Cymbalta....

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Deb -

I want to share with you that my doctor increased my cyrabalta to 40 mg and Friday night I forgot to take it. On Saturday, I was very ill. I had a horrible headache and was sooo dizzy and could not hold my head up. I had no idea what was going on and I thought I was working on some type of migraine. I was also sick to my stomach. Saturday night I went to take my cyrabalta to only discover that I had not taken my cyrabalta the night before. I took my cyrabalta last night like normal and today I have been much better but my legs have been like rubber.

I just wanted to share this with you and I think based upon what I have read about you -- I am going to start discontinuing the med. It scares me.

Take care and I hope you are able to resolve this soon.

Pepper
 
Oh my, I feel awful! I know this is a good drug for many people and I don't want to scare anyone, but this withdrawal is brutal. I feel so strange in my head, nausea, ringing in my ears, headache, anxiety, just horrible overall! I don't want to say I feel suicidal but I feel so strange. I can't get any help from anyone.....the doc who prescribed it told me to come off in 4 days....I don't know what to do. I don't want to go back on it but I have to do something. I can't stand this. My insides are quivering. I have never come off of a drug and felt this way. If I go to the ER there is a 6 hour wait and everyone has the flu. I don't want to scare you guys but I don't know what to do. I guess this is like poison to some people. I've been researching and many people go throguh this.

Deb
 
Deb, I have been thinking about you all night. It sounRAB as if you're finding the right people to help you (and support you, this forum is amazing). My anxiety was also sky high and most everything else felt extremely magnified. I was dizzy, nauseated, felt so spacey and disoriented, as you describe, and more. (Does your tongue feel "bubbly?") I hope you find a psychiatrist with knowledge of Cyrabalta and good help to get past this. I probably could have used that kind of assistance. The mental part caused me great anguish. I just didn't feel or act like ME. (Oh, my husband would agree...).

I went it alone (with Mom) because I live in a small town and I didn't know any doctors in the nearest city who had experience with the negative sides of Cyrabalta. The ones I did know told me to keep taking it. It is worth whatever it takes to have this behind you!

I also take other meRAB for my pain, so my particular corabination may have been part of my reaction to the Cyrabalta. I started at 30mg and then went to 60mg a week later. I don't want to alarm others if it is working for them (but I was pretty peeved at the advertising that glossed over what I was experiencing).

I am hoping you don't have too many more days like this. Soon you'll have one, then two days without the Cyrabalta behind you, then more. I'm sorry the pain is fierce right now, too.

You're in my thoughts today.

Gail
 
I took one Cyrabalta when it was prescribed to me and I couldn't deal with it - it was awful.

Do hang in there and know that these feelings will pass.

I'll be praying for you, Deb. :angel:
 
OK...I'm not crazy. I found a nuraber of reputable "medical" sites. It is SSRI/SNRI discontinuation syndrome. I researched online and all of these drugs have this potential. The SNRI's (of which Cyrabalta is one) causes the worse side effects when you discontinue it because it works on serotonin and norepinephine both. Tapering may or may not help, some patients have this even if they taper. It can last from 1-4 weeks or in some patients it can cause Post Acute Withdrawal Syndrome and can last from 6 months to 18 months. The side effects listed are the ones I have with one of the most frequent being dizziness, worse with moving the head or eyes. The Eli Lilly testing only looked at withdrawal symptoms for patients taking the drug up to 9 weeks. No testing was done for patients taking longer than 9 weeks. Patients need to be managed by a psychiatrist or doctor highly familiar with these drugs. You can apparently get relief by taking a different drug (which does not cause these symptoms when stopping) to get you through these side effects. I'm going to call W/C tomorrow and see if I can see a psychiatrist...I have to get help.
I'm so relieved that I have found what it is that I am crying. I thought I was crazy...I'm not. This is very real and documented by physicians.
Hopefully I can get this under control and then deal with the nerve pain.
Sorry guys...I know you are sick and tired of hearing about my problem with this. Thank God above I have found the cause and I promise not to post again.

