21 replies to this topic

[sarahb]

I have reluctantly been on Cymbalta for 5 days and found this forum. My husband and are were very worried about me going on an antidepressant partly because of severe withdrawal symptoms in past years. I have been off antidepressants for 4 years. And although I have had depressive episodes I have try to avoid them at all cost. Since being diagnosed with chronic fatigue I was willing to give it a try. Now I am afraid I made the wrong choice. I have jaw pain and feel a bit down. I now have 2 toddlers to take care of and I am concerned to go any further with this drug. Any thoughts?

[BelaLugosisDad]

None of us are Drs here.

Were I in your position I would would speak to my doctor andask to be put on an antidepressant with a known discontinuation protocol. Cymbalta does not have an official discontinuation proptocol which is the reason this forum exists.

Best of luck.

Adam

[Wagtail]

Sarahb , don't take it ...... Start withdrawel from it now but do it slowly . Hopefully because you have only been on it for a short time you won't have too bad a time.
Speak to your doctor as BLD has suggested .
Not knowing your details & what condition you are in , it's hard to recommend an alternative. I just know that the longer you take Cymbalta the harder it will be to withdraw, & the side effects from taking it can be horrendous as well .
Not very positive advice I know, but speaking from experience , I know that Cymbalta has ruined my life for the past ten years .
Good luck .

[FiveNotions]

Hi sarahb, I'm glad you found us!

I agree with Adam and Wagtail!

Speak with your doc right away, tell him/her that you don't like how you're feeling on cymbalta and that you do not want to take it. Be firm, tell the doc that you've researched it, and that it has too many negatives to make it worth taking. There are many other alternative meds that you could use. The longer you stay in it, the harder it likely will be for you to get off. After just 5 days, you likely won't have too much trouble.....but it differs for each of us.....many of us here were on it for years....so you're doing great by realizing this so soon!

That said, why did your doc put you on cymbalta? For chronic fatigue? What dose are you taking?

As Adam said, we aren't docs, but we do have the personal experience with this drug that no docs seem to have.

Please stay in touch with us....we'll do everything we can to help you!

[equuswoman]

Speak with your physician. I was on this drug for 2 years @ 60mg every day. I wanted OFF due to the short term memory loss I was experiencing. It was a trip to hell and back thank God and now I'm DONE with this poison.

Prayers for you. Let us know how you're doing.

[sarahb]

Thanks everyone! I am so sorry about what everyone has gone through. I went through similar things getting off Paxil. And with Effexor I has an amazing therapist that slowly helped me get off with less horrendous side effects. I have to run for now. Thank you for everyone's opinion.

[BelaLugosisDad]

Good stuff Sarah. I hope things work out for you.

 

If when you have travelled your path you could come back and let us know how you got on it would be most appreciated. The more info we have on peoples experiences the more we can use it to help others and there is very little information on those who have tried to discontinue after 5 days.

 

[sarahb]

I know that this group isn't exactly for this and I am pretty sure I am going to get of it ASAP but would anyone be willing to tell me the benefits and side affects when they were on it. Like reading about withdrawals I know I can't trust the average site or my doctor. I will write soon about how I got on it. I am still having trouble double tasking with two toddlers and they keep trying to type for me. Brief version, # 1 chronic fatigue symptoms, #2 history of depression.

[thismoment]

Sarahb

 

Are you still taking the Cymbalta? Day 6? 

 

I read somewhere that you will be fully up-loaded in 6 weeks, and withdrawal will take some work at that point.

[BelaLugosisDad]

Sarah,

I am sure someone will post up a link to the side effects soon.

Were you prescribed Cymbalta for fatigue or depression. It is unclear from your post you only mention that you have a history of depression but do not mention that you are currently depressed.

If you have been prescribd Cymbalta for fatigue that in itself would be one hell of a reason to come off it a it is not licensed for fatigue afaik.

[BelaLugosisDad]

Sorry, insofar as benefits I had none.

One think to bear in mind is a common side effect was disabling lethargy (zombie) I spent a year staring at a TV and was incapable of looking after my kids.

[sarahb]

Sorry for the incorrect grammar in the  topic. I meant to say "I have been on Cymbalta for ..."

 Last night was day 5. If I take it tonight it would be day 6. I was still trying to figure out what time of day to take it and was spitting the difference taking it in the afternoon until last night. 

 

 I WAS willing to take it for my chronic fatigue symptoms which I was recently diagnose with. I guess that's what made me say yes when she "so do you want to try Cymbalta?" I thought it would be the best of both worlds, help with the aches and fatigue so I could better take care of my kids and actually do some exercise and not feel like I need to be in bed for a week  (I am a personal trainer and fitness instructor). And in the future I could work and still have energy for my kids when I got home.

