5 replies to this topic

[Just Me]

I have decided it is time for me to stop taking Cymbalta. I'm not sure how long I have been on this medication, but feel it is almost four years. I know I am going to go through withdrawall and have started taking my pill every other day. I currently am on 60 mg daily.

I need to stop for several reasons. First of all is the financial aspect. Since loosing my job, and changing insurance companies, I can't afford the monthly costs. Secondly, I feel like I am a different person.

I don't know if this is the correct time in my life to stop. I lost my husband to cancer 18 months ago, I lost my job in January and had to do a 'short sale' on my home. I recently relocated from California to Florida and have not had any luck finding a job. Plus I just stopped drinking (attend AA meetings. I have a variety of reasons to take the pills, but feel that the medication really doesn't seem to help anymore. Is that possible?

I have trouble getting up each morning, feeling like I want or need more sleep than my 8 or nine hours. I seem to just get through each day. I don't feel depressed, just numb. Is that a normal feeling?

I have one months' worth of pills and plan to do take my cymbalta in the following dosage:

2 weeks of every other day
1 week of every third day
1 week of every fourth day
1 week of every fifth day until the pills are gone.

What are some of the side effect I might experience?

Any help, suggestions or feedback will be greatly appreciated. thank you~

Loretta

[cookie]

Dear Loretta:

I am sorry for your husband loss.
A lot of things happened in your life in such a short time. Sometimes these things make us stronger.

It´s so good that you stopped drinking.

Yes, I felt that at some point the medication was not as effective as before. I also have huge trouble getting up in the morning.

From what I´ve read on this site, people who have done the -every other day approach- say it didn´t work. And most posts say that it is better to take a certain dose of cymbalta EVERYDAY, than taking it every other day. I also think 5 weeks is a very short time to wean. It has taken me 8 weeks to reduce from 60mg to 20mg by doing small drops

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 (10% of actual dose)
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 1 month)
4. How long will it take to get down to zero

Please read posts explaining how to wean off slowly and adjust the dose to whatever miligrams you want to take

I don´t want to scare you with the symptoms. If you want you can read the posts in this site. Every one is different, so you might or not suffer from the same symptoms.

regards
cookie

[krisann]

So sorry to hear all that you have been through.

I was prescribed cymbalta for anxiety. It did get rid of my anxiety, but I found myself not really having much of any emotion at all.. just felt "flat" all of the time. I altered between not being able to sleep, or wanting to sleep for 18 hours straight.

I was lucky that my Dr gave me samples of cymbalta, so I havent had the financial issue yet. Maybe that would be an option for you while you are weaning?

Everyone is different with their side effects experienced. I tried to quit cold turkey before I knew any better, and it was horrible. I am in the process of weaning down, and though I am having some side effects, they are tolerable and I am happy.

I would also suggest tapering down by dropping 10% at a time. This requires bead counting, but is not difficult at all. I have 3 plastic medication cups (like you use to measure cough syrup). I empty the beads into one cup, count out 10% of beads into another cup, then pour the correct amount of tapered beads back into the capsule over the third cup incase I spill. The nice thing about using plastic med cups is they are super bendable, so I can "funnel" the rim making it easier to transfer the tiny cymbalta balls into the capsule. I rarely spill any, but if I do they drop right into the other med cup underneath.

Good luck and keep in touch. Let us know how you are doing This is a wonderful forum for support thru your journey

KrisAnn

[Just Me]

Thank you for your comments and suggestions. After reading many posts, I have decided it would be better to taper down and will do at 10% intervals. Starting tomorrow, I will count beads. I know it sounds complicated, but does sound like a better way of getting off this medication.

[Evelyn]

Hi Loretta,

I'm very sorry for your loss. I lost my husband almost two years ago due to a motorcycle accident, so I have an idea what kind of time you're trying to come out of. And, like you, a lot of financial difficulties followed that event. I just got through a bankruptcy in March. One of the reasons that my psychologist recommended an anti-depressant is that I couldn't even talk to my creditors on the telephone without choking up into sobs.

I'm taking 60 mg. I don't have any regrets about the Cymbalta. I feel like it did what I needed it to do. It's just time to move onto a normal and healthier life now, and eliminate some of the chemicals.

I've been on Lexapro before, and had to ween off that too. With Lexapro I got the head shock withdrawal symptoms after I'd been off them for over 36 hours or so. Cymbalta seems to start much sooner, somewhere around 12-15 hours for me. I guess that's why a lot of the experienced posters recommend a daily dose. Having said that, my mother was able to ween herself off Cymbalta (she was taking it for diabetic nerve pain) by taking a pill every other day. I don't know what her dosage was though. She was having severe dizziness side effects, so she couldn't tolerate the drug at all.

I agree with some of the other posters that it would be desirable to take a reduced dosage each day, rather than skipping days. I've read on this site that some people open up the capsules and divide the individual grains. I think that's worth considering.

I saw my doctor on Monday, and he gave me two weeks worth of samples at 30 mg. He seems to think that I can try to take one every other day after day 3.

I don't know. We'll see.

Please write back to let us know how you're doing.

Take care.

--Evelyn

[Junior]

HI all

It's been a while since I've posted here but just stopped by to see how things are going.

Just Me- so sorry to hear of the loss of your husband and all that you've had to go through. Life really sucks sometimes.

Anyway... just wanted to explain to you all why the 'every other day' approach doesn't work. Modern a/ds work by down-regulating receptors involved in transmitting chemical info from brain cell to cell. A steady dose is needed to keep that down-reg at the same level. When you withdraw the drug (and ths is why it should never be C/t), it takes time for the receptors to up-regulate. I've read that they actually fluctuate, meaning that symptoms come and go. So... if you give the brain the drug one day, then nothing the next, then drug the day after.. it only confuses it. It doesn't know whether to up-regulate, down-regulate, or stay the same. It is far better to lower the dose gradually and allow it to heal gradually. It also gives the person a better quality of life during the withdrawal process.

Ok..gotta go! Talk more soon
Junior