Bringmeback: First taper of Cymbalta

[Bringmeback]

Hello everyone,

  I am for the first time in the 10 years of taking Cymbalta, on my third week of tapering the medication and having great success so far.

 

In the past I had cold turkey quit assuming that like the other main antidepressant I took, Paxil, I would get over any withdrawal quickly. Not so of course.

 

I am pill ball counting and I am against any suggestions that this is not the way to go because it is the only option I have and it is actually going incredibly well.

 

I am also taking the Neurogenetics supplements but can not attribute my current success to them at all as it could simply be that for the first time I am actually tapering the drug slowly.

 

I did taking the no more than 10% reduction of medication in 2 weeks time advice from the site and I have reduced 20% of my 60 mg dose at this time. Again, I am not attributing any of my success to these supplements as I have never tapered the medicine - only quit it cold turkey in the past.

 

  I have made about 3 or 4 attempts to stop this medication cold turkey and it led to my hospitalization and the absolute worst experience of my life. I can never go through that experience again. I will continue to do this taper process for as long as it works and it will take me months to complete. My goal is to be motivated again in life as Cymbalta has made me feel like doing nothing but sitting on my butt and things I normally might care about I don't. Like taking good physical care of myself.

W

Edited August 26, 2018 by SkyBlue
spacing for readability

[SkyBlue]

Hi B, 

 

Welcome to SA.

 

Several members here are also counting beads in order to safely taper.

 

You are tapering very fast. Are you having issues or symptoms? We generally see best results with people tapering at a rate of no more than 10% of current dose per month.

 

Please begin by letting us know a bit more about your history: https://www.survivingantidepressants.org/topic/18343-please-put-your-withdrawal-history-in-your-signature/

 

 

[Bringmeback]

I have had almost no ill effects from the first two 10% reductions of the Cymbalta. I am on week 4 of bead counting. I did notice on the first day of each reduction that I felt depressed but this tapered off by the end of the day. The only change I plan to make on the first day of week 5 (Monday) is to reduce by 5%, then an additional 5% the following Monday rather than a whole 10% in one day. So far, as I said, things are going surprisingly well. Although, I anticipate the more I reduce, the slower I will need to go. I was following the reduction amounts recommended by Neuro Genetics as I really didn't know how much to reduce and in what time frame. I have some fatigue, however, it may be due to sinus problems I have been having lately.

[Altostrata]

Hello, Bringmeback.

 

It's good to hear you're doing well with your taper.  What was your starting dosage? Please put your drug dosages in your signature.

 

You are tapering more rapidly than we recommend, see Why taper by 10% of my dosage?

 

It could be you're taking enough so that you may not feel the reductions for a while, the dosage is high enough that even with reductions, your receptors are still 100% occupied, see Why taper? Paper demonstrates importance of gradual change in plasma concentration

 

Be very careful to stop tapering if you should get any significant withdrawal symptoms -- more tapering could make them a lot worse. Please let us know how you're doing.

 

We don't recommend the Neurogenetics supplements, we haven't seen any benefit to them or other supplement programs for withdrawal. In my opinion, the best they do is no harm while costing you a lot of money.

 

However, many people do better with fish oil and magnesium supplements, see http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/36-king-of-supplements-omega-3-fatty-acids-fish-oil/
http://survivingantidepressants.org/topic/15483-magnesium-natures-calcium-channel-blocker/

 

A lot of people find them helpful. Try a little bit of one at a time to see how it affects you.

[Bringmeback]

Thank you for the input. Yes, I can definitely understand where the more I taper down the more likely I am to experience withdrawal effects.

I am doing very well so far having reduced by 10% in the first two weeks and an additional 10% in the second two weeks. I plan to continue at this rate unless I find that I begin to experience withdrawal effects that I can't tolerate. I am planning to reduce 5% starting this Monday and an additional 5% (if tolerated) on the following Monday rather than a whole 10% at the beginning of the two week period. I won't be discouraged though if I need to take longer at any particular dose to taper down and will definitely do so if I need to. Nothing will ever be as horrible as what I experienced in 2010 when I had my medication changed and went off Cymbalta cold turkey. I went through a veritable hell and it felt like all of the serotonin in my body had just been sucked out. I was in agony and it was definitely the worst experience of my life. I have been taking fish oil tablets and I have ceased any of the supplements from the neuro genetics program. It appears I don't need them although I was quite nervous that I might before I began my taper.

[Carmie]

Hi Bringmeback, 

 

I’m glad your tapering is going well so far but doing two 10% drops in one month is very quick. Sometimes withdrawals are delayed n don’t hit until later. Hopefully that won’t happen to you. Be careful though. Like you said slow down if it gets too bad n stabilise again before you continue.

 

All the best with your tapering💚

[Bringmeback]

Things are going well still. I did notice when I decreased by 5% last Monday I felt depressed in the first part of my day for a couple days but that has gone away now. No obvious typical withdrawal symptoms yet...I am patient and will take as long as I need to avoid the horrors of withdrawal. I feel more motivated to do more lately which is one of the major reasons why I want to get off Cymbalta. I could normally sit around in a filthy house and just not give a damn, I was never like that prior to Cymbalta. I am partially back but long way to go.