My wife has been taking Cymbalta since June of last year. At first, she had good results. It got her out of her depression and she as able to function as her normal self. As December came along, signs of her depression have returned. She has good days and bad days. Over this time she has also gained about 30 pounds.
We recently moved to another state and she is waiting to get medical coverage (she's on Medicare and gets disability). She hasn't been able to see a doctor or therapist since she has no coverage or money to pay out of pocket.
We're convinced the medication is incorrect. The question is whether it's too much or too little. I think it's too much. Almost as if she's having some kind of "toxic" reaction to it now. She takes 20mg once a day (at bedtime). She's been having trouble sleeping, has repeating thoughts, anxiety, mood swings, and has trouble getting moving/out of bed. These symptoms seem to lessen as the day goes on. By 2pm she's "normal" and gets clearer as the night comes. Then the cycle seems to start over when she takes the Cymbalta before bed.
I think she needs to get off the Cymbalta, but she's afraid to stop it.
What should we do????
Hi,
I can't make any comment about the side effects she's experiencing and whether they're from Cymbalta, but 20mg IS the lowest available quantity, so although that may be 'too much for her' it's the lowest dose anyone could be put on. Typically people are on at least 60mg, with the doses ranging from 20mg to 150mg per day.
One of the problems with people who have problems (and not just the usual annoying side effects) when ON the drug, often feel worse with withdrawal symptoms before they start to feel better.
You CAN slowly reduce the dose by taking out a certain number of beads (1mg is 9 x beads) each day and see if she feels better after a week. As I said, she may then get withdrawal symptoms, but I'm not sure what else to suggest. You can keep the beads you remove for later on, when she's only taking a few mg per day.
regards, Maureen.
