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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 25 to 49 of 696. Go back in thread:
Posted by Dr. Vijoy on October 11, 2005, at 15:47:13
In reply to Re: Eye opener, posted by sam86 on October 11, 2005, at 14:55:46
The "electronic misfires" you mention... I know exactly what you mean, I wonder if they are transient cataplexic/narcoleptic attacks... whatever, I wonder if an EEG would show anything.
Lot of doctors dont understand this phenomenon youre talking about, because its not in the books and something that needs to be experienced. I can just see a doctor putting a patient on antipsychotics for that.
Anyways i forgot what i was going to type i had to go do something, well, hang in there and just remember youre not alone in your experiences. I wish there was a depression-anonymous support group setup like AA and NA in local communities. Just a thought
yours,
Dr. Vijoy
Posted by shelleyt on October 11, 2005, at 23:32:22
In reply to Re: Eye opener, posted by sam86 on October 11, 2005, at 14:55:46
I am so glad I found this site. My mom is suffering horribly. She has been on Cymbalta 60 for 4 months and the doctor took her off cold turkey Thurs. She is sooo sick. I just don't know what to do to help her. Her neurologist prescribed and took her off and he will do nothing to help her now. Her pcp finally called her in a prescription. I can't remember the name, but it said Dramamine II on the info packet. She developed tinnitus while on it and of course the doctor won't confirm that is why. She gained 30 pounds this summer on it. Now coming off Cymbalta and she is so depressed, crying, headaches, dizzy, insomnia, grumpy grumpy, not her self at all. I want my mom back. she is my best friend. To top it off I am on Celexa for depression and have been doing great up until now. I want to cry all the time too. Some one please help!
Shelley
Posted by claudine on October 11, 2005, at 23:47:50
In reply to Re: Eye opener, posted by shelleyt on October 11, 2005, at 23:32:22
> My mom is suffering horribly. She has been on Cymbalta 60 for 4 months and the doctor took her off cold turkey Thurs. She is sooo sick. I just don't know what to do to help her. Her neurologist prescribed and took her off and he will do nothing to help her now. Her pcp finally called her in a prescription. I can't remember the name, but it said Dramamine II on the info packet.
> ShelleyFirst off Shelly, I am so sorry that you have to see your mother going through this. Is there someone (another adult, father, aunt, uncle, etc) who is able to help out while she's ill?
Secondly, the doctor who took her off cold turkey is a complete incompetent, and should be addressed by this other adult. There is documented proof of cymbalta withdrawal, and to have someone cease medication cold turkey without any assistance could be cause for problems. I'm sure if legal actions were mentioned, this doctor would begin to take note.
Now, as for what you can do to help your mom. The person who prescribed the Dramamine did so (I imagine)to combat the dizzinness. I've heard this is a good remedy, as is a drug called antivert prescribed to treat veritgo. I was on 60 mg for a long time, and tried to wean to 20 for one week, then nothing. It was incredibly hard, and I couldn't go to work for one week. The worst part were the electical shocks felt in the brain. My doctor was able to prescribe a small amount of Prozac to help out with those--and it really worked. I was still feeling awful, but it gets better.
Sometimes it helps to know how the withdrawal progresses...and why. She should expect zaps, dizziness, fatigue, random bouts of crying, sweating...and the list goes on.
The worst was the first week. I felt like I was going to die, it helped to have support and love, and understanding--that you are not crazy. Reassure her that this will pass, and maybe show her this site?? If you have a laptop--it might help her.
This may be different for others, but for me...now that I'm off--I feel amazing. I mean, I still have some random things happen with my body, occasional anger for no reason...but it passes. The thing that I have noticed is CLARITY. It's like I can think clearly.
It's awfully wonderful that you have looked this up to help your mom out, maybe show it to her so she can post/read etc?
Posted by Dr. Vijoy on October 12, 2005, at 0:34:32
In reply to Re: Eye opener, posted by claudine on October 11, 2005, at 23:47:50
I agree with claudine, read through the thread it may help understand whats going on.
Going from 60 to ZERO is what i did, at my own free will of course, but it sucks.
