55 replies to this topic

[Attorney_Victim]

I experienced weight gain, mild lethargy and mild apathy, then I think it quit working for my depression. So my dr increased the dosage to 90mgs and that is when I started having really bad side effects:
worsened depression
lethargy - couldn't lift my head off the pillow in the morn.
agitation - couldn't stay at work a full day because everything/everyone got on my nerves so bad
apathy - ate ice cream for dinner, gained more weight, and didn't care

[Juls McCools]

I stopped because my stomach was upset all the time and ended up in the ER with gastric problems. When I stopped, the problem went away immediately.

[Angela of Green]

When I first started Cymbalta was wonderful, but I stopped because I'd become complacent in my son's life. I was just neutral about everything... not mad, sad, or glad... "yay kid, you did a cartwheel" or "You painted your wall with crayons? Wait til dad gets home" I realized that anger is good for somethings, and excitement is an incredible feeling, I refuse to feel blah for the rest of my life...

As the brilliant band 3 Days Grace puts it:

"I'd rather feel pain than nothing at all"

[Holly]

I stopped because of the head-aches, fuzzy brain, blurred vision, eye spasms, extreme sweating, metallic taste in my mouth, inability to control my rage all of a sudden, rage all of a sudden, feeling like my brain was attached to an electrical probe that jolted an electric pain through my head every now and then, achy joints, restlessness, and the nightmares.

[cirenos]

I stopped just because I didn't like the fact that I was dependent on some medication. I didn't feel that I was gaining anything from taking it and so figured I might as well right?

[Jenofhearts]

I am getting of of this med because of these reasons..
Increased anxiety
Panic attacks
Lack of interest in life
Dizziness
Horrible nightmares
Super sweating
Sleeping to much
Isolating myself
Weight gain

I am at 20mgs per day and the good things are..
No more nightmares
No more excessive sweating
Decreased appetite

Bad things at weaning...
Increased anxiety
Increased panic
Detached feeling
Crying
Trembling
Tight muscles
Headaches
Agoraphobia

There you have it...thank you Eli Lilly.

[lifeafter]

I had to quite because I had no more insurance. Thank God I did, cymbalta gave me an uncontrollable compulsion for alcohol! This drug has stolen almost everything away from me! Thank God I am still alive!

God Bless

[nursedeborah]

I had to quite because I had no more insurance. Thank God I did, cymbalta gave me an uncontrollable compulsion for alcohol! This drug has stolen almost everything away from me! Thank God I am still alive!

God Bless

lifeafter,
Welcome!
yes it took my life too, even with the slow taper at time I thin it has the
best of me.

You are not the only one who has shown up here telling how it caused them
to crave alcohol!!! People are popping up all of a sudden with this problem
and it's already a horriffic disease, really scares me to think that this drug
wil start producing more.

So glad you got off.

Debbie

[nursedeborah]

I stopped taking Cymbalta because I wasn't feeling ANYTHING anymore... not a thing, good or bad. What's the use if you feel nothing at all... had to get off it! Back to Zoloft for a year or so now and am doing just great! (Except the night sweats, which I highly prefer to being an unfeeling zombie!)

BUT, do have the lovely buzzing in my ears still... constant... what a leftover treat...

Kelly

Kelly,
I don't know how you got off this crap, or know that the withdrawl symptoms can
last for 6 mo. to 2 years or even longer.

When did you stop, what dose were you on, how long did it take you to get off of it?

Always here to help,
Debbir

[Junior]

i took my last dose of cymbalta 9 days ago. i am experiencing many of the withdrawal symptoms people have mentioned - intense sweating, brain dizziness, crying, irritability...to say the least. i went through a similar experience about 4 years ago when i got off effexor (also has terrible withdrawal). i decided to go off cymbalta because i really feel like it's stopped helping me. if anything, i felt more irritable and moody while i was on it. i would get in a funk and it would be very hard to come out of it. also, i have had basically no sex drive for all the years i've been on antidepressants. and i'm finally just done with it. i really hope i can make it through this, and that it will get better over the next couple weeks (though i know symptoms can last longer than that). i'm continually trying to remind myself that this is withdrawal. this is not the symptoms coming back (i never felt anything like this before i went on antidepressants). i think i am a better person without the medicine. i just hope i can get back to that person again soon.

