24 replies to this topic

[MissAmber]

My name is Amber and I have been on Cymbalta for about 5 years for anxiety, depression, panic attacks, and OCD. I feel that I am ready to live my life without depending on this medicine. I know this is not an option for some people and that is completely understandable, but I have felt ready to do this for some time now. I have never had any side effects from Cymbalta except for the occasional night that I forgot to take it, I would have night sweats and horrible nightmares. I had been on 60mg about the whole 5 years, but reduced the dose to 30mg about 6 months ago when I decided that I wanted to go on this journey. I know coming off Cymbalta is a journey in itself because I have done quite a bit of research on it. I am on my 3rd day now without any medicine and besides the night sweats and nightmares (which I'm used to from forgetting to take it) I have now developed nausea, diarrhea, "brain zaps" and dizziness. I have decided to try cold turkey instead of opening up the capsules and taking out the little medicine balls. Does anyone have any advice for me or comments? Thanks.

[RickWC]

Sorry nobody has replied to you. Hope you are feeling better. I had to wean and I won't do cold turkey again.

[chrism23]

Hey,

Since you decided to document your withdrawal, and my timing is about the same, I decided to share. This the second time I stopped. I have been doing 60 mgs for about 2 years. I was going to taper again, as I did the first time, so for about 10 days I went from 60 to 30mgs an was going to start going the alternate day, then every third day, route, I did the first time, about 3 years ago. But after 8 or 9 days @ 30 mgs, I felt horrible, extreme GI symptoms, cramping, abdominal pain, and lethargy, I figured what the hell and went cold turkey last Friday, 5 days ago. The first two days were fine, Saturday my band even played a concert and I felt great. Sunday, 3rd day cold turkey, it was like I got hit by a train. The GI symptoms are severe, like a killer case if irritable bowel syndrome, I am literally double over trying to type right now. I am having bouts of anxiety and sadness, chills, all sorts of stuff going on. I knew this was all going to happen, the great mystery will be how long it lasts. Right now I would say its like a very bad flu, and I know its not the flu, because I had a shot.

This is being made somewhat more bearable by the fact that I live in New England, we are in the midst of an epic snow and ice storm, so I am totally housebound, so I don't have to feel guilty about hunkering down and not having to go out. Its impossible. My only misgiving at the moment is that I have a limited script for Xanax and nothing else. If possible I would have laid in a couple of weeks worth of valium, its longer lasting, and I would have heavily numbed out the 1st week of this. For me any benzo at all helps, if only to get to sleep.

So I am at day 5 or so with you. I will share what's going on. This is karma in a way, about 20 years ago I went through something similar with a women named Amber in another place and just maybe we helped out each other a bit. If you can please post updates, I am curious to see how long it takes you to get clear.

shanti

[Mimi12]

Hello, today is my 2nd day of being off of the pill. I weened myself for about 2 weeks, but because i no longer have medical insurance i had to stop all together. I have been waking up every morning with nauseau, not to mention the crazy vivid nightmares i have every night. I also snap at people for no reason what so ever. My family understands that i am trying to get off of the pill which i was on for about 2 years (60mg). However, i dont think they fully understand what i am going through. It makes it extremely hard to live my everyday life, especially being i am actively looking for a new job. i have read a lot of responses in this forum and i hear a lot about "head/brain spasms". This really scares me, i have not yet had that side effect and hope not to get it. If anyone has any suggestions on what to do when quitting cold turkey please reply...

[Dave]

Hello all I was on Cymbalta for 4 months, started at 30mg then to 60. the Dr gave me a week of 30 and said stop after that. He NEVER mentioned withdrawal symptoms. I honestly thought i was getting very sick, until I looked into if there were any withdrawal side effects. the dizziness, brain zaps, constantly feeling sea sick are somewhat bearable compared to the hell at night. I take Xanax and Remeron at night to sleep and i just lay there, night sweats twist and turn all night, it’s horrible and I am exhausted all day. Can anyone tell me that at least at some point this does go away? Everything I have been reading seem similar but no one has said it does at some point pass. Does anyone have any tips to getting some sleep, i am almost at the point of desperation.

