Weaning Off Cymbalta: What The Doctors Don't Tell You
98I am writing this Hub to help make people aware of what happens when you want to start getting off the anti-depressant, Cymbalta.
Sure, the drug worked wonders during my bout with depression. After one year, things have gotten lot better for me and I am able to cope better with stressful situations. My doctor and I planned to have me taper off the drug--his plan was to have me take the 60mg capsules every other day for about 3-4 doses, and then reduce to 30mg. As things supposedly "get better", he said I should take the 30 mg in larger intervals (every 2 days, every 3 days, etc.) until I can completely stop taking it. Basically, he said, there is really no protocol on how to wean off the drug. "Each person is different," and it all depends on how your body reacts to the reduction in dosage."
Well, here I am, on Week 3 and I've basically been in a living hell. I've experienced severe headaches, brain "shivers" (slight disorientation), CONSTANT NAUSEA, and flu-like symptoms (vomiting, fever chills, sore throat, diarrhea). Also embarrassing is that I've had to talk to my employer about it because I have missed too many days of work.
My husband decided to do a lot of research on what other experiences people have when tapering off Cymbalta. Lo and behold, there are actually many sites out there with people complaining about the same things! Particularly, the website cymbaltawithdrawal.com was where we spent the most time on reading stories and getting advice from folks who've lived the nightmare.
The bad news is people DO have varying symptoms as well as different lengths of time before the withdrawal symptoms stopped. However, some have been successful at the tapering-off process and enthhusiasticaly write to share their experiences. Two huge tips that seem to work for some people are the following:
1) Getting a low-dose prescription for Prozac, which itself is an SSRI but has a longer half-life that Cymbalta; it also has very minor withdrawal symptoms when stopped completely.
2) Do NOT take Cymbalta "every other day" when weaning off. Cymbalta only has a half life of 12 hours, which means if you skip a day your body basically goes into shock from lack of the drug. Instead, gradually reduce the daily dosage. This can be quite difficult because Cymbalta only comes in 60, 30, and 20 mg time-released capsules. Please browse through the links below to read more information about other folks who've been through this.
If you are a Cymbalta taker, considering using this medication or know someone who is taking it to help with depression and/or anxiety, please, PLEASE make sure you are aware of the things people have experienced when it was time to get off the drug. Visit the sites below for more information.
P.S.
I wrote a letter to my doctor today and faxed him 10 pages of what people have said in the forums. I am hoping he will call me back tomorrow to explore an alternate plan of weaning off Cymbalta. If he prescribes Prozac for me, it may or may not help. At this point I need to try SOMEthing because I really need help. I don't mind taking longer to get off the drug--I just need to be able to FUNCTION and go to work!
Helpful Websites:
- CymbaltaWithdrawal.com
Withdrawal symptoms and side effects help site. - WhatWinnersDo.com: Cymbalta Withdrawal Symptoms Suck!
Another page with posts from people who have experienced Cymbalta withdrawals. - How To Wean Off Cymbalta Successfully
Success stories from others. - Reducing Dosage--It Worked!
What someone tried at home---dangerous but it worked! - Drug Substitution Quick Info
Thinking of asking for another drug to help with the withdrawals?. - Please Sign This Petition
"The undersigned are calling upon Eli Lilly to provide a written detailed description of the moderate to severe withdrawal symptoms that patient's are experiencing while trying to discontinue their use of Cymbalta."
UPDATE: Several months later...
It's been a while and I've decided to update everyone on my situation.
In January of 2009, I was finally down to 20 mg of Cymbalta daily (I started from 60mg and tapered down 10 mg every two weeks). Since there is no lower dose than 20mg, I asked my doctor for 10mg of Prozac. I took Prozac daily for about a month and did not experience any withdrawal symptoms at all! Finally I stopped taking Prozac completely, and am now living a happy, normal life.
There is hope, people! Good luck to everyone who is still going through this horrible experience.
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Comments
Thanks this is truly useful information. I never even heard of this drug, Mostly prozac is what I've heard of.
