Cymbalta Withdrawal Symptoms Being Kept Secret? (Personal Story Inside)

reply to post by muzzleflash


If you'd read my post, you'd know I don't take it.
That said, do not underestimate how much pain neuopathy and fibro can cause. If your pain is bad enough, you'll try anything.

I didn't have withdrawal symptoms from Cymbalta, actually. I just had issues being on it with my sleeping habits and energy levels. I went off of it just fine.

I think that the biggest thing one should learn here is that a pill is not going to solve your mental and emotional problems. I speak from experience. I was on Prozac, and then went over to Paxil. At first, it did wonders for me, but then, I started having invasive thoughts. By invasive, I mean violent. Murder, suicide, pure evil, that even Clive Barker would be disgusted by. Never before was I a violent person, and never before had anything like that ever crossed my mind. So in a moment of reflection, I weened off of the anti-depressants. That was the beginning of a new Hell. Insomnia, Brain Zaps, Muscle spasms, suicidal thoughts, nausea, constant inability to focus, appetite increase, the list goes on and on. It was a nightmare, but I overcame it. I have not looked back. The problems you have, are probably, like mine, deeply rooted psychological problems, stemming from childhood experiences and some form of abuse. The key to overcoming it, is to face it. Confront it, and while it won't go away, it will make your days a hell of alot easier. I still fight with my demons, but they don't get a stranglehold on me anymore, because I am in control. Stay away from the pills, they don't help. They only help to mask the problems, bottling them up, until the pressure is so great, that it explodes all over the place. Face your demons, kick them in the ass, and then live, knowing that they can't hurt you anymore.

I'd like to add one more thought.

It's really that simple, the flip of a switch. But it's up to YOU to decide to flip it. Everything you feel, is in your mind. YOUR mind. You control it, you just have to put the work into it to get the desired results.
A great example. Someone says something negative about you. It's your choice if you allow it to hurt or not. You choose how you feel when a situation presents itself.
A great exercise. It might get you punched, but it's a fantastic exercise nonetheless. Someone says something negative to you, or about you. Smile, walk up to them, and hug them, as tight as they'll let you, and then simply walk away. Then focus on the positive fact that you overcame their negativity, and shared some of your new found positivity with them, whether they accepted it or not, is entirely up to them, because that is their decision.
Most people will be in a state of shock and will not even react to what you just did, but it will set in later once they have time to process it. But you might also get that knee-jerk punch to the face. More than likely, you'll get a "What are you doing?" Your reply should simply be, "I love you.", then turn and walk away, and enjoy the rest of your day. What you did will stick with that person for a long time. You will have succeeded in deflecting negativity in your mind, and at the same time planting a potential seed of positivity into theirs.

Same thing happened with Paxil. They claimed there was NO withdrawl symptoms and then it turned out there were HORRID withdrawl symptoms. Sensations of electrical shock in your head (what you guys maybe calling brain chills), extreme emotional swings, very vivid dreams, etc....

I tried for 2 years to get off of it because it was so expensive but i could not handle the withdrawls (a common problem). Finally went cold turkey and the worst was over in a week (but some suffered for months).

I don't think it can actually KILL you (well other than suicide). But after the HORRIBLE paxil experience I will only use very old school antipressants like Prozac. I never noticed a withdrawl effect from Prozac, it is super cheap and generic, and it has been on the market for so long there are "no surprises".

I will not ever again go for a new anti-depressant. They lie. Regarding the suicidal urges, I have read that if you did NOT take your daily dose and you off yourself the drug will NOT be blamed for the suicide. LOL. So if people do kill themselves during withdrawl it will likely not be counted at all.

If you were truly depressed I would suggested getting a script for Prozac from your doc. It is only like $8 for a months generic supply so your insurance company need not be involved. It may take a while to kick in but your symptoms could go on for months and the Prozac could kick in within 2 weeks.

Do not order it online without a script through canada or wherever because most of that stuff is crap being made and then shipped from India despite the fact they appear to be a Canadian pharmacy (no FDA regulations and God only knows what they are selling).

[edit on 4-6-2009 by Sonya610]

Cymbalta is garbage. I recommend asking your doctor about pristiq and Vyvance combo if you lack energy cannot concentrate and are depressed.

After going through many different medications this combo had the least side effects of any I tried and now I feel better than I have since I had a traumatic event in my life. The pritiq alone only improved my mood, but once I started taking Vyvance along with it, I gained energy and motivation. I am doing better at nearly every aspect of my life. I feel joy day to day like I did 20 something years ago. I am also losing weight. The doctor realized at some point I had ADD as well as depression, which is why he gave me vyvance.

Will it work for everyone? Maybe not but it might if you have tried everything else.

I know a lot of people who have taken various forms of anti-depressants (including myself) and even though I know that sometimes you just cant get out of bed your so depressed, these drugs are not the answer, I have never known someone to not either get side effects they found unpleasant during usage or when they tried to come off.