[audrey]

Hello all I was on Cymbalta for 4 months, started at 30mg then to 60. the Dr gave me a week of 30 and said stop after that. He NEVER mentioned withdrawal symptoms. I honestly thought i was getting very sick, until I looked into if there were any withdrawal side effects. the dizziness, brain zaps, constantly feeling sea sick are somewhat bearable compared to the hell at night. I take Xanax and Remeron at night to sleep and i just lay there, night sweats twist and turn all night, it’s horrible and I am exhausted all day. Can anyone tell me that at least at some point this does go away? Everything I have been reading seem similar but no one has said it does at some point pass. Does anyone have any tips to getting some sleep, i am almost at the point of desperation.

[audrey]

I have been on just about every type of antidepressant out there. When I started taking Cymbalta it was because my Dr. had samples of it but I had been on Lexapro. So he gave them to me and they worked great until I wanted to come off. I have come off every drug cold turkey before including high levels of Xanax and that was nothing compared to what I am feeling trying to come off Cymbalta! I feel like I'm severely depressed, have the flu and going nuts. And that is tapering. from 30mgs to emptying half the capsule. When I empty half the capsule I just lose it. This drug is dangerous I wish to God I never started it. I feel worse than when I was depressed trying to come off this crap! The reason I am trying to come off it is it gives me severe diarrhea and no sex drive. I wish you all well in your journey. I know I need to keep looking for ways to help me come off this besides what I am doing!

[ainsley25]

Hello all I was on Cymbalta for 4 months, started at 30mg then to 60. the Dr gave me a week of 30 and said stop after that. He NEVER mentioned withdrawal symptoms. I honestly thought i was getting very sick, until I looked into if there were any withdrawal side effects. the dizziness, brain zaps, constantly feeling sea sick are somewhat bearable compared to the hell at night. I take Xanax and Remeron at night to sleep and i just lay there, night sweats twist and turn all night, it’s horrible and I am exhausted all day. Can anyone tell me that at least at some point this does go away? Everything I have been reading seem similar but no one has said it does at some point pass. Does anyone have any tips to getting some sleep, i am almost at the point of desperation.

Hi dave,
my name's ainsley and i have just gone off cymbalta 4 days ago after taking them for about 6 months too and i would never have started taking them if i had known how terrible it was going to be to withdraw. i have spewed basically constantly and i had to go to hospital to get rehydrated. i thought i was getting really sick too and they misdiagnosed me with the gastro. my dr. mentioned i might have a "mild spaced out feeling"... but that is probably the understatement of the century because i feel so dizzy and nauseau it's like an out of body experience.reading what you wrote about your experience was oddly helpful to me, just i guess to know that this feeling is real and not just me being melodramatic or something. i hope you'll let me know how things turn out for you and i really really hope you can get some sleep soon.
ains

[ainsley25]

hey amber,
i hope you're feeling better. i hope someone will post when they are feeling better so we can have some idea of how long this is going to last. i'm in my 4th day of hell and i really need to know i'm going to be able to think straight soon. this is a real drag on not just me but my poor family and my lovely housemate and my long suffering boyfriend. i'd love to be able to tell them when i might be able to reemerge from under my doona or empty my own spew bucket. thanks
ainsley

[pamela]

hey amber,
i hope you're feeling better. i hope someone will post when they are feeling better so we can have some idea of how long this is going to last. i'm in my 4th day of hell and i really need to know i'm going to be able to think straight soon. this is a real drag on not just me but my poor family and my lovely housemate and my long suffering boyfriend. i'd love to be able to tell them when i might be able to reemerge from under my doona or empty my own spew bucket. thanks
ainsley

Ainsley,

Don't lose hope. You will feel better. I stopped 2 weeks ago and have felt great but it took a long time and with a few bumpy spots. If you look through the forum you will find that people have used different methods to get off this drug with differing results. I had to wean VERY slowly because I couldn't stand feeling crappy. I also added Prozac at the end of my wean and kept on my usual dosage of Wellbutrin.

