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#1 Adrienne3003

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Posted 28 January 2014 - 02:42 PM

Hello....I have been weaning myself off cymbalta for a few weeks.  I started when i got the generic form.  It is much easier to cut mgs with the pellets.  I started at 60, and have been dropping 10mg every4-5 days.  I did a lot of research before i started, to find out what was helping other people.  I have had few symptoms, fatigue, but nothing a cup of tea wouldnt  help, and some dizziness, and a drop in appitite...but thats a positive in my book.  I put together a coctail of sorts, that to this point has been great.  I just dropped to 20mg today.  Im not telling anyone to take what i am, but if any of it helps....Every morning I take 500 mg of Choline, 1000mg of Fish oil, and a whole food multi-vitamin.  later at work i have a small RedBull, hour later a odwalla superfood smoothie, followed by a yogurt later in the day.  around 4 i have another small RedBull.  At night i am using trazadone to sleep.

Again, i am not promoting any product, but i do feel pretty good.

Having said that, tomorrow i might feel like crap ;)


#2 fishinghat

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Posted 28 January 2014 - 02:59 PM

Welcome to the site Adrreine. It sounds like you are doing well so far. Not many of us could withdraw that fast but if it works...GREAT. Keep us posted on yoour progress.


#3 FiveNotions

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Posted 28 January 2014 - 06:44 PM

Please be careful!

I tried the generic cymbalta when I cldnt afford the brand after losing my insurance...it nearly killed me....within 4 hrs of taking my 60 mg dose I broke out in a rash, cold sweat, vertigo and extreme shaking.... That's what resulted in me going cold turkey....my doc still refuses to believe that it cld cause this....

However, I'm also on wellbutrin 300 xl, and had a near death experience with its generic back in 2005 and again in 2007 or so...the second time ,.I ended up in the psych ward....which is when I figured out it was due to the generic....at the time, my doctor didn't believe me, but humored me and put me back on the brand....

so, I was really really reluctant to try the generic cymbalta, but the current doc insisted.... Wrong wrong wrong.... I've also had the same experience with one of the new wellbutrin generics...the teva brand was taken off the market finally last October....but for me, it seems any AD generic is pure poison....

I'm furious as I write this, so I apologize for the incoherence....I'm just terrified that someone else cld suffer even more from the generic cymbalta than the brand....!

#4 FiveNotions

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Posted 28 January 2014 - 07:22 PM

And please do keep us posted on how you're doing!

#5 Adrienne3003

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Posted 05 February 2014 - 02:09 PM

.WOW....the dizzyness finaly hit, when i dropped from 20mg to 10mg, really not fun.  suffered for 3 days, and decided to not drop to 5mg untill the dizzyness went away.  I kept looking for things that help other, and found my fix!....GINGER.  I ran to store on lunch yesterday and got some...to 4 (proper dose), and today no dizzyness....now i can see that light at the end of the tunnel.  I will continue with the ginger.


#6 FiveNotions

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Posted 05 February 2014 - 02:18 PM

Yep, it's been helping me as well ... Ginger tea, and I've even added to that a spoonful of the ginger from my spice rack .... I'm going to buy real ginger root next, and make my own tea ... Also, someone here has mentioned candied ginger .... Or crystallized ginger, I think it's sometimes called .... That's something I may look into as well.....

Is that 20 to 10 drop perhaps a bit too steep?

Good to hear from you, I've been wondering how you're doing! Hugs and prayers .... :-)

#7 zapped

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Posted 03 March 2014 - 11:46 AM

I never thought about my side effects from Cymbalta worsening around the time I started getting the generic version from CVS.

 

Is this a known issue?


#8 Clara

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Posted 03 March 2014 - 11:59 AM

zapped, I think it is an issue. There are people on the forum that know much more than I about this. Also, there are threads on the forums that discuss the generic. I know you are prob' having a tough time sorting through all the info, as I was in early w/ds, but things will settle down for you. Take it easy, read through the topics when you are able! Lots of good info and lots of loving support for you here!!!  clara :)


#9 FiveNotions

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Posted 03 March 2014 - 12:11 PM

Yes, zapped, the generic cymbalta is an issue... Not recognized by the docs, but by some of us... It's why I quit cymbalta cold turkey...I lost my insurance and my witch doc prescribed the generic ....I took one 60 mg dose and had a horrific reaction....ten times worse than all my CT withdrawal symptoms combined.... That's when I quit....doc still doesn't believe me when I insist that the generic is poison....

#10 fishinghat

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Posted 03 March 2014 - 02:40 PM

Like FN said It sure seems to be an issue. Complaints to FDA has not done any good either.


