17 replies to this topic

[thismoment]

People withdrawing from Cymbalta have reported short-term memory loss. Here's a short story to illustrate.

 

 

Bill was withdrawing from Cymbalta.  He and his wife were having dinner at another couple's house. The wives left the table and went into the kitchen. The two gentlemen were talking and Bill said, "Last night we went out to a new restaurant and it was really great. . . I would recommend it very highly."

 

The other man said, "What's the name of the restaurant?"

 

Bill thought and thought and finally said, "What's the name of that flower you give to someone you love? You know. . . the one that's red and has thorns."

 

"Do you mean a rose?"

 

"Yes, that's the one!" Bill replied. He then turned toward the kitchen and yelled, "Rose, what's the name of that restaurant we went to last night?"

[TryinginFL]

TM....     Good one!  I can relate...

[GonnaMakeIt]

ME TOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!

[GonnaMakeIt]

Seriously, I'm on day 47 CT and I don't see much improvement on the memory issue.  I do have ADD for which I take Adderall but even so, doesn't help much most days and on the days that it does help, by the afternoon/end of the day, I'm sitting staring at the wall with absolutely nothing in my head.  I know there are things that I need to do but all I can do is sit and stare.  

 

I've been pretty sick for the last couple of weeks with bad sore throat/horrible cough--using inhaler now because peak flow is very low and wheezing (never had asthma or anything like this before) and prescription pill for cough (allergic to codeine so can't have that wonderful cough medicine I hear about) but still have had a few great days without the usual/major withdrawals and just feel "regular" sick EXCEPT still can't seem to function cognitively at all.  How do you all function at work (especially those like me that still have hard time leaving house)? I'm lucky to be home on a voluntary lay off but will eventually have to go back to work and can't imagine how the h*ll I will do it if I'm still like this?!

[fishinghat]

Well the good news GMI is that you won't be like this. Normally you start seeing some slow improvements around 6 weeks but a little longer with cold turkey. I would think there should start being some breaks, small, very soon. With time the cognitive functions will improve. Just hang in there a little while longer.

[GonnaMakeIt]

Thanks so much, FH! 

[ittybittysmitty]

GMI,

I completely understand what you're going through! Someone will ask me what I did yesterday and I won't remember..word retrieval is nearly impossible.

Without Adderall, my brain fog would be much worse...Maybe you could try increasing the dose? Or would that increase your anxiety?I find that if I take too much it just backfires...

As others on this site have said, things will improve as your body gets used to not having it around...

[FiveNotions]

I S, I just responded to your post about Paxil on your other thread...could the adderal be the cause of your anxiety...is the doc prescribing you Paxil to treat a side effect?

If so, maybe you're adding a new drug unnecessarily....can you reduce the adderal instead?

[air3333]

I was on 90mg of cymbalta and I had major problems with short and long term memory with a host of other side effects. Now that I have reduced down 60, the side effects improved greatly. 

 

While yes the 90mg cymbalta makes me artificially feel better there are a host of side effects that made my life worse. The worst of all may have been anxiety and depression caused by the cymbalta, which made me increase the dose last year. 

 

My hair has turned gray before my older brother and I attribute this to the drug aging my mind and body. If 90 mg of cymbalta made me slower than 60 mg then I can infer that 60mg is making me slow as well. 

 

I am very afraid of my future withdrawal effects even before I am withdrawing from this drug. However just thinking about withdrawing and living clean without the drug gives me hope and makes me feel really good about the future. With the drug in my system, there seemed to be no hope for my slowness caused by the drugs. 

[FiveNotions]

Air, it is indeed worth it!

My memory started coming back last month...6th month off....I still have chunks of lost time...but short term is getting better...I still have the inability to judge the passing of time....I'm sort of in the "eternal now". ;-)

[GonnaMakeIt]

GMI,

I completely understand what you're going through! Someone will ask me what I did yesterday and I won't remember..word retrieval is nearly impossible.

Without Adderall, my brain fog would be much worse...Maybe you could try increasing the dose? Or would that increase your anxiety?I find that if I take too much it just backfires...

As others on this site have said, things will improve as your body gets used to not having it around...

