Checking in,
Today I start 25mg/day of Cymbalta. So far, so-so. No big changes that I've noticed. Here's hoping it'll stay that way.
Only six more months (oy).
Frank
Posted 10 July 2016 - 10:47 AM
Hi Frank, good to hear from you ! Congrats on hitting 25 mg !
"So-so" and "no big changes" means you're doing this the right way ... and even though it seems / feels like slow going, you're going to have far fewer (if any) continuing after-effects than those of us who got off the stuff cold turkey (me) or dosed down way too fast ...
10 years on it is a long time ... your brain deserves a rest, and a slow weaning process ... and you deserve a life without the drug, a life that's your own, cymbalta-free !
Posted 10 July 2016 - 12:12 PM
Thanks,
I do realize that boring is a good thing in this situation. One additional milestone - I filled my last Cymbalta refill this last week. Because my Rx is for 60 mg (two 30mg capsules), and I'm re-using all the pellets that I take out, there should be enough for the remainder of my weaning. That's a monetary win, too.
Posted 10 July 2016 - 02:50 PM
Yes FH,
Here's my plan, right now I've been dropping 2.5 mg every two weeks. I think I'll keep this until I get to 10 mg. Then:
10 mg for 3 weeks.
7.5 mg for 3 weeks.
5 mg for 4 weeks.
2.5 mg for 4 weeks.
Since I'm working with 5 mg pellets I can't (literally) cut it any finer, although if I get out my x-acto knife and magnifiers, I might do 1.25 mg.
For all of us, at some point we have to be off the medicine and hope for the best. I hope this will give my body plenty of time to adjust.
Frank
Posted 04 September 2016 - 11:24 AM
Another month behind me!
Today I start 15mg of Cymbalta. The plan still is:
4 weeks to 10 mg
6 additional weeks to 5mg
8 additional weeks to 0mg
That's still quite a few weeks left (I started in February at 60mg), but I think it will keep my side effects to a minimum.
Frank
Posted 14 November 2016 - 01:46 AM
I started 5mg today. The plan is for 5mg for 4 weeks, 2.5mg for 4 weeks and then OFF.
So far the only symptoms have been depression, anxiety and diarrhea, all tolerable.
Posted 23 December 2016 - 07:12 AM
Posted 09 January 2017 - 09:18 PM
I started 5mg today. The plan is for 5mg for 4 weeks, 2.5mg for 4 weeks and then OFF.
So far the only symptoms have been depression, anxiety and diarrhea, all tolerable.
I am so encouraged by your progress! I'm new here and starting a taper. How are you doing?
Posted 09 January 2017 - 11:58 PM
Since that post, I spent 4 weeks at 5mg and 4 weeks at 2.5 mg, ending last Saturday. I don't want to try cutting the pellets into quarters (1.25 mg), so I stopped altogether at that point. It's only been two days, so I haven't felt any side effects, but I'm hoping that there won't be any after this very slow taper (eleven months to go from 60 mg to zero).
I'll post here about anything I notice being completely off of Cymbalta. But here's a summary:
Getting off of Cymbalta. I was taking 60mg of generic, 30mg cap AM and 30mg cap PM. This brand of generic packages 6 little pills (I call them pellets) in a 30mg capsule, 5mg per pellet. The plan was to remove one pellet every 4 weeks, for 40 weeks total. However, it seemed that stepping down by 5 mg made me really depressed, so I tried my pill cutter. I was able to cut the pellet in half, 2.5mg. So I reduced by 2.5mg every 2 weeks.
Elsewhere in this forum it's been suggested to slow down even further as you get to the smallest amounts. In line with that, when I got to 10mg I slowed the taper:
10mg - 3 weeks.
7.5mg - 3 weeks
5mg - 4 weeks
2.5mg - 4 weeks
This all adds up to 50 weeks, give or take.
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