24 replies to this topic

[UrbanFlowerpot]

I'm a wreck. I've done some reading through the boards, but haven't seen any long, long term users of the drug (or didn't notice any). Does that seem to make a difference when coming off of it? I was on 60 mg for about six years. I dropped to 30 for a week or two, was reassured by my doctor that we'd find a charitable program to get me back on it...but I'm kinda freaked that they've had me on it for so long. Thoughts/suggestions/encouragement?

How has this taken a toll on your partners? I feel like I'm being so wretched to my boyfriend, and while he's trying to understand, he can't reeeally understand. I seem crazy. Weeping and getting migraines every day so far...and I'm only a couple days in

[mentalpatient]

I'm a wreck. I've done some reading through the boards, but haven't seen any long, long term users of the drug (or didn't notice any). Does that seem to make a difference when coming off of it? I was on 60 mg for about six years. I dropped to 30 for a week or two, was reassured by my doctor that we'd find a charitable program to get me back on it...but I'm kinda freaked that they've had me on it for so long. Thoughts/suggestions/encouragement?

How has this taken a toll on your partners? I feel like I'm being so wretched to my boyfriend, and while he's trying to understand, he can't reeeally understand. I seem crazy. Weeping and getting migraines every day so far...and I'm only a couple days in

I know what you are going through. I have lost my job/insurance and couldn't deal with the withdrawa symptoms.

My doctor was always good enough to give me free samples.

I have been on it for 3 years - and yes I do think that the longer you take it, the harder it is to get off of.

[Antonia]

HEllo, I was wondering the same thing about long time users. I have been on Cymbalta for 5 years. I originally was put on it after the birth of my last child due to severe anxiety, and chronic neck pain from a car accident. It was horrible to start, I felt floaty and dizzy and couldnt sleep at all!! I literally went 6 days without any sleep at all before I was told I needed Lunesta to retrain my body. I wanted to have another baby so I called my doctor and requested a withdrawl plan. I was told to stop taking my 60mg and take 30mg for 7 days, and then take 30mg every other day for 7 days and I would be fine. My last pill was two weeks ago, and I am in agony. I have severe migrains, nausea, stomache cramping, neck pain, joint pain, irratability, mood swings, hours of "blankness", fogginess, severe dizziness, brain pains, insomnia, severe nightsweats (which I had for the past 5 years). This has been horribly painfull and stressfull. I will literally end my day not knowing how my day was spent. I will drive somewhere, and have no idea why I drove there. It ws so bad a few days ago, that after grocery shopping while my meds were being filled at the local grocery store, I payed for my meds, chatted with the pharmacist, gathered my daughter and was on my way home when I was pulled over by a police officer because I didnt pay for my groceries. I had to drive back, pay for them and then go to the police station and recieve a citation. I even fell asleep in the police waiting room with my daughter while they were verifying my identity. I had no ability to feel anything other thatn off balance and foggy and exhausted. It wasnt until two days later, that I felt shock and embarassment and anger at how I could lose control over my brain and body so badly that I could be that unaware of goinggs on and driving with my child. This is a horrible horrible drug. Sure it helped while I was on it, but I suffered horrible soaking wet night sweats, and insomnia, and lack of motivation for anything the whole time I was on it. Now I do'nt remember anything I have done, where I park, where my keys are, where my phone is even if I am talking on it. this is just ridiculous. I am snapping at my daughters, my husband, my friends. Everyone thinks that when the pills stop, things should be normal, but its not, and I dont understand. How much longer will this go on??? My migrain headaches are daily and not lessening. Is anyone else experiencing symptoms like this, will it end soon?

[MaureenV]

HEllo, I was wondering the same thing about long time users. I have been on Cymbalta for 5 years. I originally was put on it after the birth of my last child due to severe anxiety, and chronic neck pain from a car accident. It was horrible to start, I felt floaty and dizzy and couldnt sleep at all!! I literally went 6 days without any sleep at all before I was told I needed Lunesta to retrain my body. I wanted to have another baby so I called my doctor and requested a withdrawl plan. I was told to stop taking my 60mg and take 30mg for 7 days, and then take 30mg every other day for 7 days and I would be fine. My last pill was two weeks ago, and I am in agony. I have severe migrains, nausea, stomache cramping, neck pain, joint pain, irratability, mood swings, hours of "blankness", fogginess, severe dizziness, brain pains, insomnia, severe nightsweats (which I had for the past 5 years). This has been horribly painfull and stressfull. I will literally end my day not knowing how my day was spent. I will drive somewhere, and have no idea why I drove there. It ws so bad a few days ago, that after grocery shopping while my meds were being filled at the local grocery store, I payed for my meds, chatted with the pharmacist, gathered my daughter and was on my way home when I was pulled over by a police officer because I didnt pay for my groceries. I had to drive back, pay for them and then go to the police station and recieve a citation. I even fell asleep in the police waiting room with my daughter while they were verifying my identity. I had no ability to feel anything other thatn off balance and foggy and exhausted. It wasnt until two days later, that I felt shock and embarassment and anger at how I could lose control over my brain and body so badly that I could be that unaware of goinggs on and driving with my child. This is a horrible horrible drug. Sure it helped while I was on it, but I suffered horrible soaking wet night sweats, and insomnia, and lack of motivation for anything the whole time I was on it. Now I do'nt remember anything I have done, where I park, where my keys are, where my phone is even if I am talking on it. this is just ridiculous. I am snapping at my daughters, my husband, my friends. Everyone thinks that when the pills stop, things should be normal, but its not, and I dont understand. How much longer will this go on??? My migrain headaches are daily and not lessening. Is anyone else experiencing symptoms like this, will it end soon?

