shurico: Help with tappering 4 drugs - Cymbalta CT and reinstated

[shurico]

31 minutes ago, ryuusei86 said:

 

I just wanted to say that I'm very interested in this thread because I'm planning to taper off from five meds, or at least as many as I can. I hope you can stabilize soon and begin a gradual taper of one of your meds.

 

Oh, I am so sorry!! At least we informed ourselves and know we need to take it slow. So however many years it will take, it is what it is. I just want to at least feel better. I either have a headache or I am nauseous or spacey out and drowsy. Not to mention I have no emotions at all….how are you feeling?

[shurico]

Aug 23

8am - woke up, took 0.5 ativan. Feeling shaky especially when smoking. Soreness at the back of my neck

11am - took lyrica 75, feeling tightness around my head and fatigue

1.40pm - feeling shaky. No headache so far

5.30pm - headache, took excedrin migraine

6pm - magnesium taurate

7.30 - 12.5 amitryptiline

8 - ativan 0.5

9 - cymbalta

11.20 - lyrica

Felt better today, less headachey and some motivation here and there

 

Aug 24

9 am - woke up, took ativan .5 . Feeling groggy like I slept too much and pain in my neck going down my spine

10am - took solpadeine for neck pain mostly

11am - lyrica 75mg

1pm - feeling shaky and my stomach is hurting

3pm - still shaky, slight headache, feeling overwhelmed

4.30pm - solpadeine (headache med)

7.30pm - amitriptyline

8pm - ativan 0.5mg, feeling dizzy and sick like, sweating

9pm - cymbalta 30

9.30pm - back of the head and neck is hurting, feeling nauseous

11pm - took 150 lyrica, still feeling sick and nauseous

[ryuusei86]

23 minutes ago, shurico said:

Oh, I am so sorry!! At least we informed ourselves and know we need to take it slow. So however many years it will take, it is what it is. I just want to at least feel better. I either have a headache or I am nauseous or spacey out and drowsy. Not to mention I have no emotions at all….how are you feeling?

I also have no emotions, no appetite, nothing really brings me joy. I am sorry to hear of all your physical symptoms. Let's both stabilize before we start to taper. I'm still not sure which of my drugs I will start tapering first.

[Altostrata]

When was the last time you made any dosage increases? Which drugs and how much?

[shurico]

10 hours ago, Altostrata said:

When was the last time you made any dosage increases? Which drugs and how much?

The most recent change is going down from cymbalta 50mg to cymbalta 30mg on june 9th - just started taking 30 directly. and on june 10th I added amitriptyline 12.5mg.

The last dosage increase was from cymbalta 30mg to cymbalta 50mg. here is the timeline:

-march 31st i went down from cymbalta 60 to 30 and increased lyrica from 75 AM to 150 PM to 150 AM and 150 PM

-april 16 i went CT from cymbalta 30 and increased lyrica to 150 AM and 255 PM

-april 28 I reinstated cymbalta directly at 30mg

-may 12 I went up to cymbalta 50mg

-June 9th I went back down to cymbalta 30mg, as I was feeling horrid. Lyrica I changed back to usual dose of 75AM and 150PM sometime in this period. I do not remember exactly.

 

What a mess!!!

[Altostrata]

Please review ingredients and adverse effects of solpadeine.

 

You need to take Ativan on a consistent daily schedule.

 

10 hours ago, shurico said:

-June 9th I went back down to cymbalta 30mg, as I was feeling horrid. Lyrica I changed back to usual dose of 75AM and 150PM sometime in this period. I do not remember exactly.

 

You added amitriptyline the next day? What did you do that? What effect did you feel from it?

 

Please continue daily notes.

[shurico]

Aug 25

8am - woke up, took ativan 0.5mg neck tension

9am - solpadeine for difuze headache and neck pain, magnesium taurate, electrolytes

11am - took lyrica 75 mg, feeling better but neck still stiff, stabbing picks headache

1pm - clumsy, it takes long to do something, pain at the back of my neck

4.40pm - intense pain in the back of my head

7pm - 12.5 amitrip. Burning at the back of my head and neck

8.30pm - 0.5 ativan

9pm - cymbalta 30, slight nausea, burning continues

10.30pm - burning continues, slight nausea

11pm - lyrica 150. Burning is slightly better

[shurico]

5 hours ago, Altostrata said:

 

Please review ingredients and adverse effects of solpadeine.

