169 replies to this topic

[lady2882Nancy]

Hi all

Just a little update on me.

I had a bad time for almost a week until hubbie figured out what he thought was wrong.

I had been running low on my L-theanine so cut the dose in half for a week thinking that I didn't need it now anyway but I was starting to have a bad time with sadness. Once I was completely out of the L-theanine I was on a fast trip back into that overwhelming sadness and depression hole and feeling shaky as well as dealing with some general anxiety again. I was scared that the Sertraline was taking me back to the same place that the Crapalta took me when I was on it.

When I realized just how bad this was getting I told hubbie how I was feeling and he figured out that it could be from not taking the L-theanine.

The next day he had a friend who was going to the town where I get it and had him pick some up for me. Today is the 3rd day back on it and I feel so much better. Still have some lingering sadness but I can laugh again.

Still only taking the 25mg of the Sertraline and I don't think that I will increase it to 50mg until I can talk to the Psych doc.

I'm a little confused as to why the L-theanine would have such a positive effect on me but hopefully the doc can answer that for me.

I still go into hyper drive about 2 hours after the Sertraline with my thoughts racing too and it lasts until 8 or 9 at night at which point I think my body is just too tired to keep going and as long as I have something to do or read that really interests me then I can cope until the amitriptyline slows me enough to sleep for a bit. The sleep is pretty broken again and with lowering the dose of amitriptyline I am finding it harder to fall back to sleep after waking. Something else to talk to the psych doc about.

 

Chimera - Hope you are feeling better . Did you try the Prozac? Did it help?

 

Fishinghat - Great news about the return of the erection lol. I know that I am still lacking the drive but at least when hubbie wants some attention I can enjoy it  .

How is the cutting back on the lorazepam going?

 

  for all

 

Take care

[fishinghat]

Going well Nancy, thanks for asking. I am 50% off at his point with no problems.

 

I too am sort of disappointed that you can't due without the L-theanine at this point. Zoloft helps with the depression so I thought maybe you could get by without it. Maybe after some more time .... Hang in there also and be patient. I think there will be more progress in your future.

[chimera]

hi Nancy, Fishinghat and all

unfortunately I could only start the Prozac a few days ago- I have had such bad heat exhaustion that the dr agreed it would be best to wait til it was cooler, been feeling pretty unwell with it. the weeks of lack of sleep due to the extreme humidity has taken its toll and I feel very run down now. 

so far on the Prozac I just feel sick lol. have had it before so it'll pass, just the heat making it harder to handle. plus skin burning is reactivated with the heat so just praying it cools soon properly.

riding it out with the delay on the Prozac has been very hard. I've not felt like talking to anyone really, and just am treading water til it gets better. lots of crying, anger not so much there now. sex drive zero! which =code red! 

therapy is good though.

sorry you're not having much luck with the Sertraline Nancy, see what the psych doc says. it might be a little too stimulating for you?

x

[fishinghat]

Hard to be patient some times (at least for me, lol) That prozac should kick in pretty soon though and hopefully bring some relief. Hang in there.

[Bronya]

My withdrawal symptoms are similar to others:
Emotional outbursts, aggravation, uncontrollable rage, mood swings;
Brain zaps, heart palpitations, vertigo;
Severe body and joint aches, headaches, ear/jaw aches;
Insomnia, feeling feverish, chills, flu like symptoms;
Manic ups and downs, feeling energized then sluggish, more OCD than usual.

Tomorrow morning will be 14 days cold turkey. I went down from 60 to 30 then 30 every other day then off over 2 months. It is not getting easier and I am exhausted. I work full time in my own business and that is so very hard but a helpful distraction. Kids, family, rescue dogs, oh my!

I bought L-Theanine, B100, Omega 3 all from Whole Foods.
What are the proper dosages and times to take them? PLEASE HELP!

[lady2882Nancy]

Hi Bronya

 

I posted my answer here

 

https://www.cymbalta...elp/#entry32626

 

Hope you are feeling better

 

Take care

[lady2882Nancy]

Here I go again. SSRI withdrawal symptoms are no fun at all.

 

Apparently I do not react well to sertraline either.

The sadness and crying did not completely go away even with the L-theanine and I was having really down moments and irritable too. The new thing for this med was that I also experienced periods of deep anger about situations that I really don't understand why I had any anger at all. I had some of the craziest and scariest thoughts ever concerning hubbie. No immediate thoughts of hurting him but thoughts that I could if I really wanted to. I figured that if those thoughts continued like the depression ones I had with Crapalta then I needed to get help quickly.