It was a relief to see someone else going through this "hell" and that I wasn't alone. I too thought of starting a Hub as it's easy as anything to have a doctor put a patient on the medication but not as easy to take them off. I was put on the medication not for treating depression but to be a pain reliever as I injured my back. After missing a dose and experiencing extreme dizziness to the point where I couldn't function I decided the risks outweighted the benefits and asked to be taken off. I was at 60mg and lowed to 40mg after 1 week and then to 30mg and eventially to the lowest dose of 20mg. After the month of weening down and 2 days of not having the Cymbalta in my system at all I had such severe withdrawal that by the 4th day of not having it in my system it was to such a frightening degree that my doctor put me back on 20mg. The list of side effects was so much longer than the side effects I experienced going on it and so was the severity. The withdrawals are scaring me and I have been finding out I am not the only one nor am I "going crazy". I am now so angry when I see an add for Cymbalta and discouraged the a doctor put me on it knowing full well it was a medication not intended for long term use. I have also been able to put terms with the things I felt, for example, the brain shivers. I was explaining them to people as a wooshing sound in my head like a fan. Other sites have recommended Benadryl which I take for allergies in the fall anyway and was thankful to find out it did minimize and took the edge off some of the withdrawals. I guess I am after successful ways of getting off Cymbalta safely and with the least side effects so that I can function for not just my children but also for my own well being. Thank you for the helpful information. It's funny how there are things all over the internet from the people representing Cybalta on getting on it but nothing to help those that need to get off it. It's a drug made to entrap people...so I wonder what the long term effects are. If the withdrawals and such a small dose effects peole the way it does what happens to those that are taking 120mg over longer periods?! Something to think about...I would but my brain doesn't function right now the way it should, thanks Cymbalta.
I have a question. Has anyone experienced severe mood swings/behaviors changes when weaning off of cymbalta? My husband has been extremely irritable and is becoming argumentative, he thinks everyone is out to get him and is becoming physical. He is seeking altercations. Any assistance is greatly appreciated. I am running out of directions to get assistance. My email address is dmiscikowski@yahoo.com
I am currently taking Cymbalta, not for depression but for anxiety. I haven't tried to wean myself off of the drug, but I know the extreme and sudden side effects from missing one day (forgetting, etc.). I get very strange and constant tingling in the tips of my fingers and even on the skin on my face. It disrupts my entire day and makes me feel sick. Perhaps these are the "brain shivers" you are talking about; I find the symptoms difficult to describe accurately.
I thought maybe the side effect was psychological, that since I knew I had missed a day, maybe I was making it worse than it really was. But it has happened SEVERAL times and I know now that it's a physical withdrawal symptom.
Thank you for validating my experience, and if I choose to wean off of the drug, at least I know I'm not alone.
I have forgotten to take t Cymbalta a few times, or was unsure if I had taken it. All I had to do was wait until noon, and I also got numbness and tingling in my hands and face. Also had terrible mental depression.
My depression is not well treated with anything, so a year ago my dr. suggested increasing from 60 to 120 mg. Within a short period, I started to have a series (5) of sudden falls - straight forward and flat on my knees, hands and face. These may be, as they sound like, "drop seizures". At that time Cymbalta was only associated with dizzyness leading to fainting. As these falls were not like that, we did not attribute them to Cymbalta, but decided I should go back to 60 mg anyway.
Recdently the depression has been so bad, I again increased from 60 to 120, with some relief, however a few days ago I had the "drop seizure" again. I started doing research and found that now, Cymbalta is not recommended for people with seizures. My very first diagnosis was limbic system seizures.
Recently, even before increasing the Cymbalta, I had a good blood work up, and found myself to have low sodium. I have never hade this before, and it can be realted to increased seizures. Cymbalta is known to decrease sodium levels.
Also I take Cytomel, a direct T3, for non working thyroid. The cympalta caused a huge drop in my body temperature. (95.3) and I have had to increase the thyroid med. I have read that people taking thyroid meds need to be checked after taking Cymbalta for a while, and after any increase (and I guess decrease as well).
