1 reply to this topic

[CaseyLeann]

Hi All! I had to throw my two cents in because I have NEVER had such a horrible experience with a prescription drug in my life.

I'm a 27 yr old female that has battled depression & anxiety for about 4 years. I've been on Wellbutrin for about 2.5 yrs & in March of this year it quit working for me. I went to my internal medicine Doc. in June & she decided to change my medicine to 20 mg of Lexapro. I have never been so sleepy in my life! I came back after 3 weeks & she prescribed me 60mg of Cymbalta. Little did I know the horrible things I was about to go through from this drug...

Initially the only problem I had was how exhausted I was. I was so sleepy I could barely function at work. I actually fell asleep one day. I'm very outgoing & developed social anxiety & became very reclusive. My friends could all tell a big difference & would tell me yet it would only hurt my feelings to hear this from someone else.

After the first month, i noticed how foggy I always felt. I felt like I always had this cloud in my brain & couldn't quite get past it to function at 100%.

I had ZERO energy. I quit exercising because just walking in a parking lot at the store would make me immediately want to go home & go to bed. I just wanted to sleep & thats it. I actually slept 22 hours one full day.

About two weeks ago, I had a big fight with a friend because she was angry "I wasn't the same person anymore & had no joy". I had the biggest panic attack Ive ever had then. THankfully I had a Xanax that I keep with me just in case I have one so I was able to take that & calm me down enough to breathe. I felt so hopeless. I called my doctor the next morning and got in to see a Psychiatrist. My internal medicine doctor clearly didn't get that the cymbalta wasn't working & so I needed to see someone who knew the drugs firsthand.

My Psychiatrist decided to put me back on Wellbutrin XL, but up my dosage from 300mg to 450mg (why didn't my internal medicine doc just try that in the first place??). They said I could immediately start taking the Wellbutrin & could stop the Cymbalta that day. There was never any mention of withdrawal..

Man O Man did I have no clue what I had in store for me. After the 3rd day of ZERO Cymbalta, I began feeling VERY nauseous & dizzy. I had very severe diarrhea & vomited several times. After feeling horrible for two days, i called my Dr. and they decided it was Cymbalta withdrawal & gave me 30mg to take instead of the 60mg. I took the 30mg for a week & still had the diarrhea & dizziness usually everyday from 1-6pm. I felt like my head was on a boat & my eyes had a weird feeling. Like I was a doll with the cheap "googly" eyes that when you shake them the eyeballs roll around like crazy. I literally felt like someone was shaking my head & my eyeballs were just going round & round. I became very dehydrated & had to down Gatorade for a week.

I have now been off the 30mg Cymbalta completely for 4 days. I still have the dizziness & "googly" eyes. Then today I started having the diarrhea & vomiting again.... ARE YOU SERIOUS?? I just want off this horrible drug but I feel like CRAP when Im off of it!!

I feel like I'm getting off Heroin or something. I feel horrible & my poor stomach is so exhausted from puking & pooping. I just keep praying that the withdrawal will eventually stop. Who knows how many hours I've spent in my bathroom the past two weeks!

BOTTOM LINE - If you're thinking about getting on this pill - DONT DO IT! IF you're already on it - GET OFF OF IT... just beware for the long weeks ahead of you but just knowing you don't have that nasty drug in your system should help! Good Luck Everyone!!

[jlm]

New to all this! And reading your post...wondered how you are doing now!?
I am on my way to the Dr. this AM and hopefully she has better knowledge of this horrid drug than some...even though she is the one that put me on it 3 yr. ago! I want my life back...
Let us know how you are...