16 replies to this topic

[Imdone]

Hi, I'm a past user of this site. I had a heck of a time getting off Cymbalta, but I did it, totally with the help of this site. It was a slow journey. The last bit of Cymbalta was hard to get off (I kept getting depression when I tried), so I switched to Prozac, which I heard was easier to get off (and certainly cheaper to afford). That worked and I got off Cymbalta 6 mos ago. Then I started weaning the Prozac and got it down to 10mg. I took a rest for awhile before tackling the last bit of Prozac. I'm feeling great now and ready to tackle the last 10 mg of Prozac. I find that the 10mg capsules do not come apart! Like they are glued shut or something, so I can't taper gradually! So I have decided to cold turkey it! I figure 10 mg of Prozac is very little medicine and I will just cold turkey it. I am on Day 2 cold turkey and so far so good. Does anyone know what I can expect? I am feeling very strong and good right now so I am thinking I can handle this. Wish me luck!!!

[Imdone]

I'm on Day 4 now. Nothing major. I have a small headache this morning and don't feel particularly productive, but this is a minor withdrawal. I do notice that an emotional situation in my life right now is bothering me more than such things usually do, but once again, not a major withdrawal symptom so far. I'd put up with a lot more to finally be psych med-free. I suppose once I am "okay" after about 2 weeks, I can tell myself I've made it!

[houtex]

Hi, I'm a past user of this site. I had a heck of a time getting off Cymbalta, but I did it, totally with the help of this site. It was a slow journey. The last bit of Cymbalta was hard to get off (I kept getting depression when I tried), so I switched to Prozac, which I heard was easier to get off (and certainly cheaper to afford). That worked and I got off Cymbalta 6 mos ago. Then I started weaning the Prozac and got it down to 10mg. I took a rest for awhile before tackling the last bit of Prozac. I'm feeling great now and ready to tackle the last 10 mg of Prozac. I find that the 10mg capsules do not come apart! Like they are glued shut or something, so I can't taper gradually! So I have decided to cold turkey it! I figure 10 mg of Prozac is very little medicine and I will just cold turkey it. I am on Day 2 cold turkey and so far so good. Does anyone know what I can expect? I am feeling very strong and good right now so I am thinking I can handle this. Wish me luck!!!

Imdone,
Yes, this site has helped me a lot, too. I am still going through the last of the Cwd. I am taking Lexapro to help me though it. From what I have heard about Prozac, you should not have any problems getting off it. I am really glad to communicate with someone who made it through and is feeling strong! Good for you! I was really sick for many weeks, and for a few of those weeks, I was really worried about myself. Let me know how you are doing. Hey there are some good people on truckprincess' thread. They are prob more knowledgable than I am.
Houtex

[Heartfeathers]

Congrats Imdone! I am also starting to wean off of the 10mg prozac. I have been Cymbalta free for 7 months now. I was told to take the Prozac every other day for a while then go to one every 2days,..then 3 days etc until off totally.

[Imdone]

Hi Heartfeathers....wish I had known the every other day approach you were told. In the past I had been told that every other day approach is not a good idea, but it seemed to work for you? Well I just went cold turkey and have pretty minor w/d. After all, 10 mg isn't much. I do feel the slightest degree "down" today so I am now going to add 5-HTP to help increase serotonin in my body.

Houtex, I feel great to hear from you too and Heartfeathers too! It's always great to meet a fellow warrior. That's what I feel like. I fought my way down from being misdiagnosed as bipolar and on a ton of meds to now zero. The process took me about a year. NOW I'M FREE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I do feel like a celebration is in order! And if I need the crutch of a little 5-HTP for awhile, not a biggie. Yes, the very end I think is the hardest part. I just tell my body to "deal" with it. I honestly believe the body will find a way to compensate and rearrange all the chemicals. What's more, the body is no longer impeded by foreign toxic substances. What in the world was I thinking when I first started taking this crap! By the way, my journey away from meds has taken me down the road of improving my diet. A wonderful book I recommend if you suspect that food intolerances might be part of the picture is JJ Virgin's The Virgin Diet. I am losing weight like crazy on her plan. I have lost 25 lbs since I first decided to get off psych meds.

Keep up the fight, good people! And yes, I am doing fine today, 5 days post- cold turkey on the 10mg. Just a little down is all. So I will add the 5HTP for awhile.

[Imdone]

Report: Day 4 woke up with a mild headached and lethargy which went away after a few hrs. Day 5 started out fine but got a headache, leg muscle aches and fatigue in afternoon. All these symptoms are unusual, so I'm calling them withdrawal symptoms.

[Imdone]

Day 6 was depressed and couldn't think. Added 5_HTP and am struggling along. Will resist any more antidepressants at all costs! As my name says: "I'm done!"

[Heartfeathers]

Day 6 was depressed and couldn't think. Added 5_HTP and am struggling along. Will resist any more antidepressants at all costs! As my name says: "I'm done!"

Thinking of you. Hope you are doing well! I'm having a bit of a rough go today.

[LAnnLanglois]

Hi all! I am new to this site. I am on day 10 of quitting 60 mg cymbalta cold turkey after being on it for two months. I could not stand the side effects.  The w/d was terrible like nothing I ever imagined. I have never been on antidepressants before, the cymbalta was prescribed to me for chronic low back pain ("imagine you... with no pain...") and I had no idea what I was in for. After day 3 of quitting it, (last week) I was in bed crying with extreme dizziness/nausea/hot-cold, things got progressively worse from there. I called the clinic that prescribed the cymbalta and they recommended going back ON it at 20 mg,  but I refused to put ANY more of that poison in my body. I saw my internist yesterday (not from the pain clinic that prescribed the Cymbalta) , and she recommended:

*2 10 mg fluoxetine (Prozac) / day for one week then 1/day for one week

*meclizine 25 mg as needed for vertigo

 

I had 2 fluoxetine yesterday and 2 today.  I took 2 meclizine yesterday, and 2 today.