I want off the stuff, as low sodium can be fatal, and falling seizures are dangerous. (I feel nothing to warn me ahead of time - just like a drop seizure. I do feel it is helping levels of chronic pain and am afraid of how much pain I will be in if I get off. It does help the depression at the levels that cause increased seizure activity.
Someone told me a good way to get off is to be hospitalized so you can be IV medicated as you go through withdfrawl. Has anyone heard of this?
Here is a very good site for tapering off drugs. You get information on which meds increase or decrease absorption of other meds, as well as a very slow protocol. http://www.theroadback.org/
I am glad people have found that there are others out there suffering as well. My doctor still insists that he knows nothing about these symptoms and that out of millions of people who take the drug, what is the percentage of this? 1%? 5 %? I don't know, but it shouldn't be treated as "insignificant", because people are suffering. I hope Eli Lilly can get some relief for us soon.
I want to share my experience of coming off Cymbalta. While taking the drug for over 8 months it was time to come off. Things in my life turned around and I felt like I could have complete control of my life without the drug. However, coming off the drug was more than what I was expecting. I was taking 60mg per day. My doctor told me to drop 30mg for a week. I did that but had the "brain shocks" that were killing me. I divided the 30s into 15mg and took that everyday for 1 week...then every other day...then every two days until I came off the drug. Things got better very quickly. For the "brain shocks" take Omega 3 - the fish oil...you won't have them anymore! I swear by the Omega 3! Try it!
How do you go about dividing the capsules? can you buy empty capsules. My pharmacist wants the approval of my doctor blah blah blah and I don't have time for the nonsense. I'm not waiting for anyone's permission to get off this poison. Please tell me how to divide the capsules. Thanks so much
sm, you can't really divide the capsules unless you find a compounding factory to do it for you (they are hard to find and expensive). I started from 60mg, then went down 10mg every two weeks. Cymbalta only comes in 60, 30, and 20mg caps, so I was combing the 30 + 20 to do 50, then used two 20s when I was taking 40mg. But now, I am on the last stretch--I went from 20mg to zero. My pharmacist confirmed that they cannot divide the 20mg capsule for me to make into 10s. It is a bit dangerous to even do it yourself (open the gelcap and do it yourself) because this is a time-released drug. I've taken other people's advice and take Omega 3 and Benadryl. I am definitely having symptoms but it's manageable. Hope that helps.
i ASM 35 YRS OLD AND DIAGNOSED WITH TRIGEMINAL NEURALGIA. mY DOCTOR PUT ME ON CYMBALTA . I GUESS SHE THOUGHT IT WOULD WORK. I HAVE BEEN ON IN 3 YRS NOT. I WANT CONTROL BACK OF MY LIFE. I QIUT "COLD TURKEY" I DON'T KNOW IF IT WAS GOOD OR NOT. THERE IS NO GOING BACK FOR ME NOW. I AM AGNGY WITH MY DR FOR NOT TELLING ME THIS WOULD BE LIKE HELL. I HAVE BEEN VOMITING, BRAIN ZAPS, BODY TREMORS, ITCHING, DIZZINESS AND EXTREME CRYING. I HATE MY LIFE RIGHT NOW AND WITH I HAD THE PAIN FROM THE TRIGEMNIAL BACK! I READ FROM ANOTHER PERSON BENADRYL . SO I TOOK IT. I DID SLEEP LAST NIGHT . ITS MORNING NOW AND LIFE HAS TO BEGIN AGAIN. I WITH THEY WOULD TELL YOU THE WARNINGS I DI 60MG FOR 3 YRS. I NEVER WOULD HAVE FILLED THIS SCRIPT. I AM THANKFUL THERE IS A SUPPORT GROUP LIKE THIS. I FEEL ALONE..