Hi Rena

Sorry to hear about your withdrawals. They are rotten while they last. Hopefully yours won't last too much longer. I cold turkeyed from 60mg (not recommended, btw) and the worst of my withdrawals were over in two weeks. However, like you, I've been on anti-d's for a long time (over 10 years) and I suffered hypomania and severe insomnia after the C withdrawal. I don't know how much was due to C and how much was the years of being on anti-d's..what I do know is that I was forced to go back on Aropax (Paxil) (the one I'd been on for many years) to try to combat the insomnia. After several months I'm back on an even keel... but now back to square one with the sleeping probs that caused me to come off Paxil in the first place!

What I'm saying is that I would hate for you to go through what I've been going through. I have to go out in a minute but I will come back later and explain a bit about how these drugs effect the brain and what is needed for the brain to heal. I guess what I am also saying is that if you came off a dose of 60mg or higher, it might be worth going back on a lower dose and tapering slowly.

Good luck and welcome to the forum
Junior

[nursedeborah]

i took my last dose of cymbalta 9 days ago. i am experiencing many of the withdrawal symptoms people have mentioned - intense sweating, brain dizziness, crying, irritability...to say the least. i went through a similar experience about 4 years ago when i got off effexor (also has terrible withdrawal). i decided to go off cymbalta because i really feel like it's stopped helping me. if anything, i felt more irritable and moody while i was on it. i would get in a funk and it would be very hard to come out of it. also, i have had basically no sex drive for all the years i've been on antidepressants. and i'm finally just done with it. i really hope i can make it through this, and that it will get better over the next couple weeks (though i know symptoms can last longer than that). i'm continually trying to remind myself that this is withdrawal. this is not the symptoms coming back (i never felt anything like this before i went on antidepressants). i think i am a better person without the medicine. i just hope i can get back to that person again soon.

rena,
Like Junior said we, well the box, and the insert say do not stop abruptly!
With this frigging drug I found out the hard way, by missing a couple of doses
and would get a clangging in my head, then take the med, and it would go away
in a few hours. I was so screwed up while on the med I couldn't even figure that
one out.

I hate to be the one to tell you that this drug the withdrawls can last 6 mo. to
2 years and longer. Doing it cold turkey is like taking heroin away from a junkie.
It is not a pretty picture. All the things you said were nothing as far as what most
have to deal with. Sure we have had about 3-4 that have been blessed, or just have
not come back.

If you want to not feel so crazy while doing this, the slow wean is the method that has been
foun to be the best. It is also even better because you can control it. If your stilll having
any withdrawls that are causing you too much discomfort you can decrease teh amount of beads,
and time between decreases.

If you wan to know how this works, I will gladly give you the weaning process.

Good Luck,
Debbie

[Junior]

Well, a little more about my situation. The highest dose I was ever on for cymbalta was 60 mg. I reduced down to 40 about a year and a half ago, then down to 30 a couple months ago. Then I was taking 30 only every other day, then every three days, etc. So I feel like I tapered off pretty darn slowly. However, I've found with both Cymbalta and Effexor (which I went off about four years ago), the withdrawals kick in for me once I get down to zero, no matter how much I've tapered. I mean, maybe my tapering makes it better than it would have been, who knows. My withdrawal symptoms for Cymbalta didn't really kick in until about Day 7 off of the drug. Yesterday (day 9) was really bad. Today seems a bit better (so far).

I'm glad I found this site, as it's really hard to explain to my husband, or anyone else, what I'm going through. This must be what drug addicts feel like when they go through withdrawal. Not fun.

Hi Rena

Thanks for sharing. It is frustrating to hear, once again, of a Dr telling a person to do the "every other day" thing. So many people have come here and indicated that it just DOES NOT WORK. Essentially, the level of the drug begins to drop, then you reintroduce it. Therefore, your body doesn't know whether it is arthur or martha!

