I have been withdrawing – cold turkey – for eight days now. THIS HAS NOT BEEN FUN. I found four capsules in my suitcase this morning. I’m not sure if I should take any of the Cymbalta or not. I don’t like the fibromyalgia pain I’m in, but I don’t want to ever have to withdraw like this again. I like that I have more desire to do things now. It seems that Cymbalta not only numbed my pain, but my enthusiasm.
I have had a diagnosis of fibromyalgia since 1994. I have taken my self-care very seriously and five years ago I was in the best shape of my life. I made a mistake and pushed myself from running 5 to 10 k to training for -- and running, successfully -- a (very slow) half marathon. After, chronic pain put me in bed and threatened to keep me from exercising at all, so I turned to medication for the first time. My doctor prescribed Cymbalta or Lyrica. My insurance company required I try Cymbalta before taking Lyrica. Cymbalta worked for the pain.
I have been on Cymbalta for five years.
I took 30mg of Cymbalta daily at bedtime for two years. I was able to run short distances again, but I didn’t really want to. Was “Idontwanna” a side effect of Cymbalta or was it just me? When I started the medication I had the side effect of headaches -- which the pharmacist insisted was not a side effect -- and hearing voices on occasion, like my husband's blood curdling scream from the other side of the grocery store. I knew the screams were not real, but they were still startling. After a few months these side effects went away. My experience with Cymbalta for pain was good.
It dulled my pain to a manageable level, helped me sleep, and generally made me feel like I'd been drinking red wine which is always a good thing in my books
Three years ago my family and I went through a crisis. Dad and my teenaged daughter were both hospitalized with serious illnesses, Dad three hours away, Daughter six hours away. My self-care for fibromyalgia went out the window. I was sedentary in cars and hospital rooms, eating poorly, and I became anxious. My doctor increased my dose of the Cymbalta to 60mg at bedtime instead of adding different medications.
If I missed my medication I had a terrible headache.
I've recently been diagnosed with migraines.
At my doctor's appointment one week ago he did not renew my prescription for Cymbalta and I didn’t know this until I got to the pharmacy. I do not know if this was an error or if he intended to change my treatment for my fibromyalgia and migraines. (My doctor is terrible. He doesn’t talk to me, he won’t answer my questions, he simply says, “see you next month.” I’m Canadian. Finding a new GP is darned near impossible here.) When I realized I had no more Cymbalta I asked the pharmacist to give me enough to wean. Here they are legally allowed to do that, but she would not override his prescription and left him a message instead. He didn't reply to the message. I began terrible cold turkey symptoms and came here last week to educate myself and decide what to do next.
COLD TURKEY:
Day One – headache
Day Two - I have a brutal withdrawal headache, my feet and legs hurt so bad it is hard to walk, and I'm really dizzy like I'm drunk. I almost fell in the shower this morning. I knew this would happen. I’m very moody... like I'm pregnant. Everything makes me well up with tears, which is not appropriate at work.
The timing to go off of Cymbalta is bad. We are having chinook winds; my migraine headaches act up when the wind blows. My daughter moved seven hours away on the weekend and my best friend moved to Texas on Monday. It is going to be very hard for me to tell the docs if my symptoms are from fibromyalgia, withdrawal, migraine, or situational moodiness. This is just bad science.
Laying down to watch my favourite tv show and drink a beer makes me feel better.
Day Three - I'm mostly withdrawn. I'm still dizzy but the sudden wave of fibromyalgia pain and sadness has subsided, thank goodness. I actually felt really good getting out of bed this morning.
The brain snaps are my worst symptom.
I am ravenously hungry. Instead of eating one pudding cup, I inhaled all four in the pack. Emotional eating is not unfamiliar to me and my daughter has an eating disorder, so I come by this honestly but this is nuts.
Day Four – I’m still ravenously hungry. I bought a four pack of pastries at the bakery. I would have shoved all four in my face but my husband yelled at me after three. I’m in a lot body pain.
Day Five – Pushing through pain and doing housework (climbing the stairs to the laundry room in the basement, sweeping and moping, wiping bathrooms) really helps my pain. If I tire myself out with gentle exercise like this, I can lay down and feel good physically. Despite the pain and withdrawal symptoms, I seem to have more desire to do things now.
The anxiety is bad.
I’ve gone from drinking one beer a day to having two to help with pain and anxiety.
Day Seven – My dizziness is 70% gone; I’m ok if I don’t move quickly or move my eyes quickly. The brain snaps are still here. I did not drink any beer today.
Day Eight – The brain snaps are all but gone. I’m only moody when I watch something on tv or the net that sets me off like a commercial.My hunger has normalized. I'm hungry now. I won't binge on sweets.
I found four 30 mg capsules. Should I take a few beads to help with the little bit of brain snaps, dizziness and moodiness or do I just finish detoxing?
Edited by NotLily, 22 January 2015 - 04:55 PM.
