12 replies to this topic

[Nicole80]

Hi. My name is Nicole. I am 34 years old and I have been taking Cymbalta for about four years for symptoms of fibromyalgia. Recently, due to extreme frustration because of significant weight gain (close to 80 lbs in 4yrs) and other symptoms, I foolishly just stopped taking my Cymbalta.

I have a prescription for 30 mg two times per day. I now realize that it was not a good idea to stop taking the Cymbalta cold turkey so I took one of the pills tonight. I only went four days without the Cymbalta, and in that time experienced a wide variety of symptoms, including sleeplessness, dizziness, crying unexpectedly, and other unpleasant sensations. Tonight I am having a severe flareup of sciatic nerve pain, which I have only experienced one other time in my life, approximately six or seven years ago.

Now I am trying to figure out what my next step should be.

I am glad to have found this website, and I'm glad to know that I'm not alone in this craziness. I am worried that if I stop taking Cymbalta, I will have more pain of fibromyalgia, but I do you believe that I need to stop. I spoke to my doctor about the possibility of discontinuing the Cymbalta, but she was skeptical. I know that her concern was that I would be in a high level of pain if I stop taking the medicine, but I don't think she is believing that I have gained weight becauseof the Cymbalta or really taken seriously the other side effects that I have mentioned to her. We talked about the potential of me switching to using Lyrica, but I I have heard that it can also cause weight gain, which needs to stop or I will go crazy. I am young, and I am relatively healthy aside from fibromyalgia, so I do not want to continually gain weight and lose quality-of-life or health (diabetes and heart disease both run in my family) for the sake of these medications.

Guess that's enough from me for now. Thank you SOO MUCH in advance for any advice or guidance you can provide. I read a lot of other posts on the forum, and there were some things that I didn't understand such as counting beads. I look forward to learning more.

~Nicole

[gail]

Hello Nicole and wellcome,

Yes, you did the right thing in taking that tablet yesterday.
Only four days off, good time to reinstate.
Two choices, try staying at the 30 for a few days, see how goes or reinstate to 60 and bead count from there.

We don't know how you will react to the 30, could be OK. If you do this, wait to stabilize then you bead count from that moment.

That means you take off 2or3or4or5 beads the first day, you can start with let's see, maybe 3, then the next day 6 then 9 then 12 and so on.
Are you on the generic? That is another matter. Let us know.

If you encounter problems along the way, stop removing, stabilize then continue. This goes for the 60 also.

You are young and your age plays in your favor.
I cannot help with the fibro, don't have this, but many do and should chime in any moment.

As for the weight, it will go down, as your appetite will go down also. With time.

Keep posting, any questions, even if they may sound weird, they are not. See you..don't forget to check the box to your right up, to follow this topic, or you could get lost, I got lost so many times!

[TryinginFL]

Welcome, Nicole!

 

We're happy that you have found us - this is a place filled with wonderful, caring and supportive people - it is very safe, so feel free to vent, cry or whatever - no one will judge you!

 

I have fibro and went off the C. cold turkey (I also was on 30 mg twice/day) over 11 months ago.  I did not know anything about withdrawal and I was 2 weeks in when I found this forum.  I also quit Lyrica at the same time - talk about the trip to Hell!  Yes, I had gained weight as well, and it does come off slowly as your appetite decreases.  Exercise is good too, if you are able and you are fortunate that you are young. 

 

Gail is absolutely correct about the bead counting and there is a forum under "Are You New Here" if you haven't found it yet. This is the easiest and most comfortable way to get off this crap as the Dr.s  don't have a clue about the withdrawal.  Just ask....  you will get a bunch of crap or they will tell you there is no withdrawal.

 

I will say that the pain from the fibro has increased as I have come off this poison drug, but my PCP prescribed Hydrocodone for that, and it works quite well.  I also use Ibuprofen.  I have also found that massage therapy is a great help and if you get a RX for it, the insurance will cover it.  I have been having this for about 2 years now, on a weekly basis, and it has helped a good deal.

 

Please post often to let us know how you are doing and feel free to ask questions - we care and we want to help!

 

Liz

[Nicole80]

Hi Gail and Try, thank you for replying to my post. It's encouraging to know that I'm not alone. I did feel somewhat better today after having taken the 30 mg last night, so I did take another 30 mg tonight. I think I will continue to take the 30 at night time for the next few days and see how I feel. Thank you for pointing me in the direction of the section about bead counting. That makes sense, and I will give it a try.

You had said that I should mention if I am taking the generic, and I am, so any information you can provide or point me in the right direction for to learn more about the differences that I might experience coming off of the generic would be great.

