50 replies to this topic

[woozy]

Iolanthe, the magnesium you are taking is causing some of the lethargy/sleepiness. You might want to cut back, or save it for evening.

I am on day 4 of withdrawal, and today was the WORST day for vertigo, and I'm a bit cranky. I never thought it would take this many days to rid my body of this stuff... I was only taking 30 mg (couldn't handle more) and it's been awful. I am working every day (staying home would be worse). The nausea has backed off some, and I'm not sleeping well at all (yeah.. magnesium would help, and so would melatonin).

I am grateful for this forum. It would be so much worse to be going thru this alone!

[somebody0plz0help0me]

thank god i found this site........
I went to the doc after not feeling right fuzzy in the head, feeling dizzy like i couldn,t concentrate. The doc took my blood pressure and it was very high 175/121 i was taken off my cymbalta 60mg cold turkey. With everyday that went on istill felt not right. I was back to the doc every 2 days. I felt like i was going crazy i thought i had had a stroke because of the BP. I attempted to go back to work today and i lasted 2hrs the concentration, fuzzy vision got too much....... I came home jumped on the computer looking up anxiety etc typing in my symptoms. It wsnt till i looked up cymbalta and read the posts and i broke into tears because after 2wks i have an answer. i was getting frustrated because its hard to explain what i was feeling and no o
ne was understanding me.

i like the description of feeling like i am drunk, with a hangover..describes it so well
[/quote]

[somebody0plz0help0me]

I am right there with ya, I cried after I read Pixie's post, it was everything I was feeling off the meds and while on the meds and wasn't able to get into words or make my family understand how I was feeling and what it was doing to me. I have to stop cold turkey after 3 months because i lost my insurance, it has been an awful 4 days so far, the brain zaps are unbearable!!!! and i am soooo mean to my hubby and kids. I hope its over soon.

[hanginginthere]

I was on Cymbalta for 10 yrs and upped to 90 mg. Along w/ morphine, ambien, clonzapam & hormones. Thank god I found this forum tonight as i was laying here feeling like I should be taken to the psych ward. I have been off for almost a month and feel I am going crazy. The head buzzing (love that little withdrawal) is still going on, yeah the rages which thank god my husband is out of town I don't act upon but the diaharrea and crying won't seem to stop. I feel like a fat blimp too and felt like I was trapped in some bad movie and it was me, maybe I was crazy without medication. I too am still using Clonasapam to get through this or otherwise I don't know if I would even quit crying. I also refuse to go back on but geez how much can people take? I just called my husband and I think he wanted to cry cause he just wants to fix this and is afraid I wanted to leave him. My kids are coming to visit and I just want a nice Xmas. Hopefully we will all make it and I'm thankful for finding this site. Makes me realize we are strong and will survive.

[Missmuffet]

I am 4 days off the lowest strengh, my head is buzzing, can't stand loud noise , I was given this for my horrible back pain, but cannot afford these, $144.00 a month, the pain in my back is so bad I guess they helped, I will never go on this drug again, it is he'll on wheels getting off!

[gerri]

Hi,I am new here I just signed up about 10 min. ago. I am so glad to have found this site. I was looking for a specific side effect ie urinary retention,and found all of these posts about cymbalta withdrawal! In the past I had a problem with drugs. I became addicted after a severe back injury. I got through it and I have no intention of taking anything that would put me through that again! However,and this really tics me off,my doctor seems to have forgotten to tell me anything about the dugs being addictive! Thank you all so much. Gerri

[woozy]

MissMuffet: if you have only been on Cymbalta for 2 months or less, the company will refund your money. Go to their website and download the forms. You will need to get your doctor to sign the paper, and you'll need your receipts. It's the least they can do for putting us through hell!

[FQCymbalta]

I asked my doc to switch me from Cymbalta back to Celexa for all kinds of reasons. My complete lack of sex drive was the number one reason. Going on week 2 now and praying that I keep my sanity. I use what little sense I still have in my head to concentrate on keeping safe and not acting on my impulses. I just want to feel anything again. I try to feel something again by lashing out. and sometimes want to start fights so I can cry or be scared or hurt or anything. I try to blame my feelings on people around me because I want to make sense of it and make it go away.

