Tips for Cymbalta Withdrawals

I am taking mulit vatimans keep busy myselif how u feeling ur body when wear clothe inside feeling stronge right cymbalita is very bad i stopped without doctor was very horrilibal until now inside my body i feel like cold something i dont even know what it is almost two year now but little bit better now dont take no more is gonna make u very sick if start again join gym running u feel better

I am tapering off 120mg of cymbalta and take 200mg of wellbutrin. cymbalta side effects are said to be quite bad, my psychiatrist even told me that the only two drugs with worse withdrawal effects are effexor and paxil. she made it very clear to keep everything else in my life consistent, getting 8 hours of sleep, eating healthy meals, and getting some physical exercise daily even if its just walking. She told me to go down by 30 mg each week and if the side effects are bad, she said to go down by 15 mg each week. As much as I want to get off of this drug, it is better to taper slowly. there are some pharmacies that will compound drugs, i.e. make you 15mg pills. don't make homemade pills, you are not supposed to do it with cymbalta because you will not be accurate. good luck.

Mike you should re-post your original blog because its impossible to find. If you are the one who posted removing 7-beads a day coupled with vitamins....let me tell you first....THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! Its the only method that worked for me.

I had been taking 30 mg of Cymbalta and 300 mg of Wellbutrin.  This combination worked well for me for a very long time. I wanted to come off cymbalta because I was having short-term memory problems and my eyesight got worse + worse and I wanted to see if it was caused my Cymbalta.  So I tried your method.  I took out out 7 beads a day from the Cymbalta capsules. One month before I began the weaning process, I started taking vitamins.  A pre-packaged vitamin pak made by Shaklee. It's called "Vitalizer for women" (but I take the "Vitalizer for men" because I don't need the iron at my age).  I also joined a yoga studio and take 4-5 yoga classes per week.  After being on the vitamins and doing yoga for one month, I went to the pharmacy and bought two 7-day a week medication boxes and laid out 2 weeks of medication every Sunday.  I poured some beads out of the capsule and used a credit card to separate and count. I subtracted 7 beads a day.  If too many poured out, I used my index finger to place them back into the capsules.  If I messed up with the count, I threw the capsule away and started over.  It was tedious, I'll admit, but I did it anyway.  The results have been nothing short of miraculous.  I still take the 300 mg of Wellbutrin and the vitamins and Yoga.  The only side effects I experienced from the weaning off of the Cymbalta using this method was a little less energy but that resolved itself over time.  People started to tell me I was calmer and less petty.  My memory did get better and my eyesight....not really but I'm not sure if my memory got better from taking the vitamins and doing yoga or the result of weaning off Cymbalta, but who cares, I'm off Cymbalta and I feel good. First time off anti-depressents in 18 yrs.  Horray!!!! I haven't killed anyone yet.....lol  No honestly I feel great!  Thank you so much for the tip.  It changed my life. Re-Post it so it can help others just like me.

Best wishes.

In dec my mother passed away suddenly . I was so depressed so the doc put me on cymbalta to help cope and said only temporary would I stay on. I went to the doc last Friday and told the doc I have now coped and want to get off. He gave me the 30mg dose and said to take it for 1 week and then the following week go every other day. So far it's been 4 days and I am suffering from the horrible headache , even in my sleep I have this. I am reading the threads here and it's all so scarey. I too during this time while on cymbalta have turned from a social drinker to wanting to drink every nite a couple of glasses of wine. Never have I ever drank so much. I also gained weight about 15 pounds and all thru my life I have alwayed weighed the same from high school never gaining this much weight. My head right now feels as tho I am un steady kinda like in a fog. I am going to try the process of removing some from each capsule. I hope my energy level comes back like it used to be.

Val wrote:

Jenny wrote:

This post is an extension of the
Cymbalta Withdrawals Tips thread.

Please continue posting within this thread.

In dec my mother passed away suddenly . I was so depressed so the doc put me on cymbalta to help cope and said only temporary would I stay on. I went to the doc last Friday and told the doc I have now coped and want to get off. He gave me the 30mg dose and said to take it for 1 week and then the following week go every other day. So far it's been 4 days and I am suffering from the horrible headache , even in my sleep I have this. I am reading the threads here and it's all so scarey. I too during this time while on cymbalta have turned from a social drinker to wanting to drink every nite a couple of glasses of wine. Never have I ever drank so much. I also gained weight about 15 pounds and all thru my life I have alwayed weighed the same from high school never gaining this much weight. My head right now feels as tho I am un steady kinda like in a fog. I am going to try the process of removing some from each capsule. I hope my energy level comes back like it used to be.

