Posted by cache-monkey on September 30, 2004, at 2:23:13
In reply to Cymbalta-First Dose, posted by silversea69 on September 29, 2004, at 23:19:06
<<< I have just started on Cymbalta tonight at 9:00PM EST. By 10:30 I started to feel manic and needed to do to get up from the computer and I cleaned my kitchen and did dishes, that seemed to take care of it. 11:30PM my heart started racing and I found it hard to catch my breath. I went outside to go for a walk as it is a cool night and that usually calms me. I walked about 2 blocks and it felt as though someone was sitting on my chest! I returned home and it went away. My doctor told me to take this at night since it would cause drowsiness, well it has had the opposite effect on me. >>>
Hi there,
I started Cymbalta at 30 mg/day eight days ago (I actually divided the contents of the capsules and only took 15 mg the first three days.) My initial response was maybe something like you're describing: I felt very "up" and agitated, something I translated into anxiety. I did feel like I was bordering on mania at time. My temperature was also bouncing up and down and I couldn't stop sweating. Oh, and I remember the feeling really tight in the chest the first night or two.
The agitation got a little better, but increased again when I upped from 15-30 mg. Then, somewhere around last night I started to all of a sudden feel better. Like a fever broke almost. I still don't know whether the agitation will be back tomorrow, though. I also don't yet know if I've improved over where I was before Cymbalta or if this is just a dropping away of the start-up S/Es.
In any case, I would be prepared for the agitation to last for a few days. For some people this seems to be just part of the start-up process. I know firsthand that it can be very distressing and seem overwhelming or endless. But hang in there! The agitation will resolve. (If it doesn't within a week or two, that's another matter, entirely.) Regardless it also wouldn't be a bad idea to call your doctor tomorrow to appraise him or her of the situation.
I would definitely consider taking your dose in the morning, since for me the agitation (after increasing as the drug was released) waned over the course of the day. Just a thought.
Best,
cache-monkey
poster:cache-monkey
thread:397084
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20040927/msgs/397130.html