Do the following:
1. Dramamine or Benadryl as recommended on the bottle only, use as needed gradually tapering off.
2. Abstain from smoking completely, nicotine makes the "shocks" much worse.
3. Tylenol for the headache, although relief may not be as prominent as with migraine medication, but then again, if youre trying to get away from a SSRI then migraine medication is a type of SSRI...
4. 24hr support, if in a hospital, suicide watch. The depression will resolve itself to some extent in a few weeks, but keep in mind that SSRIs are a temp. treatment for depression so now the patient is left without treatment, this can be rough and should be observed carefully.
5. Other things i must be forgettingh.Look, SSRIs are good for temp. treatment i think most of us agree. Dont listen to Tom Cruise and posse when they say that depression is not a disease and that psychiatry medication doesnt work... i mean , youre going through withdrawl so something mustve happened right?
We need to learn to function on, and OFF, the meds to truly handle our devastating illness. You have seen what it is like on both sides of the fence, now gain the strength to walk on top of the fence. If a person can live off the meds, that is the best thingk, but if you find yourself falling off the fence, temp treatment with ssris is extremely important.
With that said, any doctor who pulls you off a SSRI without any support is a completely a**hole and should be sued.
Yours,
Vijoy
Posted by shelleyt on October 12, 2005, at 6:28:22
In reply to Re: Eye opener, posted by Dr. Vijoy on October 12, 2005, at 0:34:32
Thank you for the reasurance. I live next door to my mom, so it is more convenient for me to help her. Besides the fact that I love her. My dad is there, but still works, and my sister lives with my grandmother and works and has a 4 year old also. I am a medical trans. and stay home and it is just easier for me to be the one to make the calls and take her to the doctor and so on. She is only 57 and has always had a fullfilling life up until last year. She was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia, DJD, Degenerative arthritis and so on. We have yet to find a phy. to actually help her. Her neuro who put on Cymbalta thinks she need psychotherapy. She was not crazy until she went on Cymbalta! Anyway I have babbled enough.
Posted by Cindy45 on October 17, 2005, at 22:44:51
In reply to Re: Eye opener, posted by Dr. Vijoy on October 11, 2005, at 15:47:13
Hi, my name is Cindy and I was just put on cymbalta 2 months ago, I just wondered if any of You had any of these symptoms WHILE you were taking the medication. I have severe sleepiness and fatigue, and weakness. I missed a week of work when the doctor changed my prescription to 60 mg. I went back to 30 and am still having a problem . I feel like i am losing my mind at times and don't want to do anything but sleep.. ohh and I was put on it for chronic pain Not depression.. any advice ?? thanks.
Posted by Dr. Vijoy on October 17, 2005, at 23:01:14
In reply to Re: Eye opener, posted by Cindy45 on October 17, 2005, at 22:44:51
The symptoms you are describing are typical with Cymbalta. If youre being treated for chronic pain, there are other medications with less side effects out there that can do the job. I am not sure what would be the best for chronic pain, but amitriptyline is the classic antidepressant for chronic pain that seems to work well. Even if you stay on the cymbalta, 60mg is too much. If your doctor argues that Cymablta is a newer drug and therefore better than amitriptyline, that is not true. Amitriptyline is a well established older drug, whereas cymbalta is very similar to the mechanism of amitriptyline but seems to be giving people more side effects than most drugs out there. It is also very expensive and therefore not a first resort as far as im concerned.
Regardless if youre seeing benefit than stick with it. As with any antyidepressant, if youre going to stop the drug without switching to a different drug, GRADUALLY taper the dose!
New is not always better.
Yours,
Vijoy
Posted by shelleyt on October 18, 2005, at 8:20:39
In reply to Re: Eye opener, posted by Cindy45 on October 17, 2005, at 22:44:51
Well, my mom is better for now. Her neurologist would do nothing to help her, but her PPO decided to put her back on Cymbalta and ween her off. She did not tell me that she was on 60 mg bid, I thought it was just 60 1 a day. Anyway, she also put her on Ativan and took her off the Welbutrin. Her pain has gotten more severe however, but she can deal with that better than the dizziness, headaches, nausea, and ringing in her ears. So everyone say a prayer for anybody on or coming off Cymbalta.
