13 replies to this topic

[Farkle]

Hi Folks. I actally became aware of this by accident. I Was prescribed 60 mg daily of this crap to replace amytriptaline to help with chronic pain and ptsd about a year ago and I though it was working as advertised. I'm a Canadian Veteran with a couple of traumatic military experiences. Anyways, the scrip was running out, and had a shrink appt to sort it out, but for some weird reason, I forgot completely about including this stuff in my daily med regime from about the 22nd of Dec. Anyways, I started feeling really crappy, sweating like crazy at night, and having whacked out short dreams in the disjointed sleep I could actally get. l was also getting those scary bran zap things about every two minutes in spells. Not knowing wtf was going on, I started googling around and realized what had happened by info in forums like this. I took the crap again once I realized what had happened. Rest assured, though, I am gonna get back to my shrnk and get something way less disruptive than this. The withdrawal is hell, so I hate to think what chemical chaos it is causing in my system. There has gotta be something better. I did notice something interesting during this cymbalta free time. I write music as a hobby, and I found myself to be more easily creative in this time. Weird or what!. Anyone else get something like that?
I hope the holidays are good to all

[fishinghat]

Hi Farkle and welcome
 
Yea, the withdrawal is hell for sure and yours was just starting. It will probably take a few days for you to settle down.
 
There are three families of drugs commonly used for ptsd. They are tricyclics (like amytriptaline) which has some wicked side effects, withdrawal and long term effects such as on your heart: SNRI, like Cymbalta, which also have horrible side effects and withdrawal and last SSRI which has bad withdrawals (but not as bad as the other two types) and side effects. Of all of these I would recommend the ssri group which includes Prozac, Zoloft and others. Most are effective against ptsd and can be weaned off less tramatically than say Cymbalta.

 

Creativity? Well I never have been very creative so I am not sure it would have made a difference.  lol

 

Let us know if there is anything we can do for you!!

[lady2882Nancy]

Hi Farkle

 

Thank you for your service to our country.

I can only agree with fishinghat that the SSRI are a better med for PTSD although I am not sure how much they will  help with your chronic pain. For myself I have issues with SSRI and SNRI antidepressants so  I am stuck with amitriptyline for my pain and depression for my PTSD (one of two victims of a violent assault with guns).

 

As to the creativity, yes it was one of the first things I noticed about getting off Cymbalta was that I actually felt like doing some of my art again. I didn't realize just how flat I was feeling until I got off that drug.

 

Take care of you

 

Nancy

[Farkle]

Thanks to you both for yor supportive replies
Just so you know, I am also in the process of becoming a certified peer supporter for folks with mental health issues, and the experience I have had in this field speaks volumes towards the importance of peer support for those facing similar challenges to those experienced supporters. The ability to chat like this on a forum with those that are in the same bucket of sh@t as ourselves is very positive towards enduring these challenges and healing. I will speak to the shrink about changing for sure.
I wonder how the medical mj piece would fit into this, as it is being explored as a treatment option for both PTSD and chronic pain.
Studies are being done in the states as we speak, so hopefully we will have some good empirical data either for or against the use of this stuff before long. I have many brothers in arms, retired of course, who do use it and they say t takes the place of many meds they needed to take.
Any thoughts on that?

[brzghoff]

hi farkle,

 

i really like hearing that you are working towards becoming a certified peer supporter. how does that work? is it in a social services setting?

 

as for the med mj thing for anxiety/ptsd, i've heard that is used somewhat with interesting results. however, mj enhances anxiety in quite a few users as well. that's where the whole mj paranoia comes from. honestly, i used to smoke a lot before and during my 18 years on anti-depressants. however, when i withdrew from the C a year and a half ago i developed severe anxiety. within 2 days i went from being incredibly productive after smoking an entire joint - i painted three rooms in a few hours - to taking a single hit and developing severe anxiety. i learned that mj makes my anxiety worse. way worse. i can't get near it anymore. i am also reading about stronger concentrations (oils/edibles/shatter/vaporization) and how they are more easily accessible due to legalization in colorado, wash state, etc. as a result more and more mj induced panic attacks are being reported in ERs. 