Believe me, it's not just long terms users who suffer. If you read through lots of posts you'll find a number of people have only been on it for a few weeks and suffered horrendous withdrawal symptoms.


The only thing I can say to you is that your doctor's plan was wrong. It can take people up to six months, sometimes longer, to taper off and get off Cymbalta completely.

The only way for anyone who suffers these sorts of withdrawal symtpoms to get of it without too many problems is to taper off slowly.

Many find that they can go from (eg) 60mg down to 30 without too many problems. Don't know whether you were o.k. on 30mg as you don't say.

The system of doing alternate days is COMPLETELY WRONG for Cymbalta - it has a short half life, and taking it every second day is like giving a junkie heroin every second day - achieves nothing. That method works for drugs which have a much longer half life.

What those of us who've come off Cymbalta without too much difficulty have done is taper down slowly. I found this site when I was doing 30mg on alternate days, and discovered what I was doing wrong.

I then changed and (through trial and error) found that 20mg was sufficient to get rid of the withdrawal symptoms. I then tapered down from 20mg to zero over TEN WEEKS. I still had some withdrawal symptoms at each drop, but not severe.

Have a think about going back on to 30mg, and tapering down from there. You can do this by opening the capsules and removing some of the beads.

If you choose to tough it out, you may have a few more weeks of misery ahead of you.

I know it seems like a pain to go back on to it, and then be on it for longer, but it's more to do with quality of life. You can live this nightmare for another few weeks, or you can taper off slowly over a much longer period with an almost normal quality of life.

regards, Maureen.

[Jackie M.]

I'm new here, too. I went to my doc after an insurance switch and told her it was time I got off of this expensive med, too. My new insurance wants me to pay over $60. a month for a refill and after 6 years of this see-saw expense from a small co-payment, free samples and even paying for the whole prescription, I think it's time to find something I can afford.

I first was started on this at my request after suffering with major depression with severe anxiety and 6mo. of tx. on Lexparo as I read that this med was being used for pain disorders. At this point, I'm not experiencing the coverage I had for the first 5 years and wonder if it was such a good idea to be on a med that covers pain vs. finding out what the pain was all about to start with and having that treated. I went through the cat scans and x-rays and a bone scan and found out the there are numerous things that may be corrected and all I've been willing to do at this point is cover the pain up with meds.

I'm fortunate in one respect. I work in an office with different psychiatrist, and I hope they can give me better advice than my medical doctor. She told me to take one every other day. I have experienced 'brain shivers' while just taking it a few hours after my usual 8am dose. I'm taking the full 60mg. this morning. I drive 38mi. one way to work and I need to be fully functioning to drive on a road that is a well known truck route.

I always imagined that I would have to do a cross-taper with another med to get off this one. I mentioned this to my medical doc and she looked at me like she didn't know what I was talking about. I realize that doctors don't know what we're experiencing with things like the brain zaps, as they never experienced this, but I hope that if I ask one of the work doctors if they ever heard of this they don't look at me like I'm some sort of sissy.

I am married and have three teens and an ill Mother to look after. She lives independently, but I don't know for how long. I know I will need to go on an antidepressant that covers anxiety, but this med has me fed up due to the expense and the side-effects and the fact that it's no longer working so well on the pain. I'm supposed to see a surgeon for my shoulders as I think I have a torn rotater cuff and I've been putting this one off for years. I may add that I had a stomach ulcer that perforated on it's own a last year. I know this med is hard on the stomach, but that just blew me away. I didn't know I had a ulcer to start with and emergency surgery is no picnic.

Jackie

[MaureenV]

I'm new here, too. I went to my doc after an insurance switch and told her it was time I got off of this expensive med, too. My new insurance wants me to pay over $60. a month for a refill and after 6 years of this see-saw expense from a small co-payment, free samples and even paying for the whole prescription, I think it's time to find something I can afford.

