401 replies to this topic

[AnotherMind]

Thanks for that.

[TryinginFL]

AM.... I remember well my first 2-3 weeks off, cold turkey, when I thought I was dying.  I had never felt so horrible in my life and the constant weeping was seemingly unending.  I was fortunate to have Alprazolam and Hydrocodone which I used when necessary and don't know what I would have done without those crutches.  I have arthritis and fibro so it was hard to tell what was making me so miserable - the withdrawal or the diagnosed illnesses.

 

Do you have any meds (benzo or other) that might help?  I have recently read that some of our members have used Benadryl which has apparently been helpful, but I did not know about this during my most awful time.  I now take magnesium which took a while to build up, but has helped me considerably.  I am getting close to 5 months off the poison (another week!) but occasionally have the weeping and still feel, at times, that my thoughts are bouncing around in my head and cannot concentrate or focus well.

 

I still wonder what I will be left with but am now just taking things a day at a time (Most days are good, now).  Please remember to be kind to yourself and try to relax and "go with the flow".  You're in this for the long haul and you CAN do it!

 

Please keep us posted and I wish you much support on your journey

 

Liz

[AnotherMind]

Hi Liz

Thanks for your words. Today has really shocked me - I felt quite good yesterday and became overly optomistic I guess.

I feel hideous today - and my back is is such bad spasm it's hard to get comfortable, cant lie down, sit or walk for more than a couple of mins at a time. I have valium - Im just going to have to give in and take it.... (silly stubborn me!)

 

Interesting what you are saying about wondering what you will be left with - it's sobering to realise there is no definative panacea or source of blame. (I think I got all hopeful and deluded that it was all Cymbalta related - but of course I have other long term conditions at play - and I dont know what they'll look like at the end of this process.) I'm feeling petrified actually...

 

"relax and go with the flow" is going to have to be my mantra for a while.

 

Thankyou for your support. xx

[thismoment]

AM

"BTW - Im day 3 cold turkey and all my muscles have locked up. Excruciating - can hardly walk. Back in spasm, pain throughout torso blah, blah. Is this common to withdrawal? (or do I have to face up to having fibromyalgia )"

If you went to the doctor today you'd probably be diagnosed with fibromyalgia and be written a prescription for a new SSRI. In a couple of days you will have chronic fatigue, and a couple of days after that you'll get brain zaps, and then arthritis in a week, maybe heart palpitations, GI disturbances, Lupus, MS, perhaps migraines or tension headache, double vision, dizziness, nausea, vertigo, tinnitus, abdominal pain, cramps, anxiety, sweats, sleep disturbances, memory gaps, and so on. The good doctor could easily recommend a new SSRI for most of these 'conditions', and that happens a lot.

If you took the prescription, you'd now be trapped within the antidepressant cycle: SSRI-withdraw-symptoms-diagnosis-SSRI-withdraw-symptoms-diagnosis-SSRI.

The symptoms are real and they're not real. Oh they hurt alright, and they're really scary the same way a nightmare is. The nightmare isn't real, but your brain can't tell the difference.

You've got some weeks of this, but I assure you it will pass. We'll be here when you can't get to sleep and we'll be here when you can't get out of bed; don't worry.

[AnotherMind]

ah TM - it's so true, it's the round-about Ive been on alright-  the one that's prompted me to exit actually.

After years of several different SSRi's "it's clinical depression" - it then became "it must be Lupus" off to the Rhuematologist, then 'fibromyalgia', hypermobility with autonomic dysfunction, etc, etc, etc.  FED UP!

 

Im determined to see this through. And I know traits of these conditions have been with me since childhood (fibro and depression run in my family) - but it has to be better than this toxic downhill tumble of the past 5 years! Worth risking it for a clear view I reckon.

 

It helps to be reminded that there may be weeks of this ahead - helps to subdue the panic - thankyou for that.

 

I just want to ... come back to the world... in whatever condition I'm REALLY in, not a synthetically augmented one.

 

Now I need a good, achey, dizzy howl!

 

Thanks for being there.

x

[Xanazul]

Another Mind,

Muscle pain can be excruciating, but it will get better. For me ( three months off Cymbalta next monday) was/is kind of a roller coaster: it started to climb up slowly until I felt as is somebody had beated me up, then it came down some days until I would be almost painless, only to return and be unbeareable some others. Today, my right arm still hurts a lot most of the days, but only have mild pain in the rest of my body.