This resulted in a great first session with my new Therapist. She was very concerned about the swing into sadness, anger and the other crazy thoughts and got to see me go through the whole emotional ride when I am feeling confident and sure of myself then have the anxiety kick in and I turn into the vibrating puddle of fear and other fun emotions. She called my Psych doc and discussed it with her. They told me to not take any more sertraline.

 

The first 5 days off were okay but these last 5 days have been rough.

I can say that so far the withdrawal is not anywhere close to being as bad as the Crapalta withdrawals were but I do think that some of the side effects are those returning from the Crapalta which is why I even tried the sertraline.

So I think from the mania, depression and having both together says something about the long term effects of Crapalta for me. Or maybe it is just SSRI and SSNRI drugs in general and some previously undiagnosed disorder that I have been able to function with unmedicated on my own up to this point in my life has been stirred up to the point that I cannot function that well now. Who knows.

 

I am back on the supplements that I recommend to everyone when they first come on this site and I'm sure that is helping.

I am also not sleeping much again which as we all know makes the withdrawal worse. At least I know what to expect and how to deal with it for the most part.

The rage has been rather insane and actually that is one thing that is worse this time. Our forks and spoons have been taking a beating this time. They bend far too easily but seem to be difficult to straighten afterwards

 

I hope that everyone is doing well and feeling much better than I am.

 

 all around and I wish that I could really get hugs from all of you today.

 

Take care of you as I try to take care of me.

[fishinghat]

Well, had to go back up on my lorazepam. For any new people,  I quit Cymbalta in Feb. The withdrawal lasted about 4 or 5 weeks with my stomach problems, dizziness, emotional swings all other symptoms nearly gone by the end of that time. Unluckily I was left with deep fear and crying 24/7. I tried to deal with it but it was just too much. The drs put me on 4 mg lorazepam, 200 mg hydroxyazine and 10 mg Lexapro to get it under control. I was told to stay on these 30 days and give my brain a chance to settle down. I felt great. The dr. said to slowly start weaning off the lorazepam first. I cut 1/2 a mg about every 3 weeks. There were some withdrawal effects each time but nothing I couldn't handle. Once I settled down I would cut out more lorazepam.  

 

I am down to 2 mg lorazepam a day and have hit a wall. I have been at this level one month and nearly constant low level fear (no crying yet, thank God). No sign of improvement I went back up a 1/2 mg last night so we will see if this is enough to set me straight. This reminds me of a posting someone had a few days ago. Someone said they were put on supplemental medicine because they couldn't handle the Cymbalta withdrawal. Once they stabilized they started a slow cut back in medicine. It took them 2 years to cut back completely. I have a feeling it will be the same with me. It sure does wear a person down.

[lady2882Nancy]

Sorry to hear that fishinghat. I hope the extra 1/2 mg does the trick.

I guess you will just have to take it much slower. Frustrating yes but it is better to be able to function without that nameless fear.

 

My latest med hasn't worked out either. Some strange blood reaction so I am back on nothing with the mood swings running wild and the thoughts racing with an itchy rash and red spots to add to the fun. The Psych doc has another med in mind but my pharmacy has to order it as the dose size she wants me to try is very low to start. I have to wait for the rash to go away as well which hasn't happened yet although today it isn't as bad and not itchy.

 

Every time I hear of anyone going to try Crapalta for anything I just want to scream "NO DON'T TAKE IT! IT'S POISON!"

I wonder if we will ever heal from what this CRAP has done to us.

Will I ever be me again??

 

Take care of you

[fishinghat]

I understand how you feel my freind. You are right. Some day there will be enough info on cymbalta to show we should never had allowed it or most other ssris on the market.

 

As far as the lorazepam, I am going to start a water titration so I can cut back at a slower rate, about 2% per week. I have cut out over 1/3 my usage so far so it hasn't been a total loss. Slow but steady wins the race.

 

What happened to your generic zoloft you were using? How about a low dose of lexapro or prozac. They are a lot easier to come off of. Surely there has to be some way to get you help.

[lady2882Nancy]

Hi fishinghat

Glad to hear that there is a slower way to reduce the Lorazepam. That sounds like a much saner way of doing it and should work better for you.

 

The Sertraline (generic Zoloft) did initially calm me and relieved the withdrawals but after 4 weeks even the very low dose I was on put me back into the Mixed Episodes with extreme rage. Irritability took on a whole new meaning in my world. It was very scary.

