29 replies to this topic

[Afg1202]

I'm grateful to have found this website... I thought I was Dying and my boyfriend suggested it could be withdrawal and so I started looking into it.

I was put on cymbalta by my PCP in early may/late April after nearly committing suicide on Effexor. (It was clearly not working, even at 225mg a day) I had absolutely no problems coming off effexor. When cymbalta proved to be not working, even with a dose increase, I started seeing a psychiatrist who prescribed wellbutrin. We discussed coming off the cymbalta once the wellbutrin was at a set dosage. so when I ran out of my 60mg cymbalta about a week and a half ago, I forgot to get the Rx refilled immediately. When a few days went by and I still felt fine, I decided it wasn't worth the 50 bucks (I work for a hospital which has decent insurance) and I stopped cold turkey. Well, about a week after stopping, every side effect hit me like a brick wall. I was having brain zaps that were giving me heart palpitations from the intensity. I was sweating then freezing, and shaking violently. Migraines. Feeling like there was a tuning fork in each ear. And I was puking up everything I tried to eat. Three days into this, it was clearly not a stomach bug. This is when my boyfriend suggested withdrawal. I got in contact with my psychiatrist (thank god) and we decided to take my lone 30mg leftover pill to see if it helped. I threw said pill remnants up about an hour later, but prayed SOMETHING got into my system. Within 8 hours I was able to eat again, and moving didn't make me dry heave. This was the worst experience of my life. I'm ~48 hours after that horrendous ordeal, and taking a newly refilled 30mg pill Rx. Once my system levels out on the 30s I plan on approaching the granule removal method because I can't keep shelling out the money for something that isn't working, as I still have loans to pay from school (I'm 24, and 16 months out from college). Reading other peoples stories made me finally feel like I wasn't crazy. That being said, I still can't eat much, Gatorade is the only thing keeping me remotely hydrated, excedrine migraine is the only thing that gets me out of bed, and if this ringing doesn't stop soon I'm going to freak the frick out. AND I'm still on the poison....

Anyone have any words of wisdom? Ideas for symptoms? I refuse to go up in drug amount, not after a week plus of no drug and then three days of 30 mg. I'm so grateful this happened on my vacation, but it was my first vacation from work in 13 months and I spent most of it throwing up..... Help. Please.

-Anna

[Jazzy]

Anna. What a terrible experience. Your strategy sounds good. In addition to removing beads once you feel better, add supplements to help your poor brain deal with all of this. I'm doing this and have only experienced one brain zap. That's it. You need flax oil, B vitamins, L-Theanine. For details search my name for previous posts, or search Supplemenrs. Good luck.

[Afg1202]

I'll definitely look into trying to get some supplements, if I can ever make it out of the house..... I've been house bound for three days and the thought of trying to drive anywhere makes me dizzy and slightly nauseated.

This is so frustrating. I feel trapped in my own head and pain. And I can't go to work dizzy (I make chemotherapy and it's tedious) so I'm freaking out about what I'm going to do next week.


And this tuning-fork-in-my-head feeling is horrible. And there is so little literature on what helps tinnitus.

[Afg1202]

Also, I'm curious to know if anyone else has/had a horrible taste in their mouth? I don't know how many times I've brushed my teeth/used mouthwash the past few days. I feel like something died in my mouth, it's gross. But I haven't seen it mentioned.... and I'm trying to decipher if it's the cymbalta or a side effect of the wellbutrin that is still "new" (5-6 weeks) in my system.... (Have I mentioned that I'm sick of these drugs? I'm so horribly unstable without them, but I'm just so tired of trying.)

[jdhibbard]

Hi Anna. The bad taste in your mouth probably is from the Cymbalta. That was one of the symptoms of withdrawal that I had. It lasted for about a week. I stopped my Cymbalta (cold turkey) 29 days ago and I'm just now starting to feel somewhat normal. I think the bead counting is probably the best way to do this. Good luck and best wishes to you on your journey.

[Afg1202]

You're so brave for going cold turkey. I felt like I was dying for a few days there. Today was the first day I ate a full meal since Tuesday morning.... So glad the nausea has pretty much subsided. Headache is less, and ear ringing is still driving me nuts. I ended up sleeping with a fan and playing white noise in order to "drown out" the ringing, It did actually help. I'm grateful it's on the upswing, although I still have 30 mg before I'm free from this nightmare.

I'm also grateful for this website and everyone else who's shared their stories and advice.

[jdhibbard]

There is a lot of good information on this site. I don't know what I would have done without it!