You are 4 days out going cold turkey? It's up to you if you think that you can continue to feel that bad for a bit more or want to go back on at a lower dosage and do a slow wean. Both ways aren't easy.
Have hope!
All my best,
Pam

[ainsley25]

Pam, thank you so much for writing to me. It really means a lot to me. One of the worst things about this is feeling so alone inside my head for so long. My family and friends have been really supportive but they can't really understand what it's like. I feel so sea sick and the brain flashes are almost unbearable. I'm not even sure my doctor knows this is a real thing or that she would believe how bad it feels if I told her. I'm so nauseous and physically sick i had to go to the hospital last night to be rehydrated... How can coming off a perscription medication be so bad you have to get a drip just to keep fluids down? I never knew it was going to be like this. My doctor wants to start me on a new pill called Pristiq but I'm afraid of going through this all again. I got some diazapan from the hospital last night to last me a week and hoepfully by then it'll be out of my system. I did a ween from 90 to 60 to 30 over the last fortnight but this is the 5th day with nothing. I feel like such a junky, reeling for a hit. Any other suggestions of foods or suppliments that might help would also be greatly appreciated. Thanks again.
ains

[Emma]

Pam, thank you so much for writing to me. It really means a lot to me. One of the worst things about this is feeling so alone inside my head for so long. My family and friends have been really supportive but they can't really understand what it's like. I feel so sea sick and the brain flashes are almost unbearable. I'm not even sure my doctor knows this is a real thing or that she would believe how bad it feels if I told her. I'm so nauseous and physically sick i had to go to the hospital last night to be rehydrated... How can coming off a perscription medication be so bad you have to get a drip just to keep fluids down? I never knew it was going to be like this. My doctor wants to start me on a new pill called Pristiq but I'm afraid of going through this all again. I got some diazapan from the hospital last night to last me a week and hoepfully by then it'll be out of my system. I did a ween from 90 to 60 to 30 over the last fortnight but this is the 5th day with nothing. I feel like such a junky, reeling for a hit. Any other suggestions of foods or suppliments that might help would also be greatly appreciated. Thanks again.
ains

I don't feel like I should be giving advice when I am in so much pain myself, but here is something I found out. Taking this medicine makes your blood sugar go all over the place. I found that if I cut out sugar and white bread etc, drank PLENTY during the day and ate something that would be absorbed slowly into the blood an hour before bed, the night sweats stopped. It may be a coincidence but doing this means your blood sugar doesn't rise during the night and so you don't release as much of the stress hormone cortisol. So I read. I don't know if this is reliable, but it did seem to make a difference with the night sweats.

[pamela]

Pam, thank you so much for writing to me. It really means a lot to me. One of the worst things about this is feeling so alone inside my head for so long. My family and friends have been really supportive but they can't really understand what it's like. I feel so sea sick and the brain flashes are almost unbearable. I'm not even sure my doctor knows this is a real thing or that she would believe how bad it feels if I told her. I'm so nauseous and physically sick i had to go to the hospital last night to be rehydrated... How can coming off a perscription medication be so bad you have to get a drip just to keep fluids down? I never knew it was going to be like this. My doctor wants to start me on a new pill called Pristiq but I'm afraid of going through this all again. I got some diazapan from the hospital last night to last me a week and hoepfully by then it'll be out of my system. I did a ween from 90 to 60 to 30 over the last fortnight but this is the 5th day with nothing. I feel like such a junky, reeling for a hit. Any other suggestions of foods or suppliments that might help would also be greatly appreciated. Thanks again.
ains