 

It would seem that I do indeed suffer from some form of Bipolar which when we (the Psych doc, my previous therapist and I) looked back at my emotional history makes sense however I did not know that I had a Bipolar Disorder when my GP gave me Crapalta. Apparently all SSRI and SSNRI antidepressants can cause Mixed Episodes for those with a Bipolar Disorder which was news to me but then I wasn't looking before.

 

My Psych doc put me on Tegretol which is a mood stabilizer and it helped more than the Sertraline did. Unfortunately I had that uncommon freaky blood reaction that it causes for about 7% of people so now am off it too and have to wait until all the lovely red blotches, spots and dots go away before I can try another one.

 

This is the 6th day off and the mood swings have returned with a vengence in the last three days as well as the racing thoughts, confusion and irritability. I can talk myself out of the anxiety most of the time as I am more aware that it is more confused signals in my brain than anything else. The flashbacks to my previous trauma and those fears are just another example of the confusion in my thoughts and my brain signals. At least that is what the Psych doc says. All I can do right now is do my best to minimize situations that upset me in any way. Easier said than done.

 

I hope it goes better for you now. You deserve it.

 

Take care  to you and your lovely wife

[sk8mom]

Hi Fishing that and lady Nancy

I am so sorry to hear that things are not going well for you guys    I makes me sad to see how hard it is to get rid of this drug and I can't imagine how strong you have to be to go through all that.  I think that my journey will be as long as yours fishing that, I am stuck at 48 beads for the past 5-6 days (4.5 mg less of 60mg) which is nothing, but I woke up soaking wet at 1:00am two nights ago...after having a weird dream (not scary but really weird), I started felling scared and confused but then I swore I would go back up to 45 beads the next day... so last night I took away 46 beads, no dreams, but I have a lot less energy lately, no motivation, but I do sleep well at night which is a plus...

I don't know if I will go back to 48 tonight or not, I almost quit and went back on 60mg just to feel good again, I can't handle not feeling well anymore, I don't know if I have the strength to go through withdrawal...

 

Lady Nancy, Have you ever been tested for celiac disease ?  there are so many symptoms that are related to gluten, my daughter had tons of different symptoms and they are all related to celiac..IBS, constipation, diarrhea, anxiety, reflux etc.. I am also intolerant to gluten and I am quite sure my depression/anxiety all came from that...that is one reason I think I should be ok if I stop the meds now that I don't eat gluten anymore BUT I just don't know if I will be able to handle the withdrawal, and if I do it will be a long road, probably at least 2 years

 

take care of you, any news from Chimera ? she has not been around for a while...

[fishinghat]

Boy, we are all a mess!! What a disaster cymbalta causes. It is hard to beleive all the problems you are having sk8mon with the slow rate of reducing you are using. If things stay bad you may have to go back to 48 amd stabilize. I went back up 1/2 mg on the lorazepam and feel some better now. If I am not stable by Fri then I will kick it up some more. Got to work from a position of strength. No matter how long it takes. I was also wondering about Chimera. She certainly has had her share of problems also. I hope she is OK.

 

LadyNancy - Don't they use lexapro to treat bipolar as well? Maybe I am confused. I usually am. lol Surely there is something you can use.

[lady2882Nancy]

Hi all and thanks for the suggestions.

I have been tested for Celiac as I had a sister with the disease. I don't have it but I also don't eat alot of bread or other high gluten foods. Got into that way of eating when I was young as Mom cooked with my sister in mind. I don't know how people eat all that bread and potatoes.

 

They do use some SSRI's for treating the depression of Bipolar but usually in combination with mood stablizing meds. Until they can find a mood stablizer that works and doesn't give me problems SSRI's are out of the question. My reaction to Sertraline even at a very low dose shows they are not safe for me at this point. For some Bipolar people SSRI's can't ever be used. Sucks for me as it means I have to try other meds and some of those can have some pretty serious side effects like the Tegretol and the Bone Marrow Depression. The waiting between meds is rough but can't start another until the bad side effects of the last one go away. In this case I have to wait until all the red dots go away. But I will keep trying as I can't live like this.

 

Our sweet Chimera has been quite ill and didn't even have the strength to sit up and come online. She is doing better but has to take things slowly.

 

It really is hard to believe just how badly things have turned out for some of us. I felt so bad for Heartfeathers when I heard her story and never imagined I could end up being one of the long term sufferers. Funny that doctors don't seem to know just how bad all of this can get. I wish I had some avenue for compensation for the problems I have had. I usually sell veggies at the local farmers markets all summer and that keeps us on top of our bills but this summer I can't even go anywhere by myself so haven't made any money. Another worry that I have no answer for.

