Tips for Cymbalta Withdrawals

I don't know how long it has been. I should have checked the date of my last post (from Zappygirl), but wanted to let people know that those dizzy spells are completely resolved. Also:

I lost 10 pounds almost immediately.
I got my energy back.
I regained ability to have witty conversations with friends.
I felt more creative.
And I haven't experienced any of those zappy moments at all.

The weirdest part is that I had been prescribed the med for a neurological pain condition in my foot but I've always had a small bit of depression, and the foot feels exactly the same as when I was on the medication, actually better. I just hiked the Grand Canyon.

Good luck!

Hi! I was put on antidepressants 13 years ago after the birth of my daughter. Went through two years of severe post partum. I have been on Luvox, Paxil, Effexor XR and now Cymbalta. I am ready to get this poison out of my body. I have come off completely before, but did myself with no doctor over seeing. It was a really bad time. The only positive thing was dropped 40 pounds very quick! But, when you cant function, that just doesn't matter. I have found this post very helpful and encouraging. I have prepared myself for this task knowing I could hit some rough spots. (My husband is prepared as well. He went through my self attempt last time and is very nervous about this.) My annual check up with my doctor was this past Thursday. I have had this appt made for several months and knew my intentions to come off this med would be a topic of discussion. I was on 60 mg Cymbalta a day. I say for many many many months now (haven't really kept up) I have lived with 1 Cymbalta every third day or so. I could feel when my body needed one and that's when I took it. Like I said this pattern was every 3rd day. When I discussed with my doc my desire to be Cymbalta free and told him my intake. He said well, if you are already doing well on 1 every 3 days you can just stop. Whoa, Whoa, Whoa doc. I said ok but i'm no dummy to this game. I'm scared to death. Can anybody help me out here. Doing really well where i'm at. How can I get completely off this with minimal withdrawals.

Hi all,

I read through U-Need-Acetylcholine and Zappygirl's posts. I hope it'll help me. I was taking 60mg of Cymbalta daily for depression, since I cannot feel anything since more than one year. Cymbalta has done nothing to get my feelings back, and now I have realised withdrawing it will be a problem. Had i known this, I would not have started Cymbalta in the first place.
I would like to share my withdrawal with fellow members, so they can see what they can do to stop this med.
It has been three days that I have lowered my dose from 60mg to 30mg. I have experienced no withdrawal symptoms as of yet.
I am also planning to start Wellbutrin. Can anyone tell me if Wellbutrin has any really bad common side effects, and if it has withdrawal symptoms?

Oy. It's nice to read the posts of fellow sufferers, though I'm sorry you've all had to feel as rotten as I feel right now.

I started Cymbalta a few months ago for anxiety. I stopped cold turkey one week ago, because I was binge eating like a monster. I swear, I was eating more every day. I'm genetically predisposed to Diabetes and heart disease, so I just had to stop. I told my shrink and he said I could power through the withdrawal if I wanted, just to drink lots of fluids.

FOR DAYS I COULD HARDLY WALK. Getting through school each day has been absolute torture. On top of the physical symptoms, I'm back to battling paralyzing anxiety. My focus has been off and I've been sort of confused. As a result, it's taken an inordinate amount of time to complete my school work and I haven't slept in 50 hours or so. I'm so exhausted and there's so much to do.

The last time my anxiety took over (last year), I ended up losing most of my friends. As a result, I don't have a very strong support system and I'm desperately lonely.

I think I'm a bad person when I'm not on Cymbalta. I don't know what to do. I miss having friends.
hugs,
Jill %-) %-)

Hey!

Just thought I'd update everyone about my stopping Cymbalta. After 8 days of taking 30mg of Cymbalta, I took a 30mg capsule today and removed 7 granules out of it. I hope I don't suffer from withdrawal symptoms !!

I got off this drug under md supervision, very slowly, and had NO problems what so ever! There are good results!

