Bruinsfan617 Cymbalta poop out - changing to Zoloft

[Bruinsfan617]

Hello all,

 

My name is Eric, I am a 26 year old male from Boston living in Texas.  I have a wonderful fiance whom will be marrying me in 8 months, and 2 beautiful scottish terriers in a home north of Dallas.

Approximately 5 years ago, I was diagnosed with Generalized Anxiety Disorder after a panic attack.  I was living in a crummy part of Boston with 3 people I didn't like, and I had suffered a panic attack from intense stomach pains - something I am particularly sensitive about.  I slept on the bathroom floor that whole night, praying I would not vomit.

The next morning, my stomach pain went away - but that underlying fear from last night did not; the fight or flight response in my brain would not go away.  This had never happened to be beofre - I've had minor panic attacks from stress, but those always subsided once the panic attack ended.  Never before did I have persistent anxiety from the moment I woke up to the very end of the day.  I couldn't stand even a week of feeling that way - so I sought help.

Long background story short, I sought a therapist, NP to be exact, who put me on Cymbalta.  We started at 30 mg for one week, then 60 mg the next week.  Folks, it was absolutely awful going onto cymbalta - insomnia, increased anxiety, depression, lack of appetite - I felt like I was dying, and could not stop crying the whole week.
Once the 60 mg kicked in, I started to feel better.  Once I started a new routine, changed my lifestyle to eat healthy, and exercise frequently, I felt much better. Heck, I became a totally different person confident, happy, and willing to takes chances with my life where previous anxiety held me back.

Here I am 5 years later, a huge journey from 21 years old, in college, and trying to find my purpose in life for a career.  I made it through rough employment stretches out of college, relocation multiple times, entering surviving, and withdrawing from law school after 1 year, and finding a career I love.  

 

That is, until the anxiety came back.

It was something stressful at work that triggered my anxiety - which lead to my achilles heel of constantly worrying with "what if" statements.  It go so bad, I went to my primary care doctor, and was told to try 90mg of cymbalta before trying to switch.  So i did that, and in addition to that, I began to exercise vigoursly again - which I stopped doing 2 years ago due to budgetary constraints for a gym membership & dedication to my job.  This seemed to do the trick after a few weeks, and I made it all the way to September feeling almost 100% better.  Well, more life stresses occurred - and I felt like I was back to square one again.  September was hard, grueling and unforgiving on my anxiety, which only got worse thinking what i did in the past must not be working - will I stuck feeling like this forever?

 

At this point, I simply began associating my anxiety elevations with events that occurred - like being bored on weekends is a trigger, as well as my job performance.  Exercise just wasn't as fun & exciting as it was before, and my responsibilities to my job & family prevent me from going the 1-2 hours for 5 days a week as i used to do.

I began seeing a Psychiatrist in early October, who recommended I go up to 120 mg of Cymbalta before trying a new AD, and to seek a therapist for CBT-type therapy.  In the meantime, I would have access to /5 mg of ativan for panic attacks.

Well needless to say, the 120mg of Cymbalta did not work - in fact, it made my anxiety worse.  Probably too much of the drug, as cymbalta tended to have a stimulating effect when it was working.  I tried a therapist out for the month - but we simply didnt connect enough.

Come November, I said enough was enough for Cymbalta - and began a cross taper off Cymbalta & onto Zoloft.  Of course, this timing is mid November, which lines up with 2 very stressful holidays - Thanksgiving & Christmas.  Left with little choices, I decided this would be the path I take to recovery.

Thus far?  it's had ups & downs.  120 mg to 90 mg of cymbalta was paired with 50 mg of zoloft.  No real issues besdies mild gastro issues with Zoloft.

once i dropped from 90 mg to 60 mg of Cymbalta?  far more anxiety, headaches, depression - it was bad.  I felt much better the 3rd week, when I began taking 100mg of Zoloft.  This ultimately did not last, as I felt the drug leveling out during my struggles with work stress & the stillness/boredom of the weekend.

As of now, I am down to 30mg of Cymbalta, and up to 125 mg on the Zoloft.  I felt much better the 1st week on this level - but due to christmas stresses, weekend triggers, and who knows what else - I simply have gone from high to low.  As long as I keep myself busy, I seem to be fine - but my axiety gets the best of me when I am bored & not oligated with a task in front of me.

My next drop is being debated between 30 mg to 20 mg of Cymbalta - I am unsure about going for another 25 mg on zoloft will occur.