Having said that, since you have got to Day 9 ... it might be worth riding it out. Alternatively, a lot of people have had success by taking a low dose of Prozac during the withdrawal. Prozac has a longer half-life and is supposedly a lot easier to get off.

Sorry I didn't get back to you yesterday. I had to do a grocery shop and other stuff (yuk) and completely forgot! I wanted to explain a little about how these drugs affect the brain and why so many people go through withdrawal -withdrawal that even the Drs don't acknowledge because the drug companies don't tell them.

Neurons (brain cells) communicate with each other via chemical messengers called neurotransmitters. The sending neuron emits this chemical messenger and the receiving neuron has receptors.. there are different receptors for different chemicals. SSRIs (Paxil, Prozac, etc) and SNRIs (Cymbalta and Effexor)work by stopping the sending neuron from clearing the synapse (gap between neurons) from taking the excess back up - reuptake. This leaves the chemical in the synapse longer and allows more time for the receiving neuron to accept it. Does that make sense?

In effect, these drugs down-regulate the receptors on the sending neuron and when the drug is stopped, it can take a while for it to return to its pre-medication state. This means that we are processing LESS of the serotonin or serotonin and norepinephrine (depending which drug we are on) than we did before going on the medication. In addition, if you alter one or two of these chemical messengers, the brain alters others (there are over 50) in order to find a new balance.

SO... it can take a while for the receptors to return to normal function.. AND.. it can take a while for the other chemical messengers to return to pre-medication levels. Any change in what the receptors are doing is going to affect all the other neurotransmitters.....

At this forum, and another I go to (Paxil Progress) many find that a VERY slow taper (in some cases taking months) is more effective than anything else. The reason being that each small drop gives the brain time to heal a bit before dropping the dose again. It makes withdrawal a lot more bearable and seems to have a better long term outcome.

Hope all of that makes sense. I know it is complicated
Junior

[necessary824]

Well, a little more about my situation. The highest dose I was ever on for cymbalta was 60 mg. I reduced down to 40 about a year and a half ago, then down to 30 a couple months ago. Then I was taking 30 only every other day, then every three days, etc. So I feel like I tapered off pretty darn slowly. However, I've found with both Cymbalta and Effexor (which I went off about four years ago), the withdrawals kick in for me once I get down to zero, no matter how much I've tapered. I mean, maybe my tapering makes it better than it would have been, who knows. My withdrawal symptoms for Cymbalta didn't really kick in until about Day 7 off of the drug. Yesterday (day 9) was really bad. Today seems a bit better (so far).

I'm glad I found this site, as it's really hard to explain to my husband, or anyone else, what I'm going through. This must be what drug addicts feel like when they go through withdrawal. Not fun.

My husband just said the same thing about the drug addiction - He said it's like Heroine. You take it at first to make yourself feel better, then after a while, you have to take it just to feel "normal" much less, "better." All the while, it's wrecking havoc on your body and the manufacturers are making a ton of money off you.

[MoonDancer]

I noticed the Cymbalta made me feel like I was going crazy. Depression was worse not better. See M.S. and Fibro are alike in so many ways but when I started crying for no reason I was like uh oh. And it was the med messing with my M.S. Then I read up how much it interfered with my other meds and I said enough of this. Weigh gain too and when I was still tapering down I lost 5 lbs.! Its a hard way to drop weight I don't suggest it!

[cookie]

I never planned to quit cymbalta. Actually my doctor had told me that I would need antidepressants for the rest of my life. I found this site, started reading and realized that the withdrawal symptoms of this pill were worse than my illness (depression) for which cymbalta was prescribed.

Cymbalta was a great relief in the worst moment of my severe depression, but after a while it stopped working. It was not as effective as before.

This are the side effects that have bothered me the most:
-Huge weight gain due to increase in appetite (I gained 52lbs)
-Extreme Sleepiness
-Horrible headaches
-Zero libido
-During cymbalta intake I didn´t feel anything, wasn´t productive, and isolated myself.

