56 replies to this topic

[Heartfeathers]

Please pay attention to how you are feeling .   When you cold turkey from Cymbalta it is common to develop protracted withdrawl symptoms.   ( Withdrawals that hit you out of nowhere MONTHS after stopping.) So don't celebrate yet.   I pray it doesnt happen to you, but Cymbalta is known for it.    It is almost 3 years since I cold turkeyed and I am SUFFERING.   I took 60 mg for 8 years.   The only SAFE way to get off of this poison is to COUNT THE BEADS and dont drop more than 10% of the dose every 6 weeks!  

[equuswoman]

Bead counting. I couldn't do it any other way..

[jdhibbard]

Hello everyone! I hope that today finds all of you well. I am still doing good. I've found that if I keep myself busy, it really seems to help. When I'm busy I don't have as much time to focus on all of the negative things that seem to plague us all. That being said... I have had a pretty productive last couple of days. For some dumb reason, I decided that my kitchen needed a good cleaning and reorganization. After breaking a plate and two glasses, stubbing my pinky toe, getting hit on the head by a bottle of allspice, (Which I might add, REALLY hurt.) and a few bad words I normally would never use, I now have a spotless and well organized kitchen! LOL My spirits are high and I am so looking forward to the holidays this year. Not enough to hit the Black Friday sales, (I don't feel that good yet. LOL) but much better than I have for the last few years. Every day seems to get a little bit easier for me. I know the ones of you who are still suffering from the withdrawals probably don't think that it will ever get better, but believe me it WILL. Something that I've discovered recently is that even after the withdrawals stop, you still have to learn how to cope with everyday life again. Without the Cymbalta barrier. It's hard but we CAN do it. I thank all of you for your support and encouraging words. Welcome to the forum Wagtail and Equuswoman. I hope that each and every one of you have a happy Thanksgiving!    

[thismoment]

jdhibbard- what a wonderfully inspirational post!! 

 

And as you say, "...even after the withdrawals stop, you still have to learn how to cope with everyday life again." This is where Mindfulness helped me a great deal.

 

Best wishes to you, and continued success!!

[jdhibbard]

Please pay attention to how you are feeling .   When you cold turkey from Cymbalta it is common to develop protracted withdrawl symptoms.   ( Withdrawals that hit you out of nowhere MONTHS after stopping.) So don't celebrate yet.   I pray it doesnt happen to you, but Cymbalta is known for it.    It is almost 3 years since I cold turkeyed and I am SUFFERING.   I took 60 mg for 8 years.   The only SAFE way to get off of this poison is to COUNT THE BEADS and dont drop more than 10% of the dose every 6 weeks!  

Hi Heart feathers! I'll be completely honest with you... If I had it all to do over again, I would have definitely done the bead counting method! I knew that it wouldn't be easy to stop the Cymbalta cold turkey, but I had no idea just how bad the withdrawals would get. A few times I literally thought that I was going to die! By the time I realized that I had made a serious lapse in judgement I had already been off the drug for 3 or 4 days. I didn't want to start all over again, so I just suffered on through it. Big mistake on my part! LOL I will absolutely keep what you told me in mind. I didn't know about the "protracted withdrawal symptoms." I hate that your having to deal with this after being off Cymbalta for so long! It just isn't fair. Thank you for the information. If I can help you in any way, please let me know. 

[Kindorf]

Hi jdhibbard it is really good to hear someone is feeling better after going through all the misery that this garbage Cymbalta causes. Your words are truly encouraging.

I too also chose cold turkey and I hope I can be as strong as you were. Every time my dizziness or brain zaps take my feet out from under me I will think of your words of encouragement.

Thank you for a post that gives us hope.

[jdhibbard]

It really does get better, Kindorf. Some people don't recover as quickly as others, but most of us do recover. I just kept reminding myself everyday that it would be worth it in the end. And, it really is. Just remember... Baby steps. Best of luck to you. 

[equuswoman]

"hope" we MUST have this.

for without hope we have nothing...

Hang in there my fellow forum friends...

Prayers continue 4U

[equuswoman]

jdhibbard- what a wonderfully inspirational post!! 

 

And as you say, "...even after the withdrawals stop, you still have to learn how to cope with everyday life again." This is where Mindfulness helped me a great deal.

 

Best wishes to you, and continued success!!

"mindfullness",

somehow I even like the 'sound' of that word...

2B mindful...yes thank U thismoment but again!

from TheEquusWoman

[libertyrose6]

Hello everyone,

I wasn't planning on going off cymbalta but since running out of it and not being able to afford the new generic price I've decided to do so. I was getting it free from the manufacturer but needed to resubmit the paperwork and that takes time, so here I am going cold turkey and feeling bad.

