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Any "god-Like" Beings Out There?! Life Is Sweeter In Six Weeks!


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#1 ozenfant

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    My doctor says there will be no side effects to stop 30 mg all at once. He says it's out of your brain in 4 days. I'm freakin' out because I don't believe him!!!

Posted 12 November 2017 - 04:37 PM

I really appreciate this forum, even when I don't post I am reading and absorbing all the experiences members are going through. 

 

I have been enjoying life again!   My spouse is happier too.  I now realize that taking cymbalta , an "anti-depressant":  MADE ME DEPRESSED!  That's so messed up. 

 

I'm 6 weeks tapering by beads, from only 30 mg (2 years).  Just starting to have "brain zaps"  (hearing the "zzzzzzzhhhhh" when I turn my head)  and the tilts too.   I just went for a walk and felt so frustrated with a monkey on my brain (!) making me dizzzy.

 

I tried to google how to increase serotonin naturally.    Chewing, chewing, chewing?!   Maybe as in chewing gum, since I can't eat all day. I'm actually having little interest in food and lost 15 lbs this month weaning off C.

 

Tryptophan?   I really don't feel like putting any more pills or capsules in my mouth right now.

 

SUNLIGHT!   Ah,  if only.  I lived most of my life on the Monterey Bay but had to relocate.  Pacific Northwest (PCN) has probably half as much sunlight.  I go out and walk anyway.  Everyone here does.  Lots of outdoors people.  I have a light that I sit under when I eat b'fast.

 

Today I feel like reaching out for community.  I want to thank all the god-likes and advanced students for being there for us. Since I was an RN I hope I can learn to give back on this site in the future. I've been through this before going off SSRI's but only had the brain zapping around 5p, evening's stayed home.   Withdrawals lasting about 4-6 weeks.

 

Cymbalta is evil in my book!   Nothing else like it.  I am really hoping everyone hangs in there, all of us together figuring out how to get our lives back.

 

 


#2 fishinghat

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Posted 12 November 2017 - 07:21 PM

Ozenfant, I am so glad you are doing better. Six weeks to feel better? That is a miracle.

 

As a nurse I would especially welcome you to stay and help. lol

 

Any thoughts on what if anything really helped you?


#3 ozenfant

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    My doctor says there will be no side effects to stop 30 mg all at once. He says it's out of your brain in 4 days. I'm freakin' out because I don't believe him!!!

Posted 13 November 2017 - 01:30 PM

Well, I might have had experience over the years going off SSRI's (?)   That said, there has been nothing like C.  I was on a low dose, 30 mg, most of the last 2 years.  For a few months I was on 60 mg  after I lost my father and a friend within a few months. 

 

Also, I read here that a lot of people have gone on lamictal or gabapentin with C withdrawals.  Here's where I might have had a head-start!  NOT "lol" but almost 30 years ago (I'm 60) I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. (RA, cancer, TB and thyroiditis did my ability to work in)

 

Maybe my brain is fairly balanced (for me) since I'm on lithium, gaba and lamicatal already.  My best psychiatrist who I saw the longest and trusted the most, said, NO antidepressants for people with bp.   Boy I should have remembered that.  But I was so far gone with grief I obediently took the cymbalta.  Without reading the insert! 

 

Let that be a lesson for others!  Do look up side effects online, and make an educated decision.  Better yet, if you can have an advocate who cares about you, held to do this when you're ill.

 

My other worse withdrawal nightmare was geodon.  Both of my sisters also have bipolar.  Two of us went on geodon, me for a week, and I developed a tongue ulcer that ultimately had to be cut out (wouldn't heal) and stitched.   My sister's healed.  Then I read the lit.  (again, not well enough to do it first, or broke my RN rule)  My doctor had not checked, or the pharmacy, that my RA med interacted with geodon.

 

I read the forum and it affirms what I've always thought about psych meds:  we're guinea pigs.   That's why the forum is vital.  Hope all of my experience, and my clearer thinking going off cymbalta can help others.  It's still hard to realize I had so little time in nursing before I became disable.

