162 replies to this topic

[LeVana]

Hello,

i had to quit duloxetin (20mg) and pregabalin (75mg) after 10 years of using, because of intolerances after corona infection. Don´t know what has happend.
I stopped both at19 aug 2023 in hospital. I feel terrible. Anxiety is worst as hell.
They gave me 10mg citalopram since 2 1/2 weeks. Side effects were also terrible. Tomorrow i will increase to 15mg.

What could help?
Thx

p.s. i´m from germany

[fishinghat]

Welcome LeVana

 

How long did the hospital take to wean you off the duloxetine and pregabalin?

 

You should also have been told that citalopram takes 6 to 8 weeks to become effective.

 

I am going to post a link below to a list of things that have helped others. there is no guaranteed cure but some these have helped a lot of people.

[fishinghat]

This link will take you to the first of 8 posts in a row that lists the things that can help with the withdrawal. Hang in the there. We will help anyway we can.

 

2 Months Off After Somewhat Slow Taper. Really Struggling - Page 40 - ARE YOU NEW HERE? Words from the wise about Cymbalta - Cymbalta / Duloxetine Withdrawal Support and Cymbalta Side Effects Help (cymbaltawithdrawal.com)

[LeVana]

hello,
thank you so much. in hospital they forced me to go cold turkey because of intolerances. its the worst experience ever. can't handle the anxiety. citalopram needs time to kick in. i wanna ask the dr. to give me mirtazapine against insomnia and akathisia.

today i took alprazolame

[fishinghat]

Cold turkey is a no-no. The FDA warns that rapid withdrawal can result in not only severe withdrawal but many even commit suicide. that is horrible. withdrawal from pregabalin is almost as bad but the withdrawal symptoms do not last as long as duloxetine. The bad withdrawal from duloxetine can last 2 or three years and although you were only on 20 mg I would still expect this as you are also going through pregabalin withdrawal as well.

 

Don't forget that alprazolam is very addictive and also has a severe withdrawal. Drs in my area do not use benzos (like alprazolam) and usually start with hydroxyzine or clonidine instead which do not have a withdrawal.  

[LeVana]

my dr said 20mg is like placebo or "nothing" and couldn't lead to withdrawal. i got pain everywhere, burning skin and this unbearable anxiety. could i try to take some beads of dulox? or is it too late?

[invalidusername]

Hi LeVana,

 

Cold Turkey from pregabalin at that dose is VERY dangerous. It can lead to severe suicidal depression (there are papers relating to this) and anxiety. 

 

I am not surprised that you feel this way. 

 

You should absolutely NOT have been taken off these drugs - particularly both at the same time - cold turkey.

 

I won't lie to you, you are going to feel absolutely awful. But for now - keep telling yourself it is the drugs that are doing it. 

 

Citalopram is an SSRI, whereas Duloxotine is an SNRI, so you will feel differences.

 

I would like to know why they decided to change so abruptly. This is not something that should be done. It is very dangerous.

 

I can see that my friend Fishinghat has said something very similar - he is absolutely correct. You should NOT have been put in this position.

 

But you also need to ask why put you on mirtazapine when they have already put you on citalopram?!

 

You should have been put directly onto mirtazapine.

 

These doctors do not undertstand at all. You have my every sympathy.

 

Ideally, you would go back on to the drugs you were on and taper over a few weeks. You CANNOT cold turkey these drugs. I speak from experience - just read my posts!! I went cold turkey from duloxetine to escitalopram and it was unbearable.

 

I don't know how much control over your doctors you have, but as it has been a month since you changed, it will not help you to change back now. This should NEVER have been done.

 

You should have TAPERED, not COLD-TURKEY.

 

Please explain more of your position so we can help you. This is an awful place to be in. I feel for you so much my friend. We will do all we can, and without sounding intolerent, we frequently know more than doctors as they do not have time to read the facts regarding the switching of anti-depressants and the effects that they can cause.

 

We will do all we can. Hang in there... we are with you.

[LeVana]

hello to you both,

thank you so much.
the problem resulted after my corona infection. maybe the metabolism was disturbed and i got symptoms of serotonine syndrome. i could not understand what happened to me...i took these meds 10 years without problems. the drs decided to quit abruptly after my emergency call. after 5 weeks without meds, they tried citaloprame - no serot.symptoms occured. but then, after 2 months without dulox, i got this bad withdrawal. the drs said its my disease, not withdrawal.

i took 15 beads duloxetine before an hour. i will see...

[LeVana]

it is safe to take dulox 3mg again while increasing citaloprame to 15mg (d2)?

[fishinghat]

"...after 2 months without dulox, i got this bad withdrawal. the drs said its my disease, not withdrawal."

 

This is a common mistake by drs. Some believe (luckily not many (that there is no withdrawal from antidepressants only a return of previous symptoms.

 

 

"it is safe to take dulox 3mg again while increasing citaloprame to 15mg (d2)?"

 

That is such a low dose of Duloxetine that it should not be an issue.

[LeVana]

i don´t know any dr. who believes in withdrawal. not even in hospital. nobody. for example, i got dystonia after quitting pregabaline and they said it´s psychologically.

and my anxiety lasts 24/7. terrible. it´s the worst experience of my life.

[fishinghat]

Most drs here know that withdrawal is real and certainly that can be validated by the number of withdrawal patients. 

 

The anxiety from my Duloxetine withdrawal lasted for over a year before i went to a ssri (Zoloft) to help out. At the time of my withdrawal the belief was a 3 month wean is enough bur time and experience has proven it needs to be a lot longer.

