18 replies to this topic

[sagawe]

I have weaned from 40mg to 30mg to 20mg to 20mg every other day. Am now on day 17 completely Cymbalta-free. I have struggled with the typical symptoms described in this forum (Especially brain zaps, irritability, dizziness.) I have also experienced one that I haven't seen anyone describe: a very unpleasant pressure in the middle ear. It is not constant, just as the brain zaps can sometimes disappear for a half day. It is very distracting and uncomfortable.

I wondered if anyone else has experienced this, and if so do you have any tricks to lessen it? I have found that large quantities of Fish Oil (up to 7200mg daily) help the zaps, but do nothing for this ear thing.

[nursedeborah]

sagawe,
Welcome! My thinking is that it's all inner ear connected, and some hear
have problems with their sinuses when coming off Cymbalta.

They sound like withdrawls symptoms. I am sure other will have more for
you on this.

Here is a site that you can look at that lists all the withdrawls symptoms
htttp://prozactruth.com/cymbalta.htm

You might want to add some Prozac just to be on the safe side as it does
help with the withdrawls.

The weaning process you did was faster than what I have learned here,
but everyone is different, you seem to be doing pretty well, and I right?

Debbie

[judy21049]

I weaned myself off of Cymbalta after 3 years of 30mg a day. I did it slowly so I thought . Started in May skipping a day , then 2 days etc. My last pill was in July. In June not only did I have brain zaps, but vertigo, ringing in my ears and ear pressure. I had the worst summer of my life. No one understood what was going on in my head. It is now November and my ears still ring so loud its distracting and the ear pressure!!!! Sometimes I feel like I'm losing my mind. I work for a GP and he even thinks I'm nuts. He's never heard of such withdrawel symptoms. So needless to say I won't ask him for help. Will the ringing and ear pressure ever go away? I like being drug free. Still get Panic Attacks but try to deal with them. Can anyone tell me how long this is going to last? Or does anything help? Thanks

[nursedeborah]

I weaned myself off of Cymbalta after 3 years of 30mg a day. I did it slowly so I thought . Started in May skipping a day , then 2 days etc. My last pill was in July. In June not only did I have brain zaps, but vertigo, ringing in my ears and ear pressure. I had the worst summer of my life. No one understood what was going on in my head. It is now November and my ears still ring so loud its distracting and the ear pressure!!!! Sometimes I feel like I'm losing my mind. I work for a GP and he even thinks I'm nuts. He's never heard of such withdrawel symptoms. So needless to say I won't ask him for help. Will the ringing and ear pressure ever go away? I like being drug free. Still get Panic Attacks but try to deal with them. Can anyone tell me how long this is going to last? Or does anything help? Thanks

judy,
Doctor's do not know about the side effects of this drug, or the withdrawls.
It is people like us that are ending up teacing them about it, and taking them
the information. The drug reps never told them about this drug, or they never
would have had any doc using their samples.

The way you took your self off was not a wise way to do so. By taking the drug
and then skipping a dose, well it only makes it more confusing to the brain. It
just wants the drug, and once it get's it then alll the symptoms go away.

What most of us have used is a slow weaning process, and even adding Prozac 20mg
to stop some of the brutal withdrawls seems to help, it did me.

Everyone is different, but the symptoms can last from 6 mo - 2 years. They can go
away, only to return. So if it's only been since July you may just have to wait it out.

I do know what it must have been like for you the way you came off!!! It's not that
much fun anyway you do this. This drug really made me crazy while I was on it, and
I am still not wrapped real tight!!

Here is the withdrawl symptoms site, take it to your doc, and also get a copy of the FDA
report that's here to give to him. That way he can see what is really going on with all of us.

http://prozactruth.com/cymbalta.htm

Let us know what's going on with you, we are still here to help anyway we can.

Debbie

[judy21049]

Debbie,

Thanks for the quick response. Today I went for my annual GYN appointment. I have gone to her for 20+ years. I was telling her about my withdrawel symptoms, she was more understanding but when I burst out crying and telling her how much pressure I was under on top of the ringing in my ears and head buzzs. She said I need something for my depression. Wants me to try 75mg of Wellbutrin. I know I need something, my mom is elderly and I have a 42 year old son living with me who is learning impaired. At 60 I feel 100. I have to tell you I am terrified to try another antidepressant. What do you think of Wellbutrin? Thanks Judy

[nursedeborah]

Hi,
I would call, and get her to change it to Prozac, as that is the one that
has proven to get rid of so many of the withdrawl symptoms!

Doctors just donot know how brutal this is, and how long it can go on for.
Remember it can last 6 mo. to 2 years are longer!

Think to about doing a weaning process, but one done very slowly, then
all this crap will stop.