#11 aMarie

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Posted 06 March 2014 - 05:10 AM

I have also found, choline, B vitamins, multi vitamins, fish oils, red bull, pure orange juice and a good healthy diet had really helped minimize my withdrawals.


#12 GinnyKim61

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Posted 25 March 2014 - 06:42 PM

Today I've had nausea, dizziness and fatigue. I'm being patient with myself and may not drop any more beads for a few days. I find that when I take zanex at night I feel better the next day, but I don't want to get too hooked on that either. So we'll see what tomorrow brings. I'm going to try the ginger. Thanks for posting that. Love to all, Ginny


#13 FiveNotions

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Posted 25 March 2014 - 06:58 PM

Sounds like a sensible plan to slow down on the counting and hold steady for a bit....I'm sorry about the nausea and dizziness, Ginny....for me, those were the two worst symptoms ...made it impossible for me to do anything except lie still and wait for it to go away...I sure hope the ginger...or even ginger ale...helps....also, try lying on your left side....

Hang in there!

#14 xman

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Posted 26 March 2014 - 05:13 PM

Hope you feel better GinnyKim. Ditto about nausea and dizziness. Yucky feelings and we are here to testify to that fact!


#15 GinnyKim61

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Posted 27 March 2014 - 12:47 PM

Hi All, I went to the Health Food Store yesterday and bought Ginger tea bags. I'm drinking a cup right now. Today isn't the best I've had but I will prevail. Just very dizzy in the head. Basically I feel good about going off of this drug. It may take time to feel better and it's worth it all. Each day brings new things, some are hard to bear and I also have some wonderful things happening at the same time. I feel so blessed each and every day. I have at times cried out to God, " why do I have to deal with these things in my life, please just take them away " and then I Know, that I have an understanding that others can learn from and that I can support when they have to go through these things as we all do on this site. You are all such a great comfort to those of us who come here. I can and will win this race and so will all of you. Keep on keepin' on. Love you all, Ginny


#16 dlmj

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Posted 06 April 2014 - 09:21 AM

HI all

I got switched to generic as well giving it not much thought.. ha was I wrong.. took be a while to figure out what was going on. but once I leveled out I figured it out.. So like you I found that weening off the generic would be easier to do cuz  of the size of the beads.. One plus was that I had already weend down to 20 mgs when on the regular cymbalta... So I'm down to 10mgs in a couple weeks.. But I hit a wall.. spent the day in bed yesterday sooo tired and out of it. Feeling a bit better today but not much... one thing I do is epsome salt baths  with one quart of peroxide, and I Bentonite clay.. I'm trying to take a detoxing approach , I've also been juicing.. I do know the baths help.. and is soothing .. wish I had more help for ya but this sucks.. I've decided I need to stay at this dose for a while.. I think I went to fast from 20 to 10, it seems ok at first but catches up with ya.. at least that is what seems to have happened to me.. So staying at 10 mgs till I feel better.. good luck..


#17 freddiekatt

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Posted 30 April 2014 - 05:45 AM

Hi there,

I've posted a few things....vented about the nightmare of snri withdrawal.  As far as the lady who said she dropped 10mg a day....I think good for you.  I know that it doesn't affect everyone the same and I'd say you seem to be a lucky one that doesn't have too much withdrawal...not in a bad way!  I can come off ciprolex or seroquel no problem, yet have friends that say it's agony to them....so very individual.

 

I was on 30 mg and took a month to get to about 10 mg.....and had terrible withdrawal the whole time.  So bad I'd say I couldn't function normally.  I was so distraught from trying so hard to get off this drug....counting beads of course cause it's the only way to decrease in small enough amounts.  And then when my dog had pancreatitis and I had to drive an hour to the emerge, I had to take extra....feeling like a heroin addict or something....slipping into the bathroom to "take some beads":)

 

My MAIN reason to post here is that I've gone thru this withdrawal hell with effexor as well (both SNRIs) and apparently my body hates them:)  So out of desperation I started taking my old antidepressant (my doctor recommended).  I was just so set on being on nothing.

 

Within 5 hours, I had 80% of the withdrawal gone.  The next day...90%  Today I'm really feeling 100%.  No brain zaps, dizziness, confusion...ete.c etc.  Also, I have slept 7 hours the last 2 nites each.  OMG.  AND last nite I feel asleep so fast I don't even remember it. I feel like yelling HALLELUJAH!!!

 

It's ciprolex I'm back on.  It's an SSRI.  works better for me.  Also, should be so much easier to get off if I decide to.  I've missed doses with ciprolex, gone up and down on dosage....never had a hint of withdrawal.  I did very well on ciprolex.  Lower anxiety, good sleep, not restless.  On Cymbalta, before the withdrawal, I had increased anxiety and insomnia.