 

Start to a new week and healing thoughts for all


#4 fishinghat

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Posted 13 November 2017 - 01:47 PM

I second your opinion. Right on.


#5 ozenfant

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    My doctor says there will be no side effects to stop 30 mg all at once. He says it's out of your brain in 4 days. I'm freakin' out because I don't believe him!!!

Posted 15 November 2017 - 12:53 PM

If you could use a little withdrawal humor (yes, I found some yesterday) , read on:

 

This coming from someone trained as an RN:  experiencing a combination of terrible anxiety and hypo-mania (mood swings from bipolar), instead of coming here to the forum I called an RN's line assoc. with my medicare supplemental plan.

 

(The LAST time I do that!)

 

She became highly alarmed when I mentioned dizziness, sinus congestion, migraine headache and the burning tongue (which was 2 days new symptom, that's what I was really looking for suggestions about.  I had this once after going off antibiotics)

 

She started asking me questions.  Very first one was:

 

Have you been in contact with any poisons recently?

 

I replied, YES!  MY DOCTOR PRESCRIBED IT IN A LITTLE BOTTLE!!  

 

LOL!  Then I hung up.  If anyone needs a little w/drawal humor I hope you see this!   Humor on the forum?  Gallows humor I guess, we are in it for the long HAUL,  laughter can be healing too!


#6 fishinghat

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Posted 15 November 2017 - 01:32 PM

Laughter is the best medicine.


#7 ozenfant

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    My doctor says there will be no side effects to stop 30 mg all at once. He says it's out of your brain in 4 days. I'm freakin' out because I don't believe him!!!

Posted 19 November 2017 - 02:50 AM

I've been MIA from the forum no use to anyone.  Ugh.  I had those days in there where I thought, hey this is not as bad as I thought.  Now it's brain zaps from morning till night and much worse at night.  I have been lying in bed and listening to grunge music to fall asleep (LOL)  Maybe I've regressed to the 1990's!  At least this time I'm near Seattle!

 

My spouse has been much more patient and loving with me than I have with myself.

 

Can't type anymore here.  I read a little of what others are up to.  I do think the fake sudafed (as I call it) helps if you keep the dose up. 

 

If I was living alone I wouldn't know what time of day it was (my clock's turned around) and I would probably have just eaten sweet things for the past week!


#8 fishinghat

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Posted 19 November 2017 - 08:54 AM

Oh Ozenfant, I wish I could help. What Is your worst symptom right now?


#9 ozenfant

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    My doctor says there will be no side effects to stop 30 mg all at once. He says it's out of your brain in 4 days. I'm freakin' out because I don't believe him!!!

Posted 20 November 2017 - 01:48 AM

Thanks, fishinghat.

 

I hope you had a good weekend.

 

I think the worst symptom is the zaps and they're LOUD .  I don't ever remember hearing that from SSRI w/drawals in the past. 

 

Have had to lay low.  I've been told I'm talking really fast.  (yes, I had 2 friends tell me that over the phone, they didn't know about withdrawals, AND my spouse, whose opinion of course didn't count,  who me? irritable?)

 

I've also had some almost stoner inspirations , and able to work on my poetry (strange memories and dreams).  But after noon I'd say I would fail a reading comprehension exam.

 

Fortunately no one is giving anyone on this forum comprehension exams.

 

Thanks for asking.  Almost midnight and my brain is my own very late and very early.  Maybe that has to do with serotonin?

 

I read so much of this while going off C using the beads.  I'm glad I did since I didn't know the worst was after I was completely off ot it.

 

I'm NOT and NEVER going to use that drug again.  I will be very patient and I know there are others here who understand.

 

I am a cancer survivor.  20 years.  I lost my hair from radiation and my hearing was gone for almost a year.  My hair grew back baby-fine after had been very thick and curly.  But I didn't care when I made it to 5  years...until now.   I think I wrote that story (true) to put these withdrawals into perspective.

 

Have a good week!  Thinking of everyone out there who is zapping through the night!


