20 replies to this topic

[jasontc]

So at 2 weeks im mostly over the nausea and dizzyness. Still get brain zaps and I cant stay focused. In the last few days ive been EXTREMLY irritable with a short fuse...ive never been this way and im usually easy going. Little things set me off and its kinda scaring me. Sometimes get violent thoughts. Not sure who thought Cymbalta was safe but its far from being safe

[MrKateBush]

How long have you been off of Cymbalta? I have the same problem myself. The irritablity, the anger...and I also have stomach problems, headaches, and suicidal thoughts.
In my case I am on 90mg per day. I go on and off of it...because its so damn expensive. It's about 400 per month and sometimes I can only afford it weekly. So, I only buy it when I have the luxury of having the money.

[jasontc]

How long have you been off of Cymbalta? I have t.he same problem myself. The irritablity, the anger...and I also have stomach problems, headaches, and suicidal thoughts.
In my case I am on 90mg per day. I go on and off of it...because its so damn expensive. It's about 400 per month and sometimes I can only afford it weekly. So, I only buy it when I have the luxury of having the money.

Its been just about 2 weeks off. Like you I cant afford to keep taking it. Ive been on 60mg for 2 years and overall its worked okay with just a few sexual side effects however the last 2 weeks off has been nearly unbearable.

[Junior]

Jason, unfortunately what you describe is typical of Cymbalta withdrawal. Your body / brain is trying to find its natural equilibrium and is struggling. Hence your symptoms. I don't have any magical suggestions for you. I wish I did. Just know that it DOES get better with time.

MrKateBush - going on and off Cymbalta is not a good thing. First you go through withdrawal when you go off it, then you go through reintroduction symptoms when you go back on it. Your body is confused. If you feel you can't afford it, then maybe it would be better to go on a tapering down program - maybe from 90 to 60 to 30mg then off. If those drops are too much, then do it more slowly. Everyone is different. But you might be better off being off it altogether.

[jasontc]

Thanks for the responses. Im glad im not alone here for a long time I thought it was just me because when I initially told my doc about the symptoms it almost seemed like he didnt believe me. He mentioned that its not supposed to have those side effects and cymbalta is "targeted" only for certain receptors in the brain.

It has been SLOWLY getting better but like everyone says my brain is relearning how to function and its up and down every day. This stuff is evil I mean this is what I imagine heroin addicts feel like when going through withdrawls NOT a prescription drug that SHOULD have enough studies to show how wacked out you can get when you get off the meds.

[Junior]

Jason, everyone responds differently to these medications. From what I can gather the problem with the studies is that they are only ever conducted over a few weeks; never long term. Actually, when I think about it, I imagine they'd have trouble getting ethical approval to conduct drug trials over a long period of time. Hmm...

Anyway, some people respond really well to a particular drug (as I did with Aropax / Paxil for 10 years), while others have horrific side effects. Equally, some people can get off them easily with few problems, while others have major, major problems. I found out a while ago that scientists have identified over FIFTY different neurotransmitters (chemical messengers) in the brain. Drs and drug companies may say that these drugs only target one or two of these but it stands to reason that they have a cascading effect on others. That would explain why everyone's response is different. It's because we are all 'wired' a little differently.

[nursedeborah]

Hi Everyone,
I am in recovery, and I am a ex Herion addict , well that, and much more! With that said and done, getting off of those
drugs were a cake walk compared to this!!!! I even had detox drugs for all the symptoms to help me, and still it was so
very very miserable.

This makes that look like nothing at all now that I am sober alll these years, and having to detox off this crap. I am so miserable
hurt worse that when I was coming off the Herion, Demerol.

I have read that this is being compared to coming off Oxycotin, so there you have it, synthetic Herion in a nut shell, and it too
causes all the sweating, bone pains, muscle cramping, abdominal cramping, and pain. all the stuff we are experiencing, but even
more!, and more intense!!, and so much longer. Heck I was able to get through the withdrawls of the other stuff in a week!

Well here's to another day, and a better one I hope for all of us.

Peace, and Love,
Debbie

[luv2lope]

Wow Debbie thats a scary thing to know this is worse than Heroin withdrawal! But I can surely believe it!

[jasontc]

Hanging in another day of ups and downs. While the physical symptoms are subsiding the irratability is pretty overwhelming. Few times I was ready to blow a fuse on my wife and when it passes I can figure out why....this sucks

[jasontc]

So today I had a major blowout with my wife who is trying to get off effexor xr at the same time im getting off cymbalta so i was at the try anything stage. Following what ive read i decided to get some benadryl and see if it helps with any of the symptoms...WOW both my wife and I feel noticeably better. Definitely took the edge off and even feel less irritable. I do feel a wee bit drowsy but nothing major. From what ive read benadryl doesnt help everyone but its was definitely worth a shot in the dark for me and hopefully someone reading this will benefit

[nursedeborah]

Hey,
That must be really hard to have two people getting off two of the wosrt drugs out there.
Effexor is another that has brutal withdrawls. Go to you tube lokk under depression, and
your wife can find some great stuff there.