Deb:(
 
Oh Pepper, I so did not want to scare anyone and I'm sure I am just the exception to the rule. I know it is a life saving drug for so many people and I'm sure lots of people come off without the awful symptoms that I have had.
The reason you had symptoms so quickly is that Cyrabalta has a very short half life and the brain starts to miss the drug almost immediatley. I'm so sorry you had those awful symptoms but they are exactly what I am having. I also am having extreme anxiety.
I have already talked to the neurologist this morning and W/C. I have asked to see a psychiatrist....I figure if anyone knows about this drug they will. I just really don't think most of the doctors know the POTENTIAL side effects of this drug. Not for everyone but for some of us. I am waiting for a call from W/C to tell me who to go to. If they don't approve it I will find someone on my own, I don't care who pays or how much it is.
I will keep you all updated.

Deb
 
My husband was on cyrabalta and I have on effexor and lexapra and it was brutal for us to go off of it. Did you taper or go cold turkey? My husband took anti-nausea medicine like you would use for going on a boat or flying on a plane, dramamine. Do you have anymore of cyrabalta? Could you take 1 today to help you get thorough the day and then call the doctor tomorrow and maybe get an appt. The doctor can give you medication to help with the withdrawals. You said your doctor said to come off it in 4 days. Does that mean that the doctor said that you would have withdrawals for four days, or you would be okay in four days? I feel for you, we have to weigh whether it is worth it to go on them, get the medications help, and then deal with going off them. I wish I could help you more. Please write back with more info if you can. I am so sorry you are going through this.
 
I am glad you did, and I hope it helps. Please write me back and let us know how you are feeling. I would have done the same.
 
Update:
Neurologist, W/C nurse and a psychiatrist consulted and agreed that since the VERY slow taper I was doing on my own was causing very minimal side effects that I should continue with that. So, reluctantly I took the same nuraber of pellets that I took last week when I stopped. I almost felt like I was taking poison because of this bad time. Voila.....an hour and half later, I was me again. Very mild dizziness, no more anxiety, decreasing headache. So, I will continue tapering by counting pellets until all pellets are gone (about another 3 weeks) and THEN I will try the Nortriptyline that the neurologist prescribed. Just an aside here.....ironically the W/C nurse is weaning off Cyrabalta also. We both started about the same time. She was having mild problems and I had shared with her that some doctors condone counting pellets. She called her doctor who agreed also. So the W/C nurse started weaning the same way, counting pellets, and she is doing fine!

Don't get me wrong....I don't condone this way and everyone should follow doctors orders.....UNLESS they try to take you off in less than 4-6 weeks!!!! Then I would tell anyone.....do what you have to do to avoid withdrawal symptoms!

My hubby called from work just now and when I answered the phone he was like "Uggggggghhhhhh Deb?" He didn't even know it was me. The last time he spoke to me I was a crying, dizzy mess.

Emily......I feel pretty rotten that maybe I have put fear in some people regarding this drug. I'm sure it is a God send to some people, but just like any drug, it isn't good for everyone. When I started the drug I was also tired, nauseous, and a little foggy. Once I was on the maintainence dose for about 3 weeks, I was actually fine with it. It just didn't help my nerve pain. Hence, that's why I am weaning off. The WEANING OFF is my problem. Good luck with it, I truly hope you do well with it and won't have to worry about weaning off anytime in the near future! :)

Gail.......I can't tell you what your kind posts and sharing of your story mean to me. :angel: I really thought I was becoming a "basket case". :dizzy: Just to know that others have had the same experience and survived means so much when your brain is betraying you. The fact that you were thinking of me during the night touches my heart. I can't wait to chat with you and get to know you better!

So, back on the Cyrabalta for now even though it is against my better judgement. Hopefully resuming the slow wean will be better.

BTW Marcia.......I had an appt. witht the PM tomorrow for follow up and I called and cancelled it. When the nurse asked why...I told her that coming off the Cyrabalta has been a nightmare and that Dr. M had actually advised me to come off in 4 days (which I didn't do, thank God) when in all the literature it clearly says a slow taper is crucial!!! So let her go and tell him that! I feel very liberated even though I now have no idea who or if W/C will approve someone else. I think they have to give me a choice of 3 doctors, but at this point I don't even care. My sanity (literally) is more important.

Hey Ladybug.....my "novel" is almost as wild and crazy as yours! Let's hope we both are able to finish this book with a happy ending.....and soon!!!!!