My symptoms started yesterday with lots of diarrhea and are continuing so far this morning. I had waves of dizziness yesterday and just didn't feel good overall.

After reading the posts I am now wondering if I have been having issues for awhile from the cymbalta.

I do have several bulging discs, and other spinal issues; however my joint pain lately has been off the chart. I have no desire to leave the house, I have to force myself to get a shower or do anything productive. I don't want to socialize. I spend my time trying to sleep because I am so sleep deprived. 

All this time I thought it was because of my chronic pain and associated depression. Now I think it's this drug!

This is day 11 for me. 

I haven't slept well in months. Again, I blamed it on my pain which I know does have something to do with it, but perhaps not everything.

I am postmenopausal or as I call it post crazy! My mood swings can be pretty intense and my irritability often annoys my partner and myself for that matter. 

I am now wondering if this or a lot of it is from the cymbalta?! 

I have been taking cymbalta for approximately 1.5 years. My doctor suggested I try it to help with the chronic pain. I agreed. I have ran out of it before and it seemed like my irritability worsened, so I went back on it and here I am again struggling without it and perhaps I had been struggling with it and just didn't realize it!

I would appreciate any feedback or suggestions.

Thanks!

 

[equuswoman]

Hello everyone,

I wasn't planning on going off cymbalta but since running out of it and not being able to afford the new generic price I've decided to do so. I was getting it free from the manufacturer but needed to resubmit the paperwork and that takes time, so here I am going cold turkey and feeling bad.

My symptoms started yesterday with lots of diarrhea and are continuing so far this morning. I had waves of dizziness yesterday and just didn't feel good overall.

After reading the posts I am now wondering if I have been having issues for awhile from the cymbalta.

I do have several bulging discs, and other spinal issues; however my joint pain lately has been off the chart. I have no desire to leave the house, I have to force myself to get a shower or do anything productive. I don't want to socialize. I spend my time trying to sleep because I am so sleep deprived. 

All this time I thought it was because of my chronic pain and associated depression. Now I think it's this drug!

This is day 11 for me. 

I haven't slept well in months. Again, I blamed it on my pain which I know does have something to do with it, but perhaps not everything.

I am postmenopausal or as I call it post crazy! My mood swings can be pretty intense and my irritability often annoys my partner and myself for that matter. 

I am now wondering if this or a lot of it is from the cymbalta?! 

I have been taking cymbalta for approximately 1.5 years. My doctor suggested I try it to help with the chronic pain. I agreed. I have ran out of it before and it seemed like my irritability worsened, so I went back on it and here I am again struggling without it and perhaps I had been struggling with it and just didn't realize it!

I would appreciate any feedback or suggestions.

Thanks!

 

Hi and welcome to the forum. I to was given Cymbalta for the pain of my lower back due to osteoarthritis. 18 months ago. The SE of this drug were just to much for me and "I" wanted OFF. Thus the journey thru Cymbalta hell began...You will find ppl here on this forum so willing to help you. They have been a life saver for me as I began this process back in Nov...I am doing the slow wean using the bead counting method. However this is not always possible for some Cymbalta users. As yourself. But what you MUST remember that you will in the future be off and hopefully w/out a lot of left over withdrawal s/s.

Come here to the fourm the ppl here care about one another. I thank my God the day that I "found" this place! We  "will" make it. We have 2!!!

TheEquusWoman

[Donnaprashad]

Hi Liberty. I do believe you were suffering from side effects of cymbalta use. It sucks. But getting off of it is possible. I'm doing it cold turkey but that's not for everyone. I started bead counting but ran out and didn't get it refilled. I'm in the z10th day. I'm so much better today but I'm not finished yet. Still dizzy and still having brain zaps. But I can actually focus today and I'm feeling myself again after such a long time! Even got all the Christmas stuff down. So hang in there and do what you have to do for yourself. I'm praying for all of us!

[jdhibbard]

JdHibbard, I am new & encouraged by reading about your journey . I thought about giving in & taking some Cymbalta today after being drug free for 4 days but read your story & stayed strong . Dizziness , body zaps , hot sweats , vivid dreams , sleeplessness & guilt are all my enemies @ the moment .. Every time I blink I am zapped !.. I so desperately want to be the old me again ...

