845 replies to this topic

[thismoment]

LadyNancy

 

I just re-read the stuff and I think you are surely correct. I too was on the threshold of ending my life as were so many of us on Cymbalta and similar drugs. Hopefully AJ1212 will post something after his appointment with the psychiatrist Friday.

 

Your insights and postings are always excellent!

[Flossy]

Feeling really flat! Have reduced from 180 to 60 and have been sitting on 60 for 3 months! Just feel flat, irritable and lack motivation. I kind of miss the party girl sometimes (when I was on 180 of cymbalta)! Has anyone else felt like this?

[fishinghat]

With that high a dose it doesn't surprise me. It may take another 4 to 6 weeks to get feeling better before your next drop can occur. You were on a very high dose so this will take some time. Patience is most important.

[cocopah40]

Hi I just started on this forum, I went cold turkey off of Cymbalta due to losing my job and no insurance to pay for it.  So here is my list of issues 

 

Side Effects:
Depression worsened 
Irritability 
Trouble sleeping
Nightmares 
Withdrew from friends and family
Rage 
Agitation
Suicidal ideation
Memory problems
Concentration problems

Withdrawal Symtpoms:
Nausea 
Diarrhea 
Flu-like symptoms
Sinus pain 
Runny nose
Hot flashes
Rage
Mood Swings 
Crying 
Suicidal ideation
Memory problems
Concentration problems
Nightmares 

Lost

Lonely

Confused

Sad

Mad at myself 

tooth ache

 

I knew that once I had to stop Cymbalta I would go into withdrawal  but not even realizing I would go through this many side effects.  What a shock to have ALL of this happen.  I thought my moods would become depressed, which is why I took Cymbalta to begin with.  When I read about what was going on I was devasted at what has happened to me. 

 

I am at three months off of Cymbalta and there are moments I cannot even believe I feel so black in my mind.  The thoughts I get stuck on are horrible, sad, frightening and it takes me so long to recover and feel a moment of relief.  Then just like that I am back to feeling awful again the slightest thought or reaction I have will send me downward. 

 

I am grateful to be on this forum as it helps me at least not feel so alone.  I have had great comments to keep me encouraged and hopeful that  I will get through this.  In the meantime, I am trying to stay patient, calm, and pray this will pass so I can get on with my life.  

 

I am scared as when all is said and done, if I need to go back on something to help with my depression what could I take???  I hope nothing as my moods will be managable.  I think I just need to get through this first and see how things go before I think of antidepressants again.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[thismoment]

Coco

 

Yes many of the items on your list are familiar to me! This discontinuation business is a long process that doesn't seem to fade fast enough! But it does fade eventually.

 

At 3 months you should be seeing as many good times as bad. I know it's so tempting to just say to hell with it and get another antidepressant to make it all go away. I get that. Quality of life is all that matters, and I know you're not getting as much quality as you would like-- therefore the option of going on another medication surely feels compelling.

 

I'm only here as the foolish uncle who mixes the drinks too strong and laughs at his own jokes, and surely nothing I have to say will mean much when the final scores of profoundness are tallied-- But-- Can you hang on to 6 months and then make the decision?

 

I cannot take your hand and look into your eyes and tell you everything will turn out perfectly-- nobody can do that. But I can assure you that the journey you describe has been travelled before by many frightened and lonely souls on this forum, and I am one of them. You can't answer the "can I go it alone without antidepressants?" question before 6 months of discontinuation. 

 

You said it yourself, " I think I just need to get through this first and see how things go before I think of antidepressants again." I believe the "get through this first' part is 6 months long. Hang in there dear.

 

Take care.

[lady2882Nancy]

Hey Coco

 

I was where you are at about the same time off. For me it was 12 weeks off and I didn't know if I could go on anymore. I finally saw a psychiatrist and she suggested an antidepressant. I told her that I was med sensitive and didn't want to be on anything that would be hard to get off of. I ended up on a low dose of Zoloft (10mg a day). What a difference that made for me.

It got rid of all the lingering withdrawal symptoms and put me in a place where I could at least make a decision about what was the Cymbalta and what was me. I was only on it for about 8 weeks and then was able to stop it very easily without a return of the problems caused by stopping the Cymbalta.