I first was started on this at my request after suffering with major depression with severe anxiety and 6mo. of tx. on Lexparo as I read that this med was being used for pain disorders. At this point, I'm not experiencing the coverage I had for the first 5 years and wonder if it was such a good idea to be on a med that covers pain vs. finding out what the pain was all about to start with and having that treated. I went through the cat scans and x-rays and a bone scan and found out the there are numerous things that may be corrected and all I've been willing to do at this point is cover the pain up with meds.

I'm fortunate in one respect. I work in an office with different psychiatrist, and I hope they can give me better advice than my medical doctor. She told me to take one every other day. I have experienced 'brain shivers' while just taking it a few hours after my usual 8am dose. I'm taking the full 60mg. this morning. I drive 38mi. one way to work and I need to be fully functioning to drive on a road that is a well known truck route.

I always imagined that I would have to do a cross-taper with another med to get off this one. I mentioned this to my medical doc and she looked at me like she didn't know what I was talking about. I realize that doctors don't know what we're experiencing with things like the brain zaps, as they never experienced this, but I hope that if I ask one of the work doctors if they ever heard of this they don't look at me like I'm some sort of sissy.

I am married and have three teens and an ill Mother to look after. She lives independently, but I don't know for how long. I know I will need to go on an antidepressant that covers anxiety, but this med has me fed up due to the expense and the side-effects and the fact that it's no longer working so well on the pain. I'm supposed to see a surgeon for my shoulders as I think I have a torn rotater cuff and I've been putting this one off for years. I may add that I had a stomach ulcer that perforated on it's own a last year. I know this med is hard on the stomach, but that just blew me away. I didn't know I had a ulcer to start with and emergency surgery is no picnic.

Jackie

Hi Jackie,


the 'every other day' just doesn't work with Cymbalta for those who are going to have problems getting off it, and as you've had problems even when you're a few hours late, sounds like you're going to be one of them.

The only way to get off safely is to wean down slowly, dropping a few mg for a start (which means you open the capsule and take out 2mg worth of beads: 9 beads = 1mg); Don't let doctors tell you you can'd do this, and that it's a slow release 'drug', it's not, it's a 'fast release' capsule with 'slow release' beads inside. Their printed information often doesn't differentiate between the two.

Some people have found taking Prozac at the same time as they're withdrawal helpful. In fact virtually all those who've tried it seem to have found it useful.

From the comments I've seen here, starting a different one (apart from the Prozac suggestion) can be tricky because many people suffer quite bad side effects from new anti-depressants, some of which can settle down, but in the early days it's hard to know if it's withdrawal of Cymbalta or side effects of the new drug.

Hope that helps,


regards, Maureen.

[Jackie M.]

Thank you so much for the reply! I know titering to another med can work and one of the social workers where I work suggested Prozac and said she really liked the effects of this med. I am still waiting for one of the docs to show up as they had a meeting at the other site, yesterday. I feel kind of funny letting them in on my personal life. I just know this isn't going to be easy. I did take the full dose before I went to work yesterday and today. I get the brain shivers or zaps and know I can't be working with that going on or driving the car. It's too bad because I really liked the effects of Cymbalta, it's just that it doesn't seem to be as effective and the side effects are really worrisome to me. I know it's really tightened up my emotional responses, like when I feel sad and would normally cry, I can't. I don't think I've had a good cry in years. I don't even want to go into what it's done to my libido and so forth.

Jackie

[MaureenV]

Thank you so much for the reply! I know titering to another med can work and one of the social workers where I work suggested Prozac and said she really liked the effects of this med. I am still waiting for one of the docs to show up as they had a meeting at the other site, yesterday. I feel kind of funny letting them in on my personal life. I just know this isn't going to be easy. I did take the full dose before I went to work yesterday and today. I get the brain shivers or zaps and know I can't be working with that going on or driving the car. It's too bad because I really liked the effects of Cymbalta, it's just that it doesn't seem to be as effective and the side effects are really worrisome to me. I know it's really tightened up my emotional responses, like when I feel sad and would normally cry, I can't. I don't think I've had a good cry in years. I don't even want to go into what it's done to my libido and so forth.

Jackie

Let us know how you go.

regards, Maureen.

[nowhereman]

I have been taking Cymbalta for three and a half years as part of my drug therapy for bipolar depression. It was exactly a year ago today when I passed out on the sidewalk while walking my dog. I woke up 2 days later in a hospital having just come out of a coma caused by diabetes 2. I had no history of diabetes and the doctor thiought I had been a walking time bomb. The first adverse symptom I had affected my eyesight. I was able to get medical insurance through the city and its quality was comprehensive and very good. Due to my arrested eyesight, it took me until the end of October for my eyesight to get back to normal with a new eyeglass prescription. To this day, I have not found work and moved to another city and have to pay for my mesications out of pocket. Cymbalta is prohibitively expensive and I simply cannot afford it. Since January of 2010, I have reduced my daily dosage from 90 mg per day to 60 mg. To date, I have had no noticeable side effects or withdrawl. Next week, I plan on reducing my daily dose to 30 mg per day for 2 weeks and then the same dose every other day hoping to be off it all together in 6 weeks. My question is this: Has anybody on this forum weaned themselves effectively from Cymbalta in a similar manner?

manfromgotham

[UrbanFlowerpot]

Oh wow, Atonia, my heart goes out to you! Your story summarized so much of what I've been going through, but without the responsibility of a little one under my wing! Be strong - you'll get there. I say that for me, too.

