Sherlockitty: tapering cymbalta beginning today!

[Sherlockitty]

today i begin to taper off of cymbalta tonight. i am currently on 90mg and i will be taking 60mg tonight and for the next two weeks. then to 30mg then i will slowly taper off the 30mg by 10% at a time. i'm hoping this will work. 

i will keep everyone updated!!

Edited May 29, 2017 by scallywag
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[Madeleine]

Sounds like a fast taper as your first cut is 30 percent and you plan to hold only 2 weeks. How long were you on Cymbalta?

Wishing you well

[Sherlockitty]

i have only been on it a little under a year. i began in summer at 30mg, then went to 60mg in fall and 90mg in winter.  

if i start to have issues i will back up a bit. my fiancee went off of it cold turkey about 3 years ago and had zero problems. i know i am prone to nausea so i'm expecting that to be my worst problem. i just really wanna get off this drug. i think its destroying my body and i'm planning on trying to get pregnant in the fall. i've heard the worst part is coming off of the 30mg bit so thats my worry spot right now. 

[miT]

Ok, definitely take it a lot slower at the lower doses!

Don’t know the med you take though, but it is good advice on what I take.

Good luck!

[Sherlockitty]

thanks for the support and advice! i'll come back and update as i go! the drug is cymbalta/duloxetine. its supposed to be a nightmare. 

[Sherlockitty]

day 1: increased back pain, bout of nausea early this morning, anxiety... feels like i should be DOING something but theres nothing for me to be doing. very frustrating. 

[mammaP]

Hi Sherlockitty, welcome to SA.  Your proposed taper is far too fast! Your boyfriend C/T'd and was fine but sadly that does not happen for many people.

 

You are already experiencing withdrawal fro the 30% cut. We recommend tapering 10% of the current dose. I would go back to the full dose for a few days then start again with 10% reductions. I completely understand why you want to go faster but we have people here all the time who have tried to go faster and failed. It ends up taking longer because they have to stop tapering to get stable, they suffer terrible withdrawal and while tapering and it can so easily be avoided.

 

I am one of those people and discovered for myself the wisdom of a slow taper. Any side effects lessen as the dose lowers. If there are more than mild withdrawal, for longer than a few days the cuts are too big and should be adjusted. You will get to know your body and how it reacts to the reductions

The idea is to sneak the drug away so stealthily that your brain doesn't even notice.  It takes time, but if you don't taper you will need to take them for life anyway so why not reduce the doses as time goes by, and be free of it en the end? I thought I had tapered slowly by taking a year, how wrong I was! I had to reinstate and it took months before I was well enough to start tapering again, it took another 2 years to taper from the 1mg I reinstated because I had become so sensitive to reductions.  

 

Ok, lecture over, lol  Now I will post some links for you to read through. When you are ready again you can start a slow, safe taper and be successful. 

Tapering cymbalta

http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/283-tapering-off-cymbalta-duloxetine/

 

Why taper 10%

http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/1024-why-taper-by-10-of-my-dosage/

 

Many people find that a micro taper suits them better, smaller cuts more often. 

http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/2878-micro-taper-instead-of-10-or-5-decreases/

 

KIS

 

http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/6632-the-rule-of-3kis-keep-it-simple-keep-it-slow-keep-it-stable/

[R2G2]

Hello Sherlock Kitty 

 

Your fiancee was lucky and got off of it free and clear but that does not happen for everyone. Everybody is different. I did it the completely wrong way and it was miserable and it took years. Please take the 10% way and listen to mammP. , it will make a world of difference and it will be much easier . You do not want to bounce back to 90 then 60 then 90 then 60 and double/triple the time it would take. 

 

Please learn from my mistake and try the 10% or micro reduction you will be that much better for it 

 

Good Luck 

 

R2G2

[Sherlockitty]

day 4: back pain still increased but nothing insurmountable. a tiny bit more emotional than my usual but otherwise no disturbing effects. 

thanks everyone for the advice. unfortunately i dont have the time to taper that slowly. so far things are going alright, so i will be continuing with my original plan. i will let you know how it goes!!!!

[JanCarol]

Sherlockitty - you don't have the time for a complete shutdown of your nervous system, including digestion, sleep, mood.

 

Your taper is too fast.  You are playing with fire.

 

Cymbalta has a bad record - 69% of people who take it have trouble coming off.  Your boyfriend was in the 31%.  I just sent a letter to doctors saying if 1 in 10 have trouble coming off a drug - isn't it better to taper all 10 at the slow rate?  And with Cymbalta - 7 out of 10 have trouble.

 

I'm not trying to scare you - but I am trying to prevent a potential train wreck.  Even if you CT, the healing time is likely to be longer than if you slow taper.  It's just that risky, and the healing times from these things aren't a few months - they are years.

I know many many people who wish they'd tapered more slowly.  And the regret is deep, painful.

 

There are hundreds, perhaps thousands, and more -  who regret tapering too fast.  

 

I've never met anyone - not one - who regretted tapering too slowly.

 

It's not how fast you get it out of your system!

 

The goal is to get out from under the drug safely, with as few symptoms as possible!  Do you want to succeed?  Then the best bet is a slow taper by 10% of previous dose no more often than monthly.

 

See this short (6 min) video to understand better how the drugs remodel your brain, and why we take it so slowly.

