Cymbalta Weaning

I'm a 37 year old man in outback australia. In 2012 my gp prescribed me cymbalta. 30mg then 60 and rapidly up to 120mg daily.
Towards the end of last year I was suffering withdrawals earlier and earlier every day from the drug which worried me a lot. So in November last year I began to wean off them, by bead counting. Where I filled my medication each 60mg capsule contained 12 beads. So I dropped one bead, then after a length of time when I felt ok I'd drop another. Currently as of today I'm on 8 beads (down from 24) which equates to 40mg. I should mention I took cymbalta in the first place due to a crippling anxiety period I had. My psychiatrist has said that once we get to 30 I can cross to Prozac. It has taken a long long time to get here and the side effects from the process are draining and unrelenting. My mood swings are getting more and more severe and my desire to drink after hours greater. Fatigue and muddled thoughts also rear their head daily and recently thoughts of not suicide but a desire to not continue with life and just give up, to be clear I don't mean kill myself but just stop struggling. I am not nor ever been a recreational drug user so that is not an issue. I only hope that once I'm off this terrible medication I may find a reason to pull myself out of this funk I am in that will eventually cost me my relationship, remaining friends and my career. I would be the biggest advocate for NEVER taking this drug Cymbalta. I wish I hadn't and will never again.

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Hello, Weener! How are you?

Cymbalta isn't a medication that should cause withdrawals like that, it usually only causes withdrawal symptoms, if you stop taking it abruptly, without tapering off of it. It is just an SNRI antidepressant.

However, I do hope you can successfully taper off of it and resolve the problem.

Prozac is in a different antidepressant class, it is an SSRI and the FDA lists its typical side effects as possibly including nausea, dizziness, headache, dry mouth and weight loss.

Is there anything else I can help with?

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Hi, I was prescribed Duloxetine (cymbalta ) for fibromyalgia pain. Starting at 30 to 60. At first it gave me pain relief but then the side effects kicked in, insomnia, nerves jumping just as I'm falling to sleep, fatigue, loss of libido, unable to climax, no enthusiasm to do my favorite hobbies, unable to concentrate at work etc. I spoke to my doctor about what I read about this drug and he dismissed it as ramblings from neurotic people. Feeling how I was, I decided to come off on my own. I went from 60 to 30. Was ill for 3 days, stayed home in bed. Woke up day 4 feeling better and went to work. Day 6 felt great, less brain fog. Day 7 body pain started which I figured would return. Day 8 I went cold turkey, dizzy, nausea. Day 11 went to doctors. He said I came off too fast and suggested I go back on, I refused. Had 4 days off work. So day 11 to 14 was vomiting, nausea, brain zaps, fatigue, unable to eat, One time I nearly passed out on the bathroom floor, lucky my husband was home. Day 15 I went to work 2kg lighter and still unwell. Over the next 3 weeks still having brain zaps but getting less. They are more noticeable when I'm tired. Still have nausea with certain smells and foods. Some foods I ate regularly before the medication I can no longer stomach. I am starting to feel more like myself, even back riding my bike but very aware that I have not got this drug out of my body. If I'd known how bad this drug was I would never have taken it. I am approaching my body pain with a new diet and praying this drug will be out of my body for good.

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