So - I was approved for FREE CYMBALTA!!! Oh joyous day. Apparently they only require that you make less than 150K/year to qualify for their charity pill program. Of course I qualified. No offense up there, but your doctor wasn't being 'nice' to supply samples. That's how I've stayed an addict for so long, and could continue to indefinitely if I wanted to. Yikes.

It's been a few weeks. My drop from 60 to 30 was killer, as was the 30 to 15. I'm hovering there for the time being. I keep the strange looking foamlike pellets in a container and lick some into my mouth every night on schedule. Jun-kie!

I suffer from severe, chronic migraines on a regular basis anyway, but the withdrawal is making them even worse. I get hot flashes that last and last...deep chills. I'm a server at a restaurant/bar so I'm always running around and (sorry customers!!) dealing with people. The AC that I have to walk by in one section feels like millions of sharp knives slicing my skin when I walk by and leaves me frozen to the bone. I am so forgetful!! That's why I could relate to the story above. So lost. I can forget what's happening around me even as it's happening. I drop a lot (sorry cooks and bartenders!). Co-workers are being patient, but most of them think this is a sign that I should STAY on it My boyfriend seems impatient at times. He's so so sympathetic, but he sometimes gets annoyed and snaps, how long is this supposed to take?? I feel so badly. We're trying for a late summer marriage. I don't want to be a monster until then and beyond.

No brain shocks to speak of, but many of the other side effects.

Maureen, thanks for chiming in with your experience. I appreciate it.

How long is this supposed to take...
Really wish I'd Just Said No.

[MaureenV]

Oh wow, Atonia, my heart goes out to you! Your story summarized so much of what I've been going through, but without the responsibility of a little one under my wing! Be strong - you'll get there. I say that for me, too.

So - I was approved for FREE CYMBALTA!!! Oh joyous day. Apparently they only require that you make less than 150K/year to qualify for their charity pill program. Of course I qualified. No offense up there, but your doctor wasn't being 'nice' to supply samples. That's how I've stayed an addict for so long, and could continue to indefinitely if I wanted to. Yikes.

It's been a few weeks. My drop from 60 to 30 was killer, as was the 30 to 15. I'm hovering there for the time being. I keep the strange looking foamlike pellets in a container and lick some into my mouth every night on schedule. Jun-kie!

I suffer from severe, chronic migraines on a regular basis anyway, but the withdrawal is making them even worse. I get hot flashes that last and last...deep chills. I'm a server at a restaurant/bar so I'm always running around and (sorry customers!!) dealing with people. The AC that I have to walk by in one section feels like millions of sharp knives slicing my skin when I walk by and leaves me frozen to the bone. I am so forgetful!! That's why I could relate to the story above. So lost. I can forget what's happening around me even as it's happening. I drop a lot (sorry cooks and bartenders!). Co-workers are being patient, but most of them think this is a sign that I should STAY on it My boyfriend seems impatient at times. He's so so sympathetic, but he sometimes gets annoyed and snaps, how long is this supposed to take?? I feel so badly. We're trying for a late summer marriage. I don't want to be a monster until then and beyond.

No brain shocks to speak of, but many of the other side effects.

Maureen, thanks for chiming in with your experience. I appreciate it.

How long is this supposed to take...
Really wish I'd Just Said No.

Take care with the amount that you're taking. If it's not consistent, you could be adding time to the withdrawal period, as, if you're someone who's going to suffer, varying the dose on a daily basis just postpones the recovery.

There are 9 x beads for every mg of Cymbalta. I know it's a pain to count them, but it will give your body a much more consistent dose.

It's also important too, because many find that they can't drop the same mg each time: eg. they may be able to drop from 60 to 30, but then need to drop to 25 etc, then once they get to 10mg, drop 1mg at a time. Once you get down to the smaller doses it's more the percentage drop that seems to count for many.

Take care too, that if you're taking the beads without a capsule, it's important they don't get damaged on the way to your stomach, as they're slow release beads, and damage means the contents of that bead are released faster into your system.

At 15mg you could put half in each half of a 30mg capsule and stuff a bit of bread in each end.


regards, and keep in touch,

maureen.

