9 replies to this topic

[WendyK]

Hello All, My name is Wendy and I have been on Cymbalta 60mg for 8 years now. I have been reluctant to switch to the generic so I have been paying for the "real stuff". Every so many months or so, my insurance raises the price. I picked up my prescription today and it was over $200. Last month I only paid $125. For the last 6 months or so I have been contemplating coming off of the medicine mainly because of the price, but mostly because I truly feel that I don't need it anymore. Needless to say I have not started yet because of the numerous horror stories that are out there about withdrawals from Cymbalta. However, after what I paid today...I feel so fed up!!! I want to get off of this medicine.

I started taking medicine more than 10 years ago for anxiety. I have not been depressed in many many years so when I got on the medication, it was to deal with my anxiety/worry/mild OCD/and because of a bad relationship. I started with Prozac/Zoloft/Paxil and then found that Effexor worked the best for me. After 4 years on Effexor, my Dr switched me to Cymbalta. Knowing what I know today...I wish I would have just stopped medicine completely and learned how to deal with the anxiety naturally.

When I went through my short stint of depression, I overcame it by meditation, yoga and exercise. I went from never leaving the house and being afraid to be in public to feeling great, moving out of my parents home, getting a job and starting life. Then I met someone who at first seemed so wonderful...but a year later turned into being a nightmare. I suffered mental and physical abuse for almost five years before finally being able to leave. It was during this time that I started the medication treatment.

Needless to say, I am no longer with that person and eventually met someone who has been a true dream. And we have been together for 8 years. Yes, instead of coming off of the medicine when my life turned around, my Dr switched me and wanted me to go to a higher dosage. I talked him out of that thankfully, but obviously have still been on a form of medicine. Then after 6-7 years on this medication and feeling really great learn that it is the worst one.

Now my only thought is....."I want off!" I want to try and see about living my life without the aid of prescription drugs. After all of the horror stories I have read, I am glad to see so many people who have found light at the end of the tunnel and it gives me so much hope. (honestly, I need it because I am super scared and framed out about the withdrawals.)

However.....

I am now formulating a plan to get off this stuff. I am going to make an appointment for the Dr for next week and hope to start by going down from 60 to 30mg and hope that will work for me. If I have to substitute with something different, to help cope, then I will. I plan to take it one step at a time and hope that it works out. If that plan doesn't work, then I will try something else. I will continue to think positive about this and I will beat this! I'm really glad I found this forum! Congratulations to all who have beaten it and please Wish Me Luck!

I also plan on using this site to help me get through anything that may arise over however long it takes. For the first time in a long while I really do feel that it is possible to finally take the plunge and leave this medicine in the past!

Wendy

[thismoment]

Hi Wendy

Welcome!

I understand your desire to be off meds and start afresh. It's what I did and I have never regretted it.

Here's a few suggestions for you to consider.

-Stay with the brand name Eli Lilly for weaning because it has more beads per capsule which enables you to tailor your weaning in fine increments.

-Don't do any large step-downs in dosage-- wean down slowly including from 60 to 30. Otherwise your're winging it-- it may work and it may not. The weaning, however, has a greater likelihood of being successful.

-With 8 years of exposure at 60mg you should consider a gentle weaning program over about 6 months. If you took 200 days to withdraw, you could reduce by 1/2 of 1% per day.

-Your doctor may propose dropping straight from 60 to 30, alternating days, alternating dosages etc; do your own research-- start with Eli Lilly and see what they say about weaning off-- your doctor may suggest something wildly different. Eli Lilly says to wean off slowly with no steps and no missed days. Further they say if symptoms become difficult, level off where you are or even go back up a mg or two until you stabilize. Then continue weaning, but at a slower rate.

-Even if you upload another drug like Prozac, you still have to wean off Cymbalta, but perhaps over a shorter span-- like say 3 months.

-Plan to have a standby med like hydroxyzine, clonidine, or a benzodiazepine like Advil for as-needed to control anxiety. Benzos are as addictive as any of these and if you become dependent through daily use, you'll have to wean off that too-- and it could be as tough as Cymbalta to beat. As-needed only.

See what your doctor has to say and your adventure will begin!

Best wishes!

[TryinginFL]

Welcome Wendy!

 

You have received excellent advice from TM above and the only thing I will add is please, please wean off gently using the bead counting!

 

I came off 60mg cold turkey in Jan. of 2014 and DO NOT recommend it!  The entire year was horrendous and you don't want to go through that!  Unfortunately I did not find this forum until I was 2 weeks in, so I just kept on going - what a trip to hell!

 

I wish you the best and please feel free to come back with any questions you may have and there are members here who can help you to work out a weaning schedule - you may also want to check out the topic Bead Counting - How to Do It under Are You New Here?...   The Nutritional Support topic may also be of interest to do.

 

Take care and we look forward to hearing from you as to your decision...

 

Liz

[WendyK]

UPDATE!!!

