2 replies to this topic

[a-new-day]

First - I am so very happy to have found this site! I remember 8 years ago when I was trying to wean myself off of other anti-depressant medication and when I told the doctors it felt like I was getting brain zaps they looked at me like I should increase my medication :-)

Today is day 3 for me of being Cymbalta free. Wow - I had to come searching for others that may be doing the same thing to see if any other ideas were out there to help. A little bit of background. For about 10 years I have been on several different medications. About 3 years ago I started Cymbalta and it seemed to be the wonder drug I was looking for, I was smiling more, feeling better about life in general and feeling like a human being instead of a miserable excuse for a life just seeming to breath air. Yeah I have some serious self-esteem issues :-)

About a year into it the 60 mg seemed to be doing nothing and the depression hit again. The doctors then increased me to 90mg per day. I stayed on that up until January of this year. When changing insurance companies specifically find out what they allow and don't. All of a sudden my new insurance company would not allow the 90mg rather they allowed 60mg. I went on a search, knowing what I had dealt with before I looked for anything over the counter that might be able to help with my withdrawl symptoms. I did, St. John's Wort. I was willing to try anything.

Since January I have gradually but quickly reduced from 90mg per day to none. With each increment that I went down I took two or three St. Johns Wort and it was great, no brain zaps and I have found my mood to be better than I have felt in too long to remember the last time. I have called this my demon. This is a demon that I have wanted to overcome for a long time and it is finally happening! Here is what brought me to this site.

Day one of no Cymbalta and just the St. Johns Wort was probably better than nothing at all. HOWEVER, It has been one of the most uncomfortable withdrawls with those annoying brain zaps that seem to shoot throughout the body! How long can this last? I saw another post on here from a lady that was on day 25 of withdrawl and she was still getting them.

I know I am writing a lot but there is one more thing I would really like to say. I am so amazingly proud of anyone that has had hard times in their life, became dependent on a medication to just help them get out of bed in the morning and have now come togther here talking about getting off the medication. One of my biggest fears has been facing life on life terms and allowing myself to be who I was intended to be and not be afraid anymore. I want to do all that I can to tell you in these words how hard I know this is but taking those steps is an empowerment and victory unlike anything!

I want to thank you for this site and I hope that there is someone out there that has completed withdrawled and can hopefully provide some kind of timeline when these things will begin to disappear.

Thank you to all those who read and / or post back :-)
Carol

[MaureenV]

First - I am so very happy to have found this site! I remember 8 years ago when I was trying to wean myself off of other anti-depressant medication and when I told the doctors it felt like I was getting brain zaps they looked at me like I should increase my medication :-)

Today is day 3 for me of being Cymbalta free. Wow - I had to come searching for others that may be doing the same thing to see if any other ideas were out there to help. A little bit of background. For about 10 years I have been on several different medications. About 3 years ago I started Cymbalta and it seemed to be the wonder drug I was looking for, I was smiling more, feeling better about life in general and feeling like a human being instead of a miserable excuse for a life just seeming to breath air. Yeah I have some serious self-esteem issues :-)

About a year into it the 60 mg seemed to be doing nothing and the depression hit again. The doctors then increased me to 90mg per day. I stayed on that up until January of this year. When changing insurance companies specifically find out what they allow and don't. All of a sudden my new insurance company would not allow the 90mg rather they allowed 60mg. I went on a search, knowing what I had dealt with before I looked for anything over the counter that might be able to help with my withdrawl symptoms. I did, St. John's Wort. I was willing to try anything.

Since January I have gradually but quickly reduced from 90mg per day to none. With each increment that I went down I took two or three St. Johns Wort and it was great, no brain zaps and I have found my mood to be better than I have felt in too long to remember the last time. I have called this my demon. This is a demon that I have wanted to overcome for a long time and it is finally happening! Here is what brought me to this site.

