1 reply to this topic

[gwendolen]

Hello everyone,

This is my first post here. I've read through a lot of the threads here and in the "withdrawing" section, as well as some other stuff on the Internet about Cymbalta withdrawal. Many, many of my questions (and fears) have been addressed here and elsewhere, but I have a couple of lingering questions I would love some help with.

First, the background: my husband went on SSRIs for moderate depression about 18 months ago. He's had some pretty bad side effects on almost all of them and his pdoc has been switching him around like crazy trying to find one that will work. He started Cymbalta about 3 months ago -- I think this was his 5th drug. Anyway, he's had horrible fever chills and flu-like symptoms the whole time he's been on Cymbalta, so about 10 days ago his pdoc decided to switch him to Prozac. After one dose -- horror. Manic symptoms for two days, awful akathisia, chills, profuse sweating, brain zaps, the whole bit. Now this was while still on the drugs! So his pdoc, after hearing all this, said we should get him off the Cymbalta ASAP, as he fears BP disorder. (I'm not quite buying that, by the way.) It took about 3 days for the mania to subside (interspersed with horrible weeping, severe depression, etc.), and then we started the taper. The first day on 30mg was pretty good, but now he's having awful brain zaps and terrible feelings of despair, racing thoughts, flu-like symptoms, vertigo, nausea, diarrhea, the whole nine yards. So this seems like pretty standard symptoms, but here's my question.

Given that he actually experienced all this stuff while ON the drug, how do we distinguish withdrawal symptoms from side effects? In other words, we have no way of knowing if the taper is too fast, or if he actually needs to be tapering faster in order to get this cr*p out of his system as quickly as possible. In my reading, I have not yet come across anyone who says they had the brain zaps while still on an SSRI (this might be just because I've mostly been reading stuff about withdrawal).

Any insights greatly appreciated. Thank you all so much!

[Houdi]

gwendolen:

Oh my gosh, what a terrible experience. I am so sorry.

Normally, withdrawing at a slow pace that doesn't send a patient into full symptoms is the easiest. But you have BP and mania issues to consider. So, what caused the BP issues and the mania. Weaning too fast, combining antidepressants, maybe serotonin od?

I have read that Cymbalta users have had the same symptoms we experience weaning as they take the medication. I think you will read them as a side effect of using the medication in the Cymbalta insert.

I hope you will run this by your husband's pdoc. The full mania along with the withdrawal is really scary and dangerous; for your hubby and you. But, you know that. I know people who have taken Cymbalta and had a horrible time with sweating. Of course, lots of us have big issues with body temperature as we withdraw; sweats then chills.

All my best wishes....Houdi