8 replies to this topic

[caddywampus]

My wife went through brain surgery in 2004.  Since then we have gone through many years of incredible headaches.  Three years ago she went on a whole food diet which eliminated the headaches.  18 months ago she realized her limitations and went in for rehab.  This included practical therapy and drug therapy.  One psychiatrist was convinced that she had bipolar and put her on lithium.  She has been changing psych drugs like clothes ever since, but the lithium remained. She had the bad side effects of all the psych drugs, so they were discontinued and new ones started.  In October 2013 they added Cymbalta to the mix.  Along with this they added ECT, electro convulsive therapy.

 

After dealing with crazy making symptoms, I finally started researching the problems.  She went from being almost totally functional to seeming to have complete amnesia and zombie characteristics.  This was considered an unusual side effect of ECT, so that was stopped before Christmas.  The psychiatrist were scratching their heads.  I did some research on drug interactions and found that lithium and Cymbalta were on a do not mix list.  Incidentally three other meds that she was on was included.  About Jan 2 we confronted her psychiatrist about it and found out how to wean off of lithium.  By the way, second opinions determined that the first doc was wrong and she was not bipolar.  The next major demon that we were dealing with is Cymbalta.  They weaned her down from 120 mg, to 90, 60, and 30 on five day cycles. Her psychiatrist thinks we are crazy and that there is no problem with these meds. She has been off of it completely for about a week. 

 

Five days ago we started the juice diet from "reboot with Joe" in an attempt to help the body deal with withdrawing.  This was also an attempt to help the body eliminate all the crud that she had been ingesting.   It is hard to say if this has worked.  Currently she is going through episodes of extreme depression, crying, feelings of worthlessness, and saying that life is not worth living.  She is taking Ativan to help with the symptoms, 1 mg 3x daily and taking 30 mg of Prozac to help with withdrawl from Cymbalta. 

 

I am at wits end.  How long does this normally last?

[FiveNotions]

Hello and welcome, you've found a great place for help and support!

I'm sure others will be joining in soon to welcome you and give thoughts and suggestions...my own immediate thought is that she's come down/off way too fast given how fragile she is....the weaning approach that would be best and safest would be the bead counting method...others here have used and are using it...I can't speak to the details as I'm one of the ones who came off cold turkey....it worked ok, but hard, for me...I wouldn't do it that way if I cld do it over, however..... I'm just starting my 12th week off cymbalta...the first 3 or 4 weeks were the hardest, and then it began to get much better....now I seem to be at the point where the good days outnumber the hard ones....

It might help for your wife to reinstate the cymbalta at the lowest dose at which she can be stable...give that a chance to settle in, and then, from the stable point, remove beads very gradually....at least one of the members of this group, EquusWoman, is removing just one bead a day....it takes longer, but it's a controlled process that way.....

I think what's been most important for me in this whole thing is to have realize that I control the drug and my withdrawal...it does not control me...nor do the doctors....they don't have a clue....and I applaud you for confronting your doc in January! I might trust a doc again if, and only if, he or she had been on cymbalta and then gotten off with the side effects we here have had...are having....

Please read as many of the other discussions here as you can...there's a wealth of info and encouragement....

Your wife is Blessed to have a husband like you!

[FiveNotions]

PS.....there's currently another discussion going that you might want to join in....

https://www.cymbalta...-what-can-i-do/

[caddywampus]

My wife says she is done with it.  No way to go backwards.  Her psychiatrist is not understanding in this.  To say that she is angry with him is an understatement. We will certainly take this suggestion if she gets worse.  It will mean looking for a doc that is up on his drugs rather than one who cites the label as gospel truth.

[fishinghat]

So to get off the cymbalta he puts you on Ativan (1 mg 3Xdaily) and Prozac (30 mg daily), That is not unusual BUT both have serious withdrawal.So once off cymbalta she will probably come of the Ativan first (that takes months) and then prozac which is similar to cymbalta but I must admit the withdrawal is bette than cymbalta. Maybe I should say not as bad as cymbalta. There is a little trick to the Ativan. If you only take it as needed then your addition to it will be less. I hope you don't mind my suggestion but the 30 mg of prozac, once it builds in the body (6 to 8 weeks), should take  care of the cymbalta withdrawal. At that time you should not need the ativan or at least a lot less of it.. Ativan goes to work in 45 minutes or so. Minimize your usage.

[caddywampus]

Ativan was in place since the lithium withdrawal.  The Prozac was prescribed as an alternative to Cymbalta. We are planning on the starter dose to be the end dose... After going through withdrawal symptoms and searching through forums, my wife decided to start the Prozac temporarily to aid in getting off of Cymbalta.  Already starting to wean from Ativan, cutting doses in half when possible.  Cymbalta is amazingly difficult. 

[FiveNotions]

Another possibility...something to consider...getting off of two drugs at the same time can very very difficult and confusing....it makes it hard to tell which drug withdrawal is causing what symptom....have you thought about handling just one at a time?

Also, about the Ativan....I found that cutting the dose in half was way too hard for my system to adjust to....I reduced in tiny bits, once per week....

The goal is to stay as stable as possible during the weaning process...encourage your wife to continue listening to what her body tells her...I found that mine really did know how much I cld handle at a time...my problem was/is that my mind is so desperate to get off the stuff that I pushed myself way too hard at first...

I hope you have more success finding a doc who understands and is supportive of this process...many of us here have done the withdrawal without our doc's support...or, as with me, without his even knowing until after I'd made it through the first month or so....I trust this group more than any doc I've ever had....the collective knowledge, experience and wisdom here far surpasses what the medical profession has to offer...IMHO....

I'm praying for your wife and you, hang in there!

[caddywampus]

Thanks, excellent advise, will encourage her to stay focused.  This morning was pure craziness, by afternoon, all was well.  I think pushing hard is a result of being sick of the symptoms.

[equuswoman]

Thanks, excellent advise, will encourage her to stay focused.  This morning was pure craziness, by afternoon, all was well.  I think pushing hard is a result of being sick of the symptoms.

caddywwampus, Hi and welcome to the support forum. Lots of folks here to share experiences with the way they are dealing with getting off Cymbalta. Some cold turkey some like myself doing a slow wean y bead counting method. I could NOT do the cold turkey. I am dropping one bead per day and even then have experienced some w/d symptoms but have dealt with them the best way that I can. Glad that your here and keep us updated on how things are going. Prayers from TheEquuswoman