[feelincrappy]

I still can't get over all the different side effects of withdrawal--I have had a little of everything. The last several days have played hell on my digestive system. In hindsight, I was gaining weight slowly, but did not attribute it to Cymbalta, but since it caused me to be lazy, I guess it was. Now, the past few days over xmas, I have overeaten a few times, and truly feel like my stomach is going to explode. I have overeaten before, but I have been close to going to the ER! I really don't feel like explaining everything to an ER doc so I'm trying to wait it out a few days. I have eaten less sweets today, tried to eat less at lunch, and went for a walk with my husband. I know the hardest part is getting moving when you feel like crap, but I have been told that is the best thing--just push thru the pain/laziness, and go further each day. That is my New Year's resolution!

[iolanthe16]

feelincrappy-

Christmas was superchallenging for my digestion too. I am now 8 days off cymbalta and finally feel great (my head and my energy that is), except for my abdomen. That's still super bloated. Am dealing with the whole weight issue sort of as a separate challenge (see my other posts, I exercised like mad for the last year on this drug and was quite responsible about my food, still managed to gain 40 lbs!!) My husband and I are going to soup it up for a few days - broths with lean protein and veggies....ahem, turkey soup I guess - and avoid carbs to see if I can get a little post-holiday flush going. Also resuming my exercise today now that I don't have a house full of guests. If your energy is good, try going for a little squeal around the block or something. If it's not something you can manage, find a 20-45 minute yoga practice and try that (download or rent or borrow). There are many yoga poses that aid in digestion (certain twists). And it's so so so amazing for the head. I've never completed a yoga practice that I said 'boy, I wish I hadn't have done that.' My favorite right now is Gaiam Yoga for Weight Loss.

Hope you enjoy the rest of the holidays and just try to remember to be gentle with yourself.
cb

[bnshafer21]

Hello everyone~ I am new here, but I too am suffering the horrific withdrawal symptoms of going cold turkey. I am on day 10. I am dealing with the brain zaps, vertigo, headaches,blurred vision,memory loss, total body pain and constant temperature pain. I had been on Cymbalta since April 2011 on a dosage of 60mg. I had to go cold turkey due to losing insurance and lack of money to buy them out of pocket, it is $220 for a month supply of 60mg. I have had this issue before and had to go without Cymbalta for three days. On the third I ended up with full body shakes and ended up seizing and then rushed to er. If my boyfriend was not there I don't know what would have happened to me and my three kids. I was very careful not to get low on meds due to that.Because it only would take one day for me to feel the pressure build up in my head and the brain zaps to start. I am hoping this does get better and I can function to a some what normal level, because I am single mother and can not afford to not be working. But now I will NEVER NEVER go back on it again due to the withdraws. Because I can't rely on my insurance to always be there to cover it. I began using it due to severe depression and Fibromyalgia. I have to say It did helped with my symptoms, but I can't go thru the withdrawals, I have gone to the pharmacy and like a drugged addicted crazed addict out of my pills needed thing to make sure I don't have the withdrawals. Its not that I am addicted and do it to keep the high its to keep from having the brain zaps that it brings not having them. I was never told of the side effects I had to look them up myself, but no where did it say that it would have withdrawl effects. My Dr. did say if you go off them you have to do it in lower doses. Well guess what I don't have that choice. It does work for some people and it did work for me as long as I can get the meds. But now after coming off of this it makes you wonder is this drug even safe to be taking if this is how it will make you feel coming off of it. They really need to start putting withdrawl effects down next to the side effects!

