14 replies to this topic

[rene]

ok so i am still getting dizzy spells and lightheadedness now 31 days out- my anxiety seems way up there too and things are kind of fuzzy and foggy!! i was reading through some of these old posts and saw something that greybeard had posted that we might be permanently damaged!! please tell me i read this wrong and i will not have to live the rest of my life like this :cry:

[rene]

thanks greybeard-- how are you feeling now?? sorry i freaked out about your post, i am just so scared right now that i will never be my normal self again that everything sets me off!

[rene]

greybeard--
i have read what you said you were like before cymbalta... have you had anxiety and depression your whole life or did something happen to bring it on?? also why the chronic pain?? sorry if this is too personal, it just seems like you are such a great and caring person and i hate to see someone have to go through all that..

[justintime]

Hey rene, I'm with you here on Day 30. Got some anxiety going this evening too. Am choosing to self-medicate with Law & Order on TV. So know that you're not alone! Maybe this message board needs a place for people to find a withdrawal buddy, like pen pals.

[bunzies]

hi--im on about day 31 since my last cymbalta--i know how you are feeling--one thing i learned from my dr. is that cymbalta has a 1/2 life of 6 to 6 1/2 weeks--it takes at least that amount of time for it to get out of your body--that's starting from the day of your very last cymbalta--i nearly died when my dr. told me that--how much can anyone take--i felt like i was dying and almost wished someone would just kill me and get it over with--my dr. put me on wellbutrin, but after a month of that, i decided it was causing everything to be worse--i tried to wean off cymbalta for about 2 months before totally stopping it--i did it the hard way-one every other day, then finally said no more--if i had known about this website, maybe i could have had an easier time of it, but at least knowing that everyone who's withdrawing from this nasty drug feels the same horrid misery--i can feel a lot of improvement since being off cymbalta-no more pain in my joints--i have read on this website that some people do well with a small dose of prozac--i took that for years, without any problems and no withdrawal--unfortunately the idiot dr. i started seeing 3 yrs ago gave me cymbalta to take instead of prozac--i wish i never even heard the word cymbalta--looking back, i feel it ruined 3 years of my life--i know that a lot of us have gained a bunch of weight from this nasty pill--has anyone withdrawing from it felt like their weight has gotten a bit worse after starting withdrawal, or am i just hallucinating? i feel like even though i haven't even hardly been able to eat anything due to all the nausea, like i'm swollen up--sounds weird, i know, but if anyone else has had this happen, please share your ideas about this--im sick of the plumpness--maybe my body's trying to get the cymbalta out, and it's trying to stay in me--now i really sound crazy, but i am withdrawing still--i've tried to exercise and do things outside to help me with anxiety--sometimes it can be very scary, because sometimes i wonder if the cymbalta just numbed my entire being, and now that i'm coming off of it, maybe the anger and anxiety are all the numbed up emotions coming out--i don't know--sometimes i think that all the anxiety, anger, nausea, aches,etc.......from cymbalta withdrawal are this nasty little pill's way of keeping people on it--no one ever told me this med was addicting--that's the part that really sucks--anyhow, i wish for all of us withdrawing to make it through this all--

[schmb01]

Actually, your doctor is misinformed. Cymbalta has a very short half life: "Duloxetine has an elimination half-life of about 12 hours (range 8 to 17 hours) and its pharmacokinetics are dose proportional over the therapeutic range. Steady-state plasma concentrations are typically achieved after 3 days of dosing"

That is a short quote from this link: http://www.rxlist.co...cymbalta_cp.htm

The short half life causes more issues because your go into withdrawal quickly, which is why it is easier to come off of drugs such as Prozac, which have a longer half life, therefore you are slowly eliminating the drug.

Ugh, just another example of why some doctors shouldn't be writing prescriptions for this crap, when they haven't a clue how they work in our bodies!!

[Lori]

Good Morning Bunzies, I am on day 28 and I still feel anxious. I have a hard time with being out in public. I know we have church in the morning and going to dinner with alot of family members. I usually get anxious thinking about it, I am anxious while there, but somehow feel better about the day, when I get back home. I think I understoodwhat Greybeard meant, even though I still get anxious or upset, it seems easier to calm down by getting involved with something else. Used to NOTHING could ease the anger or anxiety, but now, even though it is still with me, I seem to be able to control it now.
As far as the anger, I used to try to find a reason for the anger....I am angry because I cant think, I am angry because I dont want to be this way anymore....etc...but from what I can gather on here, the anger is just a stupid side effect. A headache needs no reason to be, brain zaps need no reason to be.....so I am thinking the anger is just anger, with no basis or foundation. I actually got mad yesterday and it was VALIDATED!!! I was so excited that I was actually upset and mad and it was not due to Cymbalta....I had a valid reason to be mad. I even called my Mama and daughter and told them about it. LOL Thats the first time I think I have felt normal. Did that make any sense to any of you?