Cymbalta was not as bad for me as for many others here, It did impaired my sex life (castrated me in fact) and put me under emotional anaesthesia, but overall the quality of my life was good (not depression or anxiety at all). However I've never intended to be relying on a pill for life and always knew that I would have to face whatever made me feel the anxiety and depression that drove me to antidepressants.

The trauma is always there as a starting point for anxiety and/or depression, we need to revisit not only the trauma itself but above all, we need to understand the way we reacted and continue to react to it and get trained and adquire the tools and skills to first of all identify the sources and then change our maladaptative mechanisms (not to blame ourselves for these) of response to the original and any other of the continuous traumas/stressors that we will encounter in our lifes for ever.

Epigenetic is a field of knowledge in biomedical research that has evolved in the last ten years and is laying the biological foundations of the free will. In short the breakthrough that epigenetic has provided is that our genes can be modified through our lives not only as the way they are being expressed or not expressed (our phenotype), but also in their own structure (our genotype).

So, our genes can be reshaped all along our lives and so can be reshaped and retuned in their functions, our cells, our tissues, our organs, our mind and our body Not life sentence to anxiety and depression.

Take much care.

[AnotherMind]

 acutely sad, unrelentingly sore. Faintly terrified I might precipitate a depressive episode - but I cant give up yet - Ive come this far.

[Xanazul]

Absolutely, hang in there, cry if you are sad, withdrawal as TM says has too many faces, one of them is the reappearance of the very same symptoms that drove you to the Cymbalta.
There will always be someone here, we are all over the world, so enter and type.
Great hug.

[Wagtail]

AnotherMind , this isn't you this is the Cymbalta trying to make you reinstate ... Challenge it sweetie ... Don't let it beat you .. Remember Helen Reddy's " I AM WOMAN .. I am strong , I am invincible ?... "

Self talk .. We are here & have been where you are & beaten the devil Cymbalta.

You are from Melbourne ? , I'm from the Central Coast of NSW .. We are both from Australia !.. You can beat these feelings because that's what they are ..just feelings ..

Breathe deeply & slowly & DONT BE SCARED ..
We are all here for you ..:-)

[AnotherMind]

thankyou all.

I must be really fragile - your messages made me cry... LOL.

 

Very grateful for the encouragement.

 

My sweet cat (a stray I rescued) hasn't left my side all day - she even sat outside the door while I had a bath, then escorted me to bed - she knows something's up. Like she's returning the favour. Small mercies.

[Wagtail]

Sleep tight AM ... We will be here when you wake up , holding baseball bats to keep that CRAPALTA @ bay ..:-)

[AnotherMind]

Phew - Crapalta is the name alright!

 

 

teary again...

[fishinghat]

thankyou all.

I must be really fragile - your messages made me cry... LOL.

 

Very grateful for the encouragement.

 

My sweet cat (a stray I rescued) hasn't left my side all day - she even sat outside the door while I had a bath, then escorted me to bed - she knows something's up. Like she's returning the favour. Small mercies.

Yes pets can know us so well. Better than some drs!! lol

[ittybittysmitty]

Hello,

 

I am on day 10. My doc dropped me from 60 to 30 immediately on day 1. He is replacing it with Celexa which as the days progress is helping the zaps. I started a full 40 mg on Wednesday.

 

But now, I'm full of RAGE and ANXIETY..everything makes me mad...I feel out of control..I feel like I'm on speed...It's hard enough having Bipolar...It feels like a full blown mixed episode...I just want isolate and for everyone to leave me alone..

 

I'm a caregiver for my mom and everything she says and does is driving me crazy..I know it's not about her.

 

Is anyone else going through this?

[gail]

Fishinghat, I have been reading the last posts here, and am wondering if you could post again and again , for a reminder to the new members and to all of us, what to expect in the first 3 or 4 months of discontinuation.

 

Dont have the exact words, but I know that you have them in your archives.

 

As Thismoment has been reminding us in the last two weeks, we all need to hear it over and over again

 

Thanks FH.

[thismoment]

ittybittysmitty

 

Hi. You are in Cold Turkey withdrawal from Cymbalta and the Celexa isn't fully uploaded. Yes indeed the rage, anxiety, and profound impatience is part of the package. I went through something similar when I withdrew from Cymbalta.

 

If you can find a way to keep the anxiety down, the speediness will subside. Do you have a benzo or similar? 

 

You likely have a couple more weeks of this to endure until the Celexa takes over. Get the anxiety down if you can. 

 

Take care.