 

You need to take Ativan on a consistent daily schedule.

 

I did review and it says not to be taken with benzos. Should I just stop? It says do not take for more then 3 days but I have been taking it for way more then that. It says it may cause withdrawal if not tapered because of the codeine I think.

It is actually the only one helping with headaches but it doesn t always work. Sometimes I take it and pain persists.

 

5 hours ago, Altostrata said:

 

You added amitriptyline the next day? What did you do that? What effect did you feel from

My dr said to drop down to cymbalta 30 and add amitriptyline the same day but I had a hard time finding it in pharmacies so I added it the next day. From amitrip I felt my mouth was dry but not too much, I was sleepy after taking it, woke up groggy and tired like. The first week my neck pain got better but then it came back. My dr prescribed amitripty for the neck pain that I actually started having after CT of cymbalta, she said it works great for pain/ headaches and anxiety in low doses but i see it is not helping with the pain. I guess it is not helping since I am having withdrawal pain, not normal neurological pain.

[Altostrata]

12 hours ago, shurico said:

7pm - 12.5 amitrip. Burning at the back of my head and neck

8.30pm - 0.5 ativan

9pm - cymbalta 30, slight nausea, burning continues

 

Effectively, you are taking these 3 drugs together.

 

How do you feel after taking Lyrica at 11 p.m.? Please include your sleep pattern in your notes, which should cover 24 hours (example: from one morning to the next morning).

[shurico]

30 minutes ago, Altostrata said:

 

Effectively, you are taking these 3 drugs together.

 

How do you feel after taking Lyrica at 11 p.m.? Please include your sleep pattern in your notes, which should cover 24 hours (example: from one morning to the next morning).

I go to bed soon after I take lyrica so I do not feel any side effects. I sleep very well 11pm-12am to 8-9am.

 

today i had a lot of nausea. I still cannot explain myself where the nausea comes from. Is it possible the reinstatement of cymbalta did not work and I having more side effects to it? I start having nausea after reinstatement, not right away, after about 2 weeks of when I was upped to 50mg.

[Altostrata]

47 minutes ago, shurico said:

I still cannot explain myself where the nausea comes from.

 

Have you noticed you take 5 drugs all day long? Might that have something to do with it?

 

It's hard to tell which drugs are causing the nausea because you take so many so often. It may be we can identify the culprits. Please continue daily notes.

[shurico]

3 minutes ago, Altostrata said:

Have you noticed you take 5 drugs all day long? Might that have something to do with it?

 

It's hard to tell which drugs are causing the nausea because you take so many so often. It may be we can identify the culprits. Please continue daily notes.

That is true, but up untill june i was taking 4 drugs and did not have nausea. I think it something to do with cymbalta/Reinstated but of course it is so hard to know for sure. Yes i will keep daily journaling. Thank you so much!!

[shurico]

Aug 26

8am - woke up, ativan 0.5, neck pain, feeling tired, slight anxiety

8.50am - scalp and skull hurts, at the top of my head and the back

9.15am - excedrin migraine (the real one

10.40am - slight nausea

11am - lyrica 75

1pm - feeling shaky

1.30pm - solpadeine

2pm - dramamine for nausea, nausea more intense, feeling agitated

3pm - shakying, very agitated, took 2 capsule lavender oil, problems concentrating when driving, cannot type easily

4pm - sleepy

5 pm - nausea again

7pm - amitrip 12.5

7.30pm - bad nausea

8 pm - ativan 0.5mg

8.30pm - solpadeine

9pm - cymbalta 30, nausea is slightly better

11 pm - lyrica 150

No headache today and much less neck pain but bad nausea and jittery agitated after lunch

[Altostrata]

4 minutes ago, shurico said:

untill june i was taking 4 drugs and did not have nausea. I think it something to do with cymbalta

 

According to your signature, you increased the Cymbalta dose in early June, then added amitriptyline later. As explained earlier, Cymbalta has a bad reaction with amitriptyline and possibly other drugs.