Posted by tatt on October 18, 2005, at 8:43:42
In reply to Re: Eye opener, posted by Cindy45 on October 17, 2005, at 22:44:51
Cindy,
I had that all through the time I took Cymbalta - I was on 60mgs for about 9 months or so. All I wanted to do was sleep. My advice, find another med. This stuff sucks. -Tatt
> Hi, my name is Cindy and I was just put on cymbalta 2 months ago, I just wondered if any of You had any of these symptoms WHILE you were taking the medication. I have severe sleepiness and fatigue, and weakness. I missed a week of work when the doctor changed my prescription to 60 mg. I went back to 30 and am still having a problem . I feel like i am losing my mind at times and don't want to do anything but sleep.. ohh and I was put on it for chronic pain Not depression.. any advice ?? thanks.
Posted by mizloopy on October 24, 2005, at 2:08:54
In reply to Re: Cymbalta withdrawal, posted by Dr. Vijoy on September 26, 2005, at 19:02:10
i too am having awful intense withdrawal from cymbalta, mostly everything that others have mention i'm going through. it's been 6 daysand i'm miserable and so irratable..... i'm curious though a few times people said they were haveing "brain shocks" what is that? or what does that feel like?
has anyone one figured out what do to about the nausea. i normally take ginger in pill form and it saves me, but not this time
Posted by dinky on October 25, 2005, at 22:46:32
In reply to Re: Cymbalta withdrawal » Dr. Vijoy, posted by mizloopy on October 24, 2005, at 2:08:54
I was just prescribed Cymbalta and am quite concerned after reading all of the comments. I've been on Lexapro since December and it's just not working. Am I to understand that anything I take will only work temmporarily? I want to feel better ... I want to feel like mhself again. I feel lethargic, tired and achy. Does anyone have any suggestions?
Posted by davcuts on October 26, 2005, at 19:34:59
In reply to Re: Cymbalta withdrawal, posted by dinky on October 25, 2005, at 22:46:32
It's been two days since I stopped taking Cymbalta. I'm already looking online to see if I'm the only one who feels like I'm going to die. I'm bipolar so it might be just me, but I am exploding in anger towards anyone who even looks at me the wrong way, then ten minutes later I'm crying, tem minutes later I feel I need to vomit, ten minutes later I feel so dizzy that I don't even think I can stand up. I just left my psychiatrist a message to call me tomorrow, because going from 60mgs to 30mgs did not help me come off of it. I went through the same thing when I came off Paxil. That was one of the toughest things I've had to do. I'm starting to fear Cymbalta will be just as bad. I'm coming off Cymbalta because of the side effects that never went away. Including lack of sexual desire, fatigue, and the worst, premature ejaculation. I have this after I urinate. It feels like I'm not finished, but instead of urine coming out...you can figure out the rest. I don't reccommend anyone even try Cymbalta.
>
Posted by redgold on October 26, 2005, at 20:38:36
In reply to Re: Cymbalta withdrawal, posted by davcuts on October 26, 2005, at 19:34:59
I ran out of Cymbalta a couple days ago and am waiting for my refills in the mail. Since then I have been nauseated (also ran out of Aciphex) incredibly dizzy, and can barely move around. Even drinking water makes me sick to my stomach. Luckily my emotions have been in check, all though I have been having very chaotic dreams. Guess it is better to have the crazy in the subconscious than the conscious mind. There is something in your post that intrigued me. I was taking Zoloft for some time and the sexual side effects were too much so I switched over to Cymbalta. The side effects were lessened, but since I have been off the Cymbalta for a few days I have been having the most sexually charged dreams, it is ridiculous. Yet I still have no interest in having sex. Definitely feel like I am going crazy. I feel what you are going through, have you thought about Wellbutrin? Good luck, hopefully my pills will show up soon! Take care.
> It's been two days since I stopped taking Cymbalta. I'm already looking online to see if I'm the only one who feels like I'm going to die. I'm bipolar so it might be just me, but I am exploding in anger towards anyone who even looks at me the wrong way, then ten minutes later I'm crying, tem minutes later I feel I need to vomit, ten minutes later I feel so dizzy that I don't even think I can stand up. I just left my psychiatrist a message to call me tomorrow, because going from 60mgs to 30mgs did not help me come off of it. I went through the same thing when I came off Paxil. That was one of the toughest things I've had to do. I'm starting to fear Cymbalta will be just as bad. I'm coming off Cymbalta because of the side effects that never went away. Including lack of sexual desire, fatigue, and the worst, premature ejaculation. I have this after I urinate. It feels like I'm not finished, but instead of urine coming out...you can figure out the rest. I don't reccommend anyone even try Cymbalta.
