My Cymbalta story by lundeliz

[lundeliz]

I'm going through a rough patch right now. Things were going pretty ok with my taper, as far as I can tell.

 

I never feel well, but it's just kinda of a general don't feel good. I shopped for a few hours yesterday,

 

and was SO sore afterwards. I also get out of breath easily. I started doing some research on beta blockers.

 

Mine was doubled back in Oct. or Nov. I began to wonder if some of my symptoms are from that med. Does anyone

 

have any information on how to taper from a beta blocker? I will see my doctor before I attempt to start a

 

taper, but would like to do it very slowly. Can I do it now or should I wait till the Celexa taper is over?

 

I don't want to taper completely off, just back down to the dose I was on for years. If anyone can give me

 

any info or point me to where to get info, I would appreciate it.

 

Then, today, of all things, I was walking to my car after church, and my foot buckled under me, and I fell

 

flat on my face. I have a busted lip, scraped up face, skinned knees and I just got back from the ER getting

 

xrays of my foot. It was too swollen to tell for sure if it is broken, but they put me in a walking boot, and

 

gave me crutches. It hurts too much to put pressure on it. I'm so sore all over. I'm feeling very weak and so

 

discouraged. Beginning to wonder if I can really bounce back from all this. I really hate the days when I

 

feel hopeless. Thanks for having a place I can whine. Maybe tomorrow things will look better.

[flower]

Oh Liz....Be easy on yourself for a bit..I will message you.

[Altostrata]

Yes, you'll need to taper the beta blocker. Which new symptoms occurred after the beta blocker increase?

[lundeliz]

Alto, I have very blurry vision, which started around the time I doubled the dose. Also, my eyes are red and

 

burning all the time, but I haven't seen that listed as a side effect. I think the shortness of breath

 

and lack of stamina could be from the beta blocker? Alto, since my fall I've had wd symptoms I haven't had in

 

a long time, nausea and anxiety. Could a fall cause a setback like that? Thanks for responding, Alto.

[Altostrata]

Yes, an increase in stress can cause a change in withdrawal symptoms.

 

You might very gradually reduce the beta blocker, but not at the very same time you reduce the Celexa, maybe a couple of days later.

[lundeliz]

Thank you, Alto. I'll talk to my doctor about prescribing a lower dose beta blocker so I can

 

cut it in half and reduce by 5mg at a time. From what I have been reading about tapering it,

 

this seems to be a conservative cut. I want to do it very slowly. But not until I have

 

recovered from my fall.

[lundeliz]

I don't know if the fall I had really messed me up or if it is coincidence.  But I am having horrible anxiety

 

like I have never had before, and awful constant nausea, head feels like it will explode and I'm having

 

facial flushing.  Two days before the fall I dropped from 2.5mg down to 2.3mg.  I really don't believe that

 

drop could cause my severe symptoms.  The only time it has been this bad was a year ago when I had

 

a bad reaction to celexa and cut down from 20mg to 10mg.  After that things got better but not good.

 

I think I have to stop this med.  I'm terrified but I'm so sick.  I'm only on 2.3mg.  I know there will be

 

withdrawal to contend with.  To top it off, I'm leaving on a 500 mile trip on Tuesday because my youngest

 

son is getting married on Friday.  I'm not sure how I will function, but there's no way I'm missing his wedding.

 

Any opinion would be greatly appreciated.  I have no idea if stopping the med is the right thing to do.  If

 

this is withdrawal, I know things will just get worse.  I just feel like I can't touch that stuff again.

[mammaP]

I'm sorry you are feeling so bad. I know from experience that stress can make

withdrawal worse. I cut just one bead from my dose, from 4 beads to 3. I was fine

then was hit by a stressful event a few days later. The withdrawal was horrific after that!

Trauma messes everything up, it was just like I had gone cold turkey and was a few weeks

before I felt better again because the trauma was ongoing. 

I certainly wouldn't stop it before the wedding, it would be a lot for your body to cope with

after your fall and the excitement of the wedding. 

 

Take care of yourself. I hope you feel better very soon, enjoy the wedding and being with 

your family. 

[lundeliz]

Oh my mammaP, Thank you for letting me know that.  So I should hold in your opinion?  What keeps me confused is

 

I have terrible side effects from Celexa, and I never know if side effects are kicking in or if it's withdrawal.  Gosh, I don't

 

know what to do now.  Thank you for giving me that info to think about.  I wish this wasn't so hard to figure out.

[Altostrata]

I agree, stress can make the symptoms worse. There's the stress of the fall, plus planning for the wedding.

 

Do what you can to keep calm, spend some time throughout the day for meditative breathing.