Glad you foound relief from the Ben! At least you don't have to worry about getting off
of it!

Debbie

[Cecile]

Debbie what kind of Bin??? do you bye for these withdraw effects??? I'm desprite now...it's getting really bad and i want off this shit!!!

[Elizabeth187]

"So today I had a major blowout with my wife who is trying to get off effexor xr at the same time im getting off cymbalta"

lol, my sister and I are both getting off of Cymbalta at the same time, surprisingly it's not so bad. It's kind of nice having someone to go through it with even if all you wanna do is kill someone.

[cardgirl1]

I'm glad I found this thread. I was getting really scared and very irritable. I'm scared of hurting myself and of what I could do to others. I just seem to get angry about everything. So I can rest assured it is my body trying to find it's normal equilbriam and this to shall pass? It is about day 10 of withdrawals for me....any comments or experiences would be helpful

[MaureenV]

Absolutely, cardgirl.

I've felt like throttling someone in the household because they said 'are you sure' when I said I wasn't hungry.


OF COURSE I'M EFFING SURE, HAVEN'T I JUST ANSWERED YOU???????

Fortunately I was aware enough by the that time that these outbursts were due to Cymbalta and managed to stop myself - otherwise the bloody drug would win, and I ain't going to let it.


take care, and just vent here if you want to.


Maureen.

[chrisann03]

i'm at work right now and unfortunately i am a supervisor in a call center and take supervisor calls when someone is mad...so i just had someone who was SO stupid and i literally sat here just wanting to punch her or something...just for being stupid...then i got up and watched a video on youtube to calm down and have a laugh to get my mind off it and I cannot stop laughing!

[Cecile]

Chrisann03
I just started work a couple of days ago and i get angry at my co-workers too!! I wish i had a computer at work so i can watch youtube to make me laugh that would be good for me!! instead of being mad and not trying to make a scene haha...hang in there!! i'm right there beside you!! we all are!!

Cece

[chrisann03]

today some guy cut me off on the highway and i just wanted to ram my truck into his van at full force. OMG. i pulled over and just had to breathe and relax. I am so tired of being so angry. i am probably the most easy going, passive person in the world and this is just insane!

[luv2lope]

Are any of you taking any supplements to try to help with these side effects?
Tryptophan or 5HTP at night may help. Along with magnesium.
You can get natural lithium too which helps with the desire to throttle people.
Both have helped me.
Nancy

[MaureenV]

I was all over the place yesterday, laughing hysterically at LOLcats, then snapping at hubby or the dogs because they ticked me off. I've sent hubby the links that I've gotten from this board so that he knows what to expect. We're discussing whether or not to slow down my withdrawal even more (stopping at one level for a week rather than just pushing through. Part of me even considers going cold turkey and gritting my teeth for the ride.

Madtabby, I know how easy it is to become impatient for this to all be over, however I discovered to my dismay that even dropping from 10mg to nothing was not workable for me. The symptoms I could (just) manage (because it was mainly zaps and brain fog - emotional instability would have been worse) but I just cant' keep making the mistakes I did that day - truly absurd.

I'd hate to think of anyone in a 'responsible' position (e.g. airline pilot) being put in this position (withdrawal).

My dose level is much lower than yours, so don't know if it will help, but I've stayed at each level until all symptoms have disappeared (brain zaps are the last to disappear completely) before I drop down.

When I decided to do that I still had one day of 10mg to go, and divided that into two fives. I should have know what was going to happen because the mild zaps on the first 5mg day became worse on the second, then incompatible with working properly on the first day off.

I'm now on 7.5mg - have been since last Tuesady and had a few zaps overnight, so sticking with 7.5mg, much as I hate putting this stuff in my mouth, I know my brain needs longer.

Anyways, whichever way you go, come & shout at us instead of the dogs.

Hope this gives you a laugh; I found it on a site where I was looking at info re getting a new kitty cat; having one means it is getting hopelessly spoilt - she's still missing the other one, and I think we're overdoing the compensation!

'After scolding one's cat, one looks into its face and is seized by the ugly suspicion that it has understood every word. And filed it for future reference.'


take care, Maureen.


p.s. when you said pacific northwest I put my finger in the middle of the pacific - and ended up in Japan. Told you I was hopeless with geography. Well we are upside down, it's bound to do strange things to your brain.

[Junior]

'After scolding one's cat, one looks into its face and is seized by the ugly suspicion that it has understood every word. And filed it for future reference.'


Yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeessssssssssss

Bloody superior animals (or so they like to think)