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[Erica]

I am so glad this forum!!!! I am on 60 mg of Cymbalta and I forgot to take it yesterday left the house today and I felt terrible all day. I am on it for ruptured discs and it has helped with the pain so much but I have felt terrible since I started it about 3 months ago maybe 4 months. I also have depression, some fibro, thyroid goiter, ruptured disc in L3, L4, and L5, possible cushings disease from drs prescribing too many steroids, so many allergies my allergy specialist was surprised by the allergies I have, and many more problems. I hate Cymbalta!!!! At first it was wonderful it was supposed to be for my pain and it helped with my depression, and I didn't know how I lived without it and now I wish I wouldn't have agreed to take it! I was so against antidepressants that I would only let my endocrinologist give me anything but xanax and only let him do that because I would get so upset and stressed out I could barely take care of my kids. He gave me xanax and let me see that it wouldn't be enough to help me. I then agreed to let him prescribe me wellbutrin 150 mg after I saw the xanax alone didn't help. Then I went to my pain management dr and he said he wanted me to give cymbalta a try since the Opana, and Lortabs didn't help me with my pain enough, he said it was a "mild" antidepressant but it is used to treat pain and it has worked very well with almost everyone I've put on it. The first day I took it I took the entire 60 mg instead of 30 not thinking and I was shaking tremendously, my eyes were so wide I looked like I was high on something, I was irritable, I couldn't sleep, I couldn't think, I was afraid to even get in the car and drive. SO the next day I took the 30 mg and I wasn't as bad but still had the same side effects. I still have the side effects sometimes my mom will see me some days and say she can't even stand to look at me because of the way my eyes look (she's not being mean when she says it she's just very worried). She was against me taking it in the first place as she has worked for a nutritionalist and has seen so many negative side effects from meds this is with all meds in general. The first month I was on it I bled the whole entire month very heavily like if I was having a period (sorry guys just seeing if anyone else has had this to happen), I spoke with my dr's PA at my follow up and she said that it was not a common side effect and thought that it was from my hypothyroidism. So I now bleed more often but the drs keep saying it is not a common enough side effect. I have had lots more side effects. My best friend who I haven't been able to see for a year as she is from Puerto Rico (her husband is in the coast guard and met her while stationed in PR they lived here in FL down the road from my house for 3 years)and we had such a great visit and I was so happy. The last time I had seen her was last year in PR and I wasn't like I am now. I talked to her a few days after they went back to PR and she said something has really bothered me she said when I was hugging you the reason I asked if I was hurting your back is because you were trembling and I noticed when you would hold something you were shaking so bad. I told her I got like that when they started me on the cymbalta. We talked on the phone for 3 hours and she kept telling me how concerned she was. So the side effect I have are constant shaking, nausea, constipation or diarrhea, terrible headaches, brain zaps, tingling sensations through my whole body, forgetfullness, trouble thinking, I'll start saying something and I lose my train of thought, trouble sleeping, and so many crazy dreams I could go on and on. The side effect that is constantand daily is shaking and nausea. So anyway last night I had it away from my other meds and didn't take it. Today I have felt terrible, who would've thought that missing one dose would cause so many problems. I took it as soon as I got home this evening but that was at 8:00pm so I had to go all day like that because I didn't have it with me. I had such bad brain zaps and they happened everytime I turned my head, if I went around a curve, if there was a loud noise and sometimes just out of the blue. At some times during the day I had to just stop what I was doing and sit down if I had access to a chair or I would have to just prop up against something and take very deep cleansing breaths as I felt like I was going to pass out. I have been very nauseous. I had a hard time remembering what I was saying. I couldn't even remember one of my sons meds he is taking for allergies and he has been on this for a long time and I have never forgot the name I had to look at the bottle when I got home.So many strange things happened and I just felt like hell all day! I can't believe not taking it once caused this. I don't know how I will ver go off of it, I wanted to because I have been reading up on the different side effects I have been having and it's been so scary. I am now afraid to stop taking it because I am scared of what will happen if I do. Has anyone went off of it and had good results and if so what did you do to keep from having the terrible side effects? Has anyone had weight gain as a side effect or is this from something else?

[thatnursegirl]

Erica,
I had these same types of symptoms on the Cymbalta after just a short time on the medication. The nausea and diarrhea finally caused me to start tapering off. If I missed one dose I would be so disoriented I could hardly function. Now I am completely off for one week and am having such bad brain zaps and migraines I actually caved and took one of my 30 mg capsules this morning. I called my MD and asked if I could get a lower dose to try and do a longer taper but I am really hesitant because of the horrible GI symptoms I experienced. I did not have the weight gain (the opposite actually, I lost about 20 pounds) but every other symptom you described I had. I would say, if you can go off the medicine, take your time and taper VERY SLOWLY. And then you may still have some side effects even after. I was on it for the same reason as you, herniated disc in my neck and it worked great for the pain but the side effects were not worth the cure. Good luck and let me know if you have any better success with you treatment!

~Ronna