 

I feel SO MUCH BETTER today. I feel somewhat like me again (from before Cymbalta)

 

So for what it’s worth, I am surviving with help from my doc.  I will let you know if the taper plan works with the Prozac.  I feel very encouraged!

[Imdone]

UPDATE!   I have been a member of this site since 7/2011.   This site got me off Cymbalta, for which I am forever grateful, but I had to go on Prozac to do it.  Well, I have finally done it!  Today, 8/29/13 was my last dose of liquid Prozac.  I had to use liquid Prozac to get off the last little bit because the smallest Prozac pills don't open, so the "counting balls" technique won't work.

 

Liquid prozac tastes like hell.   Kind of like liquid Cepocol.  I mixed it with fruit juice and drank it fast with a water back.

 

I MADE IT!!!   It took me 2 years to get off my original cocktail of Risperdal, Lamictal, Cymbalta, Klonopin & neurontin.   The worst mistake I ever made was walking into a shrink's office in 2004.   The next thing I know he had dx'd me Bipolar and put me on all that crap.  Finally I came to my senses after reading "Anatomy of an Epidemic".  It took me 2 years but I am now med-free, happy and much more energetic!  I am certainly not bipolar.  My moods are fine and I now have no depression.

 

Good luck to everyone.   REad that book if you want inspiration to get off meds.

[Imdone]

PS -- the amino acid 5-HTP helped me whenever my mood went down during tapering.   To read about proper dosing of 5-HTP (you need to learn how to take it safely), read "The Mood Cure"

[Imdone]

Deleted post as realized it was medical advice I am not qualified to give

[fishinghat]

Congrats imdone. WAY TO GO!!

[fishinghat]

I couldn't handle the withdrawal from cymbalta and had to go on a light dose of lorazepam and lexapro. So I too am beginning the slow wean offf these. You give me hope and encouragement. You also give me an idea on how much patience I need. Something i am not famous for. lol

[Imdone]

Hi fishinghat!   Thanks for the feedback!

It may not take you as long as it did me.  After all, were you taking 5 meds and seeing a shrink?  My shrink actually told me I would "lose my job" if I went off all those meds!   Boy did I prove him wrong.  Now I'm off all his meds and working for the same boss who adores me.

 

Anyhow, I doubt it will take you as long as it took me for several reasons.  1) I was depressed from age 30-60.  Chronic depression for 3 decades.  Entrenched.  I never thought I'd get over it but I did!   2) I was on a shitload of medication.  I woke up from my addiction to psych meds after reading "Anatomy of an Epidemic," which explains how people get sucked into taking these meds.  I immediately went to that shrink and asked him if he would supervise my attempt to get off all the bipolar meds.  He agreed to give it a go!  We spent months getting off risperdal, neurontin and lamictal, and trying to get off Cymbalta.  Getting off the first 3 went smoothly, but I spent years trying to get off Cymbalta but would get depressed every time I tried to get off.

 

By this time I had dumped the shrink and was trying to get off Cymbalta on my own and found this site, which helped a lot.  It was here that I found out about switching to Prozac because Prozac is easier to get off of.  I took Prozac for quite a while and waited for the right moment to get off it.  I slowly lowered the Prozac dose until it was down to 20mg and the pill could not be opened.  It was then that I got my naturopath to prescribe liquid Prozac so I could titrate the final dose down to zero.  She had me titrate it down by 1/4's every 2 weeks, so it took me 8 weeks, but I very smoothly went from 20mg to zero.  I did get three-day bouts of extreme fatigue but they went away eventually.  I just toughed them out.

 

So yes, you may need patience...listen to your body.  Believe in the gradual taper technique, set a goal and start moving towards it patiently and persistently, is my advice.  Expect withdrawal symptoms such as fatigue and tough them out...they go away.

 

If I can do this at age 64 after decades of depression, anyone can!  I have had no depression for 3 years and now I am med-free and depression free.  Whenever I get a little down, I just realize it's temporary, maybe take a 5HTP and keep moving with my life.

 

Good luck to everyone!!

[claire26]

well done to I AM DONE, i have had such a bad day today going on 5 weeks cold turkey and reading ur post has gave me hope, i gave in on friday and phone my doctor and got some prozac to help although im not sure if it is or not yet, think i may need to give it more time, im glad i read ur post because i felt like a failure, taking the prozac after doing 4 weeks with nothing, i came on here today and read a forum of people still having withdrawals nearly a year after coming off, and my mood just dropped i lost all hope, my spirits are up again reading your story, although it is different for every 1, but u  have kept me going today so thanks , and a big congratualtions, i hope i can come on here one day feeling great and share my story to help other ppl who cant see the light at the end of the tunnel, thanks 

[equuswoman]

well done to I AM DONE, i have had such a bad day today going on 5 weeks cold turkey and reading ur post has gave me hope, i gave in on friday and phone my doctor and got some prozac to help although im not sure if it is or not yet, think i may need to give it more time, im glad i read ur post because i felt like a failure, taking the prozac after doing 4 weeks with nothing, i came on here today and read a forum of people still having withdrawals nearly a year after coming off, and my mood just dropped i lost all hope, my spirits are up again reading your story, although it is different for every 1, but u  have kept me going today so thanks , and a big congratualtions, i hope i can come on here one day feeling great and share my story to help other ppl who cant see the light at the end of the tunnel, thanks 

Claire26, that is what my plan is. When I am off this drug I will continue to frequent the forum in order to give hope 2 others. GodBless and hang in there!