[invalidusername]

It is very much a patient aware situation with a number of drugs. But psychotropic drugs seem to be the worst.

 

After a very short withdrawal from Duloxetine, I developed seizures, and I told the doctor by he said it was just stress. Years later, I still have them. They were never there before I took Duloxetine. 

 

What happened after you took the small dose of your beads? Any benefit? Being just the one, very small dose, I can't see that it would help much, but you are right to try these things in very small doses before you over the top and ending up with more problems.

 

15mg of Citalopram is fairly low - I am on 30mg, and the maximum is 40mg (unless you are over 60 years old and then the maximum is 30mg). 

 

You need to find what works for you best, but one drug at a time....

[LeVana]

hello,

 

seizures? omg :-(

today i took 5mg duloxetin and 15mg citalopram (7:00). morning anxiety was hell. and i felt very, very sick. i don´t know if dulox worsen my situation? recently i read this only works 4-6 weeks after quitting; from week 7 it could lead to paradox reaction. do you know about this?

 

it is possible that citalo could reduce withdrawal of dulox or is it a mistake? every day, morning anxiety starts at 3:00 and i don´t know why

 

thanks a lot

[fishinghat]

Don't panic by the worsening anxiety yet, it will take the increased dose of duloxetine to stabilize. After that if things are still worse then the updose didn't work.

 

It is quite possible that the Citalopram will help with the duloxetine withdrawal but it will take it 6 to 8 weeks to fully kick in.

[LeVana]

i´m so hopeless. i´m out of work since april. it´s my nightmare, which seems never ending....

 

thanks for your help

[LeVana]

took 5mg dulox again. feels like a little help. muscle pain and feeling sick have become fewer...minimal.

 

read your linked article in medical support "toxicity of psychotropic drugs in patients with COVID-19". i got covid in 10/2022 and my unusal symptoms started in 01/2023 in connection to duloxetin (after each intake). maybe covid has triggered...

[fishinghat]

Interesting.

[LeVana]

is it quite normal that anxiety lasts the whole day? without break? can´t go outside anymore. no shopping, no walking, only inside cause my anxiety level is really high.

[fishinghat]

Constant anxiety is the standard during the withdrawal. I had none stop anxiety day and night for 9 months before I finally started on sertraline. Really sucks.

[LeVana]

citalopram didn't help?

[fishinghat]

I never tried citalopram, that was IUN.

[invalidusername]

I am so sorry to hear about your anxiety levels - unfortunately, it is perfectly possible for it to last all day, and I know just how it feels to not be able to go outside.

 

Hat had it far worse than me - but I will leave it to him if he is happy to share, but knowing what he had gone through (and came out the other side), helped me a lot.

 

As you are still less than 3 weeks on Citalopram, you might have another 2-3 weeks, but it should start getting better over the next few days. Thinking back to when I cross-tapered from Duloxetine to Citalopram, I can remember having significant anxiety as well. 

 

My issue was that I was quite happy going slow, but when I saw the p-doc he asked "Did you bring in all your Duloxetine?". I did, and he asked me to hand it over. He took all my Duloxetine, put it all in his drawer and told me to stop and that I was making myself worse. I was screaming at him to give it back and I even quoted the patient information leaflet which states that if you have seizures to go back on your most stable dose. But no - he did nothing. That is when the anxiety got out of control.

 

Wouldn't wish it on anyone. I really hope things improve for you soon

 

IUN

[LeVana]

ok, then i have to stay inside :-(

i felt the withdrawal is increasing last 2 weeks. is it normal? i thought, after 2 months peak is reached.

 

do you still have seizures?

[LeVana]

today at the dr. i told him about my condition and my suspicion of withdrawal again. he laughed :-( 20mg dulox have been to less to make such symptoms i have. it's my disease. yeah. exactly. insomnia and muscle pain!!

[invalidusername]

When you body has nothing left of the drug inside that is when it can frequently be the worst as the brain is going solo to help you get back to some sort of homeostasis. 

 

I had something very similar when I quit drinking. I stopped cold turkey and the anxiety for that was also unbearable, but I just tried my best to keeping telling myself it was all the withdrawal, but what with the ears ringing, the hot flushes, sweating and extreme fatigue, it just made the anxiety worse.

 

You Dr sounds like a complete idiot. I wish we had the opportunity to move to other doctors here in the UK, but there just aren't enough health professionals to go round. Our government is useless. I thought Germany was a better state for health care - maybe I am wrong. I know France have really got it right, which is why retiring to the South there somewhere would be a good idea!!

[invalidusername]

....oh, and yes - still have the seizures. Fortunately Kratom helps me when they occur....

 

Just one example of how Eastern meds are years ahead of the West

[LeVana]

i'm afraid of combine dulox and citalo. feel worse every day.
stronger side effects; can't take it together. my head is hot and my face red. tinnitus.

and did you suffer from akathisia during withdrawal?

[invalidusername]

Absolutely...

 

"Withdrawal akathisia occurs while switching or stoppage of antipsychotics. The onset is found to be six weeks after stopping or reducing the dose of the drug. The increase in receptor binding sites and affinity provokes increased sensitivity to usual dopamine levels after abrupt stoppage of risperidone treatment"

 

ref: 

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6386429/

[LeVana]

hi,
at the moment i'm in hospital (psych ward, closed) cause of acute suicidal thoughts. but also here, nobody believes in withdrawal. no one. frustrating.

see you :-/