11 replies to this topic

[haezz]

I simply cannot believe how my life has come to this point because of this "anti-depressant." I never felt right on it...told my psychiatrist, told my primary, told friends and family.. No help from professional areas, as they said I was just getting worse in my depression and anxiety. I wasn't this bad until Cymbalta took effect. I was on the drug for about 4 years...and let me tell you something so very sad: I feel like I've awoken from a coma to find that my entire life has changed. What this drug was supposed to help me with only made it worse. I was a zombie...barely able to be there for family, lost all my friends and could no longer relate to my dogs (which is something as I am a HUGE dog person). How do I get back those 4-5 years of my zombiefied life? You would not believe the situation I am in because of this drug. I am not happy about being a guinea pig for big pharma as the withdrawal was so bad it took me 5 months to come off 60mgs. and that took every ounce of personal strength and willpower I had. I have never in my life seen a more despicable and devious drug.

My primary refused to acknowledge either serotonin syndrome or even the bloody withdrawal I was having. She blew off the "zaps," insomnia, severe mood changes, severe anxiety and panic that was exacerbated by the drug and then coming off of it. I could barely function. She completely blew off everything I had to say...making it sound like I was med-seeking. For what kind of meds? Something to make this pain stop??

I feel Eli Lilly NEVER completed full clinical trials...we were the guinea pigs, hence the withdrawal. Having one neurotransmitter involved is risky at best as no one knows what they do for sure...meaning the effect a medication has on it over long-term use. Cymbalta targets TWO...great idea, that! Hey, if one doesn't work, we'll add two...but wait, we can also add other drugs in case these don't work. I am sick of it.

I have been off Cymbalta for a bit over a month...37 days...and my life is a mess. I woke up to find my whole life has changed. Anyone else have this problem? I WILL NEVER take another anti-depressant again...no way. I still have major anxiety, but have had that all my life. I do take meds as needed for those bad times, but no hard-core advertised "make life better with...add name here."

One thing I do have to say now that I am off this drug, I have never felt better in my life. I have goals again. I can "feel" and I am making friends and reconnecting with family.

I would love to hear feedback on the zombieness or any major mood changes...how has your life changed for the worse because of this drug? I need to know I am not alone.

I can never recover the life that I lost...But I can fight for what I have left. And I can fight for being a damn guinea pig at the expense of some pharmaceutical company who looks more at their bottom line than the people they destroy. And yes, I am angry...we all should be.

[maddie]

I simply cannot believe how my life has come to this point because of this "anti-depressant." I never felt right on it...told my psychiatrist, told my primary, told friends and family.. No help from professional areas, as they said I was just getting worse in my depression and anxiety. I wasn't this bad until Cymbalta took effect. I was on the drug for about 4 years...and let me tell you something so very sad: I feel like I've awoken from a coma to find that my entire life has changed. What this drug was supposed to help me with only made it worse. I was a zombie...barely able to be there for family, lost all my friends and could no longer relate to my dogs (which is something as I am a HUGE dog person). How do I get back those 4-5 years of my zombiefied life? You would not believe the situation I am in because of this drug. I am not happy about being a guinea pig for big pharma as the withdrawal was so bad it took me 5 months to come off 60mgs. and that took every ounce of personal strength and willpower I had. I have never in my life seen a more despicable and devious drug.

My primary refused to acknowledge either serotonin syndrome or even the bloody withdrawal I was having. She blew off the "zaps," insomnia, severe mood changes, severe anxiety and panic that was exacerbated by the drug and then coming off of it. I could barely function. She completely blew off everything I had to say...making it sound like I was med-seeking. For what kind of meds? Something to make this pain stop??

I feel Eli Lilly NEVER completed full clinical trials...we were the guinea pigs, hence the withdrawal. Having one neurotransmitter involved is risky at best as no one knows what they do for sure...meaning the effect a medication has on it over long-term use. Cymbalta targets TWO...great idea, that! Hey, if one doesn't work, we'll add two...but wait, we can also add other drugs in case these don't work. I am sick of it.

I have been off Cymbalta for a bit over a month...37 days...and my life is a mess. I woke up to find my whole life has changed. Anyone else have this problem? I WILL NEVER take another anti-depressant again...no way. I still have major anxiety, but have had that all my life. I do take meds as needed for those bad times, but no hard-core advertised "make life better with...add name here."

One thing I do have to say now that I am off this drug, I have never felt better in my life. I have goals again. I can "feel" and I am making friends and reconnecting with family.

I would love to hear feedback on the zombieness or any major mood changes...how has your life changed for the worse because of this drug? I need to know I am not alone.

I can never recover the life that I lost...But I can fight for what I have left. And I can fight for being a damn guinea pig at the expense of some pharmaceutical company who looks more at their bottom line than the people they destroy. And yes, I am angry...we all should be.