[honeybear2212]

Hi this is my first time on having read all the boards and trying to pick one to get in on. I am a long time user about 6 years and was only on 30mgs for neuropathic abdominal pain. I have migraine headaches and have been on 3 anti-depressants at one time for years along with a daily regimine of meds to function. I gave up Seroquel XR last year (it took 8 months) on my own it was hard but I followed a website and I had bad withdrawal symptoms but nothing unexpected and they tapered off gradually and I got through it. So when I needed to get off the Cymbalta (my gyne said I needed to) I thought, it being in the same SSRI class, I had done this before it was going to be the same but I will do this with my neurologists' help this time. So I called her and 30mgs to Zero in 7days. It is day 30 and I have been through hell!! You name it nightmares and terrors in the beginning, sad painful dreams, crying and sobbing, anger and sometimes rage, shaking and nervousness, nausea, ringing in the ears, memory loss, hot flashes, joint pains, insomnia I think I'll stop there. I had only called my doctor for nausea med and to make an appointment to see her today. The visit today to see her was a disaster apparently even at my stage of the game she had no plan for symptom management so she declared me overly neurotic and has sent me to a psychiatrist for eval ( I guess you know why I did the other one on my own) well SHE'S FIRED!!! as Trump would say and I have no choice but to search for another neurologist. I guess I keep on my course until I get the call, I feel like I got a raw deal. It just goes to show you and let this also be a word of WARNING to anyone who thinks that they can just go into a doctor's office and be HONEST about how they are really feeling(physically). This has now back fired on me twice!! Don't ever!! You are asking to be labeled by them as mentally unstable. In my experience now the 1 doctor that I have come in contact with tried to absolve herself at my expense and lost her medical license. I hope that doesn't happen again.

As far as being on for a long time and getting off I wish there was another way. I've been off for a long time I can't imagine getting back on again and tapering off. I have some left. If Maureen is out there can you advise me at this stage of the game since I'm squarely in limbo. I really need some solid advise. Oh and what about the psychiatrist???

[MaureenV]

Hi this is my first time on having read all the boards and trying to pick one to get in on. I am a long time user about 6 years and was only on 30mgs for neuropathic abdominal pain. I have migraine headaches and have been on 3 anti-depressants at one time for years along with a daily regimine of meds to function. I gave up Seroquel XR last year (it took 8 months) on my own it was hard but I followed a website and I had bad withdrawal symptoms but nothing unexpected and they tapered off gradually and I got through it. So when I needed to get off the Cymbalta (my gyne said I needed to) I thought, it being in the same SSRI class, I had done this before it was going to be the same but I will do this with my neurologists' help this time. So I called her and 30mgs to Zero in 7days. It is day 30 and I have been through hell!! You name it nightmares and terrors in the beginning, sad painful dreams, crying and sobbing, anger and sometimes rage, shaking and nervousness, nausea, ringing in the ears, memory loss, hot flashes, joint pains, insomnia I think I'll stop there. I had only called my doctor for nausea med and to make an appointment to see her today. The visit today to see her was a disaster apparently even at my stage of the game she had no plan for symptom management so she declared me overly neurotic and has sent me to a psychiatrist for eval ( I guess you know why I did the other one on my own) well SHE'S FIRED!!! as Trump would say and I have no choice but to search for another neurologist. I guess I keep on my course until I get the call, I feel like I got a raw deal. It just goes to show you and let this also be a word of WARNING to anyone who thinks that they can just go into a doctor's office and be HONEST about how they are really feeling(physically). This has now back fired on me twice!! Don't ever!! You are asking to be labeled by them as mentally unstable. In my experience now the 1 doctor that I have come in contact with tried to absolve herself at my expense and lost her medical license. I hope that doesn't happen again.

As far as being on for a long time and getting off I wish there was another way. I've been off for a long time I can't imagine getting back on again and tapering off. I have some left. If Maureen is out there can you advise me at this stage of the game since I'm squarely in limbo. I really need some solid advise. Oh and what about the psychiatrist???

You poor soul; not only were you given incorrect information about how long it MIGHT take SOME people to wean off (Eli Lilly's fault, incidentally, not your doctor's), but your own correct evaluation was treated as though they were more symptoms of underlying problems.


I have along history of dealing with doctors, mostly good but a few disastrous, mostly NOT in the mental health field though, which we all know is much worse for that sort of thing.

The doctors who won't work WITH you are not worth staying with. As far as I'm concerned, we don't go to doctors to be told what to do, we go to doctors because they have superior knowledge and training regarding the human body, and with their HELP, WE decide what to do.

I was lucky, and have a GP who didn't doubt for one second that cymbalta withdrawal was causing the problems. I saw her regularly, as much for me to tell her what I was up to, rather than her tell me what to do next.

Interestingly, during the first horrible week of withdrawals, she went to a psychiatric conference (she's a normal family doctor type) and asked about my experience, only to be told there was no evidence for it!!!

Certainly most people who've been off for nearly a month would be over the worst of it, but that's by no means automatic. Some people can get off 120mg without too much difficulty, others suffer tremendously getting off 20mg.