[scarlettalice]

Sometime around Nov28, 2011…I stopped Cymbalta cold turkey. I am a 44 year old female and have been on anti depressants for diagnosed PTSD (3 times in my life) for about 20 years, on and off, with my last one being Cymbalta, dosage at 120mg daily. At about a year in I started to have withdrawal symptoms BEFORE I even started decreasing dosage, my body just wanted more, more, more, and I couldn't do it anymore. Don't do what I did. I knew it wasn't going to be pretty... I just STOPPED cold turkey because I was having the symptoms of withdrawal BEFORE actual decrease. I hope it doesn't sound confusing, I'm sure there are millions of you out there who know EXACTLY what I'm talking about. I decided to white knuckle, bite the bullet, and you will have to talk to your doctor about what's best for you. I can honestly say I should have been in the nearest detox center for the first 4 days (at least) under major supervision. All the radiohead, shocks in the head and the hands, feeling like you are falling backwards....it all was so almost....the end of me. It has been about 4 weeks now, and the physical symptoms are all (almost) gone (they will come back sometimes when you get tired, I've realized), it's the emotional and pyschological side of the drug that will be very persistent and linger. It's your choice if you want to take SSRI's, and things change....I want to feel again so I went through the worst detox withdrawal because..........................................................

I WANT TO FEEL HOW IT FEELS TO FEEL AGAIN.

Most doctors I've had don't TELL YOU when they first prescribe it what it might do to you when you want to get off it....or they might tell you half the truth, or they might tell you after you've been taking it for a while and start to ask questions about it....the commercials make me want to vomit how they push it on the masses as a cure all ...it's so the opposite, people. I have literally been pushed back in time emotionally to when I started this anti-depressant nightmare, about 20 years. But guess what? I can feel good and I can feel bad and I'm okay and I'm going to be okay and I want to raise my kids with having good feelings and bad feelings and teach them
THAT JUST POPPING A PILL THAT A DOCTOR TELLS YOU WILL MAKE YOU FEEL BETTER MIGHT NOT LET YOU FEEL AT ALL...
I believed I was depressed because I was told I was depressed and I felt that I felt like what it feels like to be depressed....I wake up 20 years later and wonder how all these doctors KNEW medically what I needed and what the drug companies were telling them I needed. I'm really fortunate I lived thru cold turkey detox.....I'm going to be okay. Even though I am having trouble controlling my emotions, sleep patterns, eating patterns, etc, I know that I can learn again what good and bad feel like and live accordingly. I've gone back to a therapist to work on it (one who cannot prescribe meds). It's been almost a "primal" or "primitive" feeling with seeing things clearly, colors are beautiful and food tastes amazing, flowers smell wonderful and SEX is BACK in my life and I want to have it and I my lord, the sex drive that we are supposed to have and not suppress is incredible! My energy level is off the charts and weight loss has begun. Wanting to be healthy feels good...Lastly, the most amazing thing that has happened is hearing music again...really hearing it and how amazing it can make you feel...I was a dancer and cheerleader in my young life and lost the love of music and dance when the anti depressants came into my life. With ear buds on my ipod....then watching Lady Gaga and realizing how freaking talented that young woman is and how original she is and different her choreography is and how I literally haven't been moved emotionally by such a dance performance like the one in the new video called "marry the night" where she's looking like she's at a try-out and she feels out of place, she stretches out looking uncomfortably around the room, adjusts her sequined bustier and starts dancing with the the others....I saw myself 20 years ago and it was so powerful an emotion it overwhelmed me. Lady Gaga changed my life about two weeks ago, and I know that sounds crazy, but she MADE ME WANT TO DANCE AGAIN, she changed the way I saw my life, and the next day I danced again, and I danced, and danced, and cried, and danced, and realized I COULD STILL DANCE!!!!!!! Oh my god, I will never be able to fully explain how beautiful and emotional music sounds once you stop supressing your brain with a drug that really does the opposite of what it's supposed to do....let's get real and get the word out and save some people from the viciousness and apathetic drug called Cymbalta...people researching this drug, look at all these similiar stories about what it has done to millions of people and heed the warning. I wish you all out there in the world the best, stay strong, stand for peace and hope in mankind, question everything and know....you can DO ANYTHING and then maybe someday..... you can DO IT AGAIN!
And as my favorite, old, gay Uncle Bill used to tell me; "BE GOOD, OR BE GOOD AT IT"....Thanks for listening. Karen
Follow Up: Day after xmas, emergency room visit, couldn’t breathe, chest pain, numbness in extremities, pain searing up left side of neck BP 149/94….never in my life has it been anything but 120/80….they said they couldn’t rule it a heart attack, but I believe I had one….I’m okay now but it really woke me up to what this drug can do to you AFTER you stop taking it...I thought I was going to die right in front of my nine year old son….please people, don’t start this drug, don’t buy into the drug companies quick fix solution; they are in it solely for profit…..Cymbalta is different people, it’s not like other SSRI’s…there’s something new and powerful in it that will not let go of you for weeks, months, even years. It makes me think of what the Nazis were working on secretly to get everybody to behave and be controlled. Maybe it’s not so new a drug, Eli Lilly? See you at the class action suit, big pharma bitches.

