15 replies to this topic

[jeff3298]

I went five days cold turkey. The reason was my prescription was messed up and the pharmisist would not give me any. It was not by choice to stop taking them. I never in my life had such bazarre withdrawal effect and sickness as I ded between day 2 and 5. Now I am back on Cymbalta and need to find a way to get off this drug. I hate the thoughts I am having, thoughts of suicide and the like which I never had before this depression. The drug has helped in many areas but those five days and the effect it had on my brain is not worth it. The control and toxic it is giving me has me alarmed big time. I am concerned I may get to a put I can't turn back. I take 90 mg a day, 60 in the morning and 30 at night.
Any suggestions on dropping my doseage? If I tell my doctor I am afraid he might stopp me cold turkey or switch to something just as bad. This is the only antiodepressiant that has helped me and lifted me. What does one do in my shoes?
Thanks
Jeff

[jeff3298]

This site is a blessing and I am glad I found it and found others withthe same feeling. I read the post and one side of me is encouraged and the other side say I am hopeless. Never had such conflicting thoughts at the same time inmy head, in my brain.
Jeff

[schmb01]

Jeff, are you wanting to quit because of what you have read here? If you are, then please talk with your doctor and see what his take is, and how he would wean you off of it. If he wants to do cold turkey, do not go along with that; as you know, it causes horrible thoughts and feelings.

First, breathe deeply to relax, and remember that these feelings you are having are a result of withdrawal, keep telling yourself that. If you really are feeling suicidal, call someone to come be with you, or go to the emergency room. Please don't take any chances, it is NOT worth it. You can safely come off of this, but it can take a while.

I did the same thing, 90 to zero in a week, and it was a disaster. If your doctor doesn't have a plan for you, you can try to taper yourself, but please be sure that family or friends are aware of what you are doing, and are available if you need them.

There is a book referenced here that has a plan for tapering too, it is called The Antidepressent Solution. I don't have it, but have seen other remarks here that it was very helpful.

Above all else, please don't be alone if you are having thoughts of hurting yourself. Contact someone for help, and please post back to let us know that you are okay. You can do this, and there is support here for you.

[jeff3298]

I want to get off this drug not because of what I read here but how I felt during those few days I was off it. I told my wife it was too much, too strong of a drug to have that type of withdrawl and I was and even more so now , worried about the long term side effects on my brain and body. I knew when I was off it and then back on it the power it had and I did not like that. I may be depressed but this was not the right answer, taking cymbalta. I will talk to my doctor before I go off it but I experience with doctors is not favorable on thier advice. I trust my instinct and close supporters and family for guidence. Cymbalta is wonderful but until they (the pharmacy companies) figure out these side effects I do not want to be a part of thier testing. The FDA is worthless as far as sying something is safe or not. The internet is more informative than our goverment.
I will seek help if I get bad and the thoughts of suicide or hurting myself come, I even have the local crisis center in my cell phone just in case.
Thanks for your support. Keep me in your prayers as I keep all of you in mine
Jeff
(Age42, white male, married and 2 kids, 21 & 16 in Northern Calif)

[schmb01]

Jeff, I'm glad you have your wife and other close family members there for you. My reasons for quitting were kind of the same, and I worry whether my brain chemistry will ever be the same again. I'm still at 15 mg, and still having zaps, but the mood swings are not as wild. I'm trying to read and keep my mind occupied, and that does seem to help keep me feeling calm. I'm also watching lighter movies, nothing that will make me have to be too reflective at the moment.

Thanks for posting back, I was concerned when I read your post. I really do recommend Omega 3, whether it is having a placebo or real impact I don't know, but taking it has seemed to ease the panicky feelings, and that constant andrenaline sensation that was running up from the abdomen to my heart and back.


Good luck to you, and if your doctor doesn't give you good advice, then fire them and find someone who will work with you. They work for you.