You said you have 'some' Cymbalta left, but do be careful about re-introducing them - don't just suddenly take a 30mg in desperation one day. The thing is your brain has to slowly adjust back to its pre Cymbalta state. The withdrawal symptoms are a sign that your body's
doing that.

Depending on how many capsules you have left, my gut feeling is that if you have sufficient, taking 10mg is more than likely going to make you feel better, BUT you need to have sufficient left to be able to wean down slowly from there.

Many others have found Prozac really useful in helping with the withdrawal symptoms, so don't know if you can find a sympathetic doctor who'll give you a script for that. Prozac is then much easier to wean off; no one on this board who's tried it since I've been here has had a problem dropping it.


Other than that, family support, eat well, try to sleep etc. Some have found fish oil useful (made no difference to me); others have found Benadryl helpful for sleeping (I didn't try that). Have a look through the nutritional support section. I'm a great believer in the fact that if your body's missing something it's going to help taking supplements, but if it's not, you just end up with expensive wee. When you're under such severe physical and mental stress, though, I don't think it hurts to give your body every advantage. Stress makes almost every physical symptom worse.

Again, let us know how much Cymbalta you've got left. Just letting us know doesn't mean we're going to urge you to take it. A week out yes, a month out, perhaps not. None of us can say what's 'right' for you, but if we offer suggestions, you can perhaps pick and choose whichever suits you.

kind regards,
Maureen.

[honeybear2212]

You poor soul; not only were you given incorrect information about how long it MIGHT take SOME people to wean off (Eli Lilly's fault, incidentally, not your doctor's), but your own correct evaluation was treated as though they were more symptoms of underlying problems.


I have along history of dealing with doctors, mostly good but a few disastrous, mostly NOT in the mental health field though, which we all know is much worse for that sort of thing.

The doctors who won't work WITH you are not worth staying with. As far as I'm concerned, we don't go to doctors to be told what to do, we go to doctors because they have superior knowledge and training regarding the human body, and with their HELP, WE decide what to do.

I was lucky, and have a GP who didn't doubt for one second that cymbalta withdrawal was causing the problems. I saw her regularly, as much for me to tell her what I was up to, rather than her tell me what to do next.

Interestingly, during the first horrible week of withdrawals, she went to a psychiatric conference (she's a normal family doctor type) and asked about my experience, only to be told there was no evidence for it!!!

Certainly most people who've been off for nearly a month would be over the worst of it, but that's by no means automatic. Some people can get off 120mg without too much difficulty, others suffer tremendously getting off 20mg.

You said you have 'some' Cymbalta left, but do be careful about re-introducing them - don't just suddenly take a 30mg in desperation one day. The thing is your brain has to slowly adjust back to its pre Cymbalta state. The withdrawal symptoms are a sign that your body's
doing that.

Depending on how many capsules you have left, my gut feeling is that if you have sufficient, taking 10mg is more than likely going to make you feel better, BUT you need to have sufficient left to be able to wean down slowly from there.

Many others have found Prozac really useful in helping with the withdrawal symptoms, so don't know if you can find a sympathetic doctor who'll give you a script for that. Prozac is then much easier to wean off; no one on this board who's tried it since I've been here has had a problem dropping it.


Other than that, family support, eat well, try to sleep etc. Some have found fish oil useful (made no difference to me); others have found Benadryl helpful for sleeping (I didn't try that). Have a look through the nutritional support section. I'm a great believer in the fact that if your body's missing something it's going to help taking supplements, but if it's not, you just end up with expensive wee. When you're under such severe physical and mental stress, though, I don't think it hurts to give your body every advantage. Stress makes almost every physical symptom worse.

Again, let us know how much Cymbalta you've got left. Just letting us know doesn't mean we're going to urge you to take it. A week out yes, a month out, perhaps not. None of us can say what's 'right' for you, but if we offer suggestions, you can perhaps pick and choose whichever suits you.

kind regards,
Maureen.

[honeybear2212]

Maureen

Thank you!! I feel so validated finally!! I'm glad you were able to find a GP that was able to support you I have worked around doctors in my professional career for over 20 years and unfortunately don't have the luxery of their advice anymore. My gynecologist is my closest to help and she is bang on as far as monitoring my condition right now because she is dealing with another issue and my health right now is of primary concern to her and she's been great. I will be touching base with her on the 1st for an update for the new med she has put me on so she'll get the lowdown on how the withdrawal is going. She even suggested that the crying spells I was having early might be related t the Cymbalta and not the med we were working with maybe I should have told her more about how I was feeling so she could have definately put a finger on it. Oh well. I am not sure about getting back on and weaning off. I have been taking the benadryl round the clock for about 5 days and I've noticed that the shakiness/nervousness in my stomach is better slowly everyday. I am noticing my sleeping patterns are returning to normal I'm going to bed at 2:00am vs 5-6:00am like I used to and sleeping better and resting. However, the ringing in my ears, joint aches and appetite problems and others fluctuate like a pendulum day to day with the mood swings. I will stay the course for a few more days I have a few more tests scheduled for Tuesday I need to get out of the way and once they are completed all the medical stuff will be done and I can figure out my next move. I am monitoring the 30 to zero thread on the boards and I think I will post there unless you think we should post here for a bit. Let me know. Thank you again!!!

