Using Prozac To Assist To Get Off Cymbalta
#1
Posted 25 August 2014 - 09:02 PM
#2
Posted 25 August 2014 - 09:09 PM
Hi Shelbel
Welcome. Fishinghat can certainly answer this best, and hopefully he will respond before too long.
Here's what I would do: I'd stay on the 20 mg Cymbalta until the Prozac was fully uploaded. Allow 6 weeks for that process, then wean off the Cymbalta over a period of another 6 weeks by reducing approximately .5 mg per day. If the symptoms become too rough (even with the Prozac on board), go slower; there's no rush to get the Cymbalta out.
Best wishes with this; keep us posted.
#3
Posted 25 August 2014 - 09:13 PM
#4
Posted 25 August 2014 - 09:25 PM
Shel
My understanding is the Prozac takes 4-6 weeks to fully upload. Get it on board before weaning off the Cymbalta. Sometime afterwards you can consider withdrawing from the Prozac-- but again, not too fast. Let the withdrawal symptoms be your guide-- if they are too strong slow down. If your go really really slow, there may be no WD symptoms at all.
Take care.
#5
Posted 25 August 2014 - 09:29 PM
#6
Posted 25 August 2014 - 09:59 PM
Hi Shelbel, welcome! That's a real kick in the butt ... misdiagnosed for anxiety and put on Cymbalta when it's atrial fib you've got ... so now you've got the "gift that keeps on giving" ... crapalta withdrawal ... sheesh ...
I don't have any experience with Prozac, but I know FishingHat does ... others here are taking it, I think all are in the early stages of "uploading" it into their systems ... and that's not quite the info you need ... FH will be around soon ... he "does rounds" several times a day ...
One thing for sure, Shelbel.... that you're a nurse, combined with what you're learning and experiencing with Cymbalta, can be used to help an awful lot of other people ... educate other docs/nurses etc., help "users" get off the stuff and warn non-users not to get on it ...
#7
Posted 25 August 2014 - 10:17 PM
Welcome, Shelbel!
Yep, you've found a great place with some wonderful, caring people - you will get the help you need here.
I have no experience with Prozac - I am a cold turkey Cymbalta survivor and still having some problems - almost 8 months off!
Hang in there - help Is coming!
Please keep us posted as you will be a great help to others on the forum. I wish you the best.
#8
Posted 25 August 2014 - 11:46 PM
Shelbel
I can't believe I forgot to ask the most important question: "How long have you been on Cymbalta and at what dosages?"
Has anyone been successful with using prozac and how did you do it?
Yes, many people have been successful using this method (hopefully someone will reply). Here's how you do it: stay on the 20 mg Cymbalta until the Prozac was fully uploaded. Allow 6 weeks for that process, then wean off the Cymbalta over a period of another 6 weeks by reducing approximately .5 mg per day.
Best wishes!
- fishinghat likes this
#10
Posted 26 August 2014 - 09:00 AM
Hi Shelbel. Welcome to the site.
ThisMoment got it right. I see you have already got a lot of good advice from the others. Prozac is definitely an easier withdrawal than Cymbalta. It does however take 6 to 8 weeks to reach full strength, 4 weeks to begin to kick in. This means that TM is right. Let the Prozac kick in before cutting the cymbalta. This SHOULD be an easier way to go but let me ask you this, have you tried reducing 1 or 2 beads a week? Those last few beads can be very wicked little devils. How slow have you been reducing?
#12
Posted 26 August 2014 - 09:33 AM
No problem with that idea but I wonder if it just wouldn't be easier to just use the bead method to finish off the cymbalta. At the end you have to go slower but it should work. Most drop 1 to 3 beads a day. It is your choice but I would try the slow bead count before I enter another variable into things like Prozac (But the Prozac should work).
The use of pills every other day is ...well let me just say 'idiot dr.'
What you are doing is booting up your cymbalta on the day you take the pill and then dropping over the next 48 hours (withdrawal). Then you boot you level levels back up again. You are repeating your withdrawal over and over. Not a good move by your dr. The half life of cymbalta is 12 hours so by the end of 48 hours you only have about 6% of the cymbalta left in your blood.
- itsthebc likes this
#13
Posted 26 August 2014 - 09:38 AM
As you've learned, every other day doesn't work-- it puts you in-and-out of withdrawal due to the short half-life of duloxetine (12 hours). Doctors make this mistake often.
Don't take out any Cymbalta beads for 6 weeks. Then taper off by reducing slowly (say 1/2 mg per day -approx- over 40 days or so). You can take a longer period of time depending how strong the symptoms are. You could take 6 months or a year to wean off; there's no rule except how much can you tolerate? Strong symptoms means slow down your weaning.
Three years of exposure could yield long-term and persistent symptoms that continue into the discontinuation phase (after the drug is out of your system-- about a week after your last dosing). The Prozac should help to reduce that, but there is little data available (the first SSRI -Prozac- appeared just 25 years ago). The long-term effects of these drugs is not known.
Good luck with this-- you can do it!
#16
Posted 25 September 2014 - 12:31 PM
#18
Posted 25 September 2014 - 12:40 PM
#19
Posted 25 September 2014 - 01:08 PM
I'm happy for you! If Prozac is helping in other ways (aside from piggy-backing you off Cymbalta) there's no rush to get off it. Go slow and reassemble other aspects of your life before taking this on.
- fishinghat and FiveNotions like this
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