16 replies to this topic

[reana]

I've been feeling so horrible lately. I started Cymbalta about 6 months ago for depression. At first, I felt so good. My mood improved, I didn't feel so angry, I had more motivation to do things...but then it all spiraled downhill. About 4 months after starting Cymbalta, my heart started to feel like it was racing all the time. I was always getting nauseated, and every time I got up from laying down or sitting, I would get so dizzy and my heart would pound. It became more frequent that I was having to pause and catch myself from falling or falling up against the wall. I did not like this feeling at all. I'm not taking any other medications, so I figured it had to be the Cymbalta. I wanted off of it so I went to my doctor. I found out I gained freaken 11 pounds in the last 1 month (since my last MD visit). I was 131lbs! I'd never weighed that much in my life. I'm 26 yrs old, I go to gym at least 3 days a week and do at least 1.5hrs cardio, how could this be? The Dr instructed me to wean off of it. With my heart feeling weird, she also referred me to a cardiologist. I had to wear a Holter monitor for 24 hours and had to keep a journal every time I got dizzy, which was usually about every 20-30min. I find out the results of that next week.
I've been trying to wean off of this med for about the last month. It is so hard. I get so dizzy, I get heart palpitations, I get really antsy and anxious, I get very frustrated and irritable, I get really itchy. I get really depressed, I think about death a lot and different ways to die. I just hate feeling like this. I feel like it's so hard to control my emotions. I also get them full head/body numbing pangs that last for a split second. I don't what's going on: if I'm going to faint or what then it's gone. They happen so often though, it's so annoying, frustrating, and scary all at the same time. I have no energy. Once I've been off of the pill for about 4 days, my day spent sleeping and so tired. I can't concentrate. I can't remember anything. I hate it! I've never felt like this before. It's interfering with my life and my new marriage. Thank God he's an awesome man and so understanding but I feel so bad for putting him through this. I'm a RN and it's so hard to make it through a 12 hr shift. I regret so bad ever starting this medication...

[Junior]

Reana, I am so sorry that this has happened to you and yes, it IS this horrible, horrible drug. Not sure about the heart thing but it is certainly wise to get it checked out. I'm in the same boat with upper abdo pain. Pretty much everything else you describe is withdrawal though -judging from what everyone here has been saying.
Are you weaning off it or are you off it altogether?

[renee]

Reana,
Your post was important.
My symptoms on Cymbalta were similar.
Hang in there.
How are you feeling today?
You are a champ to be working.
Is the weight starting to come off?
We need to file complaints w/ FDA- I haven't as of yet but I need to. You're post is important.
This site is very helpful.
Thanks for writing.
You helped me . I hope it gets better for you.
Renee

[lynnsyoung]

I read your post and wondered if I wrote it and forgot that I did. I have been reading these post for a while and this one really hit home. I am very afraid that I am going to lose my job because of the mistakes I have been making lately. I try to put everything I can into concentrating at work when all I want to do is curl up under my desk. Every 20 to 30 minutes I get a wave of nausea that makes me immediately freeze whatever I'm doing. That includes talking. My heart races and all I can do is try to breath. It will subside gradually over about 10 to 15 minutes. I am also lucky that my husband is a saint as well and I think he is glad I am getting off this crap. He came to me and said he thought something was wrong because I didn't seem to care about anything or have any goals. (I'm normally always working towards something to improve myself even if I never stick to it) I can't tell anymore if all the aches and pains or feelings are from something real or withdrawal. The noises I hear in my head sound like someone has a fly-swatter and is slamming it on a table of newspapers. They smack it down a few times then stop then do it again over and over. I sit and listen and think how real it sounds that someone is standing behind me doing that and how crazy that would sound to people. I am in week 3 and I am never going back, I just hope this nightmare is over soon.

[nursedeborah]

Well my doc had me go from 60 mg to 30 mg, and by day 6 I was insane, I hadn't slept, had horrible nightmares,
was very, very hyper.

He said to go back on it, and to wait another week. He has me on another med that's why. Well this am, I opened the
60mg, and dumped out some of it to the line so I will know where to do it each day. I will count this as a 50 mg. I will
then go to 40 mg, and go down from there.

I am so grateful for this site, I just thought I was insane being on it too! I have lost my entire life because of it, Yeah
"Slug" is a perfect name for it!!!

Debbie

[Junior]

Debbie, you haven't lost your entire life. You are just going through a period of temporary insanity - one that is drug induced. You WILL get past this. It will just take a while, that's all :)

I am now up to Day 12 (went cold turkey from 60mg) and feeling much more like my old self (as I've written elsewhere). I still have this upper abdo pain which is not gallstones and not due to an ulcer (had a gastroscopy this afternoon) so my latest hypothesis is that I might have a partial (IMO less than half) obstruction of my small bowel. My gastroenterologist wants me to have a colonoscopy so, if that is the case, the preparation should resolve the problem! (fingers crossed). If that's all it is, then I am STILL going to blame Cymbalta because I was fine before I went on it and had GI distress while on it. The flatulence settled in just a couple of days of stopping it, but then I got this problem on Day 4. Hmmmm.............