I don't know whats wrong with you long term, if it's just depression (not that there is anything "just" about depression its a serious problem), then I would suggest sound therapy, meditation, counseling of some sort just so you can speak out freely in a neutral environment with someone who will keep an eye on you on a regular basis.

Hi Tentacles, I once took Effexor which is an SSRI. When I looked on the internet I saw many horror stories related to the effects of getting off drug. I told my Doc I wanted off and he just said to reduce the dose and be off in a week. I knew this was wrong and developed my own method of getting off by gradually replacing it with imiprimine which actually replaces seratonin. SSRI's are serotonin reuptake inhibitors. My question had always been, if you have depleted your serotonin, what is left to reuptake. I took my plan to a pharmacist and told her what my doc suggested vs my plan. She said do not try to get off it like the doc says and she said my plan was good but extended it a couple of weeks. I don't recall exactly but it took 6 to 8 weeks to get off. I experienced a couple of days of mild depression only.

The drug companies have it set up so that you get hooked and can't get off. They know exactly what they are doing.

This link has some really great information on SSRI and SRNI drugs and their side effects. Check out the link at the top of the home page for an article about serotonin and the pineal gland.

Serotonin regulates many activities in the brain and body including: sleep, appetite, memory, agression, sexual behavior, cardiovascular and respiratory activity, and most important ....perception. Pondimim was a drug used widely for weight loss in the early 1990's and was removed from the market because of its effect on serotonin and the damage it caused to heart valves. These drugs are often prescribed for anxiety, however, anxiety is listed as one of the side effects of the drug.
What is really frightening is that '___', PCP, and ecstacy all act on the neurotransmitter serotonin to produce an altered state of consciousness.

The pineal gland is the the most abundant site of serotonin in the brain. It is a magneto sensitive organ and is sensitive to EMF. EMF supresses the activity of the pineal gland and the amount of serotonin production.

The pineal gland is not protected by the blood brain barrier (BBB), the BBB protects the nervous system from toxins. Most people have a calcified pineal gland on MRI scans and if this gland is damaged in most of us and add that to the constant bombardment of EMF and it is no wonder so many folks are depressed.

For the withdrawal, I think diphenhydramine 25mg would be helpful. There are other antidepressants out there that are old, cheap and work pretty well. You may want to try a tricyclic antidepressants like amitryptylline, it is on the $4 list at Walmart. They cause some weight gain, but that just may be because folks feel better and celebrate by eating more.

I hope you feel better, maybe ATS needs a comedy forum to cheer everyone up!

Only my second post....hope I did okay.

Originally posted by Oreyeon
I think that the biggest thing one should learn here is that a pill is not going to solve your mental and emotional problems.

It seemed to be working just fine up until she was forced off her treatment by circumstances beyond her control....

*You are not a doctor. You know nothing about the OP's medical history.

You should not be giving medical advice - especially given your particular basis for comparison.


The worst part is - Your advice is dangerous:

It might get you punched, but it's a fantastic exercise nonetheless. Someone says something negative to you, or about you. Smile, walk up to them, and hug them, as tight as they'll let you, and then simply walk away.

Dangerous.



[edit on 5-6-2009 by Exuberant1]

Originally posted by Exuberant1

Originally posted by Oreyeon
I think that the biggest thing one should learn here is that a pill is not going to solve your mental and emotional problems.

It seemed to be working just fine up until she was forced off her treatment by circumstances beyond her control....

*You are not a doctor. You know nothing about the OP's medical history.

You should not be giving medical advice - especially given your particular basis for comparison.

The worst part is - Your advice is dangerous:

It might get you punched, but it's a fantastic exercise nonetheless. Someone says something negative to you, or about you. Smile, walk up to them, and hug them, as tight as they'll let you, and then simply walk away.

Dangerous.

[edit on 5-6-2009 by Exuberant1]

No, I'm not a doctor, and I wasn't giving medical advice. I was giving a common sense fact. A pill is not going to fix depression. It only masks it. The only way to fix depression is to face the underlying cause and take control of it.
As for my advice. Only dangerous if you don't use some common sense. Surely you're not going to go up and hug a super violent ex-con. But who knows, maybe that's all they need. If there was more love in this world, maybe we'd all be better at being humans.

Originally posted by Oreyeon
No, I'm not a doctor, and I wasn't giving medical advice. I was giving a common sense fact. A pill is not going to fix depression.

Having suffered from hard core depression for about 10 years now, I can say yes, a pill CAN fix it. And yeah I did meditation and positive thinking for 2 years before I finally gave in and got drugs.

I frequently go off meds for a year or two, then realize "oh god I am living in hell and have been for several months and why?" then start on drugs and I feel good/normal again.