[ignazio]

hello people this is IGNAZIO its been a while i finally gave in and started taking welbutrin since i quit cymbalta ive lost 19 lbs and am back in the gym daily like most people my stomach is much better but i still go thru the sweats at night and cannot sleep past 3:30 am so im still feeling the affects of cymbalta but doing much better i hope your journey with this drug is better then mine was i was getting scared there for a while but we are stronger than that!!!well wishes ppl

[kjones]

Hey guys!
I couldn't resist the urge to register and post as soon as I found this site!
I am 21 years old and I have been cymbalta since septermber 15, 2011. Previously I had been on every antidepressant under the sun! I was persuaded into taking cymbalta by my doctor who said it would be my miracle.
I began taking it because of severe anxiety, which helped at times. Most of the time I was feeling like crap, if not worse than I felt before cymbalta.
I absolutely regret ever taking this drug. Please take my advice, as well as others and do not ever put this in your body!!
I decided to quit this terrible drug last Wednesday cold turkey. I was experiencing terrible suicidal dreams and thoughts. My sex drive was non existent and my moods were like a roller coaster.
The first two days I was hesitant about quitting cold turkey, so I did break open my capsule and take a few pellets. Other than those two days I have not taken any cymbalta!
It hasn't even been a week and the dizziness has me running for my bed every hour. The brain zaps come and go, but I can usually push through them. My appetite is back to normal and I am not craving a thanksgiving feast anymore. I am able to sleep through the night which is exciting since cymbalta gave me terrible insomnia.
But I am wondering, how long does this foggy, drugged feeling last?
I am in my final semester of school an I would hate to have this ruin all my hard work! All for this stupid little pill!
I am currently taking omega 3 and a multi vitamin. I have been drinking herbal tea with ginseng and maca to help regain some of my sex drive!! I have also been drinking 32 oz of water and taking walks daily, but is there anything else I can do?!
How long will this hell last?! I just want my life back!!

[DiamondSlug]

I have a crappy workers comp doctor who's office has continued to neglect my requests for a refill of my 60mg Cymbalta that they have had me on for three years. I have been forced into a week long withdrawal that feels like torture. It's not that they want me to quit, it's is that they are lazy, lack knowledge and are therefore unsympathetic to a condition they apparently know nothing about.

I had known about the "Brain Zaps" for a while, after missing a pill or two on previous occasions, but I had no idea how bad this could get. I have had extreme headaches for the last two days. My sleep and dreams, which were already on the psychotic side from the Morphine I take, have shifted to raging psychological nightmares which have included waking from one dream into another, creating a sense of being trapped within my own psychosis. I have thrown up several times and have experienced extreme diarrhea, though honestly I kind of view that with a bit of relief after the horrible constipation all my medications have created.

Thankfully, I found this group or I may have gone completely crazy, thinking that my whole body had given up on me. If I ever do hear back from my doctor I don't think I will be continuing with the drug anyway. Whatever small addition it may have provided to my back pain cocktail of drugs, it can't be worth feeling like this ever again. I am one week into an unintentional cold-turkey withdrawal, unless someone here tells me that the worst is yet to come, I think I will attempt to ride it out.

Thank you all for letting me rant, I needed to share this with someone. It helps that many of you know what I am talking about.