[renee]

hi everybody, DAY 6 of weaning. Slept well with the trazadone I'm taking. I was active yesterday and social. Generally a happier day, though anxious about my life situation.
Wow Junior! I really don't know how you did it. I'm so glad that you are feeling better and I hope all goes well with your colon.
I also have to tell myself that my life isn't over. Am kinda in the pits right now, but this is the drug and the withdrawal and that there is a lot of hope in knowing that I'm on the right path in getting off of it. I have hope.
Everyone, thanks for your posts.
While on the Cymbalta:
'Wanting to hide under a desk' struck a cord.
Staring out into space...Sleep...zone out...
Yes I wanted to eat, and I used to love to cook, but ended up ordering a lot of take out food and then justifying the expense because of my fibro and my loneliness (tho. I do have a pre teen daughter).
In our town we have to sign up for cable if you want TV and I opted not to because I don't care to have that #@?& coming into my house with a 12 year old daughter. But if I had TV it would have been the perfect complimentary drug for Cymbalta. I could have (and would have) just sat there and stared at the screen.
Today I'm struggling with an old and familiar feeling that I've put people off or irritated them in some way. I waiting for some return phone calls and it's making me anxious.

[reana]

Hey, it's Reana again...well, I'm off this drug for 4 days now. Feeling so so so horrible. I'm going to try to not ever take it again. I had to take a leave of absence from work. It is just not safe for me to work, I can't concentrate, I'm so forgetful, I feel really tearful, and not to mention the brain zaps and constant dizzy spells and heart palpitations. Ugh! Yesterday was my last day of work. At least I can get up to 7 weeks off with full pay, but I'm gonna go back as soon as I can cuz I'm having to use vacation hours and I don't want to use them all up. I'm really disappointed with Cymbalta. I'm def going to look into putting a claim in with the FDA and I'm thinking about talking to a lawyer about this too. My life has been a living hell and now, it is interfering with work, which is my way of living....I'll keep you posted to let you know how this goes and when I start to feel better...

[reana]

OK, I'm completely off this drug for 11 days now, (after weaning for about 30 days of hell with all those withdrawal symptoms). I feel so much better today! I am so happy! No dizziness, no heart palpitations, and no brain zaps all day so far! I have a lot more energy, my appetite is not so big and I'm dropping weight fast ( I gained like 11lbs in one month but it's all coming off now, and with little effort). I feel more able to concentrate and my mind's not foggy anymore, I'm not forgetting things, and I'm ready to go back to work already tomorrow. I hope this lasts and each day continues to get better and better. I just went through about 40 days of pure hell since I started weaning off and now I'm finally at the light at the end of the tunnel. Thank all of you so much for all the posts. It helps so much to know that I was not alone and losing my mind and it was Cymbalta's fault
--REANA

[Houdi]

reana:

Great news! I am really pleased to hear of your progress. You did this soooo much faster than I did. I went cold turkey and it seemed like it lasted FOREVER. Please don't be thrown off if you have a bad day or two in a row, you'll get back to GREAT quickly. When I felt great, I didn't know bad days could come back, I just figured it was all clear sailing. So, I was one of the lucky ones to have a couple of bad days in with the good, and it blind sighted me. Hopefully, you will continue on with the good days and we'll all be VERY jealous. (That's a good thing.)

You are always safe and welcome here. Can't wait to hear more....Houdi

[Junior]

Reana

Wooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo Hoooooooooooooooooooooooooo.. Well done!! YOU DID IT!!!!!!!!!!!!
I'm so pleased to hear of how well you are doing. Keep up the good work :)

[reana]

Yay! 20 days with no cymbalta (after weaning for over a month) and feeling so much better. I still get brain zaps, but not as intense. They make me feel numb all over for a split second and it's annoying, but nothing like before. The zap sound in my head is way less often and not as intense too. My heart palpitations and dizzy spells are few and far in between. I have more energy, my metabolism's kicking back up again and I'm still losing the weight I gained and feeling so good about myself. No more BIG appetite, now I eat normal again. I've been back to work and that's going good, for the most part, I'm able to concentrate and remember things. I'm so glad I stopped this stupid drug, what a mistake for ever taking it! Although I'm not completely out of the woods and still have a bad day here and there, life is getting back on track and I'm feeling a million times better!

[nursedeborah]

Reana,
WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! What an accomplishment. I am so thrilled for you, and so want to be off this noxious drug.

I have been decreasin now since Aug 31, but I am still at 40 mg from a dose of 60 mg.
I just can't take the withdrawls I was getting from going down to fast, or at the amounts I was trying to decrease.