 

 I have been off and on antidepressants since I was about 16 when I had my first episode.I took Paxil.  I got  off meds to go in the military and when back on after I got out. When I went to get of it was hell. I later went on Effexor but worked closely with a great therapist to get off because I wanted to not be on anything if possible when getting pregnant. I have been off 4 years. I probably and often mildly depressed a lot of the time but last summer I had a depressive episode and I tried  my darndest to not take an antidepressant for many  of the same reason you all posted, (that cycle) and I wasn't sure if past antidepressants worked that well for me in the past. I may not have given them a fair shot but I am afraid of the cycle and problems that come with messing around with meds.

Right now I would consider myself ok with days or small episodes of mild depression/anxiety. But some days are tough than others.  My guess from what I understand, a lot of my moodiness is still a bit of depression. So between my chronic fatigue symptom and  mild depression I was still looking for a way to be better and/or prevent other depressive episodes.

 

But I am starting the think the risks may out way the benefits of continuing on the drug.

 

By the way, I have looked up a lot about the benefits and sides effects; from the drug, companies, doctors and lay people. I was just curious about your experience. I hope a few of you have time to respond. Again I am so sorry about what everyone has and is going through. I am still in a bit of shock and confused by drug companies and a bit by doctors. And what an amazing group.

[BelaLugosisDad]

OK, I have to be brief. Cymbalta I for major depressive disorder, FM (can't spell it) and stress urinary incontinenec.


I stress I am not a doctor but from what you are saying you don't suffer from any of these so this pill is not liscensed for your complaint.

I have withdrawn from Paxil and Effexor.I found both dreadful. My experience has been that withdrawing from Cymbalta makes withdrawing from Paxil and Effexor seem like a walk in the park. You may believe that having withdrawn from these two you are prepared for Cymbalta. You'll have to trust me on this - you are not.

Cymbalta performs no better than placebo for mild depression. This is fact.

It is not lisenced for fatigue. This is fact.

If I was in your shoes I would be pretty confident that after 5 days I would not encounter any withdrawal symptoms.


A pro-medicine website that is very popular with amateurs with as much clinical experience as ourselves is www.crazymeds.us -thereare psitive reviews of Cymbalta there but if you look closley every negative review thread is locked by the mods.

If you were my wife (my wife left me because of Cymbalta which she freely admits) I would try and help you engagein excercise and psycotherapy both of which are clinically provento help mild depression. My experience is that excercise helps for fatigue.

I don't want to sound rude, but must throw out this thought. 2 kids can exhaust anyone. Are you absolutley sure that this is not medicalisation of a lifestyle issue? You are fatigued because you are an exhausted mom with2 toddlers running around. I ask because Cymbalta isprobably not going to help with that.

[BelaLugosisDad]

Typing on phone. It should be obvious but apologies.

Also, the military involves lots of excercise and you were not taking any pills then. How did you feel?

[Wagtail]

Nothing good about being on Cymbalta except it did help with my anxiety / depression.
Negatives far outweigh the positives.
Dreadful weight gain, muddled thinking, loss of all feelings , loss of sex drive & inability to orgasm , liver problems , loss of personality & I could go on & on....
5 months since I took my last Cymbalta & I am still suffering , I'm scared that I might have permanent nerve damage & still can't lose any weight ..
It is pure poison ...

[thismoment]

Sarahb

BLD is right on the money.

I was on Cymbalta for depression for 2 years. Emotions flat-lined before 1 year and I was left with 2 clear choices: get off or die.

The physician advised against getting off (I appeared perfectly placid- the perfect patient, though I was dead inside)- I quit on my own. I bead-counted over 42 days and almost didn't make it. By 6 months I was out of the woods, and by a year I was better than 90%. It's been 20 months now, and my mind is quite 'different' from the mind that went in- coming out "feeling like my old self" didn't happen for me.

And today I'm left with a few symptoms that persist, and are most certainly for life: I have a constant headache, tinnitus, and fatigue. My level of depression is about the same as when I started Cymbalta. I am happy with what I've salvaged from this 4-year nightmare, because I feel I can still make a go with what I have.

I'm sure things would have gone differently if I'd spent time with a psychologist before I was given the drug.

But I've read Cymbalta has helped some people, and I've heard some people can quit the drug with little or no difficulty, but those folks don't post on this forum.

Best wishes.

[TryinginFL]

Wagtail...I had (have still) so many of those same symptoms and never realized that it was due to this crap we were taking.  I noticed these things and wondered what was wrong with me   I wonder too if any of these things will go away - I am nearing the end of my 11th week and still have most of them....have been quite weepy this week as well, even though I thought that part was nearly over.  Just last nite I told a friend that I HATE MY LIFE -  I never do anything or go anywhere and am always tired.  Have absolutely no libido and have just about given up on that

The idea of travelling to Hawaii for my son's wedding in Aug. is just too much for me at this point - I certainly hope that this changes!   Maybe I will be more of a human being by then...