>
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Posted by Dr. Vijoy on October 26, 2005, at 22:33:39
In reply to Re: Cymbalta withdrawal, posted by redgold on October 26, 2005, at 20:38:36
Hello,
I was reading the last couple of posts and I can understand what you guys are going through (read the whole thread, pretty informative). You know what's terrible about the lack of sexual desire? You have it when youre depressed, and you have it on the meds. Definitely not a win-win situation. Also, somebody mentioned the semen that comes out with urination... yes, it is retrograde ejaculation... basically the time before when you may have had sex or masturbated, some semen went the wrong way and into the urinary bladder... so that now when youre peeing there is something at the end of your urine stream ... that lost semen! There you are, I was wondering where you guys went!!! How embarrasing I know, so how to avoid the problem... no sex and masturbation in the first place. Now that is probably impossible so what to do; unfortunately there is nothing to do, except stop the meds and it will go away but then, things may worsen with the mood.
It is really a roller coaster of an issue, the withdrawl is tough, and most likely you will be on and off the meds forever; my only recommendation is if you can find someone who will perform ECT for you a few times it is definitely better than these meds.
I dont know what else to say Im going through the same thing myself and it hurts to see this sort of thing especially while going through it yourself. My solution im trying for myself? Well I know that I need the meds because im depressed otherwise, but i cant stand being on max dose meds. So im starting cymbalta back up at 20mg once daily , to move up to no more than 30 mg once daily. This for 3 months followed by 2 week cut back from 30 to 20, then 1.5 month break, and back again. I am also going to combine with the lowest dosage of Adderall twice daily to augment the therapy and bring back the sexual desire which i long for so much. Now the addition of Adderall to SSRI/SNRI Rx is experimental , however, being done in the UK... there they are using Selegeline (I forget the trade name) which is an antiparkinsonism drug but has an active metabolite which is essentially Adderall...
To make a long story short, the treatment of depression is still evolving but I think the doctors in UK may have it figured out more than we do here.
Whatever I mentioned here is my opinion and should not be used in real life without the consult of your physician.
Ive gone on long enough. And if youre feeling anger, depression, tearful after abruptly stopping Cymbalta, keep in mind these are signs of major depression and that you need to be observed by a loved one for the 2-4 weeks you go through this, otherwise go back to your doctor and have him try something different. And if your think Cymbalta is the only drug to have these side effects, I guarantee you that almost all the effective meds seem to have the same side effects such as Effexor and Paxil and Prozac, etc.
Take care,
Dr. Vijoy
Posted by davcuts on October 27, 2005, at 11:25:39
In reply to Re: Cymbalta withdrawal, posted by Dr. Vijoy on October 26, 2005, at 22:33:39
"basically the time before when you may have had sex or masturbated, some semen went the wrong way and into the urinary bladder... so that now when youre peeing there is something at the end of your urine stream ... that lost semen!"I'm not having sex, or masturbating. My doctor told me it was happening because I'm diabetic. Semen and urine can mix with diabetes, but regardless it never happened until I started taken Cymbalta. Not only that my diabetes went dangerously low after I started taking Cymbalta. Despite the fact I was eating regularly. That made me shake, and everyone kept asking if I was having a nervous break down. I also had a lot of the symptoms mentioned above, including consistent headaches, and stomachaches (be sure you take Cymbalta with milk or something to eat, even that didn't keep me from getting stomachaches.)
