18 replies to this topic

[big_orange_kitty]

Any family of Cymbalta need a sholder to cry on? We all need each other. Victims and their family's.

[schmb01]

I so agree with you, and many people NEED their families to get on here and read and ask for support. It can only help to get through the withdrawals for the victim, and help family members see that it may be a bumpy road, but with time and patience, it can be done, and you will get your family member/friend back.

[Lori]

Support for family members of people who are dealing with the Cymbalta withdrawal is really needed. I wish more family members and friends would seek help from this message board, my boyfriend included. I know it was tough on him. I am sorry he had to go through it but I am so thankful he stuck by me. Sometimes I would get angry and yell at him that it is ME who is going through the withdrawals, but sometimes its hard for us, the 'victims' to see what it is doing to our family and friends, especially our families. I even feel the same way sometimes, now that I have been going through withdrawals of not smoking. It is ME who is going through this, you sit smugly in your chair with a cigarette.....but I also understand I have to exercise more control over what I say and try to remember what is fair and what isnt.
Hearing from people who are dealing with a loved one, going through withdrawal from Cymbalta, helped me alot. It helped me see what it was doing to the people I love. I encourage everyone who is going through this, to get the family involved and have them post on this site too, but if they dont, dont get discouraged, they may have their own way of dealing with it.

[hasinal]

My mom has just stopped this drug and she felt OK for about 3 days. Then the 4th day, it all started. EVERYTHING discussed here has happened for her, except she is able to sleep and is not suicidal. But she has the brain zaps, horrible headaches, nausea, light sensitivity, etc. She is understandably wary of new meds and I am just waiting to see what her doctor says. I must mention that we are a bit miffed at the doc for NOT EVEN KNOWING OR NOT CARING that this drug was on the FDA watch list!!!

There is a lot of info here and I will also share this site with her. My father and I are both extremely supportive and want her well again. I know this may be a very long process, but that's what family's for! I will read as much as I can but there will be times I miss things and may ask again - please be patient - I'm still learning... .

What are the most crucial things for us to remember during her first 1-2 weeks? If there is a topic for this already, please don't hesitate to point me there rather than having to re-type or paraphrase.

Thank you all!
Erin

[jmmdgm]

My wife is on her 6th day off of Cymbalta and things are getting tough. She was only on it for 6 months but the withdrawl symptoms are the same as i have been reading about. She was on the 60 mg and dropped down to 30mg and she did get alot of brain zaps but after a couple of weeks they let up somewhat. Now she has quit completely and the brain zaps are getting worse and worse!! I try to help her deal with all that she is going through but sometimes she just wants to " Deal with the problems by herself" and then I don't know what to do. I have read alot on this site and am really scared of what is to come!! She has started getting very angry over the simplest things and seems to always be mad at me. I will deal with this but just needed to tell others what we are going through. I think they should ban Cymbalta and get angry every time I see their commercials!!!!

[Houdi]

jmmdgm:

Welcome to the forum. I'm sorry you and your family are dealing with this.

I think it is so great you are so supportive of your wife. She will be better off because you are so involved. It will be better for her. I promise you are a real asset. Please don't be afraid of what may come. It also may not come. You must take this one day at a time. She will feel so much better soon.

Regarding the anger, I can tell you my emotions didn't yo yo for long. I hope you are having her read the posts here also. She will be better equipped and maybe the two of you will be able to discuss things openly and honestly.

Keep your chin up. Keep posting if it helps you. Share with your wife. And my goodness, you are a good husband and human. Thanks for helping her. She'll thank you very soon.

Best of wishes.....Houdi

[jmmdgm]

Houdi:

Thanks for the encourgement. She got really upset with me today when I didn't hear my phone ring. (3 times) When I called her back it was too late, she was pissed off. I went home for lunch and she had already packed a few things in her car to go to the other side of town to spend the night in our empty townhouse. We have two daughters that know what is going on that are 21 and 27 and they try to help me as much as they can, but my wife gets to where she just wants everyone to "just leave her alone". I did get her to talk to me for a few brief minutes but she was upset the whole time. She says she will probably come home tomorrow, I hope she does. I would go over to where she is but she doesn't want me to, she " Wants Her Space!!!"

