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I Need Help To Get Off Cymbalta.


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#1 brown eyes

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Posted 08 July 2010 - 08:24 AM

Ok I got authorized for 6 more months of cymbalta. the clinic I go to seem to think one can just stop the drug and be fine. Well I know I cant as after being off it 10 days I couldnt harldy function side effects were horrible. Ill have to cut myself down with this drug best i can. I have read some of what is here on this site. and it seems easy enough but I have some questions. Im on 60 mg once a day everyday... so I need to know if any gel capsule will work to collect the beads I remove to cut down by 1 mg per 2 weeks? So if I understand it correct I take a 60 mg and remove 9 beads from every capsule for 2 weeks. then the 3rd week do I remove 2mg which would be 18 beads for 2 more weeks. and so on? my main question is as im taking the beads out, can I put them in a gelcap bought from the drug store, and then use that capsule whe the times comes for that dose? If there is a better process of reducing the drugs It would be helpful.
as Im just not sure what Im doing. I know that 60mg=540 beads. 1mg=9 beads. so is the plan to reduce every two weeks by one more mg each week until none are left? OOH this is horrible mess. I wish I would have been informed about this drug before i started it! Thank you for any help on this...

#2 MaureenV

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    Am trying to get off Cymbalta 30mg and wondering about brain zaps.

Posted 08 July 2010 - 05:23 PM

Ok I got authorized for 6 more months of cymbalta. the clinic I go to seem to think one can just stop the drug and be fine. Well I know I cant as after being off it 10 days I couldnt harldy function side effects were horrible. Ill have to cut myself down with this drug best i can. I have read some of what is here on this site. and it seems easy enough but I have some questions. Im on 60 mg once a day everyday... so I need to know if any gel capsule will work to collect the beads I remove to cut down by 1 mg per 2 weeks? So if I understand it correct I take a 60 mg and remove 9 beads from every capsule for 2 weeks. then the 3rd week do I remove 2mg which would be 18 beads for 2 more weeks. and so on? my main question is as im taking the beads out, can I put them in a gelcap bought from the drug store, and then use that capsule whe the times comes for that dose? If there is a better process of reducing the drugs It would be helpful.
as Im just not sure what Im doing. I know that 60mg=540 beads. 1mg=9 beads. so is the plan to reduce every two weeks by one more mg each week until none are left? OOH this is horrible mess. I wish I would have been informed about this drug before i started it! Thank you for any help on this...




You're spot on, brown eyes, and congratulations on checking out the site to get information.

ANY gel caps will do, there's nothing special about the Cymbalta ones.

The easiest thing for the start is to just put them in a container for use later, otherwise you'll have a zillion gel caps with all different doses in them. You can also just use half a gel cap per day, by stuffing a bit of bread into the end of it.

You may be able to go faster than you intend, but it's a brilliant idea to start slowly.

If you have any mild withdrawal symptoms, just wait until they disappear before you do the next drop. Most people find that this is consistent FOR THEM: e.g. I felt withdrawal symptoms immediately, then they were gone within four days; others find they don't get symptoms until nearly a week.

Once you find out your own 'pattern' you can work accordingly.


regards, Maureen.

#3 brown eyes

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Posted 08 July 2010 - 06:14 PM

You're spot on, brown eyes, and congratulations on checking out the site to get information.

ANY gel caps will do, there's nothing special about the Cymbalta ones.

The easiest thing for the start is to just put them in a container for use later, otherwise you'll have a zillion gel caps with all different doses in them. You can also just use half a gel cap per day, by stuffing a bit of bread into the end of it.

You may be able to go faster than you intend, but it's a brilliant idea to start slowly.

If you have any mild withdrawal symptoms, just wait until they disappear before you do the next drop. Most people find that this is consistent FOR THEM: e.g. I felt withdrawal symptoms immediately, then they were gone within four days; others find they don't get symptoms until nearly a week.

Once you find out your own 'pattern' you can work accordingly.


regards, Maureen.

Thank you so very much I feel better now and I know I can manage this! Ill keep you posted and I do hope anyone in this situation can see this site.