[AnotherMind]

ittybitty

I definately went thru something like mild hypomania around day 10 - I was very twitchy and speedy and this gave way to some rage and anxiety also. Natural to want to isolate as you are going through such an overwhelming transition.

 

 

Hang in there - it changes.

[fishinghat]

Fishinghat, I have been reading the last posts here, and am wondering if you could post again and again , for a reminder to the new members and to all of us, what to expect in the first 3 or 4 months of discontinuation.

 

Dont have the exact words, but I know that you have them in your archives.

 

As Thismoment has been reminding us in the last two weeks, we all need to hear it over and over again

 

Thanks FH.

No problem Gail.

 

The first 3 or 4 weeks of withdrawal are the worse with some slow, and I mean slow improvements after that. Digestive problems, strange dreams , brain zaps, relentless anxiety and much more. During this time don't push yourself too hard. It only makes the next day worse. By the 8th to 12th week usually see signs of good days followed by bad days but at least there is light at the end of the tunnel. Now that is the average. I have known people who actually quit cold turkey without a symptom. And others where the withdrawal last 6 months to over a year but these are rare. Research says between 30 to 80% of people do not experience withdrawal while other research shows that around 7% experience withdrawal of 6 months or more.

[fishinghat]

IBS, if the Celexa seems to be helping with the brain zaps then it shouldn't be too long before things really pick up.

[ittybittysmitty]

Thank you GL, Family Member, Advanced Member,

 

Is there a petition going around to Eli Lilly to let them know what evil idiots they are?

[ittybittysmitty]

P.S.

 

Why would I be going cold turkey on 30 mg? Isn't cold turkey stopping it all together?

 

Yes, I have clonazapam...it works like a charm?

 

Anyone else taking a benzo for anxiety/restlessness, etc.?

[TryinginFL]

Hi IBS...

 

I posted earlier regarding a benzo and hydrocodone...please move up a bunch and hopefully it will answer your question!  (It was addressed to Another Mind)

 

Yes, cold turkey is stopping altogether, however the jump from 60 to 30 is enormous - almost like cold turkey.  Are you planning to bead count down from the 30, or have you stopped taking it altogether at this point?  Please feel free to ask as many questions as necessary as there is always someone available to answer with great advice!

 

Take care - I wish you all the best, as I know what a nightmare this is... Call it hell!

 

Liz  

 

PS  I still use both of these when necessary but nowhere near what I did when I was in the throes of this hideous journey!  If they help you, take them!  Please be kind to yourself and make yourself as comfortable as possible!

[fishinghat]

Yes IBS. A lot of members rely on benzos for support during the withdrawal.

[AnotherMind]

P.S.

 

Why would I be going cold turkey on 30 mg? Isn't cold turkey stopping it all together?

 

Yes, I have clonazapam...it works like a charm?

 

Anyone else taking a benzo for anxiety/restlessness, etc.?

Itty bitty - Benzos have made this endurable..and  60 to 30mg was hands-down the worst part of transitioning off Cymbalta for me, hopefully it gets better for you from here.

 

I agree - is there a petition out there??? Class actions???

I read a very critical post about Cymbalta on the web by a concerned doctor who described how aggressively Eli Lili have marketed the drug, she said it was analagous to " inviting lots & lots of people to come stay in a wonderful new, cutting-edge hotel, but not disclosing that they can't leave..."

[FiveNotions]

Heh....welcome to the Hotel California....you can check out but you can never leave....

[fishinghat]

Perfect analogy FN!!

[TryinginFL]

AnotherMind and IBS....       Please check out Five Notions' post of a site regarding your question about Eli Lilly!

 

 

Forum:   Cymbalta was a lifesaver, b....

[ittybittysmitty]

Haha...Five Notions, you hit the nail on the head!

 

It's 1:30 in the morning and I'm sitting here bobbing forward and back, my head bobbing too...is that a withdrawal symptom...I guess it's a form of restlessness.

 

Anyone else experiencing this 'excess energy"?

[AnotherMind]

yep IBS - i had excess energy for a short while, I kind of loved it - sadly I have the opposite now.

 

Just checking - anyone else had extreme fatigue and a forgetful, demented mind as they've withdrawn - or is this just me?   This is day 15 and I feel like a slow old lady with mollasses for a brain.

 

p.s did anyone develop a Malar rash (butterfly shaped rash on the face) while on Cymbalta? 

[fishinghat]

I had terrible fatigue, AM. I do everytime I am on a benzo. I was taking Ativan for the withdrawal.