42 replies to this topic

[Clara]

TFL. you know the "nasty" is ok here. Turn that anger into determination to overcome! You can do this!!!.You'll go to Hawaii, enjoy the wedding and be glad you did! Keep up the good fight! Hugs and prayers for you!!!!!

[brzghoff]

i totally relate to the drinking while on cymbalta thing. i started to drink like a fish on effexor an then cymbalta, both which are ssnri's. never happened with ssri's or wellbutrin. zoloft - ssri - stopped working and wellbutrin acts on dopamine, so i didn't even want to drink due to how it acts on the central nervous system. i even stopped drinking cofee for no reason. now i know why its used for smokers to help them quit. when we determined it wasn't a good fit for me - i would loose my train of thought - i went on effexor and then on cymalta and was compelled to drink - often up to a bottle of wine a day. since comping of i won't touch alcohol - that was easy. by the way i've dropped for 140 to 124 with no effort in since i started weaning 3 months ago. 

[TryinginFL]

Clara, I'm out of 'likes' again, but THANK YOU!!  I  I WILL DO IT!!

[FiveNotions]

TFL, I'm with FH on how to deal with the wedding...break it into little parts...small breaks for yourself...quiet time.....don't do anything extra...etc....and I'd forgotten that you're traveling over with your other son...that's great!

When you get back, I bet you'll have a huge sense of relief and release...that's what a good "crash" is.....whoosh....plop into bed, or on the sofa...asleep.....surrounded by your dogs....who'll be slobbering all over you and so happy you're home....yep, that's what FH means by "crash".....

And, you've got a great therapist, and are going to be seeing him several more times before the trip.....

And, you've got us, and we love you and are here for you....no matter if you're in Seattle or Hawaii....we're just a few taps of the keyboard away.....speaking of which, do you have a tablet, ipad or laptop you can take with you so you can stay in contact with us?

Hell, maybe you could "live blog" the whole damn trip and wedding!? :-D

[TryinginFL]

Brzghoff - I was a scotch and water (mostly scotch) drinker when on Cymbalta.  I rarely drink anything any more and don't miss it.

 

Congratulations on the weight loss!  It has taken me 5 months to lose 12 pounds, but at least the scale is coming  down a bit each week!

[brzghoff]

 

tryinginFL:  i have found that i dread pending social events, especially family, but once i go i enjoy myself quite a bit. for me the interaction with others boosts my mood considerably, however as they say, your mileage may vary. i hope you can go but understand if you choose not to.

 

as for fivenotions's jest of a live blog, i gotta share this: when my neice got married, her brother was in iraq. they are very very close. at the wedding we set up a chair in the front row with his dress uniform coat draped over it and a lap top on the seat facing forward at the alter. we skyped the whole thing - he saw it live (midnight his time). as she was coming down the aisle, i picked up the lap top and held it in front of her so she could see. she lost it, we all did, tears flowing everywhere. it was one of the best moments of my life. 

 

re: the weight, i'm 5' 4" and while the loss of some weight was in order, it came off a little too fast for my size and has alarmed a few folks. one of my initial withdrawal symptoms was a chronic case of the runs and lack of appetite. also, prior to going on any psych drugs i was about 120, so i think my metabolism is returning to normal. i used to sleep 9-10 hours a night while on anti-d's and mood stabilizers, now its more like 6-7. also, one other huge factor in loosing weight was that just before i started the every other day part of my taper, i quit my job, which involved sitting 8 hours a day, lots of free fatty food in the break room and a wonderful deli in the lobby that served great food with lots of calories. i'e always been active with an outdoor lifestyle, so all things combined have contributed. my original mood stabilizer was depakote, which is notorious for weight gain, i blew up to 160. when i was transferred over to lamictal ten years ago, my weight dropped to 140 within a few months. now that i am off the "C" and left work, the rest has dropped. i know for some they've gained weight, but for many it is just the opposite.

