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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 4 of 4. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by somedevil on September 19, 2006, at 14:03:55
I had been taking only 30mg of Cymbalta for only 2 months. I stopped cold turkey and am having a hell of a time with the withdrawal symptoms for some reason. Had the same reaction when I stopped taking Lexapro. Anyway...its been about a week, and I'm STILL extremely dizzy, nauseous, hot, irritable...etc...
I'm don't mind dealing with these symptoms for a little while...but HOW LONG!!! I'm really getting tired of feeling so bad...can anyone give me a little ray of hope here? When do these symptoms stop????
Posted by Holly VanBen on September 19, 2006, at 15:03:05
In reply to How long do withdrawal symptoms last???, posted by somedevil on September 19, 2006, at 14:03:55
Hi somedevil,
My heart sinks a little to hear and feel your pain. I really do feel it. I'm in withdrawals also and it sucks, really sums it up. Anyway as hard as this is everyone is different and no one can give you an exact time frame. The docs will tell you it takes 8 days or so, which is a bunch of mallarcky. I swear they must tell you this so you don't get discouraged and give up. I think it is important to be informed and know how long you will be in hell. I felt that way too and still do. But it DOES get better. The minutes and hours seem like forever but they start getting better. The worst took about 2 weeks for me with a couple of bad recurring bouts since then. I was on far more severe meds but like I said everyone is different, and withdrawals are withdrawals I say. They suck, did I mention that. Anyway, if you start to have stomach probs, ie nausea/dyahrea or blurred vision or uncontrollable shakes, trouble breathing or severe abdominal cramps or you just don't feel you can take it anymore. Don't hesitate to immediately call your on call physician or go immediately to the ER. Any withdrawals can be life threatening and there are meds to ease this process. Nothing will take it away but it can be helped a bit. Unfortunately only time can rid your body of these nasty chemicals and it will happen. Every minute, every hour, every day you do not take the meds your body is ridding itself of the toxins and healing. Withdrawals is a very chemically driven thing and if you have been on any mind altering chemical it takes time for the mind and body to right itself.
Please keep me posted and let me know if I can do anything at all.
Holly
Posted by somedevil on September 19, 2006, at 20:57:28
In reply to Re: How long do withdrawal symptoms last???, posted by Holly VanBen on September 19, 2006, at 15:03:05
Holly,
Thank you for the post...I'm glad to hear that they will stop soon! My PCP perscribed me Meclizine to help with the dizziness...but sadly it doesn't help!! I looked it up and its an "antihistamine," which my body has never liked. It gives me the jitters very badly. Today is my 27th birthday, and I didn't even go out...I just slept for 4 hours. Now I'll stay up for a few hours and go back to bed...how fun.I must say I do feel the tiniest bit better right now...maybe, just maybe they are starting to subside. I'm looking forward to being "drug free" if only for a while. I will keep you posted. Thanks for your help...its nice to know that other people go through the same things.
Mary
Posted by Fungalfoot on September 27, 2006, at 10:22:06
In reply to Re: How long do withdrawal symptoms last???, posted by somedevil on September 19, 2006, at 20:57:28
Can sympathise with your suffering - I am a fellow sufferer. I took Zyprexa for just under four years. Originally started it to get a good nights sleep and it worked, but lately, the last couple of years I have been waking at 5.00 am and not getting back to sleep again. It was also making me feel sedated and wooden. So I decided to come off it on 28 August 2006. I went cold turkey - 5 mg to zero for nine days during which I was getting very little sleep from 11.00 pm to 2.00 pm. I couldn't take it any more and on the advice of my social worker I went back onto 5 mg for one night and thereafter 2.5 mg at night for 17 nights then zero. I still didn't sleep, only four hours, and so my pdoc prescribed me some Seroquel. I started with 25 mg at night - 25 mg then 25 mg then 50 mg then 50 mg then 100 mg then 100 mg and another 100 mg tonight. I am now getting nearly six hours of sleep but don't feel as if that is enough. I guess I will just have to be strong and persevere. I am not going to increase it above 100 mg, not for a while anyway.
Sorry to bore you with so much detail but I include it just in case someone should pass by who has some special knowledge or experience which they might help me with.
The point of all this is that the manufacturers of the medication should warn the user that the drug is habit forming and may be difficult to come off. Furthermore they should research the best way of withdrawing and include this in the information leaflet - advice on how to come off. Maybe somebody should slap them with a class action law suit to make them wake up. Certainly the drug manufacturers have a duty of care to their customers and they should discharge that duty by research into withdrawal followed by proper advice in the box on how to withdraw.
Your pain and suffering is not your fault. It is the responsibility of the drug companies. They should do something about it.
This is the end of the thread.
Psycho-Babble Withdrawal | Extras | FAQ
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