This is for people who are curious about trying the drug, or know some one on it, or coming off of it. I know people who take Cymbalta and their lives improve for the better. Not me.

I was on this antidepressant for six, count em', six days- when I missed a dose on accident and decided to take it the following night at my usual time.

Chapter one: a view from above

That morning was the worst of my life. I fell asleep in the bathroom because I couldn't stray far enough away from the toilet as I was puking my guts out every 5 minutes. I sweated profusely, and then got chills so bad my teeth felt like they were going to jackhammer right out of my jaw. This went on for hours and hours, until finally I collapsed, exhausted, into my bed, shivering and feeling miserable.

Chapter 2: My brain wages war

The following days I was in a brain fog of sorts. On the 5th day, seemingly out of nowhere, a rush of adrenaline scoured through my body and dilated my pupils so they remained unfocused. (the closest I can come to describing these "brain zaps" are the onset of a powerful acid trip- and not one of the fun ones) pulses of pain ran down my spine and my legs jerked in agony, and at one point I literally could NOT feel my legs and I thought for sure I was having a seizure because every muscle in my body felt rigid and alien. I guess I could say there was such a sensory overload from my brain it completely numbed all of my senses.

Chapter 3: Everyone has a Prom date but me!

The withdrawal of the drug effected my rational thought as well, (something I believe has to do with serotonin) leaving me terrified despite rational thought, and unable fend of constant crying jags similar to a hyper-emotional teenage girl overrun with hormones. My eyes blinked uncontrollably and my whole body jerked involuntarily. My chest was tight and I had heart palpitations. Because I was in such a hyper-emotional state it was difficult to read or even watch tv. Loud noises made me furious and soft music made me cry hysterically.

Chapter 4: 2 steps forward, one step back

But little by little I got better, until 2 weeks later, this past weekend when I had another "episode". I thought I had been through the worst of it, so you can imagine how scary and unexpected that was. I'd also like to say that I believe I AM a bit sensitive to the side effects of antidepressants, but having tried more than a handful of different ones, nothing has compared to the withdrawal symptoms of this one.

I wanted to write this on drugbuyers because the biggest comfort I had while I was going through this were stories from people like me, going through everything I went through. It helped me realize I wasn't going crazy and I owe my sanity through the ordeal to those people who spoke out- I didn't even think to bring concerns to my doctor because he knows no more than what he's told by these companies.

So if this helps anyone its the least I can do. I'd love to hear stories and what helped others get through something like this and if anyone wants to talk I'll be around.


Holland

Morning Holland. I am sorry Cymbalta was so stressful (sorry for the understatement) on you and your body/mind.

Your post will help many folks.

I take Cymbalta and it works for me. I have missed a dose by 12 hours w/no side effects.

What I take away from your post, is that A/Ds are no casual drug and can be very difficult to stop taking. When I started taking them maybe 4 years ago, I went into it knowing I would never stop.

Thanks for your reply. It's been nearly a month now and I'm finally starting to feel normal. I'm really happy for you if it works for you. I know how crippling depression can be and some people benefit much more from antidepressants than others. It's unfortunate that I seem to be so sensitive to the side effects, but I did gain a lot of introspection while going through withdrawal. Ironically feeling so bad while coming off the med made me realize that I wasn't as bad off from the beginning as I thought and I appreciate my health even more. I'm now exercising and eating well in the hopes that a little boost will be enough to pick me up from this rut I've been in.

Ciao

i was on cymbalta (my first and only SNRI). i couldn't sleep, had bizarre dreams, sex drive crashed. gave up eventually. guess what? ZAP. within 24 hours max. took over a week of hell before i started getting normal, and i needed to up my benzos for a month before the zaps went away.

i'll never take an SNRI/SSRI again, but i posted a taper schedule and some links i found on another thread...i truly hope it helps anyone that needs it. i know the hell of coming off these "safe" drugs. good luck! here's the link:

SSRI/SNRI tapering schedule and helpful links

Oh wow, that is a horrible experience. I have taken Cymbalta for about two years now and it REALLY helps my pain too. I know this because when I don't take it for a day or two (which I do about once a month), I feel more pain that my hydrocodone isn't covering and end up taking more hydrocodone (that btw isn't working that wonderfully for me at the moment).

Are you on another medication maybe that is interacting with the Cymbalta? Example would be Tramadol.....can cause Serotonin Syndrome http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serotonin_syndrome.

Some people just cannot take medications like that though. I am sorry too that you could not benefit from it. It has been a wonderful drug for me even though I would prefer not to have to take it since it costs so much more than a generic.

