9 replies to this topic

[goonch]

Hello.

I have been reading about the difficulty of getting off of Cymbalta since I started taking it in October of 2010. At the end of April, I decided to start weaning off on my own, one milligram at a time, in hopes of having it clearly out of my system for an upcoming neurology appointment on August 15. So far, it is going well and I thought that I'd share what I am doing.

First of all, I started on 30mg to see if Cymbalta would help with the pain caused by SPS (http://www.hopkinsme...n_syndrome.html). For the first time in 12 years, I had pain-free days. Unfortunately, the effects were very temporary, but I kept taking the medication, and in February of this year, the dose was raised to 60mg with the hope that it would again decrease my pain. No luck.

During the course of my treatment, I missed a dose of Cymbalta once and another time I accidentally took a 30mg instead of a 60mg. I experienced the typical brain jolts or electric-shock feelings in my head, neck, arms, fingers. They are so awful, as I'm sure many of you know.

Mid-April, I discovered this site and read the stories of other people, as well as some advice that was offered on various boards. I purchased the clear gelatin capsules through Amazon, as well as lecithin and SharpMind (a dietary supplement from Solaray). I already take a bunch of other supplements, like B-complex, which I think was suggested as well. I then counted the granules in my 60mg capsules. I counted two, actually... one had 203 and the other had 205. This meant that it took approximately three granules to equal one milligram. I immediately began reducing the capsules by an additional three milligrams each day. So, day one was 59mg and day two was 58mg, etc. There were some days when I felt so great that I reduced the capsules by five additional granules.

I did have some of the brain-shock feelings, but it was rather mild. I've probably been going through a long, slow, mild withdrawal for the last two months.

When I was at 12.5mg, I visited my doctor for other reasons and I told her about weaning off of the Cymbalta. She was very cool with that, but said that I should just go ahead and stop taking it because I was at a low enough dose. Against my better judgment, I skipped it the next day. The following day was super hellish. Partway through the day, when I couldn't stand having my brain all jolty, I took 9mg. After that, I continue to decrease by one milligram per day.

During the course of this, if I felt too much like I was being electrocuted, I would just hold my medicine at the same dose for a few days to give my body a bit of a break from the stress of withdrawal.

Today, I took 2.1 milligrams, which was seven granules. My brain is a little buzzy, but not too bad.

So, that's where I am at right now. I hope that this gives some of you hope that you can get off of this stuff, although it may be a little early for me to say that since I still have a week or two to go.

Best wishes to you all.
Jodi aka Goonch

[cookie]

Hello
I know 12.5 mg sound like nothing, but I learned every miligram counts. I read that you decreased 1mg per day. In my case, I rather decrease weekly to let my body/brain adjust. I read somewhere in the site, that the ideal thing would be to reduce 10% of actual dose. That means that in higher doses you can make bigger drops, but once you get to smaller doses, you should do smaller drops. Is not the same to reduce 1mg when you are taking 60mg than it is to reduce 1mg when you are taking 2mg.

[goonch]

Hi, Cookie.

It was a few weeks ago that I was at 12.5mg. When I wrote the post, I was taking 2.1mg. You'll notice that at the end of the post, I mention that I still have a week or two to go, which wouldn't be the case if I was still reducing by one milligram daily.

For this last stage, I have significantly slowed down on weaning off the meds. I am now removing one granule every other day, or .3 mg. Yesterday and today, I took 1.8 mg. I completely agree with you that one should make smaller drops as the dosage decreases. I think that is the reason that I'm doing so well and feeling so good.

Thanks for your input.

[cookie]

Hello Goonch:
Keep me updated on how you feel. I weaned slowly for a year, reaching 0,7mg. I had to updose to 6mg because I was feeling terrible.

[goonch]

This is my third day without Cymbalta. My last dose was 0.6 mg on Saturday. The mild symptoms that I did have while weaning off the medication are continuing to diminish. I feel pretty good.

If I notice anything else, good or bad, during the upcoming weeks I will add an update. Otherwise, I consider this a success. In total, it took about nine weeks to gradually and painlessly wean myself off of the Cymbalta.

Good luck, everyone!

[Lundeliz]

Congratulations on reaching zero! Im hoping for you that you are one of the lucky ones who

comes through with minimal effects. Hang in there, and hoping for the best for you.

[cookie]

You are very lucky. Nine weeks seems like a short period to wean. I have been having mood swings, crying spells and I am more depressed than ever

[goonch]

<br /><br /><br />

You are very lucky. Nine weeks seems like a short period to wean. I have been having mood swings, crying spells and I am more depressed than ever

Maybe I didn't have those particular side effects because I didn't take it for depression? When I started taking it to see if it would help with some pain issues that I have, my mood was normal. While on Cymbalta, I was absolutely giddy. That wasn't a bother. While weaning off, my mood came back down to normal. I think that I might have felt a little more sensitive or subject to sadness during that time.

All is well now though. I wish you much luck in weaning off of Cymbalta. I know that it is very scary.

[goonch]

I just wanted to update that I have been off of the Cymbalta for over a month and it's going really well. For the first few weeks, I would occasionally get that *shock* feeling in my brain, but it was very brief and it happened a for a few seconds.

It has now been weeks since I had any side effects. I'm so glad to be off of Cymbalta.

[cookie]

How are you Goonch?