 

I'm so grateful!  Thank GOD this nightmare is over.  So if you did have another antidepressant you did well on....generally...it might be something to consider.   I plan to stay on ciprolex and should I decide to be drug free, I'm confident it'll be night and day to come off it.

 

Just thought I'd share.


#18 fishinghat

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Posted 30 April 2014 - 08:51 AM

Congratulation FK. May your days be full of peace and your side effects few. Thanks for letting us know.


#19 thismoment

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Posted 30 April 2014 - 09:41 AM

FK
You are obviously happy on your old SSRI, and that's great. Withdrawal is hell, and I totally get what you said, "So out of desperation I started taking my old antidepressant." And of course the doctor would recommend it because he/she wants you to have peace. All of this is good; clearly you are in a better place.

Withdrawal from Cymbalta (and other antidepressants) can be overwhelming, taking many months to feel you are out of the woods, and to well beyond a year to feel 'normal' again. The first 3 months of withdrawal- even with weaning slowly- can be extremely challenging.

Should you decide to withdraw from the Ciprolex, I hope it is an easy journey.

Best wishes!

#20 CatLeeJones

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Posted 30 April 2014 - 11:10 AM

I truly empathize with everyone who takes this brave and scarey journey in getting off this drug, Cymbalta.  It is not fun and yes, it is hard and debilitating.  

My endeavour is to get off all pharmaceuticals .... forever.  Its been six days now.  60 to 30 in 3 days and now it is been 3 more days with going from 30 to 0.  (checks her wrist....) Yep, still have a pulse.   :blink:
 

Water, water, water, .... drink that pure clean water, flush this crap right out of you.  Especially at night, drink that water and piddle to your hearts content.  Rather be 'b' lining it to the washroom than keeping one iota of this poison in my body.  

Yesterday, I went and bought some
Benadryl.  My symptoms include a very stuffed up nose and desert mouth.  The Benadryl and water has made this morning much different than yesterday morning.... I was a dizzy, braining zapping maniac, plugged up mess.  This morning, much much better.  The zaps are still going on but nothing like they were yesterday morning.  I can only assume that this day is going to be much more tolerable than yesterday was, generally speaking.

Hang tough y'all.  You're gunna make it.... and be done with this bull.... forever.

Love you all!!! :hug:
 
 


#21 thismoment

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Posted 30 April 2014 - 11:28 AM

CLJ

 

I am happy to hear that your cold turkey withdrawal is going well, as most people find it challenging.

 

Starting at your last dosage, the Cymbalta will be 99.9% out of your body in 5 days. The symptoms that follow are associated with (excuse the mechanical metaphor) your brain re-wiring the wiring job the Cymbalta installed and supported. Your brain is scrambling to self-erect, and re-create equilibrium.

 

Hopefully you are one of the lucky ones who will have a smooth ride off Cymbalta! Typically within a week off cold turkey the symptoms would be just kicking in.

 

I share your hope that "this day is going to be much more tolerable than yesterday was. . .""

 

Best wishes!


#22 fishinghat

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Posted 30 April 2014 - 12:21 PM

Remember CLJ, Cymbalta is not water soluble. Having said that, I do believe that drinking a lot of water helps remove the byproducts and does help with withdrawal. Cymbalta has been shown to still be present in the blood even after one year off the medicine in obese patients. That is because it is fat soluble and excess unused Cymbalta is stored in the liver and fat tissue. Thus I assume the fatter a person is the more that is stored in the fat. I know some on here have tried liver detox programs but I can't say whether they were successful or not. I know that some of those who have dieted during withdrawal has spikes in symptoms as the weight comes off. Possible as stored Cymbalta is released. You hang in there. The important thing is that things do get better with time.


#23 CatLeeJones

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Posted 30 April 2014 - 05:40 PM

Didn't know that, stored in the fat.... yeah... NOT.  It hasn't been a picnic by far.   Im so dehydrated; so during the night, I'd wake up with my throat stuck together and a fresh layer of dust bunnies on my tongue.  Snog snog... trying to breath through my nose.... ~sigh~.... no likey.  So, I drink the water, especially in the evening with the Benadryl and it has made a difference, largely.

Today is even going better than yesterday.  I believe the other things Im doing, such as, Tylenol, Trazodone at night to sleep, Isochronic Tones, Ashwagandha Root, Vitamins and amino acids are assisting in the healing as I detox.  Maybe that is why it is going somewhat better for me.... maybe?

Thank you for the well wishes.  It helps to get a good plug when the chips are down.  

