203 replies to this topic

[Troypants]

Today's a bit worse, had all my doses at the right times today. Who knows. I feel like I'm putting weight on my mid section a bit too, so the cortisol is probably high, water retention.

Maybe just another wave

[Troypants]

1 week to go till I drop another bead, not feeling too bad, ear ringing is still here though

[fishinghat]

I am keeping my fingers crossed!!

[Troypants]

Ear ringing not as bad, bit of cortisol this morning which annoyed me awake

[fishinghat]

Not bad. Hope abounds.

[Troypants]

I'm gunna extend it out another week, I've had 2 of those weird ear/brain things where the room goes quiet followed by ear ringing, like my consciousness lapses or something. Mild but its not a good sign. I've also had a bit of anxiety come back along with heart palpitations.

I'll see how I feel next week I don't want to push it too hard.

[Troypants]

Its about a 1.2% receptor occupancy drop using the calculation.

%occupancy = 100 * C/(C+ED50)

Ed50=7.9mg
C1 = 3.0mg
C2 = 2.8mg

Amazing what such a small drop can do.

Either that or I'm just going through a wave...

[Troypants]

Only a 0.2% receptor occupancy drop for NET though. So as the dosage gets lower there is a larger drop in SERT occupancy relative to NET.

[Troypants]

It feels like there's a nerve party going on in my head, and all my facial/peripheral nerves feel like they're bristling.

Hopefully only lasts a couple of days, I've been through a lot worse anyway

[invalidusername]

"I've had 2 of those weird ear/brain things where the room goes quiet followed by ear ringing"

 

That is just a momentary drop in blood pressure - nothing to concern yourself with. It can happen as and when. Only if it happens regularly should it concern you. 

 

The nerve party in the head sounds SO familiar! I used to get that with the slightest movement, but even then, it could come back periodically if I stayed completely still. But the important thing is that it DID go. And it WILL.

 

Zaps and nerve twitches are one of the most talked about symptoms during a withdrawal. If you can tolerate them, then continue... knowing they are merely a symptom and nothing permanent. But the most important thing is to listen to your body during these times and do not get wrapped up in the "need to get off this stuff RIGHT NOW" situation. 

[Troypants]

Ahhh it feels so weird, is it just an intracranial pressure drop?

I've had a mostly good day today, I went to dinner with my extended family and had some drops of a very short acting benzo to help a bit, was still anxious but I got through it and had a better day today, almost felt normal, was able to accept intrusive thoughts and emotion without focussing or being startled.

Just had zinc and magnesium tonight and some nerve partying are going of in my head, not too bad, its when its accompanied by anxiety that its shit. Its kind of like brain zaps that don't zap, they just bristle.

I'm just taking it as I can like you said, I will begin dropping again this week and see how I go, 1 more bead.

[fishinghat]

You are doing well troy. Use this time where you feel better to rebuild your strength and take some of the stress off your body.

[invalidusername]

Excellent! Well done Troy! You are noticing your achievements.

 

Never let that go. This is the most important part. Self-love. Self-compassion. 

 

You need to recognise this to see your progression in your withdrawal. This is so important.

 

Keep this up as best you can. Hat and myself can see it - so you need to maintain the same. Well done my friend. I will look forward to hearing more in due course.

 

IUN

[Troypants]

Thanks lads, I'll keep everyone updated, I kind of use this as a journal sometimes.

Its funny cause I find I don't say as much when I'm travelling OK but when I'm going shit I'm on here whining.

[fishinghat]

Boy I remember those days on the rollercoaster.  I used to vent terribly when going through a down cycle. 

[invalidusername]

You have 5 pages worth of diary here on the forum - you are right - it is what it can be used for.

 

I frequently look back to my "darker" days 4 + years ago and cannot believe what I went through. Seriously - you can look at my posts for 2018 and see what I was going through and where I am now. Hat and myself (among many many other members) are a testament to how your live can... and WILL.. change for the better. 

 

Keep posting as much as you need. The forum has been here for... hmmm... 9 years I think? So it is not going anywhere. 

 

Take care my friend.

 

IUN

[Troypants]

Been alright so far, bit anxious, bit of ear ringing, coming up to 2 weeks in on the last bead drop.

