257 replies to this topic

[thismoment]

I can see how Cymbalta may be viewed as the best thing, or helpful, or even the right thing to do: it's like being under water with your foot trapped- the best thing, the most helpful thing, and the right thing to do is hold your breath. But you can't stay there forever.

[TryinginFL]

With the reference to age here, I tend to think that I might be the oldest one on this site!?  I am 72 and that may explain why I still, after more than 6 months off, am having sleep problems and definitely feelings of sadness - or melancholy, as TM suggested.

 

The last time  I saw my PCP he thought that I should go back on the crap (a lower dose) and I said NO - Not after what I have been through and what I know now.  Yikes!!  I am currently looking for a new doc.  He said he had a couple of other meds in mind but wouldn't tell me what because he knew I would go home and look them up - IMAGINE THAT!!!

 

ARRRGG!!!

[FiveNotions]

Hey TFL, I think we get to knock a year off of our age for each month that we've been off the stuff....so, you're now 66.... and hey, I'm not 61, I'm now 53 .... geez....that's about how old I was when I was put on crapalta.... my, how time flies when one is in the "C-zone"....

Your doc really is an asshat... I'd forgotten he'd said that to you ... hope you find a new/better doc soon...although maybe just wait until after you get back from your son's wedding... you've got nuff to do as it is...

[TryinginFL]

FN - out of 'LIKES' again, but thanks for the uplifting post!!

[Crystalg1973]

First bout of bad dizziness😁. Feel drunk-
Migraine coming too!

[FiveNotions]

Crystal ... that means it's time to lie (lay? ..never did learn that grammar rule) down..as in, go horizontal on a comfy sofa or bed....darkened room might be best....close your eyes and just rest...

also, ice packs on my head helped mucho with the dizziness...and always has helped with the migraines ... put the ice on your temples, the carotid arteries your neck, also on the back of your neck...ice causes the arteries to constrict...(migraines cause them to expand)

I also found that ginger helped me when dizzy (best for nausea) ...ginger tea, or ginger ale...

You've made it through another day of withdrawal! Yay!

[thismoment]

FN

 

You nailed it the first time, ". . . it's time to lie down." I always have a problem with this one, and it seems I can't get it through my head because I've looked it up at least a dozen times over the years.

 

You lie down on the sofa, but you lay a book down. Lay requires a direct object- something that is having something done to it- the book. "Lay it on me Baby!"

 

Therefore Lay Down Sally should be Lie Down Sally (sorry Eric), and Lay Lady Lay should be Lie Lady Lie (sorry Bob).

 

My favourite source for grammar tips is Mignon Fogarty, otherwise known as Grammar Girl. Here is the source for the info on Lay and Lie:

 

http://www.quickandd...rsus-lie?page=1

[Crystalg1973]

Yep I lied laid whatever down.. Lol!!!! Took an imitex and a zofran. Being a nurse has is advantages to having availability to get good prescription drugs.. Ice packs. Got a sunburn from the tanning bed yesterday that hasn't helped too much. Thought that might boost my mood a little.Feeling better. Eyeballs still feel like they are rolling around in my head. I hate that. Headache gone now though. Stressfull!! workday too. Busy busy busy. I work for some crybaby doctors I tell ya. I don't know how they function at home lol. I pretty much follow them around with baby wipes and tissues all day. They need some serious counseling! Lol!!!Kids out of the house tonight that helps too.

[Crystalg1973]

Up wide awake 214 am grr!!

[Clara]

Praying you find a good doc TFL! Hang in there crystal! I will get better! Patience! Lie or lay,, Clapton can say /sing it however he wants! Love me some Clapton! Have a great day all!

[Crystalg1973]

Now !!! If I can just drag myself outta bed!!

[FiveNotions]

TM, Grammar Girl is terrific... Bookmarked for further reading and future reference!

Clara, I'm a Clapton lover as well... we must be of about the same "generation" ;-)

Crystal.... yeah, I've been waking up at 4 a.m., sucks... I'm thinking that I should just get a cow and a couple of chickens so I can do the milking and gather the eggs since I'm living on "farmer time" ....