I do have other problems, I am bipolar apparently, but they are me now and although they were triggered by the Cymbalta, they were not caused by it so now I am at least moving forward. And yes depression is something I have to battle but I know now that it won't last forever and most days I can be myself without raging or crying so that is progress and I'll take it.

I have been off Cymbalta now for 22 months and have learned a lot about myself and meds. I will not make the same mistakes that I made with Cymbalta and blindly take a med that my family doctor suggests. These kinds of meds are really not well understood by them so I will do my research and discuss them with a qualified psychiatrist or psychiapharmacologcist.

 

I am not trying to influence what you decide to do here, just letting you know what worked for me, as there are many avenues and we each have to choose our own path.

 

Take care of you and be well

[cocopah40]

Hello, 

 

Thanks for again the words to make me put things in a different light.  I will give this time and see what and how I feel.  I am working on slowing down my thought process as that is a big issue for me.  I need to just BE STILL.  

 

This Moment, you are so helpful with your words.  I will wait for a while, just trying to do one second at a time.  As crappy as this sounds, I am glad I am not the only lonely one.  The good days are few in between the bad, but it doesn't help living in Maine, where it is snowing AGAIN!!!  Can't get out much.................But I will fight this and will win.  I am a breast cancer  warrior and if I can fight that I too, can fight this.....................

 

Lady2882Nancy it is so nice to know you are at 22 months, Good for you!!  I look forward to learning about me and how I am without any type of drugs in my system.  It will be a very eye opening experience for me.  I am going through the ups and downs of good and bad days.  I can tell the minute I open my eyes how the day will go.  Then the song and dance plays all day long.  But I am making an effort to play what song to dance too.  And that is a huge step for me..............

 

Thank you again, I am blessed by the love and support I found here...........

Coco

 

[DoneWithCrap]

Today is my birthday. 49 years old.
Tomorrow will be 3 months off.

I'm so miserable I can't stand myself. My mood changes so easily and the anxiety is debilitating.

[thismoment]

Renee

I'm sorry you are not feeling well yet. My month 3 was Rage Month, and I feel fortunate to have made it past that period. I was a hazard in the house, in a group, and especially on the road! It was a version of me I could not endure a second time!

I wish you peace-- it will come.

Happy Birthday my dear.

[TryinginFL]

OH, Renee.

 

I wish you a Happy Birthday!  I'm sorry that it certainly isn't a good one for you, dear heart.

 

3 months off is not the best of times, to be sure.  I know that I was not doing well at that point - yes, the mood changes, I know, and I seem to remember still crying a great deal.  The ups and downs were horrible.

 

I certainly understand about the anxiety as it was unbearable.  Are you taking anything for it?  Please pardon my poor memory as I'm sure you must have mentioned this before.  I know that you have much going on there and can only imagine how difficult this must be for you.

 

Have you been able to work on the quilt to try to divert your attention?  I had a terrible time doing anything except pouring out my feelings on this forum and mindlessly watching TV.

 

Please come here more often to rant and tell us how you are feeling.  It's all OK and you know that we care and are here for you.  We want to help - you should start to see a good day here and there soon - maybe only an hour or two, but they are coming - soon!

 

My heart aches for you.  This is your home, please stay with us.

 

Love, hugs and prayers dear friend,

 

Liz   

[DoneWithCrap]

Thank you for understanding.

I'm in the process of switching from Klonopin back to ativan. I was on 2 Klonopin at bed. Now I take 1 Klonopin and 1 mg ativan at bed and .5 mg ativan in the morning. I have been doing this for 2 weeks. I'm not sure when I'm supposed to up the bedtime Ativan and drop the Klonopin. I'm not even sure about anything right now.

The quilting is creating more anxiety than it should. I'm paper piecing the entire thing which is much more time consuming than precut ting the pieces and chain stitching them but I need it it be exact ( my anxiety) and paper piecing is the only way to get it as accurate as I want it to be. I keep changing my mind about how I want to use the different fabrics. I was going to use two different white on white fabrics. Yesterday I decided that I needed more variety and bought a new white. Now I'm worried that it won't be scrappy enough ( evenly randomizing the pieces of white). I know that in the end, none of this is going to matter to my dad. He probably won't even be able to see the difference. I just get hung up on details that don't matter. Yet I perseverate over the smallest details.

[TryinginFL]

Renee,

 

Can you contact whichever Dr. prescribed the Ativan and find out when you are to go on it completely?  If you could do this tomorrow, that would eliminate that one thing rather easily.