[jeff3298]

Thanks for the encouraging word. I am having a harder day as far as depression goes but nothing bad, just a blue day. I am trying to deal with it rather than use a drug. Maybe omega3 will help. Any other vitimin/min/herb suggestions? St Johns I know about that, I want to get off this first before I try st john wort which I have used in the past.

I have been taking 60mg from the 90mg I was taking. I just have been doing the 2 in the morning and nothing at night for a few days now and seem to be ok on the side effects. I will continue this road for a week or two more.

Question, how do you taper when they are 30mg capsules? I assume you open them up and then do you have a scale or what? I do not have a scale andnot sure how I would go about doing this. I do not want to go from even 30 to zero.

Thanks
Jeff

[schmb01]

Well, I know some actually count the little granules, but I just don't have the patience or vision to do it, so I was taking a 30 cap and opening it, and just eyeballing what looks like 1/2, and pouring that out into an empty bottle, and putting the cap back together. That seems to work ok for me. I know that at health food stores they sell empty clear caps, and you could probably get some of those, and get a better idea of what 1/2 is. Also, I know there are some pharmacies that are compounding pharmacies, and I had thought of calling one to see if they would do this for me. I never got around to it though.

You are right not to take St. John's Worth until the Cymbalta is completely out of your system. If I find I need something after this is over, that is what I'm going back to also. As for other vitamins, I think anything that has antioxidant properties is good; I've also cut back on caffeine and am drinking decaf green tea for that reason. It is an acquired taste for sure. I also purchased a whey protein drink at our local health food store, and on days when my appetite isn't so good, I use that. I bought the vanilla flavor, and blend it with orange juice and ice, and it tastes like an orange julius. I bought the Nordic brand super Omega. It was expensive, but I found it at drugstore.com and it was cheaper there.

I've come to the conclusion that as a human, we will have blue days, it is just important to try to figure out what level of blue is acceptable. We get so used to taking a pill to ease our ills, that I think we don't give ourselves enough credit for handling those normal blues.

Again, keep posting if you feel the need to vent, that is what I'm doing, and it helps when other people get exactly what I am talking about. Try to focus on all of the things you have accomplished with your life, and enjoy your family. Having that to hold on to is a good lifeline on the rough days.

Babby

[Sarah J]

There are 20mg capsules. Please get some good medical help when coming off of this. In the weaning section, there is a woman who had her doctor combine prozac with Cymbalta and said she was successful.

I did the 30mg down to zero for 45 days, like my doctor said to do. There were enough good days for me to be sure that I did not want any more Cymbalta, ever, but the other side of that coin (for me) was constant crying and the lack of ability to concentrate on anything. Calls to my Cymbalta prescribing doctor were met with "just tough it out", "it is just the withdrawal", and the worst comment "none of my other patients have had a hard time stopping this".

So, I went to another shrink last week, she was shocked that I was told to just drop down from 30mg to zero. Not back on Cymbalta, but she gave me the lowest dose of Celexa to try to stabilize me. Still feel a little shell-shocked from the experience. This was not the depression returning, my friends and family assure me that I was never as bad as I had been for most of the 45 days off without any help. Sad I was before Cymbalta, but the withdrawal was something I had not experienced before.

Be safe and I hope that you can find somebody who is knowledgeable about discontinuing Cymbalta to help you.

[jeff3298]

Thanks everyone for your replies. Last night I was not doing to good mentally and ended up taking my 3rd does for the day. I had been only doing 2 30mg in the morning but I took the third last night. I only took one this morning and hopefully only one tonight and back on that schedule.

It is all so troubling, wanting to go off it yet it does seem to help my depression. I fear the time in between when I have less cymbalta in my system and then none to the time I have something else back in. I hope I can do non prescription and all natural. I am seriously looking at my diet, which sucks and my health sucks just as bad. I need to stop the caffeine, sugar, processed foods and eat right but it is a vicious circle. I don't care about myself and don't care what I eat when I am like this and eat the junk. Last night I stopped at 7-11 and got a coke and 2 ice cream bars. I weaned myself off regular coke almost 2 weeks ago and switched to diet coke, then last night I was down and bam I didn’t care at all. Then I went out and bought some more junk food and then ate at 11:45 before bed. Today I feel like crap not only from what I ate but that I lost control and gave in.

