17 replies to this topic

[coldturkey2011]

Since going off Cymbalta cold turkey a week ago, I have had weird dreams at night. Some are depressing dreams, others I am depressed in the dream, Has that happened to anyone else? Thanks! - Trudi

[rach2424]

Yep, me too. Unfortunately that is one of the main withdrawl symptoms people report. It took about a full month before my nightmares/scary/depressing dreams went away Give it some time and they should go away.

[Namaste29]

Since going off Cymbalta cold turkey a week ago, I have had weird dreams at night. Some are depressing dreams, others I am depressed in the dream, Has that happened to anyone else? Thanks! - Trudi

I went off a week ago today... yes, the dreams are strange........out of body experiences. this is not easy.

[itsnotinyourhead]

YES! Sleep was pretty disturbing experience!
It gets better hang in there.
I still have weird dreams alot still, but not as bad.
I been off almost 10 wks.

[JustWannaBeHappy]

I have been having the worst dreams!! I am always dying in them for some reason and I can't wake up!! Even when I'm trying to have naps they are terrifying!! I really hope this doesn't last long!

[chimera]

I have been having the worst dreams!! I am always dying in them for some reason and I can't wake up!! Even when I'm trying to have naps they are terrifying!! I really hope this doesn't last long!

5 weeks off, and the dreams are still going- not as frequently (though have had a 'cluster' of them for the last week or so) but the not being able to wake up thing is horrible I know. the more overtired I am, the worse they are. trouble is, if you feel restless in the day/agitated/angry, tiring yourself can be the only way to feel less so. 'itsnotinyourhead''s post about still having this a bit at 10 weeks is heartening in that they will gradually taper off a bit, and not as bad. 

unusual quality of dreams, completely vile things that make me wonder how on earth my small brain could possibly have conjured it up lol!

[Zappinist]

I'm a worrier, and chances are, you are too. Wired to worry and constantly think. Mostly about cr#p. Recommend (if not already): charity work, advancing education, exploring different ideas, opinions, and cultures. Chances are, you'll begin worrying about more important things that you can actually address in a positive way vs. worrying about yourself, which is OK, but unproductive. This forum is proof that yes, you're normal and yes, you/we have a medical problem caused by a chemical hanging out in your/my brain, and yes, you/we will get better. And BTW, we all have things that may always bother us. Try to make them better, but accept them as part of being human. You have much more going right for you than you may be willing to admit right now because self-pity fills a void right now.

 

Dreams. Imagine not dreaming at all. Ever had a good one about a man or woman you love? Bet so. Same brain. Children have nightmares all the time, and we rush to their side, hold them, and take their mind off of it until they fall back to sleep. I can't remember the last nutty one I had, and it was this morning. Plan to have one tonight if fortunate to sleep. Some dreams are significant, but most aren't. Yes, we are having wild ones, but that's the Cymbalta talking. Go ahead and cry, drink a glass of water, go pottie, sob and say why me, read a blog, Twit, listen to new music, write a short story, brush your cat, teach your old dog a new trick. Have sex w/ your partner, or yourself. (Yes, a terrible long lasting side effect of a non_Cymbalta life is you may end up with an increased libido. How cruel!) Just DON'T sit or lie around waiting for the next shoe to fall. It will, but it's just a shoe. pick it up and put it away. And clean the house or laundry or closet or you body. Chances are, they're a bit messy. Remember - when you get better, and you will, people may reminisce about when you went through your funky stage. Gee, remember [Your Name] when you were getting off that Cymbalta and how smelly you were? Ah.. yeah. Gee, you know, I was really worried about you back then. Yeah, me too. And remember I told you you'd be fine, but you didn't listen to me. Yep, I didn't listen... like right now, you knucklehead...

 

You will get through this. We will get through this.

 

Recommendations: Google Jim Rohn, Zig Zigglar, Tony Robbins. Kelly McGonigal, His Holiness The Dalai Lama, and George Carlin. Search Mark Twain and Abraham Lincoln quotes. Write goofy stuff to complete strangers who can empathize with you. 

 

BTW, my rambling stopped being directed toward you, Princess Hope (alias Chimera) after about the 2nd sentence, so please don't take anything personally. And remember, I'm just into 7 days of cold turkey. When it comes to Cymbalta and rhetoric, I'm still somewhat full of it. And your brain's just the right size.

