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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 ngdodge on May 25, 2005, at 1:31:54
I had been on Klonopin long term ( 8 years ) and had been on Cymbalta for about 6 months and recently came off both.
Klonopin History: 1mg/day for first 4 yrs. 0.5mg/day for 3 yrs. .25mg/day for most of this past year. For the past few months I had tapered down even more -- taking .25mg every 2 or 3 days.
Cymbalta History: 60mg / day for the last six months
Withdrawl: About 6 weeks ago went off the Klonopin totally ( when the 3rd day came around I stopped taking pills ) . I didn't notice any adverse affects until about a month later ( see below ).
Since the Klonopin withdrawal appeared to go smoothly I decided to try to taper off of the Cymbalta also. I've been doing a lot of reading about diet and exercise and have been feeling a lot better as a result of doing better in those areas and my hope was to pursue nutritional routes to health.
I went off Cymbalta about a month ago. I took Cymbalta every other day for a week and then a pill every three days a couple times and I was still feeling good. I hit a stretch where I hadn't taken a pill for five days and then I quit for good from there.
I had some weird dreams and a bit of dizzy spells at night for a few days but other than that I didn't notice any bad symptoms and after a week I thought I was in the clear.
I felt good for a couple weeks. Exercise and diet seemed to keep both depression and anxiety away.
About two weeks ago though I began having some disturbing symptoms. I had disconcerting convulsions in my face and temples after orgasms which last for a few seconds. I had weird facial muscle tension and sensations that felt like the beginnings of contortions in my back and shoulders. Most of these symptoms seemed more like anxiety-related, or more related to the klonopin rather than the cymbalta. I haven't had depression symptoms since going off cymbalta, especially on days I exercise, and I haven't had any "flashes" or symptoms that others have posted about related to coming off of Cymbalta or Effexor.
Last night I felt sensations, just lying in bed, which made it seem like, if they worsened, I could have convulsions spontaneously ( I didn't have convulsions, I guess I'm just wary of the feeling of anything remotely like the onset of one. ( I've stayed away from sex after having the post-orgasmic convulsions ) ).
I realized that my withdrawal was getting worse, not better, so I took .25mg of klonopin last night and felt better. I took .125mg tonight and I feel ok. I haven't taken any cymbalta for a month.
I'm new to this group and I've been reading recent threads tonight on slow tapering of klonopin and I read the Ashton manual also. I guess coming off of klonopin will be a lot harder than I thought. The last two docs I saw told me to "just go off it" 'cause I had been taking "such a low dose".
Of course I'm not positive that what I'm experiencing isn't the Cymbalta as well ( or a combination of effects from the two ), but again, these muscular things seem to me more like what I've read about benzos.
I guess I need to decide if I go back on both meds and do slow tapers, or if I just do a very slow taper off of klonopin. I had hoped that I was out of the clear from both of them, but I guess I'm not. My hope is to at least stay off of one drug ( cymbalta ). If I taper from klonopin I wonder where I should start ( before w/d from these drugs I had been taking .25mg of klonopin every 3 days ).
If, as I've read lately, the benzos stay in the body a long time then my symptoms might make sense ( my body is protesting the lack of klonopin after it being in my system for so long ).
Sigh. How frustrating. To have some docs be ok with me taking klonopin long term and then have other docs want me off of it but be ignorant of how hard that might be.
Posted by SLS on May 25, 2005, at 7:51:08
In reply to klonopin and cymbalta w/d went well for a month, posted by ngdodge on May 25, 2005, at 1:31:54
Hi.
I don't know how to interpret what you describe. It is certainly an unusual story.
How many weeks has it been since you discontinued these drugs?
You have been off of both drugs for so long without experiencing any significant withdrawal symptoms, that it would be a shame if you were to restart them without good cause.
I don't think taking such a low dosage of Klonopin for a few days as an experiment will get you into any trouble. However, I would wait before adding back the Cymbalta. It doesn't make sense to restart both of them at the same time. You wouldn't be able to separate from the two which drug(s) is the culprit.
What else can you describe about your experiences?
Sweaty hands, hand shakiness, dry mouth, anxiety, diarrhea, tingling sensations, numbness of extremeties, "brain-zaps" (a shock-like sensation in the head), involuntary muscle movements, dizziness, fainting, crying-spells, insomnia, vivid dreams?
Have you had any orgasms since returning to Klonopin?
Have you been taking any other medications? If so, when did you start taking them?
Keep posting. If there is a trend in things continuing to get worse, it might be a good idea to seek a physician's opinion.
- Scott
Posted by ngdodge on May 25, 2005, at 12:51:50
In reply to Re: klonopin and cymbalta w/d went well for a month » ngdodge, posted by SLS on May 25, 2005, at 7:51:08
> How many weeks has it been since you discontinued these drugs?
Until the last couple days ( when I took small doses of Klonopin ) I had been off Klonopin for about 6 weeks and off Cymbalta about a month.
> What else can you describe about your experiences?tension in my neck, jaw, muscle above my upper lip, temple, mostly focussed on my left side -- I've had these symptoms for years -- they're just worse now.
some dizziness, but not extreme. Some disequilibrium if I move my head too quickly.
wake up at night sometimes with a start, but I can get back to sleep.
a hard time focussing, but that isn't anything new either. The cymbalta seemed to be wearing off, which is one reason I decided to quit it and pursue exercise and diet.
small "twinges" in my forehead.
slight pressure in my ears.
a hard time doing smooth movements, especially with my left arm ( jittery, tense, jerky movements ). Again, this isn't entirely new either, just worse.
Some night sweats. Not as much any more. I had them more while on, and coming off Cymbalta.
> Have you had any orgasms since returning to Klonopin?
No
> Have you been taking any other medications? If so, when did you start taking them?
No other meds
I guess upon further reflection most of my symptoms are mild to moderate symptoms of anxiety that I've experienced before -- except for the orgasmic convulsions.
It's just weird that things appeared to go so smoothly after stopping Klonopin. Maybe having both drugs in my system was a good mix. I do remember feeling the best when I had started cymbalta and hadn't tapered down quite as much on the klonopin.
I am thinking about trying tryptophan and doing a slow taper off of klonopin. I live in Minneapolis and the Health Recovery Center ( run by author of Depression Free Naturally ) is here. I think I will go. I have super-high deductible health insurance. That's what had been delaying me, 'cause I'll need to pay out of pocket for awhile and I got recently laid off work.
I think that I've done enough self-education in the past few weeks to feel like I know enough to go talk to somebody and not feel like I'm a total guinea pig.
This is the end of the thread.
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