1 reply to this topic

[AnnieM]

Just started this journey to get off Cymbalta one week ago and finding this site today has given me reassurance that I'm not crazy. As someone else suggested, one minute your feel horrible, can't think straight, have misc. very uncomfortable side effects that you don't think will go away, and then an hour later you feel silly for thinking it was so serious. So I hope this post makes sense as I feel my brain has been through the wringer this last week.

I was on 40 mg of Cymbalta for only about four weeks after a two week transition from 40 mg of Lexapro. Had been on 40 mg of Lexapro for two years and 20 mg the six years before, along with Xanax XR which is now up to 2 mg. I was on Paxil & Buspar for five years before that and did not have any trouble with any of those transitions. But from the beginning the Cymbalta just didn't feel right and I had the same side effects as I am now when tapering down. Originally I thought maybe the anxiety, crying, nausea, sweating, head crawling, etc. were just due to the transition ONTO Cymbalta, but now I think I was having a bad reaction to just taking it at all. Since I am only tapered down to 20 mg how do I know when to taper down more if my feelings are part reaction and part withdrawal? I also wonder if these side effects could be due to going off of the Lexapro so fast after being on a high dose for two years.

When I called my psychiatrist he questioned why I wanted to go off antidepressants and wanted me to switch to something else. When I insisted his recommendation for tapering off 40 mg of Cymbalta was to drop to 20 mg for one week and then stop. Psychologist asked me to please not taper off so fast, and pharmacist gave me a three to four week taper schedule. I accidentally started the drop to 20 mg when I forgot to take my morning dose one day. After five days I made an urgent call to the psychiatrist only to be told that he thought it was my anxiety and depression breaking through and after a rushed conversation where he seemed obviously irritated I agreed to switch to Paxil. That night I decided not to do that and have not picked up that prescription, and at this point I'm determined to get off all antidepressants and see what I am like after 15 + years.

So I am stumped as to what to do. After lots of research I found The Road Back website and after a long conversation with them decided to try their program. I started their supplements Saturday morning (this is Sunday evening) and although I feel a bit better I don't think I can tolerate these side effects for as long as their suggested very slow taper rate would require. My inclination is to stop the last 20 mg of Cymbalta as of tomorrow since I think it didn't agree with me in the first place. I then plan on trying to get an emergency visit with my psychiatrist as well as calling my primary care doctor and getting a referral to another psychiatrist. Several times during the last week I have felt so desperate that it has occurred to me to just check myself into a detox facility and do it that way. A few hours later I know I can do it myself.

But it feels and sounds like some really difficult times are ahead. Then once I'm off the Cymbalta I want to taper down or off the 2 mg daily of Xanax XR. Thanks for reading this and helping me keep my sanity.

Annie

[AnnieM]

Well I haven't had any replies to my post of 10/24/10 but thought I'd post again as this sure is tough and a few things have changed. Perhaps I posted on the wrong place - please let me know if so.

Since I can't get in to see my psychiatrist until next week, and I think we're going to disagree anyway, here's my dilemma. I went to see my primary care doc whom I absolutely love and trust. He agreed that the one week drop from 40 mg to 20 and then just stopping as the psyhc had suggested was too short, and he suggested that as I'm having such a tough time, and since I had side effects from the start of taking Cymbalta, that I go on 10 mg of Paxil to help me. So I started that on Monday and also stopped taking the Cymbalta completely. Thus, my Cymbalta 'trial' was as follows: two weeks of 20 mg while tapering off 40 mg Lexapro, then three or four weeks on 40 mg of Cymbalta with no Lexapro, then 9 days of 20 mg of Cymbalta.

Today is the fourth day of being completely off Cymbalta and taking 10 mg of Paxil. Oh boy! Monday and Tuesday I had much milder withdrawal symptoms and things were kind of okay. I thought I was winning the battle. But then yesterday, BAM! By late afternoon the head zaps, etc. were the worse they had been since the beginning and I was actually tremoring (is that a word) from the shoulders up for a couple hours and could do nothing but lay down. Taking several tablespoons of high omega fish oil several times helped a bit. At least the crying has pretty much stopped, just a few tears rolling down my cheeks yesterday, maybe just for self-pity, but not the completely out of the blue sobbing I had the first seven weeks.

So trying to find some sense in all of this my thinking is that the side effects got worse again because I completely stopped the Cymbalta. I thought the Paxil would kick in faster, but I guess not. So, since the Paxil isn't helping faster maybe I should just cut it out, too, and just suffer through the withdrawal for another few days. But, will it only be a few days?

I've been on and off several other antidepressants over the last 20 years and never had any problems. After all the researching I've done I'm wondering if having taken these medications for so many years that my body has actually changed somehow and in addition to Cymbalta not being a good choice for me, that psychically I now react differently.

This is so frustrating that everyday not only do I feel bad, but I feel as if I'm wasting my time since any productivity in daily life has pretty much disappeared. In addition, my relationship with my husband is strained as he understands but is kind of like okay enough is enough. He thinks I should also just stop taking the 5 mg of Adderal and cut in half the 2 mg of Xanax! I told him he's nuts and that will take months.

I really feel for those of you out there who this is/has taken months to go through, and don't know how you stand it. I guess I'm a wimp about feeling this way and am very impatient.

Any related experiences or advise from anyone will be appreciated. Thanks.