I posted on this forum when I quit Cymbalta. I had been taking it for about a year; added onto lamotrigine and clonazepam. The drug was supposed to help my depressive and anxiety symptoms.
My first few days on the starting dose of 30mg per day went fine. I could "feel it in my blood," so to speak. I said to myself, wow, so this is what everyone else feels like?
However, after increasing the dose to 60mg, I slowly became psychotic. I relapsed after three years of sobriety. From January to December 2016, I smoked pot all day, every day, to deal with the symptoms--as I was afraid to stop hearing all of these reports online. I'm only just beginning to remember 2016 and the events that took place.
I was almost admitted into a psych ward for suicidal ideation at the beginning of this year. My doctors made a taper plan for me: reduce to 40mg for a week, then 30mg for a week, and then stop.
I was surprised at how easy it was to quit. It was only about three nights that I dealt with more depression, and strobe lights flashing when I closed my eyes. I took vitamins, omega 3, etc. and thought I was off the hook.
I was actually striving in life for a few months. There were some things that stuck around for a while, like a "shudder" when I moved my eyes around (which ceased within the first month). Then my personality began to change. I was becoming paranoid, more depressed, and looked like hell. My stomach would bloat, I'd feel prickly sensations all over my body, and my eyes started to redden. I had no idea this was a result of Cymbalta, as so much time had passed since I took it.
I started on sertraline for the depressive symptoms with no luck. Recently I tried buspirone which got rid of some of the physical symptoms, but they are coming back again.
I am labelled by my doctors as a pot-smoking hypochondriac now. When I mention anything about Cymbalta, it is dismissed. "You have an anxiety disorder," they'd tell me, but it has never been this severe. I'm trying to get my life back and find a drug that takes care of all these symptoms. A very accurate-sounding diagnosis for these symptoms is a new disorder called "Multiple chemical sensitivity." a result of medication spellbinding.
No matter where I go, I smell something that makes me sick to my stomach. My lower back gets numb, I have tremors (at 23 years old), and I'm having vision problems. More symptoms I never had before Cymbalta include cluster headaches, teeth pain, fibromyalgia symptoms, and extreme fatigue. The anxiety has caused me to sign up for disability, as I can't handle my job or school anymore.
I can provide more information if needed.. I just wanted to mention my experience with the drug, and if anyone had experience with different drugs that gets rid of the symptoms.
Thanks guys.
-Gimpy