They do work. They can quite literally be life savers. Just be careful which ones you take.

Sounds like you need some green in your life right about now (if you know what I mean), send me a pm if you are interested

Man....THis is why I take asprin and Ibuprofen......and NOTHING ELSE.


They get you so jacked up on some sort of smack or another and get you 10 times worse than what you came in for!

reply to post by Dr Love


Certain blood pressure medications will raise your bad cholesterol and will make you gain weight even if you are still eating and working out like before you started you medication and nothing has change.

I have been taking blood medication since the 90s and I can tell you anything you want depending what type you are taking because I have been on all and I get myself off of them when they either give me bad side effects or makes me gain weight.

I am now to the doctors a hard person to treat.

But I don't care.

And for the anti depressant medication they all cause withdrawn symptoms.

I went through hell on and off for thirty years, continually having periods of time during which I could not guarantee I wouldn't succumb to the frightful anguish I was feeling and the urge to kill myself. I could barely sleep during these times and as soon as I was not totally occupied working the darkness would come back, so I couldn't lie down at night.

A few years of taking Prozac (generic) off and on made an enormous difference, and I never had withdrawals from it.

I'm totally against drugs unless absolutely necessary, and there may be orthomolecular treatments that work instead, but for me this worked like a miracle.

And now I no longer need to take anything.

Btw, being slightly hypothyroid can cause depression. Its one of the things you should get your doctor to rule out.

Btw2, I believe my depression was exacerbated by an allergy to my own depression hormones, causing a feedback loop. Adelle Davis wrote a great book, Let's Eat Right to Keep Fit, which gives good information on how to naturally build up your health to get over allergies.


Edited to add no-one should ever rely on natural healing to get over life-threatening allergies. It might help a bit but one should never take a chance with that sort of thing.

[edit on 5/6/09 by Kailassa]

reply to post by bismarcksea


Too bad I'm allergic to Ibuprofen.


Just to let everyone know, my depression is not seeded in some trauma or abuse in my life. I have had a blessedly wonderful life with a supportive family whom have given me everything I would ever need.

My depression is genetic. My Father's Father killed himself because of depression. My Dad suffered from depression. My Mother suffers from bi-polar disorder, PMDD and is a manic depressive.
I seemed to have gotten the bad end of the stick when it comes to depression in my family. What I have gone through has no emotional background in my life history at all. It happens for no other reason then it does.

If you want to know how I know this here is why: My father passed away suddenly in April 2007 from a brain tumor. This was my first real experience with grief... While going through the sadness of the loss I came to the realization that my normal depression had no reason to exist other than it did. Grief had a reason for being there. My father had died and I was extremely sad because of it.
The depression I felt everyday didnt have a reason. I havent been abused. I had no huge emotional trauma in my years of living. It was just there. Therefore the only logical conclusion is there is some part of my brain that isnt working correctly.

Best of luck Tentickles, hope you're able to get what you need to get over this and in short order.

After reading all of the posts in this thread, I was a bit awestruck at the number of people who have similar depression symptoms. My knowledge of the medical sciences is fairly small, due mainly to my Mother being a nurse for 15 years.

It seems as if for every instance of someone suffering depression from past traumas, you have another who suffers from depression due to genetics or no discernable reason. M

My wife used to take medication for depression, but has not for the past year and a half. I never had the stomach to ask her all the particulars about her depression because it tears me apart to see her upset.

My question, I suppose, is how many people are clinically depressed out there? And is it just the nature of the world we live in now that causes this?

As for myself, I'm blessed in that the only medication I've ever needed is the occasional aspirin for a headache and Tums for Mexican dinners. But I must admit, the responses I've read in this thread so far have been eye-opening.

P.S. - Best of luck with the lawyer T.

I have been on Cymbalta for years because of an anxiety issue.
I tried getting off of it a couple years ago, because it tended to make me gain weight.
The withdrawals were as the OP said, it was absolutely hell. The brain zaps are incredible, and it feels almost like my brain is banging around inside my head. Also, confusion and a feeling of being detached from reality.
I finally got the brain zaps to dissapear in about a week. I thought I would be ok then, and on to being medication free. No such luck. I went into panic mode after a couple weeks without it. I became a blubbering pile of fear, the worst panic attacks I ever had in my life. I cant even put them into words. At one point my heart raced to 250 bpm and I had to go to ER, where they gave me something to actually stop my heart , I forget the name of the drug, but it stops your heart for a second, kind of like rebooting a pc. Well, needless to say..im back on it, because living like that was worse than being on the drug. Now I feel like Im a prisoner because I have no choice BUT to take it....

I wish that someone would have told me, that if I take this drug I will never be able to live a normal life again. It's a crime.

reply to post by GuiltyByDesign


I have actually covered this issue before in a different thread. That thread was mainly about depression not the medication.

You can check it out here if you like. Understanding Depression