It is all so confusing; I sat on my couch last night wanting to cry but couldn't because of this cymbalta, confused and more confused. My mind races back and forth on this stuff, split second changes from one extreme to the other, it is like a sprint race in my mind with myself.
Jeff

[jeff3298]

Hi Bethany
I agree, I NEED and MUST stop taking this poision. This is just insane that something this addicting is on the market, I have less and less faith of our FDA (what little I did have). Is there anything that we can do to stop this, this and other sites like this help but????
thanks
Jeff

[schmb01]

Oh Jeff, I feel for you! First, if you are still struggling with depression, and the Cymbalta was helping you, then please talk to your doctor about switching to something else. This stuff is bad news for sure, but the reality is, it also messes with your brain big time trying to get off of it, and then if you compound the issues with depression, it is a volatile mix.

If you aren't contacting your doc, I can only offer my opinion, for what it is worth. Taking 2 30s in the morning, and 1 at night is keeping a constant withdrawal process in your body. I would first start taking your dosage at one time, probably morning. Then, to safely start to taper, take 2 of the full 30s and 1/2 of another one. Do that for a week or so to see how you feel. Then reduce the 15mg in 1/2 again, until you are down to 60. Then continue that same process for a week or 2 at a time.

Also, look into some of the links and books that we have recommended to you. I know it is very easy to just sit back and say what the hell, and give up or give in, but you HAVE to take some positive steps to help yourself. For now, focus on your taper program and don't worry about the junk food at the moment. If it offers some type of comfort, take it, you can deal with that later. Just try to ADD other good things to your diet, like fruits and veggies and a good multivitamin. I wouldn't try to attack all of the bad habits at one time.

I really can't stress enough how important it is to talk to a doctor about this. If they try to keep you on it, just tell them it is not open for discussion, you want off, and you need help. Ask your wife to help with this. You don't have to do this alone.

There are a lot of opnions and options here and that can be overwhelming, but really review them, have your wife review them, and see what might fit better for you.

I'll keep my fingers crossed for you!

Babby

[jeff3298]

Thanks Babby and everyone else
I will call my Doctor Wednesday morning. I am concerned because I have been on so many other anti depressants that have not worked and then finally cymbalta that does. I spent 2.5 years going from one to the next, the whole time in major clinical depression until cymbalta.

BUT I know for a fact I do not want to be on this one, there is no question about that. Again, I am confused and my brain is flipping a million times a second - do this - do that. One minute I feel I can beat it, the next I feel hopeless against it.

Thanks
Jeff

[schmb01]

Jeff, just don't give up; there has to be something else out there that can help you. The scary thing about Cymbalta from what I'm reading, is that it does work great, (it did for me) but then it stops working, and if you take more, you feel worse! Effexor is the same way, which is how I ended up on Cymbalta. If it were a drug that kept working, AND had a safe tiration method to get off of, it may be worth the effort of taking it. It just seems that for most people, it just doesn't work for long.

There is a place for antidepressants, I do believe that, but I also believe that they are too often prescribed without enough thought behind it.

Talk with your doctor, get his advice and go from there. Most importantly, try to keep your mind at rest as much as you can. Read some light fiction, watch some Disney movies, do whatever you can to keep occupied. I think it is so important not to overthink things right now, at least for me. If I do, I start getting way stressed out, and feel panicky. It really is time to baby your brain while you find a safe taper.

Please keep posting, and know that we are all in this together; none of us are alone, and we need to feel safe in saying whatever we are feeling on this site. I figure some of my craziest thoughts may be what someone else is thinking, and make them feel less alone.