Consider yourself a hero. You made it. The best thing that ever happened to me was, that 6 weeks into taking this drug, I had a major side effect of vertigo. I had been having balance problems at the beginning of it but never in a million years thought it was from Cymbalta, so kept taking it for the 6 weeks. Even tho it was such a short time I am struggling with withdrawal...but I am thrilled to hear that its 37 days for you and the withdrawal symptoms are gone. My psychiatrist, who belived me instantly thank heavens, phoned Eli Lilly while I was at her office and demanded that they send her all of the info they had on taking this devil drug (my name for it ) and withdrawal from it. They, at first, faxed her only the BS that her Eli Lilly rep had been giving her , but she is nothing if not determined and FINALLY got it all, piece by piece, and like pulling teeth. She is horrified at what she is seeing. She phoned all of her colleagues and sent them this info, and told them what I am going thru. She says that she will be very cautious about prescribing this medication now, if she does at all. I was on it for too short a time to notice much in the way of mood swings..but it certainly didn't do anything at all for the depression I was going thru. I feel better depression wise now, ten days off, then I did on it. Having the brain zaps, poor balance, horrible dreams, fatigue and weakness and insomnia. Also for some reason, I am experiencing something that nobody here has mentioned. Compulsive eating while on "C" and even worse going off. I have NEVER been a compulsive eater...but I get up at night to eat. Doc asked Eli Lilly how long the withdrawal horror takes...and she phoned me and told me she had good news and bad news. The good news is that eventually the side effect do go away. The bad news is they don't know how long it takes, cause its different for everyone. I had been on Prozac before Cymbalta..but today I feel better mood wise then I felt on both of those drugs. So I am with you. There isn't enough money in this world to EVER make me go back on an anti depressant. I'll deal with whatever I have to deal with drug free.

[Cat]

I can relate....I was on 120 mg of Cym and 150 of Wellbutrin for over 15 months...dropped myself to 60 mg 8 wks ago and finally found a dr to listen to me and have been on 30 mg, no change to Wellbutrin yet, for 1 month. I have lost family and friends but the meaning of unconditional love comes into play. My mom has been by my side, not believing everything she sees but until you are in my shoes how can you understand. I refuse to let this drug kill me and there is no way to get time back, just make the next 3-5 years kick major ass!
Cat

[haezz]

Thank you both for your replies and telling me of your situations. Like I said...I'll deal with whatever happens as best I can, BUT i will no longer be a rat for big pharma. I will say that I still get an occasional "zap" and I'm actually happy for that. Keeps me remembering why I went off this drug from hell also. I have many more names for it and none are repeatable here...lol.

It does get better with time, the withdrawal symptoms, and they do fade. But I am crushed that I had to lose so much time...then again, it gives me the push to make my life better without this crap in my system. Since I was on it so long, I wonder of the adverse effects it has had on my brain chemistry and physiology...as in long-term. Is this drug going to bite us in the butts more than it already has???

I shall press on and will be contacting an attorney re: a lawsuit. Something/someone cannot simply take away nearly 5 years of my life with no reprisal. If nothing else, it will make this mega giant Eli Lilly help those who need it the most...maybe get it off the market. We can only hope. If we band together, I think we can do this. This drug is crap and dangerous crap at that...it needs to end.

[HarleyRRT]

I can totally relate also. I lost the last 4-5 years of my life too. My Dr. put me on this crap, and it literally turned me into a zombie. My wife left me, I lost a lot of friends, did stupid things, and now I have nothing to show for it but an empty and sad life.

I took myself off cold turkey about 2 months ago, and while it feels so great to be alive again, I am so sad about everything that is gone....especially my wife. She is the greatest woman ever and she is moving on without me and its killing me enough to almost want to go back on and feel like a zombie again. I can barely sleep at night, my anxiety level is thru the roof, and I look at that bottle and debate whether I should just do it again........

Tom

[sirtekalot]

I take Cymbalta and have for well over 3 years; I have bi-polar disorder and I would not be here today with out this medication. Yes I know I don't care as much as I use too, but it's a choice I make because, for me, the pros outweigh the cons. Just an FYI the SSRI Paxil was 100x worse than this medication.

[zombified]

I too have been on this drug for over 4 years. To tell you the truth I don't know how long I've been on it. I realized not too long ago that I didn't care about anything anymore. I feel like I'm not a member of the human race. Like I'm watching from the other side of the window while the world goes on without me. I sit here at home like a zombie most days. I just can't get myself to care about doing anything. I don't care about anything I used to. Isn't this why I take Cymbalta? I started taking it a year or so after a bad car accident. I remember I still had a personality then. Now I don't. I'm not me anymore. Then I realized that it's this medication that's doing it to me. So I decided it's time to get off of it. Now I'm on my second week of taking 60mg every other day per my doctor and it's a nightmare. I don't know why but today is really bad. I've been dizzy and anxious all day. If I knew how bad it was going to be getting off this drug I never would have taken it in the first place. I'm thinking about going to 30mg everyday for a couple of weeks then go to every other day. Any thoughts on that?