"I switched over to Cymbalta. The side effects were lessened, but since I have been off the Cymbalta for a few days I have been having the most sexually charged dreams, it is ridiculous. Yet I still have no interest in having sex. Definitely feel like I am going crazy. I feel what you are going through, have you thought about Wellbutrin? "
It's funny you say this, the only time I can get an erection with Cymbalta is when I'm dreaming. When I'm awake there is no sexual desire, and no erections "when I try." I had the same side effects with Paxil. My depression went away with Paxil and I felt great for seven years. Unfortunately Paxil isn't the best medication for someone who is bipolar. It made me manic all the time. No wonder it made me feel good. I went on a lot of shopping sprees while on Paxil. I went on a three week vacation to Europe, and bought a brand new Audi. Which would have been okay IF I HAD A JOB. Now I have credit card bills I can't pay off. I didn't go on any more shopping sprees till I started Cymbalta seven months ago. I bought a Yamaha rack system, a HDTV Sony TV and stand. Forty DVD movies, and 150 CD's in that time. I have a job now, but I went through all my savings that I needed to pay off my credit cards with. I hate Cymbalta for what it has done to me. I hate my doctor for putting me on it. He called me today to make sure I see him on Monday. Until then he wants me to take 30mgs of Cymbalta ever other day. I am also on Wellbutrin XL, and Klonopin, Buspar, and Lamictal. I went on Cymbalta because Wellbutrin wasn't helping my depression.
Take care,
David
Posted by Dr. Vijoy on October 27, 2005, at 14:14:20
In reply to Re: Cymbalta withdrawal, posted by davcuts on October 27, 2005, at 11:25:39
Hey,
Sorry to hear that Cymbalta is aggravating your diabetes, it is always tough to treat psychiatric illness with underlying medical illness. SSRIs in fact can raise blood pressure, heart rate, and therefore complicate hypertension or diabetes. You definitely require close medical supervision while on the psych meds.
I didnt mean to implicate that you may be sexually active or masturbating, I was just stating that for many people who are on Effexor or Cymbalta, the retrograde ejaculation is a problamatic complaint that may be embarrasing to report and therefore is a side effect many physicians may not recognize. I could imagine the embarrasment submitting a urine sample to a lab with semen in it... at least i was embarassed when i had to submit my random urine tests at my previous job and they kept telling me my samples were contaminated. I guess your doctor could be a problem with diabetes, however, SSRIs will definitely make the problem more prominent.
Your list of meds seem to contain a very good bipolar medication Lamictal, a sedative-hypnotic Buspar (buspirone) which is rather useful for sleep, but then youre on 3 other meds incl. Cymbalta, Wellbutrin, and one other which seems to be for seizures and bipolar i forgot what it was... anyways Im sure your doctor knows you best but in my opinion it may be too many meds, at least the last 3 I mentioned I would not use initially. However, polypharmacy is practiced commonly in psychiatry where something like 2 or more drugs are used to treat something where 1 would theoretically work. MY only concern is that youre already on Welbutrin which is atypical SSRI and then youre taking cymbalta which is more of the same. I think your physician should revise your meds especially since youre having problems on them.
My comments are only opinions and should not be taken as real medical advice.
Take care.
Vijoy
Posted by sam86 on October 27, 2005, at 22:36:51
In reply to Re: Cymbalta withdrawal, posted by Dr. Vijoy on October 27, 2005, at 14:14:20
I'm starting the weaning process(60 to 30mg)this weekend and I'm dreading it. If I miss a dose I usually have a migraine type headache by mid-afternoon the next day and Topamax doesn't touch it. Any suggestions? Also, I have a nurse friend who is strongly encouraging me to get on a different anti-depressant. On my worst days I have lack of drive to do much and bouts of anger (nothing too severe, just a pain in the butt for my family.) She has mentioned Zoloft or Wellbutrin but I'm afraid of a repeat of the Cymbalta nightmare plus I'm tired of the lack of sex drive, any suggestions?
Posted by Dr. Vijoy on October 27, 2005, at 22:55:31
In reply to Re: Cymbalta withdrawal, posted by sam86 on October 27, 2005, at 22:36:51
Youre going to get the widthdrawl effects when discontinuning any of the antidepressants, but you need to understand that SSRIs like Prozac and Paxil act just on serotonin whereas Zoloft, Effexor, Cymbalta, Wellbutrin act on norepinephrine also. Therefore, withdrawl is worse for antidepressants acting on multiple neurotransmitters, however, the efficacy is better when working on serotonin and norepinephrine both.
