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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 3 of 3. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by PhoenixGirl on January 13, 2013, at 19:13:36
Posting this here too because the withdrawal board is dead.
I'm having nausea, dizziness, headaches, and those surging "brain zaps". My doc had me go from 60mg to 30mg for four days, and then stop completely as of this past Friday. I'm going off of it so I can try an MAOI (Emsam). How long does Cymbalta withdrawal usually take? I have to go to work next week, and I don't know how I will function. My doc gave me Phenergan to help with the nausea, but it knocks me out for hours. Today is a little better than yesterday, but damn, this withdrawal is hardcore.
Do you think my doc took me off Cymbalta too rapidly? A few months ago, she had me stop taking Adderall cold turkey, and I became suicidal. In a few days, she is going to have me stop taking Wellbutrin XL with only a few days of tapering.
Any thoughts/insights/hugs would be appreciated.
Posted by bleauberry on January 14, 2013, at 5:21:56
In reply to Cymbalta withdrawal HELL, posted by PhoenixGirl on January 13, 2013, at 19:13:36
Cymbalta in my experience is one of the worst to withdraw from. The only way to make it a smoother transition is to open the capsules so as to make custom size doses....10 beads is about 1mg. Sprinkle them on soft food and swallow without chewing. You can go from, say as an example, 20mg for a few days, to 18mg for a few days, to 16mg for a few days, and so on, down to zero. If your final pill was 20mg, and then you went straight to zero, that is huge. Way too big of a step. Or you can just weather the hell and keep going cold turkey. Some people do it that way, but I see no sense in that when it is so easy to make custom doses and wean slower in tiny steps down. Withdrawal is unavoidable, but it can be made to be very mild.
Posted by ihatedrugs on January 19, 2013, at 23:41:52
In reply to Cymbalta withdrawal HELL, posted by PhoenixGirl on January 13, 2013, at 19:13:36
> Posting this here too because the withdrawal board is dead.
> I'm having nausea, dizziness, headaches, and those surging "brain zaps". My doc had me go from 60mg to 30mg for four days, and then stop completely as of this past Friday. I'm going off of it so I can try an MAOI (Emsam). How long does Cymbalta withdrawal usually take? I have to go to work next week, and I don't know how I will function. My doc gave me Phenergan to help with the nausea, but it knocks me out for hours. Today is a little better than yesterday, but damn, this withdrawal is hardcore.
> Do you think my doc took me off Cymbalta too rapidly? A few months ago, she had me stop taking Adderall cold turkey, and I became suicidal. In a few days, she is going to have me stop taking Wellbutrin XL with only a few days of tapering.
> Any thoughts/insights/hugs would be appreciated.It does go away. I've gone through it twice. The second time whenever I felt ill or the brain zaps, I would take a little more. So if you are down to 30 mg and still feel very sick, cut a tiny piece of another pill to perhaps 5mg(I used to just gauge it) and the side effects usually subside a little. I only did it whenever it felt too intense but not everyday as I wanted my body to get rid of the drug. However, if the withdrawal effects are still too intense, tell the dr you want to go slower (don't let him/her tell you it's all in your head because it does happen). With Wellbutrin, I have never had any problems withdrawing.
Good luck
ihatedrugs
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