...an now getting off is making me *almost* as anxious as I was when I was totally depressed and unstable. I keep telling myself that what I am experiencing is not *real* anxiety, but it is very difficult at times to remember. I had been on 60 mgs of Cymbalta for 7+ years. I've been slowly going down to 40, the 20 since the fall. Lately I've been doing 20 mgs every 2 days, every 3 days, every 4 days. I'm trying to go cold turkey. Had my last pill on 12/31! It's been rough with the zaps, angry/anxious feelings, sensitive startle reflex, etc. etc. I am thinking of trying some of the advice here.
Since going down on the Cymbalta, I have increased my visits to my therapist from once every 3 months to once a month. My therapist specializes in stress and anxiety and is well aware of the difficulty of coming off of Cymbalta. My psychiatrist seems a bit dim on the whole process. She only works evenings prescribing meds and has a day job as a researcher at NIH...hey lady, I gotta research project for ya!! GRRRR! She just tells me my body will adjust, with no difference between tapering vs. cold turkey. Hummm....
I got married on 2/15/2014 and my husband and I are thinking of starting a family.The research on taking Cymbalta while pregnant is basically nothing...they don't know what it does. Wondering if switching to Zoloft (which has been studied and is pretty much ok during pregnancy) would help with withdraw. I have been stable and doing well in career, friends/family for so long! It seems as good a time as any to take the plunge!