Are you feeling any better after 3 months since your post? I noticed very few people respond to posts on this forum sadly. I would like to hear how it went for you.....
Yes, for a year since TAKING cymbalta all I want to do is watch tv and avoid everyone because just knowing what they are doing or saying or knowing about me is such a effort and makes me feel overwhelmed. Didn't use to be like this before taking this drug. i used to make jewelry, listen to music and love it, write stories, help others, but not on cymbalta. The side effects for me are fearfulness of simple things, anxiety, distressing dreams, lack of initiative, distress from trying to understand what people are saying, weight gain, loss of friends, loss of work, no desire to plan or go anywhere...a real recluse, and that is not who I am. So, I decided to wean myself slowly, and the withdrawal effects are anxiety, fear, confusion, DYSPHORIA, mental incapacity to pay the bills, fear of life and depression 100 times worse than what i experienced when first put on the drug. No kidding. I was put on the drug after sister had died. I knew my kids were coming home for Christmas and I didn't want to be grieving and sad while they were visiting. What a bad choice. Now, the whole family is suffering because I am suffering. The withdrawal effects of decreasing the dose in my weaning process is horrible! I pull myself out of bed in the morning after having a night of intense and distressing dreams. I feel severe dread and depression. This medication is horrible. I've been weaning now for 4 weeks. I take 20 mg a day now instead of 60 mg. Next step is to take 10 mg (breaking up the capsule) a day for 4 weeks. After that I will take 5 mg a day for 4 weeks. Next it will be 5 MG every other day, etc etc. Having read from others on this discussion, I'm going to add zinc and vit c and #, choline as well as B complex vitamins to the vits I'm already taking: Folate, 3 types of magnesium: Magnesium Taurate, Glycinate, and Oxide,;Vit D. I'm so glad to find this forum. Just 2 hours ago I didn't think I was going to make it due to the debilitating side effects of the drug and of withdrawing from a higher dosage. Is there a better way to do this?
my wife has been on cymbalta 30mg x day for about 4 months; she was given cymbalta because of arthritic pain.... it did work ,,,, period .... it did its job....... she has no more pain and stop taking it 3 days ago...... she hasn't tell her doctor ...... she just stop taking it...... she hasn't have any symptoms at all..... a little bit of dizziness but that was it..... I am keeping an eye on her just in case but I think she'll be just fine..... if I see her chasing the dog or trying to climb a tree, then I will post it..... :) good luck everybody .....
In my experience, the Wellbutrin made me sweat and eat like a horse. I will NEVER take it again. Good luck with coming off of it slowly. Don't just stop cold turkey with ANY of these medicines. Cymbalta and Ambien stink too. The withdrawals are horrid. None of them ever made me feel better than my depression/PTSD. I have generational depression as well. I'm 47 and the only thing that has helped me the last several years is EMDR by a Certified Instructor. Don't go to just anyone if you decide to try it. It has to do with REM sleep and I know it sounds very different than anything you've probably ever heard of. It is used very successfully on patients with depression and trauma to rid yourself of the depression. I've been seeing psych's ever since 8 yrs. old and this is actually helping me get healed.
i would like to get off cymbalta currently on 30 mg a day will try taking 7 beads out per week
As a long time user of antidepressants I hope some people find this post helpful.
I started on these medicines in 1996. Paxil, Prozac, Effexor, Welbutrin and Cymbalta at various points.
Late last year I decided it was time for me to try and get off these meds. Most recently I was taking Cymbalta after exhausting the efficacy of the others I mentioned above.
Like all of these medications, I started at a low dose and over time, increased the dosage when I wasn't getting the benefits from the amount I was taking.
For the past 5 years I have been taking Cymbalta (first 20mgs then 30mgs and for 2 years 60mgs). Most recently Cymbalta 60mgs along with Welbutrin (first 75mgs now 150mgs).
There were times when I would miss a day and experiencing the 'brain zaps' was a horror. I remember thinking, "I'm going to have to take these medications for the rest of my life". That thought didn't sit well with me and I began to research how I was going to start the process of coming off 60mgs of Cymbalta and 150mgs of Welbutrin.