OH BTW....there absolutely is a withdrawl from these medications. I learned this the hard way years ago when I tried to quit Paxil....ugh!

Paxil....ugh!

I tried and successfully quit Paxil because I just stopped taking it. I'm not trying to scare anyone because maybe it helps some people. It's a time in my life I'll never forget. After I stopped it I am left with vivid dreams that never went away and it's been several years. They aren't all bad dreams but they started from abruptly stopping Paxil. I never mentioned it to my doctor and after a while he forgot all about it.

It was "Zap Zap Zap" that caught my eye because that's what it felt like for me also. Has to be a form of a seizure. I have used several antidepressants. I'll try to put them in order by timeline.

Serzone
Prozac
Zoloft
Paxil
Celexa

The only one I think helped more than it hurt (for lack of a better phrase) was Serzone. I doubt doctors prescribe old meds like that anymore. I'm not in a hurry to try Cymbalta. I'm curious though in what way does it offer pain relief?

no, i'm not taking another drug that affects serotonin. thought long and hard about every drug i ever take, looked online for cross-drug issues...nothing. it was the cymbalta. no serotonin syndrome, and that's nothing to play with from what i've read. plus, happened to me on paxil and zoloft as well, so...i blame it on the class of drugs. it's why i refuse to take them now.

You are right about the side effects of any med that effects serotonin levels.....they really have helped me though and I have to be thankful for them even though I hate the SE part.

Cymbalta is actually a SNRI (Serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor). Here is an interesting article about the pain issue and using a SNRI... Antidepressants Show Promise in Pain Management .

I beleive that it has some benefit to my nerve pain from my back surgery history....doen't really do anything for the arthritis that I have everywhere else.......hard to tell the difference somedays.......just pain to me. But, I also have severe depression and anxiety that it does help too.

I don't really feel that a doc should try to make you take a med that you are not in the right frame of mind to take anyway. It's just not therapeutic. And SNRIs can play havoc with some people's blood pressure as it did mine at the first part.

It's dangerous to abruptly stop these meds. Unfortunately for me I'm the type that does that an another reason why they are not for me

Thanks, winterlong. I think me and you are in the same boat when it comes to just not being able to handle the side effects of these meds. I respect the fact that these drugs have helped and in many instances saved lives. I'm also repulsed by the fact that you must put your life on hold if you want to get off of one, and the way they advertise their 'rare side effects' as being far less common than they really are.

The worst is when doctors act like you must be mistaken or you're being presumptuous about what is actually going on. I know my body better than anyone else, and now thanks to cymbalta I know what it feels like, physically- to have seratonin opening and shutting uncontrollably like floodgates in my brain. Never again for me.

I agree in that the docs don't ever seem to discuss the difficulty most folks have if they chose to stop taking these meds or possible side effects. What's up w/that?

My GYN orig scripted me Prozac and there was no discussion of complications or difficulties in stopping.

But as we all know, the docs love to go BLAH, BLAH, BLAH about all the horrors of pain meds.

I am beginning to feel like I am in a sci-fi movie.

Oh yeah, Cymbalta did kind of the same thing to me. I was on it for 2 weeks at the lowest dose they made. It wasn't helping my pain (in fact, I was sitting in a chair crying when my husband said, just stop taking them). I had no idea of what was going to happen to my body. My doctor, who has been my family doctor for close to 20 years never mentioned it, the insert in the samples he gave me didn't give me a hint as to what was going to happen.

On day one of stopping, I cried all day. I had to go for about 5 long walks to try to get under control. I hated my family and kids for absolutely no reason. I had involuntary body jerks that I never knew when would happen. I didn't sleep for several nights. I had zaps, like someone hooked me up to the toaster and just occasionally walked by and pushed down the button. It was horrifying, especially since I had no idea it was coming.

It took a little over a week to get over it, and I took the Cymbalta capsules and poured out a majority of it in the sink and took the rest to try to wean myself off.

I think Cymbalta for pain is a joke (which is what it was prescribed for me to use). It did nothing for the pain, my kids said I was zombie, and when I quit I went into a nightmare.

It seems to be in the same class as Ultram right? It's an SNRI and not an SSRI right? I can take Ultram and did take Ultram for years with no problems. When it came time to stop I weaned myself off over a month's period and never had jerky leg movements, jerky body movements, crying, the feeling of hating everyone around me, etc.

Cymbalta needs to be re-evaluated and the real truth on the withdrawal of this medicine needs to be put on the box, on the inserts, on the samples and in the doctor's mouth so that at least we don't walk into it blind.

(I was put on it within a month or two of it coming out so no one knew anything about the side effects except the makers of the drug, who obviously isn't going to tell us!)

