1636 replies to this topic

[ForLyla]

Thanks. I do feel pretty good so far today actually but I have the shakes and heart pounding. The shaking is the most unpleasant symptom right now. 

 

Otherwise, I decided that I'm going to drop 1 bead every 2 weeks for the time being just to see how I respond. I'm assuming there won't be a difference with such a tiny drop but I want to make sure before I taper at a faster rate of 1 bead a week. 

[fishinghat]

"Otherwise, I decided that I'm going to drop 1 bead every 2 weeks for the time being just to see how I respond. I'm assuming there won't be a difference with such a tiny drop but I want to make sure before I taper at a faster rate of 1 bead a week."

Wisdom, yes wisdom. You have the idea now. Just one tiny step at a time and listen to your body. It will tell you when it is time to drop more and when to wait.

[ForLyla]

Having the best day I've had in probably 3 months right now. Perhaps updosing did work but just took some time. The last 4 days have overall been OK in comparison to what I've been feeling the last 6 months. Still have the shaking though oddly enough but mentally and physically I am functioning again and was able to enjoy a long walk today. 

[fishinghat]

Great. I would go ahead and stay at he same dose a while longer before starting to wean again.

[invalidusername]

Great news Lyla. Wonderful.

 

Please let us know how you get on over the next few days. 

 

Ironically, I have started to pick up as well, save for the physical symptoms like yourself.

[gail]

Hello Lyla,

That must be of great relief for you! Great! I'm happy for you and pray that it continues.

Hello dear Scrat, relief at long last. Multi lovage Scrat!

[juli]

Thinking of you all and praying for relief.  So happy to hear that things are starting to move in the right direction for you both,

Juli

[ForLyla]

Thank you guys! And thank you FH and IUN for all your help so far. This has been the best window I've had since November and such a contrast to how I was feeling last week. Last week all I felt was doom and pain. It's so nice to enjoy spending time with my baby girl and appreciate it. 

[invalidusername]

Thanks for the update Lyla...

 

This is great news. This week has been a really good one for a few members - so we are all bouncing off the walls and peeling ourselves off the ceiling!!

[fishinghat]

Your very welcome Forlyla. We remember what it was like. You can now take your time coming off as your body allows. Enjoy that beautiful child.

[ForLyla]

I think I had too big of a breakfast because my symptoms are really revved up today. I'm hoping that my window this week wasn't just a blip and now I'm back to hell for a long time . When I went back up in October from 20mg to 22.5mg, I remember I had a good window for a couple of days and a never ending 3 month wave after. 

[fishinghat]

Ups and downs are standard. Just hang in there and it will get better.

[invalidusername]

This is the most difficult part - accepting when the not-so-good times rear their head again. Very hard not to enter a downward spiral. Don't do what I do and keep thinking that life needs to be perfect to be normal... Even "normal" has ups and downs. If we were happy every day of the year, we wouldn't be human, we would be a game show host

[ForLyla]

How are you guys doing? I'm about the same as before, still feeling off but way better than I was a couple of weeks ago. Also, the heart pounding and shaking has gotten much much better. The only thing now is that extreme fatigue has kicked in despite sleeping well. Any theories out there why it's so common to go through these tired phases? I tried going for a bike ride today in hope that it might give me more energy but I lasted about a grand total of 5 minutes before I was gasping for air. I used to be so fit before all this started . 

[invalidusername]

Hey Lyla - good to hear from you.

 

One thing you need to know is that brain workouts can be just as tiring as physical workouts - honestly! When our gray matter does overtime, we feel more and more tired - this is why anxiety sufferers are often fatigued. It is the additional surges of corsitol and adrenaline - it knackers the body out, and while your brain decides doses and so forth, that is how the system will respond. It is not that you are unfit, and physical exercise will only serve to exacerbate the symptoms.

 

On the plus side, glad to hear that the pounding and shaking is getting better. Lets hope this cataloging of the various items by your brain leads to its eventual stability!

[fishinghat]

"the heart pounding and shaking has gotten much much better"

Yea!!

IUN's description of the adrenaline causing the fatigue is pretty accurate. When stressed you tend to breath shallower (caused by adrenaline) and that allows CO2 to build in the blood which lowers the blood ph. Lower blood pH causes the hemoglobin to carry less oxygen and you are more fatigued. It is one of our body coping mechanisms that forces us to slow down and give our body a chance to recover. It will go away with time.

[ForLyla]

I've had fatigue before but not so prolonged as this. I've also lost a ton of weight. A little worried.

[invalidusername]

It sure does suck... I am so sick of being ill. It has really hit me today

 

The weight loss will be the adrenaline - speeds up metabolism and release of additional blood sugar. Textbook symptom.