Thanks to you all. I'm really very serious when I say I don't know what I would do without this forum. You may have REALLY saved my life. :angel:

XXOOXXOO
Deb
 
hey deb,i do think you need to first drop the idiot PM you are currently seeing(he wont "LET" you come off?give me a break) then see that neurologist,but by all means,DO see a phsyc doc who is much more familiar with the actual effects of these types of meRAB.temporarily going onto like lexapro( is a bit milder form of SSRI) could possibly help with the WD symptoms.is just much easier going off of lex when compared to some of the stonger types of the SSRIs.but i do agree a phsyc doc would be your best bet for getting this crap done with for good.they just have a much better understanding of what areas of the brain can be affected by certain meRAB.and what will counter what,you know what i mean?this PM really freaks me out in that with what you are experincing,he really should be doing everything he can to help you and hes not.if you have an option of finding another PM,lose this masochist.what he is allowing you to suffer thru is just sick deb,really sick.whatever happened to 'first do no harm"?

get thee to a good phsyc doc asap who really has the best knowledge of how to go about getting you off this merry go round nightmare the PM has placed you on.i am just so sorry that you are having such a horrid wd from this crap.hang in there deb.Marcia
 
Thanks Marcia,
I will NEVER see that PM again! I have tried to give him the benefit of the doubt because he is supposedly a good clinician but he is a jerk. I think he has personal issues (he seems very strange) and he doesn't care if people suffer. Not to say all strange people are this way but......... Thanks for your support, I am still waiting to hear back about seeing the psych. My pain has been through the roof because I am hesitant to put anything more in my system, I've had the TENS unit on all the time. Thanks again Marcia, I'll keep you posted.

Deb
 
Hello,
This is my first post. I am compelled to write to you as I have been through withdrawal of Cyrabalta and want to offer you some support. The first thing is that you will get through this! I experienced much of what you are describing (and more) and became scared after I read about other people's experiences on the Internet. It was helpful, but intense. I called two emergency rooms and two pharmacists during the worst part of the withdrawal. The hospitals seemed to have little to offer other than rehydration and monitoring my symptoms and then would have to release me. The pharmacists were wonderful and gave me a lot of information. My doctor is rather new (took over the practice from my former GP) and was too busy to talk with me (time for a new doctor!).

I tried tapering (by counting pellets) and it seemed endless while I was so uncomfortable. One pharmacist told me that since I had already had terrible withdrawal symptoms to not prolong the tapering and to just get it out of my system by stopping. It made sense to me. The acute withdrawal symptoms lasted for about two weeks. I wasn't so sure I could handle it at times. But, it did get better.

The Cyrabalta was not the right medicine for me from the very first pill. This happened about four months ago. It was prescribed for me for fibromyalgia and chronic pain from back injuries. I kept reading that I should stay with it and I would get used to it. I tried for three weeks and then finally realized that my body could not handle this drug. I have been told it is very helpful to some people. But, not for me! (Or you, from the sound of it. I am so sorry you are going through this.) I have changed my thinking since then. I will be much more careful about prescribed medicines and know that I have a different (more sensitized) reaction than many people to some medicines. I will give in a lot sooner if anything like this ever happens to me again.

I would suggest that if you can clear a few days for yourself (possibly with a trusted friend) to get through the first part of the withdrawal, it might help. I went to my mom's house (I'm 44) and it turned out to be a very good thing. However, in hinRABight, I should not have been driving. My husband and I did not understand what I was going through until afterwarRAB. He was frightened by my "new" behaviors on the Cyrabalta and I made it worse by describing how I was feeling (NOT my usual self).

I came to these forums today because of my spine problems (fingers going nurab) and am glad I saw your post. I told myself that I would try and tell someone coming off Cyrabalta the things that made me feel better and hopeful when I wasn't sure what was happening to my body. I hope I have helped.

Spine:
7 bulging disks--5 in neck (front and back bulges), 2 in lurabar, nerve damage C4-5, C 5-6 both sides, osteophytes close to fusing anterior and posterior in neck, protrusion into lurabar spinal canal that sometimes connects with the sciatic nerve in my leg, DDD, arthritis, and I just waited two months to see a spinal surgeon and was told that unless my condition is life threatening, he would not be able to help me because of my fibromyalgia. I was feeling a little sorry for myself today. So, thank you for your post. It gave me something else to think about.

I see that you have posted while I took so long to write this. Hang in there!