 

Healing from Antidepressants - Patterns of Recovery (by Toxic Antidepressants)

 

Read around the site for Cymbalta stories to see the agony we are trying to prevent.  Google "survivingantidepressants.org cymbalta" to find them.

 

Or - do your wild, reckless fast taper, and know that we are here for you if it goes south.

 

Please do keep us posted.

[Sherlockitty]

thanks so much for your concern. i know it comes from a kind place! and i appreciate the information and worry. so far i am feeling amazing. i havent had nausea in a few days, my headache is much more mild and those are the only bad side effects ive had. 

neutrally, i have been a bit more emotional.. on both ends of the spectrum, sometimes a bit weepy and sometimes exuberant, though that was my pre medication normal tbh. my fiancee is keeping a close eye on my moods. 

on top of that effect, i have had almost NO episodes of diarreah, before i began this i was having 5-6 episodes of urgent and explosive diarreah per day. it was painful and frankly embarrassing. i have also regained both my libido and my sexual function! i feel incredible and am getting exactly the results i wanted. 

i will continue to update, i am almost at one week on 60mg. one more week and i will be moving to 30mg and probably staying there until the end of july because i dont want to hit the bad withdrawal while in clinicals. 

[Sherlockitty]

oh! AND im also 1. able to fall asleep 2. able to STAY asleep and 3. waking up refreshed! 

i am now drinking coffee for FUN, not out of necessity. 

i feel very lucky that things are going so well right now. 

[Sherlockitty]

One last post to mention I had a VERY brief episode of body dysmorphia yesterday. Seconds long. I was super weirded out. I want to be honest in my report and not sugar coat it. It has been pleasant but not perfect!

[brassmonkey]

One of the signature symptoms of a fast taper or ct is a "honeymoon" period of a few weeks to several months during which the person "has never felt better in their life".  Everything comes together, the physical symptoms and the psychological symptoms all fade from memory.  Then over night it all changes and they crash to the lowest point they have ever experienced, and the climb back up is very long and very painful.  Frequently the recovery takes longer than the slow taper would have and the time spent a lot less pleasant. The choice is up to you, but we've seen it happen hundreds of times. Please reconsider, do a nice long hold to stabilize, then a good slow taper.  You'll be glad you did.

[Sherlockitty]

i will definitely be keeping an eye on it. hopefully i survive it! regardless i cannot be on this medication while pregnant and i have a fairly small window where i can fall pregnant within due to life circumstances. i'm not comfortable being on this medication at any dose during pregnancy as i've already had one child die in my womb, and have no interest in repeating that, the true lowest ive ever been in my life.  so i'm willing to try it fast and reckless for now, knowing i have good supports in place. ive my doctor, fiancee and my therapist all aware of my dose changes as well. 

i acknowledge the warnings and permit the right to say "i told you so" to me if this goes wildly bad. haha. i really do appreciate all the concern and support and hope that i can beat the bad odds. 

[brassmonkey]

I'm so sorry for your loss and can full understand your not wanting to repeat it.  We have several other ladies here who have done or are doing rapid tapers for the same reason.  Their names slip my mind  ATM but they should be easy enough to search out for mutual support. I wish you the best on all fronts involved and reassure you that no matter which path you decide to follow you have our support. "I told you so" is usually reserved for people who are being obstinate and not those going in with their eyes open which seems to be the case here.

[divegrl]

Hi!

 

I'm so sorry for your loss. We can understand how difficult that must have been.

 

Regarding your taper, I too, did a very fast taper at higher doses. Once I hit about 33% of my original dose, I had lots of withdrawal symptoms and slowed down accordingly.

 

Everyone in this website is very helpful and only wants to see the best for you! Your positive attitude and support system will help you during your taper!

 

Just wanted to stop by, and say I wish you the best of luck my friend!!

[scallywag]

You'll find others in your situation -- women tapering because they want to become pregnant -- posting in this topic:

Wanting a baby and withdrawing

[Sherlockitty]

thank you for directing me towards others going through the same thing!!!! i appreciate it! i'm not on day eight and a bit tired. i had a bit of nausea yesterday evening but it passed when i took my dose.  

[Sherlockitty]

and thank you for the condolences. She died a long time ago. october 2011. it was very painful and i miss her, but life has moved on in a way. thank you for the support. 

[Sherlockitty]

i am now on the 30mg dose and have been for a week tomorrow! its been a tiny bit rougher than the original dose reduction. im mostly having some vertigo and minor brain zaps during the late afternoon around when my pill is due. 

i remember reading that omega 3's can help with this and i have been taking them. does anyone know how much omega 3 i should be taking a day to help with these?  thanks in advance! 

[scallywag]

For our discussion and tips on omega 3 supplementations, please read Omega-3 fatty acids (fish oil).

[Sherlockitty]

I wanted to follow up. I tapered down to 30, then 15, then 7ish, then off. Very fast. It was an absolute **** show for one weekend. I hallucinated, had panic attacks. I dealt with serious brain zaps for a while and super crap mood all summer. I then went on a small dose of prozac. Got pregnant, had my baby this past June and am on 60 of prozac now! Feeling so much better. It was a crazy ride but I'm so happy I went the direction I did because cymbalta made my body feel awful. 

 

Thanks to those who helped. ❤️

[Carmie]

Hi Sherlockkitty, 

 

I’m sorry you went through such severe withdrawals, but that certainly was a fast taper. 

 

Could you please update your signature. Thank you. Are you planning to taper the Prozac now? 

 

Take care, sending hugs🤗