I am on day 5 of NO Cymbalta - I did a very gradual taper...taking 15 mg my last pill. I have only been on Cymbalta for about 6-9 months. I really liked it in the beginning...and it did help get me through a tough point...but...once I corrected my eating habits, the medicaiton was too strong. The largest does for me was on 120; I decreased to 60..then 45...then 30...then 15. I stayed at each level until the side effects subsided (about a week). For me..the side effets so far are simular to when I first went on the meds: dizzy, confusion, concentration, "weird" headache, tightness on my head - like I was wearing a hat (that was the one that scared me..it was so odd), some irritability and sensitive (cry easy); Day 3 of no meds left me very irritable - but that has seemed to pass; so far, day 4 and 5 have left me a been "hallmark commerical/crying" sensitive..but relaxed. **I am not a doctor, I am not recommending this to anyone, just relaying information. DO NOT DO ANYTHING WITH THIS MEDICATION WITHOUT YOUR DOCTORS SUPERVISION!!!!! I did have to push my doctor to work with me for this taper..without going on another drug....but...I cannot emphasize enough that you MUST WORK CLOSELY WITH YOUR DOCTOR WHEN COMING OFF CYMBALTA!!!! DO NOT RELY ON ADVISE FROM THE WEB, FRIENDS, ETC. MAKE SURE YOU HAVE A TRAINED MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL WORKING WITH YOU.

Howdy all. Found this site when searching for withdrawl symptoms with cymbalta. Wanted to share my experience.

I am taking Wellbutrin, was taking the cymbalta wellbutrin combo. Cymbalta was extremely helpfull with my depression, and I was on the combo for over a year. My doc and I decided that it was time to go off the cymbalta, so he had me go from 60 to 30 for 2 months. I have went off the meds completely about 2 weeks ago. I did not have really bad withdrawl symptoms the first week or so, but one day after eating a lot of wheat and sugar (it is the holidays after all), I started having side affects with body aches, lethargy, fatigue. Before my wheat day, I was following the guidlines in Preventions Flat Belly Diet, which focuses on MUFAs, or mono-unsaturated fatty acids.

When I had that day of holiday eating, it totally sent me for a loop physically. I also have asthma, and a mild wheat allergy respitory wise, but after my wheat day I had 2 days of hard times breathing wise, which is a much stronger reaction than I normally have. I usually do not have such a sever reaction with wheat and asthma, and I am thinking my reaction was so extreme due to also going off of cymbalta.

So I have not eaten wheat or sugar in a few days and feel much better. I started taking aleve for the body aches, and I make sure I take my fish oil and primrose oil after every meal. I also think that my "green stuff" helps, its a powder I add to my berry smoothies that includes stuff like Spirulina, Alfalfa, Kamut, Oat grass, Chlorella. I think that along with my wheat free diet is the main reason I have not had that much trouble with going off of cymbalta.

I wanted to share this with folks on this site, especially after reading about how hard it is for some people to go cymbalta free. Each person is different of course, but I do hope my story helps!

Peace--Jenna

How is the taper going? I'm pulling for you

Day 6 of complete Cymbalta Withdrawl: sleepy, a bit dizzy....unfocused - but - all and all - not bad symptoms for me....I'm looking forward to "moving on"...I am trying to keep my water intake up; caffiene seems to help - and - as a side note - I have been completely off sugar for about a month - I think that is helping.... ;-)

Very intersted in seeing other's updates that have been completely off - how long did symptoms take to completely go away?

Just a little background information on me. When I started the "miracle" drug I was a stay at home mom with two children. My kids are 51 weeks apart in age and very active. I suffered, SUFFERED, post-pardum depression after the birth of my son. While I was impregnated with him, my great-gram, whom I was very close to, passed away on Valentines day. This just started the year from Hell. When my son was born, he was premature and had jaundice. Money was tight and my husband and I started fighting.

I was stayed at home with the kids until they were 1 and 2 and then I went back to school to finish my BS and MS. It was during the first semester of working on my Master's degree that I lost it. During this time I almost destroyed my marriage and my relationship with my kids.

My doctor prescribed Cymbalta for me since she knew how difficult if could be to pretend to be super mom and a with it woman at the same time. That was the biggest crock of ****.