 

I'm sorry that the quilting is causing you so much anxiety as I know that this is a special gift for your dad.  Would it help if you took a break from it until you get straightened out on the Ativan?  Just a suggestion...maybe it would help.

 

Please take good care of you

[DoneWithCrap]

Thanks TFL

I think I will just take 2 ativan and 1 Klonopin tonight. I won't drop the Klonopin until I run out.

I don't even want to talk to my prescriber anymore.

[gail]

Renee,

I am positive that FH can help you with that benzo thing.
Ativan has such a short life and am wondering if you can be in withdrawal day after day.

He mentioned often that benzos should be taken at regular intervals and dosage.
Specially the short life ones like ativan.

Talk to him, since you don't wish to contact your doc, he will be of great help for this matter.♥

[fishinghat]

Hi Renee

 

I am like TM, that 3rd month really sucked. I don't like benzos but you have to do what you have to do. Your plan on added the second Ativan at bed seems sound. If that is too much benzo you will notice that you will become really stoned. Sluggish, sleepy and dragging. If that occurs you can go to 1 and 1/2 Ativan or back off on the Klonopin. Like Liz said Ativan has a short half life so I would think the dr would want you on part of that dose in the morning eventually. That would give yoou some relieve from the daytime anxiety.

 

Hang in there Renee and just think about how much better next the next birthday will be.

 

God Bless and prayers from FH.

[Clara]

Wishing you a belated Happy birthday, DWC! Hang in there! You WILL see better days! Love hugs and prayers!!!

[DoneWithCrap]

Thank you,

I do take .5 mg of ativan in the morning. If I need to I can take another .5 during the day. I usually take my nightly dose after midnight ani I wake up at around 6AM. That leaves 18 hours of awake time to have to deal with.

I wish it were the other way around. I could handle 6 hours awake a day.

[fishinghat]

I understand that feeling. Many times I wished I could sleep through my problems.

[NyAnneCat]

I just feel....awful. Seriously. I can't explain to anyone in a way that makes them understand just how miserable I am. 

 

I usually feel okay as long as I am sitting real still and looking at just one thing. But if I have to get up or look around, my vision is blurred. It feels like my eyeballs are twitching in their sockets or something and it makes me dizzy. I cannot concentrate and I'm so emotional right now. I feel hopeless, like I will never be okay again. 

 

The reason I went off of Cymbalta was so that my husband and I could start trying to have a baby, but right now I am so miserable I don't know how that will happen. Please tell me there is hope....I really want to become a mom this year and this is completely ruining my life. 

[TryinginFL]

Hi again!

 

Guess you posted in 2 places - my first post was in the other one!

 

Anyway, I suggest that you read that one and then please come back to give us your answers!

 

You might like to check out the Bead Counting - How To Do It under Are You New Here? This is the safest and easiest way to get off this crap - you  are in control and will be able to keep the withdrawal to a minimum.  I understand that you want to get pregnant soon and depending how long you were on this poison and your age, will most likely determine the length of time it will take to safely get off of it!  There is no time line here, but it appears that you are much younger than I and that is in your favor!  Those of us over 50 seem to have the worst time.

 

I went off of 60mg cold turkey in Jan. of 2014 and spent a hellacious year!  You definitely do NOT want to do this!

 

We have members here who can help you with a schedule for the weaning and we just need your answers!

 

I wish you the best and look forward to hearing from you!  Just remember - we're here for you and want to help!

 

Liz  

[fishinghat]

NAC

 

I can assure you it is just the withdrawal. And my eyeballs did twitch when I looked around. Do consider the bead counting if you can. Either way God Bless and hang in there.

[Ramona80]

My side effects were:

Exhaustion

Needing to take naps during the day

Feeling unwell, like the malaise feeling you have when you're getting a virus

Getting too hot if I did anything physical, even basic housework

 

Withdrawal symptoms:

Dizziness unlike anything I've ever felt. Felt like my brain was a sponge and someone poured alcohol into it. 

"Swish" feeling in head

Pain in one eye, fluttering in the other

Waking up in the night to seeing a kaleidoscope pattern before my eyes - intricate patterns of swirling geometric shapes. Once or twice a second, it would change (from, say, all squares to all diamonds, to all circles, etc.)