Ainsley,

Pristiq is in the same class as Cymbalta and works on both serotonin and norapenphrine (sp?) like Balta does. The only way that I was able to get off the Cymbalta was doing a very slow wean and adding Prozac at the end. I took about 3 months to get off completely. There were times over the past few years that I was up to 90mg. Dropping from 90 to 60mg never seemed to bother me but once I dropped lower than that I started to feel withdrawal symptoms.
In addition to my slow wean and adding Prozac I added Omega 3, Flax Seed, increased my water intake and tried to exercise as much as I felt that I was able to.
I did have to take a few days off of work over that period since I was feeling bad.
I read everything that I could on this board and others and tried to figure out what was working for others and what I could do to help. It's not an easy journey....AT ALL.
I hope that your Dr. is able to help you through this and get you back on your feet. No one should have to suffer from depression but we certainly shouldn't have to have all these problems getting off the medication either. It's like adding insult to injury!
Pam

[ainsley25]

ok my boyfriend has just been sent out with just about the weirdest shopping list ever, 8 lucozade, flaxseed, fish oil, calcium suppliments LSA (a lot of people have told me this is good) and wholegrain everything.
I do think drinking a lot of water helps with the stomach cramps but there are just so many symptoms I feel like as soon as one subsides another one gets worse. I also heard that something called 5-HTP might be helpful to me...anyone know anything about that? My housemates dad swear that L-Theanine stopped his panic attacks... they both have freakishly names like antidepressents which i've recently grown a well placed mistrust for but are apparently naturally occuring amino type acids. As you can see i'm sort of clutching at straws. i hope everyone else is doing ok today. hang in there. ains

[pamela]

ok my boyfriend has just been sent out with just about the weirdest shopping list ever, 8 lucozade, flaxseed, fish oil, calcium suppliments LSA (a lot of people have told me this is good) and wholegrain everything.
I do think drinking a lot of water helps with the stomach cramps but there are just so many symptoms I feel like as soon as one subsides another one gets worse. I also heard that something called 5-HTP might be helpful to me...anyone know anything about that? My housemates dad swear that L-Theanine stopped his panic attacks... they both have freakishly names like antidepressents which i've recently grown a well placed mistrust for but are apparently naturally occuring amino type acids. As you can see i'm sort of clutching at straws. i hope everyone else is doing ok today. hang in there. ains

Ainsley-
Good for you boyfriend to help you! I sent mine out a few times to get me some 'feel better' helps.

I am not a Dr. but I would not take 5-HTP or L-Theanine right now. Anything that effects the serotonin in your brain that you take could interfere with the Cymbalta. You could end up getting really sick. Just my advice.

If you are still taking the Cymbalta at 30mg you might want to add in the supplements, healthy eating, exercise and just wait until your feeling a bit better before dropping again. I am a huge believer in small, steady drops.

[matalesse]

This is my second day cymbalta free. I have been on 60 mg per day for years and one form or anothernof antidepressants since 1999. Per my dr's instructions, to taper, I took 30 mg cymbalta for one week while starting wellbutrin at 150 mg. Now I'm on 300 mg wellbutrin only. My boyfriend asked me today if the real me was the person he fell in love with. I was so assertive during a conversation we had he didn't recognize me.

I told my doctor I was tired of being numb and sleeping through my life. And now I sit here typing at 1:30 in the morning. I do have a prescription for lorazepam to help with the anxiety and have only taken two so far since I began tapering. I understand it is addictive and don't want to develop a dependency on it or any other drug.

The vertigo is there but bearable. When I move my eyes or head left to right quickly I can feel it. Also I feel these twitches on my face and nose. My ears ring and concentrating is very difficult. My emotions are all over the board. And I want to do 10 things at the same time. I have to be very deliberate and take one step at a time. Do the next right thing.

Ainsley, remember that nothing is forever and that bad situations get better. There is always hope! And you will get better.

Reaching out is a great first step.

