50 replies to this topic

[Carleeta]

bld...I sorry to hear you are hospitalized from quitting cold turkey..I am glad to hear you are working with a neurologist in finding out what is going on..Wishing you the best...please keep us posted on your progress...

[FiveNotions]

Well, I've got some "fabulous" trannies living here in my apartment building, and they look great in their skirts, tank tops and spike heels ... but that's a line I doubt even a pilot would cross ... unless of course he was also "fabulous" ... which I don't think BLD is (handsome, brilliant and wonderful, but not "fabulous")

[TWhil195]

Five, you are cracking me up.

Sooooo..... My neurologist said everything I'm experiencing is just my body's way of telling me that 90 is the "sweet dose" I need to be on to prevent headaches. Which makes no sense at all, because how can feeling like I have the flu and waves of crying be my body's way of telling me I need this drug to prevent headaches? He totally dismissed the thought that it could be some sort of withdrawal.

So looks like I have no doctor support for this process. I did decide to go back to 90 and get stable before i start bead counting down. Which made me feel like a failure but felt like the best course of action.

[FiveNotions]

TW, nope, not failure .. success ... you've learned 2 things ... your doc, like most docs, knows squat about this drug and how hard it is to get off it ... and ... bead counting is going to be the method that works best for you ... you've got a job that requires you to be in the best possible frame of mind/body, and a family to look after ... bead counting, slowly over time, is the gest way to go!

 

You are fabulous, my dear!

[TWhil195]

Five, its hard not to panic about staying on a medicine that I believe is dangerous for me. There is a strong temptation to just stop taking it and deal with the consequences. But I have a life I need to function for, and people that need me. So slow is going to have to be the name of the game. I appreciate your encouragement!!

[TWhil195]

Five, its hard not to panic about staying on a medicine that I believe is dangerous for me. There is a strong temptation to just stop taking it and deal with the consequences. But I have a life I need to function for, and people that need me. So slow is going to have to be the name of the game. I appreciate your encouragement!!

[TryinginFL]

Hi TW!  Welcome to our club!

 

So happy to hear that you have decided to do the tapering. I also dove into this mess CT and it was a trip to Hell.  I wish I had found this forum and these wonderful people before being into it 2 weeks.  Unfortunately, I just continued on my trip - AARRRGGG!!

By bead counting, you will not suffer the terrible side effects that we did - I think FN had an even harder time in the beginning than I and there are others here who have done the CT thing - they should chime in soon with their stories.

 

I am now off 8 1/2 months and still not feeling as I would like, but age apparently is a factor as well.  It has been found that folks over the age of 50 have a harder time getting off this crap, and I am well past that!  I am currently taking Alprazolam (Xanax) for anxiety and Hydrocodone for pain due to fibro and arthritis.  I never suffered from anxiety in my life until I quit taking this poison.

 

I have a great therapist (have been seeing him for almost 5 yrs now) which is extremely helpful and have just changed my PCP.  I only saw this PCP 3 times and he wanted to put me back on the C. so I just saw a new Dr. on Mon.  When I told her that I had gone off this stuff and how long ago she had a blank stare and said I shouldn't have done that without a Dr. and that this drug helps many.  I said yes, I guess so, if they stay on it for life.  What if they want to get off?  Another blank stare, so I decided not to pursue the topic.  Otherwise, she seems OK - we'll see.  This is the 3rd Doc I have seen in a yr! 

 

I wish you the best and please keep us posted as to your progress!

 

Liz   

.

[ShadyLady]

Hello TW, Welcome aboard the 'Ship of Fools,' the innocent people that were given the 'magic pill' by the docs they trusted to mask our ails for a short period of time, but not told there is no exit strategy off this poison! Many people on this site have developed a strategy with clear instructions on bead counting that minimizes, or for many, eliminates the torturous withdrawal symptoms. A fellow member, Tria, has written a long, detailed plan that outlines the best bead counting method, imo! You might want to put her name in a search and read her post which was written in the last month...excellent.

I was wondering if the Wellbutrin you were prescribed could be the cause of your headaches...did you start taking it at the same time you down dosed? The reason I ask is I, too, was prescribed Wellbutrin a month ago and have had major headaches:(. I looked up side effects and headaches are one. I have never suffered from migraines or even headaches for that matter...these have been constant and only starting to ease up the last few days. Something to consider or research if the Wellbutrin could be the cause or a contributing factor.

Almost four months off the crap here and I am one sick pup, physically & emotionally, and concur with TFL about the over 50 thing! I didn't know or forgot I read that, liquid brain problem associated with cliff diving off @ 30mg and down dosing from 120mg to 30mg over about a two month period, the biggest mistake I believe I've ever made & I have made some lulus! Please don't measure time, though we all do, as the sloooow method of bead counting seems to be the key in maintaining a functional life as opposed to the debilitating cold turkey method that leaves us walking a deserted landscape in search of the body parts & brain pieces that blew up when we chose to suddenly stop taking the poison not knowing there was an 'exit stragegy' put in place by people reasoning this out...I did not & found this forum after that fact!

Be well & take care of yourself

[TWhil195]

Thanks for sharing your journeys. It's good to know there are others out there who have been through this. And that my doctor isn't the only one who didn't know about the side effects.

