5 replies to this topic

[Elisely]

Hello,

I just want to say thank you in advance for those who will be listening to my story and giving me sage advice on how to continue to withdrawal from this poison.

I was on Effexor for about two years and when I switched to Cymbalta (about a month ago 03/08) advised from my psychiatrist. I told him I wanted to get off my meds so he thought Cymbalta would be easier than Effexor. I was on 20mg of Cymbalta and he switched me to 30mg last week. I decided to stop cold turkey on 04/30. I'm on day four and my symptoms are not subsiding. Dizziness, extremely nausea and a chronic headache. Every time I eat all the symptoms worsen, I'm not able to eat. My doctor wants to give me 20mg and start the tapering off process.
My question is, should I go back and tapered off or should I continue this journey since I'm already on day four with no Cymbalta in my system.
Another question, how do I subside the extreme dizziness, headache and nausea?

Honestly, I never had side effects on medications in my life, I'm 46 years old.

[lady2882Nancy]

Hello Elisely and welcome you are in the right place.

Your phychiatrist was wrong about it being easier to get off Crapalta (my name for this poison). The little published fact is that this is a terrible drug for having side effects (Cymptoms) when getting off of. It is not all doom and gloom though and getting off at 20mg is doable or you can taper by removing some of the beads.

Since you are already on day 4 off then you might just as well ride this out and then it will be over with.

Here is a list of suppliments that we have found help. I use them all and find that if I forget to take any of them it isn't long before I notice.

Essential Supplements

Omega 3 1000mg to 4000mg daily - as high a dose as you can handle with 4000mg being the max.

Vitamin B complex, Calcium, Magnesium and Zinc OR a high potency vitamin/mineral supplement

L-theanine (suntheanine) 200mg up to 3 times a day - First dose 200mg with glass of water on empty stomach as soon as you get up in the morning.

 

Fruits (especially citrus like oranges) and veggies are important to help the liver to function at its best to rid the body of these toxins.

 

You may need to get something for the nausea or just make sure you eat a little something every couple of hours. You also may need to get some Benadryl for the itchies that so many of us got.

 

If you have any questions, ask away. We are all at various stages of recovery from Crapalta and can help.

Hang in there Elisely you can do it.

Take care of you

[JustWannaBeHappy]

Hi Elisely,

 

Well done for being on Day 4 cold turkey. Nancy is the guru on the topic of withdrawing from this poison! Take her advice! 

 

I'm on Day 7 off 60mg cold turkey. My first 4 days were hell too. Vomiting, diarrhea, headaches, insane dreams... 

 

Was so tempted to go back on it and then wean off using the bead counting method but I decided that I could tough it out and have been feeling a slight improvement every day when I wake up. 

 

It really is your preference and depends on your work/life situation whether you can afford to be hit by the side effects that will definitely attack you at some point. 

 

Stay strong and we're all here to listen. A lot of us are in the same boat. Try to eat a bite of banana if you can. Bananas are a great source of potassium and serotonin which your brain is severely lacking after you quit Cymbalta. Plus they're really nutritious and if you can't stomach anything else yet, this will kill 2 birds with one stone. 

 

Keep the fluids going! I am not joking, over the past week I have been drinking nearly a litre of water every 1-2 hours. Your body needs to flush all the toxins out and you will either throw everything up (in which case I suggest you go to see your GP and get some form of anti-nausea/anti-emetic) so you can keep fluids down or you will be peeing every half an hour (yay, toxins getting out!!). 

 

Like Nancy said, fruits and veggies (so so so important!!). Your body will need the nutrients from this to stay healthy while it is feeling like it is dying from lack of the drug and also it doesn't overload your liver like fatty foods/carbs will. Plus if you're throwing up, those kinds of foods will only irritate the stomach lining further which you really don't want. 

 

Take it an hour at a time... then a day at a time... and then slowly you will realize "hey i feel better than I did 6 hours ago or 12 hours ago". It will truly give you something positive to smile about especially when you are suddenly hit by a horrible moment that makes you doubt coming off the meds in the first place. You can do it!!

 

We're here for you 

[lady2882Nancy]

JustWannaBeHappy

I don't know that I am the guru on this topic lol. I'm just further down the road off Crapalta and have had some brutal Cymptoms (I have adopted that word as it makes me smile). I'm also a puter geek who has to find the answers for everything so researching this was my way of getting my mind off what was happening to me.

I appreciate some of your insights into treating the Cymptoms as although I figured out a lot of things that worked, I was not always sure why.

You have an awesome bedside manner by the way.

Take care of you

[JustWannaBeHappy]

Nancy thats exactly why you are the guru on the topic! you are so much further than many, and you are still around to help and support those of us who are new to getting off this horrible ride that we were so cruelly tricked into getting on. without your careful research and kind words there are many who would still be struggling and doubting their choices to quit the drug (including me!).

 

amidst the chaos and "cymptoms" i have yet to thank you for your advice on this site because to be honest i don't think i would have been brave enough to take the first step without knowing that i could rely on lovely people for support. so - thank you! 

 

I do like your terms Crapalta and Cymptoms. So appropriate! 

 

after realizing that I may have actually gotten lucky with my cold turkey decision, I am also hoping that by sharing what I have been doing since quitting may help someone else in the same boat. heheh you are the puter geek, i am the science geek who constantly drives collegues and lecturers nuts trying to solve how our body works. the more i try, the more i realize our body is so temperamental but there are things that we can do to help it operate at its optimum! something many GPs (who were the ones to get us hooked on this drug) failed to tell us before!! 

 

sometimes i wonder if they honestly ever did any previous research into the drug before prescribing it or if they just don't care? 

 

i don't think its quite ethical for them to treat us that way. I would have issues treating anyone without letting them know what they are truly getting into. I am thankful for my work because I think it helps me detach from being me and thinking about helping other people which is an amazing distraction and motivation to recover. 

 

hope you have a lovely day! if there are any other things you can't figure out how they work, do let me know! it will keep both our minds busy with the research challenge plus i love all things neuromusculoskeletal 

 

good night from sydney!

[lady2882Nancy]

JustWannaBeHappy

Thank you so much

I do wonder why at 4 weeks into using Crapalta I developed a slow but pounding heartbeat. I have searched alot and have found some vague answers but nothing really concrete.

 

If you want to see the studies that were done on Crapalta go to:

http://pi.lilly.com/us/cymbalta-pi.pdf

Section 14 lists the studies by condition.

If that is all the studies that need to be done on a drug before "they" decide it is effective then it is no wonder that so many of us got screwed and I will never take a "New" drug again. Instead I will wait until it has been around for awhile so that I can see what the user reviews are like.

 

Take care