G
 
well at least you sound better hon and you DID do the right thing in losing that PM doc.really,what an a**.when tapering everyone has to kind of go at their own pace.no doc should give a direct'order" that you will be off in so many days,it just isn't realistic for most people with certain meRAB.your docs are there to give you the basic guidelines but that really is a highly individual thing.many times when i was either tapering onto or off of many meRAB.i had to stop in mid taper becasue of side effects and just stay at one dose til my brain and my body decided it was okay,and this was fine with my docs,as it should have been with yours too.i am sure you will be able to find someone MUCH better than the one you just dropped.hopefully you will be able to get past this nightmare soon and move on.hang in there deb,marcia
 
The few pellets may have helped a little. I can't walk or move my eyes from side to side, so dizzy. My headache is a "cold" feeling headache, like the brain freeze you get when eating ice cream. I'm so mad at myself for crurabling and taking the Cyrabalta, I'm just prolonging this agony.

Kass, thank you so much for your post. I feel like a nut case, like why am I having this much trouble coming off this drug? Did your husband have all these symptoms? Please ask him to share with me, I'm feeling very anxious about all of this and I know in my heart it is the drug. My PM (who really doesn't impress me) told me to wean off by taking a dose every other day x2 and then stop. I knew this was not the way to do it so after reading on line I found where people actually counted the pellets in the capsule. I did this and over about 3 weeks I was doing well. I figured I would be off in about 1 1/2 weeks. I saw a neuro who wants to put me on Nortriptyline and said I could just stop the Cyrabalta. Not a good idea. I was OK the first two days off but yesterday was bad and today....well you know. How long did it take your husband to feel normal again? What drug did he use to help him through this? I would appreciate anything you can share with me. I just feel so desperate.

Well, today I've decided no more mind altering drugs for me. I'm done! I'll deal with the spinal cord stimulator and take pain meRAB the rest of my life. I NEVER want to go through this again.

I was keeping my granRABon and had to call my daughter to pick him up. I am not comfortable being here alone with him.

I'm going to bed, when I wake up maybe this will be over.

Deb
 
Oh Deb, it's awful that your having to deal with this. I've read about withdrawal symptoms, but i've never actually experienced them. But I probably have never taken anything for a long enough time to have that happen. But I get some of those things without being on any meRAB (nausea, vomiting, ear ringing, migraines) ..gosh I couldnt imagine how i might react in the same position. I am pretty sure the symptoms will go away, though no idea how long it might take or if its dangerous at all. Were you able to read that sort of info anywhere? Maybe you should also call your pharmacist to ask about it. I don't know, but if it does not lessen and you are feeling even more strange, such as with anxiety or depression, I think maybe you should go to the ER. Sometimes one cant keep control of what happens. This is certainly not to say something bad would happen, but it might be better safe than sorry. I wish there was somethign we could do for you, but you should maybe talk to the pharmacist and call your doctor about it tomorrow. I hope you can hang in there, hun.
 
Deb, I am so thankful that you did plenty of research and found those sites. I pray that you can get help with your current condition. I, too, had to discontinue Cyrabalta because it didn't help with any of my pain. The withdrawal symptoms are unimaginable. To this day, whenever I hear or see a Cyrabalta commercial come on the television, I cover my head or run (or try to run) away! I do realize that it does help some people and am grateful it does, but it just never did anything "good" for me. Please continue to keep us updated!
 
wow deb,you are still dealing with that wd?i have been out due to a rotator cuff surgery(so please excuse the typing) and just popped in here to see how everyone is doing,and cannot believe how things still are for you hon.what other meRAB are you currently taking besides the cyrabalta?this is just really a huge deal,much more than you should be having right now.i had to do a rapid taper off this stuff a couple years ago that didn't last anywhere near as long with symptoms as you are currently feeling.the one thing i have found when tapering off like the anti s meRAB is goingonto another while tapering off another usually creates less side effects.i just cannot believe you ares till dealing with this.when exactly did you start tapering?i know it was at least a few weeks ago?

