6 replies to this topic

[Tom]

Hi guys and gals,

This is my first post but i have been reading for a couple weeks.

Lets start at the begining. I was suffering from Major and Chronic Depression and Anxity attacks. i was barely coping. Stressful marrage made more stressful by my issues. one day my foot turned purple and swelled up greatly. I went to the DR and my blood pressure and blood sugar was at fatal levels. I went on a diet and started taking HTCZ. after a few weeks my DR put me on Cymbalta (60mg) for Dibetic Nuropathy. Strangely enough the Depression and Anx attacks became totaly controlable and my life got better.(so i thought) 4 years in to cymbalta and my 16 year marrage fell apart in 2008 due to (what i now know is the side effects of Cymbalta) I gained 75 pounds even though i was following a diabetic diet and although i wasnt having any anxiaty attacks the depression would cycle in every couple weeks for a few days to the point of all i wanted was to die. (the last time and worst time was memoral day, 2010)
a few weks ago i was trying to put to gether a tv stand and wanted to cry because i couldnt understand the instructions. i started looking up Cymbalta issues and found this place. and after some informed thought i did it , i went cold turkey off Cymbalta after 6 years. I have had the shakes, im totaly exhausted but hve had 2 hours sleep in the last 2 days because i cannot sleep (even with the help of ambian), diarea for 2 days now, nausia, mood swings and i cant stop eating and i am always hungry.
Thinking process cleared up 3 days in.
today is payday and im picking up some all natural juice and vitamans. im going beat this...

Thanks for listening

THolt

[cookie]

Dear Tom
I am not a doctor, but I feel that diabetes and depression are linked. Lack of nutrients sometimes bring depressive symptoms, and diabetics do not use glucose (source of energy) properly.
I´ve been reading this site for a while, and it seems that going cold turkey maximizes withdrawal symptoms.
I have taken cymb for 5 years. I also gained a lot of weight while being on cymb and a psychotropic drug. I was so overweight that I started having insulin and glucose problems, with no family history of diabetes.
I started weaning slowly 8 months ago. I´ve had a long list of emotional and physical symptoms, but I have been able to "funtion" to some extend. It is important that you check you glucose closely now (that you quit cymb and you mention you are always hungry).

[Pattie]

Ambien quit working for me too after quitting cymbalta. Cold turkey off cymbalta 6 weeks. All the normal withdrawal effects for 3-4 weeks. Then got hypomanic. Ambien barely worked for a while, and then not at all. Then 4 days of no sleep at all. Now on benzos first time in my life. Beside cymbalta withdrawal I am also probably also in ambien withdrawal. Developed terrific lower back pain and severe all over body aches and pains a year ago. Now that i look back, it was when doc put me on effexor. Then, a couple other a/ds in between, then cymbalta for four months to help pain. Didnt realize at the time pain was getting even worst. Shortly after bad withdrawal hit, I realized all pain was gone. Still pain free. Doctor said Cymbalta can cause pain. Oh well. It's 4:15 pm now and I'm going to eat my breakfast now. I thought i already did, but just found it in the microwave. I can't even function.

[awake]

I'm anxious to follow how this goes for you. I was trying to wean off my 60 mg daily dose (only had been decreasing for about a week), but then went out of town and forgot to take the meeds with me. I have been off of them cold turkey for 5 days now as a result. My symptoms are bothersome, but manageable and I'm wondering if I should just stick with and and be free, or go back to tapering off. Honestly, if I can manage through it, I'd rather just be off of it. I only took the meeds for about 5 weeks. It didn't take long for me to decide that being asleep all day, up all night, having an additional bill of about $140/mo and having no orgasms (pardon my lack of subtlety) was not on my top ten list of ways to beat depression.

So I am at the crossroads...should I stay off and manage the withdrawals through diet and maybe some supplements...or go back to breaking open capsules and possibly prolong the process. At day 5 I am dizzy, but no brain zaps; nauseated, and just..stomach pain; insomnia but tired, and when I do sleep crazy vivid dreams but not nightmares; crawly skin; a little moody/irritable but not too bad; headache, but I always have that.

