5 replies to this topic

[Piper4Ninja]

Might be long I do apologize .. I actually am posting in hopes to help a dear friend. I quit Cymbalta months ago and it was hell. I take care of someone on it that shouldn't be and that is hell..my priority here today though is finding help for a dear friend who just stopped taking it and is literally void of support he desperately needs (in real life).

late febuary went from 60mg to 30 for 2 weeks then stopped alltogher has 2 1/2 since stopped . As anyone who has stopped knows, life is hell. Under care of MD and therapist ...so questions are strictly concerning home life.

So..1)Suggestions on how family might be able to be supportive ..show support, things they can do to help? The question was asked "What do you want me to do?" good question, I know I couldn't have told you when I was coming off. My dear friend can't answer either. Suggestions? Input?

2)If those in your home do not research or care to research what you are going through and don't believe you when you tell them how bad it is....what do you do? How do you get across to someone s/o family etc..how BADLY you NEED HELP? Do you write post its and stick them up all over the house? Force them to watch a video? Suggestions?

Any input is appreciated...I wish I had support or knew of this forum when I stopped...heck I wish I knew what I was taking to begin with. I don't want my friend to suffer as I did. Yes, I am showing them this forum soon as they wake up. Thank you in advance for reading and any advice.

[Piper4Ninja]

Anyone? I see ya reading..nothing? Anyone ? pwease?

I worry due to the withdrawal symptoms person is suffering and lack of anyone noticing or taking it seriously.

[TXcounselor]

I do think it helps to be specific in letting people know how they can help. I explained to my husband that I was having sensory issues and I needed him to 1. Be quiet, 2. Lay on me or hold me with firm pressure but DON'T wiggle, 3. Keep lights down and TV off, 4. Bring me things (he went out to get Tylenol PM and Travel Sickness pills). Pretty much tone everything down! Sometimes I just need to be alone for the quiet. I also explained that my brain is firing like a shot gun and I can't help feeling agitated and emotional and there will be an end to this (I hope!). I reminded him of when he quit tobacco how irritable he felt and to have patience with me; we both agreed that this is far worse than that but it gave him an idea of what I'm going through. I'm lucky, because he read these forums and seems to understand what I'm going through. Maybe your friend's family would be willing to watch a YouTube video that's about 4 minutes - it's called Cymbalta Hurts, Cymbalta withdrawal hurts more (or something like that). It gets all the points across without spending hours reading through forums if they're not willing to do that. It's a bit melodramatic, but gets the point across.

It's hard to deal with the people who don't think this is real. My doctor told me people don't have problems getting off Cymbalta when I called him for help with the withdrawal. I would love to slip a Cymbalta in his coffee every morning for a year, then suddenly stop and see if he still thinks there's no problem. Our brains need to relearn how to function.

[happyzapynot]

I do think it helps to be specific in letting people know how they can help. I explained to my husband that I was having sensory issues and I needed him to 1. Be quiet, 2. Lay on me or hold me with firm pressure but DON'T wiggle, 3. Keep lights down and TV off, 4. Bring me things (he went out to get Tylenol PM and Travel Sickness pills). Pretty much tone everything down! Sometimes I just need to be alone for the quiet. I also explained that my brain is firing like a shot gun and I can't help feeling agitated and emotional and there will be an end to this (I hope!). I reminded him of when he quit tobacco how irritable he felt and to have patience with me; we both agreed that this is far worse than that but it gave him an idea of what I'm going through. I'm lucky, because he read these forums and seems to understand what I'm going through. Maybe your friend's family would be willing to watch a YouTube video that's about 4 minutes - it's called Cymbalta Hurts, Cymbalta withdrawal hurts more (or something like that). It gets all the points across without spending hours reading through forums if they're not willing to do that. It's a bit melodramatic, but gets the point across.

It's hard to deal with the people who don't think this is real. My doctor told me people don't have problems getting off Cymbalta when I called him for help with the withdrawal. I would love to slip a Cymbalta in his coffee every morning for a year, then suddenly stop and see if he still thinks there's no problem. Our brains need to relearn how to function.

Anyone who has a physician/psychiatrist/counselor that tells them Cymbalta withdrawal is not aphysical problem NEEDS TO GET A NEW physician/psychiiatrist/counselor immediately. Don't give these creeps your money or anyone elses' money.

[TXcounselor]

True. I fired him that day and ordered my records. I'm going to a bigger city to get help from someone who knows what they heck they're talking about! I also referred him to this website - it sounds like everyone has the same symptoms. This many people can't be wrong! He has apparently been misinformed (probably by the drug reps) and I tried to school him on my way out. He also gave up on trying to find the cause of my neuropathy too soon and settled for medicating/masking the symptoms instead of trying to solve the problem, so I think he's PART of the problem.

[jillw]

Might be long I do apologize .. I actually am posting in hopes to help a dear friend. I quit Cymbalta months ago and it was hell. I take care of someone on it that shouldn't be and that is hell..my priority here today though is finding help for a dear friend who just stopped taking it and is literally void of support he desperately needs (in real life).

late febuary went from 60mg to 30 for 2 weeks then stopped alltogher has 2 1/2 since stopped . As anyone who has stopped knows, life is hell. Under care of MD and therapist ...so questions are strictly concerning home life.

So..1)Suggestions on how family might be able to be supportive ..show support, things they can do to help? The question was asked "What do you want me to do?" good question, I know I couldn't have told you when I was coming off. My dear friend can't answer either. Suggestions? Input?

2)If those in your home do not research or care to research what you are going through and don't believe you when you tell them how bad it is....what do you do? How do you get across to someone s/o family etc..how BADLY you NEED HELP? Do you write post its and stick them up all over the house? Force them to watch a video? Suggestions?

Any input is appreciated...I wish I had support or knew of this forum when I stopped...heck I wish I knew what I was taking to begin with. I don't want my friend to suffer as I did. Yes, I am showing them this forum soon as they wake up. Thank you in advance for reading and any advice.

I think this is a VERY hard question. How do you tell someone what you need when you don't know yourself??? I think what happyzapynot says is a very good starting point. It's also helpful if the people around you are just plane nicer to you. Fix a cup of tea just because. Cook/clean up/ order out are helpful to me. It just shows that they care. My 17 year old son also very nicely tells me when I'm acting out. It helps me pull myself back and gives him power to help me so he dosen't feel so helpless. Hope something helps!