3 replies to this topic

[cymbalta sux 2010]

Hi I am new here and never planed to join but was reading a few posts and saw things were actually recent and not several yers old. I am sure everyone has heard it all before but when you are going through withdralws you feel like (1) you are alone and (2) you are going crazy ..at least I do. I have been on anti depressants for aprox. 10 years. I have been on Cymbalta 60 mg. for over a year I can't tell you exaclty when? When I had meds not wroking the Dr. would increase or change them and I so regret ever going on this one but had no idea how hard it was going to be going off it. I started seeing a Dr. of Naturopathy a month ago and got off meds I didn't need and got on supplements I did need and a nutitional diet I also needed.
I called my p.dos office told the receptionist I wanted to go off teh Cymbalta and asked her to ask him how to go about it, he said to take one 60mg capsule every other day for a week, I did this and about lost my mind. I also take Topamax 100mg and did that every other day as well. (on my own, bad call!) Prior to this I reduced my
.05 Xanxa in half to the lowest doseage as well.
I called the p.doc after a week asked if he could reduce it slower so I could at least have 30mg. every day and he would do no more over the phone. I saw him the next week and I took the paper in for withdralws and how I wanted to reduce it 10 mg a week & it would be easy to do. He said no a week wasnt enough on each to take 30 mg. a day for a month- then 20 mg. a day for a month and come back to see him. Also to stay on the Topamax & we would reduce that so I can go off it later and to keep taking the Xanax. & That the first 7-10 days would be hard but to just deal with it.
This is my 4th day I have had insomnia for about 4 months when the Cymbalta stopped working for me but can not sleep more than 3 hours stragiht at all now. I awake with my heart pounding every time I wake which can be hourly and I lay there for 2 hours. I need sleep more than ever now and I can't get it. I have Ambien CR but do Not want to get hooked on that! I do take Melatonin or may not sleep at all. My mind races in circles, like a hamster on a wheel and I can not shut it off! I have mood swings , short fused, crying, tired,high stung, nervous and anxiety that my Xanax laughs at! I read some people go through withdralws for 3 weeks and to think I have to reduce again after a month scares me I will have to go through all this again once it gets better.
My loving son and husband are understanding but it is so unfair to them. My husband has serious health issues and works full time, my son has autisim ( AS) and adhd and I have always been the strong one now I feel like the weakinst link. I am trying but sometimes I want to just give up and go back to the drugs and take the easy way. This is Rx stuff not street drugs I did nothing wrong to endure this hell. I pray a lot and deep breathe and drink a lot of water and walk when I can get myself to go outside, today I couldnt. This is Not me! Someone who has been through this, tell me I will be better & me again..please.
(PS) This is a re-post as I realized I posted at the wrong place sorry everyone still learning.

[Ms_M]

Never a wrong place to post! They all get looked at eventually - just some faster than others! I have regretted getting on it, too. Although at the time I started it was exactly what I needed and helped for about a year and a half. The plan had been for me to be on it temporarily. If had known then what I know now, I would've asked for anything else.

I know what you mean about the family situation. It is just me and my sweetie, and he has been an angel. I feel bad that he is having to deal with this. He knows that it's the med and not me. I just thank God he's as good as he is.

Stay strong!

[MaureenV]