Hi Wagtail! I know that it doesn't feel like it right now, but this really will get easier. There were quite a few days that I thought about giving in and taking a Cymbalta. But, I just kept thinking about the side effects and what the drug was doing to me. It was so frustrating. I knew if I just took ONE capsule that I would feel better. It was a hard thing to resist, especially when your suffering from severe withdrawals. I would rant about it for a while, pray for a while, then break down and cry for a while. Then after I had my little breakdown, I would pull it together and trudge on. It was a hard thing to do, for sure. You just have to take it one day at a time. After a couple of weeks in, I decided to just get rid of my Cymbalta so that I wouldn't be tempted to take one during a particularly weak moment. I flushed the whole bottle down the toilet. Knowing that I didn't have that crutch to lean on anymore forced me to face the monster head on. It was one of the hardest things that I've ever done, but now I'm so glad that I did it. I wish you the best of luck.     

[jdhibbard]

Hi everyone! I have now been Cymbalta free for 4 months. So far I haven't had any more withdrawal symptoms. I am now working on losing some of the weight that I gained while taking Cymbalta. For those of you who didn't know, I gained 85 pounds while on that devil drug! I have already lost 10 pounds and hope that over time I can lose the rest. I feel really good and have noticed that over the last couple of months I seem to have developed quite a bit more energy. (While on Cymbalta, all I wanted to do was eat and sleep. Mostly sleep. LOL) I am getting out of the house more and more these days. I have even been looking into a couple of employment opportunities. For the first time in many years, I feel like I'm in control of my life. Getting off of Cymbalta is without a doubt the best thing that I ever did for myself. It is worth every withdrawal symptom I had to suffer. Don't give up guys! 

[Clara]

Yay, yay, yay. jd!!!!!! It's great to see that things DO get better! We shall overcome!!!! Hugs and prayers to all!!!! clara

[Carleeta]

Jhd..wonderful news. Yippee! You've done a great job. People here will be happy to read your post. You even sound like you are happier and enjoying the little reliefs in life which many who don't suffer w/d don't appreciate. Isn't it nice to feel safe again? Keep it up.

[jdhibbard]

Hello everyone! Yesterday, (June 6th, 2014) marked my ninth month of being Cymbalta free. I haven't updated in a long time, and just wanted to touch base with everyone. I am happy to report that I am doing great! I haven't suffered from any withdrawal symptoms for quite a few months now. And, I have managed to become a productive member of society once again. Two weeks ago, I even started a new job! This has been a very looooong, hard journey and I am so glad to have it behind me. I wanted to give up many, many times. But I am so glad that I didn't. Stopping Cymbalta cold turkey is not for the faint-hearted, I can testify to that... But it feels so amazing when all of the withdrawals are gone and you realize that YOU control your life once again! For all of you who are just coming off of that devil drug, PLEASE DON'T GIVE UP. The end results are so worth it! I hope all of my old friends here are doing well. For everyone who supported me during my withdrawals... Thank you so much! Good luck to everyone. 

[Lildebbietx]

Wow now I feel more motivated. I have been tapering down for three weeks now from 60 Mg and I took 14 beads today. I have my last capsule tomorrow with 5 beads in it. I'm so ready to be done. I have had only small side effects to include small head aches and eye blurriness and at first some weired vein numbness like I might have a heart attack or something but other than that I feel great! I don't sleep my days away anymore, I actually get more housework done. I sleep throughout the nights now and dream. I couldn't remember dreaming before because I never got to deep enough sleep to dream.

[thismoment]

jhibbard

 

Congratulations my friend! Well done!

[wayne]

thankyou to evryone in this forum i to am on cymbalta sorry wos iv decided to go cold turkey its day 4 and i wos worryed about haw im feeling thak god i thort i wos going nuts. i see it will be a challenge but theres i light at the end of the tunel. so fingers crossed i see the doc tomorow and shes going to be as suprised as i wos why dont doctors do more resurch .thank you all ill keep up going c t

[FiveNotions]

Hi Wayne, welcome! We'll do everything we can to help you beat this poison!

Cold turkey is the hard way to go.....I went from 60 (7-8 years) to zero in one day.....had to cuz I lost my insurance....but if I had it to do over, I'd definitely do the bead counting...take it slow and more controlled...the cold turkey was a hellish wild ride, I had no control and was just "along for the ride".....

My suggestion would be for you to go back up to the last dose at which you were stable, settle back in, and then start coming down by removing beads....others here can give you the details of how to do it....I'm not qualified, since I just did the cliff dive... ;-)

If you decide to continue with the cold turkey, others here, like me, have also done that and come through it....we'll help you with symptoms etc as they hit....

I assure you that you can and will get off this poison....and life after cymbalta is so very very much better...worth all the struggle to get there!

Stay with us and keep posting...we care!