[Wiee]

I too have been on this drug for over 4 years. To tell you the truth I don't know how long I've been on it. I realized not too long ago that I didn't care about anything anymore. I feel like I'm not a member of the human race. Like I'm watching from the other side of the window while the world goes on without me. I sit here at home like a zombie most days. I just can't get myself to care about doing anything. I don't care about anything I used to. Isn't this why I take Cymbalta? I started taking it a year or so after a bad car accident. I remember I still had a personality then. Now I don't. I'm not me anymore. Then I realized that it's this medication that's doing it to me. So I decided it's time to get off of it. Now I'm on my second week of taking 60mg every other day per my doctor and it's a nightmare. I don't know why but today is really bad. I've been dizzy and anxious all day. If I knew how bad it was going to be getting off this drug I never would have taken it in the first place. I'm thinking about going to 30mg everyday for a couple of weeks then go to every other day. Any thoughts on that?

I wish I could offer advice. I'm new to this board, three weeks of this drug completely and I also am realizing how much of my life has been "lost". Hopefully someone else chimming in that you're not alone helps, I know it helps me to read through all these posts.

[pamela]

I too have been on this drug for over 4 years. To tell you the truth I don't know how long I've been on it. I realized not too long ago that I didn't care about anything anymore. I feel like I'm not a member of the human race. Like I'm watching from the other side of the window while the world goes on without me. I sit here at home like a zombie most days. I just can't get myself to care about doing anything. I don't care about anything I used to. Isn't this why I take Cymbalta? I started taking it a year or so after a bad car accident. I remember I still had a personality then. Now I don't. I'm not me anymore. Then I realized that it's this medication that's doing it to me. So I decided it's time to get off of it. Now I'm on my second week of taking 60mg every other day per my doctor and it's a nightmare. I don't know why but today is really bad. I've been dizzy and anxious all day. If I knew how bad it was going to be getting off this drug I never would have taken it in the first place. I'm thinking about going to 30mg everyday for a couple of weeks then go to every other day. Any thoughts on that?

From everything that I have read about peoples experiences and withdrawals going every other day is not the way to do it. Because of Cymbalta's very short half life your brain is going through withdrawals every other day. I have been doing a slow taper and my side effects have been really mild so far. I went from 60mg to 50mg for 2 weeks and then continued downwards....but taking something everyday. I am currently on 20mg everyday and going to drop next week again.
Hope that helps.

[lisa Turner]

I wish I could offer advice. I'm new to this board, three weeks of this drug completely and I also am realizing how much of my life has been "lost". Hopefully someone else chimming in that you're not alone helps, I know it helps me to read through all these posts.

My name is lisa and im new to this board, about 7 months ago i was put on cymbalta as i have central pain syndrome, i went from 60mg to 120 mg, i must admit it did get rid of my pains but the side effects were horrific, i came out in all these boils i had a terrible rash on my arm and i was getting terrible migraines, so my doctor told me to come of them gradually, the withdrawals were worse than the side effects, the trouble is its the only tablet to get rid of my pains so its january 2011 and im back on them but at a lower dosage so i will see what happens

[pamela]

My name is lisa and im new to this board, about 7 months ago i was put on cymbalta as i have central pain syndrome, i went from 60mg to 120 mg, i must admit it did get rid of my pains but the side effects were horrific, i came out in all these boils i had a terrible rash on my arm and i was getting terrible migraines, so my doctor told me to come of them gradually, the withdrawals were worse than the side effects, the trouble is its the only tablet to get rid of my pains so its january 2011 and im back on them but at a lower dosage so i will see what happens

Lisa,

Since it helps you somewhat maybe you can find the sweetspot where it eases your pain but doesn't cause side effects. I hope that you find some peace.

Pam

[matalesse]

I told my doctor I was tired of sleeping through my life and I do feel like I've lost a lot of time, not only to the drug but also to bad decisions.

I do believe that in depressed people there is a brain chemical missing or reduced that needs to be increased. But are the side effects worth it? On the drugs, I don't feel the bad feelings as much but my "good" feelings are diminished as well to the point that I ask myself, whats the point of being here.

I will admit that there have been times in my life that I was so low and in such agony that I would have taken ANYTHING to feel better. At one point I was on cymbalta 90 mgs, wellbutrin 300 mg, lithium ? Mgs. And trazadone and lunesta to sleep at night.

But all you have to do to get an antidepressant is go to any doctor and tell them you've been crying for no reason. It's too easy.

There is no simple answer.