[lundeliz]

It makes sense, Alto.  I'm just feeling desperate to  feel a little better before I leave on my trip.  Nausea

 

and anxiety is still bad today.  I took the celexa last night.  Alto, I know the celexa is very stimulating

 

for me.  Right now, I just want to get to a better place where I can function.  I'm still taking a few beads

 

of Cymbalta that I added back a year ago.  Do you think there's a chance my body might accept Cymbalta

 

back since I'm still on a few beads?  I would only want to switch to an equivalent dose of the Celexa that

 

I take now, 2.3mg.  I guess an equivalent dose of Cymbalta would be 7mg.  It's just something I've been

 

wondering about recently.  Even before the fall, my eyesight has gotten so blurry and  my eyes are

 

red and burning all the time.  I know the celexa just doesn't agree with me. I would be fine with taking

 

longer to taper off, if I could just feel a little better.  Thanks for any thoughts you might share with me.

[Altostrata]

I didn't realize you were still taking some Cymbalta.

 

I really can't say, lundeliz. Are you taking Celexa and Cymbalta at the same time of day? Can you tell if you're getting nauseous after you take the Celexa or Cymbalta?

[lundeliz]

Yes, I take the Cymbalta with my nightly dose of Celexa.  Before I fell,  the nausea

 

and anxiety had been stopped for a few weeks.  Headaches were almost gone.  Now it's

 

all back, constant nausea and anxiety.

[Altostrata]

Are these symptoms usually reduced when you make a drop in the Celexa?

[lundeliz]

Alto, with each of the last few drops I made, I usually had a good day. The

 

headaches and head pressure had finally gotten better, along with the nausea

 

and anxiety. But also some things were coming back recently, like the hot

 

flushes and my vision and eye problems and also the high blood pressure at

 

times. Thank you for making time for me, Alto.

[Altostrata]

The high blood pressure might be due to autonomic instability.

 

I wish I knew what to tell you, L.

[lundeliz]

Ok, I saw my doctor today.  I feel like I'm taking a giant step backward, but we decided

 

I would go back to a low dose of Cymbalta.  I have decided on 30 beads, which is around

 

9mg.  I hope and pray Cymbalta works for me again.  I know there's no guarantee that

 

it will.  It's a terrible time to be changing meds, I'm leaving on a long trip tomorrow.  But

 

I just felt like Celexa was making me so sick, and I was too terrified to just stop it at around

 

2.5mg.  I'm still having constant nausea and anxiety.  If the Cymbalta does work for me

 

again,  I would like to take a breather and try tapering again after Christmas.  I still want

 

off this med.  I'm just so weak right now and I'm really not understanding why.  I'm very

 

scared.  By the way, I didn't tell my doctor I was only going to take 9mg.  He wrote me a

 

prescription for 30mg pills.  I'm not sure what his reaction would have been.  His method of

 

tapering is to spread out the time between doses longer each day.  Please let this work. 

[Petunia]

Ok, I saw my doctor today.  I feel like I'm taking a giant step backward, but we decided

 

I would go back to a low dose of Cymbalta.  I have decided on 30 beads, which is around

 

9mg. 

 

I think its good that you've made a decision and are trying it, not knowing what to do and being confused was probably adding even more stress to what you've been through lately.

 

Maybe, when you get back from your trip, things will settle down again and you will start to feel better.

 

I hope you enjoy your son's wedding and have a great time.

[lundeliz]

Thank you Petu. I made the trip ok. I did switch back to Cymbalta. I don't know if it was

 

the right thing or not. I'm feeling very miserable. The anxiety and nausea are awful.

 

I will hang in there and try to give the Cymbalta a chance. I knew it would take a while

 

to adjust back to the Cymbalta. This is so very hard. I really do appreciate your words

 

of encouragement.

[lundeliz]

I've been back on the 9mg Cymbalta for a week. I feel rotten. I think I may be at a point

 

that antidepressants are just not going to agree with me. But I will give the Cymbalta a little

 

longer to work. If nothing improves, I will start to slowly taper down on it. The anxiety may

 

be just a little better than it was, nausea is still bad. I'm very weak. Now I'm on an ad that

 

is more difficult to withdraw from. I've made such a mess of this thing. No matter how bad it

 

gets, I will try with all my might not to add any med or change anymore meds. I will attempt to

 

just slowly taper off this and hope it will be bearable. I am taking a children's dose of

 

Benadryl to sleep. I hope this doesn't mess with things too much.

[flower]

Oh Liz I feel for you.  This crap is for the birds.  Hang in there..I often wonder if it would be just as easy to CT.It's hard to not do that.

 

Hang in there girlfriend,we will survive..

[Altostrata]

Please don't blame yourself, L. You did the best you could.

 

9mg may be too much for you.

[lundeliz]

Thanks for saying that, Alto. 9mg definitely feels like too much. Any idea on how soon

 

I could safely back down a little bit?

[Altostrata]

Any time.

