14 replies to this topic

[outofmybrains]

As each person seems to experience different side effects, I thought I'd create a thread to share my experiences that hopefully might be useful for some one out there.

 

I am a 30 year old male who started using cymbolta after a significant relationship breakup. I went on:

Cymbolta (30mg) for 1month, then

60mg for 6months, then 

90mg for 6months, then

60mg for 6months, then 

30mg for 1month with the last two week taking a pill once each two days. After reading the forums later, i realised this was not optimal! :|

 

My last pill of cymbolta  was on Mon 6/5/13 and here is what has happened so far:

 

Day 1 - Tues 7/5: no significant side effects, but this might be because of taking a pill once every two days for the last two weeks. i.e. maybe my body got used to skipping a day?

 

Day 2: Wed 8/5: Woke up with a massive throbbing headache which lasted the whole day! This is when i started to look up what people have experienced with cymbolta withdrawal and luckily stumbled across this forum!

 

Day 3: woke up with slight throat pain (possibly not related) which then turned into dizziness and haziness during the day, along with some numbing in the lips and fingers.

On a different thread i was advised to try out a few vitamins, here's what i have started taking:

Fish oil 1000mg (3 a day)

Men's multivitamin

I am still trying to find L-theanine supplements. I'll try to do some more research to find out in what form (or label) its available here in Australia.

After the dizziness of today, i think i am going to avoid using my motorbike and bicycle until i sort things out...

[lady2882Nancy]

The sore throat is not an uncommon side effect of discontinuing.

Drink lots and lots of water. Although you may not think you are dehydrated your brain chemistry right now needs extra hydration to function.

Bad news about the headache is that I had one continously until I found some L-theanine. I hope that you can find some at a health supplement/food store. Just make sure it is suntheanine. Mostly the headache is stress on brain. If you don't take any OTC sleeping aids you can also try some lemon balm or passionflower tea made quite strong at night. It helps relax the muscles which eases the pressure in the head.

 

Let me know how you do

 

Take care of you

[outofmybrains]

Day 4: not having fantastic/deep sleeps, but I have no pains/issues so thats ok. My symptoms seem to have reduced to mild haziness and some numbing feeling every now and then in my lips and fingers. To be honest, i am glad because it has been much more manageable than the last two days.

I have kept the fluids up, taken a tablet of multivitamin, and 2 of fish oil. I havent managed to source any L-theanine locally yet (Adelaide, Australia), but will ring up a few local chemists to see what I can find. If this fails, i'll bite the bullet and just order it on-line and wait till it arrives (~ 1 week). In the mean time I have had 4 cups of green tea today with a specified content of around 10mg of L-theanine each - so only 20% of the suggested daily 200mg dosage.

 

Thanks Nancy heaps for you continuous support - I, like many others, really appreciate you fantastic assistance and support! :-)

 

I am wondering, what is exactly happening with the brain during this whole process? what is causing the stress on the brain?

 

cheers.

[outofmybrains]

Day 5-7:  slight but reduced numbness. but things seem to be stabilising. 

 

Day 8 - 12: minimal numbness, and I am starting to feel (emotions) again!!! It has been more than 2 years feeling nothing... However, the down side of this I have been a bit moody, sensitive and snappy - which is a bit out of character for me. There's also that feeling of weirdness, something that i cant really put my finger on... is this related to the brain's healing process?

 

Have i been really lucky with the side-effects and now over the worst part, or is there something in store for me around the corner?

[lady2882Nancy]

Hey there outofmybrains

 

What has happened is that when you stop an SNRI which is what Crapalta is your brain is suddenly out of balance. There aren't enough neurotransmitters to handle the signals. Think of it as a an old fashioned telephone operator with more calls coming in than one person can handle. Crapalta inhibited the serotonin and norepinephrine so now there are not enough neurotransmitters to handle the load.

 

Since you are starting to feel a bit moody then you can expect the emotional roller coaster to start any time now. It usually shows up as sudden angry and you can be very irritable. It can also cause you to cry at the least little sad thing.

Yes even the big tough guys cry. That is where the L-theanine comes in just make sure it is suntheanine. I would order if right away and get enough to last at least a month at 300-400mg per day.

 

I'm sorry I didn't answer your previous post but I am struggling over yet another poor choice by my doctor (the Moron) in meds for me.

 

Hang in there we can get through this.

 

Take care of you.

[fishinghat]

You put that perfectly Nancy.

 

Hang in there all.

[outofmybrains]

Thanks Nancy for your clear explanation 

 

I have got a question re this brain healing period and whether this period after stopping medication is critical in winning, in the long term, the battle of depression. Now I dont claim to know much at all about this area, but I want to share what I have been told about this area. Please feel free to correct  any or all of this information.

A bit more than 2 years ago, before i went onto crapalta, I firstly attempted to avoid going into (and then overcome) depression without going on medication (that obviously didnt work out for me). During this period (around 7 months), i was having regular sessions with a senior/experienced psychologist who was very into the concept neuro-plasticity and the potential to re-map my brain by positive re-enforcement. Her methodology was that by continuously focusing on positive things and consciously (/forcibly) reducing negative thinking you could encourage the brain to re-map by forming "new neural connections" and get out of the negative cycle.

Without knowing anything about the chemical things happening in the brain (and their relationship to one's psychological state), or how accurate the information she mentioned to me, I have been bringing the two together.

Does our current state of mind influence the brain's healing/recovery(/re-mapping) process? Is this a time when we need to encourage ourselves to have more positive thoughts (easier said than done) because we are effectively moulding our brains into something new-ish? i.e. does having negative thoughts during this period have a negative effect on how our brain heals and thus long term effects?

