8 replies to this topic

[dominic]

Hi all, 

 

Sorry if this post is made in ignorance to readily available information, I have been researching but am yet to quite find what I'm looking for, and I hope that someone here can help me out even a little! I have had depression varying in degree for around 10 years, have taken other medications in the past and also done my dash with multiple addictions, and my little 'life saver' as I called it (our beloved cymbalta) entered my world 6 months ago. Because of complications with other withdrawals and fluctuations in my depression, anxiety and array of other little goodies that share my existence, my dosage for the last few months (cymbalta) has been 120mg daily, which regretfully was in combination with other substances also. For all this kept me on the horse (I think, who even am I), things became way out of hand upstairs and recently I gave it all the flick, last of which was cymbalta, and was I not expecting this. My query here is in relation to dosage vs time. I have read multiple reports of people experiencing ranging withdrawals after merely weeks, or often years. Does anyone have experience in completing withdrawals after similar usage patterns as my own? These symptoms are all pretty familiar because of experience with other substances, mentally if there's one thing I'm good at its handling my brain bending every which way 50 times a day, but right now the frequency of brain zaps is ridiculous! I can't even finish a sentence trying to research for my studies without my vision swallowing itself and jolting me in my chair! I think more than anything else this process will send me crazy, not to mention the damage I already see it to be taking on my studies and behavioural integrity, for which I care very much. Please excuse the rant, yet I suppose it's nature reflects why we are all here anyway...

 

Dominic

[fishinghat]

Welcome Dominic

 

I have been on this site for many years know and while dose and duration play a factor the one key thing I have noted is that age and weight (Cymbalta is fat soluble and is stored in the fat tissues) seem to be strongly linked to the severity and length of withdrawal. The more meds you are taking with it can swing things one way or another. I hope this helps.

[thismoment]

Dominic

 

I agree with fishinghat.

 

You've been on Cymbalta for just 6 months, but you mention you took other medications in the past for depression, and surely some of them were serotonin-related meds like SSRIs. The long-term use of serotonin-related meds will figure into your withdrawal from Cymbalta.

 

And as FH said, the other meds-- regardless of their source-- will also figure in, but there's no way to assess the total combination. Drug interactions may be checked at drugs.com under 'interactions'.

 

You have experience with withdrawal, and that will surely help you deal with this. The brain zaps will go away by either going back on duloxetine and then weaning off slowly, or by simply toughing out the cold turkey and they'll be gone in a week or so.

 

Best wishes!

[dominic]

Thank you both for your quick replies, I hadn't come across any information regarding body fat as of yet which gives me some added reassurance, I maintain reasonably good health and do not have much body fat. My depression and anxiety are in greater check than they have been in my life through extensive self development both independently and with professional help. I am starting to see light at the end of the tunnel after a rough 6 months of withdrawals from several other substances too. I think that may be why this is hitting me so hard! It was pretty devastating to after all my hard work over the years with my mind and various substance interaction, to discover that when I thought I was reaching the finish line, the one drug that was supposed to be helping me has potentially set me back the furthest. 

[thismoment]

dominic

 

 "It was pretty devastating to after all my hard work over the years with my mind and various substance interaction, to discover that when I thought I was reaching the finish line, the one drug that was supposed to be helping me has potentially set me back the furthest."

 

That is a very astute observation, and you're not the first to note it. You have a good grasp of what's happening and you will get through; stay strong!

 

Take care. 

[FiveNotions]

Wow, Dominic, you've accomplished a wonderful amount with the meds and your health !! Congratulations!
 
Am I correct that you've quit Cymbalta cold turkey? If so, how long ago?
 
If it's not too long since you quit, I'd urge you to get back on it, at the lowest dose at which you can stabilize ... wait until the zaps and other symptoms have stopped, and then dose down using the bead counting method ... the slower one goes with this drug, the easier it will be for the brain to re-learn how to produce / regulate it's own serotonin levels ...
 
The zaps, and all the other Cymbalta withdrawal symptoms you may experience are due simply to the brain being hit with a sudden shortage of serotonin, due to cold turkey ... your brain needs time, and lots of rest, in order to re-wire itself ...
 
If you need to stick out the cold turkey, I assure you that you can survive ... it's just a hard route to go ... I was on 60 mg/day for 7-8 years, and had to quit cold turkey in December 2013 (lost insurance). It took me until about September 2014 to get to the point where I could return to work ... at a telecommute job, which allowed me to rest / sleep as needed....

