7 replies to this topic

[ArthurEllis]

Hi, I am not going through a Cymbalta withdrawal but my girlfriend is. I really want to be there for her, but our relationship has been super rocky since she began the withdrawal process. We used to get along really well before and while she was taking the medication. I'm an advocate for her deciding to stop taking the pills, it was having serious negative affects on her body physically. Now though, she is saying all these incendiary things and just being generally hurtful.

I'm clearly not doing what I should be doing to support her, and I am completely lost on how to help her. I react when she says these things, even though I know I shouldn't. It just generally sucks.

I guess my question is, how much of this do you guys think is her real outlook and how much of this is a product of the withdrawal? I really care about her, but it gets more and more strained the longer this goes on.

Thanks for any advice.

[Shelly]

Well, first of all, kudos to you for caring enough to seek help! How long have you been together? Has she been on cymbalta since you've known her? I know it's tough, but it sounds like you sincerely want to help, so I would say, try not to take things personally. (We should all be doing that all the time, I've learned from the book, The Four Agreements). Keep reading this and other message boards, they are a wealth of info and support!! Do you think she'd be receptive to reading info on cymbalta wd? Hoping to help ya get through this!

[kzap]

Hi Arthur,

It sounds like you and your girlfiend are both suffering from all of the negative effects from this Cymbalta withdrawal. I'm going through it myself and have been a real b@$%h at times too. I can honestly say I hate it and I really don't want to hurt my husband of 30 years with my outbursts. A lot of times we tend to ignore the effects this medicine w/d has on the inocent bystanders. My heart goes out to you as well as anyone else who is trying to support us coming off of this Evil drug.Try to hang in there. I know it's not easy no matter what side of this withdrawal you are experiencing. You and your girlfriend are definitely in my prayers. Prayer is the only way I'm getting through this. I'm presently on day 28 w/o cymbalta and I now have good days and bad days. I'm thrilled whenever I have a good day and I'm getting closer to that light at the end of this tunnel every day.

May God Bless you and keep you and your girlfriend safe. P;ease try to continue with your support for her as she's going through this HELL. May God restore yor relationship to pre-cymbalta w/d status.

[adrienneluv]

Arthur,

Kudos to you for caring enough about your girlfriend to seek support for her and for yourself during this trying time. Please read my story for more detailed info, but I'm just recently married and I KNOW WHAT YOU'RE GOING THROUGH! I was married barely a year before I decided to go cold turkey from cymbalta and it was absolute HELL! I would flipout at my husband saying things I totally didn't mean and later regretted and then burst into tears out of nowhere all in the course of an hour. This lasted for about a month. I would curl up into the fetal position on our bed shaking just wanting it to be over. I almost went back to cymbalta a million times throughout my ordeal. But I didn't. And now I am free! Granted I still take a mood stabilizer for my Bipolar II, but it doesn't turn me into a zombie like cymbalta did. Your girlfriend deserves so much credit for having the courage to do this. Basically if you've ever seen the movie "The Exorcist" this is what it's like...it's like she's not herself at all...but this is temporary and she will be back to normal soon enough. I had to take a few different medications to help me withdraw from this one counterintuitive I know (like ativan or seroquel) but those got me over the hump (maybe her psychiatrist can give her some temporary medications while is going through the withdrawl process?) but stick with her like you're doing and know that there is a light at the end of the tunnel. This board got me through one of the worst times of my life and I encourage you to read all of the posts not just recent but go back as far as you have the time to it really helps and obviously show your girlfriend this site she will see she's not crazy everything she's going through is normal! Good luck to you both!

[msmopar]

I came here looking for the same answers as Arthur. My boyfriend of 3 years recently stopped taking Cymbalta. We have not been getting along since then and fight constantly. His moods are erratic and I can't predict what is going to set him off. I am trying very hard to support him and I do believe it is his decision to decide not to take the drug but frankly his behavior scares me. He is now very aggressive; he throws things across the room, threatens to kill people (I don't think he really means it) and has had several episodes of road rage including one with his young son and niece in the car. He has also taken up a gun hobby. Lately he tells me that now he finally "feels" and this is who he is and if I can't deal with that than fine he can live without me Like Arthur, I wonder how much of this is the drug withdrawal and how much of this is the real him who now "feels" things....and of course I have to wonder if he couldn't feel things before what, if anything, he has felt for me up till this point? I also know that he began taking the Cymbalta because of depression and aggression issues. It's fine if he decides he is not going to take Cymbalta, but I am worried that he needs a plan in order to deal with the depression and the aggression. They couldn't have just gone away on their own? He won't consider therapy.

[KarenAnnabelle]

I came here looking for the same answers as Arthur. My boyfriend of 3 years recently stopped taking Cymbalta. We have not been getting along since then and fight constantly. His moods are erratic and I can't predict what is going to set him off. I am trying very hard to support him and I do believe it is his decision to decide not to take the drug but frankly his behavior scares me. He is now very aggressive; he throws things across the room, threatens to kill people (I don't think he really means it) and has had several episodes of road rage including one with his young son and niece in the car. He has also taken up a gun hobby. Lately he tells me that now he finally "feels" and this is who he is and if I can't deal with that than fine he can live without me Like Arthur, I wonder how much of this is the drug withdrawal and how much of this is the real him who now "feels" things....and of course I have to wonder if he couldn't feel things before what, if anything, he has felt for me up till this point? I also know that he began taking the Cymbalta because of depression and aggression issues. It's fine if he decides he is not going to take Cymbalta, but I am worried that he needs a plan in order to deal with the depression and the aggression. They couldn't have just gone away on their own? He won't consider therapy.

I just joined, so hopefully better late than never ... but some of that honestly sounds dangerous. I'm going through withdrawal myself and those are the type of things that I would hope would raise a red flag in someone who cares about me. It's a really hard position to be in. If you say something, he's not himself and will blow up but at the same time, dangerous is dangerous. Does he have a Doc monitoring or did he just stop suddenly? I have suffered some serious road rage too and a friend finally suggested that I not drive for a while, we carpool to work. If he's threatening to kill people and you aren't 100% sure that he doesn't mean it, you might need to intervene. I know in my right mind, I'd want someone to help me at that point.

Also, I think it's great that you care enough to look for help and ask.

[Shellbell]

I agree. Especially with the new gun "hobby". It's so scary what can happen ON these meds, and just as scary what can happen when you go OFF of them! Are there any friends or family that can help? Keep us posted please.

[Heartfeathers]

Hi, I am not going through a Cymbalta withdrawal but my girlfriend is. I really want to be there for her, but our relationship has been super rocky since she began the withdrawal process. We used to get along really well before and while she was taking the medication. I'm an advocate for her deciding to stop taking the pills, it was having serious negative affects on her body physically. Now though, she is saying all these incendiary things and just being generally hurtful.

I'm clearly not doing what I should be doing to support her, and I am completely lost on how to help her. I react when she says these things, even though I know I shouldn't. It just generally sucks.

I guess my question is, how much of this do you guys think is her real outlook and how much of this is a product of the withdrawal? I really care about her, but it gets more and more strained the longer this goes on.

Thanks for any advice.

NONE of this is what she is truly feeling. It is the poison that is Cymbalta talking!! My husband repeated that in his head over and over and over and would not engage me when I would go nuts.....