A suggestion for the uncomfortable withdrawal symptoms. 20 Mg Prozac daily (check with your doctor first please), cleanse your body via aqua chi foot detox (removes toxic chemicals and metals from the body), infrared sauna (removes toxins through sweat), drink water and lots of it (filtered water with lemon squeeze is best, ginger tea (shred ginger, add hot water, lemon and honey to taste). This will help with nausea. Real old fashion black licorice will support your liver while detoxing. Also, go to your health food store and get a liver detox support and drink, drink, drink. Also, there is a detox tea you can get (try health food store or contact my sister's site below. She has a few bags. I've been through hell with cymbalta and previously Effexor and Paxil. Same debilitating symptoms. You are not alone. Good luck and know that it will end. My sister, Catherine runs a detox spa in Mission, BC Canada. There is some good info on there. The website is just being built so updates are coming NOONE should suffer this kind of living hell!. Missiondetoxspa.com
I was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia over two years ago. It got to the point I needed some help. Against my fear of taking prescription drugs, I went back to my doctor. He put me on Cymbalta, which had just recently been approved for treating FM. It seemed to be helping and I was feeling great. I had started at 30mg and went up to 60mg. After being on for only 4 or 5 months, I missed two doses while I was away for the weekend. On the drive home I had terrible GI upset and was so nautious. I thought it was food poisoning. Once we got home I was very nervous, nautious, and uncomfortable. A little while later, my husband started a fire in the fireplace and I must have gotten a smell of dust or something, but it made me feel like I couldn't breath, a scence of uncontrollable anxiety came over me and couldn't calm myself. I started to hyperventilate, my fingers started to tingle, then up my arms, my head, my lips, my legs. I couldn't stand, my fingers cramped in and I couldn't move them. my hands were frozen. My husband called 911 and I ended up in the hospital. Come to find out it was all brought on by withdrawl symptoms from the Cymbalta. The GI upset, the anxiety, the hyperventilation which caused my hands to freeze up. I vomited at the hospital and had to keep making trips to the bathroom. They gave me an IV as I was dehydrated and gave me something to calm my stomach, took blood work and basically left me to take a nap. I felt much better when I woke up about a 1/2 hour later. I was fine the rest of night and went back to my doctor the next day. I decided to go back on, not having researched as much as I have been lately. I weaned back on 30mg to 60mg. Now I notice if I miss one day I get the head zaps. I have decided to start weening off and have started taking 30mgs now each day, the past two days, so far so good. I think. Although, I just started geting this ringing in my head.
I went to a holistic chiropracter for my neck and back and we started talking about my symptoms. I filled out a questionnaire and we were able to see that my adrenals and hypothalmus and sugar scored really badly. She gave me some homeopathis medicines to help regulate sugar, support my adrenal glands, omega 3, and some other vitamins. I can definately tell a difference already. She said that this should help minimize side effects while weaning off the Cymbalta too b/c my system will be stronger and more able to tolerate. I hope she's right.
Another good doctor to check out for FS/CFS and just about anything is Dr. Jacob Teitelbaum http://www.endfatigue.com/. I definately reccomend his book "From Fatigued to Fantastic". He take the approach of utilizing what ever is offered that can help you, but his first choice is natural remedies. He even addresses heart condition, diabetes, etc.
Good luck everyone, and I don't reccomend stopping cold turkey, the side effects can be too sever and damaging to your body.
I was on cymbalta a couple of years ago, but I really don't remember whether or not there were side effects (although I know exactly what you mean by that "brain shiver" thing). All these meds. kinda make me angry, but I don't know what I'd do without them. I'm now on Effexor, mirtazapine, and Lyrica. I would really like to be able to detox myself during the next couple of years. . .
Has anyone had severe sore throat while taking this medication or when missing a dose? I have had one since I missed a dose and all that I have read about it I talked to my doctor about weaning off and she said to take every other day and I can't get rid of a sore throat that is horrible. No strep or mono or cold symptoms, the dr can't find anything else wrong. I'm on 30mg and have been about 8 weeks. Please help I feel like I'm going crazy and my throat is killing me. Also it goes and comes, not every miniute of everyday. Motrin and tylenol help a little. Thanks
Once I ran out of one of my anti-deps and it WAS hell. I couldn't believe how badly I was affected from not having just one pill for a couple of days. Kind of scary how dependent I am on them...