Pain all over my body

Periodically a tingling feeling in one area of my body, or one side of my head

Shakiness

Sleeping even more during the day than the side effects had made me do

Grogginess

Difficulty concentrating/thinking

Hot flashes

Feeling hot and nauseous in brain, if that makes any sense. That's the best way I can describe it. The hot, nauseous feeling branches down my body.

Inability to do anything that requires physical stamina, even taking a walk around the block. Feel shaky, hot, sick, and sometimes nauseous afterwards.

Getting tears in my eyes easily...several times a day

Irritability, impatience

 

(By the way, this is on a slow taper, with doctor supervision.)

[thismoment]

Hi Ramona80

 

Can you describe your "slow taper"? Thanks.

[Ramona80]

Hi, 

The doctor first had me drop from 60 mg to 40 mg, and wanted me to try that for 3 weeks before the next step down. The effects of that were horrible. Then she had me go back up to 50 mg and add in 10 mg of Celexa. She wants me to be on 50 mg of the Cymbalta for 3 weeks before dropping to 40 mg, and so on. 

[fishinghat]

I agree with your dr. If you had that significant reaction then her schedule makes sense. It may take you a couple weeks to settle down and a couple more weeks for the Celexa to start up but you will get there. This will take awhile but you should at least avoid the worse of the withdrawal.

[thismoment]

Ramona80

The drop from 60 to 40 is the opposite of a slow wean-- it's a cold turkey plunge. A slow wean from 60 to 40 is a drop of 33% and that is an unacceptable drop in one go-- perhaps a true slow wean would be a reduction of 1% per day, which would be over 33 days for that 33% drop.

Your doctor's advice is exactly opposite to what Eli Lilly (the manufacturer) proposes for withdrawal-- Eli Lilly advises slow weaning, with no large steps and no missed days.

Now, the doc has you jumping back up to 50 and simultaneously adding in another drug. While this will eventually level out, it's still a shock because these changes should be 'weaned' in. Oh you'll do alright, but the strategy is crude. The suffering you will endure is unnecessary.

When you drop from 50 to 40 mg (a 20% drop), do it slowly and steadily at (say) 1% per day over 20 days. If rough symptoms emerge, slow down-- level off the weaning for a few days until you stabilize, then start reducing again.

The severity the symptoms will tell you if the dosage reduction is too steep.

Take care.

[Ramona80]

Do people still have some withdrawal symptoms when they go that slowly?

[Ramona80]

Also, I wanted to see if my psychiatrist could have me cross-taper with the Celexa at this point. As in, each time I go down 10 mgs of Cymbalta, I increase the Celexa by 10 mg. (I was on Celexa years ago, it worked well for me then and never caused any side-effects or withdrawals).

How does a cross-taper experience compare to just slowly weaning from Cymbalta by counting beads? 

[TryinginFL]

Ramona,

 

Slow weaning keeps the withdrawal symptoms to a minimum and you remain in control!

 

I'm sorry I can't answer your question regarding cross tapering, as I am one of the cold turkey survivors -I DON'T RECOMMEND IT!

 

Someone will hop on here soon to help you out with that one...

 

 

Liz  

[thismoment]

Cse

In general, the slower you wean, the fewer and lighter the withdrawal symptoms. Some people have weaned off over 12-16 months with virtually no symptoms.

Cymbalta has proven to be a difficult drug to withdraw from. With a drug like this, physicians often slowly introduce a second related medication while slowly reducing the first drug. This is done to reduce the severity of withdrawal symptoms. Fluoxetine (Prozac) is an example of a serotonin drug that is often uploaded while Duloxetine (Cymbalta) is being withdrawn. Also, there is a relationship between half-life and the onset of acute withdrawal symptoms. The half-life of Cymbalta is 12 hours, whereas the half-life of Prozac is 3-4 days at first, and extends to a week and more after long-time use. Prozac has less of a withdrawal "edge".

Of course, the patient must now wean off the second drug.

Slow weaning vs cross-tapering is an interesting question. Which one is best? There are many variables to consider, and certainly for many people anxiety is a big part of the decision. Personally, I would opt for super-slow weaning starting with a year. Then after a couple of months to assess symptoms, I would begin shortening the timeline some to see if symptoms appear. That way I could tailor the weaning to keep symptoms at bay and maintain an efficient timeline.

I weaned off over 42 days and the symptoms were horrendous! I wouldn't do that again.