I am so grateful for finding this forum. I had been on cymbalta for almost a year. I started taking it because of a completely rare disease that I got from a reaction to the H1N1 flu shot...apparently, I'm one in 16million with this disease/cause. It's called A.D.E.M. (Acute Disseminated Enyphellomyletis). Look it up if you are interested, or if you have any info on it, I'd SO welcome it. I was feeling very isolated not knowing if what I was going through was in fact my disease (since no one really can give me advice or anything concrete that I believed).
Anyway, the first time I got a "brain zap," it was compounded with extreme nausea, and then a panic attack that I was dying (or my brain was digenerating). This occurred when I started going from 60mg to 30mg every other day. Now that I know what I am expecting, things have been a lot better.
Luckily for me, I was able to wean. I went from 60mg every day for about 8 months, to 60mg/30mg for two weeks, then 30mg/30mg for two weeks, then 30mg/0mg for two weeks. Now, my last pill was last Monday. In the beginning the brain zaps and nausea and dizziness were bad. I also found that the sun amplified this. (Unfortunately it was at the end of August). I needed to just lie down in a cold dark room for awhile to make symptoms go away. I found that making sure I ate enough throughout the day helped mitigate some of the symptoms. Literally, I would make sure to eat every hour-2 hours. I had to give up worrying about weight or eating too much to deal with worrying about nausea, headaches and dizziness. (I don't think I gained weight nor has that been a concern except that I'm a 23 year old woman and I try to watch what I eat in general).
Now, those symptoms have dissipated, and I am mainly suffering from extreme mood swings - I feel extremely irritable, angry, sad, and moody for no good reason (I feel bad for my boyfriend who suffers the brunt of this); I have extreme hot flashes and ALOT of sweating at night; and I find my extremities very itchy. These symptoms tend to come and go...lessening right now...so I'm feeling optimistic. Actually writing this makes me hopeful because it was reading from this site that made me feel better with what I was going through, and if someone can see find similarities with their experiences or learn anything from what I went (am going) through...I would feel better.
*On that note...has anyone experienced numbness in their lips or mouth? This has been a symptom of mine now since coming off cymbalta...but I haven't read anything about anyone else feeling this. Maybe this is due to my unique disease. I hope not...
To anyone reading this, my advice is to stay busy and immersed in what you love doing. I am a teacher, and I find myself completely distracted through the day. Besides the extreme hot flashes, when I am worrying about my kids, it's hard for me to be worrying about myself. That said, I try to eat plenty and be nice to myself. Also, just knowing that it is ok to feel miserable, to feel sad, angry etc...that the cause is these chemicals (or withdrawal)...I am not dying, I am not regressing, I am not alone.
I've been off of Cymbalta for a month now. I am feeling a little better today, but that was after crying for about 3 hours. I am still having the symptoms of diarrhea, vomiting, mood swings, memory and concentration problems, sensitivity to light and loud noises, fatigue, dizziness, abdominal pain and swelling, body aches. Both my doctor and my therapist disagree that this is Cymbalta withdrawal after this length of time. They say that it is DEPRESSION and that in order to get better, I will have to take ANOTHER anti-depressant. Good Luck.
