Tacoma16: Quit 120mg cymbalta cold turkey

[Tacoma16]

25yr old male on 120mg of cymbalta to treat depression, I was tired of insomnia,feeling numb and many other side effects and decided to stop. Live in a rural area and access to mental healthcare without being admitted is minimal without booking weeks in advance. Decided to try to taper myself and went to 60mg 1 week ago and withdrawal symptoms were severe so next day I Decided that I would treat this as I did a cigarette addiction and quit cold turkey to have severe withdrawal for a short time compared to less severe withdrawal for a longer period. I have bad flu like symptoms, terrible brain zaps worse than after weeks of mdma abuse when I was a teenager. Dizziness is bad and so is ringing in ears. It's been a week and symptom.s have gotten worse and not better, very hard to do my job (auto mechanic) and to look after my 3 children. How much longer could I expect these symptoms to last? I'm in a much worse state now than I ever was depressed and much worse than any other withdrawal I have been through. Wish I was better informed

[ShakeyJerr]

Hi Tacoma. I'm a newbie here like you. I'm sure a moderator will be by soon to guve you sime durection. But I just wanted to say hello, and to let you know you are not in this alone. This is a good community to get support from.

 

SJ

[Alice1]

hey T16.

Listen to me carefully .. If it's only been a week you're going to want to get back on and taper super slowly. BEFORE YOU GET BACK ON let the mods guide you on what to do. They'll be here shortly.

[Tacoma16]

Thabks for the replys, will there be longer lasting withdrawal effects without tapering? If I can fight through it without a taper that would be ideal for me, I've put enough of this poison into me and I would rather not continue to take any of it.

[ChessieCat]

Hi Tacoma and welcome to SA,

 

Thank you for completing your drug signature.  Have you taken any other psychiatric drugs prior to September 2016?  If yes, please include these in your signature.

 

I can understand your reluctance about going back on the drug, and many members here feel the same way.  However, the only known way to relieve withdrawal symptoms is to take the same drug, stabilise and then taper.

_________________

 

My own experience might help you to understand what these drugs can cause:

 

I attempted to drop my Pristiq dose by 50% - I went from 100mg to 50mg.  I got an upset stomach for about 3 days which I thought was a stomach bug.  I now know it was caused by withdrawal.  I had a very foggy head for 2 1/2 weeks and when I researched AD withdrawal I found SA.  By 3 weeks at the lower dose I couldn't type.  I am a professional typist so genuinely not being able to type alerted me to the fact that something was wrong.  When I joined SA it had been suggested that I updose.  After not being able to type I took additional Pristiq and within 4 hours my foggy head was clearing and I was able to type.  I had a benchmark so I know that it was not placebo.

 

After stabilising for a couple of months on 75mg I started tapering as per SA's recommendations.  I found that once my dose got lower the side effects lessened and I started to feel more like my old self.

 

I have since been tapering successfully with only very mild withdrawal symptoms.  I am now down to 26mg!!!

_________________

 

SA recommends a taper of no more than 10% of the previous dose followed by a hold of about 4 weeks which allows the brain to adapt to not getting as much of the drug.  I will give you some links to check out:

 

Why taper by 10% of my dosage?

About reinstating and stabilizing to reduce withdrawal symptoms

Dr Joseph Glenmullen's WD Symptoms Checklist

 

dr-david-healy-on-prolonged-antidepressant-withdrawal-syndrome-2009

 

These helped me to understand SA's recommendations:

 

Brain Remodelling

Video:  Healing From Antidepressants - Patterns of Recovery

 

You might also find these topics helpful:

 

How do you talk to a doctor about tapering and withdrawal?

What should I expect from my doctor about withdrawal symptoms?

 

This is your own Intro topic where you can ask questions and journal your progress.  If you click "Follow" top right you will be notified when someone responds.

[Alice1]

Everybody is different but yes. Cold turkey is terrible. I tapered over 6 weeks and I'm almost 8 months off and I'm pretty bad. I have to force myself to do everything . I chose to endure it though. I used to be a highly functional person. Now I'm barely functional. Doing what I can to promote healing which I have no doubt I'm healing it just doesn't feel like it yet. If you have support from your family (most importantly financial) then that's a very very good thing ,but if you're on your own and taking care of your children on your own then you need to carefully think this through. You were on the drugs for a short period but you went up and down a lot with a cold switch. PLEASE LISTEN CLOSELY TO WHAT THE MODS HAVE TO SAY !!! This is NOT like cigarettes.

[Tacoma16]

Well the past 2 days have been much better, still tired and have brain zaps but not as often, other symptoms have decreased 60-70% and I mentally haven't felt this well in a long time

[Alice1]

Maybe you'll get lucky and only have short mild symptoms. That would be so so awesome. Take care.

[ShakeyJerr]

That's awesome, Tacoma16! Maybe like Alice said, you'll have short mild symptoms. Keep us updated.

[Tacoma16]

Only symptoms left after 2 weeks are brain zaps right before bed and I am still very tired in the morning. I've been taking a multivitamin and fish oil to try and help get things back to normal

[Petunia]

I'm glad to hear you are feeling better Tacoma, hopefully, you will be lucky and this will be the end of it. Some people do get better quickly, especially after short term use. I wouldn't call 7 months short term, but its better than 7 years.

 

Please stay in touch and let us know how you are doing. If symptoms get worse again, please let us know, this pattern of feeling better then feeling worse is quite common with antidepressant withdrawal recovery.

 

I've got my fingers crossed that you are over the worst of it now

[Tacoma16]

Feeling much better now, Slight dizziness and brain zaps on occasion but not often also short temper but with a little patience I can get over it. I couldn't imagine someone who had never come off drugs before stopping these meds and getting through it without tapering and a lot of help. I feel better now than I did before I started taking the meds and definitely better than I did I was on them. I have been taking omega 3 supplements and multivitamins to try and help my body heal.

[Sherlockitty]

would love an update on how you are doing!!! such a trooper... i could not have done it CT. 

[Tacoma16]

Feeling back to normal now and have been for a while. Some depression has returned but is most likely due to life stresses that will hopefully get better in time. Thanks for the support