14 replies to this topic

[cookie]

Dear Friends:

I have been taking Cymbalta 60mg for 5 years for severe depression. Two weeks ago reduced to 52mg for one week, and then 45mg the next week.

These have been my symptoms. Some of them have shown just once, others have been frequent.
-Headaches
-Flu like symptoms
-Redness on face
-Excessive sweating, feeling too hot.
-Vivid dreams
-Extreme sleepiness
-Hypocondria
-Changes in appetite (from nausea, then extreme appetite at night)
-Extreme mood swings (from severe lows to highs) The lows are longer, the highs lasts minutes. Sometimes I feel in between or “normal”.
-My mind becomes blank, sometimes I cannot find words to talk/ I forget what I was doing.
-Eyes become blurr
-Dizziness
-Sudden rage, zero patience for others.
-Heard a noise (door slaming many times, bell ringing) while I was half asleep-half awake. There was no such door or bell in reality
-Thought of harming others


Please, I would like to hear any comments on my symptoms and would like you to write a list of your withdrawal symptoms. It will help me know what to expect in this weaning process.

Thank you so much
Cookie

[MaureenV]

Funny what you say about hearing things when half asleep/awake.

It's not something I ever had on either Lexapro or Cymbalta, or during Cymbalta withdrawal, but I'm now on a tiny dose of Prozac (5mg) and am getting something similar, which happens as I'm falling asleep (and it's stronger when I've been on 10mg). It's like I'm starting to dream before I've actually fallen asleep, and I don't mean that moment you sometimes reach when everything starts 'swirling' in your brain then you jerk awake again. This is definitely before the 'sleep' part, but is during the 'falling asleep'. Really weird, but not unpleasant or anxiety inducing in any way. Just weird.

Recognize most of the other symptoms from withdrawal. No pain?


regards, Maureen.

[Ms_M]

I have had the noise thing, too. I woke up my sweetie to tell him HIS cell phone was ringing. The funny thing - in my head the ring tone was the song I have for him, not the other way around. Weird.

[Missy Eves]

I'm new to this site...so glad I found it! I've been completely off Cymbalta for about 5 days now, before that I was slowly weaning myself off over a months and a half by emptying out the beads week by week.I didn't start experiencing many symptoms until I went totally off. I have experienced:

-Brain shivers
-Nausea
-headaches- migraine like
-crying
-tiredness
-no appetite


The symptoms that concern me the most are that I feel very anxious, I cry a lot, feel angry, everything overwhelms me, feel hopeless at times, and agitated at every little thing. Has anyone else had these symptoms? Are these because the lack of Cymbalta? I can handle the physical symptoms, but the emotional, mental ones scare me. I sometimes think I want to take the cymbalta again so I don't feel like this anymore, but I really don't want to get back on that again. What should I do? Is in normal to feel these things while my body is adjusting? Thanks for listening!

[cookie]

Thank you all for your quick responses!!!!!!!!
Here are my answers to each of you:

MAUREEN:
Weird, I never had this noises when I was on Prozac. Your description is exactly what happens to me. I am half asleep-half awake.
The first when I decrease from 60mg to 52mg I was fine. The second week when I reduced to 45mg, has been harder. The symptoms that bother me most are the mood swings and extreme sleepiness. Today, (day 6 of 45mg) I feel terrible. New symptoms appeared. I feel like crying, very antisocial and depressed. The worst thing is that I have a visit from my friend whom I haven´t seen in years. And I would like to feel well to enjoy her. I was tempted not to decrease this week, so I would feel well to see her. But there is always and event or excuse not to decrease. And I did want to stick to my plan.

DEAR MS_S
Yeah! I also heard a cell ringing tone last night! I feel better to know that it´s a common symptom and it is not just me.

DEAR MISSY EVES:
I also have the symptoms that you mention except the brain shivers. I am glad, that you are medicine free. Imagine I am on 45mg –still a high dosage- and experiencing the symptoms that you are. I agree, I rather have the physicall symptoms than the psychological ones: (crying, getting angry, feeling hopeless and overwhelmed).
You have to analyze which symptoms you had before taking cymbalta on the first place. If you had them at that time it means that it is not cymbalta but the illness coming back. If they are new I think it is withdrawal. It is curious, that we are having common symptoms as we reduce and stop cymbalta, those symptoms should be withdrawals and they should go away. If you can, don´t go back to cymbalta. And if it is unbearable just go into very low dosage example 2mg or 5mg.

[Ms_M]

I have a question about symptoms for the ladies or men who have lived with ladies on w/d... How was PMS?

[cookie]

Dear Ms:
What happens to me is that I feel bad for a week, more depressed and weak. Do not understand why? and then I check dates and realize it is PMS.

[cookie]

To update you about another symptom that I had. I woke up and started laughing uncontrollably. It was not fun for me. I felt out of control and became really scared and dissapointed. I had never read anyone on this site having this symptom. Have you had this symptom???

[MaureenV]

To update you about another symptom that I had. I woke up and started laughing uncontrollably. It was not fun for me. I felt out of control and became really scared and dissapointed. I had never read anyone on this site having this symptom. Have you had this symptom???