I decided i didn´t want to be dependent on a pill and through weaning I found out other things that actually helped me with my depression (healthy nutrition, vitamins & minerals, omega 3, exercise, yoga).

I am on 25mg (down from 60mg). I am still deciding if I am quitting cymbalta completely or if I will stay at a very little dose (example 5mg). It will all depend on how I feel during weaning. My dream is to be off meds completely. I do not want to depend on a pill

regards
cookie

[MsPea]

Neurons (brain cells) communicate with each other via chemical messengers called neurotransmitters. The sending neuron emits this chemical messenger and the receiving neuron has receptors.. there are different receptors for different chemicals. SSRIs (Paxil, Prozac, etc) and SNRIs (Cymbalta and Effexor)work by stopping the sending neuron from clearing the synapse (gap between neurons) from taking the excess back up - reuptake. This leaves the chemical in the synapse longer and allows more time for the receiving neuron to accept it. Does that make sense?

In effect, these drugs down-regulate the receptors on the sending neuron and when the drug is stopped, it can take a while for it to return to its pre-medication state. This means that we are processing LESS of the serotonin or serotonin and norepinephrine (depending which drug we are on) than we did before going on the medication. In addition, if you alter one or two of these chemical messengers, the brain alters others (there are over 50) in order to find a new balance.

SO... it can take a while for the receptors to return to normal function.. AND.. it can take a while for the other chemical messengers to return to pre-medication levels. Any change in what the receptors are doing is going to affect all the other neurotransmitters.....

At this forum, and another I go to (Paxil Progress) many find that a VERY slow taper (in some cases taking months) is more effective than anything else. The reason being that each small drop gives the brain time to heal a bit before dropping the dose again. It makes withdrawal a lot more bearable and seems to have a better long term outcome.

Hope all of that makes sense. I know it is complicated
Junior

Hi Junior,

I have spent two days reading this site now and I am both encouraged (because it is NOT in my head! Okay, it is, but, well, you know what I mean! =) and I am outraged these kinds of medication cause such harm. The doctors oath is to Due No Harm but unfortunately, big pharma does not have to take that oath. =( I know I have made the right decision to come off this horrible medication.

I was on Wellbutrin 300mg for about a year after having a particularly tough bought of depression. I have suffered from depression my entire life and this was the worst. I actually took six weeks off work to recover. Then, I also began working with a very wonderful specialist to try and get my IBS under control. After months of working with her, she suggested I try Cymbalta because she had read it was working in some people and would also work for my depression. Now almost two years later, my life is in shambles, sort of.

The good: I moved back to my home town after divorcing my husband of 11 years ( a very good thing) and bought my own adorable little house. I have a loving furry family including three dogs, two cats and a few others both finned and furred. I have an okay job in my field but I just got to the city a year ago so I have time to check out the scene a bit. And to top it all off, I have the most amazing boyfriend ever! He is all I want in a guy and he is cute too! Oh, and single! =) Things have been great up until about nine months ago.

The bad: The cravings for alcohol started shortly after I moved back. I am a huge wine fan so I buy a lot and stash it in my basement for special occasions but right around November, I started a "kick" of a bottle a night, sometimes two. I eat constantly and this is the most I have even weighed in my life. I have a very physically demanding job so it is kind of like getting paid to work out but I am now hungry all the time. Sometimes, I am *starving* only an hour after I eat a big meal. Then the brain zaps began about 4 months ago when I forgot to take my dose in the morning. My early afternoon I would get a zap warning me to take my pills and every time I would find that I indeed had forgotten to take them. I honestly thought it was due to the alcohol but it happened even on the rare nights when I did not drink. I also began to realize how much of my life I had missed because I could not remember it. My boyfriend (Mike) would talk to me about something we did and I would not be able to recall anything about it, even if it was just two weeks ago! And random crap too, like going to the store or seeing a movie. Again, I could not attribute it to alcohol. Then one day I had a very long conversation with my best friend and we made plans to go see a show the next day. The tickets were $80. Having just bought a house I should not be spending that money but the next day she just shows up and Ta Da! Wow.