So, I had my Dr. appt yesterday and I have to say that I am very surprised. Luckily, I went to the appointment filled with some research that I had found not only from this forum but from the FDA's website as well. My Dr. And I talked about ways to wean off of the medicine and at first he suggested moving down to 30mg from 60mg. I had contemplated doing that originally but decided that I really like the suggestion from "thismoment" instead. Plus, I told the Dr that I found information from the FDA's that said the best way was to open the capsule and gradually take out beads. Soooo.....when I told my Dr. this, he agreed! We know it will take much longer to wean this way, but I convinced him that I believe this is the best way to start and I really wanted his support.

I believe it also was thismoment that mentioned to someone in a post about over the first month taking one out everyday. Take 1 on day 1, take 2 on day 2, and so on. I decided that I am going to start that way and see how it goes. After the first 30 days, if all is going well and my withdrawals are minimal, then on day 31, I may try to take out 32 or 33 and see if I am physically and mentally okay with increasing the count like that everyday. I understand that there may be days where I may have to stabilize and not increase the count and I am ok with that. Honestly, at this point I feel like any Decrease from where I am at is better then none.

I also talked to my Dr. about supplementing with the vitamins mentioned on this site and I am definitely going to try that. I am in the process of researching that right now. I have been looking at various vitamins and natural supplements for the last several days and trying to find where I could find some close to where I live. We discussed possibly using Prozac as a booster, but I told the Dr. that I only wanted to go that route if it became absolutely nessecary. (This whole Experiment is to get off of meds completely and see if I really need them.). But, if it is absolutely nessecary, then my Doc is on my side.

My plan for this weekend is to gather more information and to get the nessecary tools/supplies/vitamins that I will need to begin. By the end of this weekend, i want to take a pill or two from the bottle I have and take a count. I am hoping that if they are in the same bottle that they will be the same. I am also going to get me a weekly pill pack so that I can go ahead and get the first weeks pills ready. I hope to have this all completed and start on Monday. (Wish me Luck!)

I most definitely beleive that I am ready to get this started and underway. I call it My Experiment because I feel like I am performing the Scientific Method here. .

I plan to leave updates as I go along and let everyone know of my progress. I want to think you for the information that I have read so far, and want to say that any more suggestions any of you may have are 100% welcome!

I do have a question about the vitamins. If I get them today, do I start right away? Or should I wait a bit? I talked to the Dr about 5-HPT and he said that it definitely helps, but to try to wait a bit until I feel I really need the boost. But, in regards to Omega3 and B vitamins, should I start right away?

One last thing before I go today....I am slightly nervous about starting, but I am also trying to stay positive. I keep repeating to myself that "God doesn't give us anything he doesn't think we can handle." That is becoming my mantra lately. However, any prayers and encouragement any of you wish to give will graciously be accepted. .

Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!

Wendy

[thismoment]

Wendy

 

It's so good to hear that you have a plan in place, your doctor is on your side, and you are emotionally positive and engaged to take on this adventure! We will be here to help where we can, and it's good therapy to come here and post your progress from time to time-- good for you and good for us!

 

You've had long-term exposure to these materials, so your choice to go slow is wise; as you know, there is some correlation between the length of exposure and the difficulty/time endured in withdrawal.

 

Yes, count the beads in two or three capsules to determine an average with which you can work. Save the beads.

 

Taking out 1 on day one and 2 on day two etc is the idea in general, but it's only a template: you need to know how many beads are in the capsules so you can work out a timeline. Once you decide on a timeline (say 6 months) you can then determine how many beads to remove. The timeline should be conservative to begin with-- and if after 4 or 5 weeks if you have no symptoms, you could consider shortening the timeline. The emergence of symptoms will tell you if your timeline is too short. 

 

Should you start with a too-short timeline and encounter difficult symptoms immediately-- you may feel pushed toward the cross-weaning with Prozac-- hence the reason for starting with a conservative timeline.

 

I don't know much about supplements and vitamins; I took Omega 3 and vitamin D only. If you choose to take vitamins you can start them at any time.

 

Indeed, call it your 'experiment'-- Wendy's Excellent Experiment. Use your good judgement, your crisp personal ethics, and your positive mind state to make this a journey of beauty and discovery.

 

5-HTP is a bit of a wild-card and there are cautions to be considered for it's use during withdrawal. As you know it's in the tryptophan-5-HTP-serotonin progression-- personally I would avoid it. Rather, put some tryptophan-containing foods into your diet.

 

I am happy your religious beliefs give you comfort. I wish you all the best!

 

Take care.

[WendyK]

Thank you for your reply. You brought up something that I forgot to add. Saving the beads. What would be the best method? And I found out somewhere that if I re-capsule, I would need to use Extended Release capsules. Where would I find those? Also, is there anyone else who didn't use Extended Release capsules and were ok with that? Or, is it the capsule that is Extended Release or the medication itself? Those are some things I still need to find out before I begin saving and reusing. I have thought about that though since the meds are getting expensive now. I feel like it would e like throwing away money!