Sorry, IBS, just getting this now.  I am still suffering from this horrible bronchial virus (almost 5 weeks now) and bruised ribs from non-stop coughing so I have literally barely left my bed since I posted this.  Anyway, I am on the extended release Adderall (30 mg) but in the past have taken two per day which I haven't been doing simply because they messed up my prescription and made it for only one per day.  Luckily, I have never had an issue with Adderall causing more anxiety but I did have that issue while on Concerta--go figure!  I'm not sure what day I'm on as being so sick has made the time lapses worse but still having nil cognitive function - UGH!  Very hard keeping positive when you're so sick on top of all of this but I am trying

[TryinginFL]

GMI...

 

Kudos to you for hanging in there and while being so sick - I hope that you are on the road to recovery at long last.  This whole withdrawal thing is enough without the physical illness!

 

I am still fighting after 5 1/2 months - anxiety being the main issue, but I will make it!

 

Hugs and prayers,

Liz

[FiveNotions]

GMI, oh I'm so sorry about the virus...and bruised ribs....yikes! 5 weeks...in addition to crapalta withdrawal....double yikes!

I wonder if the withdrawal effort from the poison wore down your immune system and resistance to bugs like this bronchial stuff?

Now that I think about it, this is pretty much the one thing that I haven't suffered during withdrawal....I haven't had a cold or the flu....in 7 months.....and typically during the time from December to about now, I'll have the flu once and a couple of colds....

Hang in there GMI, you're a tough cookie....you picked the right monicker....GonnaMakeIt !

[PRock650]

I have tapered down to 15 mg from 120 mg and in the process of switching over to 20 mg Prozac as I continue to taper off the Cymbalta. Things are going well so far, fatigue being the only noticeable withdrawal effect. 

 

My p-Doc agreed to do the switch me over to Prozac after I informed him about how difficult Cymbalta withdrawal can be. Unsurprisingly, he seems to have no knowledge of withdrawal effects from Cymbalta, but thankfully seems to be compassionate and willing to help me through this process of becoming drug free. It's our understanding that Prozac is easier to withdraw from due to half-life, so that's our tentative action plan.

 

I started Cymbalta back in 6/2011. This is my second attempt at tapering off Cymbalta. The first attempt was about 2 years ago. The withdrawal effects in the form of anxiety & depression were too overwhelming last time. I think I am more prepared emotionally & have more knowledge and resources to be successful this time around.

 

What's the general consensus on the memory issues after withdrawal? Is my memory permanently damaged? Will I see dramatic improvements if I stay off the meds? If so, how long does it take to improve? I can relate to feeling like I'm in the "internal now". I haven't been able to retain things I read, watch, listen to, or experience for many years. At one time I had the ability to remember song lyrics, lines from movies, and moments I shared with others. I'm constantly forgetting things.This is just one of the cognitive impairments I experience. I attribute this to the antidepressants I've been on for the last 10+ years. Any feedback would be fantastic! Thank you.

[fishinghat]

Memory loss is a common effect of ssri/snri withdrawal. With time it should slowly fade.

[equuswoman]

Gosh it does indeed take a while to regain some of the memory. I'm still not back to where I once was and may never be but I just have to take it one day at a time and do the best that I can. It was hell for me coming off the Cymbalta crap. My prayers, support and love are with the ppl who are on their journey to rid themselves of this vile, nasty poison. TheEquusWoman

[thismoment]

PRock650

 

You're down to 15 mg from 120 and it's time to slow down the tapering-- drag it out a little at the end as the symptoms tend to gang up near the finish line. Stretch it out over another month or so.

 

The memory thing will gradually improve after you're off, and will likely return to normal and possibly a bit better. But you're got to forget about it for a while and accept that it's less than you'd like just now-- get your mind off the fact that you're a little scattered and your RAM is reduced.

 

For me it took more than 6 months off the drug for healthy improvements to be noticed. But improvements will come. My memory was scattered, short, and intermittent for the first 6 months-- but it all came back!

 

Hang in there and go slow. Find some distractions to keep your mind from too much self-analysis. When you are settled and are able to read a whole page of text without wandering into alternate universes, look into Mindfulness to assist you through the next phase of healing.

 

Take care.

[jmconner]

I'm 2 1/2 months off Cymbalta. A few days ago I was filling out a form that asked for my social security number. I'm 47 years old and have had my SS number memorized since I was 12. But it took several false starts on this form before it finally came to me. It was a sort of scary experience... just like everything else that has accompanied this Cymbalta withdrawal.