I realize that I should talk to my dr, but my dr put me on this stuff, and I'm just not convinced that her advice is the best.

Anyway. Thanks. And good luck.

[Pattie]

Awake – I’m still going cold turkey and going through hell. In the past 2 weeks I’ve been to the doctor 3 times, the emergency room once, and a psychiatrist (quack – not going back). Besides the nausea, flu-like symptoms, etc. I also developed hypomania. I’m ready to collapse due to the inability to sleep. Ambien quit working, Klonopin (benzo) allows me to sleep some (not a good sleep) but I hate it, I had a paradoxical affect to xanax xl (felt great but couldn’t sleep at all. There’s the possibility that I am actually Bipolar II due to the hypomania so I tried Depakote (mood stabilizer). Two and a half days and I feel like crap. It also brought me down and I went on a crying jag yesterday (I never cry). I won’t take it anymore. I have 6 ativans from when I went to the emergency room. They don’t know anything about psych drug withdrawals and just said that I had a panic attack.
I’m still doing research all over the internet. I found the following on ‘Wiki.’ Here is the excerpt:

Duloxetine
Eli Lilly, the manufacturer of duloxetine (brand name Cymbalta) warns that "one should not suddenly stop taking this medicine, as this may cause withdrawal symptoms such as dizziness, pins and needles sensations, nausea, difficulty sleeping, intense dreams, headache, tremor, agitation or anxiety. Withdrawal symptoms are temporary and are not the same as addiction." These responses could constitute physical dependence on the drug, but SSRI users do not experience the craving, impulsive use, or long-term relapse risk seen in drug addiction.
During marketing of other SSRIs and SNRIs (serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors), there have been spontaneous reports of adverse events occurring upon discontinuation of these drugs, particularly when abrupt, including the following: dysphoric mood, irritability, agitation, aggressiveness, dizziness, sensory disturbances (e.g., paresthesias such as electric shock sensations), anxiety, confusion, headache, lethargy, emotional lability, insomnia, hypomania, tinnitus, and seizures. Although these events are generally self-limiting, some have been reported to be severe.
Patients should be monitored for these symptoms when discontinuing treatment with Cymbalta. A gradual reduction in the dose rather than abrupt cessation is recommended whenever possible. If intolerable symptoms occur following a decrease in the dose or upon discontinuation of treatment, then resuming the previously prescribed dose may be considered. Subsequently, the physician may continue decreasing the dose but at a more gradual rate.[34]
Many patients on the drug longer than the Lilly test trials on discontinuation (which only studied patients after 9 weeks of exposure to Cymbalta), report anecdotal evidence of major withdrawals from Cymbalta lasting from weeks to many months. Since duloxetine is a newer drug (FDA-approval 2004), not many peer-reviewed articles have been published on its adverse effects or withdrawal phenomena, and effect of long term use is still unknown.

Here is the link to the full article “SSRI discontinuation syndrome.” http://en.wikipedia....uation_syndrome

[Tom]

Hey Guys,
Here is an update..
ok I did it..... a month and a half off of the cymbalta. feeling pretty good. have to just stop and breathe once in a while but i did it... everything seems strange not being on it anymore. i have kept the weight down and am slowly (Very slowly)loosing it.
now im only on Lisopril and ambian...
just thought i would give ya a heads up...

[pamela]

Hey Guys,
Here is an update..
ok I did it..... a month and a half off of the cymbalta. feeling pretty good. have to just stop and breathe once in a while but i did it... everything seems strange not being on it anymore. i have kept the weight down and am slowly (Very slowly)loosing it.
now im only on Lisopril and ambian...
just thought i would give ya a heads up...

Great News Tom!

It gives everyone hope to hear success stories!

All my best,
Pam