when folks talk about how long it takes to get off cymbalta, are they talking about the time they spent tapering off, the amount of time for symptoms of withdrawal to go away during and after the taper - or just after going off in full?
i have a diagnosis of bipolar disorder. i take 200 mgs of lamictal and am weaning off cymbalta. for me, the major side effects of taking cymbalta since 2004 are high blood pressure and an inability for me to empty my bladder, which means lots of infections and constant blood in my urine. in the past when i have forgotten to take it, the withdrawal kicks in about 2-4 hours later. after 6 hours i would be too sick to work. fortunately i have a great husband who would rush my meds out to me if i didn't have spares stashed in my desk drawer. i have been through almost ten years of rational behavioral therapy and recognize the thought patterns that have perpetuated depression. as a result, i don't think i need cymbalta and don't want to take it anymore.
i decided to get off this stuff. my p-doc is totally cool with my taper strategy. however, he thinks i'll always have to be on lamictal or some type of mood stabilizer for life. i used to be on depakote and gained 30 pounds. i lost all that within 6 months of switching to lamictal.
i was on 90 mgs of cymbalta for about 8 years. last year i went down to 60 and went further down to 30 in the fall of 2013. in march of this year i started doing 30 mgs every other day. so far so good, certainly some discomfort - mostly fluish symptoms. about four weeks ago i began splitting open the 30 mg caps and swallowing half the "beads" and putting the other half back in the caps, which i would take two days later, effectively 15 mgs every other day. thats when the trouble started. my primary withdrawal symptom is severe anxiety. it is mentally paralyzing. the fear is disabling. i have the crawling skin symptoms in my legs - its as though razors are shredding my shins - i don't feel pain just a sensation, hard to describe but i think many of you "get it". its dreadful. i have a hard time focusing. i don't hear people talking to me. my short term memory is shot. i am constantly distracted and can't hold a thought. i can't find the right word and forget what i am talking about in midsentence. for me no brain zaps, although for the ten years i've been on the drug its not uncommon to get "jolts" throughout my body - usually as i fall asleep. mostly annoying, not painful. wakes up my husband when my body jerks.
i don't have the luxury of "counting beads" - i don't have enough med to waste it like that and my new insurance won't cover cymbalta so i can't have extra to pour out a few more beads each day - hence i eyeball a half and half split. i've got enough to do 15 mgs every other day til mid june. then i'm out. i would not have been able to get this far if i was employed, so thank god for that. given the level and length of my taper i am curious as to what will happen when i step off completely. is that when all hell breaks loose? i fel like it already has, s when i see posts about what people are going through after "x" number of days off cymbalta i wonder if they mean after they did a taper or if it was from going cold turkey?
i've wondered about benadryl, knowing its chemical makeup is similar to early antidepressants - and then i saw references to it here. i'm gonna take some tonight before bed. don't like the drowsy but its better than having a 24 hour panic attack. i can't do the prozac assist therapy - a big no no for bipolar folk. i've found that doing yardwork in the heat actually helps a lot. as soon as i walk inside and start to cool down and relax, the fear and anxiety come right back. very strange.
i guess my big question is... will the next step down be any tougher than the step from 30 every other day to 15 every other day?