[GriffinsGranny]

Florida, I hope you have an awesome trip! Maybe by August things will be better for you, but I'm just learning, too. I'm hoping I can function by august, too!

[CleanLife890]

Im dying to help that I started a whole new topic not even thinking to post on another topic. Im just trying to get my post seen! i feel like I'm complaining but I'm so ill every second feels like an eternity... this was my post. PLEASE someone reply, I'm begging for help. 

Sorry for the spelling errors. 

 

 

 

 

 

Hi everyone! So, I have decided to get off my bathroom floor after praying to the porcelain princess for the 4th time today and write on this forum because no one else I know has taken cymbalta, let alone came off of it. SO here are some things about me. 

 

1. I found you guys while doing research on the effects on alcohol and cymbalta (I know you shouldn't drink on it and it messes with your liver) But i was hungover this morning and took my cymbalta and like clockwork my hangover got worse. But this time it didn't subside after a few hours of hydration, it got worse... terribly worse!  I was at work ( a Bar:-/ ) I was hungover form working the night before but picked up a shift because I'm kind broke and almost done with school. So i took my "Crapalta" as you guys seem to call it. 

     I have been on 30mg (Self done by opening the pills)...I have been on 30mg for about a week everyday for the past 5 days id say. (I now i need to keep better track) But today the symptoms of withdrawal hit me like a ton of bricks. 

    I went off zoloft cold turkey once so i know what it feels like and sometimes i feel it when i wake up very late in the morning but nothing to this severity... I could hardly form words, when i was up TRYING to bartend i would just feel like i was going to pass out, i was nauseous, i had head nausea, dizziness, everything except a headache which is amazing because i went on cym. to help with headaches and depression..... so here are some quick facts

 

1. I went off this after speaking to my doctor on how to do it ( i knew about half life and so on) he said i could open the pills and do 30 myself so i don't have to pay for another prescription. He never mentioned this was the hardest drug to come off of or say what might happen. He also told me to keep taking meds once that gave me a life threatening allergic reaction so I'm thinking i need a new doc. But iv been to so many doctors in starting to think they are all alike...just legal drug dealers with the next patient on their mind. My mom even work for a doc. office and i got special treatment and they still treated me like a number or an animal... jjust "oh ok those are your symptoms here is a drug...bye!" I even got one to prescribe me adrenal years back...easy as pie. Symptoms = Drug-DONE. 

 

2. I have been on some form on antidepressant since i was 17 (m 25 now) I was dealing with a lot of shit like every teen and i have bi-polar and anxiety disorders on both sides of my family. I was diagnosed with being bi-polar. The thing is that i don't think i am, or at least i have learned to deal with stress better. I have been wanting to come off of this for a while... actually off off every drug. My birth control, cymbalta, and adrenal once in a while. Now that its summer and I'm done with my college thesis i thought i would have time but I'm fearing that i won't because how am i supposed to work AND come off this drug? I can hardly move on it... the amount of energy it is taking me to type and look at a light while forming sentences as fast as i think them is hard enough, how am i supposed to stand behind a bar for 7 hours?!?!?! 

 

3. the reason i want to get off is because I have decide I just want to live a "cleaner life". cleaner foods, no chemicals, lift weights and work out every day ( lifting is like my meditation. it also acts as an antidepressant which i love) Working out is not something new to me. I used to be anorexic and bulimic while modeling ( all while on cym. which is funny. I'm a very determined person with serious self control) i lived with ym sister who basically was my rehab since i couldn't afford any AND i knew i could stop on my own. it was then that I found that i could lift ( not just the annoying elliptical)  and eat like a normal human being. I then put modeling to the side and focused on school which I'm one internship away from being done with. Now I'm focused on modeling on the side, getting a good job/internship and cleaning up my act after a year of hell i put my body and mind through while doing my thesis ( cigarets which i hate, adrenal, bad food, no sleep, no gym etc.) 

