40 replies to this topic

[Donnaprashad]

I gained 50 pounds while on this stuff. I'm miserable. How long does it take for it to start dropping? Anyone?

[thismoment]

Hi Donna

I gained a lot of weight while I was on Cymbalta, and my truth isn't pretty: I couldn't go outside for months, so I laid around the house flipping the channels. I ate gallons of ice cream, carloads of chocolate, and too much of whatever appeared on the table, and then I went back for more until my stomach hurt! I stopped exercising and stopped walking, and I didn't shave or change my clothes. I drank so much booze that I became unrecognizable to myself, like the character in Springsteen's Streets of Philadelphia. I externalized my pain into the shape of my body, like Oscar Wilde's Picture of Dorian Gray. I was driven by the demon in the capsule.

I got fat and miserable, and didn't start to clean up until I was off the drug for half a year.

[Akk]

What is it with cymbalta and chocolate? I was going through my cupboards last week like a wild woman, looking for some! Now that I got a bunch as presents, I am feeling much better.

[equuswoman]

Hi Donna
I gained a lot of weight while I was on Cymbalta, and my truth isn't pretty: I couldn't go outside for months so I laid around the house flipping the channels; I ate gallons of ice cream, carloads of chocolate, and too much of whatever appeared on the table, then I went back for more- my stomach hurt; I stopped exercising, stopped walking; I didn't shave or change my clothes; I drank so much booze that eventually I became unrecognizable to myself, like the character in Springsteen's Streets of Philadelphia. I externalized my pain into the shape of my body, like Oscar Wilde's Picture of Dorian Gray, but driven by the demon in the capsule.
I got fat and miserable, and didn't start to clean up until I was off the drug half a year.

Thismoment you have come such a long way. You've been an inspiration to many here. Myself included. I'm so grateful that I found this forum. ♥

[Clara]

May I chime in? I too admire you, thismoment for your honesty in sharing ALL YOUR UPS AND DOWNS! I DO NOT understand about the appetite and hygiene thing! I have ALWAYS been a big eater. For the past year or so, I don't care if I eat or not! Lost weight instead of gain! And "cleaning my act up" ie. shower, toothbrushing, underarm and leg shaving, clean hair, makeup.... only do it cuz I have to not cuz I want to!! I just don't get it!!!!!!!!! Trying to take one minute at a time, but I'm sick and tired of feeling sick and tired! At least on Cymbalta I was motivated, creative etc. I just wanna scream today! But gotta hold it together, Dad coming for supper tonight for his 84th birthday! Ugg!!! Sorry my dear friends, just had to get it out!!!!!!!! Sincerest best wishes to all!!!  clara

[JustMeister]

I know it's awful for all of us, but what a relief to know that weight gain is normal on this stuff! I'm a marathon runner (just finished NYC a few months ago, and run 6.5 miles/day), eat a 90% vegan diet as well as no sugar or processed foods, and do not live a sedentary life in general, and, having overcome a bout with an eating disorder 3 years go, do not emotionally or binge eat—but POW! I gained 30lbs out of nowhere on 30 and then 60mg prescribed doses. Within 2 months!

 

It sounds like you have come a long way, @thismoment, and your comment is both dis- and heartening: I'm sorry you (and you as well, OP, as well as anyone else who's had this experience) has had to climb out of this pit, but it's so comforting to know it's possible. 

 

Have any of you found that exercise helped or hurt as you were weaning? I am running and running and running trying to get rid of this excess weight, and sometimes I'm just so drained and downhearted, and struggle with dead legs more than I ever did before. 

[equuswoman]

I know it's awful for all of us, but what a relief to know that weight gain is normal on this stuff! I'm a marathon runner (just finished NYC a few months ago, and run 6.5 miles/day), eat a 90% vegan diet as well as no sugar or processed foods, and do not live a sedentary life in general, and, having overcome a bout with an eating disorder 3 years go, do not emotionally or binge eat—but POW! I gained 30lbs out of nowhere on 30 and then 60mg prescribed doses. Within 2 months!