[MissAmber]

Hello everyone! I'm so sorry I haven't posted anything since my original post on January 28th. I know it's important though to let others on this forum know how things turn out. Well, I talked to my doctor and she suggested that I wean myself off Cymbalta slowly. I did every other day for 3 weeks then every 2 days for two weeks. (I had previously tried to quit cold turkey and was so sick that I couldn't do it.) I still had the night sweats, nightmares, nausea, diarrhea, and "brain zaps" but they weren't nearly as severe as when I tried to stop cold turkey. It seemed like my body was becoming used to not having the medicine and the night sweats even became less often. I found that the best way to treat the nausea and "motion sickness" feeling was with Dramamine. I also had a prescription for Zofran and used it when i couldn't take the Dramamine because I needed to not be drowsy for work. It seemed to help too, but often gave me headaches. I ceased all exercise while I was weaning off because of the dizziness and motion sickness. I can gladly say that I am now a little over 2 weeks Cymbalta-free and I feel great! I still have the occasional "brain-zap" but no more night sweats, nightmares, motion sickness, and the stomach troubles have pretty much resolved. I also haven't experienced any sadness or panic attacks. I owe it all to God and His Son Jesus Christ who helped me through every day-one second, one minute, one hour at a time. I know all of you started taking this drug for some of the same reasons as me, but if you are ready to come off of it, I want you to know that it is possible and I will be praying for you as you make the journey. God Bless, --Amber

[gotcha]

Hello all I was on Cymbalta for 4 months, started at 30mg then to 60. the Dr gave me a week of 30 and said stop after that. He NEVER mentioned withdrawal symptoms. I honestly thought i was getting very sick, until I looked into if there were any withdrawal side effects. the dizziness, brain zaps, constantly feeling sea sick are somewhat bearable compared to the hell at night. I take Xanax and Remeron at night to sleep and i just lay there, night sweats twist and turn all night, it’s horrible and I am exhausted all day. Can anyone tell me that at least at some point this does go away? Everything I have been reading seem similar but no one has said it does at some point pass. Does anyone have any tips to getting some sleep, i am almost at the point of desperation.

Hello Dave,

I am weening myself from the dreadful med too. at night I take Remeron and two Tramadol I sleep well all night, can't stop the dreams from coming, but it sure beats not getting any rest. My doctor said it is important to get rest. I hope this help. Thanks

[Debbie1]

Hi ALL!! My name is Debbie and Im so glad to have found this page!! I've been on cymbalta for about 6 months now maybe alil more, I just felt depressed with my life and still greiving over the death of my brother and sister. I started taking cymbalta, first 30 then 60 now up to 120mgs..i recently had surgery on my back through a workmans comp case, I lost my job and medical insurance during this long time frame..I could not fill my cymbalta for about a week..OMG!!! I was feeling like I was going to call it quits with my live..I DIDNT know about the serious withdrawl symptoms I was going to have!! MAJOR BRAIN ZAPS,,SERIOUS DEPRESSION,,VOMITING, FLUE LIKE SYSMPTOMS,,COUGHING THROUGH THE NIGHT, SNEEZING,EXTREME BODY ACHES.. NOT ABLE TO GET SLEEP!!! It was aweful, I didnt know what was happeneing to me!I got my insurance back yesterday and I finally got my perscrition for my Cymbalta and took the 120 mg dose rite away...I woke this morning feeling great!I decided to look up the withdral symptoms and found you guyz! I am soooooooo glad I did! now I know what has been happening to me! I WANT OFF this stuff but feel I have no way out now! I dont want to go through this again!

[Debbie1]

Hello Dave,

I am weening myself from the dreadful med too. at night I take Remeron and two Tramadol I sleep well all night, can't stop the dreams from coming, but it sure beats not getting any rest. My doctor said it is important to get rest. I hope this help. Thanks

I know how you feel....I just posted below,,,I didnt know what was wrong with me,,,and felt like slicing my wrists last night before I went to bed...Then I woke up after taking my 120mg dose and feel much more clear headed,,,,I need to get off as well...im scared of this stuff!