Good for you Jenny! Removing some beads from a capsule each day really works, takes longer, but worth it. I made a "log" so I knew how many I should take out each day. Good Luck!

Just on day 3 of no Cymbalta, vivid dreams, intestinal "issues," dizzy and lightheaded, etc. So, I started reading, came upon your posts and was impressed. However, I had to join this forum and in doing so lost your original post. I will search your user name and go from there, but thank heaven I'm not having a stroke!! I did just take a pill -- this is too unnerving. However, we will be going to San Diego tomorrow (living in Mexico) and I'll get moving on this.
Thank you.

Ok on like week 2 and I thought perhaps I could just get off but I am now taking only when I get dizzy and lightheaded. Feel as tho my dreams are so real and I am like a mind reader too because it seems I have my dreams wake up and the next day something someone does reminds me of what I just dreamt about the nite before, kinda freaky. I absolutely hate this feeling and am telling anyone and everyone not to ever get on this drug because it's so hard to get off! I hate that the doctors do not tell you about this withdrawl. I believe that cymbalta should have to reimburse us for the lost time that we spend trying to get off it. I just want to be normal again!

I have taken doses of Cymbalta ranging from 30 mg-120 mg for two plus years for clinical depression.  When I first started taking the drug, I thought it was definitely a miracle cure and I felt better than I had in a long time.  That feeling was short lived however, and then as the depression symptoms returned, they seemed to become increasingly worse.  I went from just being anxious and mildly depressed to being a completely different person that felt unhappy, unhealthy and out of control all of the time.  All of this happened while I faithfully took my Cymbalta every day.  Over the two plus years I was on this medicine, my symptoms included: debilitating fatigue, increased depression (withdrawal, mood swings, anxiety, and loss of interest in life), brain fog, confusion, forgetfulness, loss of libido, weight gain, breathlessness, profuse sweating and heart palpitations. Not suspecting Cymbalta as the culprit to my mental and health issues, I started on a mission to find out what in the world could possibly be wrong with me.  I visited many doctors, had numerous tests done and even tried an array of “add-on” medicines to alleviate all of the symptoms I was having. During all of this time, not once did any of my doctors suggest that Cymbalta could be causing all of these symptoms though they were all aware I was taking the medicine!  It was not until I was doing a Google search of my symptoms a couple of weeks ago that I discovered that Cymbalta is actually a poisonous substance!  When I discussed this with my psychiatrist, he agreed that all of my symptoms could very likely be a result of Cymbalta.  I told him I wanted to detoxify my body of this drug and I wanted to do it quickly.  He rambled off some suggestions of other replacement drugs, but I insisted I wanted to get off of all of the medicine since I was having such an adverse reaction to the Cymbalta.  He gave me samples of lower doses of the Cymbalta so I could wean myself slowly, thus reducing the chances of side effects (imagine that… reduce side effects of a drug that was already poisoning my body?!) I decided to go cold turkey instead. 

It has been sixteen days since I last took a Cymbalta pill.  For the first day or two after I stopped the medicine, I did not feel any different.  I still felt like I was on the medicine (bad, but my normal at the time).  I still had all of the adverse symptoms described above.  By day three, I started to feel even more run down than usual and I began feeling like I had a really bad case of the flu.  I was weak and nauseous, I had diarrhea, my body ached, I had chills, and cold sweats.  I also began to feel very dizzy and started hearing and feeling brain zaps.  The hard core flu-like symptoms and dizziness lasted for about ten days.  Now, I am still dizzy, have brain zaps frequently, an unsettled stomach, and restlesness/slepplessness.  When I do finally rest, it is not the quality kind of sleep one really needs, and I have been having very weird dreams.  On a good note, the brain fog is beginning to lift and I am slowly regaining the energy and desire to exist that I had lost for two years.  I am not as out of breath or sweating like I had been when I was on the medicine and I think once I start losing the 40 pounds I gained while on Cymbalta, I will feel even better. I think the exercise will also help with my restlessness. I am going to purchase the supplements others of you mentioned in your posts and I am also going to start taking a multi-vitamin.  I am thankful for everyone who shared their stories and tips on how to kick this poison.  I will continue to check back to see other stories and to update you on my own progress.    

