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#1 matt39

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Posted 05 June 2012 - 06:03 AM

Hi All,

I had a major life incident 3 months ago...have never ever had depression etc but this hit me hard and immediately developed what my Dr called adjustment disorder with depression symptoms...i was slowly improving day by day then had two bad days and my regular Dr wasnt available and I saw a young Dr who suggested Cymbalta...and since then life has been terrifying!

Day one anxiety started until Day 5 I could not write could not understand what people were saying was awake all night and ran 10kms at 2am in the morning...also had the whole dizziness, confusion, vomits, metal taste etec etc

Called the Dr that day who said keep going a ciuple more weeks!! I couldnt believe it and stopped straight away...

I am now on Day 6 post stopping the drug....last night was my first night sleep in two weelks...the anxiety is getting better. I was angry all day yesterday but better today. I surf and had no fear last couple of surfs going for waves that were way too steep etc.

I now have this total blank feeling which terrifies me as ive always been a kind caring guy and with the life incident I have i feel i need to work through the emotions to get better and I cant like this as I dont have the emotions I should!!

Im also a Christian and since Cymbalta have not been able to talk to God (might sound weird i know) and my negative thoughts have been in the background which I find even more distressing as a cant challenge them...something that was working well with the thoughts slowly going away until I took this awful drug.

I am so worried I will have this blank feeling forever...can someone tell me I will go back to normal!!!

#2 freeme2

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Posted 05 June 2012 - 11:17 AM

Hi Matt!
I totally agree this drug is horrible. The side effects are painful.
I just went from 90 to 60mg I have the same side effects. It makes me think maybe I should go out of them completely since I am feeling awful anyone, but I need to function and get off slowly.
Hang in there and get some supplements to help restore your body. Detox your body.

this is so painful.. I understand.

Be kind to yourself and God is with you.

#3 Sage

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Posted 05 June 2012 - 01:31 PM

Matt! I sympathize. I have been on Cymbalta for just over a year, and I have already logged 4 unsuccessful attempts to come off of the drug. I am now in the middle of my 5th attempt, and it is working! I finally heard about the "take some beads out of the capsule" method, and it is infinitely better than "going cold turkey" or even "going from 60 to 50 to 40 to 30 each day."

My advice is to take your time. Think about how patient God has been with you in your lifetime... He is that way with all of us. Be patient with yourself too, okay? You can do it!

I am doing the following things, along with counting and discarding beads, to get through this:
  • greatly increasing Omega-3 intake (good fish oil + flax seed)
  • eating about 5 eggs, easy over, spaced throughout each day
  • taking skullcap tincture to help with withdrawal
  • taking kava kava tincture about once a day to help me relax when I feel "irrationally funky"
  • eating very well (lots of raw veggies and fruits from my garden and the farmer's market, along with lots of clean water and a little humanely-treated meat)
  • drinking kefir (my roommate makes water kefir)
  • eating organic dill pickles with garlic (and drinking the juice, believe it or not) when my stomach is upset
  • drinking peppermint tea
  • making sure I get enough sleep each night (once, I did have to take .25mg of alprazolam to help)... sleep seems to be VERY important in this process
  • taking a number of breaks each day to pray and enjoy God's company, KNOWING that He is protecting, loving, and hearing me no matter how fuzzy my ability to communicate may seem
  • getting a little exercise a few times a week (like a 45 minute average-paced walk)
  • relaxing, spending time curled up with my dog, thanking God for this opportunity to grow, praying for others who are going through this same thing

Since you have already dropped the drug altogether, I'm guessing that you are having major withdrawal symptoms all at once. It's kinda like you decided to "get it over with, come hell or high water." Do what you can and be patient. If it is too much, start taking 10mg or something for a few days, then taper from there.

Hang in there!

#4 matt39

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Posted 06 June 2012 - 05:58 PM

Day 8 since taking 5 of these pills....my anxiety much better and slept pretty well. My mind is kind of vacant yet angry and i have awful intrusive thoughts that are so much harder to dismiss than before I took Cymbalta.

Can this happen from just 5 days of taking Cymbalta???

This is so disturbing.

