Posted by addinbc on May 3, 2006, at 13:02:01
Hello all;
Well, I just started taking Cymbalta for depression and A.D.D. last Friday (i.e.; less than a week ago). I started at 20mg. It made me a bit anxious at first, but the first day certainly gave me energy.
However, by day 3, the 20mg capsule became an "off" button for me. I basically laid in bed all day - couldn't really sleep, mind you - didn't want to/couldn't do anything. I just lay there. I would say that I lay there feeling nothing, but actually I felt more depressed in an apathetic kind of way (does that make sense?). I felt absolutely horrible but didn't care... stared at the ceiling.
So I decided that the 20mg tablets were just too much for me. I bought some empty gelcaps at the pharmacy and made myself a bunch of 5mg capsules (divided the pellets in the 20mg capsules by 4). I have been taking these the last few days. Yesterday, I felt HORRIBLY depressed and irritable - not at all myself. Last night I just cried and cried and I did a BDI online which indicated I was in the severe depression range.
I woke up this morning feeling much better - much more like myself. I have been taking Klonopin at night to help with sleep, so I thought maybe it was the two together that was making me feel depressed. I didn't take any Klonopin last night. However, within about 40 minutes of taking my 5mg Cymbalta today, I now feel down, irritable, and apathetic. Therefore, it would seem as though it is the Cymbalta itself making me feel this way. I don't like it at all!!!
This is all very strange because I found Strattera to be a MIRACLE drug for me before it pooped out after about 4 months. I couldn't go higher than 35mg on it, however, because it would make me more depressed. 35mg was the perfect spot for me!
My frustration now lies in the fact that I can tell the Cymbalta is having a similar positive effect on my ADD as the Strattera did. I am loathe to give up on it yet, but it is making me feel very down.
What should I do?
-Keep on at the 5mg mark and hope this increased depression is time limited and will pass once my system gets used to the drug?
-Lower the dose again and try 2.5mg?
-Stop taking the Cymbalta altogether?
I'm sorry for the long post. Any suggestions and/or experiences would be very very much appreciated!
Many thanks!!
NB.
poster:addinbc
thread:639621
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20060429/msgs/639621.html