[outonalimbo]

Reading as much as I Can, my wife and I are discussing getting off the Cymbalta she has been taking for 4 years. I'm hoping I can be supportive to her. Certainly, we're wondering when to start. She's a school teacher and needs to be at or near her best while this process is taking place. We're also wondering if she should take a week of sick leave to begin things. We have our supplements list,

bead counting tools, Finnish sauna all cleaned and ready to go. She has been on 60mg. I'm also contacting a masseuse and acupuncture expert.Are we ready?

[fishinghat]

I don't think anyone is ever ready for this!! But, it does sound like a good plan. Best of luck to you both and keep us posted on your progress.

[h2oinCA]

Outonalimbo - I'm on my final 2.5% of my Taper Program, and I would encourage you to save the week (or so) off for near the end of the taper.  I'm finding that withdrawal symptoms are increasing as I reduce my dosage.  My plan was to reduce +5 more beads each day (e.g. minus 5 on day 1, minus 10 on day 2, etc...).  Once I got to 10 beads remaining (minus 190 beads), I started reducing the dose by ONE single bead every 4th day. After one day at a dose of 6 beads, I needed to go back up to 10 beads to stabilize for several days.  Irritability, anger & sometimes rage are the most disconcerting side effects I've experienced.  Keep in mind, not everyone will have adverse reactions to coming off this crap.  I hope you have the patience of Job.  Also, tell her to listen to her body/mind.  If it becomes too much, increase the next dose slightly and stabilize before continuing the taper.  Best wishes.....

[genaa07]

Hi Everyone,

I am thinking about coming off of my 60mg . my husband states that I have become very uncaring, unaffectionate and it is messing up our marriage. I am curious to know about removing beads...how do you know how many to remove? and do you start doing that after you have titrated down to the 30? Thanks and I appreciate any insight.

[fishinghat]

Welcome to the site genaa07. Typically, you remove about 5 more beads a day until you are down to around a total of 10 beads left in your capsule and then you remove one more bead a day. To be clear, Open a capsule take out 5 beads and take the capsule...the next day remove 10 beads and then take the capsule. After a few days you will find out if this is too fast or too slow and you can adjust your drop from there. If during the drop your withdrawal gets too bad just go back up 5 beads for a few days til you stabilize. Then you can start droppng again. Unless you have reasons to hurry I would not make the jump to 30. I would be safe starting out with the bead method rather than doing the 30 mg jump.

 

Now having said that....Research shows that 80% of the people can do the 60 to 30 to 0 jumps with little or no withdrawal. I actually know 2 people who had NO withdrawal from cymbalta. BUT if you are one of the 20% that experience withdrawal you will be a sick puppy if you make that jump from 60 to 30. If that does happen you can always go back to 60, stabilize and then start the bead counting.

[Afg1202]

So I'm back.... Several months later with an update. After my terrifying experience in October, I found myself on 30mg. After discussing with my psychiatrist (who wasn't the one who prescribed the pills) we did a step down from 30 to 20 to 10 (he suggested dumping half the beads in each 20 mg pill to get around 10mg), a month at each level. The step down really wasn't that bad, with a few days of headaches with each change. HOWEVER I'm now on day 8 of no pill and I'm back in cymbalta hell. The brain zaps are constant, complete with migraine and heart palpitations. I go from starving to wanting to throw up in seconds, but the worst part is I've become so horribly unstable emotionally. Quite literally, everything makes me want to cry. I've now been coming off this stupid medication longer than I was actually on it, and the whole "severe depression" I have does not bode well with this.... "Adventure".

So my question now is, I saved the beads I removed from the 20 mg pills when I was making them 10mg pills. Should I just ride out the emotional nightmare or take a few beads to try and level out my head, and wean from there? The side effects have done nothing but get worse since stopping the medication....

[thismoment]

I can't say what you should do, but if it were me I would back up and reduce my pain. The intensity of your withdrawal will not help you make beneficial and safe decisions. Consider re-instating to a level of stability, then reduce one bead at a time from a position of strength.

 

Best wishes.

[fishinghat]

Considering your situation I would say these current withdrawal symptoms would last another 2 or 3 weeks before you start getting a break Then another 3 weeks before you feel good enough to be 'tolerable'. The problem is that the withdrawal is different for each of us so take this with a grain of salt. It would probably be smother is you took say 3 to 5 mg for a few days to settle down some and then wean off from there once you feel stabilized.

 

Good Luck. I know it feels terrible but it WILL go away. Hang in there.