[Sarah J]

hi--im on about day 31 since my last cymbalta--i know how you are feeling--one thing i learned from my dr. is that cymbalta has a 1/2 life of 6 to 6 1/2 weeks--it takes at least that amount of time for it to get out of your body--that's starting from the day of your very last cymbalta--i nearly died when my dr. told me that--

I hope that your doctor meant withdrawal might go on for 6 weeks. Because the half life is what schmb01 stated, which is why if you forgot to take one, you would start withdrawal. Yikes, you poor dear if your doc did tell you that. Total elimination of the drug from your body is 3-4 days.

Many people benefit from getting over the withdrawal with a few doses of Prozac - you might want to try that, especially if you were able to come off of that and not experience, this! I know that the "best way" to come off of one drug is not to substitute another, but I had to do that, I went 45 days cold turkey (because my doc said it had a short half life) and boy did my everything feel bad. Going to another antidepressant was a godsend for me and got me through. So I think I posted somewhere last night that I am antidepressant free now 31 days, the withdrawal from the second anti was very minimal and I never lost my ability to function or live my life.

And when you don't eat, your metabolism will stop, completely. You need to get some good nutrition (food = fuel) in your body. Once you start to eat again, your metabolism will begin working again. I hope that helps to ease some of your worry.

Moral of the story, if you know you can get over Prozac, give it a try if you are suffering and not seeing improvement. If you are seeing daily improvement, keep on doing what you are doing! Don't suffer needlessly. And if taken correctly, anti-anxiety medication is helpful for withdrawal to keep you calm.

Hang in there and make sure that your doctor knows that the half life of Cymbalta is not 6.5 weeks. Yikes!

[justintime]

Bunzies - I am on Day 31 and I have some of the same problems as you do in your post: the weird weight gain, bloated feeling. Four months before I started withdrawal I started a real exercise and diet program (b/c I'd gained a total of 50 pounds on various antidepressants over five years) and was doing so great for the first three months - lost 17 pounds and was kicking butt in the gym. Then withdrawal hit. Did not exercise for four weeks. Barely functioning. Tried to start again this week: trying to garden a bit (b/c spring's here and it's time) and attempting to do simple yoga. OMG. Muscle pain, cramps, fatigue. Forced me to the couch again, under a comforter to get warm to stop the cramping. So I am still not exercising. Have gained 7 pounds back in 30 days, losing muscle. Just another lovely effect of withdrawal.

[bunzies]

yea, i was kind of wondering about this dr. that i have--i guess at least he acknowledges that there are withdrawals from the med--once i was one week into withdrawal, i began to bicycle every day again, but have still noticed the swelling--i take thyroid medication, and dont know that my metabolism has gone down--however, i wonder if the cymbalta masks the results of the thyroid blood tests--i dont know--maybe the extra weight is from the excessive sleep---all i know is that im tired of it--hopefully it will start coming off--i've started taking a small amount of compazine at bedtime to help with the nausea--thank you everyone for all your input--i truely do need a new toons doctor--i think most of the irritability part of the withdrawal is truely from the cymbalta withdrawal--i can normally self-talk myself through situations, but found at about the second week of withdrawal that my moods would go from very sad to extremely angry about the stupidest things--i am not bipolar, and this scared me really bad--i too felt like i couldn't cope with doing everyday things, and being around others was not good either--i fully understand the anxiety that people are feeling--i'm actually feeling fairly decent today--still a bit fluish, but the irrational anger isnt here--i do feel a bit anxious about it coming back, but hopefully it wont--sometimes it is very hard to imagine the withdrawals being totally gone, but i have more hope now, since i am not as severely nauseated as i was at first--i understand about having anger about having to go through this, because no one should have to, and it is so torturous that sometimes it feels like there is no end in sight--last week i was trying to figure out ways i could physically hurt myself (was trying to make a new bunny hutch, and while i was trying to let anger out each time i hit a nail, i had to make sure to move my hand out of the way because i knew at any time i might start to pound the crap out of my hand) and this week, i just cry on and off over nothing--but also over the grief of going through this withdrawal, and looking back at how miserable the evil drug made my life while i was on it--i am grateful to read on this website the stories of those of you that are further along than i am, and i am very glad to say that i am this far along--and i am not alone : :

