Mocha Mom: Introduction

[MochaMom]

Before starting my history below, I just want to say thank you to everyone. You've given me hope. I only just signed up. I found your site about two months ago. I decided to sign up because I'm starting to see my psychologist and wanted to have something in hand for her, and decided I might as well use that info on here, too, and see what people have to say.

Early 1990s (?): On Prozac for about a year. Doseage?

2009: Started Wellbutrin and Clonazapam (Clon) (doseages?). Therapist told me I could just take the Clon “as needed.” But, Clon needs to be taken consistently every day. I was having suicidal ideation and self-harm compulsions.

2015: I ended up in the pysch ward after trying to drive into a tree. They took me off Wellbutrin and put me on 60 mg Cymbalta. Tapered me off Clon - I was put on a minimal maintenance dose. Found a new psychologist and started seeing a psychiatrist.

2017: GABApentin was added to my regimen because of pain from adenomyosis and endometriosis. I eventually had surgery for those two issues in 2018.

2018: Tapered off of the Clon entirely.

2019: Tapered off of the GABApentin entirely.

Nov. 2022: I started getting vivid, emotional nightmares. I wondered if it was the Cymbalta. After researching, found out I had been experiencing the following side effects: chronic insomnia, hand tremors, night sweats, muscle cramps, lack of concentration, memory issues, and the vivid and emotional nightmares. For years, I have had High Blood Pressure and high cholesterol as well as testing positive for pre-Diabetes. Cymbalta can affect BP (low AND high), cholesterol, and can cause Diabetes (see here: https://www.ehealthme.com/ds/cymbalta/high-cholesterol/; and here: https://www.verywellmind.com/duloxetine-cymbalta-1066950).

Quote from the first link (I have worked as a journalist, as well as a copyeditor/proofreader and managing editor for peer-reviewed scientific/research journals, so have a pretty good handle on doing my own research):

"High cholesterol is found among people who take Cymbalta, especially for people who are female, 50-59 old, have been taking the drug for 2 - 5 years. The phase IV clinical study analyzes which people take Cymbalta and have high cholesterol. It is created by eHealthMe based on reports of 141,667 people who have side effects when taking Cymbalta from the FDA, and is updated regularly. You can use the study as a second opinion to make health care decisions. Phase IV trials are used to detect adverse drug outcomes and monitor drug effectiveness in the real world. With medical big data and AI algorithms, eHealthMe is running millions of phase IV trials and makes the results available to the public. Our original studies have been referenced on 600+ medical publications including The Lancet, Mayo Clinic Proceedings, and Nature."

Feb. 27: Started working with psychiatrist to taper off Cymbalta. Decreased from 60 mg to 40 mg (experienced headaches, brain zaps, diarrhea, dizziness, lightheadedness, no control over intake of food, extremely irritability and anger).

March 20: At my psychiatrist’s guidance, decreased Cymbalta from 40 mg to 20 mg.

April 1: Per my psychiatrist’s direction, decreased Cymbalta from 20 mg/day to 20 mg every other day. The side effects became severe, so broke open pills and took 10 mg/day in apple sauce instead of 20 mg every other day.

May 8: 5 mg/day.

May 23: Completely off Cymbalta.

Oct. 2023: The insomnia, nightmares, night sweats, anger/irritability, uncontrollable eating are gone. Still have minor hand tremor, restlessness, agitation, diarrhea no matter what’s eaten, fatigued, memory/focus/concentration not yet normal. Sometimes emotions out of proportion to what is happening in the moment. At other times, emotions seem to be tamped down somehow (blunting? I’m wondering if I’m subconsciously protecting myself because of PTSD from Clonazapam suicidal episode). Happiness and joy are two emotions that I do not feel often. But I am slowly seeing improvement overall, so I have hope.

[Altostrata]

Welcome, @MochaMom

 

On 10/4/2023 at 12:29 PM, MochaMom said:

Oct. 2023: The insomnia, nightmares, night sweats, anger/irritability, uncontrollable eating are gone. Still have minor hand tremor, restlessness, agitation, diarrhea no matter what’s eaten, fatigued, memory/focus/concentration not yet normal. Sometimes emotions out of proportion to what is happening in the moment. At other times, emotions seem to be tamped down somehow (blunting? I’m wondering if I’m subconsciously protecting myself because of PTSD from Clonazapam suicidal episode). Happiness and joy are two emotions that I do not feel often. But I am slowly seeing improvement overall, so I have hope.

 

It appears you have had substantial gradual recovery from the adverse effects of Cymbalta and withdrawal syndrome. This is a good sign, you should see more very gradual improvement. This can be very slow, be patient!

 

How's your blood pressure, etc.?

 

An emotional anesthesia is very common after going off psychiatric drugs. This is likely an aftereffect of the drug influence and also very slowly fades.

 

Regular gentle exercise and a regular sleep schedule can help. Many people find fish oil and magnesium supplements helpful, see

 

https://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/36-king-of-supplements-omega-3-fatty-acids-fish-oil/

 

https://survivingantidepressants.org/topic/15483-magnesium-natures-calcium-channel-blocker/

 

You might try a little bit of one at a time to see how it affects you. Please let us know how you’re doing.

[MochaMom]

Thank you for your kind words and advice. I have also picked up a mindfulness/meditation app that is helping. The first year is free, but I won't mention its name here as I'm not sure that's allowed.

 

Ritva

[Altostrata]

If you like it, you might post about it in