Thank YOU
I was wondering about the brain shivers! I was trying to explain them and all I could come up with was "an electrical current through my brain". I will try the suggestions given. Thank You
Wow this article was very infomative to me...thank you...
I am about to go off of Cymbalta after 7 months on 60mg. The doctor told me to just go down to 30mg for two weeks and then off. I have one more dose of 30 mg and wondered how much Omega 3 and Benadryl to take to minimize side effects. I see that those have helped people but no one has mentioned how much of each to take and for how long! I am scared to death to take that last pill tomorrow!
I too have been trying to get off cymbalta. So far I cant get past the third day.
Hi, I've actually been thinking about writing a hub about both SSRI drugs and Generic drugs. I read that people were coming off of paxil were having to scrape a little bit off of each pill for a very long time to come off of it. What I don't understand is, if the older drugs weren't broke, why are they trying to fix them and use us as guina pigs. Don't get me wrong some new ones are good, but so far they are few! I'm sorry this happened to you. Try to stick with what you know is OLD, TRUSTED and they know the long term side effects!
YES! everyone else gets the brain shivers too! has anyone seen harry potter, when she is talking about these strange things that make your brain fuzzy and you can only see them with 3D glasses?! Is that not totally what it feels like? Thought i'd try to bring some humor into this, even though it's not humorous at all. Thanks to everyone that posts on here, I feel so much better knowing I'm not crazy for feeling electrical currents in my brain...and feeling continually nauseated....
I am also in the tapering off stage having finally figured out that really bad symptoms were the result of taking Cymbalta. I had taken other antidepressants and never* had such terrible side effects, weight gain, puffy face, numbness in my legs and hands/fingers. ANGRY also with 'doctors' who have act so detached from the entire pain-filled experience 'we go through' once we realize what this toxic Rx has been/doing to us. Now I taper by taking a 20mg capsule and pulling it apart and trying to keep the same amount "constant" each night (reducing 1/2) so from - 60 to 50-to 40 etc. but in the meantime, ringing in my ears, brain shocks, weird LSD kind of dreams = tho last night, for the 1st time, I didn't have the 'crazy dreams' so feel somewhat more hopeful. WHY is it that doctor's don't know/recognize these symptoms - ? and come to 'our rescue' and isn't it really a 'wake up call' to have experienced that: they just don't (want to hear it ?) that they have become just/factory robots, giving out Rx's to make MONEY and not caring at all what, happens to their patients that they are - supposedly there, to be caring for but rather just end up, not/caring about period. I think exercise and Meditation is KEY, total mindset-change is KEY...educating ourselves is a must, so that we never, ever fall into this *trap* again thinking: the doctor knows what's best. It's our lives at stake. The MD rakes in the $ from the Rx's he/she writes, pharmaceutical kick backs....etc. it's really a disgrace !!!!
My Dr. is an idiot.
He basically wants me to go from 60 mg(I am on this now) to 30 mg for a few weeks and then to do 30 mg every other day and then stop. Which as far as I can tell is going "cold turkey".
I tried to stop (cold turkey)by myself a few weeks ago and thought I was dying. I felt like I had a really bad flu - headache, nauseous, body aches, light headed. Anyway I got scared because I felt so sick I decided I needed a Dr. to help me. But this Dr. is such an idiot and seems to know less than I do about weaning off of cymbalta. So I am taking cymbalta capsules and taking them apart and lowering my dosage on my own. You CANNOT skip days you have to slowly just keep lowering the amount in your system. I hope I can do this. I am in the meantime looking for a Dr. to help me. One that isn't an idiot!
Very well written hub .....
very much informative ......
Thank you very much for your great hub, for good advice, good wishes and support. Thanks for sharing your experience with all of us.
