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Help Weaning 17 Yo Daughter Off Cymbalta


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#1 mamma1st

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Posted 23 October 2018 - 03:26 PM

My daughter was put on 20 mg Cymbalta in July for nerve pain in her foot following a spinal fusion in May. We were at the doctor yesterday and due to some vision problems being caused by the Cymbalta, she needs to stop taking it. Plus the nerve pain resolved once the swelling around her incision went down.

 

I asked how she should wean off the medication and the doctor gave us this plan.

Week 1: take one 20 mg capsule every other day

Week 2: take one 20 mg capsule every 2 days

Week 3: take one 20 mg capsule every 4 days and then discontinue.

 

Her doctor said she may experience some unpleasant withdrawal symptoms such as loose stools or nausea. 

 

My daughter skipped her pill last night and by 9 am was having one of the worst headaches of her life. Her eyes were tearing up, she was dizzy and lightheaded. The school nurse called later in the day and said I needed to come to pick her up because she was in a lot of pain and she didn't feel comfortable driving home.

 

She took 2 extra strength Tylenol and went to bed. 

 

I contacted the doctor and explained that she's not tolerating skipping a dose very well.

 

The doctor gave me a new weaning schedule. She gave us a Plan A or a Plan B. I'm just curious on thoughts.

 

Plan A:

Week 1:  1/2 capsule daily

Week 2:  1/2 capsule every other day, 1/4 capsule in between days

Week 3:  1/4 capsule every other day

Week 4:  1/4 capsule every 2 days and then discontinue

 

Plan B:

Week 1:  1/2 capsule every other day, 1 full capsule in between days

Week 2:  1/2 capsule daily

Week 3:  1/4 capsule daily

Week 4:  1/4 capsule every other day

Week 5:  1/4 capsule every 2 days and then discontinue

 

I've also read that taking Fish Oil supplements while trying to wean is helpful. Is there a recommended dosage? The back of the bottle of Fish Oil I take says one serving (2 capsules) is:

Purified Fish Oil (from Alaska Pollock) -- 2000 mg

Total Omega 3 Fatty Acids -- 1400 mg

EPA -- 800 mg

DHA -- 400 mg

Other Omega 3's -- 200 mg

 

Thanks so much for any advice!

 

 


#2 gail

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Posted 23 October 2018 - 04:24 PM

Ah! My dear, welcome,

All plans that your doctor gave you are asking for trouble. Put your daughter back on 20 mg.
The every other day method is not recommended, every othe day, your daughter will be in withdrawal till she takes the next pill. She will not like that. And you sure won't.

I will let Fishinghat explain it to you. He will be in later. Meanwhile, look through the forum.

#3 fishinghat

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Posted 23 October 2018 - 06:37 PM

Gail is righgt. Even the FDA warns against that method. Cymbalta has a half life of 12 hours which means that after 12 hours there is only 50% left in your system. At 24 hours 12%. So what does your dr want you to do/ He wants you to take another pill at that point and jack your blood levels up again and repeat the same withdrawal all over.

The accepted method is bead counting. Open up one of your capsules and count the small beads inside. There is usually around 300 in a capsule but it varies depending on the manufacturer. For exam0le if there is 300 beads start with around a 2 bead drop a day. For example, take 298 beads the first day, and then 296 the next and then 294....

This provides a nice even slow withdrawal. Anytime you get feeling to bad just stay a that dose until you feel better and then continue at a little slower pace. Keep us posted and please feel free to contact us any time.

#4 mamma1st

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Posted 23 October 2018 - 07:17 PM

Thanks for the replies! 

 

My daughter is on a generic version. The manufacturer of her current bottle is Ajanta Pharma. I opened up one of the capsules earlier and there were 70 beads inside.

 

So you don't agree with her doctor's Plan A or Plan B? I was going to remove 35 of the beads and give her that tonight. It's been almost 48 hours since she's had the Cymbalta. 

 

Is it going to mess her up being off the Cymbalta for almost 48 hours and then giving her almost a full dose tonight?

 

What about Fish oil as a supplement while weaning? 


#5 gail

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Posted 24 October 2018 - 07:01 AM

Hi again,

Our plan here is to get your daughter stable on the 20mg. No, it won't mess her up.

I'm sorry to say that some doctors don't know what they are talking about. They haven't tried their own methods, if they had, experienced what they preach, they would never give this advice again.

My own doctor which I love dearly, gave me that advice 5 years back. They just don't know any better.

Back to your sweet daughter, let her relax a while on the 20 mg. And then we bead count slowly. Since there are only 70 beads, we may go slower with the bead count. Meaning every day but not 3 beads a shot.

We'll wait for Fishinghat to do the math. No hurry, she needs to relax for a while.
Anytime you wish, post, we are here for you both.

#6 fishinghat

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Posted 24 October 2018 - 05:24 PM

Gail got it right. Put her back on the full 20 mg until she is stable. That should only take a few days. Once stable try dropping 1 bead every 2 days. A nice slow approach.

The Omega 3 is a good idea. Be sure and get one high in epa and dha. Take around 2000 to 3000 mg a day.

There is a good section on this and other suggestions in the Medical Support Section in the thread called "Summary of Cymbalta Withdrawal". It contains a summary of everything members have tried and how well they worked. It also contains medical research, diet, etc. You may find it helpful.

#7 mamma1st

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Posted 24 October 2018 - 06:06 PM

Okay, thank you both for the help! I've slowly been reading through old posts. So glad I found this forum.





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