#10 fishinghat

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Posted 20 November 2017 - 06:44 PM

Probably the best thing members have found for the brain zaps are Mucinex D or Sudafed PE..
 
You need to pick a product with either pseudoephedrine or Phenylephrine. These seem to have helped many beat the zaps. There is a section on then in "and the answer to your question is..." Post #73489.

#11 sheva420

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Posted 22 November 2017 - 09:41 PM

I'm a retired RN, due to my illness, I can't work. I have been off cold turkey 4 days and I'm feeling like total shat. I'm dizzy and feel like I'm in a detox. I'm just trying to be strong. I have zaps too, i'm just smoking as much weed as I can. ugh I hope you feel better soon :)


#12 siggyd17

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Posted 27 November 2017 - 04:57 PM

I'm just curious, what are the brain zapps? I feel like I've been having these for a few months, since I stopped taking Cymbalta. I know it's a 'normal' side effect,  but I was just curious if there was anymore research done that maybe I haven't run across? Students, NP's, God-Likes, please, I am here for you to study! Ask me anything! :) I'd like for doctors, nurses, etc, to know more about he affects (effects as well) that C has on the body and the mind, before, during, and after taking C. I'd like to hear your thoughts and opinions. 

Also, Newbie, I really hope you feel better soon hun. It will get better. I know the feeling though. It literally feels like you are detoxing yourself from drugs..like an opiate. 

In fact, I heard that if you drink a bunch of gatorade, because of the niacin in it, it can clean you out. Now, I'm not sure how that works with this drug, but I know it helped me with my hydrocodine issue I had. (I didn't know I was allergic, and when I found out, I stopped taking it. It was for a tooth that was pulled. I ended up basically over dosing, because I couldn't take the pain, and went through a cold turkey quitting type of situation: vomiting, hot/cold sweats, shaking, couldn't eat, sleep, use bathroom, etc.) Does Cymbalta have any kind of opioid in it??


#13 fishinghat

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Posted 27 November 2017 - 06:32 PM

No opioid. Thank God.
 
Only Gatorades Prime formula contains niacin and then only 10% of the recommended daily dose. A very small amount. Some of the Gatorades contain malic acid which has helped many on here with their withdrawal symptoms. See "and the answer to your question is..." and just search for Gatorade to find the info.
 
As far as the effects pf Cymbalta on the body...I probably have around 100 medical journal articles on Cymbalta's effects on blood sugar, blood pressure, thyroid and many many more. If there is a particular effect you want to know about let me know. I would be glad to answer your questions the best as I can.
 
Brain Zaps (researchers call them Brain Shivers) - I have really dug into this and the simple answer is the researchers have no specific answer just a lot of theories.
 
What information I have is as follows...

http://www.ncbi.nlm....les/PMC3733524/

http://www.ncbi.nlm....489/pdf/405.pdf
pg 408

http://www.bmj.com/c...nt/331/7520/824

http://pb.rcpsych.org/content/29/6/219

These are things that previous members have reported good success with in controlling brain zaps.
Dramamine, Meclizine, Rugby Travel Med (Meclizine plus phenylalanine)
The Rugby travel med is probably your best bet.

Also, have you had your blood sugar checked recently. Low blood sugar can lead to this condition.

I checked the medical journals and there is no mention of a treatment for this , only that it is a symptom of many withdrawals.
I did find this one medical journal article that mentioned that "brain shiver" (another name for brain zaps) has been treated with Atomoxetine.

https://www.ncbi.nlm...les/PMC3733524/
A Case of Amelioration of Venlafaxine-Discontinuation “Brain Shivers” With Atomoxetine

 


#14 siggyd17

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Posted 29 November 2017 - 11:42 AM

I've always had lower blood sugars and pressure since I was little. In fact, I had a doctor say after 4 tries of trying to find my pulse that, clinically, I should be dead. I'm afraid to take anything else for symptoms because there is always something else with the other meds to counter effect the original medicine. :( I am going to try and find out some information though. Thank you for the advise! :) 





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