21 replies to this topic

[alicat]

day 2 w/o cymbalta. have had horrible nightmares. my husband woke me from a few last night. he said I was talking in Latin. my family is catholic but the only Latin I know is from lent at church. (which I haven't been to in 10+ years. I took a nap a little while ago (exhausted --fatigue?) only to wake up crying from some exorcist-type dream. I'm only on day 2! what the hell???!!! I can't stop crying & am totally freaking out. is this normal? anyone else have crazy, vivid religious dreams?

[chauceriangirl]

I'm having crazy insane vivid colourful dreams about everything in my life. It's completely bizarre. Getting off this stuff is just nasty!!! I hope you get some relief soon.

[kzap]

Hi alicat and chaucerian girl

I also had vivid nightmares/dreams while I was withdrawing. I would wake up afraid and tell my husband about the dreams sometimes, Then later in the day the dreams would come back to haunt me again while I was fully awake and I would relive the dream. I've noticed in the last week , when I wake-up I know I had a crazy dream but I can't remember it long enough to tell me husband about it. I can't even remember any of the dreams I had that would come back and haunt me throughout the day anymore. Believe me I'm glad that craziness has stopped and I don't remember any of my dreams long enough to tell my husband about them. I am now on day 12 w/o cymbalta after tapering down from 90mg during the past month. I took cymbalta for 4 years for Fibromyalgia and just got sicker every year. Turns out I Had Seratonin Syndrome and didn't know it. I want to kick myself in the butt. I'm a retired psychiatric nurse(30yrs experience) and didn't know about Seratonin Syndrome. I was forced into retirement in 1996 due To Fibro and osteoarthritis. OH well, my drs didn't recognize it either . I was sent from . one specialist to the other for the past 4years and they couln't find out what was wrong with me. They would all say"You know you have Fibromyalgia." I always told them "Yeah, but this is different." Of course They just thought I was CRAZY. I am soooooo THANKFUL for this site.

Good luck Everybody with your individual Recoveries. May God Bless you and keep you safe.

[richardbr]

Weird. I am having terrible dreams which I can only recall parts. One of them involved an invisible being who spoke a language I didnt understand and I was affraid of. Once in the dream, I accepted it in my mind I started to understand it and try to convince my wife (in the dream) to accept it/him too. Looks like a movie plot...freaking.

[alicat]

wow!! thank you all for sharing...glad its not just me. I am on day 3 w/o cymbalta now, have only slept about 4 hours in past two days. got brain zaps, crying at eVERYTHiNG!!!! tho is so horrible! glad to hear there is a light at the end of the tunnel tho...thank you kzap, you r the first person on here that's given a happy ending to their story. congrats & thanks for giving the rest of us hope. oh wow, I'm crying again. this is ridiculous! I'm not, nor have I ever been a big cryer. very strange for me. & to richardbr, I hope your wife understands what your going thru. I showed my husband what others have said to expect with withdrawals, & he is very patient & understanding. & I asked him to wake me up if I start speaking or yelling in sleep. I've been close to accepting the dreams as reality, & it's way too scary for me. best of luck everyone.

[alicat]

oh, & thank you chauceriangirl. relief sounds really great, but I have a feeling this is just the beginning of a long couple weeks/month. good luck to you too!

[AnniezDizzy]

I haven't had religious dreams but I have full length movie type dreams. I had one nightmare last night. It left be shaking. Which is scary because I have seizures too.
I am on day 8 of cold turkey withdrawal. (not by choice, the new insurance company won't fill the prescription.) I've been on cymbalta (120 mg)for over 4 years.
I have run the gambit of raging to crying to being suicidal. Yesterday I even hallucinated.
The headaches, pain and emotional pain I am in is pure hell!

[chauceriangirl]

Man--the dreams keep getting more and more bizarre. Last night I dreamed a combination of Thor, Tron Legacy, and Bollywood. I can't even try to describe how strange it was. Usually when I'm having strange dreams, everything seems totally normal while I'm dreaming it. But these withdrawal dreams are so bizarre that even while I'm dreaming them I recognize how peculiar they are.

And the nausea hit me a little while ago. This is just nasty medicine! How can they get away with doing this to people?

[waddy]

I'm new to this site. I'm still taking Cymbalta but really want to get off of it. I missed a dose a while back without realizing it and cried for 24 hours. My husband was kind, but mystified. I am not a crier. And I couldn't control it either. The only thing that stopped the crying was taking a cymbalta. Has anyone tried switching to Zoloft and Wellbutrin, then decreasing those?