What I know is - I am afraid nothing will work.  Alot of message boards on this topic are filled with gloom and doom about their situations.  I struggle to remain hopeful, but I am afraid to put my hope out there for fear of failure.  From an objective perspective, it would seem my situation is a case of Cymbalta poop out, with a bumpy transition off of Cymbalta & onto Zoloft.  When the Zoloft worked, it felt amazing - I felt like myself again.  I just get tired of losing that feeling everytime I have more anxiety.  Ativan helps, but I try not to use it as much as possible, for fear of building a tolerance.

 

Through CBT, I am better able to identify my negative thought patterns, and counter them with a more rational approach.  However, I still struggle with my lack of toleration for uncertainty, and lack of answers to my questions about all of this.

I thank you all who took the time to read this, and I hope your insight can be bring me some hope & clarity.

-Eric

 

Edited December 28, 2017 by Altostrata
added screen name to title

[Altostrata]

Welcome, bruinsfan.

 

On 12/26/2017 at 10:26 AM, Bruinsfan617 said:

Through CBT, I am better able to identify my negative thought patterns, and counter them with a more rational approach.  However, I still struggle with my lack of toleration for uncertainty, and lack of answers to my questions about all of this.

 

^It seems you have identified the source of your anxiety.

 

If you're looking for answers about psychiatric drugs, there aren't any. The field is riddled with hype and misinformation. Very few doctors of any type are informed about adverse effects or how to go off the drugs. The cross-tapering method you're using to switch to Zoloft is fairly enlightened.

 

I cannot tell you when or if Zoloft is going to make you feel amazing again. You will be lucky not to get withdrawal from the Cymbalta. Please note the long-term effect of these drugs is emotional anesthesia, you might not feel a lift from any of them again.

 

This is a site for going off drugs. How may we help you?

 

PS 120mg Cymbalta is a ridiculously huge dosage; 150mg Zoloft is getting up there, too.

[Bruinsfan617]

Thank you for your reply.

 

43 minutes ago, Altostrata said:

 

 

I cannot tell you when or if Zoloft is going to make you feel amazing again. You will be lucky not to get withdrawal from the Cymbalta. Please note the long-term effect of these drugs is emotional anesthesia, you might not feel a lift from any of them again.

 

 

I'm fairly certain that I am going through some form of withdrawal with Cymbalta.  Unfortunately, like you stated before this, there are no answers about psychiatric drugs.  So naturally, my own anxiety about the uncertainty of all of this is likely the major cause of my issues.  I just hope once the cymbalta is out of my system, and a level dose of Zoloft is achieved, I can begin to feel normal again - without excessive anxiety.

 

47 minutes ago, Altostrata said:

 

This is a site for going off drugs. How may we help you?

 

 

I'm curious about others experiences with both Cymbalta & Zoloft, similar experiences with cross-tapers, and ultimately, insight as to when one gets off of anti-depressants.

 

The only real effects I'm feeling each time I reduce Cymbalta is increased anxiety - the uncontrollable fight or flight response over stresses, and inability to remain idle.

 

  Needless to say, I feel like I'll have to be on some kind of medication for the rest of my life due to my anxiety + family history of anxiety & avoidance is such that this is a genetic issue.

 

51 minutes ago, Altostrata said:

 

 

PS 120mg Cymbalta is a ridiculously huge dosage; 150mg Zoloft is getting up there, too.

 

I agree, I'm fairly certain the 120 mg of Cymbalta only made me more anxious over every little thing.

Thanks again for the reply & insight.

 

[Altostrata]

Swapping Cymbalta for Zoloft is an unusual choice. From what you've reported, my confidence in that psychiatrist is low.

[Daybyday]

I recommend you join the Facebook site Cymbalta Hurts Worse. They taught me how to taper Cymbalta extremely gradually. It is imperative that you do. However, I’m much like you—I have no resilience to stress. The group I mentioned does not recommend bridging. If you do join, know that the moderators are militant about certain holistic protocols, such as that of the psychiatrist turned holistic practitioner Kelly Brogan (who recommends coffee enemas; wrote the book Mind if Your Own). Take what you can from the group and keep your critical-thinking hat on. 

 

Finally, I feel for you. We’re in the same sh*tty club. I don’t know how to get out of it to well-adjustedsville. 

 

My next step is to try neurofeedback to remodel my brain circuits. I’m desperate. 

-N