Debbie

[MaureenV]

I weaned myself off of Cymbalta after 3 years of 30mg a day. I did it slowly so I thought . Started in May skipping a day , then 2 days etc. My last pill was in July. In June not only did I have brain zaps, but vertigo, ringing in my ears and ear pressure. I had the worst summer of my life. No one understood what was going on in my head. It is now November and my ears still ring so loud its distracting and the ear pressure!!!! Sometimes I feel like I'm losing my mind. I work for a GP and he even thinks I'm nuts. He's never heard of such withdrawel symptoms. So needless to say I won't ask him for help. Will the ringing and ear pressure ever go away? I like being drug free. Still get Panic Attacks but try to deal with them. Can anyone tell me how long this is going to last? Or does anything help? Thanks

Hi Judy,

I sure get where you're coming from with the tinnitus! My tinnitus was bad when the brain zaps were bad, and ok when the zaps were much fewer, so for me at least, there was a strong connection between the two.

The tinnitus was so bad one night It was keeping me awake.

If you do have vertigo, rather than 'just' dizzyness, you CAN get help for it, but it DOES need to be vertigo. Let me know if you want me to explain further.

I've had severe problems in the past with vertigo - thankfully those days are gone - but have had dizzyness only with Cymbalta, and have not seen anyone post who's been able to describe anything other than dizzyness, or giddyness really, would be a more accurate description of what I experienced.

regards, Maureen.

[nursedeborah]

Judy,
I finally went, and looked it up for myself on the site with the withdrawl symptoms.
If you go to the Respiratory System, it will give you your answers, and it's basically
just what I said. Being that our sinuses, and ears are all connected, that why we
actually have a doctor that is called a EENT= Eye's, Ears, Nose, and Throat who
specialize in just those areas. Theya re all link together, due to the bone structures
of the ear, nose being connected. All way to medical, but it is a withdrawl symptom
that your having, and I would still have it checked out by one of those kinds of doc's
to just be on the safe side. We do not know what damages this drug may have done
to us on a permant level, or be just a passing thing. I would much rather have my hearing
and stuff checked out, vs waiting down the line, and then find out it waw too late that
I waited.

Just call it my old nursing instructors yelling at me for all that time in school, so this is
why certain thins are a red flag to me!! One can be told there is nothing wrong, but one
can't always repair the damage if one waits just thinking it will go away.

Debbie

[judy21049]

Debbie,

It is so nice to know that people really care about what's going on with you. Thanks so much for doing some investigating about my ear pressure and ringing. I have thought about going to an ENT doctor just haven't made the effort. I am looking into it. I want to give it a little more time. The more stressed I am the more it bothers me. Can you tell me what Cymbalta REALLY does to our brains? Do we have brain damage? Is it like brain injury where everything is a "tincture of time" waiting for the brain to heal? This needs to be figured out. I'm not smart enough to do it. Anyway thanks so much for caring. Seems to me there is a lot of us in the same situation.):

[MaureenV]

Hi Judy,


there sure are a lot of us. :/


Did you have a think about whether you believe you have vertigo, or if it's dizzyness?

My ears are still ringing louder than usual even a few weeks after tapering to almost nothing.

Things are slowly but surely getting better though. Less brain zaps each day.

I've had tinnitus for ever, went into it at one stage, discovered that you can let it drive you mad, or you can learn to ignore it. Given there didn't seem to be much choice :)) I actively worked at ignoring it, and managed quite successfully until dear old Cymbalta got to me.

Although it still seems louder than it used to, I've wondered if I've just become 'sensitized' to it again, but the fact that I'm still getting some brain zaps (very mild, completely non problematic) gives me hope that the tinnitus will subside further.

Did you find you were also sensitive to things like voices etc? I felt like normal speaking voices were coming at me through a funnel.

regards, Maureen.

[judy21049]

Maureen,

I think I have had tinnitis for a long time and have also learned to ignore it most of the time. My brother has it and my dad had it. It was in June during the weaning process that it seemed like someone had turned up the volume, driving me crazy. Thought I was going deaf. It was worse when I was getting all the brain zaps. Last night it was annoying. I too, am hoping as these awful side effects go away, the ear ringing goes down to a lower pitch. Brain zaps have dwindled way down. Still have a "dull" feeling in my head that's hard to explain.

As for the vertigo, I experienced it on a trip I was on in June just before the s--t hit the fan, so to speak. I actually got sick on an airplane which had never happened before, and felt dizzy and off balance for days. I had bought some meclizine which helped a little.

Loud tv's really bother me. Voices aren't too bad unless it's shrill like a kid screaming.

I am so relieved to know that I am not the only one with these problems from that awful medicine. I'd much rather have pain than have lost my mental capacity. Thanks , Judy

[Junior]

Hi Everyone

Just wanted to point out that these drugs DON'T cause permanent brain damage although it CAN take a long time for the brain to heal. What happens is that although you can get the drug out of your system fairly quickly, it can take a lot longer for the previously down-regulated receptors to up-regulate. In addition, although Cymbalta selectively alters serotonin and norepinephrine, the brain responds by altering the levels of other neurotransmitters (chemical messengers) to find a new equilibrium. Again, it can take a while for it to readjust. This is why slow tapering is better. It's less of a shock to the brain and easier for individuals to cope with.