awww jill i do feel u here as i been through hell and back on different meds to control bulima yes thats right bulima how nuts it that that they give me this crappy med that increased my weight when i have an eating disorder.. doctors have got alot to answers for, iam going cold turkey and already my sexual appetite has come back and iam able to orgasm without a problem sorry to be bold but its awful problem :( and my energy levels are returning. iam on day 4 off it and i have taken an antihistamine also a liquid vitamin with b6 because i have heard this helps some of the withdrawals and iam drinking plenty of fluids too..

as with losing friends i have done that but truth be told they wasnt that good anyway just took advantage of my soft nature lol that actually was while i was going cold turkey on citapram which was horrid but i wont ever take prescribed antidepressants ever again iam going to take 5-htp which was advised by holland and barrett, so next week i will start taking that to help my stress and aniexty i get with the eating problem. hope this helps u a little and please keep positive and upbeat thats what iam trying to do... for the sake of my 2 kids which are 8 and 9


god bless xx

hey mike do you think this method would work with tramadol withdrawals???the tramadol withdrawals are the same as cymbalta....flu like symptoms and all.....depression....thanks in advance for your reply....

I was initially on Effexor and was switched to Cymbalta by a doctor. He said withdrawal from Cymbalta waouldn't be as bad as Effexor. That was five years ago. I am determined to get off this evil pill. It costs average $180.00 p/month w/out insurance. When I was put on it I had insurance and the copay was $25.00. I asked the doctor who put me on Cymbalta what does he prescribe to people that can't afford Cymbalta but need help. He said he doesn't prescribe it to those people. Hmmm?? Anyway, I am at six weeks of weaning from 60mg p/day to 30mg and now at 20mg every other day and I feel all the brain zap, nausea, irritability, headache, sluggish, dizzy. It's aweful. The withdrawl symptoms make me want to "take another pill" to feel better, but then I'll never go off them. Thanks for your post info.

Ok, so I was on Paxil for 15 yrs for severe anxiety and depression and it worked great up until about 4 months ago. I went to the Dr. and he put me on 60 mg of Cymbalta. I was doing ok, but still seemed to get aggravated easily. So I went back to the Dr.about 2 weeks later and he bumped me up to 120 mg. Well finding out my insurance didnt cover it I couldnt afford 455.00 a month. So he put me on Zoloft and told me to go down to 60 mg of the Cymbalta and start 50 mg of the Zoloft. It has been 4 days now and I am suffering severe anxiety, mind racing, and feel like I am having a nervous breakdown at times. I have 3 older children and a 7 month old baby. I am scared! Will this feeling go away when the Zoloft kicks in? I really need some advice. I feel like I am alone through this! If anyone has any positive feedback that that has gone through this before and gotten through it please post! Thank you

well i am just going to stop takeing it..and tough it out.. Cant take it any more....

Hello;
I need some help. I have been on cymbolta for 2 months and feeln aweful. Went from 30 to 60 and back to 30. dr. said take 30 every other day.. Not workn to well. I took half a 30 today. Where do you think I should go from here. Take 7 beads out of half a 30 or go back to 30 and take 7 from there. I appreciate your advise not trusting the dr.
Thank you.

I was taking cymbalta for over a year. I wanted to come off it but and decided to go cold turkey. I was scared of side affects. It has been 1 and half months. first day or two i felt nothing. but days that followed were tough but bearable. the withdrawals i had was sleepless night, restless, i was bit emotional over silly things on TV and my apatite was poor. but after a week i start sleeping again and my apatite came back. I'm feeling really good in myself now, Im in control of my own emotions again. i also feel strong. Id advice people to speak to there GP first as I was on low dose 30mg for anxiety i know I should have spoken to my doc first but I have no patience and when I decide to do something i want to do it then and there. I strongly believe stay strong and carry on i tell this everyday to myself. Speak to your doctor and you both can come up with a plan together. Best of luck hope this helps.