11 replies to this topic

[MarkP]

Hello all,

I am new to this board and I'm glad I found it! As I mentioned in the title, I'm starting my taper down tommorrow. Prior to taking Cymbalta I was on Lexapro for about 12-14 months and I made the mistake of tapering off too fast. It was 30 days of misery on that one...

I'm having way too many side effects at 30mg so my Dr. agreed to move me down to 20mg and re-evaluate in about 2 weeks. My goal, of course, is to eventually get completely off this noxious drug. Only this time, I will taper off MUCH MORE SLOWLY. I'm hoping to be stabilized at 20mg in a couple of weeks. I'm praying I don't have too many brain zaps and that my family will be able to bear with me if I'm a little more "short fused".

God Bless everyone who is trying to come off this medication!

Thanks,
Mark

[Houdi]

Mark:

I wish you ease and great health, mental and physical, as you taper down to 20 mg of Cymbalta. Please listen to you mind and body at the 2 week re-evaluation with your MD. It is you mind and body, and you know what is best for it. :)

A supportive family is really helpful in any situation. Stress is a big issue with Cymbalta weaning. Being over stimulated, mentally and visually can be an issue. Exercise and get you daily 10 minutes of sunshine. Yes, sounds kookie, but it does help as long as you don't have issues with skin cancer or medication that keep you out of the sun. Maybe you will not have any issues, or if you do, they will be slight and short lived! Please let us know how you are doing.

Best of wishes...Houdi

[IamAwesome]

Congratulations on your decision to get off Cymbalta

[islandgirl0999]

Best of Luck !!

[erica247]

My doctor told me that 30mg was the lowest they made! I wish I had found this site before I stopped! I'm on day 11 and hanging in there! Good luck to you Mark!

Erica

[MarkP]

Good luck & hang in there Erica...I know what you're going through. This is day 3 and I'm a little nauseated today but, I don't know if that's from reducing Cymbalta or the stomach problems that I have.

Best of luck to all others coming off Cymbalta.

Mark

[renee]

Mark,
How are you doing now?
How did it go?

[MarkP]

Hi Renee,

This is day 12 for me at 20mg of Cymbalta. I'm doing OK. It was a step in the right direction. The good news is that I had less gastro upset during this period and I feel a little better when I wake up in the morning. I've only experienced one brief episode of "brain zaps". The down side was that I still had some bizzare dreams and was much more short tempered. I had to appologize to a family member for snapping at them over something minor.

I saw my Dr. yesterday to go over some lab tests and re-evaluate the Cymbalta. I told him that going down to 20mg Cymbalta was a step in the right direction but that I was better overall when I was taking Lexapro. He said "OK" and then writes me a Scripp for 20MG of Lexapro... I asked if I needed to do anything special to transition back to Lexapro. He said "No, you can start taking Lexapro tommorrow..." THIS SCARES ME!!

Sometimes I think Doctors don't believe that anti-depressant withdrawal is real and they do believe everything the drug company reps tell them...

[nursedeborah]

Please let me know how going on the Lexapro goes. I have always been told to just stop my antidep for a couple of days, and
start the new one, this is not the case with Cymbalta!!!!

Debbie

[MaureenV]

Interestingly, I went from Lexapro 60mg to half a tab with no problems, then spend two days for 'washout' before starting Cymbalta 30mg.



I had absolutely no withdrawal symptoms from Lexapro, just side effects were a problem.


Went from 30mg to 60mg after one month because my regular doctor was away and new doctor was adamant 60mg was the minimum regualar dose.

Tried taking every one and a half days with no problems, but started having problems when I dropped down (slowly) to 30mg.

I've managed to get it down to 30mg every two days (for about six days now), but have had times of absolutely foul moods, in tears over nothing, headaches after about one and a half days plus feeling floaty and vague at that time, and, natch, the zaps.

I'm living proof that there is no such thing as a low dose that you can come off without suffering withdrawal, if that's any consolation for those of you who feel that your dose/length of time on it are partly responsible for your symptoms.


regards, Maureen.

[MaureenV]

Please let me know how going on the Lexapro goes. I have always been told to just stop my antidep for a couple of days, and
start the new one, this is not the case with Cymbalta!!!!

Debbie

Lexapro was excellent for me - I have no doubt it turned around my life and attitude to it. My main problem was the side effects of awful nightmares - really horrid things happening on a nightly basis. 30mg was a little better, but still the same theme. The weird dreams also happen with Cymbalta, but I wouldn't call them nightmares.

I also put on stacks of weight with Lexapro (although it's true I WAS actually eating all of the pies) because I was constantly hungry, to the point where I'd actually forget if I'd eaten a meal and eat (eg) lunch again more than once.

When I looked up a blog about Lexapro though, half the people were complaining it made them sick. My GP tells me that people will either put on or take off weight with anti-depressants, and that there's no hard and fast rule about which do which. Some, like me, will be underweight when depressed, others overweight.

Maureen.

[nursedeborah]

Well I opened my 60 mg and poured out a portion, amnd will do that for a week, and then just cont to decrease
off this crap.
I know it's not going to be easy, I already did the 60mg down to 30 mg for 6 days, and it was unbearable.
I am in recovery, and getting clean/sober was easier that this!

Debbie