ConcernedWifey: Husband Cold Turkey off of Cymbalta & Risperdal

[ConcernedWifey]

I am posting this for my husband because he can no longer function well enough to work, type, and even live in general. My husband was diagnosed with Bipolar in 2010 by a GP he quit his meds and managed to do just fine. About a month and a half ago his new GP put him on Risperdal to help with his Bipolar 2. The medicine had been working just fine for a month, then his doctor put him on Cymbalta for Chronic Fatigue or Fibromyalgia. After 1 - 2 weeks he started having issues, at first it was just restlessness and an unusual feeling. The restlessness became so bad after about 4 days he couldn't sleep or lie down, he couldn't sit or stand still.

 

He started having arrhythmia's and went to the ER, they did tests and found nothing wrong. The doctor at the ER prescribed Xanax which made his symptoms 50 times worse. He was so bad he was rolling head over feet on the floor and bed. The next day he had to go back to the ER after not sleeping for over 24 hours and having sever anger. They sent a case worker in this time to dig deeper, after a billion questions they told him to quit Risperdal and Cymbalta cold turkey. He called his GP and the nurse refused to let him talk to his doctor, they said he had a schedule to uphold. A psychiatrist in the ER prescribed Tegretol and Klonopins. which just seem to make his drowsy, and have no balance.

 

It has been over a week and my husband has no mood but sadness every once in a while. He cries over crazy things like caramel cubes at the grocery store tonight. He does not smile or laugh and he was vibrant and full of life. He is a great musician and cares nothing about music or anything else for that matter. He has been working in construction for years, but today couldn't remember how to do the work he has been doing. He just sits and stares, and sometimes drools or sleeps all the time.

 

I am going out of my mind on how to figure out how to help him. He has started talk therapy and goes again next week, but tonight he told me he is just waiting for death. I have so many questions and no answers.

[Nadia]

ConcernedWifey... I am SO sorry for what the two of you are going through. My first reaction is I can't believe a GP feels qualified to diagnose bipolar disorder (what meds was he given for this originally and how did he quit them?)... and then, if I'm understanding correctly, a second GP feels qualified to diagnose fibromyalgia OR chronic fatigue?? And then the whirlwind of psychiatric meds. And then not answering your call??? You must be furious!! And desperate!

 

I'll leave it to someone more qualified than me to answer, but I just wanted to welcome you to the forum. I'm sure a moderator will answer you shortly (and probably ask you a whole lot more questions to get a more detailed picture).

[Altostrata]

Concerned --

 

Thank you for joining us. I'm sorry your husband is having such a bad time.

 

I agree with Nadia. I question the judgment of both doctors.

 

It sounds like your husband had a severe adverse reaction to Cymbalta. His doctor should have recognize this and taken him off the medication immediately.

 

However, he didn't have to cold-turkey the Risperdal at the same time, even if the diagnosis of Bipolar 2 is erroneous. It is likely that he is suffering from Risperdal withdrawal.

 

He's only been off Risperdal for a week? Going back on a half-dose may relieve symptoms. If it helps at all, you may wish to reinstate the full dose and taper much more slowly, by a fraction of a dose per month.

 

If I were you, I'd find a good doctor to help. Where in the US are you?

[ConcernedWifey]

ConcernedWifey... I am SO sorry for what the two of you are going through. My first reaction is I can't believe a GP feels qualified to diagnose bipolar disorder (what meds was he given for this originally and how did he quit them?)... and then, if I'm understanding correctly, a second GP feels qualified to diagnose fibromyalgia OR chronic fatigue?? And then the whirlwind of psychiatric meds. And then not answering your call??? You must be furious!! And desperate!

 

I'll leave it to someone more qualified than me to answer, but I just wanted to welcome you to the forum. I'm sure a moderator will answer you shortly (and probably ask you a whole lot more questions to get a more detailed picture).

Thank you so much Nadia!

 

Originally he was on Seroquel XR and Depakote, and he just stopped those cold turkey because we couldn't afford them when we lost our insurance. Yep, both were GP's.

 

I am furious and desperate. He doesn't seem to be improving to me at all, and I am starting to feel hopeless.