[Crystalg1973]

FN- Lol funny! I am feeling so good today tho. My eyeballs feel like they are in my head!!!! I am so excited about that. A little tired but to be expected as I was up all night.

[thismoment]

I awoke so many times at 3 or 4 AM during the first year of discontinuation. At first I would get angry, and that would virtually guarantee I'd be awake most of the night. Then after some weeks I'd go on the computer or look at the teevee- both have bright screens and that would keep me awake for a few hours too. Then I tried reading; I'd find something innocuous but that bored me, and boredom (while sleepy-sounding), evokes frustration and that turns on the adrenaline tap and there you go- the sun's coming up!

 

Trying to go back to sleep seems like a reasonable endeavour, but it's doomed to fail- kind of like running up a hill to reduce your heart rate.

 

I began working with Mindfulness and Acceptance around that time, and after many months I learned to accept the nights I would wake up at 3 AM. I am awake- it is what it is. I'm awake. I might listen to a Ted Talk with the computer screen off; I might read some, or do a guided mindfulness meditation session- nothing to spool up adrenaline. 

 

If you're awake, just acknowledge that reality and calmly go about doing something you enjoy. You'll either find sleep in the hours that follow or perhaps you won't. Now you have to choose whether you'll nap during the day (which could begin a pattern of waking at 3 AM and sleeping during the day) or you could push through the tiredness of the day and hope for a longer sleep the next night.

 

Sleep aids helped some, but I had to start them early - around 8:30 or else I'd be hung over and lazy and dumb for most of the next day. A sleep aid can help restore the pattern, but regular use just got me down.

 

My sleep patterns didn't really get back to normal for a long time (about a year and a half); there's information out there regarding the negative impact of antidepressants on the sleep cycle.

[Crystalg1973]

So nauseated today. Yuck. Ihaven't had this symptom consistently- Been off 2 weeks.

[FiveNotions]

Hey Crystal ... yeah, the nausea is a bummer, isn't it? Have you tried ginger as a remedy? I chewed on little pieces of raw ginger root, that worked the best ... candied ginger, ginger tea, ginger ale also worked... and it a moment of desperation, before I got any of the other ginger items, I was licking powdered ginger from my spice rack off the palm of my hand ...

Somebody else here recently mention aloe ... juice? Can't remember now ... I'll search the archives and see if I can find the post for you ....

[FiveNotions]

Here ya' go ... liquid aloe ... https://www.cymbalta...aloe#entry43823

Also, here's a blog article about various natural remedies for nausea ...

Another thing that helped me, which now seems totally weird, is that I put an ice pack (one of those gel pea things that you can chill in the freezer or heat in the microwave) on my stomach, sort of between the stomach and the solar plexus ...

In any event, the nausea doesn't usually last long ... it, like all the other symptoms, sorta' gets bored with us and moves on ... to be replaced by yet another symptom that's all eager and excited to bug us ... just wait 'em all out ... and before you know it, you'll be through the hardest parts of the process :-)

[Crystalg1973]

Thank you!!!! Will try it. Desperate for anything right now

[Crystalg1973]

FN - where do you buy your ginger stuff? And I wonder where one would purchase liquid aloe...

[MichB]

I'm taking ginger root supplements to help with nausea. Helps out sooo much!! I saw liquid aloe at whole foods.

[Amybc7]

The nausea!  It's awful!  I'm on....I don't even know....week 11 (?) of tapering.  I am nauseated every day. Morning to night.  

 

Yesterday was particularly bad.  After living on crackers for a few days I needed a meal, but wasn't able to enjoy it because I was so nauseated.  Yuck and yuck.  I described it like living with a constant hangover - the dull headache, if you move too quickly you're going to throw up, and your body just wants to sleep but you can't.  

 

I forget about the ginger.  It's on the list for today.  

