3 replies to this topic

[coastal]

post removed

[scarbro222]

yep! I went back on after being off for 2 months. I came off of 120mg. mine were during the day paranoid, anxiety, voices, etc. now i am on 30mg and about to start weaning again soon.

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yep! I went back on after being off for 2 months. I came off of 120mg. mine were during the day paranoid, anxiety, voices, etc. now i am on 30mg and about to start weaning again soon.

Scarbro:

Please refresh my memory. Did you have anxiety, paranoia, voices before you took the medication? or these were new symptoms?. How long after you quit the medication these symptoms appeared????. I tapered slowly for a year, got very close to zero. I was feeling well for more than 3 months and then all of the sudden all these horrible symptoms appeared. Do you think it was withdrawal of long term effects of the medication?

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Hi There. I took Cymbalta for about 5 years. No higher than 30 mg/daily. Took for anxiety related to cumulative PTSD (retired police officer retired for over 10 years). In the past (after retirement), took Zoloft and Paxil. Had withdrawal symptoms from Paxil for about a month, but nothing compared to Cymbalta. I try to maintain have a low stress life style.

With the side effects from Cymbalta (serious nausea, nightmares, etc) and the desire not to take medicine on a forever basis, I decided to stop taking Cymbalta with my doctors advice on stepping down from 30 mg daily. I went to 20 mg daily for several months, then 10 for awhile. Then went to the every other day process for a few weeks and so forth. No problem with anxiety even at 10 mg. etc. When I took the final plunge to take my last pill, it was a horrendous few weeks. Brains zaps, serious nausea, unusual anger, moodiness, sleep disturbance, etc. The usual withdrawal symptoms listed on this forum.

The serious physiological symptoms eventually passed. My nightmares are completely gone! Migraines and neck/back aches are fewer OFF cymbalta. (I had a cervical fusion over 10 years ago as well). I am amazed at the reduction in symptoms. I had nightmares both from PTSD and Cymbalta and now they are completely gone. For the first time in 30 years, I have pretty normal dreaming.

The side effect that continues to plague me is anxiety. The first few weeks, I would wake up after about 10 minutes of sleep in a panic attack (right from sleep). Breathing fast, etc. This happened about 3 x's a week. After the first two times, I was able to calm myself and ride it out or take 1/2 a xanax when it was really bad. I never had this before. Felt like it was a withdrawal symptom. That finally went away after about a month.
However, I now have new and different anxiety symptoms.

I have been off Cymbalta for about 3.5 months now. What continues to plague me is anxiety attacks bordering on panic attacks. This ONLY happens when I lie down to go to sleep, in the middle of the night and now sometimes right when I wake up. Only happens in the prone position. If I get up, it goes away quickly. However, every time it happens it feels like a panic attack is going to start. I immediately think, Oh My God, why did I ever stop taking cymbalta. It is like my brain is still wired to want the cymbalta to relieve these NEW symptoms. These are not the same feelings/symptoms of anxiety I had from PTSD.

Anyone else have this issue with Cymbalta withdrawal? Is this ever going to end? It really feels more physiological than psychological. Sometimes I just want to call the doctor and go back on just to relieve this discomfort at night/bedtime.

My poor spouse is supportive and helpful.

In a quandary at this point. Is it still withdrawal?????????????

Dear Coastal:

How long did it take you to overcome withdrawal symptoms????? I tapered slowly for a year, the last 3 months I was feeling fine and then I started having these horrible psychological and physical symptoms. Do you think it was still withdrawal symptoms or long term effects of the medication?

Are the panic attacks a new symptom????? Have you tried eating a snack right before going to bed???. Have you tried breathing techniques or yoga?