 

Well I didn't come on here to complain. Mostly just enjoying having someone to message with (in this case two someones lol). Been not too bad today as have had some clearer calmer periods.

 

Take care both of you and keep fighting. We can't let the Crapalta win.

[fishinghat]

Really sorry to hear about Chimera. She seems like a wondeerful person. I hate to hear she is suffering (again/still).

 

I went back up a 1/2g of lorazepam and it has only helped a little. I was doing well at this level before..why not now?  That is medicine. I guess I just developed some tolerance to it. I will give it a couple more days before I make anymore changes.

[fishinghat]

Well I had to go back up on my lorazepam on the 3rd. I have settled in and am more stable so.....Instead of a 20 decrease I am going to try a 10% decrease. That is still a lot for lorazepam withdrawal but it has got to be better than before. Keep your fingers crossed for me.

[lady2882Nancy]

Fingers and toes crossed for you fishinghat.

 

My rash is slowly going away so maybe soon I will be trying the new med.

 

Take care

[fishinghat]

Tx Nancy and good luck with the new med.

[fishinghat]

Well life is just a blast. I did try to go back down on my lorazepam again. This time I only dropped it 1% (2.48 mg)!  Within 2 hours I am in overwhelming fear and panic like when I went through cymbalta withdrawal. I went back up to my old 2.50 mg dose and I am slowly returned to normal. Now I am sort of stuck. I am going to stay at 2.5 mg for a couple weeks and let my system settle down before I do anything else. I may even wait until I meet my new psychiatrist in Oct. He is fresh out of medical school, man, am I going to have to retrain another doctor? lol

[sk8mom]

I feel bad for you fishingthat, isn't awful....I too, have been stuck at less 48 beads for over a week    I can't imagine how long it will take me if ever I get off of Cymbalta... it will be a month in 2 days that I started weaning off and I am down about 4.8 mg so I am still taking over 55 mg and I have been stuck there, feeling tired, lethargic, no energy or motivation to do anything...much of the depression symptoms that are back...maybe the fall is not a good time for me to start weaning but I can't wait until the spring...so I guess it's one day at a time for now... good luck to you !  

[fishinghat]

Thanks sk8mom. I guess my biggest problem beside the withdrawal is lack of patience!! Ugghh!! I WANT IT NOW!! lol

[fishinghat]

Well, a very interesting experience with my new psychiatrist. He seems to be sharp and very up to date on current medical information. When I described my current situation and related it to possible cymbalta withdrawal he was on board. He was aware that cymbalta can remain in your system for 6 months or more after coming off of it. He made an interesting comment. He said that at the hospital he just came from, the drs there noticed that the greater the dosage of cymbalta a patient took the more likey they were to have lengthy and bad withdrawal. Their thought was that with some patients they were prescribed 60, 90 or 120 mg with no concern how low a dosage they could get by with. They thought that the excess cymbalta was stored in the fat tissue and leading to the severe and extended withdrawal. For example, a patient might be taking 90 mg per day when actually they may only need 30 mg/day. All that excess cymbalta was stored in their liver and fat and would  greatly extend their withdrawal.

 

He had no doubt that it was possible this was still cymbalta withdrawal.

 

As far as my case is concerned he said that my previous psychiatrist had tried everything medicine wise to give me help dealing with my fear and crying I have been experiencing. The only thing he could think to try was abilify. So I am on that now and in 10 days I can see about cutting back some more on my lorazepam. He is aware that the lorazepam, like other benzos, lose there effectiveness after a few months. He said if my Abilify does not work I will have to stay on the lorazepam until it stops working for me and then switch to a different benzo until it stops working. Etc etc.

 

Oh life is so much fun. lol

[lady2882Nancy]

fishinghat

I pray that the abilify doesn't do to you what it did to me.

 

Restlessness does not begin to describe akathesia which is a possible side effect.

 

Sometimes I wonder if we will ever return to normal after Crapalta

 

I don't know what else to say so just be careful dear friend.

