Tips for Cymbalta Withdrawals

I have been on cymbalta since 2010, due to an auto accident. I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia. I've tried to take myself off this medicine. I lasted 10-12 days, but I couldn't take the nausea, dizziness, fatigue, headaches, and my brain feeling like is was swollen or something. I stopped cold turkey, surviving with peppermints and promethazine, for the nausea, and tramadol ultraset for pain. I also suffer with low back pain, but the cymbalta did nothing for the back pain, only the fibromyalgia. So I was a bloody mess, balled up, rocking, and in extreme pain. I agree the withdrawals are just as bad as the regular pain, when stopping cymbalta. I really want to get off of the med. It felt like the withdrawal symptoms would never stop, so I went back to the pills. Can you elaborate how you stopped taking them, and not have the withdrawals???

Jill, I am just seeing this. How are you? I am recently going through all this as well and it's terrifying. Lost my friends too, very lonely!

I have been on cymbalta for 11 years, 60mg for anxiety. I am going to start tapering off. My nurse practioner did not think it wise to take beads out of capsule, as they are time released. Some release quickly, others more slowly. So you don't get the right mix in just taking beads out. Any comment on that?

Mike, what vitamins did you take specifically?

Hi have been on this drug for 5 years, and I tapered of this slowly from 120mg per day. Can I just say day 5 off it all , and I feel so I'll I have constant upset stomach, dizziness , pins and needles everywhere . Never felt so ruff.

I've been on 8 meds. Cymbalta 3 times. Last time was the last 14 days. Im on day 3 of no Cymbalta 30mg for 11 days. Was coming off Effexor 37.5mg. Stopped it on March 30th. Had taken for 5 wks. Started causing severe wide spread body pain. Got so bad I was taking 7-8 ibup a day! Not good. Couldn't take it. I have fibromyalgia an epicondylitis or tennis elbow last 7 months. My joints were even hurting on Effexor. Before Effexor had been on Celxa for 6 wks. Not good mentally. Or physically. So switched directly to Effexor. Im getting discouraged having tried so many meds. My psychiatrist thinks Im one of these people who cant take seratonin based meds. But back to Cymbalta. Having extremely bad headaches. Started on day 2. Im starting omega 3 an Vit D an see if that helps with tylenol. Also having bowel issues. An just blah mentally. Any suggestions?

Hello! My doc told me the same thing! Has anyone responded to you? It sounds like many people have tapered off by reducing slowly by counting beads! Anyone out there?

How long did you taper off? How did you do it, by counting beads?

Well, i am a fellow 'withdrawal nightmare off these devil meds called duloxetine'. I have been on 60mg for over 5 years, probably nearer the 10 year mark. After having found my liver not functioning as it should and this causing my cholesterol to be higher than normal and also anaemic, it was put down to being drug induced ... duloxetine. So came the road to getting off of them. I have managed to get from 60mg to 20mg over the last month, not without effect, but have plodded on. Im now on 20mg missing a dose every 4 days as recommended by my dr. I take in the morning 1 day, lunch next, dinner the 3rd day then 4th day off .. and oh my god, i feel worse than i ever did dropping 20mg! I cant function! I could flood my house with wanting to cry right now cos I am sick of feeling like utter rubbish and have so many times just wanted to give up and go back to my original dose. But, I am now going to try the taking out of beads daily instead of what I am doing and see how that goes cos seriously, this c**p is horrendous :( I want and need off these meds so bad but it's so difficult to see light at the end of the tunnel. Bad times huh folks? X

I've been on cymbalta since October.
The GI problems and abdominal pain became so horrible that finally my doctor agreed it could be due to the cymbalta.
I weaned myself by taking the 20 mg every other day.
I became very agitated and ever little thing was aggrievating.
I had a few minor dizzy spells but now I have developed BPPV to the extent that my entire life is affected and I feel exhausted
The vertigo is so bad that I have to hug the walls when I walk and even experience it when I'm lying in bed.
I've had vertigo about two weeks now and I just keep hoping it will soon subside. I'm afraid of driving too but I have to drive to and from work.
Want this to stop!
I've had a few episodes of crying too.

Hi there. I really really feel for you. Coming off these meds is a huge life challenge thats for sure. I have done a lot of research the last couple of days and one thing that keeps coming up is NOT to miss a day, as your body will go into full withdrawal every other day because of the half life of the tablets in your system and cause more havoc than if you werw to slowly reduce over time but still take it every day.
The way Im looking at it is, this med changes something in your brain, it gets used to that change and anything other puts it into 'shock' mode. Not giving your brain ANY of that change tht its become accustomed to shuts it down so to speak (not literally!) but giving it slight change over time by withdrawing the meds slowly but still giving it something every day gives the brain time to adjust.
Some recommend a 10% reduction of your dose in 2-4 weeks (maybe a little longer) and some 2-5% but I guess finding a happy medium that suits you is key so you don't feel so crappy. Yes it may take an age to come off it this way but cold turkey withdrawals can last a lot longer than doing it slowly so its worth the work. I also take omega 3 and a vitamin b complex which is also said to help but will be adding to this with advice from this thread.
This is just what I've researched and what I have put together, I have absolutely no idea how it will work as I am only just starting to take this approach myself, but it has worked for a lot of people so is worth a shot and better than not being able to function. I missed a ďose the day before yesterday and yesterday ... i felt like i was dying. So i upped my dose back to 40mg (originally 60mg but was down to 20mg) and am going to start from there once im stabalized on the 40mg in a couple of weeks. Its a long ole road ... but one that has to be done. Take care and good luck xx

