Debb: tapering duloxetine / Cymbalta

[Debb]

I desperately want to be off this medicine but do not want to permanently damage myself in the process. How can I get off other than 1 bead a month. At this rate I will be dead and my quality of life sucks pretty much. Zombie, apathetic, no drive, sweating, clammy, ear ringing, memory sporadic,  just existing. 

I pull it together enough to babysit 2-3 times a week. That’s it. 

Can you advise?

i also take 5mg hydrocode x 4 a day since 2014 for DDD, 1mg lorazepam x 7 years for restless leg

blood pressure meds 

[Altostrata]

Welcome, Debb.

 

I moved your topic to the Introductions forum, to act as your Introductions topic.

 

How much Cymbalta are you taking, when did you start it? We need the same information about the other drugs. To help us out, follow these instructions Please put your drug and withdrawal history in your signature

 

Why are you tapering by 1 bead a month? How long have you been doing this? See Tips for tapering off Cymbalta (duloxetine)

 

Lorazepam for restless leg for 7 years? That is a strange use of lorazepam. It could be the lorazepam is contributing to your symptoms. Please keep daily notes on paper about your symptoms, when you take your drugs, and their dosages. Use a simple list format with time of day on the left and notation (symptom, drug and dosage) on the right.

 

Many people do better with fish oil and magnesium supplements, see
http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/36-king-of-supplements-omega-3-fatty-acids-fish-oil/

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

 

A lot of people find them helpful.  Magnesium in particular can resolve "restless legs". Try a little bit of one at a time to see how it affects you.

 

 

 

[Carmie]

Hi Deb, 

 

How are you doing?💚

[Debb]

I’m existing. Stopped tapering due to emotional swings. Stuck at 13mg and pretty much just feel bad all the time. 

How are you? Are you on Cymbalta?

[ChessieCat]

Hi Debb and welcome from me too,

 

Please create your drug signature using the following format.   Keep it simple.  NO diagnoses or symptoms please - thank you.

• details for last 2 years - dates, ALL drugs, doses
• summary for older than 2 years - just years and drug/s

Account Settings – Create or Edit a signature

 

 

I will provide some more information in the post.  This is your own introductions topic where your can ask questions about your own situation and journal your progress.

 

Edited March 3, 2019 by ChessieCat

[ChessieCat]

Many members find that the lower their dose gets the slower they need to go, by reducing less and/or hold for longer.  There also seem to be certain doses that a member can have trouble getting past.  The dose of these is different for different members.  Why taper paper: dose-occupancy curves

 

Here's some additional information which might help you to understand what is happening:

 

Recovery isn't linear it happens in a Windows and Waves Pattern

 

Withdrawal Normal Description

When we take a psychiatric drug, we are adding chemical/s to the brain.  The brain then has to change to adapt to getting the chemical/s.  It might have to change something to do with A and then once that change has been made it affects B so another change has to be made and so on down the line.  It is a chain reaction, a domino effect.

 

The same thing happens when we take the drug away.  That's why it's possible to experience such a vast array of withdrawal symptoms, and they can change, and be of different intensity.

 

are-we-there-yet-how-long-is-withdrawal-going-to-take

 

These explain it really well:

 

Video:  Healing From Antidepressants - Patterns of Recovery

 

On 8/31/2011 at 5:28 AM, Rhiannon said:

When we stop taking the drug, we have a brain that has designed itself so that it works in the presence of the drug; now it can't work properly without the drug because it's designed itself so that the drug is part of its chemistry and structure. It's like a plant that has grown on a trellis; you can't just yank out the trellis and expect the plant to be okay. When the drug is removed, the remodeling process has to take place in reverse. SO--it's not a matter of just getting the drug out of your system and moving on. If it were that simple, none of us would be here. It's a matter of, as I describe it, having to grow a new brain. I believe this growing-a-new-brain happens throughout the taper process if the taper is slow enough. (If it's too fast, then there's not a lot of time for actually rebalancing things, and basically the brain is just pedaling fast trying to keep us alive.) It also continues to happen, probably for longer than the symptoms actually last, throughout the time of recovery after we are completely off the drug, which is why recovery takes so long.

 

AND

 

On 12/4/2015 at 2:41 AM, apace41 said:

Basically- you have a building where the MAJOR steel structures are trying to be rebuilt at different times - ALL while people are coming and going in the building and attempting to work.

It would be like if the World Trade Center Towers hadn't completely fallen - but had crumbled inside in different places.. Imagine if you were trying to rebuild the tower - WHILE people were coming and going and trying to work in the building!  You'd have to set up a temporary elevator - but when you needed to fix part of that area, you'd have to tear down that elevator and set up a temporary elevator somewhere else. And so on. You'd have to build, work around, then tear down, then build again, then work around, then build... ALL while people are coming and going, ALL while the furniture is being replaced, ALL while the walls are getting repainted... ALL while life is going on INSIDE the building. No doubt it would be chaotic. That is EXACTLY what is happening with windows and waves.  The windows are where the body has "got it right" for a day or so - but then the building shifts and the brain works on something else - and it's chaos again while another temporary pathway is set up to reroute function until repairs are made.  

 

[Debb]

Thank you. That’s kind of you. 

Im familiar with absolutely all the info. I read everything for 2 years. I was a moderator on Cymbalta Hurts Worse for a few months. I just got discouraged because there is no andwer to the problem. I’m 65+. I hurt from muscle throbbing most of the time and just see no future anymore in trying to get off the drug. I was down to one bead every 3-4 weeks. I am down to 69 beads from 335 so it’s years left.  It’s just taken the life and drive out of me. 

It had ruined what was left of my life and talking about it all the time just was discouraging. There is no answer. 

[Carmie]

7 hours ago, Debb said:

I’m existing. Stopped tapering due to emotional swings. Stuck at 13mg and pretty much just feel bad all the time. 

How are you? Are you on Cymbalta?

 

Hi Deb, 

 

I’m sorry your emotional swings have been so bad. This really is a horrible journey we are going through, but everyone heals in the end. It’s just a really long journey. No, I’m not on Cymbalta, I’m on Seroquel and I’ve  been tapering for many years. I still have many to go. 

 

Could you please put in your drug signature so we can see what youve been on and how you’ve tapered so far. Just press on the link ChessieCat gave you. Thank you. 

 

What did you mean when you said you were down to one bead every three to four weeks? Did you mean you are only taking one bead every three to four weeks, or you tapered down to one bead during that time? I’m guessing you tapered down by one bead every time and you’re now taking 69 beads every day. If so, when did you last taper?

 

Please put the details in your signature. Thanks again. 

 

Take care, sending hugs🤗