Love & Light


#24 xman

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Posted 01 May 2014 - 11:39 AM

I remember the cotton mouth nights when I went cold turkey (approx. Feb 19, 2014). Also felt stuffy but thought it was allergies. Seems like that lasted a couple of weeks...

Love & Light


#25 christiedee

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Posted 21 May 2014 - 12:29 AM

Hello to all and I pray and ask for answers. my daughter was on Cymbalta for quite a while. She's 42 years old also full time job as a family very very busy. She tried to get in to see her doctor because she was running out of Cymbalta and the doctor couldn't see her for a few weeks. And along with that the doctor refuse to call in an order for Cymbalta for her to get her by untio she could get in.
the last Wednesday was the final pill. By Sunday her blood pressure drops 2 76 over 62. And she was having problems with double vision couldn't control drooling out of her mouth extremely bad headache and slurred speech. Monday she explained what was going on and I told her she had to go to the hospital immediately. He didn't mention it to her but it had all the signs of a stroke. So to make a long story short 8 hours of being at the hospital they told her it was due to her not being on Cymbalta. however we have never read one thing about 5hese tyoes of symtoms. And they only took her blood pressure one time in at 8 hours. And they gave her a prozac. In my opinion the doctor was dumb at the and didn't do a cat scan or MRI.
HAVE any of you heard of those type of symptoms?
her regular doctor did see her today and told her not to go back on Cymbalta not even to try to wean off just put her on a low dose of Prozac.

#26 thismoment

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Posted 21 May 2014 - 01:06 AM

Hi christiedee

Yup the doc's on vacation. (Sometimes the pharmacy can give you a week's supply in an emergency like this). My pharmacist knew a lot more about this stuff than the physician.

The symptoms you describe are bizarre, but the symptoms list for this drug is long and nasty, and there are some peculiar ones. There is some anecdotal material about stoke and Cymbalta on the Net, but no science could be found. BP once in 8 hours- the ER must have been swamped!!

They gave her a Prozac- that's virtually useless. A benzo would have made more sense (but I'm not a doctor, and it could have been a new fast-acting version of Prozac!)

I have heard of the slurred speech and headache, but not the drooling. Was it on just one side of her face?

Now the good doctor has her going cold turkey off Cymbalta and uploading Prozac which will take 5 or 6 weeks to be fully effective.

She could have some very tough weeks until the Prozac is on board. Normally, the Cymbalta would be weaned over a month or so while the Prozac is uploaded simultaneously.

Keep us posted. Sorry I couldn't re-assure you about the Stroke aspect. Maybe fishinghat can comment (he's our #1 go-to guy).

Take care.

#27 fishinghat

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Posted 21 May 2014 - 09:31 AM

You got it right thismoment. About the time I think I have heard it all along comes another story of idiot drs. Now don't get me wrong there are some good ones out there but you have to sort through them to find a good one. TM is right, the prozac was a waste of time it takes a good 6 weeks for it to build up in they body. A strong short acting benzo is the standard to help some one out during a severe withdrawal moment. Something like lorazepam (Ativan). Her dr put her back on cymbalta as well as prozac? Cymbalta takes around 4 weeks to build back up in the system so it will probably be a week or so before she sees some improvement. Why bother with the prozac if you are going back on Cymbalta? Cymbalta is much stronger and have a quicker effect.

 

I am most concerned about the stroke. I agree with TM slurred speach and headache I have heard of, especially the headache but not the drooling. They definitely should have started with cat scan and x-rays (to show if there is bleeding in the brain). Then there are other follow up tests that can be done as well.  Maybe this is a good time to remind everyone of the simple quick tests for stroke that can be done at home.

 

Testing for a stroke at home;

 

These tests DO NOT replace a visit to the ER or Dr.

 

1. Have the person smile very big. Do both sides of the smile rise the same amount?

2. Have the person squeeze your hands with their hands. IS one hand noticably weaker than another?

3. Have the person straighten out the arms and then raise them over their head. Is there one arm that won't raise as much as another?

4.Is there slurred speech?

 

Remember if you can get to a hospital within an hour there is a treatment (medicine) for stroke that is very effective at reducing the long term effect of stroke.


#28 xman

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Posted 21 May 2014 - 05:06 PM

Oddly enough I have heard of doctors prescribing Prozac for the discont. syndrome from Cymbalta (AKA crapalta)--there must be some literature out there somewhere that supports this prescribing as a stop-gap measure.

 

Christedee--I also wonder about the type of exam the doc. performed to rule out stoke...a CT may be indicated if she failed some of the bedside neurological testing. An MRI would NOT be indicated though...

 

My hope for your dtr. is that she was not on this medication very long and that her adverse side effects (the discontinuation syndrome, if that is what is going on) will be short-term.





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