in a constant withdrawal state. What your doctor has described and prescribed sounds like a good plan, and using Lexapro should help, as it does help with anxiety. Others here have used Celexa or Prozac. I take an Omega 3 supplement which I believe is helping. I'm on day 30, after taking 90 mg of Cymbalta.

Hopefully, using the Lexapro will minimize your discomfort. If you haven't already, read through some of the other posts regarding weaning to see what others have tried. It can be a bit overwhelming at times, but this site helped me stay sane on more than one night when I was having a hard time. You can do this, and we are here to listen and offer whatever help you need! Good Luck, and keep us updated!

Lexapro is pretty much the same thing as Celexa, it just costs more and the dosage is not the same for some reason. But look up Lexapro and you will see that it is listed with Celexa. Celexa is older and on the $4 list at Sams, Wal Mart and Target. I have been taking the Celexa now for 5 weeks and have already done two drops in dosage, they were both smooth, no zaps, no feeling crazy. Tomorrow night I see my new shrink again and I am hoping that she will agree with me that I can go down again (at this point, I hope to be off anti-depressants in the next month, wean really slow at the end).

I hope your transistion goes well. I went 45 days cold turkey off Cymbalta and the Celexa helped me immediately on day 46. Since you are doing both at the same time, I am hoping that it will be an easy ride for you. If there are any questions you have, please PM me and let me know. Now that you aren't doing every other day doses, you might be somebody who can come back here and report that this was an effective way to get off of Cymbalta.

You are right weaning every other day is wrong, Cymbalta has a short half life of about 12-14 hours, so by taking it every other day, you were beginning withdrawal every other day. You poor thing.

Go slow with the wean, give yourself at least a week of feeling well on the dosage you are on. Slow and steady until you feel steady. You will get there.

Well, I survived last night and took my second dose of 5mg Lexapro and 15mg Cymbalta. Actually I was very clear today at work and had a good day. I feel like things are clearer just a tiny bit..like I am coming out of a fog. I am trying to think positive.....while weening down off this drug. I have some tightness in my chest tonight not sure what that is. I have not gained any weight on Cymbalta and do find that if I exercise like 30 minutes to a hour of cardio a day that I feel a whole lot better. I am trying to focus on the positive.....as I have felt the negative from skipping days. I am scarred and just want off this drug like everyone else. I am hoping the days ahead will go ok.

I want to cry again as I have not cried in the 6 months or for that matter felt any emotion. Where have I been and what have I missed? I will keep everyone up on how it goes this week. Maybe the answer is to ween off and take small dose of Lexapro but at the end how do I get off that?????? Never again will I take anything but Tylenol.

It sounds like you are determined to get off of that Cymbalta......GOOD FOR YOU! Please keep in mind that withdrawals will not show up right away necessarily, so be on your guard because some symptoms will sneak up on you days, weeks or possibly even months later which could make you think you are relapsing when indeed you may not be.
I have just started my weaning period as you know, and already I am having to increase my dose because of the withdrawals: mood swings, constant lightheadedness, weakness, borderline explosive anger, and hypersexual.
I am not turning back even though I am making necessary adjustments to prevent later symptoms. I am so glad for anyone getting off of this terrible medication! Shakey......

Melissa 41 - I am weaning off of Celexa now and can assure you, each drop in dosage has gone fine. The dosage between Lexapro and Celexa are not the same, so I can't tell you dosage drops, there are some web sites out there that compare them, but here is what has worked for me. The Lexapro/Celexa affects fewer neurotransmitters in your brain chemistry than Cymbalta, which I am hoping is part of the reason for being able to drop down with no problem.

I started Celexa 5 weeks ago at 20mg for 5 days. It was too much for me and the new doctor told me to drop down to 10 mg. I stayed there for two weeks, felt balanced and did not feel the antidepressant "mask", was able to function.

After two weeks of feeling well and functioning, I went down to 7.5mg. I have been there for a couple of weeks and last week, after knowing that my new dose was adjusting, I felt pretty damn hopeful that I will be able to do the next two drops.

See my new shrink tonight to go over weaning down further, she and I have agreed that a drop should not be done in dose until I feel stable for at least 5-7 days at the dose I am taking.

Hopefully, I will be able to let you know that I am free in a couple of weeks, but if it takes a little longer, so be it. Trust me, I did not want to take any medication to get over the Cymbalta withdrawal, but I hope that making the switch early on will make your transition easier and gentler on you.

Let us know how you are doing.

Going on day five tomorrow have weened down to 10mg Cymbalta and 5mg Lexapro from 30 mg Cymbalta for 6 months. I can honestly say the only side effect so far is a little dizzy and little cloudy sometimes. I really have hope that this will not be too bad. I have so much energy now....oh I have noticed the vivid dreams but things are clearer. Hope this continues and then next week will do 5mg Cymbalta and so on......take multivitamins and B Complex and 1000 mg Vitamin C and several meal replacement shakes and exercise daily ....cardio....wether I feel like it or not. Always feel better after the exercise dizzy or not I push myself and try to keep a positive attitude.

I think the answer to weening off Cymbalta you have to take Lexapro or Prozac (I have heard) with it to help with the withdrawal. When I tried the other weeks to get off I could not do it was getting all the side effects but not know. I will keep you posted.

Hope this helps somebody.

Great news for you Melissa, and every post helps!

please try taking the omega -3,coq-10 ,b6and also benadryl does really take the zap and dizziness away. maybe not completly but really tolerable.drink lots and lots of water to help fush your system. it does take some time to get into your system. i also have been drinking herbal teas tension tammer and sweet dreams it relaxes your body.good luck and have faith in yourself and god

Sylvester-Who makes tension tamer and sweet dreams? I do drink chamomile tea, but still interested in the others.