 

You have also been taking your drugs in batches and inconsistently. We cannot do anything right away, we have to see your baseline symptom pattern from taking your drugs regularly. It appears some of the adverse effects are settling down.

[shurico]

Or another thing that might cause this nausea can be lyrica tolerance? Or the fact that i was on a higher dose when i ct cymbalta then i went down? I was not on higher doses for long though…

[Altostrata]

Have you reviewed potential adverse effects for each of your drugs? Does solpadeine sometimes cause nausea?

[shurico]

11 hours ago, Altostrata said:

 

According to your signature, you increased the Cymbalta dose in early June, then added amitriptyline later. As explained earlier, Cymbalta has a bad reaction with amitriptyline and possibly other drugs.

 

You have also been taking your drugs in batches and inconsistently. We cannot do anything right away, we have to see your baseline symptom pattern from taking your drugs regularly. It appears some of the adverse effects are settling down.

I will update my signature with more exact dates. That is right, there is nothing we can do until we figure things out.

4 hours ago, Altostrata said:

 

Have you reviewed potential adverse effects for each of your drugs? Does solpadeine sometimes cause nausea?

 

Most can give you nausea - cymbalta, lyrica and I see solpadeine also. 
 

 

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Possible Side Effects of Solpadeine Max

Solpadeine Max comes with a range of potential side effects including constipation, nausea, vomiting, dry mouth, dizziness, sweating, itching, skin rash, difficulty passing urine and drowsiness. Everyone is unique and as a result you could experience one of these symptoms, a number of these symptoms or none of them. If you have any questions about using Solpadeine Max, discuss them with your GP or local Pharmacist.

Solpadeine Addiction

Solpadeine Max contains Paracetamol and Codeine in order to provide effective pain relief. When taken for an extended period, you could become addicted to this product. People who have used this product for longer than three days have experienced withdrawal symptoms once they have stopped taking it.

Solpadeine is designed to be used for short-term pain relief and should be used for no longer than a 3-day period unless advised by a health professional. Seek advice from your GP if you are concerned about the addictive nature of Solpadeine Max.
 

now i am even more concerned. Solpadeine was given to me by neurologist, she said to stop ibuprofen for headaches and take solpadeine. Can i be addicted to it? I have been taking as adviced - two at once for pain. But as I was having daily headache I took them daily not knowing it is not okay. Plus it s an over the counter med :(((

i would have to taper this also. Can i start now? And how?

[shurico]

Aug 27

8.20 am - woke up, ativan 0.5, slept well as usual. I have trouble getting up in the morning especially if it has to be early. When I wake up I feel tired, groggy, my body feels heavy

9.20 - legs feel shaky, some anxiety especially after smoking

9.40 - nausea. Solpadeine

10 - I have no appetite. I usually eat in the evening.

10.30 - going for a walk with the kids. Ate a banana.

11 - lyrica 75

1 - feeling shaky

1.45 - feeling agitated, an inner vibration, sweating exccesively. The shakiness and agitation is obviously from lyrica, i have not taken anything since and the pattern shows after 2-3 hours side effects start. No more nausea

4 - went shopping, felt jittery all the time. 

6.40 - no headache (only slightly now) or neck pain untill now today. Feel wiped out, body is heavy and still jittery. Solpadeine

7.30 -  jitteriness went away, took 12.5 amitriptyline

8.15 pm- ativan 0.5

8.30 pm - nausea, feeling tired, legs and back hurt. Slight pain in the back of my head and neck

9pm - cymbalta 30

11pm - lyrica 150

[Altostrata]

13 hours ago, shurico said:

Most can give you nausea - cymbalta, lyrica and I see solpadeine also. 

 

After what drug change did the nausea appear?

 

How long have you been taking solpadeine twice a day? If you become dependent on it, we cannot help you taper it. We do not deal with addictive drugs.

[shurico]

12 hours ago, Altostrata said:

 

After what drug change did the nausea appear?

 

How long have you been taking solpadeine twice a day? If you become dependent on it, we cannot help you taper it. We do not deal with addictive drugs.

