In September my doctor suggested I wean off of Cymbalta 30 mg after having taken it for 3 years with zero issues except for having no libido. I wanted to do this because I didn't want to have to rely on anti-depressants for the rest of my life. My doctor gave me instructions on how to wean off (I had brought up concerns about withdrawal), she told me that I would experience brain zaps and most likely have some GI troubles. It took me about a month to wean off to nothing which I thought was a slow process at the time but now I see how wrong about that I was.
It started off with constant brain zaps for about two weeks. They were annoying and that's the worst I could say about them. I thought that hey, this withdrawal thing isn't so bad after all. Shortly after the zaps faded away, I got a UTI at the beginning of October and was prescribed antibiotics. That's when the stomach issues started. I thought they were caused by the antibiotics but they continued to bother me well after I finished treatment and continue to bother me to this day.
October/November my life was spent at the emergency room or at my doctor's trying to figure out why I was constantly nauseous. Along with the nausea I would feel tingling sensations in my pelvic area sometimes in the front and sometimes on my lower back. All blood and urine tests were coming back normal, no pregnancy, internal exam and swabs, and 2 ultrasounds showed that my reproductive and digestive systems were normal. Meanwhile I was having daily panic attacks at work mostly due to not knowing what was wrong with me and whether it would get worse.
I defeatedly asked my doctor to write me another script for Cymbalta because I was a complete and utter nervous wreck and sick to boot. Cymbalta did work well for me while I was on it but I wanted to see if I could go it alone but obviously not. My doctor wrote me a script for 30 mg which is the lowest dose (though I've heard of 20 mg, maybe it's not available in Canada). I was relieved to get back on it and was eager to start up on it again. The first day I took the 30 mg, I was fine. The second day around 3pm, my head suddenly felt like it was burning from the inside. It was so terrifying. I spent the rest of that day and the day after in an absolute panic and did not touch my remaining Cymbalta pills. After this episode I started having tinnitis.
This is getting insanely long so I will provide the rest in point form:
- Doc suggests getting custom made capsules (5mg) to start me out on the Cymbalta again. I think this is a great idea and agree to it.
- The 5mg capsules lasted a week. I was waking up after sleeping for like an hour in a full panic state. I told my doctor that I want nothing to do with Cymbalta ever again.
- Had a shitty Xmas. Nothing but panic and anxiety over the stomach and tingling issues but was able to eat.
- January: Stomach issues seem to worsen and become almost cyclical. Nausea and unable to eat much for several days followed by feeling somewhat better and having more of an appetite. Started taking pantoprazole 40mg twice daily.
- Lather, rinse, and repeat up until today. During the bad times, it feels like every single nerve in my stomach is over-activated and I can't even finish half a can of soup or a glass of water because it's so uncomfortable and I feel like I'm overly full. This will slowly fade over the course of about a week and a half where I can build up to eating actual meals, and then it starts all over again. I've kept a food diary and it doesn't seem to be triggered by anything in particular. I've lost 10 pounds since the summer. Doesn't sound like a lot but I'm borderline underweight at this point.
- After seeing a psychologist early February to work on the mental health issues, she suggested to me that I am indeed still going though Cymbalta withdrawal. A psychiatrist that my Dr. referred me to recently has suggested the same thing and it was from her that I learned about serotonin in the gut.
-Had a CT scan with contrast last week which came back with normal results. I have an endoscopy coming up next month which I bet will read as normal.
Now that we're all brought up to the present, I need to ask if anyone has experienced anything like this or if any of this sounds like it might be Cymbalta withdrawal symptoms. I've been reading this forum for the past hour and I'm reading that GI issues usually go away after a few weeks...I'm going on six months here. This is really scary and no doctor I've seen seems to be able to give me a clear answer. I'm wondering if it's those two other attempts to get back on the drug that have been drawing this out.
I tried not to make this into a novel but ended up a novel anyway! Thank you to anyone who stuck through to the end, and I can clarify anything if asked..
I rarely take off of work and today there was just no way I could do it. I haven't been very productive for the last week and of course, that is making my anxiety worse... vicious cycle!