 

I hope this makes sense...

 

cheers 

[lady2882Nancy]

You definitely pose some interesting questions and ideas Outofmybrains.

 

I did find that constantly reminding myself that cymbalta or stopping cymbalta was the cause of my irritability, rage, crying spells, mood swings, negative thoughts and depression. It did seem to help me overcome those feelings and moods.

I used and still use statements and labeled my various states with names that reminded me that cymbalta or withdrawl from was very much the source of my problems. 

Some examplesof renaming are:

     Cymbalta becomes Crapalta

     Symptoms becomes Cymptoms

     side effects become The CW - The Crapalta Withdrawal

     That inability to think becomes Crapbrain mush

 

Some statements I use

     This is Crapalta's fault. (a good one to use when you just lost your temper with someone or kicked the dog in anger)

    

Enpowering statements

     Crapalta will not win, I will fight crapalta and I will win.

     I will win this fight with Crapalta

     I will beat Crapalta

 

Now I don't know if this works for everyone but it did help me.

 

I also tried to find something that would make me laugh each day. We all underestimate the value of laughter when your brain is healing. It is such a boost for the entire mind and body.

It was hard at first as the brain did not want to function that way but often the things that were funny to me during The CW were not funny at all to my hubbie.

Descriptions of the cymptoms were often hilarious to me. For example this line from a past member's post.

Posted by Nurse1963 on 20 July 2011 - 04:31 AM
"I described it to my husband and children like this:  I feel like I am about 10 weeks pregnant, very hungover but drunk, coming down with the flu, premenstrual with a brain tumor. "

This still makes me chuckle but during the worst of The CW I thought it was hilarious.

 

Eating right to increase neurotransmitters is also essential which is why the supplements are so important. It goes beyond that when trying to live passed The CW.

 

Tryptophan helps make melatonin for sleep. L-theanine and glutamine are amino acids needed to produce GABA which helps make you feel good and produce natural calming neurotransmitters.

If you search online you can find "Foods to fight depression", "Foods to calm anxiety", Foods that help you sleep" and so on.

 

I made a major mistake trying Abilify on Friday and am still suffering for it and I won't take it again, but I know that once I get this med out of my system I will be back on track to making me well without drugs.

 

I may be a bit odd or quirky but I'll take that any day over the way I have felt on the various drugs the Moron (doctor) has had me on in the last 3 years.

 

Maybe I will need some meds to keep me even, but first I need to find out what problems I actually have post Crapalta.

 

Humour really is the best medicine

 

Take care of you

[lady2882Nancy]

Please appreciate that it took me just over an hour to type all that and now I am done lol

[fishinghat]

If you look at the research neuroremapping does not have a good success record. Cognative therapy is the documented most sucessful psychological method. It doe take a while but whether it be anxiety or depression the best indication is that this method works the best. By learning what in your life and in your caracter generated the problem you can identify ways to adapt your life to help significantly reduce the psychological effects of the anxiety and/or depression.

[lady2882Nancy]

I agree that is the best approached and meds should be a last resort. That is what my old doctor believed as well so he sent me to a therapist for my PTSD back in 1998. It worked very well as I had an awesome therapist. Now if I can get a psychiatrist who feels the same way I will very happy.

[chimera]

Thanks Nancy for your clear explanation 

 

I have got a question re this brain healing period and whether this period after stopping medication is critical in winning, in the long term, the battle of depression. Now I dont claim to know much at all about this area, but I want to share what I have been told about this area. Please feel free to correct  any or all of this information.

A bit more than 2 years ago, before i went onto crapalta, I firstly attempted to avoid going into (and then overcome) depression without going on medication (that obviously didnt work out for me). During this period (around 7 months), i was having regular sessions with a senior/experienced psychologist who was very into the concept neuro-plasticity and the potential to re-map my brain by positive re-enforcement. Her methodology was that by continuously focusing on positive things and consciously (/forcibly) reducing negative thinking you could encourage the brain to re-map by forming "new neural connections" and get out of the negative cycle.

Without knowing anything about the chemical things happening in the brain (and their relationship to one's psychological state), or how accurate the information she mentioned to me, I have been bringing the two together.

Does our current state of mind influence the brain's healing/recovery(/re-mapping) process? Is this a time when we need to encourage ourselves to have more positive thoughts (easier said than done) because we are effectively moulding our brains into something new-ish? i.e. does having negative thoughts during this period have a negative effect on how our brain heals and thus long term effects?

 

I hope this makes sense...

 

cheers 

interesting thoughts- I'd heard about the remapping concept, perhaps some people respond to cbt well, some would respond to this well. I had cbt once for the M.E. (didn't work) but I have heard positive things about it for depression, ditto for remapping. 

I like the thought of moulding our brains into something new, it does feel like a fresh start/blank canvas in a way in withdrawal. trouble is, if we have negative thoughts, it might make us feel like we are 'jeopardising' our own progress, do you know what I mean, kind of increasing the pressure? for me when I have them, I feel bad lol. like a dieter that's blown their diet on a cream cake binge or something! then I sigh, think ok today I messed up, tomorrow try again. baby steps

[lady2882Nancy]

Good analogy Chimera

With therapy it is all about baby steps and negative thoughts are explored therefore not considered bad or "jeopardising" our progress. It gets treated more like "Why do I feel this way" and we learn coping skills.

Negative thoughts actually teach us just as much if not more than positive thoughts do when they are investigated properly.

[fishinghat]

Nancy, keey word there was 'properly'. Something missing in many places.

[lady2882Nancy]

Everyone is in too big of a rush these days and unfortunately are more interested in a quick fix even if it is only temporary.