5 replies to this topic

[healthyhappy2008]

Quit cold turkey. On day 5. Nausea, fogginess, memory lapse, sleepless, lord have mercy am i sleepless...most frustrating is the restless leg. Lunesta seems to be the only thing that helps crash me out for sleep and leg problems. Any ideas on how to get through this? how when i know it is out of my system and how long to the withdrawls linger. I have a 2 and 3 year old - put on cymbalta for Post partem. now, i feel very short with them and the hubby for no apparent reason....ouch, i love my family and want to be healthy for them. Thoughts?

[schmb01]

Are you working with a doctor? I would be sure that you have a strong support system since you were placed on it for post partum. You can feel a wild range of emotions, often extreme until they stablize, so be sure that you have people that care about you that know where you are with this, and what you are feeling, having 2 little ones can be stressful without withdrawal. Also, Lunesta is a fairly strong sleep aid, so you have a lot of stuff rolling around your system right now.

Are the leg issues more cramping, or actual restless legs? If they are cramping, it may be that you are getting dehydrated or need some potassium. Be sure to drink clear fluids, and add some orange juice, bananas, spinach or other foods high it potassium.

[healthyhappy2008]

Day 7 - Mood swings are horrendous!! One second I am peaceful and rational, and the next minute my heart is racing and my fuse is short. My brain sometimes races so fast that I can't even think through simple, logical, documented tasks at work. I am over-reactionary and it is making my work life hell. It's almost like I know i shouldn't react, but it comes out of no where and before my logic catches up w/ my emotion, it's too late.

My poor sweet beloved husband is feeing the pain too. i go off on him at the simplest of errors. i've explained my situations and he does understand since he used to 'sell' anti-depressants but he doesn't know Cymbalta or what the w/drawl effects are. he sympathyzes now but not sure for how long he'll be understanding.

[Blindsided]

You bet! I have had RLS for a long time. My Pulmonary Dr. who treats my asthma sent me in for two different sleep studies and found out that I was not just a light sleeper, but I would wake up in REM. A paralyzing state of alertness. She put me on the lowest dose Klonopin and all the symptoms of RLS stopped. Mirapex did nothing for me.

[s.r.]

The main reason for my discontinuation of Cymbalta is my most recent sleep study (I have severe sleep apnea diagnosed in 2003), the first since starting to take Cymbalta, showed I had a PLMI (Periodic Leg Movement Index) of 129.7!! Never had this before. Both my sleep Dr. & psychiatrist pointed to Cymbalta as the culprit.

I've been off Cymbalta entirely for 5 days and as of yet the PLM hasn't gone away entirely, but is reduced.


From my understanding PLM is slightly different from RLS in that w/ PLM you're actually moving your legs and not just having the sensation. Either way it doesn't make for a good night's sleep.

[Attorney_Victim]

I had RLS really bad...mine was the kind that affected my whole body, not just my legs. I took Requip for several years. Now that I have stopped Cymbalta, and all anti-depressants, I haven't had ANY RLS problems!! Interesting!!