[FiveNotions]

My neighborhood Giant sells the whole ginger root (we have a large Asian community), as well as candied ginger (in the dried fruit section), so does Trader Joe's and Whole Foods. Ginger ale you can get pretty much anywhere. Ginger tea and the aloe juice are sold by my local Vitamin Shoppe. Trader Joe's/Whole Foods might also have the ginger tea.

Hang in there, as I said above, this won't last too much longer!

[equuswoman]

Hello! I am new here. Been on cymbalta 30 mgs about 10 months was started for some situational anxiety and migraine headaches. Well the situational anxiety went away as the situation went away.. Migraines no. Still on a multitude of drugs in addition to Cymbalta. Anyways want to be off this drug and I do not want to count beads.. Etc. for a week I opened the caps eyeballed it and took less and less. Today I took none. Well see. Been having nightmares that are terrible- vivid 3D gory killing spree type. Is this normal? Other wise some tingling which I know is normal. Fatigue, some irritability and brain fog at work too.
I am a nurse so I gotta be on my toes didn't have a clue this stuff was so potent! Any natural suggestions?

[equuswoman]

I'm a nurse retired. The only way I was able to rid myself of this Cymbolta poison was to bead count slowly over a 4 month period. Prayers for you from TheEquusWoman♡

[MichB]

Amy,

Girl go get that ginger root supplement! On my bottle it says you can take it up to 3 times a day. I got mine at Walmart. I force myself to eat a banana in the morn and wash that puppy down with lots of water! If I feel bad later I take another one. I hope you can get out of the house and get some it's worth the couple of bucks to try.

Let me know if it helps you!
Good luck!

Mich

[fishinghat]

I am afraid so NSAI. It only takes about 4 weeks to reach max strength in the blood. I would recommend you go back to 30 mg, stabilize and then come down slowly. Maybe 2 or 3 beads a day. Sorry for the bad news.

[FiveNotions]

NotSure ... I'm with Fishinghat on this ... I quit cold turkey, and that's definitely not the way to go ... and you seem to be having some pretty strong reactions to just the 10% reduction from the 30 mg you took for a couple of months....

It's far wiser to be very very cautious and slow in how you get off this stuff... go back up to the 30 mg, as FH suggests, and stay there until you're back to being stable ...

Then, start bead counting your way down ... at first, try removing just the 2-3 beads a day ... if you still have strong withdrawal, try waiting a day or two (or three) between bead reductions... you can even slow down to taking out just 1 bead a day or every couple of days...

I totally understand that you want off this crap asap ... but asap isn't going to help you in the long run ... you need to start slow, and figure out how much dose reduction you brain and body can handle...

everyone is different... what's important is that you get off it, and do it with as little "pain and suffering" as possible ...

Please keep posting here to let us know how you're doing ... several other forum members were also taking the poison for fibro, so you'll get lots of good suggestions from them ... (I wasn't on it for fibro, so I'm not much help there...)

Hang in there, you can do this!

[Crystalg1973]

Did great today. Worked all day and got a lot done, was able to focus today on my work. No nausea. No headaches, cleaned my entire house and that is a first in a long time for me! Went out to dinner with my hubby, went to the grocery store, cleaned out my hoard of a purse, lol. Feeling good. Pretty good considering I uhauled my eldest a state away on Saturday 😭😭😭😭 that about killed me emotionally. Keep thinking he's going to walk on the door, ready for dinner .. Then got my youngest off on a mission trip to New Orleans. Quiet house around here! I am going to get the ginger root to have though! The nausea seems to hit intermittently. I feel like I am getting back to my old pre cymbalta self finally.

[Crystalg1973]

Ugh. Feeling crappy again!! Hate this roller coaster of emotion. Now drained no energy , hardly able to drag myself outa bed for work. It's 950 and just not getting ready to go in. Seriously thinking about getting on something to transition but I hate that cause I have come so far!!! Feeling bad with my asthma this week, hard to breathe, etc. that certainly can't help. Don't want to take steroids cause that causes all kinds of psychiatric grief. Taking it day by day. Literal exhausted. Can hardly keep my eyes open. Walking is exhausting. Short of breath with that. I know that's the asthma but it's getting me down quick!!