Hope that helps :)
Junior

[MaureenV]

Maureen,

I think I have had tinnitis for a long time and have also learned to ignore it most of the time. My brother has it and my dad had it. It was in June during the weaning process that it seemed like someone had turned up the volume, driving me crazy. Thought I was going deaf. It was worse when I was getting all the brain zaps. Last night it was annoying. I too, am hoping as these awful side effects go away, the ear ringing goes down to a lower pitch. Brain zaps have dwindled way down. Still have a "dull" feeling in my head that's hard to explain.

As for the vertigo, I experienced it on a trip I was on in June just before the s--t hit the fan, so to speak. I actually got sick on an airplane which had never happened before, and felt dizzy and off balance for days. I had bought some meclizine which helped a little.

Loud tv's really bother me. Voices aren't too bad unless it's shrill like a kid screaming.

I am so relieved to know that I am not the only one with these problems from that awful medicine. I'd much rather have pain than have lost my mental capacity. Thanks , Judy

Hi Judy,

You've mentioned you think the tinnitus was worse with the brain zaps - in recent weeks I've decided that the level of tinnitus actually DETERMINES my level of brain zaps. LIke many others, my tinnitus is worse late afternoon and evening, and now I only get the zaps then. (nearly two weeks off C.)

When I first had periods of vertigo I would feel unsteady the whole time in between. It used to take me ten, fifteen minutes to get out of bed sometimes, then only on to my knees for a while. One day I couldn't even walk my daughter to school, I had to hold on to something. The difference for me with vertigo (which is completely resolved - it was a fluctuating blood pressure that caused it) was that after a few years, I could be fine for months, then it could just hit completely out of the blue, in a fraction of a second, and I would be on the floor, unable to move for the nausea and giddyness any movement triggered. One day I leant against a wall and it 'felt' like it had fallen, I ended up on the floor and I just had to sit absolutely stock still for about 15 mins (seemed like a day!) before I could risk getting up. After it had 'hit' again, I would then be 'floaty' for ages before it settled down again.

Because of the repeated episodes I was given an MRI, then shown how to treat it myself, which is drug free. The ENT specialist just aggravated it, by very rapidly whooshing me down on either side (charming!) then I had to stay completely upright for 48 hours - no looking down at the ground, for keys etc etc. I even had to sleep sitting up in bed. I got into bed and sat up against the wall and my husband stuffed pillows all around me to keep me upright. Not the best two night's sleep I've experienced. It did fix it however, and I've been able to repeat that exercise myself when it briefly recurred, and stopped it in its tracks.

Fortunately I didn't have a hint of that with C. Withdrawal, but WAS very dizzy for a while - a sort of bumbling, staggery kind of dizzy - quite different from the vertigo (the earth is NOT flat) feeling. Your eyes spin, too, with vertigo, as your body tries to make sense of the wrong messages your ears are sending about your balance. When I look back that time on the floor reminds me of that poem about a drunk who counts the number of times the room went round.

If you've never been, it wouldn't be a bad idea to see someone about the combo of problems you've experienced.

Yes, it is nice to be here with others who understand exactly what it is we're experiencing, and to know that this is 'normal' for Cymbalta withdrawal.


regards, Maureen.

[MaureenV]

Hi Everyone

Just wanted to point out that these drugs DON'T cause permanent brain damage although it CAN take a long time for the brain to heal. What happens is that although you can get the drug out of your system fairly quickly, it can take a lot longer for the previously down-regulated receptors to up-regulate. In addition, although Cymbalta selectively alters serotonin and norepinephrine, the brain responds by altering the levels of other neurotransmitters (chemical messengers) to find a new equilibrium. Again, it can take a while for it to readjust. This is why slow tapering is better. It's less of a shock to the brain and easier for individuals to cope with.

Hope that helps :)
Junior

So we're sort of going up the down staircase, is that it? :))

I just wish they could have their little parties while I'm asleep.

Although come to think of it, that may be where the nightmares come from, so forget that idea.

Hmmmm.


Maureen.

[Junior]

I just wish they could have their little parties while I'm asleep.

Although come to think of it, that may be where the nightmares come from, so forget that idea.


Maureen.

Coffee really isn't helping, is it? *gets out jumper leads* =D

[MaureenV]

So THAT's what those zaps are Junior putting jump leads on us.


:))

[Junior]

Shhhhhhhhh don't tell everyone *looks right, looks left*

Hmm.. shocking... wonder if that's how the horse won the Melbourne Cup? Brain Zaps.. shocking...

OH dear... I think I should go and put my shopping away....

Junior

[MaureenV]

Shhhhhhhhh don't tell everyone *looks right, looks left*

Hmm.. shocking... wonder if that's how the horse won the Melbourne Cup? Brain Zaps.. shocking...

OH dear... I think I should go and put my shopping away....

Junior

:))

I was going to suggest you call your doctor and get her to up your dose ...

But wondered if it wasn't a bit too close to home for those of us here ...



Maureen.

[Junior]

LOL!!

When I was volunteering at Mental Illness Fellowship, I used to wonder wether I should be a volunteer or a client....

Ahhh..I've got too much to do today.... see what stress does to a person? Oh... I think we're going around in circles... hmm... that could set off your vertigo...

Just think.. I haven't had any Port yet ;-)

Junior