 

Peace to you tonight and always.    

[fishinghat]

God what does cymbalta do to us??? I understand what he said. Got to take more meds. lol

[Zappinist]

Just woke up. I think I slept OK. No tinnitus right now, which has been bad recently, but zaps are still there. 

 

I read what I wrote above. Sorry if it's disturbing to anyone. 

 

Been off work for a week and am scheduled to go in tomorrow.Quite worried about how I'll be. Considering taking more time off. Have plenty vacation saved up. How are all of you with jobs coping with work? 

 

Wow. Regularity, an old friend, has returned. A silver lining. 

[chimera]

I'm a worrier, and chances are, you are too. Wired to worry and constantly think. Mostly about cr#p. Recommend (if not already): charity work, advancing education, exploring different ideas, opinions, and cultures. Chances are, you'll begin worrying about more important things that you can actually address in a positive way vs. worrying about yourself, which is OK, but unproductive. This forum is proof that yes, you're normal and yes, you/we have a medical problem caused by a chemical hanging out in your/my brain, and yes, you/we will get better. And BTW, we all have things that may always bother us. Try to make them better, but accept them as part of being human. You have much more going right for you than you may be willing to admit right now because self-pity fills a void right now.

 

Dreams. Imagine not dreaming at all. Ever had a good one about a man or woman you love? Bet so. Same brain. Children have nightmares all the time, and we rush to their side, hold them, and take their mind off of it until they fall back to sleep. I can't remember the last nutty one I had, and it was this morning. Plan to have one tonight if fortunate to sleep. Some dreams are significant, but most aren't. Yes, we are having wild ones, but that's the Cymbalta talking. Go ahead and cry, drink a glass of water, go pottie, sob and say why me, read a blog, Twit, listen to new music, write a short story, brush your cat, teach your old dog a new trick. Have sex w/ your partner, or yourself. (Yes, a terrible long lasting side effect of a non_Cymbalta life is you may end up with an increased libido. How cruel!) Just DON'T sit or lie around waiting for the next shoe to fall. It will, but it's just a shoe. pick it up and put it away. And clean the house or laundry or closet or you body. Chances are, they're a bit messy. Remember - when you get better, and you will, people may reminisce about when you went through your funky stage. Gee, remember [Your Name] when you were getting off that Cymbalta and how smelly you were? Ah.. yeah. Gee, you know, I was really worried about you back then. Yeah, me too. And remember I told you you'd be fine, but you didn't listen to me. Yep, I didn't listen... like right now, you knucklehead...

 

You will get through this. We will get through this.

 

Recommendations: Google Jim Rohn, Zig Zigglar, Tony Robbins. Kelly McGonigal, His Holiness The Dalai Lama, and George Carlin. Search Mark Twain and Abraham Lincoln quotes. Write goofy stuff to complete strangers who can empathize with you. 

 

BTW, my rambling stopped being directed toward you, Princess Hope (alias Chimera) after about the 2nd sentence, so please don't take anything personally. And remember, I'm just into 7 days of cold turkey. When it comes to Cymbalta and rhetoric, I'm still somewhat full of it. And your brain's just the right size.

 

Peace to you tonight and always.    

'Princess Hope' has not taken it personally

[Ryan1340]

I am really glad I found this site it has really helped me to try and explain how I was feeling to my parents who had become worried about me. I started cymbalta a little over a year ago for chronic pain after trying numerous other medication with very little relief beside the strong pains meds like Percocet which I did not want to be on forever. By me being only 26 and surgery being the only option to possibly to correct my back problem with only a 60% chance that it would work or could even make it worse My orthopedic doctor was hesitant. So my Dr told me about cymbalta since I had not herd anything really negative about it I figured why not. So I stared on 30mg once a day and was told to bump it up to twice daily. But when I tried to 60mg daily it made me feel really Nauseous to the point I didn't want to get out of bed. So my Dr. drop me down to 20 mg twice a day which seemed to work my back pain had gotten better.