Day one of no Cymbalta and just the St. Johns Wort was probably better than nothing at all. HOWEVER, It has been one of the most uncomfortable withdrawls with those annoying brain zaps that seem to shoot throughout the body! How long can this last? I saw another post on here from a lady that was on day 25 of withdrawl and she was still getting them.

I know I am writing a lot but there is one more thing I would really like to say. I am so amazingly proud of anyone that has had hard times in their life, became dependent on a medication to just help them get out of bed in the morning and have now come togther here talking about getting off the medication. One of my biggest fears has been facing life on life terms and allowing myself to be who I was intended to be and not be afraid anymore. I want to do all that I can to tell you in these words how hard I know this is but taking those steps is an empowerment and victory unlike anything!

I want to thank you for this site and I hope that there is someone out there that has completed withdrawled and can hopefully provide some kind of timeline when these things will begin to disappear.

Thank you to all those who read and / or post back :-)
Carol

Hi Carol,

everyone is different, unfortunately. I know what you mean about the zaps being annoying. It made me want to remove my brain.

I can only say that for me, doing an extremely slow wean once I was down to 20mg (taking 10 weeks to go from 20mg to zero), the brain zaps disappeared three weeks after the last dose, which was only 1mg.


regards, Maureen.

[QueenTimely]

Hi - I'm with Maureen. If it's really bad, I vote to go back onto 5 mg or something and head down again. For what it's worth.

Having said that, I'm not off yet. I'm down to 10mg for the last two days and doing fine, save some butterflies in my stomach. But they've more or less taken up residence there anyway.

I am so ready to start feeling myself again, and am doing what I can to achieve it. I know I need to be exercising, and that's really the element that's missing for me.

First - I am so very happy to have found this site! I remember 8 years ago when I was trying to wean myself off of other anti-depressant medication and when I told the doctors it felt like I was getting brain zaps they looked at me like I should increase my medication :-)

Today is day 3 for me of being Cymbalta free. Wow - I had to come searching for others that may be doing the same thing to see if any other ideas were out there to help. A little bit of background. For about 10 years I have been on several different medications. About 3 years ago I started Cymbalta and it seemed to be the wonder drug I was looking for, I was smiling more, feeling better about life in general and feeling like a human being instead of a miserable excuse for a life just seeming to breath air. Yeah I have some serious self-esteem issues :-)

About a year into it the 60 mg seemed to be doing nothing and the depression hit again. The doctors then increased me to 90mg per day. I stayed on that up until January of this year. When changing insurance companies specifically find out what they allow and don't. All of a sudden my new insurance company would not allow the 90mg rather they allowed 60mg. I went on a search, knowing what I had dealt with before I looked for anything over the counter that might be able to help with my withdrawl symptoms. I did, St. John's Wort. I was willing to try anything.

Since January I have gradually but quickly reduced from 90mg per day to none. With each increment that I went down I took two or three St. Johns Wort and it was great, no brain zaps and I have found my mood to be better than I have felt in too long to remember the last time. I have called this my demon. This is a demon that I have wanted to overcome for a long time and it is finally happening! Here is what brought me to this site.

Day one of no Cymbalta and just the St. Johns Wort was probably better than nothing at all. HOWEVER, It has been one of the most uncomfortable withdrawls with those annoying brain zaps that seem to shoot throughout the body! How long can this last? I saw another post on here from a lady that was on day 25 of withdrawl and she was still getting them.

I know I am writing a lot but there is one more thing I would really like to say. I am so amazingly proud of anyone that has had hard times in their life, became dependent on a medication to just help them get out of bed in the morning and have now come togther here talking about getting off the medication. One of my biggest fears has been facing life on life terms and allowing myself to be who I was intended to be and not be afraid anymore. I want to do all that I can to tell you in these words how hard I know this is but taking those steps is an empowerment and victory unlike anything!

I want to thank you for this site and I hope that there is someone out there that has completed withdrawled and can hopefully provide some kind of timeline when these things will begin to disappear.

Thank you to all those who read and / or post back :-)
Carol