Hi I am new here and never planed to join but was reading a few posts and saw things were actually recent and not several yers old. I am sure everyone has heard it all before but when you are going through withdralws you feel like (1) you are alone and (2) you are going crazy ..at least I do. I have been on anti depressants for aprox. 10 years. I have been on Cymbalta 60 mg. for over a year I can't tell you exaclty when? When I had meds not wroking the Dr. would increase or change them and I so regret ever going on this one but had no idea how hard it was going to be going off it. I started seeing a Dr. of Naturopathy a month ago and got off meds I didn't need and got on supplements I did need and a nutitional diet I also needed.
I called my p.dos office told the receptionist I wanted to go off teh Cymbalta and asked her to ask him how to go about it, he said to take one 60mg capsule every other day for a week, I did this and about lost my mind. I also take Topamax 100mg and did that every other day as well. (on my own, bad call!) Prior to this I reduced my
.05 Xanxa in half to the lowest doseage as well.
I called the p.doc after a week asked if he could reduce it slower so I could at least have 30mg. every day and he would do no more over the phone. I saw him the next week and I took the paper in for withdralws and how I wanted to reduce it 10 mg a week & it would be easy to do. He said no a week wasnt enough on each to take 30 mg. a day for a month- then 20 mg. a day for a month and come back to see him. Also to stay on the Topamax & we would reduce that so I can go off it later and to keep taking the Xanax. & That the first 7-10 days would be hard but to just deal with it.
This is my 4th day I have had insomnia for about 4 months when the Cymbalta stopped working for me but can not sleep more than 3 hours stragiht at all now. I awake with my heart pounding every time I wake which can be hourly and I lay there for 2 hours. I need sleep more than ever now and I can't get it. I have Ambien CR but do Not want to get hooked on that! I do take Melatonin or may not sleep at all. My mind races in circles, like a hamster on a wheel and I can not shut it off! I have mood swings , short fused, crying, tired,high stung, nervous and anxiety that my Xanax laughs at! I read some people go through withdralws for 3 weeks and to think I have to reduce again after a month scares me I will have to go through all this again once it gets better.
My loving son and husband are understanding but it is so unfair to them. My husband has serious health issues and works full time, my son has autisim ( AS) and adhd and I have always been the strong one now I feel like the weakinst link. I am trying but sometimes I want to just give up and go back to the drugs and take the easy way. This is Rx stuff not street drugs I did nothing wrong to endure this hell. I pray a lot and deep breathe and drink a lot of water and walk when I can get myself to go outside, today I couldnt. This is Not me! Someone who has been through this, tell me I will be better & me again..please.
(PS) This is a re-post as I realized I posted at the wrong place sorry everyone still learning.

To be honest, I wouldn't even know WHERE you posted, I just go to 'new comments' a few times a day.

There's no need to suffer extreme withdrawal - you can go a slowly as you want to, so that even if there are some withdrawals with each drop, they're much less than those who've gone cold turkey.

You'll find the occasional poster here saying 'get it over with in three weeks' but perhaps their withdrawal symptoms weren't as bad as for some others. Everybody's personal circumstances are different too. Some have support around them, others are the main support for those around them, and can't afford to be out of action for a few weeks.

The main thing with Cymbalta, which your doctor now apparently accept (for you) is that you need to be taking a dose every day. It has a short half life. Taking 60m every second day IS NOT the same as taking 30mg every day. In fact taking 60mg every day doesn't give your body the chance to adjust to a lower dose, just leaves you being dosed one day, withdrawing the next - a vicious cycle.

For those who have severe symptoms, dropping about 10% at a time is the best way. Many can get down to 30mg easy enough then have to go more slowly. Others have to move slowly from 60mg. You're an individual - don't go by what anybody else here has done as being the rule for you. I went one way (tapering very slowly from 20mg - dropped every four days for 10 weeks). For others that method doesn't work because they don't get the worst of the withdrawal for six days. Others have dropped one bead a day once they get to lower doses.

You have to get a feel for what's going to work for you. If you're currently taking 30mg EVERY DAY and still feeling ghastly, you might consider taking 50mg (30 + 20).

It's not a problem to open the capsules and divide up the beads either. You'd need to get your hands on some clear gelatine capsules, but they're not usually difficult to find.

Stay in touch here, too, whatever your problem, even if you just want to vent.

regards, maureen.

[MaureenV]

I'm new to these forums. I've been taking Cymbalta 60mg for maybe 2 months now. I was on Zoloft and that stopped working and I refused to take the Cymbalta for a while, but finally caved in. It seemed to be doing ok, but just this week I've started to experience headaches and nausea. It has never helped my sleep or my active mind. I've also noticed my eyes are turning yellow. I'm so paranoid with this medication, I don't know what's going on but I am really thinking of just stopping this medication and lock myself in my bedroom until the storm passes. I used to be a gym rat and maybe I need to go back to that. I'm going to try acupunture to try and jump start my motivation and interest. I really hate the fact that I started this medication, it seems to have made things worse. It doesn't help that my body adapts so quickly to things and the medication will start to lose it's effect and I think that is what's happening; the medication is no longer effective and the only thing to do is quit of go up in dosage, which I am not going to do.

I need to hit the lottery and hire a personal trainer to motivate me and get me off my butt. Cymbalta definitely didn't do the trick.

Your eyes turning yellow is a real worry; you really need to have your liver checked. Cymbalta CAN affect some people's liver.


regards, Maureen.