I so appreciate having this forum, it keeps me grounded!

[jeff3298]

I HATE this stuff!
I went about 2 weeks on a lower dosage and it became unbearable not only physically but mentally as well. I had to go back to my 90mg 2 in the morning and 1 at night. At times I feel I have sold my soul to the devil by taking this drug. The doctor said to taper off slowly but I went 2 weeks and I couldn’t take it anymore. I am trying now to change my diet and exercise daily with walking. I am hoping that will help when I try again. I am extremely overweight and I live on fast food and soda and caffeine. So I am hoping I can help my brain that way through nutrition and in a couple of weeks start again and drop to 2 in the morning and 15mg at night, go much slower/smaller increments as some have suggested in the taper down.

Keep my in your prayers, it is a major attack and battle.

For anyone new reading this, do whatever you can to get off Cymbalta.


Thanks
Jeff

[Sarah J]

Jeff - sorry to hear that you are feeling poorly in your quest.

Here is a link that you may wish to discuss with your doctor:
http://depression.ab.../withdrawal.htm

Trust me, I was not in favor of trying to take anything else at all. Went 45 days of cold turkey from 30 mg and my brains did not readjust on their own.

At day 46 (two weeks ago), I had to have some help, I was not going to take Cymbalta again. I found a new doctor who prescribed me Celexa (same class as Prozac, does not affect as much of your brain chemistry). Immediately I felt better.

In two weeks on Celexa, I went from 20, down to 10 and today is my first day at 5mg. I feel nothing like I did when I came off of Cymbalta. I feel stable, no zaps, no headaches, nothing. My new doctor is hoping to have me anti-depressant free in the next couple of weeks.

I did not have the "one dose of Prozac" information when I saw the new doctor. It might work. I had never taken an anti-depressant before Cymbalta, and I was told that I should have no withdrawal symptoms. I kept waiting for my brains to "get back to normal" but it was not going to happen. I hope I can report that switching to another anti-depressant for a short period of time was the trick.

And, I hope you are feeling better soon and let us know how you are doing. Just don't do the every other day method, I tried it before, didn't work and I have seen no posts here that that method works.

[schmb01]

I HATE this stuff!
I went about 2 weeks on a lower dosage and it became unbearable not only physically but mentally as well. I had to go back to my 90mg 2 in the morning and 1 at night. At times I feel I have sold my soul to the devil by taking this drug. The doctor said to taper off slowly but I went 2 weeks and I couldn’t take it anymore. I am trying now to change my diet and exercise daily with walking. I am hoping that will help when I try again. I am extremely overweight and I live on fast food and soda and caffeine. So I am hoping I can help my brain that way through nutrition and in a couple of weeks start again and drop to 2 in the morning and 15mg at night, go much slower/smaller increments as some have suggested in the taper down.

Keep my in your prayers, it is a major attack and battle.

For anyone new reading this, do whatever you can to get off Cymbalta.


Thanks
Jeff

Jeff, did you tell your doctor that the slow taper wasn't working? It sounds like it wasn't slow enough and maybe you should print Sarah's post and take it with you to an appt. Celexa has helped her get through this, and it may be that your doctor needs some new ideas. Maybe it is time to find a new doctor? Is yours an MD or a therapist? Finding one that is really committed to helping you is likely half of the battle, but there are good ones out there.

Please don't feel like you've failed at this; this is a powerful drug, and face it, if it were easy to do, none of us would be here trying to lift each other up when we are down. What works for one person may or may not work for others, we are all indivuduals and will have different responses to withdrawal.

If you are also overweight, my non professional opinion is that it is CRITICAL for you to work closely with a doctor to do this the right way. You can't risk other issues, such as heart problems doing this. It took a long time for your brain to get where it is today, so it will take awhile for it to get back to normal function.

Just don't give up hope, there is a way back for you, but please, take it slowly, get medical help doing it, and know that we are all pulling for you to get yourself back.

Babby