[Akk]

It does get better one day at a time.  I followed the slow taper method, ended the nasty beads 12/24, and am experiencing more good days than bad.  The added benefit of the good days is that I appreciate them much more! Once you weather the w/d symptons (or should I say discontinuation symptoms?), good days are a gift.

[Wagtail]

Yes I agree with all the above advice from fishinghat, thismoment & Akk ... They have helped me stay sane during my w/d & give excellent advice ... Good Luck

[thismoment]

-I'm editing this a bit to make one point- thismoment-

 

. . . my psychiatrist (advised) a step down from 30 to 20 to 10 (he suggested dumping half the beads in each 20 mg pill to get around 10mg), a month at each level . . . HOWEVER I'm now on day 8 of no pill and I'm back in cymbalta hell. 

 

Afg1202, you've been on a terrible ride, and none of it was necessary. It makes me sad, and pisses me off.  It's so maddening that the professionals don't do a little research beyond reading the Eli Lilly box notes and schmoozing with the sales reps.

 

The psychiatrist gave you bad advice! One doesn't need to be a piano virtuoso to recognize sour notes. 

 

You will get through this. Fishinghat's advice is probably the best you will find anywhere.

[Timbo]

It does get better one day at a time.  I followed the slow taper method, ended the nasty beads 12/24, and am experiencing more good days than bad.  The added benefit of the good days is that I appreciate them much more! Once you weather the w/d symptons (or should I say discontinuation symptoms?), good days are a gift.

Akk, I was relieved to read your post tonight.   This has been my worst few days I have had to date.  I don't think I have been this sick in my life.   I am down to 17 beads and plan to take my last pill on Thursday night.   I think I am going to stick with that plan.  I'm ready for this to stop.  I have lost all of my patience with my body and this drug.  I think I'd rather just go to the worst and hope for day-to-day improvements instead of the crazy inconsistency of day-to-day existence.  I am single and dealing with this alone...I have to work and do all of my day-to-day responsibilities (shopping, cooking dinner, etc).   I am more worried than anything about this affecting my job which is pretty demanding.  I have been with my company for 19 years and have never felt less competent than I do right now.   Scares the hell out of me.  

 

Your mention that you are experiencing more good days than bad after 12 days makes me think that I can do this.  I was beginning to feel like I was losing my mind.   I don't think I could have done "cold turkey"...but (perhaps) this method might be more compared to a "warm cornish hen."  (ok...that's a bad joke...best I can offer tonight! lol)

[thismoment]

Tim
My friend, slow down. If you're having some of your worst days it's for a reason, and maybe you need to back up. What does it matter if your last day is Thursday or Tuesday or next Thursday?

In your job, you're just going to have to look like the person you will be when this is all over. Be that person now. You are far from losing your mind; you are articulate and clear-thinking- I should be so crazy!

A dear friend once said to me, "Sometimes when you have to get something done, you have to get mad!" Tim, for the next couple of weeks get mad, and don't allow the celebratory melancholy in just yet. And especially don't allow it at work.

Stay valiant!

[Timbo]

Tim
My friend, slow down. If you're having some of your worst days it's for a reason, and maybe you need to back up. What does it matter if your last day is Thursday or Tuesday or next Thursday?

In your job, you're just going to have to look like the person you will be when this is all over. Be that person now. You are far from losing your mind; you are articulate and clear-thinking- I should be so crazy!

A dear friend once said to me, "Sometimes when you have to get something done, you have to get mad!" Tim, for the next couple of weeks get mad, and don't allow the celebratory melancholy in just yet. And especially don't allow it at work.

Stay valiant!

<sigh> thank you for saying all that.   I know you are right.   And I am mad.   Maybe I'm directing my anger in an unhealthy manner.  I had hoped I was down to such a low dose that my experience "off" of it with daily improvements might lift me out of this funk that I am experiencing.   At the same time, I'm honestly scared; and that is a foreign experience for me.  Since I had the surgery (I was 46 when I had it, I have felt like I aged 50 years.   I went from "feeling" young to "feeling" old.    I had no idea what a negative impact this drug was going to have on my life.   I am having a hard time doing what I am supposed to do.  I forget things - important things.   I'm wearing many hats right now (stressful job, HOA president, and musician) - life is busy.  I know my life is no more important or busy than anyone else's life.  I am just having a hell of a time managing everything for the first time in my life.   

