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[freshstart]

First, thank you everyone for your personal stories! I decided about 6 months ago that I was sick of being dependant on several medications, & numb/emotionless all the time. I first weaned myself (probably too quickly) from 8mg of Xanax/day to 2mg in the morning & 2mg in the late afternoon. It was very hard, very draining, & my panic attacks returned quickly until I readjusted myself at least to a lower dose. That remains a constant work in progress.
My next drug to get rid of was Cymbalta. No big deal, I'd become conscious again after Xanax! I could do this easily with the 4mg of Xanax/day,& a new way of thinking. I did not understand why 4weeks later I was still having these episodes of pure loss of control of myself in anger & tears. My body has ached. My heart has pounded out of my chest. Where I normally have low blood pressure I've been boarder line high! (I've taken it at home out of concern for my heart racing) I was still sweating, still nauseous. Then a few days ago I decided to look online & see exactly what I'd been taking 60mg/day for a year?! I found this site! Everything clicked. No wonder I'm still having these episodes of...meltdown & feeling like crap!
I expected withdrawal, don't get me wrong. This is nothing I've ever felt. I've informed everyone I know taking, looking into getting on an anti anxiety as Cybalta was explained to me by my physician's assistant! I'm disappointed the assistant didn't provide more knowledge & even more mad at myself for not really researching a drug before beginning it.
At any rate I'm 4wks clean cold turkey with the help of as little as 1mg Xanax to help ease the symptoms. I want to be clean of the Xanax as well. But for now based on how I'm feeling, & the info I've gotten from many sources (but especially this one!) I think it best I use the Xanax to relive, & keep me functioning thru my days.
Again thank all off you. I've learned a lot, (especially about drs! ) and I feel like I'm ok, or at least it will be.

[kzap]

Hi ALL Newbies

Welcome to the forum. It sounds like you came to the right place to find out what is happening to your body. As I was weaning with the help of my PCP , I just thought I had a bad case of the Flu along with my usual Fibro symptoms. The only things new to me were the frequent brain zaps, constant nausea, periods of rage/anxiety. So after about 2weeks of that I looked up w/d symptoms of cymbalta. WOW, I happened to come upon this site and ALL of my questions were answered. I still can't believe these weird symptoms that I;m still going through. I now am on day14 of NO CYMBALTA. It seems that I can tolerate the symptoms better during the day. By late afternoon /early evening , all of the symptoms come back like gangbusters. I'm so lucky I'm retired because I can't imagine working feeling like this.
I know I'm on the road to recovery because at first I was bombarded with All of these crazy symptoms 24/7. Now I actually feel better at intervals during the day. I really hate the rapid mood swings, laughing to crying in a split second. I hate all of this crying but I do enjoy laughing. I have 0 physical strength right now so it's hard just getting around the house. I went to the Dr and to the grocery store the other day and was out of the house for 3 hrs straight. I felt like I was in the twilight zone the whole time. I acually drove the cart in the store without running into anybody or any thing. I was so proud of myself. Somehow I'm going to go to church this sunday. I've missed 2 weeks in a row since I've been cymbalta-free. I've got to get some of my life back! I've been blessed with a loving, patient husband who helps me through the many illnesses I have had these past 30 yrs.

Even though I still have a lot of the w/d symptoms, I have noticed an improvement almost every day. I'm very hopeful thanks to this Forum and am heading toward the light at the end of this tunnel.

Good luck on your cymbalta adventure. May God Bless you and keep you safe.