[Sarah J]

yea, i was kind of wondering about this dr. that i have--i guess at least he acknowledges that there are withdrawals from the med--once i was one week into withdrawal, i began to bicycle every day again, but have still noticed the swelling--i take thyroid medication, and dont know that my metabolism has gone down--however, i wonder if the cymbalta masks the results of the thyroid blood tests---i think most of the irritability part of the withdrawal is truely from the cymbalta withdrawal---sometimes it is very hard to imagine the withdrawals being totally gone, but i have more hope now, since i am not as severely nauseated as i was at first--i understand about having anger about having to go through this, because no one should have to, and it is so torturous that sometimes it feels like there is no end in sight--last week i was trying to figure out ways i could physically hurt myself (was trying to make a new bunny hutch, and while i was trying to let anger out each time i hit a nail, i had to make sure to move my hand out of the way because i knew at any time i might start to pound the crap out of my hand) and this week, i just cry on and off over nothing--but also over the grief of going through this withdrawal, and looking back at how miserable the evil drug made my life while i was on it--i am grateful to read on this website the stories of those of you that are further along than i am, and i am very glad to say that i am this far along--and i am not alone : :

bunzies - before they let me take cymbalta they specifically made me get a thyroid test. That was 3.5 years ago and I don't remember why, but if the test did not come out right, they were not going to let me take Cymbalta. Not to scare you or add to your anxiety, but I wish I could remember why they did this test. And I have not seen anybody else post about this test either. Tomorrow I will look it up and see why, but I can't call my old doctor because I fired him for telling me that I was not having any problems with the withdrawal, that withdrawal symptoms from the drug did not exist.

Yes, it is really hard during the worst of this to imagine feeling better, but it does happen. If you see improvement stick with what you are doing. But if you start to melt down, many people get through this with a few doses of Prozac to get them through the worst and also anti-anxiety medication. You are not alone at all. Try to remain positive and relax, even though it is frightening at times. I never thought I would be able to say I was better, and it happened. It just took some time. Remember that we were taking a drug that altered our brain chemistry, and it has to return to balance. Hang in there.

[bunzies]

thanks, Sarah--if you find out about the thyroid test thing, please let me know--i've taken synthroid for 20 years and like i said, i wonder if the cymbalta messes up the tests? hmm--i see my dr on monday, and will ask him to give me some prozac--will this help relieve the nausea? the nausea is what's killing me now--i thought i was doing better with not being so nauseated, but tonight, i took a hot bath, and afterwards was sick as a dog--yuck-ruined my plans of trying to get out a little--couldn't even bring myself to go to the pharmacy to find some omega 3 supplement everyone seems to be using--anyhow, i've got to go for now--

[Sarah J]

bunzies - as far as I can tell from my old paper work was the test was to make sure I did not have an overactive thyroid gland. I am not familiar with thyroid medications or what yours is for.

It looks like you have been off now for about 31 days. I did not get Prozac, but Celexa (people come off the Prozac quicker, longer half life) and I felt better emotionally in about a day or so. It was at day 45 when I started the Celexa, and my nausea had gone already, so I can't tell you it will go away, but the emotional stuff was better pretty fast. I weaned off of the Celexa in about 41 days from a very low dose, if you have taken Prozac before and had no problems, try to go that route. I can't say that I recommend Celexa as an antidepressant, because my goal was to get off as soon as possible, so I weaned down every week. The withdrawal from the Celexa was really easy compared to Cymbalta.

I was kind of playing roulette, because before Cymbalta, I had never taken an antidepressant before, so all of the antidepressants available to me were scary that I would never get off, but I did and it has been 32 days off now of all antidepressants and I am doing well.

Hope this finds you today feeling better. Good luck with your doctor tomorrow, let us know how it goes.

[bunzies]

its 35 days now, since my last cymbalta--i saw my dr. last monday--he once again told me i still have a few more weeks of withdrawal, however, i'm feeling much better than i was to begin with--i stopped taking the wellbutrin this dr. gave me, and am not aggitated anymore--right now im not taking anything other than the trazedone i was prescribed years ago, to help me sleep--the more off of the cymbalta i am, the more energy i have--starting to feel like i did, before i took my first cymbalta, about 3 years ago--what a waste of my life, being on that drug--my only misery right now is the bouts of nausea and plumpness--theyre not as severe as they were (bouts of nausea) , to begin with, but unfortunately they're still here, on and off--been bicycling every day, but don't think i've lost any weight yet--maybe it's because i've had to eat crackers to alleviate the nausea (i normally don't eat things like crackers, bread, etc., ) Anyhow, i hope everyone's feeling better--

[schmb01]

Great news that you are feeling better! Give yourself some time, that biking should start to pay off as far as the weight goes, and it is probably helping a lot with your energy levels too! Aren't your proud of yourself? Thanks for letting us all know how you are doing!

Babby