Here is a great link that explains what "brain zaps" are. It may help a little to know the science behind this.
http://www.labelmesane.com/brain_zaps.html
I am researching weaning off of cymbalta. Obviously, when I do come off the drug, I will do so under the care of my doctor. But, this blog and others I have read really help me to see what I can expect and what other people are going through!
Thank you thank you thank you! Everytime I tell a friend or doctor about the brain zaps/shivers they look at me like I'm crazy. Ironic though. I have tried to get off of Cymbalta before and it was as you all say "Hell" I felt like I was in a hole sinking deeper. So back on I went. I am soooo scared of this stuff but more scared of life without it. This one works for me, keeps me sane but do the side effects outweigh the benefits?
Cymbalta has been really helpful for me but the poor night vision and dissociative episodes I was having on whilst it started to annoy me when I was still experiencing them after nine months or so. Mood-wise I was feeling confident and elevated , so I decided I would cope fine without it. I should note that I was never able to take more than 15mg of the the drug as my therapeutic dosage, because of the severe heart palpitations and tremor it gave me (I am SEVERELY sensitive to side effects of anti-deps- most probably because I have temporal lobe epilepsy and am on anti-convulsants for that, which can cause a heightened sensitivity to any other drug- SSRIs increase the risk of seizures in people prone to them, so Cymbalta, being and SNRI seemed a more logical option). So the whole time I was on cymbalta I had been doing the 'splitting capsule' thing as the lowest dosage available here in South Africa is 30mg.
Taking this into account, I'm a bit of a pro at splitting them exactly, despite feeilng like some sort of coke addict when i 'make lines' on a flat surface to redistribute into empty gel caps.
I decided that seeing I was on such a low dose that I could stop cold turkey- bad idea- had insane brain zaps, mood swings, body aches, nausea, panic attacks- you name it, i had it. Also the vivid dreams were pesky as I felt I wasn't getting enough 'restful' sleep and felt extremely lethargic during the day.
I then decided to take my normal 15mg dose every two days, which I did for two weeks and noticed far fewer negative effects. Headaches and the vivid dreams still stuck around though. However, as soon as I discontinued this, after two weeks of alternate days, I lasted about two days and then started to feel violently ill again, almost like a bad bout of flu. I caved and am now trying to stick on half of my 15mg dose each day for 2 weeks, after which i will try 'counting granules' as someone suggested earlier, until eventually i take 4-5 granules a day (probably around 1-2 mg) ,until i can come off completely.
I've learned that this drug seems to have an extremely long weaning period (I've been on a LOT of different variations of SSRIs and SNRIs, due to my low threshold for side effects)) and I'm just going to have to be patient- BUT the good thing is, that the more patient and meticulous I am, the more effective the weaning seems to be, so I am hopeful that there is light at the end of the tunnel. I think my saving grace is that I am on 1mg of Rivotril (Clonazepam) every night which is a secondary anti-convulsant /muscle relaxant to treat the Temporal Lobe epilepsy ; and this has a lovely tranquilizing effect that calms me without knocking me out for the count and seems to help brain zaps.
I also find that beta blockers (10mg propanolol) help with heart palps and tremor, as well as dizziness as this seems to be caused by hypertension (high blood pressure) due to elevated heart rate- beta blockers lower the blood pressure slightly so can eliminate this. Find out a little more about beta blockers online to understand their functional mechanism as I'm a bit too lazy to explain it, but they really can work wonders. Ask your doc about this.
I have been doing this without the knowledge of my psychiatrist as I know she will disapprove (I have a good relationship with her but she is a little prescription happy and would rather have me on more drugs than fewer- but I am in the priveleged position of having a father and brother who are practising physicians (GP and Surgeon)and they have helped with fighting the more base side effects and monitoring me.
I live in canada. And cannot get 20mg!... which sucks. I am a female that took cymbalta for post partum depression. It worked really well for me while I was on it. But now I want to get pregnant, so my doctor is trying to switch me to zoloft which is better studied in pregnancy.
I went directly from 60mg cymbalta to 30mgs cymbalta + 50mg zoloft. I did this for a week and it was fine.