[h2oinCA]

fishinghat - I want to give you some info on my experience with Abilify.  My psychdoc put me on it in the spring of 2010 to improve the effects of the Cymbalta that I had started in the prior November.  I had a VERY bad experience with Abilify!  Keep on the lookout for the start of racing thoughts, the need to perform repetitive tasks/movements, and the need to pace/walk around several time a day, as well as violent & disturbing dreams.  I had two figure eight paths worn in my carpet while on this drug!  Do not hesitate to contact your doctor if you begin experiencing these or other adverse symptoms, as they are quite alarming and not helpful!  After I described what I had been doing to my psychdoc, he took me off the Abilify immediately (brain zaps & other withdrawal symptoms ensued).  I'm not saying this drug won't work for YOU, I'm just relaying MY bad experience and giving you some things to watch for.  I wish you the best of luck with this combination of meds, and hope they work for you.  Keep us posted.....

[fishinghat]

I greatly appreciate the information. He said he would put me on the lowest dose (2.5 mg/day) just to avoid such problems. He said that if this dosage does not work he will withdraw its use rather than go up in dosage due to these various side effects. I hope the lower dosage is safe. Thanks again.

[sk8mom]

Well fishingthat I am glad your psych seems to be up to date and well informed that is reassuring, keep the info coming our way

It is interesting to know that the excess Cymbalta gets stored and then the withdrawals are longer, it makes sense...I am very sensitive to meds and I am sure I could've gotten by with a lot less...so it might be a long road for me,,,although I am glad I never followed my doc's advice about going up to 120mg !!!

 

On another note my symptoms (lethargy, no energy, less appetite, tired and sleepy might not be withdrawal as I found out today my thyroid is in HYPO mode again...so most of those symptoms are also symptoms of hypothyroidism...we'll see I guess

 

take care

[fishinghat]

sk8mom, i guess that is sort of good news. At least it is treatable! But yea those symptoms do sound like they could be from the thyroid. Good luck with that.

 

h2oinCa and ladyNancy - Well you guys lit a fire under me. I started reading the medical research. First the akathesia occurs in about 2 to 5 of patients. OK that is not bad BUTin one research document they found that only 50% of the akathesia patients recovered from it!! I don't like that!! Second, even at 2.5 mg there will be withdrawal. There is even a titration rate for that....slow!!! lol Withdrawal lasts around 2 to 6 weeks.

Well here I set fighting withdrawal from my lorazepam and probably some remanent cymbalta withdrawal and if this medicine does not work for me (we will know in a month) then I have to go through withdrawal on it also!! What is wrong with this picture? Considering that the doctor said it was the only choose left and may not help...well I think my decision is made. No new medicine.

 

If this fear/crying doesn't fade away with time my only choice would be to go back on an a strong ssri. Time will tell.

[Ape]

Omg can I get off cymbolta and lorazpren safe? Only God knows

[lady2882Nancy]

sk8mom, i guess that is sort of good news. At least it is treatable! But yea those symptoms do sound like they could be from the thyroid. Good luck with that.

 

h2oinCa and ladyNancy - Well you guys lit a fire under me. I started reading the medical research. First the akathesia occurs in about 2 to 5 of patients. OK that is not bad BUTin one research document they found that only 50% of the akathesia patients recovered from it!! I don't like that!! Second, even at 2.5 mg there will be withdrawal. There is even a titration rate for that....slow!!! lol Withdrawal lasts around 2 to 6 weeks.

Well here I set fighting withdrawal from my lorazepam and probably some remanent cymbalta withdrawal and if this medicine does not work for me (we will know in a month) then I have to go through withdrawal on it also!! What is wrong with this picture? Considering that the doctor said it was the only choose left and may not help...well I think my decision is made. No new medicine.

 

If this fear/crying doesn't fade away with time my only choice would be to go back on an a strong ssri. Time will tell.

 

If you are going to have akathesia you will know right away as the research I found says that if a person is going to have it, it will start pretty much from the first dose.

That was my experience with it so went looking to see how many people get it and how long it lasts. My first dose was 2 mg but remember the half life of abilify is approx 72 hours but then you have the lorazepam which should help.

The first 48 hours where the worst for me.

 

My rash is slowly going away so won't be long until I get to try the next med. Woohoo!! Yeah right

Don't know how much longer I can take the races going on in my head. There has to be something that will slow them down without terrible side effects doesn't there?

 

Take care

[fishinghat]

LadyNancy

 

"There has to be something that will slow them down without terrible side effects doesn't there?"

 

That sure is the million dollar question isn't it.

 

The wife and I were talking last night. No abilify for me. Not worth the risk factors just to reduce my lorazepam side effects. The dr was even skeptical if it would help or not. That primarily leaves me with just ssris and benzos. Hopefully with time I can wean further. Got to have hope.