[lundeliz]

I'm here again.  Seems l only post when I feel like I'm in crisis.  I started cutting back on the Cymbalta,

 

in an effort to relieve the nausea.  I dropped 3 beads, then a week later 2 beads, the next week 2 beads,

 

then a couple of days ago 3 more beads, a total of 10 beads.  Actually the anxiety has gotten better, but the

 

nausea is just killing me. It's 24/7.  I've gotten no relief from it at all.  I thought it was being caused by the 

 

Cymbalta, and maybe it is.  But it hasn't yet let up any.  I usually drink a nutritional shake in the morning,

 

and sometimes by evening I'm able to eat some.  I'm doing ok because I'm not losing weight.  I think I'm

 

kinda freaking out about it tonight because I'm in withdrawal from the three beads I just dropped.  I think

 

I will not drop anymore for a while, and see if things settle any.  The reason I dropped 3 more beads this

 

week is because the nausea had gotten worse again.  I'm only taking 20 beads of Cymbalta now,

 

around 6mg.  I've tried ginger capsules, ginger ale, and take Zantac.  Thanks to anyone who might have

 

read this.  It helped to tell someone.

[cymbaltawithdrawal5600]

Hi Liz,

 

I am pretty sure the nausea is coming from the cymbalta. That was one of the things that happened to me when I abruptly stopped mine. I cannot remember how long it lasted or what I did but all I can say is that at some point it stopped. Do whatever you can to take care of yourself in the meantime. For myself, I have always eaten something when I have nausea, even if it is something simple like bread or saltines. Something about nausea and an empty stomach being kind of the same feeling and eating always seemed to help. Maybe even some broth would do the same thing.

 

Hope you feel better soon!

[lundeliz]

Thank you CW5600.  I'm sure it is from the Cymbalta.  I've had nausea from withdrawal and also as

 

a side effect, so I'm not sure which it is at the moment.  You're right that eating a little something

 

helps for a while.  Thank you for your suggestions!

[lundeliz]

I'm so totally confused and desperate to know what to do. Since yesterday I'm having a horrific

 

headache, the squeezing kind with nausea, weakness, lightheaded and my vision is very bad. I've

 

also had the blood pressure spikes again like I did with Celexa. Last night it was 201/101. I

 

haven't taken it today. I would be okay with whatever I need to do, I just wish I could figure

 

out what I need to do. My first thought is always that it's a reaction to the AD. But it could

 

also be withdrawal. I dropped from 30 beads down to 18 over about a month. The blood pressure spikes

 

before were caused by celexa, and stopped when I cut my dosage in half. I don't think I've had that

 

as a withdrawal symptom. I'm on 18 beads of Cymbalta, around 5.5mg. About 10 days ago I dropped one

 

bead. I think I have made a mess with no way out, as I don't think I can reinstate and try again.

[Altostrata]

I'm really sorry, L. How about acupuncture? That can help regulate blood pressure.

[lundeliz]

OK, right or wrong, I made a decision to stop my Cymbalta at 5mg. I was just

 

feeling so bad on the med. I went to see my dr. He said if I wanted off, to

 

just get off. Sounds easy. I told him how I had been tapering by taking beads

 

out and he thought that was great! He also said withdrawal would not last more

 

than a week. Man, I wish he was right! So this is my second day with no Cymbalta.

 

The only good news is that I slept and slept for many hours last night, after a few

 

nights of little sleep. Today, my stomach feels tied in knots and my head feels a

 

little crazy. I have to see this through. I don't see how I could ever take it

 

again. I will try to keep my eye on the prize and make it through each day. There

 

is a prize, right? I can't wait! I hope it's not too far away.

[Altostrata]

Thinking of you and hoping for the best for you, lundeliz. You have been very brave.

[lundeliz]

Thank you so much, Alto. I'll post updates. I hope I can stay strong enough to see

 

this through. After two days with no meds, I haven't seen much change. The nausea

 

has gotten better and my eyes have stopped burning. I usually have a delayed wd reaction.

 

So I'm sure it will hit soon. Hoping for the best!

[lundeliz]

My 5th day with no Cymbalta. I was able to go to church today, and last Sunday before I quit

 

my med I was too sick to go. The brain fog and spaciness are my most frustrating symptoms.

 

Other than that, my eyes are really bothering me. I haven't seen anyone else with this complaint.

 

They burn and sting and feel like I have bad allergies. The anxiety has almost disappeared along

 

with the nausea. I know it's early in the process and things may get worse before they get better.

 

Then again, maybe they won't! Just trying to take one day at a time.

[Altostrata]

Very relieved to hear you're doing as well as you are, lundeliz. Stay calm, take care of yourself. We're all rooting for you.

[lundeliz]

Thank you, Alto. I'm on my 10th day off Cymbalta. So far, some things are better off the med.

 

I can get to sleep easier. Nausea and anxiety are almost gone. Most symptoms I have now, I had

 

before I stopped. Still not feeling like myself, but things could be a lot worse. So I guess

 

it's going well.

[mammaP]

I'm really glad you are doing so well, I hope things keep improving for you