I am having to go ever so slowly, but if that's what it takes for me to get off I really don't care.

Debbie

[Junior]

Hey Deb. Good to hear from you. I was wondering where you were and how you are going. Stupid computers eh?
Don't feel bad about having to withdraw so slowly. I've read a number of stories of others going through the same thing, with Paxil and Effexor. I now think I will be one of those if /when I decide I no longer want to be on SSRIs. For now though, I'm content to stay on Paxil at the 40mg dose - as long as it works! I'm sick of all this crap. I've been offered a part-time job (somehow managed to nail it on 4 hrs sleep! LOL!) in the mental health field. I just want to get on with it and start enjoying life again :)

[nursedeborah]

Junior,
Such great news, and I know that you will be able to do it. Have you ever tried Deseryl for sleeep? I have been on it for over good grief so many years I can't even remember.

It is not really for sleep, but an antidepressant that they found was a great medication for those of us with horrible insomnia. It runs in my family. My sister, brother also take it. I would never be able to sleep without it, well when I do fall asleep without it I don't sleep that great at all, and feel like I have "Jet Lag", and that gives me all kinds of anxiety!!!

When I was still doing nursing 4 years ago I had to be able to sleep. I do look back, and now remember that I was not taking anything for sleeep until my ex boyfriend moved in, and that's when I started having problems!!!! I had totally forgotten that. In fact I was not on any meds at all until I got together with him!!!! He turned out to be a antisocial, and a drug addict. That's another story in itself, due to him I lost everything, and ended up relapsing after 7 years of being clean. Then I ended up having to go back on the meds again, and have been on them since.

I am glad that the Paxil works for you. I got the electrical shocks in my head when I took it years ago. I thought I was a schizophrenic or something. It really freaked me out. Then one night I was watching 20/20 and there were these people on the show talking about all the symptoms they got being on the drug. I went off it cold turkey!!!! Didn't know better at the time. Had been working in psych and saw the doc's doing it to the patients all the time so I just thought what the heck. I was so out of it that I couldn't leave the house, or get out of bed for many months, except to walk the dogs, go figure.

Well I can tell you it's been hard not being here, and having to go it alone. I really depend on all of you to help me, and support me through this. Plus I am getting attached to all , some of you guys!!!

Well I best get going. Now that I have a large place to live in I need to clean it all:)

Love,
Debbie

[al4alston]

In my personal journal I wrote almost the same exact thing you have written. It felt great at first. Now.......Hold on to your seat!!! I can't wait for it to be over!! If it will truly be over as far as withdrawl goes!! How is this affecting your job? I'm scared to how much worse this is going to get. The thing that worries me the most is the "thoughts" I have about death and I have actually tried to hang myself. This is horrible!! I want this to be over so bad!! It is very comforting to know so many people out there are having these same symptoms!!!

[Junior]

Debbie

Sorry I took so long to reply to you. I only just read your post!
You've obviously been to hell and back - in so many ways. I haven't been through what you've been through but I've had my own crosses to bear. I put the whole story in one post in ... oh god..I can't even remember what thread now! I think it was in Maureen's "job vacancy" thread.

I know what it's like to feel down and out - even if not from a financial point of view. I had always wanted children. Family is very important to me. I'm very grateful that I have my son but it's not exactly how I planned it. That part is ok though. It's more that I was unable to have other children. There is a time when I would gladly have given an arm or a leg, or lived in a tent, if I could have had another child. I will always remember the day I just sank into the ground and cried. I felt so empty because I couldn't manage to conceive; couldn't grow a life inside of me. I remember the date too, because I wrote something about how I felt (my way of dealing with things is to just put pen to paper, no matter what actually comes out) - it was 7 June 1996. I never thought I would get over that but you know, somehow I did. I'm not saying it was easy. In fact, 2 yrs later I ended up therapy because I had fallen apart completely. But with help, I put myself back together and found a way forward. For me it was about finding other ways to express my nurturing energy. That's how I ended up back at school, studying psychology. Anyhow....

Deseryl? I haven't heard of that one. Oh, just looked it up. It's Trazadone. Hmm.. I don't even know if it is available here. But don't worry, I've got Temazepam and I know not to take it more than 7 nights in a row. Funny thing is, before I went back onto Paxil, it didn't help me at all O_O. I'd NEVER had that problem before. I believe it works on the GABA system and I DID feel relaxed, but my body still wouldn't let me fall asleep. Long term use of Paxil has obviously caused me some problems, although I was ok when I first came off Lexapro so I'm not sure how much of my current problem is the long term use of an SSRI (apparently insomnia is a side effect of long term Paxil use) and how much is the Cymbalta. I DO know that Cymbalta caused a disruption to my sleep pattern as I felt it when we were on holiday. I started waking every hour or so and that isn't normal and hadn't been my problem prior to taking it.

I know what you mean about getting attached to people here. I feel the same way :)