3 replies to this topic

[Brad]

Hello, this is my first post here, or on any other forum, and although I don't appreciate some of the terms and conditions I am now apparently legally bound to, I'll post anyway. I was diagnosed with depression at around 13 years old and have been taking various antidepressants ever since. Now, at 30 years old, I have stopped taking Cymbalta. I have been taking 120mgs for over three years and brought down my dosage for a couple of weeks. Now, I am a cold turkey. And I find myself in an "interesting" dilemma: Take an antidepressant and feel physically well and mentally awful, or stop taking one and feel mentally well but physically awful. Since I have stopped the cymbalta (it's funny, that name, because cymbals 'crash'), my thoughts are much clearer, the "noise" of too many buzzing thoughts has decreased significantly, and the lows I experience are much less severe. The holes I drop into are much more shallow. I find it a little strange, but not surprising, that stopping a treatment for depression alleviates the depression. I guess my struggle now is to not get too down that I feel like a piece of roadkill. The head of a psychiatric treatment center I once went to was asked why he thought it was that so many young people on antidepressants were killing themselves. He said he thought the reason was because these poor young people were initially too depressed to kill themselves, and the antidepressants were giving them the increased energy with which they used to finally end their lives. Today I see the cynicism of that response, but what do you think? Another question, and please forgive me if I am posing this in the wrong forum: My family has a history of heart disease and my brother is being treated for hyperthyroidism. I have been experiencing weird fibrillations and what seems like spiking of my blood pressure, the brain zaps, I think I've seen it referred to. So, my question is, how dead of a doornail am I? Of course I am not asking for professional medical advice, I am just throwing that out there. The last thing I'll say is this: it is right to get depressed about certain things. It is right to get angry at certain situations. You have to figure out what those things and situations are. And if you've read this far, thanks for your time.

[schmb01]

Brad, I'm sure by now that you have read through some of the other posts here, and if not, I would encourage you to do that.

Everyone's experience with withdrawal is different, although we have many of the same themes. Brain zaps, yep, those are fun! Some have GI issues, some have extreme mood swings, some have aches and pains as if they have the flu. I also recall people posting about their hearts feeling kind of fluttery as well.

This is a hard drug to get away from, because it can have some significant physical and mental impacts. There are a lot of nutritional and supplement resource information here that you may find helpful. Also, there is information about using Celexa or Prozac to assist with the withdrawal effects.

No, you are not as dead as a door nail. There is an end to this, and for some it happens quickly, for others it takes awhile. I realize this is your first foray into a support board, but I think you will find as I did, that this one is a great resource. The people here will do what they can to support you emotionally, as well as offering ideas to help you get through all of it. I'm well over 100 days off of Cymbalta, and there were times at the beginning when I was sure I was doomed. I started taking an Omega 3 supplement, tried to eat better, and kept reminding myself that it was the drug causing me to feel so awful. It finally got better and I feel stable.

You are right, we do need to feel angry, happy, sad and a wide range of emotions. Cymbalta shuts all of those off, and coming off of it is like getting to know yourself again. Check out some other posts, and remember that you can come here to vent, ask questions or keep track of your "journey" off of this.

Take Care!

Babby

[Sarah J]

Another question, and please forgive me if I am posing this in the wrong forum: My family has a history of heart disease and my brother is being treated for hyperthyroidism. I have been experiencing weird fibrillations and what seems like spiking of my blood pressure, the brain zaps, I think I've seen it referred to. So, my question is, how dead of a doornail am I? Of course I am not asking for professional medical advice, I am just throwing that out there. The last thing I'll say is this: it is right to get depressed about certain things. It is right to get angry at certain situations. You have to figure out what those things and situations are. And if you've read this far, thanks for your time.

Brad - you would never know by the number of posts I have made here, but I had never joined a forum such as this before. I work on the computer all of the time, "talking" on the computer in my spare time is too much like work. But it is good that you found your way here.

Several other posters here have had some blood pressure issues with Cymbalta, both on and off of it. Brain Zaps are most likely caused when you come off of Cymbalta too rapidly.

Yes, it is right to be depressed about certain things, that is the emotion known as empathy. Anger is also an emotion that all human beings have the right to feel at certain points of our lives. Feelings are what you feel. Happy, sad, angry, hungry, sleepy, frightened the list goes on.

About a month ago, the New York Times online version had an article written by a woman about your age, who had been on antidepressants since she had been 15. The article was all about how she had to learn to feel without drugs. Sorry that I don't have the link for it, but your story reminded me of hers.

All drugs are not bad, but we have to remember, doctors practice medicine, practicing means that they have not perfected the craft.

Perhaps right now you feel physically awful because your body is adjusting to life without Cymbalta. You did not mention how long you have been off of Cymbalta, but if you are like many of us here, the physical stuff that coming off of Cymbalta creates can be a little frightening. More details please!

I have been off of antidepressants now for about 2.5 months. I started Cymbalta when I was 37 years old and took it for 3 years 6 months, previously, I had never taken any antidepressants before. The reason I keep posting here to new people is my old doctor told me that "cymbalta withdrawal does not exist" and if I can help just one person feel better and know that the light at the end of the tunnel is not a freight train, well, that's why I post still. Because all of the stories I found were frightening and there were bunches of threads that just ended, nobody said they made it through this intact and were functioning. I made it along with several others here.

You may also wish to see your general practitioner to get your physical stuff checked out. Get your liver enzymes checked and blood pressure. Not to scare you, but you probably don't want to ask your old shrink to help you with this one. Hopefully you will find that the physical stuff is probably your body adjusting and that nothing serious is wrong, but it can give you peace of mind.

Hang in there Brad, another suggestion would be talk therapy if you are not currently doing it. It can do wonders to help you sort out and deal with feeling your emotions, where to put your emotions, etc.

[Brad]

Thanks to those who responded with words of encouragement and support. I do feel a little strange posting things here because I've always kept my own council, even as I sought others'. And I hate the unintentional reinforcement of thinking that I'm sick, diseased or otherwise unwell, that comes with talking about being depressed and all that. But I do appreciate the suggestions made about dietary changes and supplements, lifestyle changes and the like. I've been in one form of therapy or another since I was about 7 years old. I've seen every kind of behavioral therapist, psychologist, psychiatrist, and mental health professional that they have a name for. I've been hospitalized, gone to treatment centers, talked with any kind of professional from almost every kind of school of thought. I'm pretty much resigned to the fact that most of the people I have or will see will one day be investigated by the feds for bribery and fraud, lose their licenses for unprofessional or unethical behavior, or just be wholly owned by big pharma. The sad fact is that their jobs depend on people being labeled, by themselves or others, as being sick, or whatever word they want to use. They literally live on mental illness. I'm done playing within their sandbox, according to their rules, being healthy and well only within their prescribed context. As I'm sure you can now tell, I've been angry my whole life. I've had "anger issues." Because people don't have problems to solve, they instead have issues to be dealt with. Angry really isn't the right word. Enraged is slightly better. I knew a young poet once who was wise beyond his years, and he said that love was not an emotion; love was every emotion. Joy and hate and sadness all intertwined. Building on that, I would therefore say that hate is not the opposite of love, rage is the opposite of love, the other side of the coin. Rage is... bad love? Rage is the fist inside love's glove? (I think I just wrote an emo song.) What do you think?