Posted by LlurpsieNoodle on April 18, 2007, at 11:38:56
In reply to cymbalta withdrawal - but I'm now off cymbalta, posted by mizloopy on April 18, 2007, at 1:11:03
I was on 120mg cymbalta for about 8 months. Then I was on 60 mg for about 3 weeks and had some side effects like mild brain zaps. Then I went down to 30 mg for about 6 weeks and experienced the zaps every day about 22 hours after my dose. I would get nauseous and dizzy and super brain zappy every single evening for 6 weeks. Finally I told the pdoc that I was ready to go off of the drug. I quit cold turkey. He said to be prepared for "flu-like" symptoms. I felt like my head was going to explode. Every time I moved my eyes or head or shifted my internal focus of attention I got massive brain shocks all the way to my dorsal fin. from crown to fingertips to tailbone. and some convulsions too. I had a headache.
I was prepared to feel like sh*t. That's why I had stocked up on smoothie supplies and juice and frozen dinners and set up a place where I could just lie around and doodle and play on the internet if my eyes permitted.
What I wasn't prepared for was the intense bad feelings. Some of the strongest suicidal thoughts I ever had. That combined with stress from my life and the physical misery was enough to send me to the hospital for my first ever visit to the psych ward. I was not prepared to have so many demons enter my fragile consciousness at once each demanding the attention of my zapping brain.
I told T I had a plan for ending my misery and she told me that I needed to go to the hospital.
I rode out the worst of it using klonopin. I was on wellbutrin for about 4 days. That was horrible. I was seriously sitting by the toilet or the vomit basin for hours every day with heaves but no barfy.
pdoc's verdict. Clearly wellbutrin's not your friend. So we decided to do slow taper of lamictal. Problem is that I still have brain zaps and intense suicidal ideation nearly every day. Therapy has helped me reframe some of my ideation. Also I really feel like the lamictal has helped with some of the helpless hopelessness of my moods.
But the headaches and the brain zaps continue, and it's been 4 weeks since I quit the drug. Dizzyness. and they happen all at once every day in the afternoon and evening. I try to do my important stuff in the morning, when my symptoms are limited to drowsiness and headache. By early-late afternoon my brain is good for nothing but waiting and riding out a wave of suicidal thinking.
I have plenty of whey protein. It's high quality. I haven't taken it in a while because I'm not in a body-building phase right now. But I made a smoothie this morning and I haven't had to take a painkiller for my headache yet. I have also accellerated my lamictal taper which is helping to cut my depressive symptoms down by about 50%.
I was already eating diet high in omega 3 because I put ground flax seed in everything and eat sardines and take fish oil. It helps me keep my skin supple and radiant, according to "Dr." Perricone.
I hope that this helps people understand. Withdrawal can be very serious. please make sure that you have all your resources close by when you decide to reduce or eliminate these drugs from your system.
would I take cymbalta again? yes I would, because it was a good ad for me. I had to come off of it because of sexual side effects. But I think I will be okay on lamictal.
best to you all,
-Ll
poster:LlurpsieNoodle
thread:466069
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/wdrawl/20061224/msgs/751018.html