Then I tried to drop the cymbalta completly, but still take the 50 mg of zoloft and was crazy dizzy and dirreahea nausea, fatigue. I had to spend a whole morning in bed clutching my stomach. With a little one running around it isn't easy to do!
I spoke to my pharmacist, who told me to do every other day of cymbalta, and on the "no day" by the evening I feel awful. I wake in the middle of the night with nausea. In the morning I take it and symptoms subside but take the morning to do it.
Any suggestions??
I have been taking Cymbalta for depression and body aches that may be contributed to fibromyalgia. I have taken many differant anti-depressants that worked but you become immune to them. And coming off them was a piece of cake. I've missed one dose of cymbalta and feel like i'm going INSANE! I'm having terrible stomach pain, nausea,vomiting, the "brain-zaps" where my eyes feel uncontrollable, the sweats, then chills, and OMG the dreams or should i say NIGHT MARES i have are ridiculous. i wake up feeling like the stuff actually happened and my body hurts as though i was really doing the things in the dreams as in running, swimming, fighting, whatever. I get to were i'm half awake trying to wake up and see people that arent even there. it's just CRAZY! I missed one dose and i only have 2 60mg capsules left and cannot afford the 125.00 a month to stay on them. SO whats going to happen to me when i'm 3-4-5 days out of this medicine. I'm ready to go to the hospital and get some help because the dr's just arent' listening. I don't blame them totally because I don't feel they are made aware from the makers of this HORRIBLE drug. Wish me luck....i'm gonna need it.
Well, after being on Cymbalta for over a year I have decided I MUST get off. I was previously on Lexapro for depression, but due to having some nerve damage in my back, my doctor suggested I go on Cymbalta to address both the depression and the burning in my back and shoulders. Like others who have posted here, I noticed that if I missed 2 days (not on purpose--sometimes I just couldn't remember to take it) that I would get a weird tingling/numbness around my mouth and my hands. I finally associated this with missing the Cymbalta after a few times.
After having this happen I started thinking I don't like this med if it makes me feel like this. I know you have to be careful missing doses of medicines, but this just didn't seem right. So I figured I would go every-other-day (I'm on 60mg). It was ok, but then if I missed a day or 2 I would feel even worse than when I had been taking them every day. That's when I knew for sure I wanted to get off this stuff. That's been about 2 weeks now. The past 2 days I felt so awful--I threw up this morning, the tingling is in my whole face and hands, my arms are having a "hot" sensation. And the buzzing in my head/ears is scary. Others have referred to it as "brain shivers". A thought came to me that instead of taking it every-other-day that I still need to take it daily, but at a lower dosage. That's when I decided to get on the internet and look up weaning off this stuff. That's how I found this site. I currently don't have a doctor because mine has left the practice and no one is automatically taking over her patients. She was a good, well-informed doctor; I don't know if she knew the problems with getting off Cymbalta when she told me to go on it.
Laurie Parker, I just glanced at your post as I was writing this (it was right above the comment box) and saw you talking about horrible dreams. I, too, have been having dreams that when I wake up I don't know if it was a dream or real! Totally freaky and scary. Especially when you dream about your mother who has been dead for 14 years, and you wake up and swear she is alive. This has been happening while taking the Cymbalta regularly and weaning off. This drug needs to come off the market.
Have been on Cymbalta for 2 years. My weight has gone up 30 pounds. The nightmares, you have described sometimes as LSD type of dreams are terrible. Every, every night I have these. Never feel rested in the morning at all. Very scared to wean off. Have asked my doctor, he said we need to reduce my dose, currently 60 mg. Have called to ask for an appointment to really get started on the reduction. Again, why do the docs not warn about when you need to stop this stuff how hard it will be???
qlcoach says:
14 months ago
Thank for this honest hub about depression and antidepressants. All meds have side effects. Sorry to hear that Cymbalta is so difficult to phase off of. Feel free to see how I try to help others in new ways too. Sincerely: Gary Eby, author and therapist.