 

It sounds like you have come a long way, @thismoment, and your comment is both dis- and heartening: I'm sorry you (and you as well, OP, as well as anyone else who's had this experience) has had to climb out of this pit, but it's so comforting to know it's possible. 

 

Have any of you found that exercise helped or hurt as you were weaning? I am running and running and running trying to get rid of this excess weight, and sometimes I'm just so drained and downhearted, and struggle with dead legs more than I ever did before. 

 

IMO exercise is a good thing while coming off this crap. But also a good thing is knowing that the weight won't drop until we're off the Cymbalta...I have gained approx 20 pounds and have chocolate cravings, ice cream cravings and just about anything "sweet"...It is helpful to me in knowing that when I'm OFF the Cymbalta I can hopefully again get my weight back under control. I worked to long and to hard to drop 75# just to have 20 of it return due to this Cymbalta and the cravings it produces...

[thismoment]

JM

Run for as long as you have the desire and motivation during your withdrawal. I believe exercise aids in recovery. 

 

Good luck with this; keep posting!

[fishinghat]

Ditto EW. Right on. The exercise helps during withdrawal (good ole endorphyins). I run 3 miles a day, lift weights  twice per day and gained 50 lbs. Stlll doing the exercie since off the cymbalta and only lost 5 lbs. Bummer

[Donnaprashad]

Thank you all. I hate that we are having to deal with this but at least I now know why I gained this weight and no amount of diet or exercise has changed it. I had given up trying and was trying to accept myself as is. It is so FREEING to know that I was not myself on this drug and that I will return to the real me!! Thismoment your story is an inspiration!!

[JustMeister]

@Donnaprashad: I know how you feel about the "freeing" feeling! I saw my GP for a cold last week and I balked when he asked to weigh me. He said, "I want to keep a record so you know what the medication is doing to you," and when he saw how much I'd gained he looked me straight in the eye and said, "You know this isn't your fault, right? This is entirely the medication. You're not doing ANYTHING wrong." I could have wept.

 

This is not your fault, either!

[Donnaprashad]

@JustMeister - thank you for sharing that with me!  None of my doctors have told me its the drug, its always been my fault.  Just reading that made me cry. 

[Wagtail]

Glad I just stumbled onto this forum , I too have gained a lot of weight. Does anyone have trouble with extreme bloating of the stomach ?. I'm 7 weeks into my w/d & this seems to be a major side effect for me , I feel like a blown up balloon about to pop & it's soooooo uncomfortable .. Any advice PLEASE ..:-(

[FiveNotions]

As of this week, I've lost 22 lbs ... 8 weeks off of cymbalta .... Part of it I'm sure is that my eating is healthier now that I'm off the poison ... Somewhere in the worst of withdrawal I lost all my craving for chocolate and sweets, as well as alcohol .... Used to like red wine and sometime a nice single malt.. Also, I seem to have peed out more fluid than I've been taking in .... I'm down to a size 8 from a12 .... Before cymbalta I was wearing size 6 .... I'm short, 5' 4" if my hair's standing on end .... So I'm sort of back in the right weight range ... However, I've got flab on my flab .... And at almost 61 yo, it's gonna take some effort to tone that stuff up ... So, I've signed up for a yoga for geezers class once a week just to get a gentle start .... I'm Hoping to be able to go back to swimming a few laps by this fall....