Hello everyone
I've just started to tapper off this awful med that I have also been on it for a year originally taking 60mg then down to 30mg. I've been opening up the capsules and tipping out some of the content but I feel terrible. I'm trying so hard to hang in there. The feeling in head is awful as you all know and at night my legs are jerking. I've tried to find the post about vitamins and I can't see it. Please could someone share this with me so I can get some help. Thank you so much. Kelly x

I believe this was the original post. Ive just taken it from further back on this thread xx

In reply to Guest on 2009-07-09 - click to read

Here are two posts from previous that offer some suggestions.

Folks,

Here is what I did. After 10 years on this stuff I went cold turkey. yeah I know a lot of you are going to tell me that I am really nuts; I have worked in the healthcare industry for over 15 so I had some pretty good advice. I had tried it before and went back on after about 2 weeks off due to the normal side effects.

So here is what I am doing differently this time.

1. Drammamine for Zaps
2. Benadryl to sleep and to calm the nightmares (I have some doozies from my time in Kuwait/Iraq)
3. St. John's Wort (for what it is wort) - That is a joke, laugh!
4. My wife's awesome hot salsa and chips on call 24/7 (Hot stuff releases endorphins which are good for you)
5. Taking a nap now and again
6. Fish Oil pills for Omega 3 and 6
7. Tons of B-12 (it is water soluble, so you cannot overdo it)

A great pastor who is also a sientist. Not one of those Scientology whackos, but a real scientist.

Let me know if any of this helps. I can be contacted via email if you have any other questions.

I am into my third week and while I feel like a retard running in honey at times, I am making it. I will not fail.


First of all, my background. I've been taking Cymbalta for a period of eight months. My prescribed dose has been 30mg daily. Before Cymbalta I was on Fluvoxamine (LUVOX) for about one year and for a brief stint (three weeks) Escitalopram (LEXAPRO). I was diagnosed as someone with great insurance. Just kidding, but that did make my psychiatrist happy: (no kiddding the first thing he always said to me when I walked in was, "Hello Michael, you're Value Options Blue Cross, right?" Haha. In any case, I was diagnosed with an anxiety disorder with obsessive tendencies as well.

I weaned off LUVOX and LEXAPRO with almost no problems: a few dizzy spells and some brain zaps. But with Cymbalta, I tried to wean off at a rate of 10mg a week and I felt like I had the flu. Swollen glands, sore throat, headache, soreness all over, etc. I've been weaning off the drug much more successfully using the following method: Opening the capsules and removing a few granules more each day. Please read the post by "arieln" (12/22/07) She totally has the right idea here. Currently I am down to the equivalent of about 12 mg. a day and I feel fine. I occasionally get a headache but it's nothing an aspirin doesn't help with. For those of you that are curious I have found there to be approximately 280 granules in each 30mg. does. I have been removing 7 more each day for a rate of 5mg. less/ week. If symptoms recur I can slow to 3-4 granules less/ dose for a rate of 2.5mg. less/ week.
Anyway, the reason we all feel like c**p is because of an effect Cymbalta creates called an "anticholergenic rebound." This means there has been an interruption in the production of the essential neurotransmitter acetylcholine. Hence, anything you can do to enhance or support acetylcholine production will assist in alleviating withdrawal symptoms. I almost never take vitamins regularly but I've been trying this and it appears to help so far. Here are a few daily vitamins that are helping me get through:

vitamins/ supplements directly related to acetylcholine production

B-Complex
Lecithin (has choline in it) 1200mg.
Lutein 250 mg. Find it in Centrum

vitamins/ supplements indirectly related

Vinpocetine 20mg. (increases dopamine which indirectly boosts acetylcholine)
Ginkgo Biloba 120mg. (increases blood flow in brain which supports creation of neurotransmitters)
St. John's Wart 600 mg. at night (increases acetylcholine by preventing its breakdown)

For Sleep

Melatonin 6 mg. at night

Please note that I am not a doctor or scientist and that this is simply the result of my own research. I have heard other things work for people as well like Benedril, Vicodin, other SSRIs, Xanax etc. But I'm really trying to get off of all drugs.
Diet is important too, so I've been trying to eat right and take a OMEGA 3-6-9 supplement. I've been eating foods that support acetylcholine production such as peanuts, almonds, spinach, wheat germ, and whole eggs. Beef liver is also a good source of choline but who wants to eat that! Thank you for reading this if you actually got to the end. I've been trying hard to understand what's happening to my brain and I hope I've found some useful information. I will continue to post until about two months after I'm totally off so that I can be objective about the effects of this method of withdrawal. See you next week.

Been on approximate 8weeks at 60 milligrams not brand name. The nausea and dizzy feeling is terrible. I want off of it now how to go about my Dr is on vacation until June 26. Help please!

1/2 of 0.5 MG Xanax will offset the anxiety and depression except for dreams for me .was on 90 MG cymbalta for 2 years but kept having panic attacks. On day 11 cold turkey