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Is There Life After Cymbalta? Your Experiences, Please

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2quilt

MyPTSD Pro
I have been on Cymbalta (Duloxetine) for about 4 years now, and I am starting to believe that it has stopped working for me.
Questions for you:
1. If you have been on Cymbalta, what antidepressant(s) were successful for you after you got off Cymbalta? And which drugs did NOT work?
2. How awful was the tapering off time? How long did it take you to get Cymbalta out of your system?
3. Did adding Abilify or some other prescription drug help you stay on Cymbalta longer?
4. How long of a "drug holiday" did you have to take before you could try Cymbalta once again?


2quilt
 
Hey 2quilt, it's been a long time......

I was on Cymbalta, for about 3 years, I came off of it cold turkey(dumb move) but I did it. Either way, with slowly decreasing the amount you take, or cold turkey(which I do not recommend) and getting back to normal without all of the withdrawal side effects, will take approximately 2 of the longest months that you will endure......It was hard, i am not going to sugar coat it. I had headaches, dizziness, nausea, you name it for 2 months. Every day it got less severe, but the symptoms were still there. I did it cold turkey like I said, but I talked to others online, did research and they/it all said the same thing....2 months before you actually feel better, with NO withdrawal symptoms.......

I never went on anything after that, so I can't help you with the rest of your questions...... I figured I had lived through the withdrawal HELL once, and I NEVER want to go through it again. Hence, no meds for me....
 
I was on Cymbalta for about 8 years. Really didn't think it was helping, so I tapered myself. I did it VERY slowly and went up a tad whenever the horrible withdrawals kicked in.

If you taper, expect to feel crappy and do it very slowly.

Can't help with the other ?s either except to say I'm not on an anti-depressant now. There are some schools of thought that say they make PTSD worse, see carrotofhope.org. I'm on their combo, Seroquel, Visteril, and Propananol. These are supposed to regulate the stress chemicals, which for me is my main issue. Depression comes when I'm stressed all the time. No stress, no depression.
 
And how has your quality of life been since the withdrawal hell ended?
Here's the short version: I had planned on getting weight loss surgery to stop diabetes, sleep apnea, high BP, etc, then found out that the risk of death (in my case) was too high to have surgery, so I got depressed. I lost hope and resigned myself to having diabetes. Ended up suicidal and spent 6 days in the hospital. I thought that maybe my Cymbalta was not working well, so now I am wondering what to change to.
 
Hey, 2QUilt.

My husband went off cymbalta cold turkey (DUMB! DUMB! DUMB!). After the withdrawals, he stared on Lyrica for his chronic illness. In addition to helping with his pain, it acts as a mood stabalizer. He is doing quite well on it.
 
I know that you are having a hard time with the weight, as you have posted on this subject a few times. It's hard, really hard. I think that with weight gain, comes depression too. You want to lose, it's hard, you get depressed, so you eat a no no, you gain weight, you get more depressed, so you eat again. Vicious cycle. I know, I was there at one time. I weighed in at 201lbs in my late 20's......I eventually ended up having anorexia, from something that happened, that I believe triggered my PTSD to rear it's ugly head again, and then the hell began.....

But since then, I have struggled with my weight. I go up and down repeatedly...Getting as high as 170, and now at 130. So I know the struggles of the weight battle.....I also know that without sheer determination, and willpower, a good diet, balanced and nutritious and fulfilling, that you won't succeed......

But first you need to deal with your depression and get that under control....I think the biggest issue with the depression is WHAT IS CAUSING it for you. I think you need to find the root cause for the depression first, and work on that. But in the mean time, please don't ignore your diet, and diabetes.....With weight loss also comes improvement in your self esteem. It's a slow process, but it can happen....Keep working at it. Eat health, lots of veggies and fruit. If you don't like them, try to LEARN to like them, it's important.....
 
I added Abilify last Tuesday, and so far, no days of real suicidal thoughts. Mostly flat days.

Waiting for improvement
 
I was on Cymbalta for about 8 years. Really didn't think it was helping, so I tapered myself. I did it VERY slowly and went up a tad whenever the horrible withdrawals kicked in.

If you taper, expect to feel crappy and do it very slowly.

Can't help with the other ?s either except to say I'm not on an anti-depressant now. There are some schools of thought that say they make PTSD worse, see carrotofhope.org. I'm on their combo, Seroquel, Visteril, and Propananol. These are supposed to regulate the stress chemicals, which for me is my main issue. Depression comes when I'm stressed all the time. No stress, no depression.
Thanks for this, I just posted about whether SSRIs are needed for PTSD or even beneficial..I am wondering how to start tapering off Cymbalta, how much do you decrease at first.. My pdoc lowered it from 120 to 90 yesterday, she said I shouldn't have any effects with that small a change..?
 
Can you help me?
I have been on cymbalta for a while (6 months or so) and felt no change. I have been on prozac for depression before but the doctor thought Cymbalta was the better answer this time.
I decided to come off it as I was getting very suicidal and felt that if it wasn't working and I was feeling that bad then I wasn't going to keep putting stuff down my throat that was not helping me.
I did the usual thing of going 1 tablet every 2 days instead of every day and did this for a week or so then went to one every 3 days and so after about 3 weeks I am now off them.
Some one on here has mentioned having withdrawal symptoms like dizziness, nausea etc. I feel totally foul at the moment and went to the doctors who checked me out and they tell me I have some virus that is affecting my middle ear. A friend mentioned she had a virus that was similar but it only lasted a day or two with her.

Can you tell me what side effects exactly you are talking about and how long they lasted. I have to work and I am so 'wierd' that I am unable too. The feelings seem to be getting worse each day.

I hope one of you can answer and tell me as much as you know as I am feeling VERY unwell.
 
I have just come off Cyymbalta - about a month ago. Went without it 24 hours, then took 1 prozac which stopped the withdrawals. Can be used when you need it.
Currently I'm just feeling quite disorganized - can't get my head together and poor energy. Also diarrhoea - which I get whenever I am antidepressant free. Maybe it's the anticholinergic effects of ADs being removed that causes it. Don't know how long this all will last.
Not too hard to get off cymbalta, if you use the prozac trick - which is well known.
 
I'm curious about about Cymbalta withdrawals, so I just joined my first forum. Don't feel too good, and I was wondering for how long. Didn't much like the 2 month answer. I have been on it for more years than I know, along with a few other things. Also quit Elavil and Wellbutrin at the same time. I only had patience to taper off for about a month or 6 weeks. I haven't taken any of these in 10 days. TLight, I see you're on. Any comments? Thanks, y'all.
 
Seems to me, if I remember, it took a couple of months to get completely off safely without the horrible side effects.
I'm now on 50 mg Seroquel and have been for over 4 years, plus klonopin as needed. Seem to be much more stable.
No ADs worked for me and I think I've been on them all.
 
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