 

 

4. I feel like i have to tell my whole year or life story in order to get help. maybe its just me coming off of this and feeling like shit. I'm sorry my writing is so sporadic but i feel like puking every other minute so I'm typing as fast as i can while trying to make sense. 

 

 

5. i won't ramble on anymore i suppose. What i want to know is how long is this shitty feeling going to last? Do i have to wait till I'm completely off the drug to not have side effects? i don't know if ill be able to support myself if i keep trying to go off of this drug. But all i want is to be off of it!!!!! its like a trap! 

 

Please tell me any remedies that may help with withdrawals because I'm dying over here I have a week befor i have to be back at work, if i still have a job. I had to leave in the middle of the world cup because i could hardly stand. (I'm serious i may be fired over this stupid drug iv never been more pissed off) 

 

Im open to anything and I'm so glad i found this forum. I hope you can help me. an drake sense of what I'm trying to write. 

 

-Back to the toilet. :,-(

 

Desperately, 

          CL890

 

[FiveNotions]

Hello CL890, welcome to the place that saved my life! The people here walked with me every step of the way, and without them I never would have gotten off the poison!

I'm on my way back to bed after one of my "old fart bladder" bathroom runs, and checked in here to see if anyone new had arrived....this time of night is the hardest time for many of us early in withdrawal...and here you are, having the courage to write such a wonderful post in the midst of feeling so awful!

You can and will get off this stuff, and we'll do everything we can to help you.

Hang in there, what you're describing is familiar to all of us....I myself spent a lot of time holding on to the porcelain goddess....I even used to take a pillow and small blanket into the bathroom and just sleep right there on the floor...save on travel time back and forth, so to speak ;-)

I'll write more when I've had some sleep....there are lots of remedies and little tricks we've all used to help with the various symptoms...also, you're young, you're determined and you're strong.....you've got what it takes to get through this...and life after the poison is worth every moment of the struggle, I assure you!

[fishinghat]

FN

 

You gals always pick a fluffy sweet name for everything. Porcelain Princess? Porcelain Goddess?

 

For us guys it is the porcelain God Ralph (named after the sound you make when you go there to worship). lol

[thismoment]

I recall it as talking to Beulah on the Big White Phone!

[fishinghat]

Great one TM!! You just never know what you will learn on this site.  lol

[tria]

GriffinsGranny - Welcome! This place has been so helpful to me and the people are so wonderful!! You will get thru this!!  And, you will get back to who you used to be.  I've had some times (not that often yet, and only an hour or two here and there) when my head is clearer and I just feel normal.  Unfotunately it never lasts as I'm still weaning off this darn drug.  But it gives me hope that my "normal" self is still in there somewhere!!!

 

TFL - I think FN gave great advice, like usual, about the wedding.  Unfortunately, you will most likely have rough spots, but you will get thru them. You are managing now, day by day.... and you'll handle making it to the wedding the same way.  Day by day, or hour by hour, minute by minute, if need be and then it will probably be over before you know it!  It sounds like you've got a pretty good plan in place with your son, so that's good.  Anything you can do to relieve a little of the anxiety is a plus.  And remember, everything is totally up to you.  If you feel you can't do something, don't let people push you into it.  I know that's easier said than done, but a quiet dinner alone may be better than getting forced to a restaurant with a bunch of people (just an example).  I only mention this because I always feel like I should push myself to do things, thinking that it will make me feel better.  Sometimes  it does, other times you end up sitting in church on Good Friday trying not to cry the entire time.  So do what you think is best for yourself and don't feel bad about whatever decision you make!!  I think FN's idea of keeping in touch with everyone here is great!  Hopefully you can take a tablet or laptop and stay connected.  I know posting on here and reading other posts helps me sooooo much.   Will you be able to reach your therapist while you're away if you need to?  Don't know if that's an option but can't hurt to ask.  Sending you good thoughts that you will make it to your son's wedding and even enjoy yourself!