6 replies to this topic

[sarahface]

hi everyone ,first post on the site although i've been on and off past few weeks
i've been on cymbalta 4 months 60mg then went 10 days of one day on one day off because they have been of little help for my panic attacks/depression
(this was after 2 months on ciprimal)

then last friday went cold turkey

i have never felt this horrible before ... basically CONSTANTLY dizzy and my head feels very uncomfortable with every slight movement , or even just looking to the left/right without moving my head

ive described it to some one as you know like in those csi type tv shows where it goes to a crime scene and like a series of images flash up and make a whosh noise ! ...does this make sense ?!


could this be vertigo or what ye pro cymbalta people call brain buzzing?
i am awaiting blood results to make sure its not anything like blood sugar etc

any comments/advice/ hugs would be greatly appreciated
as my doctor didnt even mention a possibility of side affects :/

[gsmommy]

HI Sara,
this is definitely Cymbalta withdrawal. I went through similar experiences coming off paxil 5 years ago and now coming off the cymbalta for the last few months. I know it feels crazy! like you move your eyes and your head gets fuzzy. my face would fuzz too! the vertigo is also part of it as is the feeling like your head is full of cotton or something and odd pressure and anything else bizarre you can think of. ssri and snri discontinuation syndrome is awful!
it's good to get everything checked out, just to make sure...but from what others have written it didn't matter if they were on the med for 1 month or 1 year the withdrawal was similar in characteristics and troublesome. I took 60mg for 1 year and took 4 months to wean. I had 3 weeks med free yesterday and the zapping and whooshing finally stopped end of last week. i still get some face fuzz and vertigo in the evening when i'm tired (not to mention the other laundry list of emotional and anxiety symptoms that have come with the withdrawal). however the zapping and fuzzing have given up, but were my constant companion for 3-4 months with every 5 to 10mg reduction of the med.
best of luck with your withdrawal and hang in there. it does pass, not as quickly as we would hope or think, but it will get better.
best-gs

[mytwohands]

Hey, I'm going through the withdrawal process too. I was on the medicine for 5 years (and my assumption is this increases difficulty, but I do not know). My doctor weaned me off the meds which helped. I am not 10 days off it completely and you should know that it does get better! I still don't feel that great, but I could hardly function or focus before.

I was very dizzy and nauseous. I recommend you try dramamine. Unfortunately, it makes me sort of spacey/sleepy, but it's better than the vertigo/sea-sick feeling. I wouldn't have gotten this far without it.

I have found no remedy for the brain buzzing. But I have become surprisingly used to it.

Good luck ... We can get through this :)

[sarahface]

thanks for the replies ! xx it really is horrible stuff
is dramamine natural or do you need prescription

dont feel as bad today but the night before last ! ......HORRIBLE

it was as bad as having a panick attack...put was lasting pretty much the whole day/night
getting blood tests back today
in an odd way i am hoping this is from the meds



p.s oh and can someone define brain zaps !


p.p.s why am i feeling so crappy after being on them for only like 3 months

[Houdi]

Hi Sarahface:

I do hope your blood test come back that you are in perfect health....just in 'discontinuation syndrome' from Cymbalta. Oh yippee, discontinuation syndrome. I call it withdrawal, but the medical community believe we do not get addicted to Cymbalta nor do we withdraw from it. We just cease as in cessation syndrome of discontinue, as in discontinuation syndrome. Yuck! It is a bad place to be for some of us, no matter what one calls it!

Dramamine is an over the counter medication for motion sickness. You should be able to find it at a drug or grocery store with a pharmacy. I have read here that some people like Bonine? I don't know if I have spelled this correctly. Anyway, Dramamine helped me with the 'head' related whooshing and head motion issues I experienced when I was withdrawing from Cymbalta.

How was your day?

Houdi

[sarahface]

yeah blood tests were fine so it is because of the tablets or extra panic attack stuff....oh joy

yeah ggrrrr to doctors
i told him i didnt understand how my heart could be fine when it feels like its going to burst and was just told oh that is from your anxiety and didnt mention anything i could do to help it

[Houdi]

Sarahface:

Yeah on the normal blood tests!

When my heart would pound or 'jump', I would sit up. Mine was worse when I laid down. I would then start focusing on my breathing. I would take large full breaths deep in my diaphragm. I would invision my breathing like the waves coming in and out on the shore line. A circular rhythm of breathing deeply in and out. Sort of rolling. I hear this also helps with panic attacks and stress. Try visualizing the waves, the rhythm of the deep breathing...slowly. Not fast but very deep slow controlled breathing deep from diaphragm, your chest should not rise and fall. If it does, you are breathing too shallow.

Talk soon....Houdi