[Lildebbietx]

Hi Wayne. Wow you were braver than I! I took 3 weeks to taper down and I did not have too many side affects. A little crying, irritability, some days I felt like I was drugged up or like a high feeling but other than that I was fine. I have been completely off Cymbalta for a week now and I feel great! I don't sleep all day. I have energy. I workout everyday now and I'm starting to lift weights again. I'm still a fat pig from taking Cymbalta and I try not to look in the mirror and just concentrate on my new energy to just keep working out day to day and try to lose the weight. Hang in there and it will get better.

[jdhibbard]

Hi everyone! I haven't posted anything in a very long time, but just wanted to update everyone on my long term progress. I stopped taking Cymbalta on September 6, 2013. I have now been free of that drug for nearly two years. The first several months were really hard, but I think that I have finally reached the point of recovery where we all want to be. My main goal has been to slowly integrate myself back into society again. Because of the side effects of Cymbalta, I had completely isolated myself for years. Social anxiety was a big obstacle for me to overcome. I think getting back into the workforce helped more than anything else. I purposely got a job in a fast paced office environment, surrounded by hundreds of people. It was terrible at first, but over time it got much, much easier. Now, I'm actually loving it! Over the past two years, I also started dieting and have nearly lost all of the weight that I had gained while taking Cymbalta. (I gained 85 pounds and have now lost 70.) I honestly feel like a whole new person! The best thing is my ability to FEEL emotions again. I laugh when something is funny, I cry when something is sad, I feel excitement when good things happen, and I just can't wait for another new day! I have always had a good relationship with my husband, but since recovering from my Cymbalta addiction, our relationship has grown so much! The transformation is amazing. My precious daughter is starting college this fall, and I am so happy and excited for her! It is glorious to FEEL these things! The only long term effect from the drug that I seem to have is mild forgetfulness. Has anyone else had this issue? All in all, I guess it's a small price to pay considering where I was two years ago. Please don't give up hope. This drug CAN be beaten. For the first time in years, I feel like I'm in control of my life. Good luck to everyone battling this drug, And, GOD bless you all. 

[FiveNotions]

oh, jd, thank you for coming back to share your wonderful "life after Cymbalta" story !!!

 

I quite in December 2013, and identify with so much of what you said ... especially the having to reintegrate myself back into society, the losing weight, (your weight gain was awful, wasn't it ! Total congrats on losing almost all of it, those last pounds will be gone in no time, I'm sure!), and having our emotions back again ...

 

Please don't be a stranger, keep coming back to post ... all those who are newly arrived here and still in the midst of the hard part of withdrawal need, very very much, to hear success stories !

[dgum]

Hello everyone.  I am sitting here in tears at 12:24 alone in the dark.  I just spent six hours at the emergency room going throught a battery of tests to find out what is wrong with me.  I have no appetite, lost fifteen pounds, have severe muscle pain throughout my body, and suffer from severe exhaustion.  Prior to this emergency room stint, I visited and alienated every doctor in town because they couldn't find out what my problem was.  Well, tonight was the straw that broke the camel's back.  I was finally told that my body was reacting to stress that was buried in my subconscious mind and that I just needed to go home and start taking my Cymbalta again.  Finally, I realize, the problems I am having are all the result of my discontinuing my use of Cymbalta after a ten-year addiction.  I am definitely not going to start the cycle all over again.  I, knowing better, stopped cold turkey three months ago.  My withdrawal symptoms are still severe.  I really don't know when they'll cease.  What I do know is that I will never go back on this drug.  I am stunned that so many doctors are totally unaware of the dangers associated with withdrawal from Cymbalta and that their solution is to direct patients to simply continue to take it.  Hang in there everyone who is on the road to recovery.  I don't care what Hell I have to go through, I will NEVER let another phsician talk me into taking a mind-altering drug to help with the simple, mild muscle pain I used to have before I took this drug so many years ago.  I may be in pain, but I am learning to "feel" again.  I actually cry which is something I was unable to do for ten years.  The best part will be when I begin to laugh again.  I am telling myself that each day will bring me closer to living a normal life once again.

 

[fishinghat]

Welcome dgum

 

It will be a tough battle but if you went cold turkey 3 months ago you should start seeing glimpses of improvement soon. It will be small but they will get better as time goes on. Time and patience. God bless and hang in there.

[gail]

Hello dgum,

The good thing is that now you know what you are suffering from.
Fishinghat is right, you are at a point where small improvements are to be expected.

Three months in, worst is about over. Can't believe that no doctor that you have seen knew anything about this.

Many members ended in ER a few times. Keep posting, we are here for you!