I didn't have it, but I've read about it on here regularly.


regards, Maureen.

[cookie]

Thank you maureen, at least I know this uncontrolably laughter is a w/d symptom
Hugs
Cookie

[Ms_M]

So, PMS is not worse for anyone? I thought the w/d felt like PMS times 10. Now that I'm really having PMS - oy!

Here's another weird thing I've noticed - I feel like the Princess and the Pea when I go to bed. I can feel every lump and bump on the bed and my pillows. I spend almost 10 minutes getting everything just right. This morning when I went to bed (after midnight), I couldn't get comfortable and woke up with my neck being stiff.

[cookie]

Here are my answers to each of you:

OoPS:
Definitely itching is a withdrawal effect. I took 60mg for 5 years, but took 90mg for a period. When I decreased from 90mg to 60mg I had severe itching and my veins were swollen.

MS:
PMS is a little worse. But not 10 times!
My neck is also stiff.

Cookie

[tracylea60]

i was on 60mg of cymbalta for almost 7 years. although it is true that my anxiety,depression and pain were at a minimal, my life felt empty. i just went through the motions and truthfully didn't care one way or the other. I spent 4 months weaning down by emptying the capsules and counting. 

My list is( in no particular order)

body tingling

weakness

tinnitus 

nausea

muscle cramping

hypocondria

 

I think the ones that bother me the most and set off the hypocondra are the face and tongue buzzing and the ear ringing. I"m only off now for about 8 weeks but there are days when i just want to crawl in a hole and disappear. self talk helps some, but there has got to be more i can do without taking more drugs.

[brzghoff]

hi Traceylea,

 

the symptoms are rough and at 8 weeks, not unusual. many of us share the same ones or at least some. i really didn't wean much at all. in the space of month and a half or so i went from 30 to 15 to nothing. no bead counting at all.however, the previous two years i had dropped from 90 to 60 to 30, each step all at once with no problem, just the final that nailed me. it was pretty much cold turkey. i can attest to having suffered all of what you are experiencing. except the hypochondria. i know that the symptoms are either due to withdrawal, or something else of which i am already aware. i already had tinnitus and leg cramps before anti-d's. anxiety has been a biggie for me since quitting. i really didn't suffer from it, only depression, before getting on anti-depressants, but in my case i think the thought patterns that lead to anxiety now, were in place while on C, it just masked my ability to develop anxiety - given the emotional flatness. once off the meds… boom!

 

the face and tongue buzzing - is that brain zaps or a tingling neuropathic feeling? i never had zaps, but tingling and numbness, big time. it should go away in time per others on the site. i just have to grin and bear it - for me it is in the arms and hands. i am 5 1/2 months off and still get it. maybe there is some treatment but i don't know what that would be. i also take ibuprofen for arthritis - maybe its helping me and i don't know - but it is bearable. always worse in the morning

 

nausea, that was big - even bigger was having the runs. i lost 20 pounds in two months. time was my cure. maybe 12 weeks. 

 

i do recommend activity and exercise. whatever you are capable of. a regular routine of activity is important. my husband and i take walks, about 2 miles. we aim for everyday, but usually only make it 4 days a week because of interruptions in our schedules. theres always something isn't there? personally, i am pretty active anyway, whether its yard work, hiking or bicycling. when i get up in the morning my muscles groan and i think "how am i gonna possibly go on a walk or a ride?" but once i am up and start moving around, flexing my hands and go for it, i get a pay off and find i can do more than i thought and by the end of my walk or ride i don't feel the pain and numbness near so much. another thing that drives me crazy is a trigger finger in my left pinky. i think its due to arthritis, not c withdrawal, its inflammation. however it started when i as about 1 week off. drives me totally NUTS! its in the hand thats the the worst prob with the tingling/numbness. just find an activity you can do and start slow! every little bit helps and just try and increasee a tiny each day bit if thats all you can do

 

working on your self talk is great. actually it is the absolute best thing. what you tell yourself is your way out on the road to recovery. on your own it can be a little hard but not impossible. do you have a therapist, or can you start going to therapy? its been a life saver for me and i recommend it for everyone in withdrawal. you don't necessarily have to go on a regular basis, but getting a good foundation of skills that teach you to challenge your thinking are key. its up to us to do the work, but a good therapist can point the way.

 

all the best

[gail]

Tracylea, wellcome to the forum,

Let time pass is what you can do. 12 weeks is usually when you start to feel better.

You bead counted, that was a smart thing to do. Hypochondria, normal with all the symptoms that show up.

And most of them relent only to find a new one coming up.

Any benzos around to lessen the anxiety when weird symptoms show up?

The only things that have helped me through this, are benzos, this forum where members reassured me that I was not going crazy, and time.

To know that what you are going through is normal, that most of us have been there, or are still there, is reassuring. Reading posts from the archives is also reassuring.

But, time and patience is the essence, you cannot escape from the withdrawal. And again, I suggest a benzo, which you will taper off later on when the time is right.

Keep posting, read past posts, and know that what you are experiencing is normal, scary, I know! But Tracylea, you will get through this ordeal. And later on, you will be one of the members to help others, and meanwhile, we are here for you!