 

i've never quite understood why it works to relieve anxiety for some, doesn't do anything for others and aggravates it in yet others. i've read the indica (bad for anxiety) vs sativa (good for anxiety) discussions, interesting, but for me, i'll just stay away. 

[Farkle]

Hey Brzghoff
I hope the festive season has treated you well. The peer support in mental health thing is a relatively new approach to recovery and healing from mental health challenges. The approach is built on, amongst other approaches, the AA model , where a peer, defined as one with similar lived experience and well along the path to recovery, supports others by being available to listen, reframe, and empower to help them move through their particular traumatic event and it,s effects. Building resilience is how I see it. My interest is in helping veterans suffering from what we refer to as Operational Stress Injuries to either get back to operational duty, or to reintegrate back into the civilian community in a healthy productive way. Like I say, peer support thing is kinda new in the mental health arena but gaining ground. info if you would like is available through the mental health commission of canada web page, or through psacc ( peer support accreditation Canada) there are organizations involved in peer support Stateside too, links to them are in the peer support area of the mental health commission website.
You are quite correct on the medical pot thing. The jury is still out as to whether or not the benfits outweigh the risks, but as I say, it is creeping closer to mainstream here in Ontario. From what I read, the component that actually helps most with anxiety, sleep and other well being issues is the canniboid that isn't responsible for giving the" high" one gets from grass, or the paranoia, the THC. Again, all evidence on this is anecdotal, but there is a large study on right now by the DVA in Arizona that may give some clearer evidence.
On the crapzalta thing, I am shocked at how wide spread the negative effects of it are, and how many people are affected. I am still gonna get off it asap. The six days ir so I was off was not pleasant at all. I am not looking forward to transitioning to something else. Before getting prescribed this, I had been on Elavil but it dried my mouth out horribly. Still, dry mouth beats the brain zaps and apathy for sure.

[brzghoff]

thanks farkle, as festive as the season is, i am glad its over! it treated me well, but i don't treat myself very well during it - i allow the pressure to get to me. 

 

the peer support idea sounds wonderful. sounds like a lot of mutual benefit.

 

i have heard of CBD being investigated for a variety of uses. it's been approved in florida under the nickname "charlotte's web" to treat severe seizure disorders in children. lots of anecdotal evidence to support its approval. anti-seizure meds have been found to be effective in treating mood disorders and anxiety as well - depakote and lamictal are two. so i wouldn't be surprised if CBD were also effective in treating anxiety and mood disorders as well. 

 

the C worked well for me as an anti-depressant but i felt like i was dealt a bad hand when first diagnosed in 1996. at the time i had a very well intentioned but rather clueless therapist who didn't think cognitive behavioral therapy would work for me. after three months she recommended i go to a psyc doc and get meds. thus began an 18 year journey into the world of dysfunctional (all horrible side effects) psychoactive drugs. at one time or another i was on: zoloft, wellbutrin, effexor, depakote, cymbalta and lamictal. it took 8 years to find a good therapist trained in REBT and CBT. at that time i was on the C and lamictal. he gave me the tools to turn my life around but i had so much difficulty attempting to get off my meds that it took another 10 years before i felt comfortable trying it for good. in 2014 i quit my job and decided now is the time. i honestly feel that had i gone to the REBT therapist first back in 1996 - i would never have needed drugs. my psych doc was the classic "on meds for life" type of guy. the first time i ever saw him he'd barely asked me any questions before he started talking about anti-d's and how i'd need them for life. i was too vulnerable to know any better . i am still taking  lamictal but want to wean off that as well, however, i need to get a bit more stable before going through another withdrawal.

[Farkle]

So here I am back, I talked the shrink into getting me off the stuff, so I got a wean off shedule of 60 mg altered with 30 for one week, 30 for one week, then 30 every other day for one week. I am at the end of that week now, And the zaps are bakc, the headaches, and the malaise. i he I can sleep.
I sure wasn't looking forward to this!!!!!

[TexasDawn]

Hello all, 

I have been on the devil's tic tacs for 7 months now at 30 mg--prescribed by my neurologist for Hemiplegic Migraine. To no avail. Has not helped me at all. 

I am so sick and so tired and I am beginning to think that the cymbalta is the root cause of my extreme fatigue. 