 I am still hoping that I can lose the weight - only 7 lbs so far, with about another 20 to go...hah!   No one ever told me that was caused by this crap too - I was working out the whole time and wondered what the hell was going on, so I understand how you feel and pray that we can get through this in one piece...

Unfortunately my doc didn't have a clue either - I have since changed docs but haven't seen him since I went cold turkey - haven't really wanted to talk to him about it.  I do continue to see my therapist, but only once a month - perhaps I should go more often at this point - don't know what to do right now.

 

Hugs and prayers,

Liz

[thismoment]

We know these drugs physically alter the brain, and there is no guarantee (or little likelihood) every molecule will return precisely to its original position: simply the passage of time would preclude that.

Every experience changes the brain- an emotional trauma, reading a book, culture, religious indoctrination, a kindness from a stranger, a violent act, or a gentle kiss from someone you love. And the change is 'physical'- the brain is a purely physical system like everything else in the universe, and it is beholden to those same laws. How could we possibly imagine that if we flood it with a foreign chemical that causes new behaviours (physical changes in the brain) that our brain will simply go back to the way it was, when we stop taking the drug?

We can only hope that the inevitable changes to our brains will be beneficial changes- an improvement. That didn't happen for me.

Therefore it's a crap shoot and I am gambling with all that I am, all that I will ever be, and all that I have to offer my children- my brain.

So I think it's critical that we do all we can via therapy- talk talk talk- before we commit to the chemical re-arrangement of the furniture in our brains.

[sarahb]

Once again everyone was very helpful. It's not clear to me why my doctor has insinuated that I have chronic fatigue syndrome and not fybromaylasia. I have known people with both and but see currently see people with FB diagnosis and it sure seems to fit. Yes I'm sure this feeling is not because of kids. I actually feel better being a stay at home mom because I can more easily modify my life than a full time job. When I was only 21-25, in the military I was very depressed the whole time and definitely did not have adequate sleep so it a bit hard to compare. I was tired all the time but I don't think as achy. It has been 13 yrs since I left the military and felt the aches and fatigue, significantly for 10 yrs. I get so tired and my body aches like I have the flew.  It subsided for a little while being pregnant and for a while after the last 4 years. But it came back and stayed so I thought I would tell my doctor.

 

While I'm not a doctor either, I'm pretty sure I would qualify for major depressive order. I'm sure it may be confusing that I don't have an official diagnose. That is pretty crazy I must admit. I think some of it is I move a lot. The last therapist I went to I thought was a  psychiatrist and asked for a diagnosis. It ended up in talk therapy he really seemed to know his meds but wasn't good at listening. Anyway since then the business of life has hit. I had gal bladder surgery and just taking care of the boys. I did manage to make it to my regular doctor who is just getting to know me. I went  to tell her about all my ailments. She ran a bunch of blood test to rule out other things. It was kinda weird though when I went back the test weren't back and she asked if I wanted to try to Cymbalta. I had to call her to double check the results the other day and she said they were normal which is what I figured. 

 

Anyway that is bit of catching up to where I am at now on day 5 deciding to take it tonight. I think I have decided to not to take it. I could go on forever but I have to go for now. I did a intense workout today against my better judgement. I am sleepy already and have a messy house and people coming over tomorrow. I am at least not achy and I would be tired from this anyway since I haven't been working out consistlantly. My organization and messy house is a whole other story. Once again thank you for everyone's input. Hopefully I don't  have to go what you all for withdrawals. And if I don't you all can know that it is because of this site and everyone's input that helped. I will make sure to let you all know how it goes in the next few days.

[sarahb]

Hi everyone. I didn't take Cymbalta last night. It is 12:45 in the afternoon here. No withdrawals. Yah. If everything is fine in a few days I will flush them. My husband and I discussed that we will continue to treat my depression and future episodes with therapy and other things.

 

As a side note I have been taking a stimulant off an on for several months to help treat my ADD. As long as I am not in a severe depressive episode it seems to help in general with mood, sleep, and energy. It's definitely not a cure all but I checked in the past that I could get off and on it without major side effects. Thank you for everyone's support.

[thismoment]

Best wishes Sarah!

Sounds like you are on course. You are part of the family; please keep us posted.

PS - don't flush them- we don't want psychotic fish- lol- just drop them off at any pharmacy.

[BelaLugosisDad]

Good luck Sarah

Enjoy your toddlers and remember that ab Cymbalta problem is not a prerequesite if you need our help.