After I reinstated cymbalta I started having nausea. After going up to 50 in about two weeks it started on and off. I noticed it is something different every week, once it was bad neck pain, once it was bad nausea ( nausea was worse last wave), once anxiety (only had one week of anxiety in july), and so on they repeat.

 

i have been taking solpadeine for quite some time, months. I will be taking less and less. I did have weeks when i did not take it and was fine.

 

i have no words of appreciation for you help!! Thank u so much!!

 

 

[Altostrata]

Does smoking make you feel nauseous?

[shurico]

I did not notice that. I smoke the same everyday and somedays have no nausea, some a little and some more.

[shurico]

Aug 28

8 - woke up, took 0.5 ativan. Neck pain and pain behind the head

8.30 - solpadeine (took 1/4 less that usually)

9.20 - difuze headache and neck pain. Headache feel like i have a heavy rock on my head

10 - had a drink with electrolytes

10.40 - feeling ok, no headache, slight pain at the back of my head

11 - lyrica 75, no headache

12.30 pm - starting to feel jittery and shaky, clumsy, dry mouth, very thirsty

3pm - not so jittery and shaky as last couple of days, slight headache at the back of my head and neck

4pm - drank electrolytes, feeling ok

5.45pm - slight anxiety, still a little jittery

6pm - slight nausea and pain at the back of my head

6.30 - ginger chews and solpadeine (a quarter less than usual)

7.30 - amitriptyline 12.5

8-0.5 ativan

9-cymbalta 30

9.30 - very sleepy, feeling very tired

11-lyrica 150

Fell asleep right after i took lyrica, i was zombie sleepy from 9pm

 

 

Aug 29

8.20 - slept well, woke up tired, groggy and legs hurts, ativan 0.5

9 - magnesium taurate and solpadeine

11 - feeling spaced out/high like, took 75mg lyrica

12.39 - omega

1 pm - dry mouth, thirsty

2pm - dizzy like spaced out, excessive sweating

2.30 - sleepy, napped an hour 

4- woke up spaced out, feeling tired and beat up, solpadeine and drink with electrolytes

7-12.5 amitrptiline

8-ativan 0.5. Headache on top of my head

9-cymbalta 30

11-lyrica 75, slight pain in the back of my head

Actually had a pretty good evening, felt almost normal

 

 

[Altostrata]

Please add the dosage to each drug dose in your daily notes. Thank you.

[shurico]

Aug 30

8am - woke up, slept well, feeling groggy tired, took ativan 0.5mg. Pain in the back of the neck. Everyday I wake up unmotivated and emotionless

10am - pain still at the back of my neck

10.40am - solpadeine (one half)

11am - lyrica 75mg

12pm - feeling agitated, restless

2pm - slight anxiety after smoking, feeling wierd, restless

4pm - some anxiety and feeling jittery, took magnesium taurate 1000mg

5pm - feeling a bit better

7pm - amitriptyline 12.5mg

7.40pm - mild nausea, feeling tired

8pm - 0.5mg ativan

9.30pm - cymbalta 30mg, still very nauseous

11pm-lyrica 150mg
 

this agitation that starts at 1-2 is new, at first I thought it is a side effects from lyrica but I did not feel this before from Lyrica. It was just clumsiness and dizziness. So I believe it is WD from cymbalta. The nausea started after reinstating cymbalta too. It is on and off though, not constant. 

[shurico]

Aug 31

7.45 - woke up, feeling groggy

8 - ativan 0.5mg, neck pain and back pain

8.30 - solpadeine (half)

11 - lyrica 75mg

12 - nausea bad, took ginger chews

1pm - nausea better, no jitters

1.30pm - slight anxiety, slight nausea

2.30pm - feeling a bit better. Magnezium

3.30pm - my stomach hurts. Took nexium. Anxiety in my gut - that is usually where I feel it.