I started taking 30 and then quickly moved to 60. That was February of 2008. School is completed and life is better so I decided to get off of the meds for Christmas (lol). Not the best choice that I have made in my 30 years of life, but I thought "I quit smoking cold-turkey, I can get off of Cymbalta the same way. How hard could it be?"

I was so wrong. The first week I was so dizzy that I had to start taking public transportation because I was afraid to drive; next came the fainting; the mood swings; odd pains and muscle cramps; the binge eating (I gained 20 lbs in a week) and now the insomnia.

I think that I am pretty lucky. The dizziness and binge eating are almost gone, now I'm just nauseous. That I can live with, I dealt with gallbladder issues for 2 years before I had my surgery. I hope that sleep will come back in the next few nights, but if it doesn't there is always coffee for use during the day.

Being free of this drug is great. I am able to truly enjoy my family again without feeling like I am underwater.

I would recommend that anyone who wants to go off of this drug contact your doctor and follow their plan (mine did say, "you can go cold-turkey, but I wouldn't recommend it). It will probably lessen some of the more nasty side effects if you were to follow a different plan. But be careful, you don't want to replace one beast of a drug with another even worse one.

Good luck to you and be strong.

I just found out I'm pregnant about a week ago. The gyno told me to quit Cymbalta cold turkey and know I can't do this working full time, finishing my master's, and have to take care of my husband and other child at home. So I didn't know about the bead method until now, I have been taking a pill 60mg every other 2 days for a week and now I haven't taken a pill in 4 days. I am getting severe dizziness, but that is it. I can't tell if the nausea is from being pregnant or withdrawal systoms. Please if anyone could tell me how much longer I will feel this way (how long these withdrawal symtoms will last) I sure would be most grateful.

Hello to all!! I took myself off cymbalta and for 3 days, zaps, tingling, dizzy, sweats,vomit, you name it I had it with 2 babies to take care of so he put me back on it & it all went away within an hour of takin a pill. well now we realizeed after ive been on 60mg that its not working for me so he switched me to lexapro & said they are in the same family so hopefully no withdrawls..... WRONG & let me tell you I was only on cymbalta for not even 8 weeks!! I was right back to vomitting and sweatsa and all that.....so he gave me ONE 40mg PROZAC & seriously within an hour I felt fantastic!!! day 2 i was great in the morning but started getting zappy and dizzy by the pm but went to bed hoping id wake up all better, well today is day 3 & I am SOOO dizzy & nauseous but my dr cant be reached so i just called my gen dr to get 1 more prozac ^ hopefully this will do it for the last time, but YES PROZAC WORKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Don't suffer even an hour

Hi all:

this blog has helped me SO MUCH. I CANT THANK YOU ALL ENOUGH. I have a question.

I have been on cymbalta 20mg for 2 plus years for panic disorder. I have realized that I am now ready to be rid of all antidepressants.

My doctor told me to take 1 pill every other day for 7 days and then completely stop. I have gone cold turkey for 4 days now and im start to experience zaps every 10-15 minutes, nausea and some sweating.

I do not like how Im feeling. My phychiatrist has called in Prozac 10mg and was told to take one a day for 10 days and then completely stop all meds.

Or do I do Mikes concept and take 7 beads out per day until i get to 0 beads left in the capsule?

Please advise me. I feel comfort in knowing other people are in my shoes!

-Shaun

Hi there, I too have found myself in severe cymbalta withdrawal. I switched doctors due to new insurance. And my old dr. took their time getting my history to my new dr. there for making me run out of this devil of a pill. And not being able to get my refill due to a issue with a preauthorization form for my insurance company. So needless to say im all out, stopped cold turkey. So on my 5th day I decided to web search this horrid feeling. The brain zaps, and muscle stiffness, bad dreams, and piss poor temper only gets worse as the days go on. I felt so weird trying to explain to my family how I felt inside. They must think that im exaggerating my feelings but until I found a few sites like this I was beginning to think I was the only one. I have found a very good site I would like to share with you all in hopes that you will find relief in sharing your experiences with others who are going through the same thing. Thanks for reading.


whatwinnersdo.com/severe-cymbalta-withdrawal-symptoms