[dizzychick]

I have been on Cymbalta 60mg since May 2011. Since taking Cymbalta, I have had drenching sweats multiple times a day, horrific flatulance, extreme lethargy, to the point where I had 7 days off and never got dressed for 6 of them! So not me. Also, dizziness, lack of sex drive and the abcense of joy and sorrow...no emotion. I am sleeping my life away. I came down with the flu after Christmas and this made all the side effects so much worse. After being in bed days on end, I decided to quit cold turkey. I didn't want even 1 more mg in my body. I am on day 6 now and am experiencing severe dizziness and visual disturbances. It kind of looks like I'm seeing things in individual photographs...very strange. This is the second day of vision problems. I have also slept 2hours in the last 48 hours!! This is adding to my weird feelings, kinda short of breath and hyperactive. I took Cymbalta for my fibromyalgia and arthritis. Helped the fibromyalgia but not the arthritis. Side effects too debilitating to continue. I am a RN and not sure I can work tomorrow. I have been off with the flu and now this is going down. Didn't realize I would be having withdrawal issues like this. Maybe tomorrow will be better...I hope. Thanks for listening. So interesting to hear everyone else's problems. At least I'm not alone!

[monkee]

I started cymbalta ten months ago for chronic nerve pain and post traumatic stress disorder. My dose was 30mg for one week, then 60mg one time daily. At first it helped a lot, I would tell people I found a wonder drug. Nine months later I started to get back all of my pain, as well as having no energy, no libido (I'm only 27), and I had symptoms almost like I was pregnant. I became nauseas on a daily basis, had a intense urge to urinate all the time and I had heart palpitations that would make me gasp for breaths. I thought I was having minor heart attacks. After two weeks of that I couldn't take it anymore, I found a new doctor (mine was on vacation) and she told me that everything I described to her sounded like it was caused by Cymbalta. She told me to take a 1/2 dose for two weeks and then stop. I took 30 mg for 14 days and by day 15 I felt amazing. Day one no cymbalta was not bad at all. By day two I thought I was going to die. Never before have I experienced such horrible brain zaps, dizziness, nausea, no energy, my whole body hurt and would spasm to the point it kept my husband awake for fear I was having a seizure. I had a foggy head, could not think clearly, I could not focus my eyes, and everytime I would move I felt like electricity shooting throughout my body. On day 3 I went to my original doctor(back from vacation) and tried to describe how I felt. His answer was "go back on cymbalta". I left his office in tears and a bag full of 30mg cymbalta samples. I decided against this idea because it was no longer helping
me why should I take more of this drug? Day four and five were horrible. I slept all day unable to move without the
zaps, pain and flu like symptoms. On day six I went to a nutritionist. He told me to take Omega 3 for my brain, B vitamins for energy, Avena Sativa (also know as oatstraw) for libido, A protein shake for breakfast upon waking to jumpstart metabolism, And 5-HTP before going to bed which enhances mood and sleep patterns. I started right away and I could tell it was helping. Today is day 10 and my energy level today is low, but I am in a better state of mind. The brain zaps are less intense and come and go. I am hungry now with no nausea. Walnuts and bananas help to increase serotonin naturally in the body so I am eating those as much as I can. I know now that there is hope, you need to not trust your doctor as much as you do because they are out to make money and are generally detached when it comes to patients. I told my doctor I was afraid I was going to have a seizure and I really doubt when he went home for the day that he was concerned. This drug is horrible. I hope that this helps at least one person because this site has helped me in the past few days. When it gets bad, I read posts and realize I'm not alone and best of all I'm not CRAZY!

[LishaC]

Hi, everyone. I started reading this site about a month ago while going through withdrawal. I was prescribed Cymbalta(60mg/day) 6 years ago for migraine and depression and it was moderately effective. This fall, I spoke to a doctor who advised I could wean off the medication in 1 month. I backed off to 30mg/day for a couple of weeks, then every other day, etc and was completely off by October 23,2011. Side effects began the day after I decreased my dosage (September 24th) and stopped 9 days ago (January 10th). I had horrible mood swings and intense rage for no reason for the first month and a half. Then, the oddest thing happened: I felt nothing. No emotion at all for another 6 weeks. I thought I was crazy. I felt completely numb emotionally except for these brief, bizarre outbursts of absolute rage. My dogs hid from me. I stopped working. I just didn't care enough to DO anything. Stopped paying my bills, etc. I was a total zombie. Normal, healthy emotions came back early January. It took over 3 months. (The "brain zaps", BTW, lasted through the end of December.) When you are going through the intense depression and rage, numbness may sound pretty good, but I thought daily about suicide while I was going through the numb stage, not the depression.