And yeah, weight gain, according to my docs, didn't happen with cymbalta ..... ;-)

[Xiaojie]

JustMeister, boy your Dec. 29, 2013 post was really validating for me to read. Thank you for posting it. If I had a nickel for every time I felt guilty about my Cymbalta weight gain, I'd be rich. I gained 80 lbs in the 2 years I was on Cymbalta. Currently, this is my 9th day off of it. Last September while I was still on 90 mgs per day of Cymbalta, I went totally off all processed foods and refined sugar products, eating whatever grew or swam in the 'Garden of Eden', lol. By January 2014 I had lost 22 of those 80 lbs just by making these dietary changes, and mild exercise - which is my least favorite thing to do because I'd rather sleep. So discouraging. Very very difficult for me to gather enough energy to walk across the street. 58 lbs to go. I'm retaining water, too. Gonna do some research to track down a natural diuretic to get rid of it all. I envy you that you have the energy or the steel resolve to exercise, JustMeister. Seriously, you ROCK.

[fishinghat]

Xiaojie, You are so lucky. I gained 40bs on Cymbalta. I know jog 3 miles a day, lift weights twice a day and I have done that for the last 45 years, even when I was on cymbalta, and it didn't effect my weight gain at all.

 

I saw a case study in a medical journal about a week ago about a young 28 year old man who ran marathons. He started to develop depression characteristics so they put him on cymbalta. It took care of the depression. He gained 40 lbs and one year later he still had the extra 40 lbs despite running 6 miles per day and a marathon every 4 to 6 weeks. If you can't lose that weight with that level of exercise you will never lose the weight. lol

[JustMeister]

@Xiaojie: Hang in there, and remember to be kind to yourself re: not having the energy. This is all a trial and a challenge, and your heart and mind are probably as exhausted as your arms and legs are. There's no race to recovery, and it sounds like you're doing everything you can right now to be the best friend you have. That's huge.

 

As for me, it's been about a month since I took my last pill (maybe 5 weeks), and I'm just now starting to slowly lose what I'd gained. I don't have a scale anymore, but I *feel* lighter and notice I'm not retaining as much water as when I was on Cymbalta. I've also stopped feeling as stressed about taking or not taking the medication, which has helped me also manage any "emotional" eating (or drinking!) that I might have done without realizing. 

 

Stay strong and stay true, friends: This won't last forever!

[fishinghat]

Hey, JM, good to hear from you. Sounds like you are about to turn the corner and should start seeing some serious improvements soon. Hang in there.

[Carleeta]

JustMeister, boy your Dec. 29, 2013 post was really validating for me to read. Thank you for posting it. If I had a nickel for every time I felt guilty about my Cymbalta weight gain, I'd be rich. I gained 80 lbs in the 2 years I was on Cymbalta. Currently, this is my 9th day off of it. Last September while I was still on 90 mgs per day of Cymbalta, I went totally off all processed foods and refined sugar products, eating whatever grew or swam in the 'Garden of Eden', lol. By January 2014 I had lost 22 of those 80 lbs just by making these dietary changes, and mild exercise - which is my least favorite thing to do because I'd rather sleep. So discouraging. Very very difficult for me to gather enough energy to walk across the street. 58 lbs to go. I'm retaining water, too. Gonna do some research to track down a natural diuretic to get rid of it all. I envy you that you have the energy or the steel resolve to exercise, JustMeister. Seriously, you ROCK.

Hello..One natural diuretic is a slice of lemon in water..In addition add a slice of an orange for vitamin C..

[zainab]

this has been a really helpful thread to read...i've always struggled with weight and eating disordered behavior and i didn't really think cymbalta made much of an impact for me, but i've started to wonder. i do have massive chocolate and ice cream cravings - i thought that was just me, my personality, but curious to see if they lessen now that i'm not on it anymore! justmeister, i am so happy you have a supportive, validating doc.

[Carleeta]

Zainob..Chocolate you say is you weekness..hmmm I honestly don't know anyone who doesn't like chocolate 'everything'. Lol lol

In contrast with you liking chocolate I say go right ahead and eat it..lol lol..It's also quite healthy for pp..Having said that, I must add it's the 'dark chocolate' which is healthier...So you may just want to switch over to darker chocolate and receive those benefits...

Therefore if the cravings don't lesson you can switch over to the darker one.

There is always an answer for every thing.