[Houdi]

Oh boy! She's going to be so happy in an empty townhouse. ;( Hang in there. It will get better. May I ask why she was prescribed Cymbalta? And why did she decide to stop taking it?

Glad your children are knowledgable about the situation too. You'll both get support gem them. Some days just suck, huh?

Houdi

[jmmdgm]

Houdi:

Yea, some days are pure hell. The anger and rage come from nowhere and for no aparent reason!! I don't know how long this will last, but i sure hope she gets better soon.

She started taking Cymbalta after seeing our regular PCP and was refered to a psychiatrist that she still goes to once every two weeks. Our youngest son (25) has had his share of problems and my wife always worrys and takes on his problems as she has done since he was a young child. She has always had some periods of depression and had a hard time coming out it it at times. Don't get me wrong there has always been some problems since she was a little girl, but these issues just sent her over the edge. We have had our share of problems raising 4 children (they are all grown up now) through our 22 years of marrige but we have never been through anything like this!! After 6 months she was up to 60 mg a day and seemed to be staying the same so it was her decision to start coming off of Cymbalta. I just wish she would have dropped down from 30 mg to 20 mg and ween off of it slowly, but this is day 7 and I don't thing we are going to turn back now.

[Houdi]

If she is really miserable, and has lots of withdrawal issues, she may benefit from seeing her psych doc and try to get a prescription of Prozac or another antidepressant to get her through the worst of the withdrawal. This method has really helped some forum members. I didn't do it this way, and I was miserable for a long time from the physical withdrawal side effects. Yuck!

I hope today is a better day and your wife has decided to come home. Stay healthy!

Best of wishes....Houdi

[jmmdgm]

Houdi:

My wife called me around 10:30 am to let me know she was at her friends house. I got to talk to her for only a few minutes, she stated that she was a little better but was still very irratiable. She finally got home around 10 pm and was if a very bad mood, asked her how she was feeling and she said the same and would have not come home except she didn't have her Ambien with her. I eventually got her to talk a little and she stated that she was going to look up Greyhound Bus and look for someplace to go. This scares me very much!! She just wants to leave and not let anyone know where she is. At this point I don't know what to do, I can't stay with her 24/7 to make sure that she is ok and even if I could she doesn't want me around. She says that our whole family is all f**k** up and has been for a long time. I told her that it is just the withdrawl that is making her think like that. She gets mad and yells "Is it of is this the way I really feel about our life!! " There is so much anger and hatred that I can't really talk to her without just making her more furrious at me!

Any feedback would be much appreciated.

[Houdi]

jmmdgm:

Wow, this is quite a barrel of fish she is serving up to you. You have to do something if she is suicidal. Otherwise, do you think she is manic or has had a mental break? Or do you think you should give her the space she says she needs and desires so bad? It sounds 'different' than other stories posted here. Most of us have outbursts of anger, then episodes of guilt and sadness. But, everyone is different. I hope others will chime in here to help with this conundrum.

Can you talk with her 'friend' that she stayed with yesterday and ask what he/she thinks is going on?

As you wrote, you can't stay with her 24/7, and it is especially hard when she doesn't want you around. I feel so bad for both of you.

Hang in there.....Houdi

[jmmdgm]

Houdi:

Day 8 off of Cymbalta:
Today was a good day, I got the call I've been waiting for to move my Dad to a different home and my wife went with me. She was still having bad brain zaps but the anger had somewhat subsided. We had several short talks about what went on the day before but I didn't want to push it too far. No she has not gone over the edge but as you have said everyone is different. She tried to get hold of her doctor today to let him know what she is experiencing but their office didn't call back. We will call this morning and she even told me I could call myself if I wanted to. Hopefully he will give her something to help with the withdrawl symptoms!!! It is like an extreme rollercoaster ride to say the least. At least today we talked, ate and spent some quality time together without all the anger. I am very thankful for today and look foreward to more days like this one.

Thanks for your support

[Houdi]

jmmdgm:

Phew, a good day indeed! I am happy for you.

If I remember correctly, Day 4 is when I started the worst of the withdrawal issues. It isn't fun for those of us that have problems coming off the medication.

Remember to take care of yourself while you help your wife. K? I think it is a good idea to let her MD know what she is experiencing.