Also, in regards to my time limit on weaning. I honestly decided not to limit myself on a time line. I will admit that I am not a very patient person, and I am very stubborn. However, in regards to this I think that taking it one day at a time will be my best bet. I had to have a little talk with myself about being patient about weaning and to go slow for a while. If I get to a point where I feel like I am going too slow, then I will increase how much I reduce. But, you are right in the fact that it is going to be determined by how I feel and what withdrawals I may have. In all honesty, if it takes 6 moths or even a year....then that is how long it will take. I'm really hoping it isn't a year, but I am not setting a time because I don't like to "Set myself up for failure", so to speak. :-) Plus a year weaning is better than many years still on the meds. But, I do know that anything can change and the way I feel about it today could be totally different in a month or two from now.

I think one of the main reasons I will work slowly is because I am more afraid of what withdrawals I may or may not have. Also, right now at work I am going to be very very busy for the next 2 months. I work out in the refinery and we are starting a major Shutdown/Turnaround. For me, personally, I am debating on if it is better to go slow while I am busy or to speed it up because I will be busy and distracted. That is why I decided to start the first month the way I am. After that, I will hopefully have a better baseline to work with and know where I can go from there. And then determine decreasing more beads or staying how I started for a little while longer.

Also, about 5-HPT. I did read that it might not be good to use while on the meds. When I discussed this with my Dr, he did agree. But he also said that if it was something I wanted to try, I would need to be really reduced in dosage before I tried it. I guess I should have explained better on that. (I wouldn't want others to think it is something they should get and try while weaning.) And, I think it would be better to try once I am completely off. (If the need arises.) it is something to have on the back burner for way later. Since I am not quitting cold turkey....honestly I feel a little iffy about it too. At least during the withdrawal phase. So, I agree with you there.

Well, I will go for now. You have me considering a few other things. Thank you again for your advice and well wishes! :-).

One other thing I forgot to add. I talked to my Dr about the vertigo possibility and if I should consider dramamine as others have. He said that any antihistamine would help. Even if I started talking Claritan or Zertec daily, that it would help. I have to still look into that. But, honestly I have seasonal allergies anyway, so I don't know if it would hurt. It might be something that others may want to look into for themselves as well.

Now I am really going. Thank you again! :-)

Wendy

[WendyK]

One more thing. :-). Since I do work where I work I am going to start slow because I also have to take into consideration the safety aspect. Not only for me on the job, but others around me. I work in a field office right now, so I am not around machinery and such, but until I move back into the office building I normally work out of, I will have to take this into consideration. If any of you don't know, Safety in the plants is a very big issue. Obviously! :-).

I move back into the office building in about 2 1/2 months from now and once I am there, I can again reevaluate. So, I do have a small timeline. :-). Reevaluate after 30 days and then again once I move to my regular office.

Anyways, just thought I would add that too. But.....it is still 1 day at a time. (I feel like I am confusing myself now. :-p). Hey, at least I know what I am talking about and that is all that matters! Lol.

Bye again,
Wendy

[thismoment]

Hi Wendy

 

You sound very up-beat, and that's great.

 

I don't think I explained myself very well about the issue of a "timeline", so here goes: The amount of medication one chooses to remove each day establishes the timeline from day One. Of course that timeline may be extended or shortened as needed-- depending on symptoms. Therefore, if a capsule contains 100 beads and the person plans to remove 1 bead today and 2 tomorrow and 3 the next day, that timeline is set at 100 days.

 

The timeline is not intended to be limiting, which is why I suggested being conservative and start with a long timeline-- I mentioned 6 months, but I would consider 6 months a minimum after your long-term exposure. I can't tell you what to do, but consider a timeline of a year. It's the timeline that dictates how many beads you will remove today, tomorrow, and so on. If you encounter painful symptoms, slow down. If it's a breeze, you might consider shortening the timeline by removing more beads. If your capsules contain 365 beads-- at one more bead each day you'd be done in a year. See what I mean?

 

How many beads in each capsule?

 

Gel caps from the pharmacy or health food store will do.

 

The capsules themselves are not delayed or extended release, it's the material inside. Medications are designed for Immediate, Delayed, or Extended release. Immediate release is self-explanatory. Delayed release medications have are enteric-coated, which is a barrier of a polymer formulation that protects the drug from the pH of the stomach; the drug is therefore released further down the tract and usually in the small intestine. Extended release medication is not enteric-coated, but rather is a different formulation that enables metered release of the active ingredient over an extended period of time.

 

Research the 5-HTP before using it.

[fishinghat]

Great Plan Wendy. Good luck.

[Gramie]

Wendy,

 

It sounds as if you have gotten some great advice and support here.  I am also just starting the tapering process.  Prayers for both of us.

 

Gramie