#5 TXcounselor

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    On Cymbalta for about a year for peripheral neuropathy. Withdrawal from the drug has been hellish and life-changing. Need support and want to support others.

Posted 06 June 2012 - 07:14 PM

Matt, if you're experiencing this after 5 days of these pills, you're proof that this could happen! Hopefully the withdrawal will be milder for you since you didn't take them very long. Watch those intrusive thoughts and remind yourself it's not you and your natural thought process coming up with those. They can be dangerous if you listen to them. I'm about 5 or 6 weeks off of Cymbalta and things are ALMOST normal. Just a little zapping and some joint pain and weird crawling feelings in my legs. This drives me nuts, but is much better than the acute withdrawal. The worst of it lasted about a month, by the way, and I titrated down by opening pills and dumping some out.

Take care of yourself and consider downloading some positive meditations off of iTunes. I needed the positive voice to tell me how strong I am and it was right. Maybe it can help override the intrusive thoughts.

#6 Uriel

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Posted 06 June 2012 - 09:00 PM

Hi
Hey you can do it. I was on the drug for 1 yr 30mg and weaned off of it , it took me 4 mths.
I have been off of it completely for 2mths now, the first month was hell. Then things subsided. You really need to get lots of rest and take some natural supplements they do help.
Read the posts on here , they got me thru it. I felt like i was crazy. We all have had the negative thoughs , bad dreams, anxiety it's part of it. Just be glad you were only 5 days. Your symptoms should subside , if you don't have a clinical depression try seeing a naturopathic dr they can help. Different things work for different people I have found a homepathic called Calms Forte for me they work great for the anxiety and down moods while i went thru withdrawl also the omega's for your brain, I also take a powder called L-Glutamine google it , it helps with your neurotransmitters which is what cymbalta screws up.
Good luck and be kind to yourself. The meditations are great also when your thoughts get away from you.

#7 Uriel

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Posted 06 June 2012 - 09:01 PM

Hi
Hey you can do it. I was on the drug for 1 yr 30mg and weaned off of it , it took me 4 mths.
I have been off of it completely for 2mths now, the first month was hell. Then things subsided. You really need to get lots of rest and take some natural supplements they do help.
Read the posts on here , they got me thru it. I felt like i was crazy. We all have had the negative thoughs , bad dreams, anxiety it's part of it. Just be glad you were only 5 days. Your symptoms should subside , if you don't have a clinical depression try seeing a naturopathic dr they can help. Different things work for different people I have found a homepathic called Calms Forte for me they work great for the anxiety and down moods while i went thru withdrawl also the omega's for your brain, I also take a powder called L-Glutamine google it , it helps with your neurotransmitters which is what cymbalta screws up.
Good luck and be kind to yourself. The meditations are great also when your thoughts get away from you.

#8 matt39

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Posted 08 June 2012 - 12:34 AM

Day 10...3 hours sleep last night but feeling a lot better today...much easier to dismiss negative thoughts which since taking cymbalta seamed to be constant and impossible to challenge. I can actually shut my eyes and visualise positive memories again, a method I was using before the drug that seamed to help a lot.

More with it today, not angry.

I spoke with a family friend who has been on antidepressants for 15 years and runs a mothers support group for mums with depressions who couldnt believe I was prescribed Cymbalta in my circumstances (major life incident 3 months prior and improving) saying that Cymbalta was "hardcore" and was often an end of the life choice after other drugs had stopped working. Can anyone give any substance to that opinion? Certainly I have half a dozen friends on antidepressants who have never had anything like this horror show.

#9 freeme2

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Posted 08 June 2012 - 09:29 AM

Sage.
I am trying to gage how bad are your symptoms. Do you think all the supplements you take are warding helping you.

What symptoms do you experience and are they mild, moderate, or severe.

How many mg do you wean per week?

ahh I am getting ready to do this, but I want to hear from someone that they hardly have any symptoms. I can be non functional with 3 small kids.
What kind of journey I am up for.


I was listening to a minister and he talked about the word sorcery coming from pharmacology meaning drugs and how the drugs are causing people not to feel which means being further away from God. It made me think of Cymbalta.. I have been a zombie for 5 years. I would laugh at my husband for calling me that. I guess I was a straight-line emotionless person.

