6 replies to this topic

[Lewis54321]

Hi all,

 

I went onto cymbalta for a short period at the end of January (4 weeks at 30 mg and then a further 2 weeks at 60 mg) but stopped due to some undesirable side effects such as increased frustration, panic, tiredness, weaknesses to my hands. Prior to that I had been on venlafaxine 75 mg for close to 6 months.

 

Since I was only on cymbalta for a short period of time my withdrawal period was fairly rushed and involved halving the dose every week for about 3 weeks before stopping completely. I'd also never experienced very bad side effects with any of several other medications I'd been on so I assumed this would be sufficient at the time.

 

The reason for my post is due to having a number of bad side effects which persist even after more than 2 months since stopping cymbalta, something which I certainly hadn't expected from being on it for such a short time and something that my doctor doesn't seem to think is possible.

 

Symptoms I've had over the past couple of months have included:

 

• Varying levels of fatigue
• Weakness in hands
• Brain zaps (mostly stopped since the first month)
• Anger (mostly stopped since the first month)
• Extreme depressive periods (have worsened over the past couple of weeks)
• Anxiety/ feelings of hopelessness (worsened over the past couple of weeks)
• Running nose and flu like symptoms every morning
• Naseau (general worsens after exercise)
• Difficulty concentrating/ memory

 

Just wondering if these symptoms align with what other people have experienced and whether other people have suffered from them after being on cymbalta for such a short time period. Also whether perhaps being on venlafaxine for a longer period and then doing a straight switch may have contributed towards any negative side effects.

 

Many thanks in advance to any responses,

L

[invalidusername]

Hi Lewis and welcome to the site...

 

First off, I need to point out that the side effects that you were having could well have been par for the course. These meds can take up to 12 weeks for all of the undesirable side effects to disappear. And doubling the dose will only compound those side effects. So after 4 weeks on one dose and 2 weeks on another, I would be surprised if you didn't still have some side effects. Some people can be too impatient expecting things to happen overnight. 

 

However, there are those circumstances whereby the side effects are THAT bad, or show no sign of improving, and that is when the drug is not a good fit and must be stopped. This may well have been the case for you. 

 

The fatigue is because you were on an SNRI which controls norepinephrine which is the precursor to adrenaline. You remove this and your brain needs to "re-learn" how to maintain the adrenaline itself by pumping more, less... until it finds a equilibrium. There are similar explanations for the rest which I won't bore you with but can be found on the site or in the eBook. 

 

There are supplements which you can take which will ease what you are going through, unless you are already taking anything?

 

Feel free to ask anything - we are here to help limit the suffering!

 

IUN

 

Regarding your symptoms/side effects, I can guarantee you that all of those mentioned have been spoken of in Cymbalta terms, both in start-up effects and withdrawal.

[fishinghat]

Sounds like IUN have got you covered pretty well. Sounds like withdrawal to me. Do you think these symptoms are increasing in severity?

[Lewis54321]

Hi both,

 

Thanks for your advice, I really appreciate it.

 

I do appreciate that these kinds of medications have certain side affects which can lessen over time but for me the feelings of panic/ anxiety and other side effects from cymbalta were much worse than I'd ever experienced with several other medications I tried so I decided to stop on that basis.

 

Most of the side effects I first encountered have stayed more or less the same (fatigue/ weakness/ concentration) or lessened (brain zaps) over time. The only thing that has gotten worse over the past few weeks has been the anxiety/ depression which has gotten to a stage that it's really having a big effect on my ability to socialise/ work. Hopefully it's something that just has to get worse before it gets better. At this stage I'd be very against going back onto cymbalta but I wonder if going on any other antidepressants has shown any effectiveness helping people get over these kinds of withdrawal effects?

 

Also whenever I exercise too much I tend to feel more fatigued/ nauseous afterwards so I'm sure not being able to exercise much has also contributed to this anxiety/depression but since I'm still having other side effects from the cymbalta (and my anxiety has never been this bad before) I'm inclined to link the two.

 

Thanks again,

L

[invalidusername]

Hi Lewis,

 

Sounds like you weren't going to have much luck with the C, so can understand why you stopped them. Regarding other meds, one needs to be careful about jumping from one to another and another. This can result in a kindling effect which lessens the likelihood of anti depressants working as a result of too much chopping and changing. I know it is far from ideal, but where possible, time should be given for your mental faculties to get back to their norm before opening another blister pack.

 

Exercise is a no-no during withdrawal as it releases all the chemicals related to adrenaline and confuses the system and more often than not, people report worse anxiety (and sometimes depression) as a result of doing heavy exercise. It is better to keep things light for now until the symptoms relax a bit. So the tired and nausea will be a direct cause of the aforementioned chemicals. It will pass. But DO keep things light for now, otherwise you will lengthen your suffering.

 

I am sorry to hear that your depression and anxiety have got worse - the lack of serotonin all of a sudden in your system will cause it to go this way. You have pulled the rug from under its feet so to speak, and there are a lot of missing pieces in the jigsaw puzzle that is your brain. You might find suntheanine to be useful for the anxiety and KSM-66 ashwagandha. You should find that the better times gradually come back, and then length of these better times gradually get longer as time goes on. It is very difficult to see it yourself, so we often suggest to members to keep a diary so you can look back and actually see the better days coming through.

 

IUN

[Lewis54321]

Hi,

 

Thanks for all that information, and I'll look into those supplements you recommended today!

 

Regarding switching between medications, I was thinking of going on to citalopram (celexa) to help with the symptoms I've been having, it's a medication that has had some success with me in the past and I know that I tolerate it well enough. Do you think that would be a bad idea based on what you're saying about chopping and changing medications? At the moment I'm just looking for something that will bring me up to some kind of functioning level.

 

Thanks!

L

[invalidusername]

Funny you should say that as I have been down the exact same journey. My whole backstory is somewhere on the forum, but to save you the time....

 

I went on Citalopram back in 2006 after a near-fatal car accident. Took me ~18 months to sort myself out, but doctor told me that I should continue with the Cit to "prevent it coming back". So for 11 years I just carried on until I found out that I shouldn't still be on them. Doc told me to wean off over 2 weeks - after nearly 14 years on them!! Needless to say that ended in a catastrophe! 

 

I was then put on 5 or 6 different meds until I decided to that I should have just gone back on Citalopram in the first place as it worked the first time. So I did... and now here I am. Much better. Better the devil you know sometimes.

 

Wishing you a good day my friend,

 

IUN