1 reply to this topic

[Shawn]

Hello everyone,

My name is Shawn, and my parents put me on Cymbalta at age 13. I ended up taking the medication for over 10 years (Im 24 now) without being off of it, thanks to doctors, parents, and a lack of understanding. It was all I knew. I was under the impression that if I was feeling "ok" or better, keep taking Cymbalta (because that was what I was told). In reality I was "numb" about life, so I continued taking it. My strong opinion is that Cymbalta should be taken during time of loss or hardship, then go off of it. Anyways, I made the decision to cycle off of the medication. I'm going to a naturopath who has me on a 6-month regimen of cycling from 60 to 0 mg. I have gone 4 months now, and this is where things are getting bad.

I have been going through severe withdrawals for weeks now: tremors, hot flashes, inability to control body temperature, joint pain, headaches, feeling like I need to vomit, and worst of all-not caring about anything, a sense of numbness to anything that would normally be good or exciting. This isn't a sense of depression, but more so lack of caring about anything. Cycling off of Cymbalta is single-handedly ruining every aspect of my life: fitness, sexual, relationship, emotion, excitement, motivation, and the obvious withdrawals.

Here's what I'm getting at: I have read warnings on labels, and I feel that any normal person wouldn't be able to understand from the verbiage the hell they could end up facing while cycling off of Cymbalta. I believe the company has a responsibility to not only make this clear, but provide resources for the battle, rather than "please refer to your doctor." I firmly believe withdrawals and proper cycling off of this drug isn't clearly defined for the layperson. I also believe the company has been unethically marketing Cymbalta, without any regard for how long you should use it, for example: I took it for 10 years because things were going "ok", but a.its nearly impossible for me to get off of it from being so chemically addicted for so long, and b. I should have been taken off of it when things got "ok". Also, I feel that the company has a responsibility to clarify what kinds of things will be affected by the cycling off period, ex. Work, relationships, drive, sexual-related issues, etc.

They do a good job covering themselves while you're on the drug, but I don't believe they do a good enough job making the risks clear regarding getting off of the drug.

Anyone who would like to look into the legal issues for and with me, let me know. This has been incredibly frustrating, and a large part of my life drastically effected.

Thanks

[pelycosaurus]

Hey there i have been on this drug 6 years have not been able to come off either cant afford to get off im 24 i have constant infections i currently have ear infections and just about stuck and feel blah i have to take a muscle relaxer everynight to sleep.