My experience of TAKING duloxetine was very positive. It is my fifth anti-depressant over a period of 20 years, for 1-2 years each. My adjustment period on duloxetine was less than the others, the only initial side effect being that, while it decreased the intensity of my anxiety, it made it almost constant at a low level for a couple of weeks. This tapered off, though I wouldn't say it stopped my anxiety to the level that, for example, Sertraline did.
My depression was however very well managed. I was myself, I could feel emotions but manageably. My weepies - which are natural to me and so I did not consider a withdrawal effect when they returned - ceased. I was on 40mg, which is obtainable in the UK for bladder control, which as I am a woman in my 60s was a very nice side effect.
A very unexpected positive side effect was focus, energy, and initiative, leading to a casual (I asked the question and the psychiatrist replied "Probably") diagnosis of ADD. It enabled me to finish and publish a book that had been languishing.
I actually stopped taking it because of the gradual reduction of this effect, and of the anxiety control; I believe my period of depression had actually ended, and did not return when I stopped the medication (although I can feel my normal susceptibility when things go wrong). I actually hoped (still hope??) to start again and that the effect would be "from scratch". I took it for just under a year, and so endlessly increasing the dose was not attractive and would in time become impossible.
Stupidly, because it had been so easy on me so far and was ceasing to work, and I had no idea of the severity of these problems, I stopped with only one week of alternate-day reduction.
WITHDRAWING has been a different matter. Nausea and stomach discomfort, lots of brain zaps, irritability (possibly natural to me when unmedicated). Then after 2-3 weeks, I began to get migraines. I am not subject to them *except* as a result of medication effects, having had about 4 in my life, including one last year which landed me in the emergency room thinking it was a stroke (losartan related). Fortunately mine do not have intense pain, but involve nausea, aura, sensitivity to light and sound, blurry vision - and if ignored, loss of speech and reading ability. Computer use worsens it so much that I have had to enforce days off with no computer - very difficult for a writer!
The aura and sensitivity take it beyond the symptoms I have seen mentioned in the leaflet or on this site, as clearly these are migraines and I am convinced they result from withdrawal of the duloxetine. I have not seen migraines mentioned (although it is not really possible to read all the comments here).
My doctor suggested restarting, and at my request gave me some 20mg either for restarting or to ease symptoms. I am very grateful to have read here of the counting method, and over the next few days I will assess what to do. Incidentally, my partner has had a number of symptoms since also ceasing duloxetine, which we thought had gone beyond withdrawal and had other causes, but will now take another look.
Thank you for this site.