That day with my friend was not really enjoyable because I realized that my life was out of control. Something had to be done. I began by quitting all medications except the Cymbalta which was the only perscription I was taking daily. I tried that for a week, no better. Then I stopped the Cymbalta. BAD IDEA! So, then I tried the weaning but until last night, I had no idea how long that should have taken and now I am kind of stuck. It has been almost three weeks since I had a pill and I am still so unstable. So here is the list of my "problems":

Brain zaps are a daily thing, anywhere from annoying to call-in-sick-to-work debilitating. Weight gain, but that is likely due to the huge amounts of calories I am consuming daily. Alcohol use is not good in this amount, no matter what, and the cost is not all that great either. I occasionally feeling like I am standing while an earthquake is going on (I lived in LA for the last 13 years) and no one else around me feels a thing. We don't have earthquakes you can feel in Minnesota. Confusion? Heck yeah! I can't even call clients and leave simple messages because I sometimes have trouble putting together full sentences. Ears ringing, listen to people talk like I am underwater, body aches, night sweats - my god! The list goes on! Actually, I thought I might be going through peri- or early menopause but then I found this site, you people and something I have not had in a while...... hope.

This is one nasty drug and I am going to make it my mission to let the world know how nasty, just as soon as I can make complete sentences! =) But in the mean time, how did those of you who are over it manage your symptoms WITHOUT more drugs? Being out this far I don't know that I want to take anything at this point. I am also not sure if I want to go back to the Wellbutrin. My life was very happy (except for the ex-husband) during that time. I felt whole and blessed. I want that back. I could go on but after the last two nights of no sleep, I am going to take a little helper tonight and get some rest. Thank you for the neurology lesson on healing. I will use that to my advantage.

Night all,
Pamela

[cookie]

I had the w orst eperience of my life. NEVER go off cymbalta col turkey. My pharmacist told me that some people do so I decided to try. I was taking 60mg at the time. within a couple of days I got sooooooooo sick. I think iat first it totally affected my amune system. I got the worst sour throught, cough, headache, my blood pressure was going up.... I thought that I just had a cold. Then my head started to feel awful. I started to get really dizzy. I felt that my heart was making wierd palpataions and then I started vomiting. I litterally thought that I had brain tumer, cancer (all sorts of things were going through my head because I couldn't figure out what was wrong with me) I never dreamed just going off cymbalta would make me so sick. Finally last night I read this blog adn realize what what happening so my boyfriend ran down to the pharmacy righ before it closed and got the rest of my perscription. It took on pill and this morning it is like night night and day. I feel sooooooooooo much better I can't even tell you. Moral to this story is to definately taper off of this drug it seems to me way too dangerous to sgo off of cold turkey.

Yes, taper off slowly.

[JustJulz]

Reasons why...

At first it was great, and I am alive because of it. I had hardly any side effects at first, that was great. But when I needed to up my dose to 60mg because of other life stressors, everything changed.

So, the list: weight gain, thyroid quit (quite quickly, as I get it checked along with several other hormones and vitamins about twice a year), depression crept back in, not clear headed at all (and I'm a sharp cookie!), couldn't wake up, never felt like I was "well-rested", really restless legs and feet (tapping, shaking- never had done this before), no sex drive, no joy for the things I loved, kind of "flat" emotionally (couldn't really even get rightfully mad when I needed to!), no interest in much of anything.

I just had an overwhelming feeling of a loss of Me, that this was not a better version of me, this was a sicker, more dependent version, that could not miss a dose without falling apart. I think that was the biggest reason- that realization that I "needed" to have the drug or I would be an emotionally devastated, crying, sobbing mess within 24 hrs of missing a dose, even if I took the next day's dose on time. I created a hole in my emotional fabric.

Now I am learning about all the other ways that Cymbalta has affected me, has possibly affected me, and might affect me for the rest of my life, and I am really glad that I am making the choice to get off this drug asap.