Given this, if you switch to Wellbutrin or Zoloft you probably will have the same problem as Cymbalta, but your insurance company will like you more since those drugs are less costly.
Since your withdrawl symptoms sound normal and not exaggerated, I would probably just go ahead and do what youre doing in terms of cutting the dose and then going back up when you need to, as per your doctor's advice. The headache may respond to migraine medication since they work on serotonin kind of like cymbalta is working on. Let me give you an example... if you have an alcohol withdrawl, sometimes people take a little benzodiazepine like Valium to substitute for the depressant effects of alcohol and therefore lessen the widhdrawl. So if you cant bear the headaches, ask your doctor for an antimigraine medication it may help but just remember youre substituting one drug for another , in essence.
Your nurse friend may have good advice and may know firsthand about which drugs have less side effects, etc, since they work with many patients, but from my point of view I wouldnt expect any miracles if you switch over.
Take care.
V
Posted by mizloopy on October 28, 2005, at 0:48:31
In reply to Re: Cymbalta withdrawal, posted by sam86 on October 27, 2005, at 22:36:51
wellbutrin supposly has less sexual side effects than most other anti-depressant and the withdrawal was not memorable for me with either of those.i have been off cymbalta 9 days and i feel awful. physically and mentally and i weaned from 60 to 30 for 2 weeks. this is the worst i have ever withdrew from.
Posted by KittyBoo288 on October 30, 2005, at 5:14:47
In reply to Re: Eye opener, posted by claudine on October 11, 2005, at 23:47:50
I have been trying to "wean" myself off the 60mg of cymbalta I have been on for the past 8 months, like many of the posts I have read, the cymbalta worked as a crutch for a few months but then the depression re occured and I thought, why take drugs that are doing nothing for me anymore and started to wean myself off. I tried one day on, one day off but suffered with the shocks and also terrible night sweats and nightmares, I then cut down to 40mg per day, and then gradually went to 15mg. This worked well , although some days were a dazy, with shocks, nausea and severe dizzyness. I have now been 2 days without any, I have the dizzyness, shocks etc quite bad, and feel like my brain is being squeezed. Would anyone recommend I just persevere or should I go back to 15mg for a while?? I really want to be free, I was hoping I would wake up in a couple more days feeling ok??
Posted by Dr. Vijoy on October 30, 2005, at 11:06:14
In reply to Cymbalta withdrawal, posted by KittyBoo288 on October 30, 2005, at 5:14:47
I dont think that you should go back on the 15mg cymnbalta if youve already been off for 2 days, in other words, keep with it for about 1-2 weeks and the worst of the withdrawl should be over. Remember, if a SSRI takes 2-3 weeks to work, then you can expect it to take 2-3 weeks to come off of. Now, as far as being med-free, that is something you need to decide with your doctor. Of course it is better to handle this disease without any meds IF YOU CAN, but if you need the "crutch", as I came to the conclusion that I did (I stopped cymbalta over a month ago but I think i need to start another med, perhaps Wellbutrin, but NOT cymbalta), then your psychiatrist will decide. In other words, keep your psych appointments and let your psych know what youre doing... he/she will support you, but will also point out if you may need to start back on meds.
Take care of yourself, and remember, your own strong will to fight this disease will get you very far, you can do it!
Yours,
V
Posted by mizloopy on October 30, 2005, at 11:36:25
In reply to Re: Cymbalta withdrawal » KittyBoo288, posted by Dr. Vijoy on October 30, 2005, at 11:06:14
i went through the withdrawal for 11 days. i have tried every anti-depressant since 1989. cymbalta was the worst withdrawal i had ever beeen through. unfortuantly by day 7 , i was suicidal and couldn't stop crying. not sure if that was withdrawal or the disease (bi-polar) because by day 5 i was starting to rapidly cycle, and even became manic. during the 11 months i took cymbalta i never felt it helped my depression, but it did help something,.
so as of day 11 i went back on it. and i not sure if it was a coincidense or not but for the last 2 days the of just being on 30mg the sucidalness has disappeared.
i have worked as a conselor in the mental health field and really despise the word "crutch". diabectic people do not call insulin a crutch, so why should we. so for people who have read the withdrawl off cymbalta and now are scared to take it. yeah i agree it was the worst of the worst withdrawal ever, but the medicine does have the ability to work for some. and given i really feel nothing else has worked for me. i would give it a try.
i'm one of those people who despises side effects and remember when i was so depressed this year on cymbalta ( i thought this crap isn't working), but hen after 9 months something changed and i felt so good that i thought maybe i don't need an anti-depressant. i was wrong. and i'm greatful that cymbalta is still a choice.
