Posted by dmlvt on November 3, 2006, at 8:58:45
It's easy to find lots of info on the web, almost all horror stories about Cymbalta withdrawal with a simple Google search. I figured I'd add one more report here that isn't quite as horrible as the other stories you might encounter. But, Cymbalta is not an easy drug to discontinue, IMO.
Quick History:
Started out with ADHD dx, then MDD. About two years ago, I started on 20mg of Cymbalta and then moved to 40mg. The drug was very effective for me. I also started therapy at the same time.
After about 6 months, I decided that the sexual side effects were too severe. The doc added Wellbutrin at 150mg, which helped some, but not enough for me. I then went to 300mg of WB and dropped Cymalta to 20mg. This seemed to do the trick. The doc then had me drop the Cymbalta completely while on 300mg of WB. I had no noticeable withdrawal effects but the WB was not as effective an AD as the Cymbalta. So, I went back on Cymbalta at 20mg with 300mg of WB.
I started to have anxiety issues. Eventually, this resulted in me dropping the WB to 150mg and increasing the Cymbalta to 40mg again, plus taking 2-3mg of Ativan daily.
At this point, I'd had enough. My weight was high, the overall drug effects were overwhelming, and I wanted off. I was also taking Ritalin, and it seemed absurd to be on so many drugs.
So, I made some major dietary changes, stopped drinking completely (yeah, I know I should never have been drinking while on Cymbalta and WB, but before the Ativan, it was the only thing that helped the anxiety).
I then dropped the Cymbalta to 20 mg. After a month there, I dropped the WB as well. So, I was on 20 mg of Cymbalta and 20 mg of Ritalin daily, plus Ativan as needed. As my dietary changes progressed, the need for Ativan dropped and I had a few days with no need to use it. This was my cue to go the next step and ditch the Cymbalta. I simply quit the last 20mg. I was fine for 2 days, and then, for the next 5 days, things got worse and worse. I used the Ativan to help the withdrawal symptoms, but no luck. After a week off the Cymbalta, I thought I was going to die. I broke open a 20mg capsule, counted the beads, threw half of them away and took 10mg. Over the next two weeks, I got down to 5mg and felt fine. But then, things stalled a bit. I stayed at 5mg for about 10 days. I then dropped to 3mg over a week and that went OK. I stayed at 3mg for about 5 days, and then dropped to 2mg over 4 days. Then, I quit again.
It's been a week again, and I am having some withdrawal effects. Mostly, I simply feel fuzzy and disassociated at times. I'm using some Ativan, but usually only 1.0 mg per day. I am using some extra Ritalin at times to help with focus at work.
This time, I'm sure I can stay off of the medication and I hope to drop the Ativan again as the withdrawal effects fade. I've seen no return of depressive symptoms and I find myself wondering if my problem was more ADHD and anxiety rather than depression all along.
Hopefully, I'll soon be down to just 20mg of Ritalin per day and then I can decide if I still need that.
While I found that I felt great on the Cymbalta, I don't think I need it any more. I'm curious if or when the medical world will wake up to how difficult it is to get off this drug. It's still such a new drug that the data might not be there. But, given the issues around Effexor withdrawal, I don't know why it should surprise anyone that Cymbalta is difficult to discontinue.
I'm amazed that I feel zero addiction or withdrawal issues with Ativan, yet Cymbalta has proven to be quite a challenge.
Perhaps I should have stopped the Cymbalta first and the Wellbutrin last. Either way, I hope I'm almost home.
dml
poster:dmlvt
thread:699995
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/wdrawl/20061010/msgs/699995.html