From an outside perspective...

Hello...
I will start of by saying that I have never taken Cymbalta and after experiencing and reading what I have, i never will. My partner however, has been on Cymbalta for over a year and has recently stopped and is going through INTENSE withdrawal.
My partner was first prescribed Cymbalta at 60mg which he took everyday and due to the side effects and the fact that Cymbalta made him a zombie he made the choice to change medication. They put him on 30mg for a week while starting Welbutrin the same week. Everything seemed to be going well until a day or so after taking his last Cymbalta pill.

I have never seen him like this it is extremely upsetting to see him in so much pain mentally and physically. He experiences the "brain zaps" as well as intense mood swings, nausea, insomnia, paranoia, thoughts of suicide, anger, dizziness, delusion, lack of apatite, shakes, headaches, and intense lows. I knew him for many years before he started taking any medication and this is not how he is and after all of the research Ive done i feel confident in saying it is 100% the cymbalta withdrawals.

I have tried so hard to calm him down, as well as try all of the suggestions people across the internet have posted and it doesnt make it stop. Benedryl has done some help, however it seems that the only thing that will heal is time. His lows are so low its hard to handle and stay positive but the thought of all of this eventually going away is helping. I feel as if i need to be there with him all of the time in order to feel certain that when he is in the deepest low that he will not do anything to hurt himself. He is really short tempered as well as he yells at people in public or flips out on his roommate. I really hope that it wont last as long as some other people experianes i cannot wait for this to be over.


They really should never prescribe people this stuff, the withdrawals let alone are a good enough reason. All i can do is reassure him that he is not going crazy, that this is not him and that many other people have gone through the exact same thing... Also, make sure to tell your doctor and friends and as many people as possible to NEVER take this drug and have a very direct conversation with the person whom perscribed it because they may not understand what really happens (his doctor denied there were any withdrawals in the first place and said it is a "safe" drug).

So to those of you who are experiencing what he is, please know and trust that it will all be over soon, take deep and slow breaths and take it a day at a time. For those of you who are on the outside be as supportive as you can and don't take their mood swings personally as they need you and its more difficult to go through alone and without support. Be reassuring and positive even though it may hurt because in the end when its all done it will be worth it knowing that they got through it safely with you love.