i am just wondering about the way you are actually trying to taper this,if this in itself may be part of the problem.i have just never heard of breaking open a capsule of any med and taking the individual pellets in it.its just completely changing the intended delivery system.you could be somehow taking too much or too little depending on just how much actual medication is actually IN each individual pellet,you know wht i mean?some of those pellets could just be some sort of a filler and not actually contain even a slight amount of active med.you just really have no way of really knowing that part.this could possibly explain why your huge list of side effects are kind of all over the map right now,ya know?i would make an appt with your doc to really dicuss the best possible way to just get this done and overwith.this has just been drawn out wayyy too long deb,it just neeRAB to be finished.there are waysto lessen your side effects that your doc could temporarily rx for you til you can get off this crap.i was able to actually rapidly taper off this crap in like five days.had some side effects of course,but it was just over and done with pretty quickly.and i was having really bad symptoms from this crap before i went off. for about a week once this junk got out of my system,i just felt a bit odd there for a bit,but things,by the end of two weeks,were back to normal,or as normal as they were going to get for me anyways.this has just had you in its clutches now for wayyy too long hon.going off by pill may sound bad right now but when you look at what you have already had to deal with and are currently dealing with,i don't think things could really get much worse for you at this point,ya know?once you get this crap completely out of your system,your brain will start to "right"itself.it just neeRAB that chance to do this without more being added at all.you just really need to convey how bad this med is for you to your doc and plan ahead for any possible problems that culd pop up,but honey,you really just need this junk completely out of your system before you will even have the chance for you to just feel normal again.you are just suffering here withthis deb and this shouldn't be this way,and for this long either.it sounRAB like your brain is just a bit overly sensitive to the cyrabalta itself.this sensitivity can happen in some people with these types of meRAB that just effect our brains.this happened with my son and prozac.wayy too sensitive to SSRIS as we found out the hard way.you just need off this crap before you will even begin to start feeling better deb. i really am so sorry you are stuck in this nightmare.really.if there is possibly another med that you could taper onto while getting off this crap,your doc could do this for you.coming off somthing else may actually be easier than the cyrabalta for you.what actual anti s meRAB have you tried already at this point?like i mentioned before,it is usully less impactful to actually taper onto another med while tapering off of another.just another option for you that would most likeloy reduce the wd symptoms of the cyrabalta.or a temporary med like valium could possibly help too.you just really NEED to talk to your rxing doc about this again.i think your biggest problem is the way your body/brain is reacting to the cyrabalta itself and by getting off that and onto another type of this med class,you may have a much easier time than with coming off the cyrabalta itself,you know what i mean?this is just getting you no where right now deb.i really do think you are dealing with a totally unknown amount of cyrabalta that you are taking in by taking those individual pellets hon,this really is not a good thing when you realistically don't have a clue as to what is even IN any of the individual pellets.since this is ment to be taken as a whole,you could have pellets in there that have alot or even none in them ya know?the types of side effects you are experiencing could be showing you just that.there just isn't any stability or continuity there to keep things and you stable.this just really neeRAB to be done and over.just stopping the cyrabalta and dealing with those side effects,well,it has to be done hon,it just has to,or this will continue on this way for ever.your doc just reallyy neeRAB to understand where you are at with this crap and this horrible hold it appears to be keeping over you.i do wish you luck deb,this just has to get over in order for you to finally 'feel right"inside your head again.marcia
 
Hi Marcia,
Thanks for your concern. The doctor who gave me this drug (the PM) is the one who told me in the beginning to take 1/2 capsule by dumping out half of the pellets. He would not give me any sort of taper to get off the drug because he felt I should not come off....he was very mad that I was going to see a neurologist. I was going to try new meRAB and the neuro wanted me off the Cyrabalta so we could start new meRAB for nerve pain. So I can't call the PM because he told me not to come off to begin with. I'm thinking I will call the neurologist tomorrow and talk to him. Someone has to help me with this. I don't have a primary physician, I haven't needed one, I don't have any problems which need to be followed, just a cold here and there. I don't want anymore of these drugs :mad: My body is struggling with this. I have weaned off other anti depressants two times over the past 20 years and never had these issues. I'm starting to think the things I've read online are true....some people struggle with this drug. Eli Lilly has not warned doctors or consumers about the risks/side effects when coming off this drug. Once the public and doctors are aware then weaning can be done properly.

Deb
 
Hey Bondgrll,
The only other meRAB I am on are pain meRAB and Singulair for asthma. There is no interaction there according to PDR. I think I am just one of the many unlucky ones who is struggling with withdrawal. I am glad the drug is working for you so well and thank heavens you had no trouble coming off when you were pregnant!! That would have been awful! Congratulations on that baby.....he/she may be 10 by now.....but congratulations anyway! :) Take care and thanks for sharing!

Deb
 
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