[cookie]

.

[cookie]

Reasons why...

At first it was great, and I am alive because of it. I had hardly any side effects at first, that was great. But when I needed to up my dose to 60mg because of other life stressors, everything changed.

So, the list: weight gain, thyroid quit (quite quickly, as I get it checked along with several other hormones and vitamins about twice a year), depression crept back in, not clear headed at all (and I'm a sharp cookie!), couldn't wake up, never felt like I was "well-rested", really restless legs and feet (tapping, shaking- never had done this before), no sex drive, no joy for the things I loved, kind of "flat" emotionally (couldn't really even get rightfully mad when I needed to!), no interest in much of anything.

I just had an overwhelming feeling of a loss of Me, that this was not a better version of me, this was a sicker, more dependent version, that could not miss a dose without falling apart. I think that was the biggest reason- that realization that I "needed" to have the drug or I would be an emotionally devastated, crying, sobbing mess within 24 hrs of missing a dose, even if I took the next day's dose on time. I created a hole in my emotional fabric.

Now I am learning about all the other ways that Cymbalta has affected me, has possibly affected me, and might affect me for the rest of my life, and I am really glad that I am making the choice to get off this drug asap.

Hey Julz:
Yes I can also say that cymbalta helped me in the worst moment of my life.
I can so relate with your side effects: weight gain, depression coming back, couldn´t wake up, never feeling that I was "well-rested", flat emotionally, zero sex drive.
hugs
Cookie

[arteest]

I wanted off after 2 episodes of letting my dog off her leash in busy traffic areas and a blank out moment when driving. I have no idea why I let my dog off her leash and I'm really lucky she didn't go into traffic. I used to take Depakote/Depakene for years for migraine and it was great for that. It is also prescribed off-label for Bipolar disorder. When I went off of it cold turkey, I lit my dog on fire, thought a garden shovel would quench my thirst and almost drove into oncoming traffic. Something in my brain just told me these things. It was very scary. (These things happened in separate incidents.) My GP sent me to a neurologist who was surprised but said it made sense since the drug is used for bipolar. He said I had a manic episode when I came off of the drug. The weird thing is is that letting the dog off the leash and the blank out while driving (while on Cymbalta) was very similar to what happened when I got OFF the Depakene. I'm wondering if the two drugs are similar as I didn't have migraines while on the Cymbalta.

I have also gained weight and lived on ice cream for days at a time. My memory and ability to articulate my thoughts was getting worse and worse. I had periods of auditory hallucinations, my eyes burned all the time and my skin was itchy. My tinnitus also got worse.

I'm weaning myself off now and am soooo glad I found this site!

[ExCymbaltaUser]

my insurance stopped covering it. I don't have $650/mo to pay out of pocket. And I didn't want to switch to the covered effexor. tdoc believed i didn't need it anyway, that it was just blocking the emotions i need to work on to heal. ~ shrug ~ all i know is i feel like hell now, and i hope it stops soon. ~sigh~

[scarbro222]

I was put on cymbalta for migraine control. !st at 60mg then at 120mg at bedtime. did that for 4 years. never saw any change with my chronic migraines. With a change in meds I asked my Neuro if I could come off and he said he wasnt sure why my old dr ever put me on so sure. Thats where my journey begins....

[cookie]

Every night I wake up with severe itching in my arms, hands. Do you get this??????? What is this, an allergic reaction????

[chalky02]

I have felt the same way. Especially the agitation and head dive feeling. Just want to sleep. Apathy to everything.

[chalky02]

I get itching on my back where I once had shingle outbreak. It is a burning horrible itch and I have to dig at it to make it stop.

[Raphi]

What seemed like a nasty problem has turned out to be of benefit.

I've had the mono/Epstein-Barr/chronic fatigue syndrome for decades. Mostly, I've managed to function-- while working in engine rooms and/or going to school. But as I've aged, it's gotten worse. Was prescribed Cymbalta for fibromyalgia at the beginning of this year (2001.) But eventually I still had to give up my physically demanding job. With that went the insurance.