After being on being on it for over a year I finally put two in two together and realize Cymbalta was giving me some really crapy side effects that I didn't think cymbalta would cause like sweating non stop without even doing any activity and not being able to sleep and being very easily agitated and I had become a full on hermit by never leaving my house. So I Decided to do some research and Im glad I did cause I found this site and realized I was not alone and that many people shared the same problems like I had while taking this medication. Luckly I had only gone up to 40 mg once a day before I tried stopping. So I tried 20 mg once a day for a week and half and The side effects were manageable so I decided to try at 20 mg every other day. That's when the serve side effects started to kick in. So I decided to just go cold turkey after the second day I started getting the brains apps light headedness and very easily agitated and my anxiety had increased ten fold. But after day 5 some of the side effects had gone away I am now at 12 day and I'm am feeling a lot better but still now back to my old self. I also have been taking Anti-anxiety medicine which definitely is helping reduce some of the side effects. I just wish I had more info on this medication before I had started it if I had known about all this crap I would never had started taking. But one thing my back pain has come back which is the one thing Cymbalta seemed to help. I'm going to try physical therapy again to see if that helps. It will also make me leave my house which has been tuff these the last two weeks.

I will check back next week to update how things are going. Again I'm really glad I found this website and sorry for such a long post.

Ryan

[lady2882Nancy]

Welcome Ryan

Glad you found the site. It makes a big difference to know that you are not alone.

It's sad that the doctors are not better informed about this med or I'm sure they would not be so quick to give it to their patients.

You seem to be doing all the right things.

I look forward to hearing how you do.

Take care

[Ryan1340]

Thanks for the kind words and hope. I only wish I had found this site sooner and before I stop taking cymbalta. I was always told to never open a capsule so I thought 20mg was the lowest I could go. But now I read on this site about bead counting which makes perfect sense. I also read about taking some vitamins and keeping my diet to non processed food and lots of veggies and fruit. I hope that by doing this it will help me loose the extra weight that I had gained from being on cymbalta another side effect that was unaware of.

[chimera]

Thanks for the kind words and hope. I only wish I had found this site sooner and before I stop taking cymbalta. I was always told to never open a capsule so I thought 20mg was the lowest I could go. But now I read on this site about bead counting which makes perfect sense. I also read about taking some vitamins and keeping my diet to non processed food and lots of veggies and fruit. I hope that by doing this it will help me loose the extra weight that I had gained from being on cymbalta another side effect that was unaware of.

Hi Ryan, poor you with the pain- once you are off a bit longer, you'll notice your motivation coming back lots. then you'll be able to tackle the pain issue a lot better:) well done on getting this far.

[coblerb]

I have been having the worst dreams!! I am always dying in them for some reason and I can't wake up!! Even when I'm trying to have naps they are terrifying!! I really hope this doesn't last long!

Many times death in a dream symbolizes a new beginning. And usually a positive one

[Donnaprashad]

I'm on second day of trying cold turkey. Somebody tell me it's doable! I was bead counting for two days but decided I didn't want to prolong the symptoms. I just want to be myself again sooner than later.

[thismoment]

Donnaprashad- yes, it's doable. Many have gotten off cold turkey. As you know, after a few days the withdrawal symptoms will begin and they will stay pretty strong for a couple of weeks. 

 

If you decide at some point during cold turkey that you would rather do a slower withdrawal by bead-counting you can do that. Re-instate the Cymbalta until you are stable, then start the bead counting.

 

Best wishes!

[AaronSD]

I'm on second day of trying cold turkey. Somebody tell me it's doable! I was bead counting for two days but decided I didn't want to prolong the symptoms. I just want to be myself again sooner than later.

 

If you're going to try cold turkey or a rapid step down as I am (went from 60 to 30 then to 20 where I am currently) I recommend using medication(s)/supplements to help you deal with the side-effects.  I tried to discontinue cymbalta cold back in 2008 but used SAM-E (1,600 mg) to help lift my mood during the process.  It did help but the experience was still very difficult to get through.  If you have a serious problem with depression you might want to consider replacing cymbalta with another anitdepressant that is easier to discontinue.  I replaced Effexor (300 mg) with lexapro (20 mg) years ago and was able to maintain a stable mood (endured weeks daily nerve zaps though).  Your physician should have some recommendations for you.  I use magnesium (400 mg) to calm nerves and help me get to sleep.  Fish oil can have a mood stabilizing effect.  I have found 4,000 mg a day helpful.  The conventional wisdom regarding this and other psych meds is to wean, not abruptly discontinue.  It stands to reason that you may actually prolong your withdrawal symptoms by going cold because you throw your system out of balance.  If wasn't currently taking other powerful mood stabilizers, I definitly would not be attempting a rapid step down much less going cold.