 

I'm "talking" out loud right now...I have to go back to some things I learned from your consistently wise words.   So far you have been right every time.   I laid it out here...and I got an answer from someone whose words have proven to hold a high level of integrity.   I am going to take your advice.   Based on how I feel tomorrow, I will determine how far I need to back up and start from that place.  In a way, I feel relieved knowing that is the right thing to do.

 

Thanks again for your candid advice, my friend. :-) 

[Wagtail]

Good choice Timbo , taking the advice of Thismoment is the right way to go . Back up & feel better for a while & then start again , don't rush it ... Stabalize first & when the time is right you will know it !.. Good luck . :-)

[Clara]

Hang in there Timbo! Prayers for you, my friend!!!  clara

[Timbo]

Thanks everyone!  I sure do appreciate all of the encouragement.   I have appreciated this forum from the very beginning for the amazing souls who have been drawn together to get through this experience.   I think yesterday and today it was the most helpful to me personally than ever.   

 

I have taken thismoment's advice.    When I got up this morning I took another capsule with 30 beads in it.   That was about 5 hours ago.   Already, I feel 100% better and completely functional.   I'm slowing way down as advised.  I had been taking out 5 beads/day.  I'm just going to take out 1 per day from now on (starting at 30 beads from the 60 mg Cymbalta capsule).   I am accepting the reality that this is just going to take a little longer than I had hoped.   I have plenty of extra beads to get through it.  Now that I FEEL better, I think my head is THINKING better.   I was in a weird place.   Thanks again to all of you for your wisdom and encouragement.  :-) 

[equuswoman]

Wow what a helpful thread here. thismoment and fishinghat have helped me so very much on this journey. I've been to hells front door and hope to eventually make it thru and out the back door "forever"...Timbo get mad, do whatever you have to do to make this work for you. If it takes a little while longer well, IMHO so be it! Now that you have backed up a wee bit you can now 'think' and function. You will get there...just whoa your butt down...lol

Don't make me come out 2 TX and put the brakes on for you. Ya hear?!?!?!  Glad that you're outta the 'weird' place my friend. Much love & support darlin'...hang in there you will make it as I will as well. We shall then celebrate together in cyberspace...but "celebrate" just the same!

 

Many thanks to the forum members here who have helped me also. I know that I could NOT have done this all by my self. This Cymbalta w/d forum is the best thing that's happened for me since I've been trying to come offa this crap/bad drug....

As Always,

TheEquuswoman

[Timbo]

Haha...thanks, EW!  You have me pegged by now...I needed a good kick in the butt to get back on track.   I think I'm officially "broken in" (I used to raise horses, too) - I don't think I will need to be warned again.  I'm on board with this adjusted plan.  ONE is the number I'm sticking with from here on out.  I'm through with the chaos!  :-) 

[thismoment]

Tim

I am so happy you are doing better today! 

 

These are physical wounds that take time to regrow, reassemble and come on line. Your body just protested when you pulled a bandage off too soon.

[Timbo]

Haha...I like that analogy.   My body sure DID protest.  Today I feel so well that I am almost manic with all of the energy I have.   It's amazing what a different a few beads can make!  

[Ape]

Wow i Wish i can come out safely. I am still on the 60 mg but I take 5 bids each month, right now now I am at minus 40 and everything seems to go fine now I hope the psychiatrist brings me down to 40 mg.

[Afg1202]

So, I (stupidly) did not end up taking beads to slow down my "wean" after being completely off them for a week. Certain things have gotten better, others worse. My brain zaps are down to a handful a day, and the headaches are tolerable, they only seem to come mid to late afternoon, which makes some sense, as I used to take my prescribed hell at dinner... It's like my body keeps hoping it will get the drug back. Nausea here and there, rarely, except today. Which could be the withdrawal but with my luck it's just a bug.

But good god, lock me away. I can't even glimpse at a sad news headline without having to fight back crying, and when I cry I oftentimes tailspin into an anxiety attack.... (And I work in a hospital, imagine how my days have been). when I'm not on the brink of tears, I'm ready to punch someone out. One coworker (who doesn't like me and has made that very clear) pushed me mentally on Monday to the point of my vision blacking out for a few seconds. It scared the s*%t out of me.... and then I wanted to cry.
I've even gone so far as to let myself cry in hopes that it helps me feel less crazy, but it just seems to snowball the effect and then I get stuck crying for a while, for no reason, which then turns into anxiety.

All of this emotional stuff makes me wonder if it's actually withdrawal or if I really was more stable on this stupid, expensive, BS pill........ Which is terrifying.