I am so glad to have found this site. I wish I had thought to look for a place like this 4 weeks ago, but too late now. I have been taking Cymbalta for about a year and a half now (@90mg for the past 7 months or so) for major depression, PTSD and anxiety. I also take Ativan (1mg up to 3x/day) for anxiety and Restoril (30mg) for sleep. I was taking Abilify (10mg) along with all of this for a while, but discontinued this in January 2010. I do have a more lengthy history of trying other antidepressants, including Zoloft and Wellbutrin, prior to the Cymbalta.
I attempted to stop taking the Cymbalta abruptly in December 2009, but the physical and emotional effects were so severe that I returned to my psychiatrist and informed her as to what I was trying to do. I told her that I was feeling very overweight and wanted to see what life was like without the Cymbalta. As I sat there crying, she told me in a very sympathetic way, "this what you are like without the Cymbalta...you need it." She thought that the Abilify was probably the culprit in the weight gain, so we discontinued it and upped the Cymbalta from 60mg to 90mg. I have had no real side effects that I know of from the Cymbalta, except that even without the Abilify, my weight has continued to creep up. I do believe that the Cymbalta helped me with my depression, and has allowed me to address things in therapy that have been critical to moving forward. However, I have gained a total of 40 pounds in the last year and a half. I am not big on formal exercise, but I am an active person, my diet is good, and I have never really had a problem with weight since I have a slightly hyperactive thyroid.
Well, I am married for over 20 years and have 4 kids (one out of the nest already) and about a month ago we moved here to Texas. Being in transition, I had not yet established a new psychiatrist, and decided that I would try again to wean myself off of the Cymbalta and start my "new life" here without a psychiatrist/meds/therapist, etc. I am a stay-at-home mom (social worker in a former life), and ironically, my husband is a psychiatrist. He is well-trained, board-certified, and even has subspecialty training. He is not comfortable giving me any advice about my treatment, though, and prefers to leave all of that between me and my providers. This has "provided" the context for a few good fights, ha ha, but such is life. He is usually aware of what I am taking and what dosages, etc., but will defer any very specific questions I have about my treatment, side effects, etc. to "my psychiatrist."
When we got to Texas a month ago, I informed him that I would be weaning myself off of the Cymbalta, without the aid of a new psychiatrist. I was done with it all, and just wanted my formerly smaller body back. I felt that I had worked through a lot of trauma and other issues with my most recent therapist, and was feeling a lot of closure. I asked him for his opinion on weaning off of Cymbalta, and surprisingly he suggested, in general of course, to go from 90 to 60 to 30 to 0 over about a 6 week period of time. No mention of breaking open the capsules, counting beads, proceeding more slowly, etc. Still, this seemed reasonable to me. I immediately dropped to 60 mg for the first 2 weeks, and did begin feeling the symptoms almost right away...brain zaps, mild confusion, crying spells, gastro issues, aches and pains, etc. Not much rage at all, but at times I have not been able to get out of bed due to the fatigue and flu-like symptoms. Sometimes I feel like I am going to have a heart attack or stroke. When it came time to drop to 30 mg about 2 weeks ago, I did this, but only for 2 or 3 days. I was so frustrated and overwhelmed with my symptoms that I decided to just get it over with and go straight to nothing. I have still been taking an occasional Ativan (probably 1mg tablet once a day) when my chest feels like it's about to explode. Currently, then, I am on day 12 or so of having no Cymbalta. It has been a very rough road, to say the least.
My husband has been supportive throughout, but he reports to me that does not have much experience with antidepressant withdrawal. In fact, he is adamant that I am not "withdrawing;" I am suffering from "discontinuation syndrome."
He says, and it does make some sense, that when patients decide to discontinue antidepressants, they often do not go though their psychiatrist, or even go back to see them. He has tried to explain the difference between withdrawal and discontinuation. It is largely semantics to me. "They" (drug companies, doctors) can call it discontinuation syndrome all they want to, but I still feel like I am withdrawing. And it was only at this point, a few days ago, after receiving the withdrawal/discontinuation lecture for the 3rd or 4th time, that I turned to the internet for more info on Cymbalta withdrawal.I don't know why it took me so long. I research everything on the internet, from kids' backpacks to vacations, yet somehow I have failed to research weaning myself off of this drug. I almost purchased a large "kit" of supplements 3 days ago from "theroadback.org," but held off and bought some fish oil from GNC instead. This seems to have helped with the brain zaps, and in the last couple of days, I do feel like my mood has lifted a bit, and there has been more laughter amid the crying spells. I am still having the aches and pains, mild confusion, gastro issues (somewhat better, I think, from the BRATTY diet suggestions), episodes of strong anxiety, and some brain zaps. I have tried to minimize my driving over the past month, as I feel more prone to have an accident. Overall, though, I am seeing a bit of light at the end of the tunnel, and this is helping me to see this process through.
Well, sorry this is so long (or if I missed any typos, etc)...I must wrap up as I hear the kids arguing. I am very interested to read through a lot more of the info on this site, and am really grateful to those who have shared their stories and coping strategies already. Have a great day, or even a few good moments, if you can. I am certainly going to try.
