12 replies to this topic

[Flossy]

I have been taking cymbalta for 51/2 years, I started on 60mg upped to 90 and so on till I was maxed out at 180! I was unaware at the time, but each dose increase would cause me more anxiety and so my dr would increase the dose! I ended up having a 6 month "vacation" as I amusingly like to refer to it, where I was "party girl" at 42 I was drinking every night, life of every party, sleeping a lot in between and always going over the top with everything! I could tell that close family and friends were responding to my over the top ramblings with vacant faces, I knew I was doing it but couldn't stop! Although a bubbly and outgoing person by nature It was like I was on fast fwd! Crisis hit when my little sister was diagnosed with breast cancer, I went off the rails, my poor family, my mother even said to me at one stage she was more worried about me than my sister! I just couldn't stop! I hit rock bottom and my dr thought perhaps it was the high dose cymbalta, (it didn't take a genius). I now am in the process of weaning, I'm taking high dose zinc and B6 for copper overload as well as magnesium, calcium and gaba! I feel so much clearer in my head, my speech is slower and I no longer have the urge to drink a lot, I just cannot believe how destructive this drug was to me! I have gone from 180 to 150 and 2 days ago 120 which is still a high dose, but incredibly has made a huge difference! I have brain zaps, headaches, nausea and diarrhea, however the constant physical anxiety has eased a lot and I'm coping really well! It's kind of like when you've been standing on the edge of a cliff for so long scared and alone, anywhere back from the edge is copeable! I am also really noticing my loved ones are responding to the real/old me with such appreciation and engagement! Cymbalta has been a path to hell for me but thankfully, finally after 51/2 years, I'm on my way back!

[FiveNotions]

Flossy,

I just posted to you on a different thread... 180 mg is a killer dose...suicide risk, risk of rages and hurting others... I can't believe your doc approved this...if so, he's worse than an idiot and a jackass, he's in the malpractice category!

You need to contact the lawfirm that's representing us against Cymbalta...Knox Ricksen...they've posted a notice about this over in the "Cymbalta in the news" forum.... in addition to the Cymbalta withdrawal syndrome case, you may have a good malpractice suit against your doc for the dangerous dosing levels!

As for your behavior while on the poison....you are not alone...many of us here, myself included, did all sorts of bizarre stuff while on it....drinking like a fish is a common behavior on the poison... as soon as I got off crapalta, I quit drinking, don't have any desire to do so now....I spent thousands of dollars doing weird online shopping, I didn't pay my taxes for 6 or 7 years...I cut off all my friends and lived in a little apartment with all my blinds closed...maintained a job, but that's all...

Now, like you, I'm alive again...I'm reconnecting with friends, apologizing where needed, and find that they are deeply sympathetic and understanding to what happened to me under the spell of this drug...I'm working to clean up all the piles of poop from my Cymbalta years...

Bravo to you for doing the same! :-)

[Flossy]

Wow!!! That is soooo me! The isolating yourself from friends, drinking, self hating! All me! Very excited to have a glimpse already of me!!! Yay!!! Live in Australia so probs won't worry about law suit stuff, although thinking my dr has not always made the best decisions for me, I have been seeing her for a lot of years and she's the best we have in our town.

[FiveNotions]

Well, since your jackass/idiot doc is the only game in town, you'll just have to keep using her...but now you're becoming well informed...so, it'll be you educating her... Lord knows, she needs it!

[Flossy]

Haha! I may not be quite so blunt but I will definitely be taking the reins!

[ittybittysmitty]

Flossy,

My mania/bipolar became much worse and I blew up at my mom all the time and was just plain crazy...YOU ARE NOT ALONE!!

I hope you find a game plan for yourself and that you find the help and support you need here...well, I already know you WILL!!

Good luck,

IBS

[FiveNotions]

By doing everything you can to educate your doc, Flossy, you'll be doing untold good for anyone else she puts on Cymbalta...or perhaps doesn't put on it...given what she's going to learn from you ...

Each of us who goes through the hell of getting of this poison has, I feel, a responsibility to talk to everyone we know, and to our docs, about our experiences ... to get the word out any way we can that this is a dangerous, evil drug....manufactured by a dangerous, evil company....

[FiveNotions]

Hey, IBS! How's it going today? I haven't seen a post from you in the past day or so...or did I just miss it?

[Flossy]

Where can I find articles written about all of this? Evil company etc?

[FiveNotions]

Check out the "Cymbalta in the News" forum... it's listed/linked on the home page.... but, here's the direct link for you...

https://www.cymbalta...ta-in-the-news/

[thismoment]

Where can I find articles written about all of this? Evil company etc?

 

Flossy

 

Eli Lilly is the corporation that cooks Cymbalta and many other drugs including Prozac. Like any other corporation, it's in business to make money, and profit is the baseline motivation. Is Eli Lilly ethically superior to Coca-Cola, GM, or Goldman-Sachs? 

 

It's perfectly logical to assume that a corporation would do whatever it can to ensure the customer keeps coming back! This is business! The only difference between the large pharmaceutical lab and the entrepreneurial lab in the garage is volume. The executives of these respective enterprises aren't concerned about why the customer returns- just as long as the customer does return.

 

Cynical perspective? Perhaps.

[fishinghat]

In my duties over the years I worked for several big corporations. Issues like health, safety, environmental, etc are considered expenses with little or no income in return. Some of the VPs and Presidents would bring a halt to these items (except what was required by the law). Others put great efforts into these items because they believed in  business integrity.

[Flossy]

Pretty scary stuff!!!