I was prescribed Cymbalta about two weeks ago. Unfortunately, I also drink, and the first night I tried Cymbalta, the following 24-48 hours were crap. I had a dull headache behind my eyes, my vision became blurred so that my prescription glasses no longer worked correctly, and I had a sort of "restless leg" sensation all over my body, that made me shiver and want to move much of the time.

That was on a Wednesday. I didn't try the Cymbalta again until the following Sunday, this time without the drink. The result was all the same symptoms, but very much reduced, and therefore manageable.

I've remained on the Cymbalta for a week, now, and can't say they're doing me any good, but I'm willing to stay on them for a couple of months to give them a chance to work, although I don't hold out much hope, having tried four different SSRI-like meds over the past decade, all to no real avail.

I think an antidepressant that actually works better than placebo has yet to be invented.


Emiliano

I think whether or not these meds work for someone is dependent upon their body chemistry.

I took Prozac and it worked great, quickly.

I took Cymbalta and same thing. It did reduce my referred pain.

Wish there was a test docs could to see whether or not these meds would work b4 patients have to go through the hell that you guys have described.

That might have just been a passing thought- and I know I'm as ignorant to what science is capable of right now just as much as anyone- but really? If they can make these drugs, it would be in the patients best interest to have a "pre-test" of some sorts to monitor brain activity and to tell if the med would correspond well.

Unfortunately, there aren't enough people banging down the doors demanding this happen, and this happening means money. Without any major widespread dangerous complications (though I would beg to differ) no one's going to invest in something like that.
"In the interest of the People."
Is out. It should read:
"In the interest of money."


Remember years ago, when drug giant Eli Lilly tried to pass a bill stating drug companies wouldn't be legal to sue them for specific ingredients listed in their vaccinations?

They hid the bill in another document as a 'rider', hoping ties many members of congress had with the company would get it passed.
Why?

The vaccine had proven to cause HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS of cases of Autism and Austistic traits in children. Eli had tried to cover their tracks- they didnt care what happened to these kids. Luckily someone noticed the bill and it was declined. Rightly so, those parents all sued the pants off of them.
I'm not saying I'm against vaccines- but I'll never trust these pharma giants.

For those suffering Cymbalta withdrawal- take plenty of magnesium, calcium, and valerian root for your muscles and omega 3 for the zaps. It will ease things a bit. Every day gets better I promise you.

"In the interest of money" - Isn't that the sad truth.

I do know that there are classes/types of anti-depressants and if one class/type does not work or causes negative side effects, that the others would probably not work either. Not sure if the docs think that way though.

Can't stand the whole hidden riders w/in bills. Seems so sneaky. All about getting votes for the bills I guess.

I have a mom friend that chose not to have her daughters receive all of the required vacinations, as she has an autistic nephew. It is not easy to get out of giving them to your children in regards to the schools. But she did it. She is a scientist and very determined. This was recent too so some folks still believe there is a risk.

Back on topic though, those are all GREAT supplements you suggested. I take those every day (not the valerian root) and so for anyone who is looking to help Cymbalta w/ds, I am here to say that those supplements will only be good for you.

I have heard that the magnesium in the tablet form is better than the tablets.

I have been taking Cymbalta for 6 years. It has worked well for me with very little side effects but it hasn't helped my pain.
Khilee

I have a friends daughter who just started taking this for stress. All this info scares me to death! Should I let her know?

If she seems to be doing well, that's great. I'm sure Cymbalta helps some people. I just was not one of them. Letting her know could scare her into stopping it abruptly and you can see the effect that has one us

Yes!

I would not think it is the right medicine for stress. It is an A/D that helps w/pain (in theory).

If the girls issue is stress, I would have thought her doc would have started her on an A/D that does not have those 2 components (depression and pain) in it.

Again, I am on it and think it works for me, but I definately view it as a lifetime drug.

There are other A/Ds which are older and more proven and are easier to stop taking.

Cymbalta worked as an antidepressant for me for several months, but then I became very apathetic on it. When my doctor d/c'd it I didn't get the ZAPS too bad which surprised me. I took Effexor for several years, it is also an SNRI. My doctor and I had to take several years of slowly reducing my Effexor dose because of electric shock like sensations and other extremely unpleasant things that I experienced during discontinuation.

I hope I read your post correctly

Congratulations on getting off those two drugs. So you stopped the Cymbalta abruptly but slowly went off Effexor? The electric shock sensations and other pnpleasant things could have been from stopping the Cymbalta and the Effexor helped mask it without realizing it.

These drugs can cause these feeling while you are getting off them. Either slow your taper or tough it out. It will pass.