I know that everyone here is trying hard to get off this medication, and I completely understand your goal. I want to caution those of you who have done it cold turkey, though, because the side effects are so horribly intense. I won't go into detail about the effects this has had on my personal and professional life, but...it's nearly 4 months now and I'm just now getting back to normal. It has taken a huge toll.

So...Take it easy. Go slow. Have someone close to you help monitor your mood. Coming off this medication is a marathon, not a sprint.

Best of luck to you all.

[limerick]

I just found this site, I was on a few different meds 150 mg cymbalta, 200 mg lamictal, 750 mg lithium, 50 mg serequel,

I've gone cold turkey 5 days ago off all of them, my doses had been increased over the past couple of months and i felt my depression was only getting worse with thoughts of suiside daily

my srink recommended a taper off but i decided to bite the bullet and go cold turkey, she gave me valium incase i feel very down etc but i'm actually thinking much more clearer over the past few days, she also gabe me pills to help me sleep 30mg dalmane but they dont seem to work.

I feel sick, cant really eat much at all, tingling in my ears and im very unbalanced when i walk

Does anyone know if this id just the beginning of my withdrawal symptoms or how long they'll last?

Any advice would be very grateful

Darren

sorry should have said I'm 30 and male, been on almost every anti-depressant since i was 17, I have no idea what i'll be like on nothing but i feel so bad i dont thik i could feel any worse, besides the withdrawal symptoms, just like to know what more to expect and how long more they will last

Edited by limerick, 19 January 2012 - 07:02 PM.

[Kamee]

I'm exactly 1 month cold turkey due to human error. I was sick by 4 th day. All the usual symptoms mentioned plus terrible drops in blood pressure and after full cardiology work up I've been diagnosed with two arythmias. Scary stuff. Still dizzy, heart arythmias, and periods of BP plummenting which causes heart to race. Awful. Poor sleep with horrible nightmares. Nausea, diarrhea alternating with constipation. Saw Dr. again yesterday. He said give it two more weeks. He did say what if my heart stays this way?

[Judy98]

This is my first time experiencing "withdrawals" from Cymbalta. I dropped Prozac cold turkey one time and ended up in the hospital because I got too depressed to get out of bed and couldn't bring myself to eat even yogurt. I fill a pill container up with 2 weeks of morning and 2 weeks of evening/night medications. I remember last time I filled it (2 weeks ago) that I only had 3 Cymbalta left. I ordered them at the time (mail order from hospital) but they didn't send them for some reason. I called yesterday to find out what was the problem and they didn't really know why, but said they would send them this coming Monday. So, based on the 2 week factor, I think I quit cold turkey about 10 days ago. Seems like I should be really depressed again, but I'm actually feeling a little manic. I've had stomach ache & pain before eating, lots of nausea after eating, and no sleep for days and days. Add anxiety to lack of sleep and then we have a woman on the edge. I barked at my husband the other day and I didn't know why I got so upset. I've had some headaches and sometimes I feel a sharp pain that starts in my neck and shoots across my shoulders and down my arms. This is pretty scary because I am fearful it is a heart attack. I have Diabetes, so most of these aches & pains I just blamed as part of the Diabetes and chronic pain syndrome.

Now, because I knew I was out of the Cymbalta and already "going cold turkey," I found this website and many of the stories here and I was shocked to see that lots of people are in the same boat. Everyone was expressing my feelings and symptoms exactly. Once again, I started to believe that "This too shall pass." I see the doctor on the 8th of February, so I'll have to see what she says at that time. More importantly, I need to see how I feel...

SUGGESTION: A few days ago, I was feeling light-headed and "spacey" or what I describe as having an "out-of-body" experience. This happens when I am dehydrated and I find that drinking a bottle of gatoraide helps me to start feeling better pretty quick. I started to drink one a couple of days ago and did feel a little better, so I think I need to finish that up. This usually happens after a bout of the stomach flu, but this time, I think it has something to do with the nausea and not eating balanced meals. Hey, it might not help, but couldn't hurt you too much. Give it a try.