 

Difficult to say do not worry, but I can assure you this is normal. I am quite a tall chap at 6'4" and I had a weigh in around 67kg at the peak of my adrenaline issues, and I was eating three squares a day.

[fishinghat]

Yup, yup, yup.

A lot of people gain weight when they go on Cymbalta because it drops the norepinephrine and adrenaline and then loose the weight when they stop the C.

[ForLyla]

I'm wondering if I've been feeling better because of the CBD and not because I'm actually getting better. It may be coincidence but I start feeling terrible again if I haven't taken it in a few days. Also, I'm worried that cbd works on the same receptors as benzos. My motto is short term gain equals long term pain. I hope that taking it doesn't come back to bite me.

[fishinghat]

The cbd is probably bringing you some relief. With time you will need less and less to feel better.

[fishinghat]

By the way cbd oil reacts primarily with cb receptors however it does have a limited effect on serotonin receptors as well. Benzos react with gaba receptors.

[invalidusername]

They share GABA-A receptor activity, but in very different ways, and the CBD interacts overall differently as Hat said. 

 

Even if you do look at it as a "substitute" for Valium, then that is not necessarily a bad thing given the safety measures boasted by CBD, far less likelihood of addiction and considerably less withdrawal (if it comes to that).

 

Some interesting ready for you all;

 

https://www.royalque...xiety-drug-n561

 

Very up-to-date article - published Mar-6 2019.

[ForLyla]

I had such a good 2 weeks there. Do you guys think I'll be thrown back into the pits of hell now? Feeling discouraged with this bad wave today 

[invalidusername]

Try not to let your anxiety of the situation take hold as that will make it worse. But truth is that no-one can tell you what tomorrow will bring. Apologies for being blunt, but we are not one of those forums that just say what people want to hear,.. "oh, you'll be fine, hun" blah blah. Positive reinforcement is given, but in practical ways!

 

I'd continue with the CBD, if you are taking it as infrequently as you are, there will not be any withdrawal at this dose. You are very lucky to be having such a good response to it.

 

That said, my hope for you says that you will be ok! I too have had close to 2 weeks of good, only to be thrown into hospital over the weekend. Home now and just trying to forget it ever happened. Tomorrow will bring what it will, and stare it in the face when it emerges.. whatever that might be. 

 

And we're here if you need to vent/scream and/or need support/love/guidance...

I'd continue with the CBD, if you are taking it as infrequently as you are, there will not be any withdrawal at this dose. You are very lucky to be having such a good response to it.

[ForLyla]

Oh no, I hope you're ok. Did you go to the hospital because of withdrawal symptoms?

My heart pounding, anxiety and blurred vision came back for the first time in 2 weeks. Should I just chalk it up to a wave? I'm not used to having heart pounding and shaking as symptoms that come and go. They're usually acute WD symptoms so not sure if it's normal in cymbalta wd.

[fishinghat]

These kind of waves are common. There are a lot of things that can bring one on as well. Physically pushing yourself, alcohol, working with solvents, lack of sleep, significant stress and many more so be patient. It will go away.

[invalidusername]

I was at hospital for severe dizziness, severe stomach cramps and constant throwing up. I was there for almost 24 hours and all they did was my bloods and told me to go home. 

 

Agree completely with what Hat is saying here...

[ForLyla]

How do you feel now IUN? Was it WD?

I'm wondering if the CBD is the only thing keeping me together right now. I feel ok so far today. Do you think there is potential that it works on the same receptors and is making me worse in the long run? I was hoping that's not the case and that I was actually getting better.

[invalidusername]

The 5-HT family of receptors is huge from HT1 to HT7 and all the subtypes within HT1a-HT1g... etc.

 

CBD acts on 5-HT2a and potentially 5-HT1a, but the majority of its influence is through the canabinoid receptors CB1 and CB2.

 

Cymbalta binds to 5-HT2a (as above), but also 5-HT2c and 5-HT6 (among other non-HT receptors), so when I say they act differently on serotonin this is what I meant! Thus, the CBD oil is NOT doing the same thing. 

 

You are clearly seeing benefits from it, and good that it lasts as long as it does. So lets say you are getting the full half-life extent to around 32 hours, lets say 1 and a half days, so;

 

At dosage - 100%

after 1 1/2 days - 50%

after 3 days - 25%

after 4 1/2 days - 12.5%

after 6 days - minimal

 

Does this sound about right? That you get the effect tailing off significantly around the 3 day mark?

 

We could also talk about GABA as well here, but we'll leave the aminos to another post. Lets get you covered with the receptors since you asked about those