[ConcernedWifey]

Concerned --

 

Thank you for joining us. I'm sorry your husband is having such a bad time.

 

I agree with Nadia. I question the judgment of both doctors.

 

It sounds like your husband had a severe adverse reaction to Cymbalta. His doctor should have recognize this and taken him off the medication immediately.

 

However, he didn't have to cold-turkey the Risperdal at the same time, even if the diagnosis of Bipolar 2 is erroneous. It is likely that he is suffering from Risperdal withdrawal.

 

He's only been off Risperdal for a week? Going back on a half-dose may relieve symptoms. If it helps at all, you may wish to reinstate the full dose and taper much more slowly, by a fraction of a dose per month.

 

If I were you, I'd find a good doctor to help. Where in the US are you?

 

Thank you Alto.

 

Yes, I think Friday or today (Saturday) would have been one whole week off the Risperdal. I have tried to talk him into going back on a partial or full dose, and although I don't blame him, he is scared. He said he would rather just withdrawal from it then to ever take meds again. He is being as strong as possible for all of us.

 

The restlessness has subsided completely. Now he just wants to sleep all the time, has severe anxiety, is nauseous, sweats and gets cold easily, and shakes all the time. We are in southwestern Indiana. We are uninsured currently that is why we are having such a problem getting him into a good doctor.

[Altostrata]

It's a good sign the acute withdrawal symptoms have abated.

 

Well, he may be suffering withdrawal symptoms for many months. Going back on a half-dose and tapering systematically from there can save both of you a lot of problems.

 

You might try phoning some of the doctors here http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/988-recommended-doctors-therapists-or-clinics/#entry8604 such as Dr. Allen in Tennessee and Dr. Bransford in Minnesota and see if they can recommend any good doctors nearer to you.

 

Whatever you decide, you can find support here.

[ConcernedWifey]

He finally reached a breaking point this morning, and I told him how it was going to be. He took the Tramadol around 1:00 pm and at 4:00 pm he said he felt a little "normal" again.

 

I think it is going to take a bit for him to get back to normal, but it is s start at least. We are going to taper him off this time instead of quitting cold-turkey again and going through the same thing.

[Whatever]

Welcome to forum.

 

I would like to give you some information about Tramadol.

 

Tramadol has SNRI properties and is molecularly similiar to the antidepressant Effexor. I suspect that he felt normal after takiing Tramadol because of the antidepressant properities. Here is some information on Tramadol:

 

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tramadol

[Altostrata]

He finally reached a breaking point this morning, and I told him how it was going to be. He took the Tramadol around 1:00 pm and at 4:00 pm he said he felt a little "normal" again.

 

I think it is going to take a bit for him to get back to normal, but it is s start at least. We are going to taper him off this time instead of quitting cold-turkey again and going through the same thing.

 

When did Tramadol show up? Wasn't he on Risperdal?

[tezza]

I left Risperdal off mid September and stayed off for two weeks...I was not getting better...only worse. After two weeks off - October 1st I went back on and it took me four weeks, at least, to start feeling much better. Everyone is different, I hope he does ok. I understand your concern.

[Whatever]

He finally reached a breaking point this morning, and I told him how it was going to be. He took the Tramadol around 1:00 pm and at 4:00 pm he said he felt a little "normal" again.

 

Are you saying that you told him to take Tramadol?

[Altostrata]

Welcome to forum.

 

I would like to give you some information about Tramadol.

 

Tramadol has SNRI properties and is molecularly similiar to the antidepressant Effexor. I suspect that he felt normal after takiing Tramadol because of the antidepressant properities. Here is some information on Tramadol:

 

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tramadol

 

I would suspect it relieved Cymbalta withdrawal.

 

Still, I'm wondering about why a different drug has been introduced, and since he had an adverse reaction to Cymbalta, if another SNRI might also cause an adverse reaction.

[Adah]

Geez, the Cymbalta gave him Akathisia, it's that simple, and yet so few doctors even know what Akathisia is in the first place.

 

It's frightening how carelessly these medications are prescribed when it's obvious they have no idea what they do, including diagnosing the side effects as an exacerbation of the supposed illness.