[alicat]

I am now on day 4 w/o cymbalta. completely miserable. I'm considering switching to Zoloft, I don't have insurance now & I really don't want to be on anything anymore, but I can't live like this. I can't leave the house, my husband wants to take me to the ER, I've been constantly crying since yesterday, I keep getting these pain spells outta nowhere, the brain zaps keep knocking me over, tried driving (BAD idea), constant state of confusion, have only been successful at eating crackers (saltines), nauseous, I get lock-jaw when the pain spells hit (can't talk & stay tensed up for a while). & that's just PART of what's going on. I'm not even gonna get into what's happening to me mentally, not now anyway, can't handle it. need help. gotta be a better way. I hate this stupid EVIL drug!!!

[alicat]

on a side note, I just realized that every time I get on this website, I have about 15 minutes of "normal" feeling afterwards. so grateful for it!!!

[Sage]

Each time we've tried to wean off Cymbalta, my sister and I have both experienced awful nightmares that are not like anything we've ever known. As soon as the weaning starts, the nightmares arrive.

I'll be honest, I'm a Christian and I had some long talks with God about the dreams because they were so disturbing. Sure enough, something very good has come from this experience for me. When I wake up (and sometimes while I'm still dreaming!), I say, "That is NOT true, it is NOT real, I deny those ideas and I will not carry them with me from this point forward." The dreams move away from me as far as the east is from the west. The most amazing thing is that this "attitude/habit" has now carried over into my waking hours, and I find myself MUCH stronger when negative thoughts attempt to find purchase in my mind. I tell them the same thing.

God is good.

[matt39]

Keep going Allycat! I really feel for you...you can do it.

I only had this awful drug for 5 days and had awful vivid nightmares...am 10 days since last pill and no nightmares last 3 nights but still insomnia.

[freeme2]

Matt,
Are you taking anything to help you sleep?
I started the sleeping time tea extra. This seems to help keep you from waking up during the night..

I hate the insomnia. I have had this ever since I went on C.

Be good to yourself. Your body is stressing going off this stuff. Hang in there. Do something that makes you happy.

[matt39]

Hey free me... Another 3 hr sleep... I would cope better if I could sleep...tried the sleepy tea last night but no luck... Am reluctant to try sleeping pills as I've reacted badly in the past and don't trust my mind ATM but am getting desperate.

Have a 3 day long weekend here so am hoping to sleep a bit during the day.

[alicat]

Thanks everyone! I'm a couple weeks in now. Doing MUCH better! Hang in there, there is an end to the madness! I started a diary to keep up with my scattered thought process & determine if it's the withdrawal or just me going through emotions. -totally recommend this!!! Brain zaps are few & far between, pain spells are gone, nightmares are at bay, still have short temper/anger issues but the diary helps, & I'm very happy to say that I'M FEELING GOOD!!
good luck everyone. there IS an end in sight. stay strong!

[freeme2]

Matt,
I hope your insomnia is slowly fading away as you march on your journey to FREEDOM!! Sometimes the sleep tea helps and sometimes NOT.
I have ambien that I am saving up to help with the withdrawals symptoms. Don't you think the emotional ups and downs are from not getting any sleep.
I didn't have sleep for 3 days. I was mad and I slammed the front door and broke the lock. I couldn't believe I had this in me at all. My husband didn't say anything at all but went to home depot and got a new lock. It took him 4 hours or more to put a new lock on. I knew he was so mad at me, but he didn't say a thing. He knew it wasn't me at all. I couldn't believe it was ME either.

Cymbalta is soooooooo nasty. This was just dropping from 90 to 60mg.

How are you doing today?

[matt39]

Hey Ali

Well last night slept better... Two lots if 4 hrs so that was great... Felt a lot more normal today and intrusive thoughts easier to control.

Was still moody...angry for two hours...I hate that!!

[freeme2]

The dreams are pretty cruel. Last night I had a dream that I dropped all the little balls out of my last capsule. It was a circle of finding these balls. The anxiety is killing me. My poor little head. Too bad I can't figure out a way to stop dreaming. This is such a bummer..

[freeme2]

Matt,
I think the key is definitely getting some sleep to be able to handle all the withdrawal symptoms.

I know for me, if I can't sleep it is because the $%&I cymbalta. I usually will cave and take a motrin PM with a muscle relaxer, but I will still be up and down all night.
Keep focusing ahead to know that it is the cymbalta making you not sleep and angry. Try to have some calm time or go take a walk to get that serotonin kicking in.

It is so hard when sleep just not come naturally. I am holding out the big guns of ambien to take when I really do need the rest for the next day. Coming off of ambien, I know I don't get sleep for 2 days, but at least I know what the drug affects are going to be and I can try to exhaust myself.
Here I am at 1:21am.. but I know today I drank too much caffeine.

[Karla]

This may sound crazy but my nightmares started before I stopped the cymbalta. However, I had been on and off it a couple times this last year. Not from trying to quit but from no insurance or money for meds. I am on day 2 off cymbalta 60mg dosage, quit cold turkey. Hate the way I have felt for the last year and cant stand it anymore.

[matt39]

Grrr still no sleep