4 replies to this topic

[Traceyish]

Hello everyone, I'm new to the forum. Before I found out I was pregnant I had seen my GP about getting off of Cymbalta. I had been taking 60mg for about 2 years. She suggested a standard weaning program where you cut down the dose every few days over a 3-4 week period. She suggested taking Benedryl to help with the withdrawl symptoms. Very shortly thereafter I found out I was pregnant and decided to go cold turkey instead of trying to wean off slowly. It was bad..... brain zaps, tracking, nausea, dizziness, feverish, dibilitating fatigue, diarrhea, restless legs, burning eyes. I couldn't  tell whether the Cymbalta withdrawl or the pregnancy was causing these extreme symptoms because they are both so similar. My OB decided that the stress that my body was under was not good for the developing baby and told me to go back on a low dose of Cymbalta. This is when I began the fantastic world of bead counting.  I got the dosage down to 39 beads which seemed to be the magic number. If I took even one bead out I would experience all of the aforementioned symptoms with a vengeance. My OB said it was such a low dose that she was not concerned it would harm the baby. I was absolutley stuck - I couldn't function without the Cymbalta but I did not want to be taking the crap especially worrying about the "what if" the baby was being harmed. We ended up moving and my new OB was adamant about wanting me completely off of Cymbalta by the third trimester. She said there are no studies to prove it's safe or to prove it's unsafe - so the best course of action it to NOT take it. She put me on Prozac along with a weaning schedule. It seemed to work. I am down to 10 beads... today I cut down to 5. The symptoms I am having now are severe skin itching, insomnia, restless legs, nausea, diarrhea. I am getting so worn down with the lack of sleep. As soon as I try to lay down my skin feels like there are millions of little insects biting me. I can't be still and I'm exhausted. I can deal with the nausea and the diarrhea but this skin crawling itching sensation is wearing me down mentally.  Being pregnant I don't have the luxury of taking medications to try to combat the symptoms. I've been trying acupuncture, and a host of natural remedies but nothing is working.  I've got 5 weeks left till the baby is due and I am feeling like I'm losing my sanity. Once the baby is born I will be breastfeeding. I am stuggling with making it through these next five weeks with the current symptoms I can't even begin to think about trying to get through long term this way.

[FiveNotions]

Tracey, welcome to the forum, I'm so glad you found us! And congratulations on your wonderful news about being pregnant!
 
You... and your baby ... can and will make it through this ... we'll do everything we can to help you ...
 
First and foremost, please realize that your doc, and most all docs, have no clue what this drug is like, how hard it is to get off of, or the best way to do it ... bead counting is really the only way to go .... it is best for you, and best for your baby ...

Just remember, babies go through withdrawal from SSRIs too ... if a mom stays on them during the pregnancy, the baby is getting the SSRI from the mom. When the baby is born, it immediately stops getting the drug (in this case, Cymbalta) ... and goes through cold turkey withdrawal .. you already know what that feels like for you, so that is what your baby is feeling ... in the womb ... and why you must, absolutely must, go slow and bead taper ... and, that's what your baby would experience after birth if you keep taking the drug during pregnancy ... that's harsh for me to say, and for you to read, I know ... but it's the truth that no doc will tell you ...

It is definitely possible to get off this drug and have a very healthy pregnancy and a healthy baby ... others here have done it!!
 
We've had other members here who are pregnant and getting off crapalta, and who are planning to get pregnant and getting off the drug before doing so .... I'm going to search through the forum archives and post as many links to their posts and the discussions that we've had as I can find ... I'll put them here for you as fast as I can find them.....

You can also search the archives yourself ... using various "keywords" or phrases ... use the search box in the upper right of the home page ...

Here are the threads I've found so far ...

https://www.cymbalta...aw-and-pregnant

https://www.cymbalta...-my-unborn-baby

https://www.cymbalta...g-off-the-devil

https://www.cymbalta...ity-to-conceive

https://www.cymbalta...g-beads-weening

https://www.cymbalta...and-withdrawing

https://www.cymbalta...pregnant-help-x

https://www.cymbalta...w-pregnant-help

https://www.cymbalta...wl/?hl=pregnant

https://www.cymbalta...etting-pregnant

https://www.cymbalta...alta-withdrawls

https://www.cymbalta...ta-and-klonopin

https://www.cymbalta.../4378-pregnancy

https://www.cymbalta.../4127-pregnancy

https://www.cymbalta...ta/?hl=pregnant

[Flossy]

Hi Tracey
Congratulations on your pending little bundle!!!
I was having so much trouble reducing past a certain point so went to see an addiction specialist last week. He told me that your brain is incredible at healing and adjusting, however it takes time!!! So although your body is at say 30mg, if you are not adjusting to that dose, it means that your brain is not able to adjust as quickly as you want it to. The best advice he had for me was to do nothing for a minimum of 2 months and then to extremely slowly start to bead count. He was amazed and shocked at how fast I had been weaning, 4 months to be exact, and he said this should have been a 2 year process not 4 months (I started on 180) and when I tried going from 60 to 45, my body just rejected the drop, after 6 weeks I was still so sick! So back up to 60 and now just sitting with it!
I know you don't have the luxury of this time, however I hope this sheds some light on to why you are feeling so awful, and that things will improve as your brain very slowly adjusts! 😊

[Jones]

My gosh flossy
A doctor who knows abouth this withdrawal ? How great you found him !

[FiveNotions]

Flossy, any chance you could contact this amazing, one in a million, neurologist or his office nurse, and ask if they have any info on getting off this shit when one is pregnant?

 

Tracey sure could use it, and it would make a wonderful addition to our "stash" on this topic ... I'm going to start a new topic for "Pregnancy and Cymbalta," and put all those links above into it, along with any decent research I can find ...

 

Tracey, how are you feeling today?