Here's how I'm doing it after looking at page after page of suggestions;
The "7 Bead Rule" is working best for me. On day one, I opened a capsule of Cymbalta and counted out 7 beads. Second day took out 14 beads, third day 21 and so on. When the brain zaps were frequent, I stopped at that number of bead removal for two days. Then continued removing beads after that.
It's tedious and not a lot of fun standing at my kitchen sink each morning counting these tiny beads (sometimes I've notice what looks like two beads adhered together and in that case I erred on the side of caution counting them as two).
I am up to removing 196 (day 28) and although I do have the zaps quite frequently, they aren't as sever and most importantly, I'm not curled up in a fetal position in a corner crying. I'm making it.
I've read varying posts on 'bead count' and all I can attest to is the amount in MY capsules. Roughly 214 beads in a 60MG capsule.
In any case, I AM NOT A DOCTOR and if the medication is working for you thats a good thing.
I finish with the Cymbalta in 2 days and then I'll start tapering off the Welbutrin a little at a time. That will be harder because it's in pill form and I'll have to cut it in half, then quarters then eighths for a few days.
I was on cymbalta 60 mg for a year. Prior to that Zoloft. Everytime i would try to wean my self off zoloft, like for a month, approximately 30 days later, the feeling of no interest in live, lack of energy and anger would arrive in full force so I always went back to Zoloft. I quit cymbalta cold turkey 8 days ago and other than slight dizzyness, and increase in hot flashes, I really have felt great. I'm just waiting for the shoe to drop like it did with Zoloft. Anybody experience this. Hopefully I can keep going forward with my cymbalta withdrawal.
If you've gone 8 days without 60mgs of Cymbalta, it seems to me you're probably over it.
Cymbalta has a very short half life in the system.... 12 hours from what I've read.
Good on ya!
I'm 2 days away from finishing a very long time on this horrible antidepressant.
Had I known about the withdrawal symptoms, I would never have taken it to begin with.
Thank you for that information and quite frankly, I think I feel better now than when I was on Cymbalta. Good Luckt to you too
I was prescribed 30 mg of Cymbalta per day for one month as a trial to see if it helped my migraines. At the end of the trial I was to return to the neurologist and be re-evaluated. The scheduling for the return visit was out far enough that it was a month and three days. I returned for the visit and hit traffic and every red light and was 13 min late (half hour drive). The Dr. wouldn't see me as they won't take patients past 10 min late (I didn't even know this). I was already 3 days into cold turkey withdrawals from the Cymbalta. I got angry (totally unlike me) and said I was not going to reschedule (which would have been a couple weeks more out anyway) and that I was never coming back. Here I am about 6 days into cold turkey and doing really badly. I don't have any more to taper down with and am unsure at this point what will help to combat the withdrawal symptoms which are extreme and almost every possible listed withdrawal side effect (except suicide). HELP!! I have rescheduled for a different Neurologist, but in the mean time, I am going absolutely insane. I don't have the option of tapering. What else can be done? How do I flush it out of my system and restore my body to pre-Cymbalta?
I'm 6 weeks off of Cymbalta now. The brain zaps are gone, the ringing in my ears is gone, the crazy dreams are gone, and I'm beginning to feel like participating in life again - rejoining the fight, so to speak. I still don't have much of an appetite - which I'm very ok with as I had gained about 30lbs in 2 years. I have begun taking an interest in my home again and cleaning things - lived like a slob for 2 years - and I've been walking my dogs as much as my back and knees will allow.
Take your fish oil and vitamins and be kind to yourself while you go through the withdrawal. Life on the other side will be better.
an update...... my wife has been without Cymbalta for almost 3 weeks now, she is doing great and her pain hasn't come back..... no depression, no nightmares, no headaches no nothing...... maybe she is lucky but so far so good....
I am planning a taper 60mg Cymbalta have been on 7 months. Could you please tell me how much acetylcholine to take and where to purchase a good brand.
This method is working great for me, only one week left, woohoo! Have had some side effects, head pain, but not as bad as I thought it was going to be.
Thank you so much for sharing with us!
i have been going down 7 beads a week- takes longer no side effects