[MaureenV]

Maureen

Thank you!! I feel so validated finally!! I'm glad you were able to find a GP that was able to support you I have worked around doctors in my professional career for over 20 years and unfortunately don't have the luxery of their advice anymore. My gynecologist is my closest to help and she is bang on as far as monitoring my condition right now because she is dealing with another issue and my health right now is of primary concern to her and she's been great. I will be touching base with her on the 1st for an update for the new med she has put me on so she'll get the lowdown on how the withdrawal is going. She even suggested that the crying spells I was having early might be related t the Cymbalta and not the med we were working with maybe I should have told her more about how I was feeling so she could have definately put a finger on it. Oh well. I am not sure about getting back on and weaning off. I have been taking the benadryl round the clock for about 5 days and I've noticed that the shakiness/nervousness in my stomach is better slowly everyday. I am noticing my sleeping patterns are returning to normal I'm going to bed at 2:00am vs 5-6:00am like I used to and sleeping better and resting. However, the ringing in my ears, joint aches and appetite problems and others fluctuate like a pendulum day to day with the mood swings. I will stay the course for a few more days I have a few more tests scheduled for Tuesday I need to get out of the way and once they are completed all the medical stuff will be done and I can figure out my next move. I am monitoring the 30 to zero thread on the boards and I think I will post there unless you think we should post here for a bit. Let me know. Thank you again!!!

Happy to help, honeybear. If it hadn't been for people who'd been through withdrawal and made it out the other end still being on this site when I was withdrawing my experience would definitely have been worse.

I agree, it does sound like it's too late to re-introduce the drug to your system, especially as there are other drugs involved, and at this stage there may be greater problems with re-introduction side effects, or interactions with other drugs.

The tinnitus (ear ringing) is damned annoying. I get that anyway, and it was made MUCH worse by Cymbalta withdrawal. The thing with tinnitus is that it's a lot worse if you 'listen' to it, which I know sounds crazy, but you can either do that, or let it drive you crazy. If it's really annoying when you're trying to sleep, I've read suggestions such as putting a radio on static, down low, enough to counter it, though.

Glad to hear your gyno has an open mind. She might be your best bet if you wanted to consider the Prozac option. If you do a search on this site you should find some info on that.

I tend to not take too much paracetamol (or stronger), but during withdrawal I had so many aches and pains that on top of the emotional stuff, I just took the line of least resistance and took it on a semi-regular basis. I also took Mersyndol frequently at night time (I seem to be very sensitive to the relaxant in it) and even though it's got codeine in it, my GP was more than happy for me to use whatever I found helpful.

To be honest, I don't even know which thread you ARE on. This site is like a rabbit warren, and I just go to 'new content' each time I log in. If you don't get any responses to a post within a day or so, just repost it by 'quoting' it and asking for opinions, and I, or another of the regulars will see it eventually.

kind regards,

Maureen.

[honeybear2212]

Maureen, I know it's been awhile it's day 52 and I actually went through some good period of days and thought I had made a huge stride about a week ago and then it hit me again at the end of last week like someone shot me between the eyes, the anger came back, the crying, the ringing in the ears, nausea, everything like I was starting over again what happened. I am assuming I just hit a good patch and that this is the way it's going to be and I should expect this for a long time. Tell me how long have you been off of Cymbalta and were these roller coaster episodes common. I really am hoping that I'm one day going to look back at all of this and going to remember this as a bad dream. Thanks Maureen you are really helping a lot of folks out here! P.S. There is comfort in your animal buddies I don't know what I would do without my pug she doesn't leave my side but I worry about her constantly that something will take her away from me and then I start to cry boy this sucks there I go again......

[MaureenV]

Maureen, I know it's been awhile it's day 52 and I actually went through some good period of days and thought I had made a huge stride about a week ago and then it hit me again at the end of last week like someone shot me between the eyes, the anger came back, the crying, the ringing in the ears, nausea, everything like I was starting over again what happened. I am assuming I just hit a good patch and that this is the way it's going to be and I should expect this for a long time. Tell me how long have you been off of Cymbalta and were these roller coaster episodes common. I really am hoping that I'm one day going to look back at all of this and going to remember this as a bad dream. Thanks Maureen you are really helping a lot of folks out here! P.S. There is comfort in your animal buddies I don't know what I would do without my pug she doesn't leave my side but I worry about her constantly that something will take her away from me and then I start to cry boy this sucks there I go again......