6.30pm - still anxious, especially after smoking

7pm - amitriptyline 12.5mg

7.10pm - solpadeine (half)

7.30pm - no more anxiety, feeling tired

8pm - ativan 0.5mg

9.15pm - cymbalta 30mg

11pm - lyrica 150
felt anxious for the most second half of the day.

like I said, i have noticed the symptoms come in waves and last one week or a bit more. It s neck and head pain, nausea and anxiety. The second part of the daily I am usually fatigued. I have not been stable for a long time, every since I switched to effexor in december 2023.  
 

do you think maybe going up on cymbalta 1-2mg would help? Or maybe these are side effects from cymbalta? Although I was ok on cymbalta before, maybe since reinstating my body does not tolerate it?

[shurico]

I tried updating my signature with exact dates and remember something I did not write about Lyrica. I believe this is the reason for the nausea, anxiety. When I went CT on cymbalta the dr increased lyrica (to take over the anxiety she said!!) after staying on the increased lyrica for a couple of months i went down quite a lot after i reinstated cymbalta. Here is a timeline with whatever dates I remember. My brain is totally fried!

 

April 1 2023 - went down to 30mg cymbalta as headaches persisted. Increased lyrica from 75 am and 150 pm to 150am and 150pm

April 16 2023 - went from 30 to zero cymbalta, increased lyrica to 150am to 225pm

April 29, 2023 - reinstate Cymbalta at 30 mg

May 12 2023 : I increased to Cymbalta 50mg because withdrawl still persisted but the increase was rough on my body.

May 20-27 2023 (some day during that week) - went down by one lyrica pill so down  to 150am and 150pm

June 9th 2023 - went down to cymbalta 30mg

June 10th 2023  added 12.5 amitriptyline

I still take 1mg Ativan, this remained unchanged

Between may 27 and june 16 (i do not remember when - i believe beginning of june) - i went down again on lyrica 75mg am and 150mg pm (back to the dose I was taking before cymbalta CT)

[shurico]

Hello Altostrata, I posted on the FB group Lyrica Survivors and they adviced to dose 3 times a day equal doses, instead of a bigger dose at nighttime. I hope you do not mind I asked them. What do you think? I would have to redo my schedule.

[shurico]

September 1

7.30 - woke up, slept well, do not feel as groggy, less neck pain. I wake every morning with a dry mouth which stays like that for most of the day, gets worse after lyrica

8 am - ativan 0.5mg

10am - feeling ok, no headaches and some neck pain. Very hungry, yesterday i was hungry and felt like eating all day. 

11 - lyrica 75mg, feeling ok

1 pm - slight nausea

4pm - feeling ok, slight headache

7.20pm - amitriptyline 12.5

8.15pm - ativan 0.5

9 - cymbalta 30

11 - lyrica 150

Today i had no nausea and no anxiety.
 

since taking my meds at exact times the headache definetly got better, almost totally gone. 

[Altostrata]

On 8/31/2023 at 1:21 AM, shurico said:

So I believe it is WD from cymbalta.

 

It is unlikely that any of your symptoms are withdrawal from Cymbalta.

 

Most likely, they are from the batch of drugs you take all day long, and from taking your drugs irregularly.

 

Have you reviewed potential adverse effect from each of your drugs, particularly solpadeine?

 

6 hours ago, shurico said:

September 1

7.30 - woke up, slept well, do not feel as groggy, less neck pain. I wake every morning with a dry mouth which stays like that for most of the day, gets worse after lyrica

8 am - ativan 0.5mg

10am - feeling ok, no headaches and some neck pain. Very hungry, yesterday i was hungry and felt like eating all day. 

11 - lyrica 75mg, feeling ok

1 pm - slight nausea

4pm - feeling ok, slight headache

7.20pm - amitriptyline 12.5

8.15pm - ativan 0.5

9 - cymbalta 30

11 - lyrica 150

Today i had no nausea and no anxiety.

 

Did take no solpadeine September 1?

 

6 hours ago, shurico said:

since taking my meds at exact times the headache definetly got better, almost totally gone. 

 

Good to hear.

 

12 hours ago, shurico said:

Hello Altostrata, I posted on the FB group Lyrica Survivors and they adviced to dose 3 times a day equal doses, instead of a bigger dose at nighttime. I hope you do not mind I asked them. What do you think? I would have to redo my schedule.