Posted by mizloopy on October 30, 2005, at 18:34:12
In reply to Cymbalta withdrawal, posted by KittyBoo288 on October 30, 2005, at 5:14:47
> I have been trying to "wean" myself off the 60mg of cymbalta I have been on for the past 8 months, like many of the posts I have read, the cymbalta worked as a crutch for a few months but then the depression re occured and I thought, why take drugs that are doing nothing for me anymore and started to wean myself off. I tried one day on, one day off but suffered with the shocks and also terrible night sweats and nightmares, I then cut down to 40mg per day, and then gradually went to 15mg. This worked well , although some days were a dazy, with shocks, nausea and severe dizzyness. I have now been 2 days without any, I have the dizzyness, shocks etc quite bad, and feel like my brain is being squeezed. Would anyone recommend I just persevere or should I go back to 15mg for a while?? I really want to be free, I was hoping I would wake up in a couple more days feeling ok??
what are the shocks?
Posted by Dr. Vijoy on October 30, 2005, at 18:57:47
In reply to Re: Cymbalta withdrawal, posted by mizloopy on October 28, 2005, at 0:48:31
I like to think of antidepressants as a "crutch" at least for me, and I think others out there may agree or disagree, but I try to use them when I feel depressed, to get back to a functioning point in my life, and then I try to do without when i think i can do it. This gives me self-empowerment and less feelings of helplessness, and really makes me feel better. I do not agree with the thinking by popular groups including Alcoholics Anonymous, etc. that we are powerless over our diseases; instead I feel that we are only powerless at specific times in our lives and must turn to medication or others for help. Even diseases like diabetes have been shown to respond favorably to self-motivation and willingness to do better, and some people have even discontinued insulin after beeing on it for years. This thinking has worked for me, and I like to pass on this self-empowerment to my patients.
By the way, the shocks are short intermittent cataplexic attacks, the kind seen in narcolepsy. It is not advisable to drive or operate heavy machinery during this period.
My opinions are just that, my opinions, and shouldnt be used as medical advice.
Yours,
V
Posted by KittyBoo288 on October 31, 2005, at 8:35:21
In reply to Re: Cymbalta withdrawal, posted by Dr. Vijoy on October 30, 2005, at 18:57:47
> I like to think of antidepressants as a "crutch" at least for me, and I think others out there may agree or disagree, but I try to use them when I feel depressed, to get back to a functioning point in my life, and then I try to do without when i think i can do it. This gives me self-empowerment and less feelings of helplessness, and really makes me feel better. I do not agree with the thinking by popular groups including Alcoholics Anonymous, etc. that we are powerless over our diseases; instead I feel that we are only powerless at specific times in our lives and must turn to medication or others for help. Even diseases like diabetes have been shown to respond favorably to self-motivation and willingness to do better, and some people have even discontinued insulin after beeing on it for years. This thinking has worked for me, and I like to pass on this self-empowerment to my patients.
>
> By the way, the shocks are short intermittent cataplexic attacks, the kind seen in narcolepsy. It is not advisable to drive or operate heavy machinery during this period.
>
> My opinions are just that, my opinions, and shouldnt be used as medical advice.
>
> Yours,
> V
Thankyou for your advice. I have perservered and not gone back on the 15mg, the dizzxyness, shocks and nausea do not seem as extreme today, I have however had horrendous mood swings and "flipped" out on a couple of family members that I dont feel I have received any understanding or support from and spent a lot of time feeling very sad, I do however feel I can see a light at the end of the tunnel and can tell myself that the sadness and angry feelings im having are just the withdrawal of the cymbalta, which I feel is a very positive thing to be able to distiguish. Im just glad I found this site to hear of other peoples experiences, and know what i am going through is normal. I certainly do feel the cymbalta was a "crutch" to me and certainly helped me through a very difficult time.
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