On the Wellbutrin, I do suspect that it is contributing to what I'm feeling now since I started taking it at the same time I dosed down. We only started it because we were going to transition to it off of cymbalta. Now that I feel so distrustful of the doctor who kept me on these drugs, I'm not sure i should have even started the Wellbutrin five weeks ago. I might try discontinuing it before I start dosing down on the cymbalta. Any thoughts on this?

[thismoment]

TW

 

FN can probably answer your question better than I, but I'd say (it's a guess) stay on the Wellbutrin. It doesn't promote weight gain or sexual dysfunction as Cymbalta does, and it gives you a dopamine boost which you would normally lose when you start coming off Cymbalta.

 

Look at the Wellbutrin at a later date.

 

Best wishes.

[TWhil195]

Thismoment, I'm worried about getting hooked on it too and then having trouble cing off it later. I was fine at just 60 mg cymbalta and now six months later I'm on more cymbalta and another drug to counteract the negative effects of cymbslta. Ridiculous

[TWhil195]

Sorry for the typos. My frustration is showing

[ShadyLady]

TW, As I mentioned, for me, the headaches are starting to abate at 4 weeks. My doctor told me to 'wait it out a few more weeks' after I called concerned about the severe headaches. I do believe I am starting to feel some of the weight of my depression lifting, fingers & toes crossed;) If the Wellbutrin helps with the side effects of down dosing, I would try and hang on another week or so and see if you might get some relief. My research, along with blogs;), has not led me to worry about the side effects of getting off the Wellbutrin at a future date, if I choose, whew...I will not take ANY drug that is an SSNRI, period!! I've already been to hell and back & do not want to visit there again:(

I think you mentioned the Wellbutrin has given you a kick in energy...weigh that against the headaches & possibly, by stopping it, aggravating the down dosing of the Crap. I hated the severity of the headaches but the darkness of depression, for me, was/is more debilitating...I guess we each must choose our battles, so to speak.

Take care

[thismoment]

TWhil195

 

There is no way to know what's doing what when one drug is being uploaded and the other reduced. My guess is the reduction of Cymbalta is responsible for most or all the symptoms. 

 

Regarding the Wellbutrin, you're already 'hooked' after 5 or 6 weeks so don't worry about that. It should be fully on stream now or pretty soon. 

 

Yes you were fine on 60 C and now you're at a higher dose and on another drug too. That's how it goes because these drugs don't work forever at a given dosage. When we're inside the antidepressant world that's how it goes, like rock-hopping across a stream. Except after a while the stream begins to look like an ocean.

 

Don't try to imagine what's doing what; you can't know. Make a simple plan and move foreword. Try not to impose a timeline on your withdrawal as that has its own baggage with imagined futures. One day at a time until it's done. 

 

Yes you can quit both Cymbalta and Wellbutrin today. Many people have done just that. But there are consequences, and some people can handle them and some can't-- you can't know until you try. It's a crap shoot getting on these drugs and getting off (that information should have been given up front in the form of Informed Consent, but few of us were given that).

 

Perhaps these are your options.

 

1. Quit both cold-turkey. or

2. Get stable and then wean off the Cymbalta but keep the Wellbutrin. and

3. Address the Wellbutrin at a later date.

 

Take care.

[fishinghat]

TW

 

I have to agree with TM option 2 and 3. From what I understand the wellbutrin withdrawal is not as bad as Cymbalta but I have no direct experience.

[TWhil195]

You guys sound smart and way more patient than me. but you are right, I can be irritated I'm in this place, or I can make a plan and move forward.

Going to give it a few weeks to get stable again before I start the cymbalta dose down. And I'll worry about the Wellbutrin later. I do like that it reduces my appetite since cymbalta made me pack on the pounds.

[gail]

TWil, smart move!

Cymsik, seems as if there is progress here today, enjoy it, happy for you. A respite!
Fingers crossed and everything that can be crossed.

[psychrn]

I am new in here and first started investigating Cymbalta (I am on 30mg) because if I was just a little late with taking it - like 8 hours - I would have the vivid dreams I see mentioned. Reading the posts makes me aware of the other symptoms I also had been experiencing could also be related. As a nurse I went 35 years with depression that was left untreated because I had to avoid the stigma. When having depression became more acceptable I tried Prozac which had impressed me in some of my patients. After 10 years on Prozac I tapered myself off from 60 mg when I realized I wasn't feeling depressed, I wasn't feeling anything! Cymbalta seemed a good choice as I had fibromyalgia. I was briefly as high as 60 but only for a month when I went back to 30. I like the bead counting idea and will begin that as I don't like being on a drug that I have such sensitivity to with even a few hours of withdrawal. Thank you for all the useful information I have found here.

[TWhil195]

Good luck psychrn. Go slow!!

[fishinghat]

Welcome psychrn. You have a good plan to start with. Like TW95 said. Sssllooooowwww.

[Carleeta]

Psychrn, Welcome to the forum and for sharing your story.  It appears you have a good control over yourself, and you are listening to what your body is telling you.  This is a very important step in your goal to stop Cymbalta.  Just listen to what your body is telling you as you go through this process.  You know your body best!  good luck and please keep us posted....