On this site we generally only see relapses from people who've done it the hard way. I didn't have any problems, but I also did a very slow wean: spent 10 weeks going from 20mg to zero.

I have seen one person post on here who weaned and had a relapse. Unfortunately all we've got are anecdotal examples, because the drug companies won't fund tests. It MAY be that more people stop cold turkey and that's why more people who've gone cold turkey APPEAR to have relapses.

There's still the prozac option, though, if it's too difficult for you.


regards, Maureen.

[honeybear2212]

On this site we generally only see relapses from people who've done it the hard way. I didn't have any problems, but I also did a very slow wean: spent 10 weeks going from 20mg to zero.

I have seen one person post on here who weaned and had a relapse. Unfortunately all we've got are anecdotal examples, because the drug companies won't fund tests. It MAY be that more people stop cold turkey and that's why more people who've gone cold turkey APPEAR to have relapses.

There's still the prozac option, though, if it's too difficult for you.


regards, Maureen.

[honeybear2212]

Thanks I can't believe I didn't look at your profile after all his time, you live in Melbourne. David and I lived in Cronulla 2 years ago. He was working on the Blue Water project (water treatment plant for Sidney) being built in Kurnell. I miss it every day especially when I am sent these fantastic airfares to Sidney. We are still hoping to retire there. Liz

[Jennifer Scared]

I'm a wreck. I've done some reading through the boards, but haven't seen any long, long term users of the drug (or didn't notice any). Does that seem to make a difference when coming off of it? I was on 60 mg for about six years. I dropped to 30 for a week or two, was reassured by my doctor that we'd find a charitable program to get me back on it...but I'm kinda freaked that they've had me on it for so long. Thoughts/suggestions/encouragement?

How has this taken a toll on your partners? I feel like I'm being so wretched to my boyfriend, and while he's trying to understand, he can't reeeally understand. I seem crazy. Weeping and getting migraines every day so far...and I'm only a couple days in

[Jennifer Scared]

Well I wish I was over this and should tell you. I've been on it for about 3 yrs and coming off. I would have probably been on it for life since I was taking it for back pain. I don't know how I feel about it right know. If you read my post you'll know that I want to come off to take Chantax to quit smoking. My plan was to go back on the Cymbalta after I quit or live with chronic back pain. But I do not want to go through this ever again and don't know what I am in for. Good luck!

[mojo]

Well I wish I was over this and should tell you. I've been on it for about 3 yrs and coming off. I would have probably been on it for life since I was taking it for back pain. I don't know how I feel about it right know. If you read my post you'll know that I want to come off to take Chantax to quit smoking. My plan was to go back on the Cymbalta after I quit or live with chronic back pain. But I do not want to go through this ever again and don't know what I am in for. Good luck!

[mojo]

Hi, I just signed up yesterday. You can read my story in this section called I almost died from Cymbalta. I too have been taking this drug for about six years, and I was taking other anti-depressants off and on before that. I do think it may make it harder to come off because your brain has become so accustomed to this drug. I so relate to the posts about doctors and how they don't provide any support and just act like you are crazy when you go to them for help. When I ended up in the hospital I told them I was trying to withdraw from this drug all they did was to put me right back on it plus three or four other drugs at the same time. There was this one poor woman in there who was taking six different anti-depressants at the same time. My doctors in there diagnosed me with three or four different mental disorders, but never believed that withdrawing from a drug could do that to someone. It's been two years and it still makes me angry to think about it. Right now I am dropping from 60 mg. and yesterday I took 40 mgs. I am having exploratory surgery in two weeks for some major stomach issues, but then I worry that maybe this drug has been causing or contributing to it. I just wonder what the long term effects of this drug are. I feel like we are all guinea pigs, since this drug has never been studied long term. Good luck, and you are not alone in being a long term user of Cymbalta,
Maureen

[kathyl]

I'm a wreck. I've done some reading through the boards, but haven't seen any long, long term users of the drug (or didn't notice any). Does that seem to make a difference when coming off of it? I was on 60 mg for about six years. I dropped to 30 for a week or two, was reassured by my doctor that we'd find a charitable program to get me back on it...but I'm kinda freaked that they've had me on it for so long. Thoughts/suggestions/encouragement?

How has this taken a toll on your partners? I feel like I'm being so wretched to my boyfriend, and while he's trying to understand, he can't reeeally understand. I seem crazy. Weeping and getting migraines every day so far...and I'm only a couple days in

I have a 21 day headache and nothing is helping. And the back of my neck is so sore. I keep apologizing to my husband for my temper (which I don't have in my real life). Bob has my back every second of every day through all of this horrible mess. No matter what! I am sooooo blessed. Wait, I am having a hot flash........ I hate those. Anyway, if I didn't have Bob, It would iffy that I would survive.

Keep going. I believe we will all be healthy again. Kathy