Stay strong and healthy.....Houdi

[jmmdgm]

Houdi:

Day 9 off Cymbalta:

Today was a good day. I called her doctor this morning since we didn't get a return call yesterday and let them know what was going on. They wanted to see her so she called herself and made her an app. We went and talked to the Dr but he didn't seem that worried about what she is experiencing. All in all he really wasn't much help, all he said that really makes sense is that idle time is not good for her right now. He told her that if she didn't have anything to do to try to donate some time at the Childrens Hospital or something like that. She is still staying on track with her plan to stop taking these type of drugs all together so we will continue to get her through these withdrawl symptoms without any other meds. She is getting better at letting me know exactly what she is feeling throughout the day. This helps so much!! She feels sad at times and just starts crying and other times she can feel the anger building up inside. We talk about what is making her feel these different ways and can always get to the root of her feelings. These are feelings that are always there but the emotional feelings are just much more extreme than normal.

I don't know if I'm explaining things the right way but that is how I see things.

Thanks for the support

[Houdi]

Jmmdgm:

Hum, interesting MD appointment? I don't even know where to start with that one.

Regarding her emotions, what you wrote brought back a flood of memories for me. After a few weeks of a raging pendulum of emotional swings, I remember feeling empowered I had emotions again. Cymbalta really made me 'blah'. No highs, no lows, no intense anything. Then no Cymbalta and I started to feel again. And, I started looking forward to having emotions and learning to control them myself. (Now remember, I wasn't prescribed Cymbalta for depression or anxiety, etc. It may be harder for patients with a mood disorder to begin with, I don't really know. ) It seemed once I looked forward to having and managing emotions, I actually looked forward to the range of emotions and feelings one experiences throughout the day.

Your wife's brain and body is withdrawing from a strong drug. She needs to give herself some time and space to heal and get a grip on what her brain and body is experiencing. She needs good food, good family and a laugh here and there. I think laughter and humor where so welcome when I could experience them again!

Best to you both....Houdi

[jmmdgm]

Houdi:

Thanks Houdi, I'm taking her away for the week end to get away from everything and just spend some time together and alone. She loves the beach so that's where we're going. You say laughter was great to feel again. I agree with you, I would love to hear some from her again. You are right when you speak about when someone is on Cymbalta they don't really feel many emotions. I think back for the past few months and can see that she was "just there" and neither one of us liked her like that. I thank you for sharing what you have learned from the withdrawl symproms and experiences. I think and pray that we are on the down slope of the withdrawls now.

[jmmdgm]

Houdi:

My wife has now been off of Cymbalta for a full 12 days:

I took my wife away for the week end and we had a wonderful time. there were many moments that she would just break down and cry and other times she would have outbursts of some anger but all in all she is doing much better. This is day 13 and she has already had a good cry this morning, but I do believe the worst has passed and there will be better days ahead.

She continues to battle these withdrawl symptoms without any other medications and working together we will make it. The brain zaps and the dizziness continues and seems to be worse in the evening. The rage has left (for good I hope) but there are still bursts of anger. Talking to her helps alot, I don't know how many times a day I ask her "How are you feeling? Tell me what's going on right now." At times she needs her space and I always give her some time to calm down a bit. Crowds are bad because they cause her head to spin and gets more brain zaps, so we try to stay away from crowed places.

Houdi, I want to thank you for your replies to me as they really have helped me in getting through these rough times. I just hope others read these forums BEFORE they decide to start taking Cymbalta!!!!!! Don't take it, for you will be sorry later!!!

Best Wishes to you and your family,

JM

[Houdi]

JM:

Me oh my, have you and your wife had a tough 12 days. I want to thank you for being there for her. And, please do not get discouraged. There may be set back days. Warn your wife too, 'cuz if and when it happens, it is a blow if you aren't prepared for them. Hopefully, she won't have a set back, but if it happens take it one day at a time and it WILL pass. Promise.

Regarding the brain zaps and dizziness, try having her lay down, cover her eyes with something and try to rest for 5-30 minutes. It would reset my brain zaps and therefore my attitude.

I also think a trip to the beach was a perfect idea. A change of scenery, a place to take nice breezy walks, sand between toes.... I'm very jealous!

You take care of yourself. Have your wife take extra great care of herself. And remember, it will take time.

All my best....Houdi