No replies to this topic

[Aliss]

Hello everyone,

First let me say that I am so relieved to find that this resource exists. I found it while desperately searching for some answers or remedies online this week and it has already helped to A: reassure me that I'm not going crazy and B: find a few small remedies to make the withdrawal process a little more bearable.

However, I must say that I'm honestly having a little trouble navigating the information, particularly in my current brain-addled state. So please forgive me if I ask anything here that's already been answered.

I've been trying to come off of Cymbalta for about a month and a half now, with my doctor tapering my dose since mid-March. I started at 90mg in March and my first day at 0mg was last Tuesday or Wednesday. Most of my step-downs in dosage weren't bad, but the last week has been just terrible. It feels like my whole body has just completely turned on me in every way possible.

However, I've really been wondering whether this is Cymbalta specifically or antidepressants in general. (Or at least whether my history with other antidepressants is making things worse.) I've been taking Cymbalta for about 3 or 4 years now but have been on some sort of antidepressant without interruption for 11 years. I was put on them as a young teen and simply never given the option to come off of them until now. Things I've been reading about neurology lately have led me to question whether this hasn't caused more problems than it's solved, particularly as all signs point to my being misdiagnosed in the first place as a kid.

This is really leading to a lot of anger on my part, particularly now that I'm struggling so much to get off of Cymbalta. It's to the point that I'm wondering if I'll need to go back on it for life not because I have any condition it treats, but just because there's no way to get me off it safely. Could I just be indefinitely dependent on this stuff because it was introduced to my system so long before my brain was finished developing?

It makes things so much worse that these aren't questions that my doctor can answer because the information doesn't seem to be out there in any sort of scientifically peer reviewed form. How terrifying!

Maybe someone on here has some similar experience? I've seen some posts here indicating that how long the withdrawal syndrome lasts may be dependent on how long you were taking the drug. Do I factor in the other drugs as well? And how bad will this get? Is it safe to assume that it's plateaued and will at least get no worse than it is now, a week out? And I guess the big question: Is there any coming back from antidepressant land at all?