#4 Jude

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Posted 12 July 2010 - 06:33 PM

Ok I got authorized for 6 more months of cymbalta. the clinic I go to seem to think one can just stop the drug and be fine. Well I know I cant as after being off it 10 days I couldnt harldy function side effects were horrible. Ill have to cut myself down with this drug best i can. I have read some of what is here on this site. and it seems easy enough but I have some questions. Im on 60 mg once a day everyday... so I need to know if any gel capsule will work to collect the beads I remove to cut down by 1 mg per 2 weeks? So if I understand it correct I take a 60 mg and remove 9 beads from every capsule for 2 weeks. then the 3rd week do I remove 2mg which would be 18 beads for 2 more weeks. and so on? my main question is as im taking the beads out, can I put them in a gelcap bought from the drug store, and then use that capsule whe the times comes for that dose? If there is a better process of reducing the drugs It would be helpful.
as Im just not sure what Im doing. I know that 60mg=540 beads. 1mg=9 beads. so is the plan to reduce every two weeks by one more mg each week until none are left? OOH this is horrible mess. I wish I would have been informed about this drug before i started it! Thank you for any help on this...


#5 Jude

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Posted 12 July 2010 - 06:39 PM

Oh browneyes i can so relate to WHY DON"T THEY TELL ABOUT THE HORRIBLE WITHDRAWELS before you start taking it....no one but a cymbalta user can understand what the mind zaps are..i just found this site and am so relieved to know i am NOT crazy...i do have hope and plan to visit here very often..thnks everyone for posting....we can help each other...*smile*

#6 cookie

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Posted 13 July 2010 - 12:58 AM

Ok I got authorized for 6 more months of cymbalta. the clinic I go to seem to think one can just stop the drug and be fine. Well I know I cant as after being off it 10 days I couldnt harldy function side effects were horrible. Ill have to cut myself down with this drug best i can. I have read some of what is here on this site. and it seems easy enough but I have some questions. Im on 60 mg once a day everyday... so I need to know if any gel capsule will work to collect the beads I remove to cut down by 1 mg per 2 weeks? So if I understand it correct I take a 60 mg and remove 9 beads from every capsule for 2 weeks. then the 3rd week do I remove 2mg which would be 18 beads for 2 more weeks. and so on? my main question is as im taking the beads out, can I put them in a gelcap bought from the drug store, and then use that capsule whe the times comes for that dose? If there is a better process of reducing the drugs It would be helpful.
as Im just not sure what Im doing. I know that 60mg=540 beads. 1mg=9 beads. so is the plan to reduce every two weeks by one more mg each week until none are left? OOH this is horrible mess. I wish I would have been informed about this drug before i started it! Thank you for any help on this...



Dear Brown Eyes

When one starts weaning, one should decide:
1. At what dose you are going to start the weaning. In your case: 60mg
2. The size of the drops and the translation into number of beads to take out from the capsule. A 10% of actual dose has worked for me.
3. The amount of time that you are going to stay in each dosage. One should make the next drop when symptoms of a certain dose have dissapeared.
4. Product supply. Product available (you mentioned 6 months= 24 weeks)
4. Having determined all of the above, you have to calculate how long will it take to get down to zero

From what I´ve read you plan to start at 60mg and do 1mg drops, and stay at that dose for 2 weeks. If I am not mistaken, if you do it at this rate you will be done in 2 years and a half.

Everyone´s different but I found out that I could do bigger drops when I was in higher doses, and stay a week in each. Once I reached lower dosages, the drops have been smaller and I´ve had to stay in that dose for a longer period.

Hugs
Cookie

#7 brown eyes

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Posted 13 July 2010 - 08:45 AM

Dear Brown Eyes

When one starts weaning, one should decide:
1. At what dose you are going to start the weaning. In your case: 60mg
2. The size of the drops and the translation into number of beads to take out from the capsule. A 10% of actual dose has worked for me.
3. The amount of time that you are going to stay in each dosage. One should make the next drop when symptoms of a certain dose have dissapeared.
4. Product supply. Product available (you mentioned 6 months= 24 weeks)
4. Having determined all of the above, you have to calculate how long will it take to get down to zero

From what I´ve read you plan to start at 60mg and do 1mg drops, and stay at that dose for 2 weeks. If I am not mistaken, if you do it at this rate you will be done in 2 years and a half.