First few days I had numb lips, I remember my whole body was numb when I dropped too much.

Such a weird withdrawal process, it has these phases of different effects, its not like other drugs where, as the withdrawal progresses, the effects get less intense. This withdrawal has intense effects the entire way but different phases, physical, then psychological, then physical, then psychological.

[Troypants]

Hey IUN and hat, can you link me your taper/withdrawal threads so I can have a look at what you guys went through?

[fishinghat]

Sorry Troy but there is not a single thread with my history, The closest thing is an advanced search with my username and the search dates starting on or around Jan 1st 2013. Sorry, if I had it to do again (God forbid) I would make a single thread for that.

[Troypants]

Haha OK no worries hat I'll have a squiz.

As an update, in my 4th week since last drop, 3 days to got till its 4 weeks.

Nerves still shot, pretty anxious/hypersensitive at times and ear ringing is annoying, face crawling sensations, and hard to think. I may leave it another week again.

[Troypants]

Oh, and cortisol on the morning that wakes me up and won't let me sleep, which was a little better today I actually got back to sleep

[Troypants]

Ears still ringing, not as anxious for the most part but twinges of it and facial/head nerve pressure/overactivity

[fishinghat]

The anxiety beginning to improve is a good sign.

[Troypants]

Putting a bit of a pause on the dropping, getting a bit of hyper nervousness since last one and some shortness of breath and peripheral vasoconstriction.

Been 5/6 weeks since drop, may be delayed reaction or just a wave.

Ive been using a grounding pillowcase, red light therapy on my testes and brain. Dunno if this has anything to do with it, but I would think higher testosterone and more energy/lower inflammation in brain would be a good thing.

[Troypants]

I hear reinstatement has a low success rate.

If I was to go back on the full 30mg, after I have been stable for a year on 2.5ish mg, and after the 6-8weeks it takes for the ht1a presynaptic receptors to down regulate, would this be effective?

I may end in a position where I need to choose whether to stay on cymbalta, or completely stop.

[fishinghat]

It has been my experience on this site that those who try to go back on Cymbalta usually don't have success (70%?). They frequently have trouble with dizziness, tinnitus, brain zaps and general digestive problems that don't resolve in a couple months. Many then have to withdraw down from the higher dose all over again. No way to tell what your situation would be if you went back to 30 mg. I remember that many drs do not recommend updosing or returning to a regular dose for 2 years after withdrawal. No scientific research to go along with this.

[Troypants]

That's just great...

What about switching to another type?

[fishinghat]

just my opinion from seeing the experiences of our members but I would be more optimistic about switching to another antidepressant. Historically Zoloft, Lexapro and Prozac seem to have the best results. Having said that, when I wanted to switch to a new antidepressant during my withdrawal it took six different attempts before we found one that worked. One of the difficulties is that it often takes weeks for a new AD to kick in and you don't want to take any more than what you need. So, we would start a new AD, give it 4 to 6 weeks and then up the dose a little and give it another 4 to 6 weeks, etc. When you decide the new AD isn't going to work you then have to start all over again with the next AD you want to try. All of this trial and error is while you are still suffering from Cymbalta withdrawal symptoms. There just seems to be no good options. Part of what brought me out of the darkness was the use of Clonidine and Hydroxyzine. They are anxiety drugs with no withdrawal. The clinic where I go have used them successfully to replace benzo usage to treat withdrawals. Benzos are very addictive and have a nasty withdrawal. 

[Troypants]

Yeh its a shitty situation I may find myself in, pisses me off but there's not much I can do.

I have an appointment with a psychiatrist, I may get him to prescribe me clonidine, now that I am no longer on the beta blocker. But the fact remains that I may need to either come off duloxetine completely, or take a complete dose of something.

I'll keep Zoloft, lexapro, or Prozac in mind.

Has anyone seen anything about agmatine?
I see 3 whole posts in these forums about it, it sounds like a miracle molecule. Its also something that is upregulated when on SSRIs. It acts similarly to clonidine with added effects on GABA and glutamate, and has been used in alcohol and opiate withdrawal.

[fishinghat]

In my mind there is really not enough information out there to have an opinion about agmatine. it is an interesting prospect.