 

You're taking a bunch of other "brakes", and only now stabilizing on your current drug schedule. I would not change anything now. I see no reason to change the Lyrica dosing, your schedule is complicated enough.

 

 

[shurico]

16 hours ago, Altostrata said:

It is unlikely that any of your symptoms are withdrawal from Cymbalta.

 

Most likely, they are from the batch of drugs you take all day long, and from taking your drugs irregularly.

 

Have you reviewed potential adverse effect from each of your drugs, particularly solpadeine?

What about the neck pain/burn, is that not cymbalta wd? It started 3 days after CT, got a little better after I reinstated but did not go away. Today, months later I still have it but not as bad.

 

what do you by batch? That i take many meds a day? Or that I take them together? Like in the evening…even though they are an hour apart.

 

yes I did take solpadeine sep 1, like usual, sorry I don t know how i missed journaling that.

16 hours ago, Altostrata said:

g a bunch of other "brakes", and only now stabilizing on your current drug schedule. I would not change anything now. I see no reason to change the Lyrica dosing, your schedule is complicated enoug

Yes, you are so right! My schedule is complicated enough and I do not feel withdrawal before i have to take the meds.

[shurico]

Thank you so much for taking the time of your day to help me out! I definetly feel the changes. Today was another recent day, besides some neck pain/burn and an overall feeling drugged feeling (i still have tension in my head most of the time but better then headaches!) which is also everyday mostly. I will post my journal too.

[shurico]

Sep 2 - slept well as usual

8.20 - woke up, took ativan 0.5

9 - solpadeine (only half), burning neck pain and at the base of the skull

11 - ate and took lyrica 75

1 - sweating, feeling ok, dry mouth

3.30 pm - slight headache, head tension, stiff neck on and off (it burns when i strech my head down, the neck in the back burns)

3.30 - solpadeine half

7 - amitriptyline 12.5

8 - ativan 0.5mg

9-cymbalta

11- lyrica 150

[Altostrata]

Yes, you take many drugs. It's quite the batch.

 

Good to see you're stabilizing, though still experiencing drug-related symptoms. I cannot tell what the burning sensation is, you're taking too many drugs and have made too many changes. When we can see a symptom baseline, you might start tapering one of your drugs.

 

Please include the dosages of your drugs in your daily notes.

[shurico]

Sep 3

8.20 - woke up, took ativan 0.5mg

9.30 - took solpadeine (half)

10am - slight nausea, took ginger chews

2pm - feeling, slight nausea on and off. Some head tension and pain in the back of my head

4pm - slight anxiety, bad gut feeling

4.30pm - solpadeine (half)

7pm - amitriptyline 12.5

7.20pm - head pressure, tension in the temples

8- ativan 0.5

9 - cymbalta 30mg, pain in the back of the head and at the neck ( didn t have this pain for about a week)

11-lyrica 150

 

Sep 4

8 - woke up, feeling neck pain coming on, ativan 0.5

9.30 - solpadeine (half), headache is back, burning at the back of my head

11 - lyrica 75

12 - pain in the back of my worse, worst then the past week

2pm - sweating, bad gut feeling, pain in the back of my head and neck persists

3.40 - pain in the back of the head is gone, slight anxiety, gut feeling, sweating

5.30 - solpadeine (half), pain in the neck

18 - feels like some metal claws are squeezing my head

7.20 - amitriptyline 12.5

8 - ativan 0.5mg, pain in the neck

9- cymbalta 30mg, slight nausea, took ginger chews

11 - lyrica 150

[shurico]

22 hours ago, Altostrata said:

 

Good to see you're stabilizing, though still experiencing drug-related symptoms. I cannot tell what the burning sensation is, you're taking too many drugs and have made too many changes. When we can see a symptom baseline, you might start tapering one of your drugs.

Yes, I can really say the last few days have been better but still experiencing symptoms as you can see but honestly I am so used to feeling like crap that this is just pure happiness! I have also been feeling a bit more normalish, small glitches of motivation or joy…very small but better than totally numb.

i really cannot start tapering, at least knowing i am reducing something will make me feel better. I was thinking about micro tapering every couple of days instead of making bigger cuts, especially with lyrica since it s water titration.

 

Thank you again for you help!