Pam Posted January 30, 2016 Share Posted January 30, 2016 My husband has taken Cymbalta since 2005. We just started a 10% taper a few days ago. How long should we wait until the next taper? Thanks Link to comment
Moderator brassmonkey Posted January 30, 2016 Moderator Share Posted January 30, 2016 Hi Pam-- welcome to the group. I'm so glad your helping your husband like this, having this type of support will be so helpful to him. Our recommendation as a starting point is 4 weeks. I personally have been doing 6, that's just whats been working for me. After four weeks you should evaluate how he's feeling and go from there. It is always better to error on the side of caution and go slower. Here's our thread on tapering: Tips for tapering off Cymbalta (duloxetine) Would you please add a signature block with your husbands history, it will really help us to help the two of you. Please put your withdrawal history in your signature 20 years on Paxil starting at 20mg and working up to 40mg. Sept 2011 started 10% every 6 weeks taper (2.5% every week for 4 weeks then hold for 2 additional weeks), currently at 7.9mg. Oct 2011 CTed 15oz vodka a night, to only drinking 2 beers most nights, totally sober Feb 2013. Since I wrote this I have continued to decrease my dose by 10% every 6 weeks (2.5% every week for 4 weeks and then hold for an additional 2 weeks). I added in an extra 6 week hold when I hit 10mg to let things settle out even more. When I hit 3mgpw it became hard to split the drop into 4 parts so I switched to dropping 1mgpw (pill weight) every week for 3 weeks and then holding for another 3 weeks. The 3 + 3 schedule turned out to be too harsh so I cut back to dropping 1mgpw every 4 weeks which is working better. Final Dose 0.016mg. Current dose 0.000mg 04-15-2017 "It's also important not to become angry, no matter how difficult life is, because you can loose all hope if you can't laugh at yourself and at life in general." Stephen Hawking Link to comment
Moderator Emeritus KarenB Posted January 30, 2016 Moderator Emeritus Share Posted January 30, 2016 Welcome Pam, As well as the links Brass provided, you may like to read Why taper by 10% of your dosage? Has your husband been taking any other drugs or done any other tapers/attempts at tapering? It's nice to meet you, Karen 2010 Fluoxetine 20mg. 2011 Escitalopram 20mg. 2013 Tapered badly and destabilised CNS. Effexor 150mg. 2015 Begin using info at SurvivingAntidepressants. Cut 10% - bad w/d 2 months, held 1 month. Micro-tapering: four weekly 0.4% cuts, hold 4 weeks (struggling with symptoms). 8 month hold. 2017 Micro-tapering: four weekly 1% cuts, hold 4 weeks (symptoms almost non-existent). 2020 Still micro-tapering. Just over 2/3 of the way off effexor. Minimal symptoms, - and sleeping well. Supplements: Fish oil, vitamin C, iron, oat-straw tea, nettle tea. 2023 December - Now on 5 micro-beads Effexor. Minimal symptoms but much more time needed between drops. Symptoms begin to increase. 2024 April - Updosed to 6 microbeads - immediate increase in symptoms for 4 days. Decreased to 5 microbeads. 'The possibility of renewal exists so long as life exists.' Dr Gabor Mate. Link to comment
Pam Posted February 1, 2016 Author Share Posted February 1, 2016 Thanks so much for your help! Two years ago he accidentally ran out due to his MD being slow at getting to the refill and we went through a week of hell. We had no idea what was really going on and that the withdrawals were a real problem. I think he had every symptom on the list. He also takes three other prescriptions for blood pressure, gerd, & urine flow. Should those be listed in the signature as well? He has done well so far with the 10% reduction, but this is only day 5. I have added vitamin D, tart cherry tablets, fish oil & a probiotic to hopefully help him stabilize. If he continues to do ok, we'll stay on that for a month at your suggestion. It's great having this support group since the MD's are not helpful with tapering. Thanks! Link to comment
Moderator Emeritus KarenB Posted February 1, 2016 Moderator Emeritus Share Posted February 1, 2016 You can add those into the signature block. It often takes 4 days for changes to register in the body, so keep making daily symptom notes. They are a real help when you need to evaluate things and make decisions. You may also like to add magnesium. Let us know how things go over the next wee while, Karen 2010 Fluoxetine 20mg. 2011 Escitalopram 20mg. 2013 Tapered badly and destabilised CNS. Effexor 150mg. 2015 Begin using info at SurvivingAntidepressants. Cut 10% - bad w/d 2 months, held 1 month. Micro-tapering: four weekly 0.4% cuts, hold 4 weeks (struggling with symptoms). 8 month hold. 2017 Micro-tapering: four weekly 1% cuts, hold 4 weeks (symptoms almost non-existent). 2020 Still micro-tapering. Just over 2/3 of the way off effexor. Minimal symptoms, - and sleeping well. Supplements: Fish oil, vitamin C, iron, oat-straw tea, nettle tea. 2023 December - Now on 5 micro-beads Effexor. Minimal symptoms but much more time needed between drops. Symptoms begin to increase. 2024 April - Updosed to 6 microbeads - immediate increase in symptoms for 4 days. Decreased to 5 microbeads. 'The possibility of renewal exists so long as life exists.' Dr Gabor Mate. Link to comment
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