6 replies to this topic

[thismoment]

Hi all.

Today is my third anniversary off Cymbalta!

My most significant take-away from this experience is this: withdrawal begins as a struggle defined by reluctance and resistance, but it slowly morphs into an undefined and wandering journey of resolve and finally, acceptance-- you just have to go with the flow.

We begin by demanding it be over by September; then we hope for peace by Christmas; then we pray that we return to the way we used to be by spring. At some time during the foggy walk the visibility begins to pick up and then you can make out shapes, trees, and terrain. One day the horizon emerges in mid-thought, and you know you're going to be alright!

Symptoms slowly fade away, like the slope toward the thin point of a wedge-- like the horizon on the ocean-- that fine line that is neither sea nor sky.

Keep the anxiety down. Accept that you can't impose a timeline on the withdrawal event. Get out and find activities that will distract your mind from constantly staring into that mental mirror and picking out flaws. Find a therapist you can talk to.

When you get to the point where you can acknowledge that you aren't dying, you don't have a brain tumor, and you don't have stomach cancer-- look into Mindfulness and Mindfulness Meditation-- these strategies and disciplines will help you cope with things that formerly would have brought you down.

That automatic, admonishing and critical voice in your head can be encouraged to be still. There is only one you, even if it appears that there's two or three. Mindfulness will help you see that there's only you, and you're okay.

After three years I am in a place of relative stability and I look positively toward the future. It's not perfect, but it's not bad. I still have short-lived events that feel like ripples of withdrawal, and I still have a few symptoms that continue to fade: tinnitus, headache, unsteady balance, and GI instability. As I've said before, I didn't land in a familiar place-- but it's a vast improvement over where I was before Cymbalta and where I was on Cymbalta (that was a nightmare).

To all of you withdrawing-- you're not going crazy-- but you do have to put in the time until you simply don't notice it anymore. Forget about assigning a timeline to be back to normal; it's done when it's done. And set free the notion of returning to a snapshot-in-time of who you used to be sometime in the past. You will come through this and be in a healthy place from which to plan the rest of your life.

Take care.

[TryinginFL]

TM,

 

Congratulations!!  What a wonderful post - most of us are struggling to be where you are, my friend.

[Ramona80]

Congratulations on 3 years off!

[Clara]

Congrats thismoment! You seem to be doing well! Just dropped by to see my old friends! I hope and pray you are all well! Me, I am doing ok! Just when the Cymbalta blues go away, here comes Graves disease and throws me for a really huge loop! Prayers appreciated! Hugs to liz, f'hat, tm, fivenotions, and any others my poor brain cannot recall! I think of y'all often and say a prayer that God continues to heal and prosper you! Love, hugs and prayers!   clara

[hyg]

ThisMoment, 3 years--HOORAY!!! I am beyond happy for you. Hope you did something amazing to celebrate... Hyg

[Sleepyhead]

I am very happy to read of your success. Thank you so much for sharing it here. It means a great deal to me to hear all of what you have said. I especially appreciate your reminder to not expect as timeline even though we all want off this drug quickly. I appreciate that this comes from your having gone through it and reached the destination we all are going for.

[navywife43]

Woo Hoo! Congratulations!!!!