However, based on what you've described, you're clearly doing far better than I was ...
 
I had the zaps for about 2 weeks ... early on in withdrawal ... the sensation that my brain was sloshing around inside my skull, seeing bolts of lightning, etc... kinda' like a bad acid trip  (ahem, not that I'd know anything about that )
 
They gradually faded away, as they will do with you ....
 
I'd suggest taking a basic group of supplements .... many of us here have / still do use them ...
 
For the zaps, chelated magnesium and Omega 6 helped me a lot. (Just a caution, FH discovered research that indicates magnesium can cause / increase anxiety in a small percentage of people, and one of our members, TryingInFlorida, experienced that.)
 
Also, a good multivitamin and B-complex. Drink lots of water, avoid caffeine and alcohol.

 

I also found that lying still, flat on my back, in a darkened room or with something covering my eyes, helped a lot ... again, the more rest you can get, the better ... not necessarily sleep, but just keeping activity and stress to an absolute minimum ...
 
Keep us posted, you've made it through so much already, you're most certainly going to come through this as well !

[dominic]

Thank you for the great message FiveNotions, I made the decision last night to resume Cymbalta and from what I can tell my body responded well to a single 60mg capsule, which I'm hoping I can re-stabilise myself on without having to go back to 120mg a day, so I'll see how the next few days pan out. I have an appointment with my doctor tomorrow as well at which I'll be making extra sure my prescription is to be maintained for the entire duration of a comfortable taper, I get along with her really well and have seen her for several years so I'll be very surprised if she isn't willing to support me. The medication and several dosage increases were her idea anyway. I experienced the coffee fun yesterday which was a lesson learned and I've recently moved out of the harder yards of alcohol withdrawals so I'll be extra extra sure to be staying away from that as well. For all I am extremely determined on having this drug out of my system, it's been a long 6 months binning a lot of other bad habits, if the option is available for me to taper I really would rather be able to take control of my life again instead of fighting another battle with bullshit. I literally cannot get over the amount of help and support this forum and the community around this drug provide. I hadn't looked into the withdrawals previously (which I really regret). In a matter of days, which after a day off cymbalta I felt so much better, but things turned every day after, yet less than a week on I feel back in control and have a plan, thanks to yourself and to everyone else who has approached me and this post. If I know myself, which I certainly do, I quite simply would not be in this position without the service you and all the others I have read about and spoken to have provided. Amazing. With some close attention I hope I can devise a detailed taper and action plan of my own in the hope of one day passing on the very same service to someone beginning their road (or slap it out of their hands if I EVER see someone having a script for this processed). Stepping forward from the last year of my life, words cannot explain how grateful I am. Thank you all. 

[FiveNotions]

That's great news, Dominic !

 

Man, you are so lucky to have a good therapist ... they are far and few between these days !

 

We've got a ton of info posted here on how to bead count your way down / off the crapalta ... in particular, there was a discussion I'd started ages ago in which I'd sort of compiled all the best info I could find from various other threads, and that we'd all added to ... something like "Bead Counting, how to do it" ... I just tried to find it and had no success ...

 

FH, TM, TFL, Gail ... do you guys remember this one? If so, could you find it and post the link here?

 

In any event, the bead counting gurus here can help you do this, Dominic ... I don't feel qualified to tell you, given that I used the "crash test dummy" method (a/k/a cold turkey)

 

Let us know how it goes with your therapist tomorrow !

[dominic]

Hopefully I or someone can dig up your post over the next few days, I'm happy with how I feel on 60mg so unless anything drastically changes I hope to make a start on my taper over the weekend or at the beginning of next week. In several ways I'm glad I did experience a few days without it altogether, it definitely developed a level of respect and admiration for those who experienced it as you did! I don't know if you or anyone else noticed or agrees with this, but I won't forget all too soon the way I felt after one day either. I could see I was getting a lot angrier over insignificant things, but I felt 'free' for want of a better word, lighter. Before the withdrawals really kicked in anyway. It was good to have that comparison and then to come back to being on the medication, for all I'm settled I can really feel the difference in myself. All the more motivating to get this over and done with though! I'll be sure to post an update in the morning (Australian boy)