9 replies to this topic

[scott]

I would like to ask if anyone has any info on short term use of cymbalta and withdrawl? I have been taking cymbalta for 3 months now at 60mg a day and after finding this site i want to stop taking it now. Thanks...

[schmb01]

Scott, each person is so different, some have few withdrawal symptoms, some have lots, and time on the drug may not make a difference. I would think you could expect some type of effect, and the severity will likely depend on how you go about getting off of it.

First, if you trust your doctor, I would discuss it with him/her and get a plan in place to wean slowly. Do NOT do the every other day method, because that will just throw you in and out of withdrawal every other day. Many people have started by lowering their dosage slowly, and using nutritional supplements/foods to help offset the effects. There is also a method of using Prozac to help.

There are many posts here about what worked or didn't work for people, so it would be a good idea to read the posts to see what is out there, and from there, it will likely prompt lots of questions for you. Look in the section "Weaning off of Cymbalta" as a starting point. That should get you started. After doing that, please, ask as many questions as you need to; someone will be here to respond in a short time.

Babby

[Attorney_Victim]

Hi Scott,

I am not a doctor, nor any type of expert...but, from reading on here, some people have suffered withdrawal even after short term use. If you want to stop taking it, talk to your prescribing doctor. If the prescribing doctor is not a psychiatrist, he/she may not be aware of ANY possible withdrawal problems...my regular doctor had not heard of it (said it might be in my head), but my psychiatrist was aware of the problem with some SSRI drugs (although I don't think any doctors are yet aware of how serious and widespread the withdrawal problems are).

After suffering through 3 days cold turkey, my psychiatrist prescribed Prozac to allieviate the withdrawal symptoms (she wanted me to go back on Cymbalta or Pristiq - new form of Cymbalta - which I refused)...it has helped alot, I haven't suffered nearly as bad as some of the people on here. I was feeling pretty good within 48 hours of my first dose of Prozac. Prozac has a longer "half life" which means that it allows the body to "wean itself"...that is my "unmedical" and limited knowledge of these meds. Also, I have taken Prozac in the past and didn't have any problems at all when I stopped taking it.

Some people do not want to take any other form of anti-depressant drug, even during withdrawal, others have had success with Prozac or Lexapro to help the withdrawal symptoms. I was desperate for relief and the Prozac has helped.

The people on this site are understanding and helpful! You will survive!

[scott]

Thanks everybody for your help and advice. I think I am just going to get stubborn and go cold turkey. I am off all week so if it gets bad hopefully it wont last to many days.
I quit yesterday and didn't feel to bad other that a pretty bad headache at nighttime, but i took some Htp-5 and felt alot better. Slept OK with Ambien and dont feel to bad this morning day 2 just seem a little foggy not to bad.
I would also like to ask everybody if they felt like they got benefit from this drug. I It seemed like the first couple of months it made my mind stop racing,i felt better,i felt like interacting more, it just seemed to put me in a better state of mind instead of being anxious and depressed all the time without it. My only complaints were i lost 18 pounds in 3 months because i never got hungry and i never seemed to sleep good while taking this drug. Then around the start of the 3rd month i started to notice I had like zero energy and I felt like i wasn't getting the benefits that i had gotten in the begining. Again Thank You for the feedback and my thoughts are with all of you out there.

[emoboy44]

Scott:

I did see a definite benefit from being on Cymbalta. I actually have gained a lot of weight since starting it 18 months ago. I took Cymbalta because I didn't want my depression to control my life. I though the drug would give me back the control I so desperately needed. It seemed to have donet hat for a while, but in reality it just transferred the control form my depression to the drug. In the past I had missed pills here and there, and paid the price. That was when I started realizing that I wasn't in control as I though I was.

Once that became so clear to me I decided to say fu*k it, I'd rather take my chances with the depression that drugs. Now I'm 5 days off (I call it clean) and I'm miserable. Looking back, it was the best decision I have made. I'm finally on the right track.

best of luck to you. I am not a doctor, I am not your friend. I am someone who is in a tremendous amount of pain, and I say flush the damn pills down the toilet. It sucks, but I'm probably the most honest person you will ever talk to.



j

[schmb01]

I too initially saw a benefit. The mild depression lifted, and I felt good. I was about 8-9 months in when I began to experience brain zaps while still taking it, so, we upped the dose. It was a downward spiral after that. I isolated myself from family and friends, toggled between being awake for up to 24 hours, to sleeping for 24 hours, didn't shower more than 1 or 2 times a week, had a horrid shopping compulsion with Ebay, and basically lost a period of my life. When I realized I hadn't left my house in 8 weeks, I knew something was seriously wrong. It was hellish getting off of it, but I have my life back, and I am stronger and happier than I've been in years.

PS , don't flush the pills, have the pharmacy or a waste mangement company dispose of them. We sure as heck don't need that crap in our water supply!

[Cymbalta Survivor]

I will cut-and-paste this response that I just made to another thread:




Re: Was it worth it?

Postby Cybalta Survivor on Wed Jul 09, 2008 7:01 pm
It was not worth it for me. Not even close. I would strongly, strongly advise you to review this with your doctor and to get a second opinion. In my opinion, Cymbalta is just plain evil. It is good that you are doing research. I wish I would have. I wish my doctor would have warned me of the potential effects. I wish my pharmacist would have said something. But it is too late now. After a failed suicide attempt and the accompanying emotional scars, I wish I or somebody had done things differently. Now I get to live each day with that burden. The only way you could get me to swallow another dose of Cymbalta is if you held a gun to my head. It might not matter anyhow, because when going through Cymbalta withdrawal, you might just find a gun held to your head. Only it will be your finger on the trigger, not someone else's.

[scott]

Day 3 not feeling very bad other than being a little grouchy and not sleeping the greatest, i feel a little guilty after reading some of the horror stories on this site. One thing i seem to see alot is after all the suffering is over and you finally make it through the withdrawl, it seems that alot of people seem to feel good again. Anybody notice that? I wonder if taking this drug actually puts some chemicals back in your brain you were lacking or something. I hope so, it would at least be some kind of light at the end of the tunnel for all the suffering and pain you have to endure to get there. I feel for all of you in pain out there, i hope you all start to feel better soon.

[schmb01]

I think we feel good again because Cymbalta took us as low as we could get, and that relief is immense when it is over. Plus, many have opted to start eating better, taking key vitamins, minerals and nutrients, and I think, just taking better care of ourselves than we have in the past. You will never convince me that there is even one redeeming quality about Cymbalta. Anything that made me feel the way it did while on it, and coming off of it is bad. Period.

[Cymfree]

I wasn't sure where exactly to post this but this seemed as good a spot as any. This is my first post but I've been lurking for about four days. I am on day 8 of being Cymbalta free and without all of the posts on here I would still be in a world of hurt! Thank you to those of you who have posted so many helpful hints....the nutrition, the benadryl, the symptoms you're experiencing and especially to those of you who have come through the other side. You give me hope! I was so happy to read some of the symptoms that I not only feel lucky I'm experiencing just a few symptoms compared to some of you but also that I am not alone.....I'm not crazy and I'm going to be OK! I wanted to cry the other day when I first logged on. So thank you, thank you to all of you. The benadryl helped immensely, as have the Omega 3 caps. Sorry to gush on and on but really.....THANK YOU!!!!!!