3 replies to this topic

[glamgirl7000]

DESPERATE FOR GUIDANCE!

 

I have major depressive disorder and for the most part have spent the last 10 years on various antidepressants (I’ve tried most if not all). 

 

In the fall of 2016 I started transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) to manage my depression, in addition to the antidepressants. I had horrible side effects with the antidepressants. Most recently I was on Cymbalta and had debilitating fatigue - in bed 16 hours a day despite having young kids. 

 

I decided to just use TMS to manage my depression. I talked to my psychiatrist about stopping Cymbalta and mentioned discontinuation syndrome and he didn’t think it was a big deal.  In March 2018, under guidance of my psychiatrist,  I tapered off cymbalta 90, to cymbalta 60 for a week, to cymbalta 30 for a week and then off. I was amazed by my feelings of energy and hopefulness at getting this poision out of my system.

 

However, almost immediately I started having insane gas, diarrhea, bloating, weight gain, and abdominal pain. Since then I’ve had a ct scan, an MRI, and a colonoscopy to find the source of these issues which I’ve never experienced before. The gi is stumped and my psychiatrist doesn’t seem particularly knowledgeable/ helpful.  

 

I am now convinced that it is antidepressant discontinuation syndrome. I feel like I should go back on cymbalta and do a slower taper, but I’m not sure what dose I need to resume at and how long I should take it (days, weeks?) before I start the taper.  Again, I have been off it for 2.5 months. 

 

Any guidance would be greatly appreciated. 

 

[fishinghat]

Welcome Glamgirl

 

I agree it is withdrawal. however, having been off for 2.5 months I don't think you need to go back up to full dose and start over. Inside each capsule of Cymbalta is a bunch of tiny beads. Anywhere from 7 to over 300, depending on brand. We normally recommend that people do bead counting. This is where you reduce the number of beads in a capsule by 1% or less per day to give a slow even withdrawal. I think that the first thing you need to do is count the number of beads in one of your capsules and come back and let us know how many there are, From there I would suggest you go back up on dosage around 4 mg a day until stable. So 5mg the first day and then 10 mg the second....  This way you don't go up any more than necessary. Once you find a good dosage then you can start bead counting from there,

 

Hang in there. We are here for you and we will get through this together.

[glamgirl7000]

Thanks so much for your help. I have Duloxetine 60 mg from Apotex Corp. I counted approximately 385 balls, so that would be 31 for 5 mg. Should I start with that?

Also I’ve read on some pages that it may be good to transition to Prozac at some point in the taper due to the long half-life. Any thoughts on this? Thanks.

[fishinghat]

That would be a good place to start glamgirl.
 
Many have tried another antidepressant to get off the Cymbalta. Usually the best ones seem to be Prozac, Zoloft or Lexapro. Once stable they then wean off from there. I am actually optimistic that you may not need a AD for this process. If you can get stable on a small dose you may be able to use bead counting to wean off slower and be successful. The choice is yours however. in any case you are not alone. We are here for you.

 

God bless