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[sj10]

I have been taking Cymbalta for at least a year and a half. On July 23rd I went from 60mg to 40mg. Went from 40mg to 30mg on August 14th and plan on going down to 20mg next week August 4th. I've had nightmares, terrible stomach problems, only 2 brain zaps, extreme exhaustion, and headaches. All of these issues besides the stomach issues seem to go away after a few days to a week on my new lower dosage. My doctor has me taking fish oil as well as prescription strength follic acid. Her original taper schedule was 4-6 weeks on each dose but I've shortened it to 3 weeks on each. I am still nervous going from 20mg to 0 as I think that will be the true test but I hope this helps to hear that while I've had some unpleasant side effect that they have not been unbearable. Thanks for all of the support on this board!

[Genealogizer]

SJ10, your tapering schedule is going to have to be something you decide you can live with. Unfortunately, you can't tell until you're in withdrawal, and by then you may not trust your judgement. When I went from 20 mg to zero, on day three I sat in my car outside my ophthamologist's office, unable to get myself out of the car and inside, just for my annual checkup. I had to give it a miss, go back home and call it a day. I am retired and had no activities planned for a couple of weeks, because I thought I'd be able to manage the symptoms better if all I had to deal with was daily life. Hah; daily life was simply not possible. Shortly thereafter I contacted my psydoc, who had me start on 20 mg of Prozac next day, and taper off that. For me, it worked very well; the brain zaps, physical symptoms & inability to concentrate pretty much went away within 48 hours, and over the next few weeks I did indeed taper successfully off Prozac. A couple of months afterward, I am readjusting to having emotions, etc. It is possible, and you can get through it- but the withdrawal symptoms should not be minimized. Good luck.