[janicebeware]

Have been on cymbalta 90mg for 1 year..for major depression. It has always been so easy for dr's to just give you anything and everything b/c of profit..I have been on antidepressants for 15 years. Started with Prozac, Zoloft, Paxil, Pristique(sp?), Lexapro, effexor?, and some others i cthen...shitbalta(read this from another site, thought the name suited it very well)... started on 30, went to 60..just cause I asked for it...and then 90. I can't tell you how crappy I've been! Mood swings, Anger, crying spells, wanting to jump off a bridge.. I love to drink beer too...maybe not the best choice combo, but needed to find a few happy moments, ya know? The next day...ahhh, serious depression let me tell you! Anyway, decided to quit cold-turkey! I was experiencing these wierd "zaps" in my eyes/brain while I was on cymbalta, but now I am not...thank God! Still depressed, but feel like I am getting better. I don't know about anybody else, but have you ever felt like "what is really depression vs. normal saddness?" Ive been on these destroying my soul pills for so long that i dont know how to tell the difference! I can tell you this...alcohol has to be stopped while doing this withdraw process! Maybe even forever! so for all you "depressed people" out there...stop drinking and be hopefull! I can feel the happiness inside dying to get out...especially now that the drugs are gone...

[centralny]

Hi Amber, I have been on cymbalta for 2 years for migraines and neuorapathy. I was orig. on 60 and went to 30 a year ago and have just started to go off cymbalta. My doc. said to do 30 every other day. So this is where I am. I am having waves of "the elevator sensation" and am a bit more spacey , ie stopping at a green light.... I hope you are doing okay. I'm worried, but hope I can handle it and that my migraines still respond to the migraine meds like they started to while on the cymbalta. Prior to cymbalta nothing touched them and they lasted for days. Ugh. Keep the faith and good luck! Jay

[centralny]

I guess I was really writing to Debbie and Dave.... Sorry, like I said I am a tad spacey.

[lilmiz65]

Hello All! OMGosh am I thankful I found this! I was giving this awful drug 5 years ago while in the hospital for "pain" as I was told. When I found out from commercials on tv, not any of my drs., that you shouldn't take this if you have liver problems I about fell over. Guess what I have liver problems and to kick it all off, the dr. that gave it to me knew my medical history well. I wasted no time getting to my newest dr. and insisted I get off of it. I have been on many different drugs for pain because I had been ran over by a car in 88, none have been this hard to get off. And many of them have been very addictive. But none have had the effect that this one has! I was told of a few withdrawel symptoms but not until I came here did I realize that the things I've been going through was withdrawel from Cymbalta. This is the second time I have attempted to ween off, the first time was doing the every other day thing. Didn't work for me! This time I was told to do it for 2 days, skip 1 for 2 weeks then skip 2 days and so on. I started this in the middle of June and have now come to the point where unless I look at my calendar I don't know rather I'm to take it that day or not. So I just stopped, I don't know for sure how many days now I have been without it. Each day has new challenges but thankfully those arround me know what's happening and have been very good with the mood swings. And they are major ones, even to the point I have to go off by myself and cry. Not because I'm depressed, I don't think but because my emotions are swinging right along side with everything else.

Thanks to everyone sharing, I realize that my stomach problems have to do with the withdrawal also. I was about to go to the ER the other day because of my stomach. Glad I didn't, just another medical bill I don't need. I hope that this is it. I have laid it on the Lord to get me through this, and I know He will. I hope and pray each of us can kick this in the butt. They should never give this to anyone unless it's something you'll be on the rest of your life.

[mailcheck]

What do you mean by "do it for 2 days, skip 1 for 2 weeks then skip 2 days and so on." Take the cymbalta as prescribed, then skip 1 dose or skip it for 2 weeks?
I also tried getting off it once before doing the usual way the dr tells you - and it was not pretty. I know from experience that getting off a drug the SECOND time is even harder, so I am doing it VERY gradually. Staying on 60 mg and introducing 30 mg one day a week - then the next day will do it 2 days but not 2 days in a row, etc. Had to write it down so I don't forget. Will see how it is going after a few weeks to see if I have to modify it or not. I already couldn't sleep at night - insomnia is part of fibromyalgia for which I took the cymbalta (and pain associated with it). But the new problem tonight is that I feel like my skin is crawling, or that a hair is continuously brushing against different parts of my skin. I haven't seen that mentioned in any of the posts and am curious about it. I am using lots of lotion, so it is not because of dry skin, especially in the summer.

I am new so don't even know how or where to post a reply. Would someone let me know if this is how to do it or not?

Thanks.