Sitting here tonight, I have been thinking about how I feel about how Cymbalta has been allowed to take away some of my youth, and I want to fight to get it back. Fibromyalgia is it's own challenge, but Cymbalta has caused me so much grief, and I will be really glad to be rid of it if I can. There were so many nights this summer when I was so foggy and apathetic and having other feelings about my weight gain, that I know I allowed myself to just isolate and not push ahead for a better solution for myself, and I can't count the number of days that I feel have been wasted in that funk. I don't want to spend unnecessary time with vain regrets, but I am really hoping that I can make strong choices to put myself in a better place. In addition to massage which was suggested, another friend of mine has suggested acupuncture, and that's something I never would have thought I would consider, but now I am seeing that I might need to be open to taking alternate routes to get to a place where my fibromyalgia pain is under control, without Cymbalta.

Thank you again for your input and support. I really really appreciate it. I look forward to hearing any other comments that folks might have about fibromyalgia and Cymbalta specifically or anything related to what I have said. I hope you will all have a wonderful weekend. I'll be checking back soon.

[Nicole80]

PS - lol getting ads for Cymbalta on this forum page is kinda funny. :-)

[gail]

Hi Nicole,

In the section Are you new here, you will find the method for bead counting with the generic,october 7th by Fivenotions.

Ads for Cymbalta, long time that I have not seen that!!!

If you decide to bead count, stay on the 30 for a while to stabilize.
A few weeks for sure. See what your body says about it.

Keep us posted, any questions, and look through the archives.

[Laurahokie]

Hi Nicole-
I am a 31 (32 next month) year old female with Fibromyalgia as well. I am ob a ten week plan to wean off of Cymbalta. I have some of the same concerns you do. I am taking vitamin B and Magnesium and it helps some. i also have lost 30 lbs and want to lose 15 more. i gave up gluten and dairy for over a year now with 3 days a year where I allow cheat days. Anyways- losing weight has helped immensely with my Fibro pain. When I look at Cymbalta side effects, many if them mimic my symptoms which makes me say what the heck?!

Anyways- I am worried, excited, hopeful, scared, etc... My family tries to ve supportive but I feel kind of lonely in this battle. Good luck and keep me posted!

Laura

[Nicole80]

Good morning!

Gail--thanks for the welcome. I appreciate the tips, i'll definitely check out the posting about bead counting with the generic. I think that will be really helpful.

Laura--it's fun that we are similar age and dealing with similar things. It's encouraging. Congratulations on your weight loss and steps you're taking moving forward. I really hope that if I keep pushing I will also be able to lose some weight. I know that weight-loss won't solve my pain issues completely, but I am really hopeful that it will help, like you said. I also went gluten-free almost 2 years ago, and I do think it has made a difference, although sometimes I question whether it's really the gluten or something else. I recently started taking vitamin B complex, and I hadn't considered also take a magnesium supplement. That's an interesting idea. What made you decide to take the magnesium?

[Nicole80]

don't forget to check the box to your right up, to follow this topic, or you could get lost, I got lost so many times!

I'm so glad I did this --thanks, Gail! Got email this morning about new comments. So convenient!

[TryinginFL]

Hi Nicole!

 

I have heard of acupuncture for fibro and knew someone that swore by it.  You might like to give it a try - I have not, but have thought about it.

 

Regarding the ads...  there is an app that you can add to your system called Adguard - check it out - it is easy to download and you won't have to see those horrible ads!  It is free for a certain amount of time and then 19.95 (for a yr, I think).  Anyway, I am so happy to have it and not see that crap every time I come on here!

 

Just a word about the magnesium - I took it and found it to be a help with both the fibro and arthritis...  unfortunately I began to suffer extreme "freezing" anxiety and found out that 4% of people taking magnesium develop the anxiety - of all things - I had to be in the 4%!  The anxiety faded when I stopped taking the magnesium (had been taking it for 3 months!).  Just an FYI....

 

Happy to hear that you are feeling better - please keep posting!

 

Liz  

[Clara]

Hi Nichole and Laura! Welcome! You two def' have your age on your side in this w/d process! Us older farts seem to have a harder time! Keep up the good work! Fight with all you have to overcome the Crapalta! You can do it and we're here with love, prayers and support!

[Laurahokie]

Thank you so much! I am going to bead counting for generic as well!

Nicole- aren't you so happy we found this site?

[Nicole80]

Tryin- thanks for the heads up about the magnesium. I'll definitely keep that in mind. I'm not sure if I'm going to try adding the magnesium or not. I think I have to read a little bit more about it.

Clara- thanks for the welcome. I really appreciate the support and encouragement!

Laura- oh my goodness yes. I feel like finding the site has helped me to feel like it's realistic to actually do this, and I think it makes the possibility of some withdrawal symptoms easier to bear. I'm excited to see if you have good luck with the process. Please definitely keep posting about how things are going for you. At this point, my plan is to continue taking 30 mg at night for the next two weeks. I haven't quite decided what I will do after that. I'm also going to call the acupuncturist my friend recommended. We'll see what happens.