I expect to feel anxiety, emotions coming all at once back. Just like my small kids have to deal with learning to battle their emotions effectively.. so will I.

#10 matt39

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Posted 08 June 2012 - 01:57 PM

I was so confident yesterday ... And now 5am next morning am shattered... 3 hours sleep again... Went to my daughters disco last night... Mood swings... One minute dancing weirdly happy then next down on thd dumps...then no emotion just weird blank feeling... I have awful thoughts that distress me.
On a positive anxiety is much better so am trying to tell myself the blankness etc will get better too.

I have only taken this for 5 days so surely I must get better soon... My normal dr whom suggested I didn't take ADs said done people get better some no diff and some worse... I am so scared that this is the worse but am hoping it's still the cymbalta effect and will improve.

#11 matt39

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Posted 09 June 2012 - 10:25 PM

Better today... Have realised I am afraid and on high alert after such a frightening experience... Trouble is that just feeds this anxiety brought on by this drug and the fear becomes an automatic negative thought that spirals me in to depression... Now I've realised this fear has become one of my neg thoughts I've started addressing it using CBT etc and am feeling better that this will pass.

#12 matt39

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Posted 12 June 2012 - 06:20 PM

Days pretty good...nights still bloody awful with 2/3 hrs sleep. Intrusive thoughts much worse than before Cymbalta....is a hard one when this drug litterally terrified me and this fear makes intrusive thoughts more present and harder to dismiss...still earsier than when on the drug.

Blank this morning...grrrr

Being blank and unemotional and having awful thoughts about harming people is a really crappy combo. This drug should be banned.

#13 Heartfeathers

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    I no longer trust the medical profession and I will NEVER take another prescription drug again! NEVER!!

Posted 12 June 2012 - 08:15 PM

Matt, report your symptoms to the FDA.

#14 matt39

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Posted 14 June 2012 - 03:49 AM

I'm in aust but have reported to our version of FDA

Slept pretty well last night... Thoughts les intrusive and weirdly had a few automatic positive thoughts today.

Still dreaming lots

Was v moody today .., one minute thunkin I seamed pretty normal wanting to go to dinner then next frustrated and angry... I hate being angry!

#15 Itching

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Posted 14 June 2012 - 01:59 PM

Any of you experience any dizziness when you move your eyes to the sides? And a slight sound and tingling in your body? Im weaning off cymbalta and I feel dizzy all the time

#16 matt39

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Posted 16 June 2012 - 08:00 AM

Well day 15 I think... Had a great day... Felt normal till 5pm... Couldn't believe it! Gave me hope! Then a neg thought spiraled me down a bit but still pretty good. Still no sleep which I'm struggling with... Makes me mad....I have all sorts of fears now that this drug could make me manic develop schizophrenia or bipolar etc... Such a scary experience.

#17 matt39

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Posted 25 June 2012 - 08:53 AM

Still up and down... Anxiety still pretty bad but better than a week ago... Insomnia no better... Think I am getting worse depression wise but up and down...

#18 YAy

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Posted 26 June 2012 - 03:53 AM

I understand what you mean by "not being able to talk to God". This drugs cuts any spiritual feeling
I Had this weird/wonderful experiences this past month that connected me to nature and other persons on a very deep level. But the drug tries to kill any such thing

Also I can't sleep either. Been off for 5 days now. Tapered down through a month

#19 lauragwyn

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Posted 01 July 2012 - 01:49 AM

I had to stop cold turkey the side effects are a very bad feeling sometimes I don't sleep that was happening while I was on the pill didn't know about all the side effects I feel like I am losing my mind cry allot can be happy one minute. Crying the next mad over nothing. Cause fusses with my husband I even told him to look on line to see what all the side effects are but he has been very busy with new job and other things going on I found this wedsite last night my self I don't feel so along any more last least I know now I'm not alone. I hate the way I feel there know what is going to happen to me and how my body and minded is doing.. does any body know what is in this pill it is crazy to put someone on medince like this. I though two days ago the side effects was almost gone. Boy did I put my foot in my mouth when I told my husband that I guess my body and mind told me guess that's what u think it has been three weeks now does any body know how long these side effects last does it every truly stop.



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