Everyone´s different but I found out that I could do bigger drops when I was in higher doses, and stay a week in each. Once I reached lower dosages, the drops have been smaller and I´ve had to stay in that dose for a longer period.

Hugs
Cookie

Hi Cookie, thanks for responding, I am so confused to what to do that this point I havent even started to reduce the drug at all yet, I didnt do the math to see that my plan would take 2 and 1/2 yrs to do! :( OMG, when I talked to my Dr about getting off the cymbalta he told me it takes a long time, he didnt say how, or how long a LONG TIME WAS. He just said keep taking it. I was left like wtf. I have seen this Dr for 20 yrs, at a public health dept. the Dr im talking about quit 3 months ago, the Health Dept has yet to replace him with another Dr. Im a REAL MESS! the HD is getting someone to refil all my drugs, which I dont understand how they can do this, as my Dr. made me do tests, and see him every 3 months. I havent seen a Dr now in aprox 6 months, yet the refils keep coming. I have not found a Dr who accepts my Medicaid in my area yet. could you tell me the way your plan was to get off cymbalta. or are you still working on it?

#8 brown eyes

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Posted 13 July 2010 - 08:59 AM

Oh browneyes i can so relate to WHY DON"T THEY TELL ABOUT THE HORRIBLE WITHDRAWELS before you start taking it....no one but a cymbalta user can understand what the mind zaps are..i just found this site and am so relieved to know i am NOT crazy...i do have hope and plan to visit here very often..thnks everyone for posting....we can help each other...*smile*


Hi Jude, nice to hear from you! have you got off the cymbalta, and if so how did you do it? or are you trying to figure out how too as well? Its my choice to get off this drug. Medicaid keeps taking the fund away for the drug and a Dr keeps getting it authorized! which is good if I want to live on this. but I dont want to go threw this hell the rest of my life. I want off. I feel so addicted to it, im having withdrawles even taking it!

#9 cookie

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Posted 13 July 2010 - 10:15 PM

Dear Brown eyes:
Your doctor seems a good one, telling you getting of cymbalta takes a lot of time, is a good approach. I've seen on this site people quitting cold turkey or in 2 weeks, which is so bad and suffering withdrawals to the maximum.

Remember I am not a doctor, just a cymbalta user who is weaning and can talk about my own experience.
The ideal thing is that you had a doctor support during this process. But it is important that this doctor takes into account things that havent worked during weaning, which are weaning in a short time and taking cymbalta every other day.

In relation to my weaning plan. I took cymbalta 60mg for 5 years due to major depresion. I was super lucky to find this site before I started to reduce, so I am doing everything I learned through this site.

I started at 60mg doing weekly drops that were 7.5mg aproximately in size. So I went from 60mg, to 52mg, to 45mg, to 37mg, to 30mg. I did have some symptoms (psychological and physycal) but they were manageable.

Then I started doing weekly drops of 2.5mg. So i went from 30mg, to
27.5mg, to 25mg, to 22,5mg, then to 20mg. So its been 2 months since I started weaning. The last drop to 20mg, was the hardest, I didnt feel well last week so I decided to stay at 20mg until symptoms dissapear.

Every person is different, so is the weaning in every person is also different. People react differently, one better than others. Once you start you have to check if the drops sizes you are making are ok, and if the amount that you are going to stay at each dose is ok. Or if you have to adjust dosages.

Hope this helped
Cookie

#10 Jude

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Posted 14 July 2010 - 09:32 AM

Hi Jude, nice to hear from you! have you got off the cymbalta, and if so how did you do it? or are you trying to figure out how too as well? Its my choice to get off this drug. Medicaid keeps taking the fund away for the drug and a Dr keeps getting it authorized! which is good if I want to live on this. but I dont want to go threw this hell the rest of my life. I want off. I feel so addicted to it, im having withdrawles even taking it!


#11 Jude

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Posted 14 July 2010 - 09:39 AM

Good Morning browneyes,
no i have not suceeded in totally kicking cymbalta...i went straight from 60 to 30...no advice from my dr. about weaning from 60 to 30
just advice to wean from 30 in 2 weeks...well of course that has not worked....so i am doing it my way..slowly...i just started taking fish oil and vit.b complex..read it on here...will post in a week or so and let you know if that is working..keep the faith...we all WILL beat this together
stay in touch....*huggs*,Jude



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