I applied for the low income deal from Lilly. When the meds were delivered to the clinic I go to, they ended up at the pharmacy instead of the MD directly. So I was charged a processing fee to redeem my own prescription. As an activist blue collar worker, I'm used to fighting for what's right. The injustice of this situation made me furious. It was the goad I needed to figure out an alternative, since there is no way I'm going to pay any more extortion.

Thus I found out about 5-HTP, using it to wean myself off Cymbalta. In my opinion, 5-HTP has the beneficial SSRI effects. Decrease in anxiety and depression, appetite control, etc. Without the no libido or odd cravings. I've always had some reservations about Cymbalta. After all, the full nature and cause of fibromyalgia is still unknown. And what are the exact mechanisms of Cymbalta? So we have a mysterious syndrome treated by drugs not fully understood. This hardly inspires confidence.

As I've described elsewhere on this site, despite the amelioration of 5-HTP, I,too, am having withdrawl symptoms. Yet I was only on 20 mg a day from early in the year to mid-Sept. when I quit. What is happening to people on high doses for years? I shudder to think. But then what's a few poisoned peasants or wounded workers compared to that smokin' engine of profit?

One of the worst mistakes of the ruling class was to allow public schools. We educated peasants then do pesky things like read, vote, and form unions. So the triple whammy of lowered funding for education, a mileau of constant economic anxiety, and millions of zombied-out folks taking very profitable drugs is great. For the few at the apex of the econopath pyramid. Hell for the rest of us. The next decade is going to be really fun. Hopefully, some of us are going to return to optimal operating condition. If so, caveat emperors.

[JAZNM]

Have had depression all the way back to the early 90's. Some years back, P-doc seemed to think this seemed to be more like ADD, started me on Concerta for a week; it was like waking from a dream. Had been on Effexor, but had a bad experience with withdrawal, so weaned off that and tried Strattera- bad experience, then migrated to Cymbalta.

With Cymbalta combined with Concerta , I had been gaining weight, probably 30 lbs in 3 years, no energy, foggy on the brain, upset stomach that only seemed to respond to eating, no drive or desire to do much. Concerta did not seem to help as much, almost like Cymbalta had an overwhelming effect. I was simply walking, talking, but non-feeling person.
I remember a time prior to this when I was getting things done, but since being on this Cymbalta stuff, I've lost myself.
Wanted to experiment on getting off antidepressants altogether, with the thought that ADD was putting forward a mask of depression, which can happen. Had never gone off antidepressants altogether and want to give it a whirl.
Anyway, up until Sept 13, was on 30 mg, started taking about 1/2 dose for a week by breaking up dosages, seemed to be working okay, then decided to go off altogether from there, then brain shivers and headaches started coming in, along with crying for no reason.

I sense a slight reduction in some symptoms, but this past weekend was the pits. I wanted to stay away from all human contact and pretty much laid around all weekend doing nothing.
Any ideas how long it will take for these shivers, headaches and crying to stop?

[SallyJo]

I stopped because my heart rate began excellerating .... confusion ... dizziness ... began not to function properly.

[lopezbe]

I recently stopped using Cymbalta because it was damaging my liver. My liver enzymes were high for a while but my regular doctor didn't think it was a big deal. I wanted to go on a special diet for which I had to have blood tests. When the "diet" doctor saw how high my liver enzymes were, he told me to have a serious talk with my regular doctor about getting of the med. I talked to my psychiatrist about it and he got very concerned and told me I had to stop. We developed a weaning plan and now I have been off Cymbalta completely for 2 weeks. I'm waiting for test results to see if my liver enzymes are lower and to see what the next step will be in healing my liver. The amount of suffering that takes place while weaning off this drug is immense. I got very close to divorce. I am unable to work due to my "rage" and I deal with the public. I can't drive very much because of the brain "zaps" and "swimming" feeling. I have a red rash on my face and terribly itchy skin. I'm praying this will subside soon because it is extremely difficult to live this way.