Hello. I am new to this forum.
My husband was prescribed Cymbalta (60 then increased to 120mg) for treatment of chronic pain and depression. He developed neurological symptoms (shaking, tremors) (is that from too much serotonin? toxicity?) and his doctor weaned him down quickly. He took his last dose roughly 4 weeks ago.
He had 2-3 weeks of intense detox/withdrawal including sweating, insomnia, flu like symptoms. He says that he is feeling better physically... He took Ambien for 2 weeks to allow him to sleep. The last 2 nights he has managed to sleep without the ambien.
But mentally he is not okay. The last 3 weeks I have noticed a dramatic change in his personality. He has been angry, irritable, not understanding what people say to him, very emotionally reactive. He has also been emotionally disconnected, insensitive, unable to emphathize, argumentative, and impulsive.
He is not himself. It is causing problems in our marriage (he did something stupid and lied to me) and I do not trust him right now.
We believe that we are dealing with discontinuation syndrome. We are committed to trying to get through this without using more medications as we believe that they cause him physical problems.
I am terrified that I will not get my husband back or that his impulsivity will lead him to do something that I will not be able to forgive him for.
Please tell me that this will get better. Has anyone else dealt with personality changes? Will he go back to normal if we give it time? My marriage is on the line. How long might this last?
Our plan is to not make any major decisions for 6 months and to ride this out. He is exercising, taking fish oil, and we will start seeing a counselor this week.
What are we missing? Please give me hope. This is very distressing.
Thank you.