We are happy to support others as we receive support for ourselves. .

[zainab]

LOL my partner and roommate both do not like chocolate...one is allergic, the other just hates it. so i am a lucky girl, no one to fight me for it! i'm the abnormal one in my house - the only one with a sweet tooth - hard sometimes to remember that chocolate cravings are pretty "normal"!

[Carleeta]

LOL my partner and roommate both do not like chocolate...one is allergic, the other just hates it. so i am a lucky girl, no one to fight me for it! i'm the abnormal one in my house - the only one with a sweet tooth - hard sometimes to remember that chocolate cravings are pretty "normal"!

Zainab...lol lol.I don't like chocolate. .lol lol..I'm not a sweet Eater at alll..lol lo

[equuswoman]

@Xiaojie: Hang in there, and remember to be kind to yourself re: not having the energy. This is all a trial and a challenge, and your heart and mind are probably as exhausted as your arms and legs are. There's no race to recovery, and it sounds like you're doing everything you can right now to be the best friend you have. That's huge.

 

As for me, it's been about a month since I took my last pill (maybe 5 weeks), and I'm just now starting to slowly lose what I'd gained. I don't have a scale anymore, but I *feel* lighter and notice I'm not retaining as much water as when I was on Cymbalta. I've also stopped feeling as stressed about taking or not taking the medication, which has helped me also manage any "emotional" eating (or drinking!) that I might have done without realizing. 

 

Stay strong and stay true, friends: This won't last forever!

so good to hear from YOU....keep on keeping on friend

[Lildebbietx]

I did cry reading all of these. My doctor never once told me that Cymbalta was the reason I gained 30 lbs in such a short period. He kept grilling me on what was I eating and making me do a food diary and exercise diary and making me feel bad for not doing everything right. I just gave up and got more and more depressed. I was eating all Vegan and on every diet you can think of and my poor children were on the same diets I was on. He NEVER mentioned the drug might have done this. I'm so angry. Anyways he wouldn't take me off of this drug so I did it myself. I 4 days completely off this crap and it only took me 3 weeks of tapering off of it with no major side effects. I was going to ask a gross question. Is a withdrawl severe diarrhea???? I cannot stop having back blast explosions😩

[fishinghat]

Boy I remember that. Definitely a withdrawal symptom. The good thing is it was one of the first symptoms to disappear for me, By the way, congratulations on the withdrawal. You were very lucky.

[Flossy]

Have been on cymbalta for 4 1/2 years and have put on so much weight, every time I would ask my dr of it was the drug she would say no, it's not a side effect! I've tapered from 180 to 120 and already my appetite is changing, going to 90 next tue, not looking fwd to the first week but I'll suck it up just to get off this crappy crappy life sucking drug! I know I'll be on here lots next week seeking reassurance, it feels pretty lonely and scary, I'm expecting it to get worse each time, as I'm not totally over the previous withdrawal, however I'm not one to go slow..... Ever! Go hard or go home! Haha! (Own worst enemy probably)!!!

[Clara]

Wow, Flossy, you're a brave one! Yes it is lonely and scary, but you sound strong and determined! That will help tremendously! Stay strong! God bless!

[FiveNotions]

Flossy, why in the world are you making these huge drops, rather than bead counting? You're putting yourself into hard, cold turkey withdrawal ... each drop does it to you again... and I assure you, this will not make the weight come off faster ... it will just make you sicker ...

You're making it the hardest possible on your brain to adjust to the reduction in serotonin from the Cymbalta ... even with bead counting, the symptoms are going to happen, but they're a bit more manageable, and you have more control over the process ... your approach is like roller derby ... you're Bambi, never been on skates, and you're getting body slammed by the Blonde Bomber, Tanker Tessie and their whole crew.... ;-)

[thismoment]

Flossy

 

Re-instate until you are stable and then wean off by counting beads in a very gentle slope (no steps) over a period of 6 months. You will likely have few very challenging symptoms.