 

I'm pretty tough, and I thought that I could wean off by taking xanax during the day to get me through. I have only been off for two nights. Today and tonight, I thought I would D. I. E.   What the farckleberry is this stuff!!!???  Oh my flipping gosh, it's brutal.  I had to take a capsule tonight and reevaluate how to wean off properly. I've just puked my guts out and and feeling more whack coming off of this medicine than I do with my daily migraine aura.

 

I'm new on here as of this post- forgive me for asking what most have probably asked: how do I do this without killing myself or someone I love!?

 

thank you so much in advance, 

Dawn

[gail]

Hello Farkle,

Alternating days is a No No. The safest way to do this is bead counting your way dow.

You are putting yourself in withdrawal over and over again. You need to stabilize before thinking of lowering your dose. That means going back on the 60, wait then bead count. Some can drop to 30 easily then bead count. Others can't! If you need explanation on this, come back and Fishinghat or Liz will help you.

Dawn, what a lovely name. Welcome to the family. You did the right thing to reinstate at 30.
Same goes here, stabilize then bead count. Not surprised that the crap made you feel sicker.

Others will chime in later.

[TryinginFL]

Hi Farkle and Welcome Dawn!

 

Farkle, unfortunately you were given terrible advice - not unusual as most Drs have no idea of this hellish withdrawal.  You dropped very quickly from 60 to 30!  Please go back on the 30 to see if you can tolerate the effects - then begin bead counting when you are stable - if you need to go back to 60 to stabilize, it's OK...The object is to keep the withdrawal at a minimum.

 

Dawn, fortunately you were not on this poison for very long so you may have an easier and shorter withdrawal.  Please go back to your original dosage until you are stable.

 

Now - this is for both of you!  Bead Counting is explained in the forum "Are You New Here?" - the topic is Bead Counting - How to do it.  Please check this out and come back with any questions you may have.

 

You DO NOT want to go cold turkey - I did this off of 60mg in Jan of 2014.  One year in hell!

 

I wish you both the best and remember - We are here for you!!

 

Liz

[fishinghat]

Welcome Farkle and TD

 

I am with Liz and Gail on this. Normal (if you want to call it that) is a 3 to 4 month wean. Stopping anytime things get too rough to handle until you settle down. The emotional swings are terrible, fear, panic, anxiety, etc. This is a slow long rough process for most. Of course the short the time period you were on it, the younger you are and the more slender you are (Cymbalta is stored in fat tissue) the easier it will be.

 

Remember, you are not alone. We are here to help. I am sure you have a million questions so don't be afraid to ask..

[Farkle]

Aargh- too late for the bead counting thing. I took the last 30 cap on thurs am and I am feeling like I did when I quit by accident over the holidays- probably shoulda stayed quit and toughed it out then. Oh well, in for a dime, in for a dollar as they say. Brain zaps are driving me nuts!!
I took a couple of weeks off to weather this out, lucky my job has a good leave policy for stuff lime this. I am also not too proud to lean on my mental helth pros, shrink included, and they are helping me out lots. I am also a big believer in the mindfullness thing so thats another tool in the box to help me out. I gotta share with all here that the trauma based meditation approach is incredibly helpful as a coping mechanism for times like this, actually for life period. Im not a hard core buddist, so to speak, but the practices I have learned Would, imo, be valuable to anyone. I appreciate the virtual e-support here too, speaks volumes to the value of connecting with others of shared experience, even over the web.
I am still surprised at the sense that even thoguh I am feeling physically like an overcooked tv dinner well past it's best before date, the music composition thing I do for a hobby is way easier than it was when I was taking crapzalta. Siver linings, as they say.
I am supposed to start an seretraline on Monday to take the place of what I was on, Anyone have any experieces with that?
Thanks all again for being out there and sharing.
Cheers

[lady2882Nancy]

Yes Farkle I took that at 12 weeks off Cymbalta as the lingering side effects of anxiety, depression etc were not easing for me and I needed something so I was put on sertraline for a few months. It relieved most of my symptoms and it was very easy to stop taking it when I needed to come off it.

It has a nice long half life so that is why it is easier to come off of.

I wish you well.

Take care of you

Nancy