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Hi Everyone, I am just going to jump right into this. I developed anxiety 4 years ago after having several life crisis in a months time. My mom was diagnosed w Dementia. My little sister was diagnosed with stage 3 lung cancer. I was diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma.A childhood friend died in his sleep from heart failure. I tipped over from the stress. I went to my GP and she started throwing AD's at me to help silence the anxiety. The AD's only made me worse. I went to the ER one night after experiencing my first panic attack The ER Dr gave me a script for Ativan. I took it for four weeks and then stopped because I was feeling much better. A few days later my world turned on it's axis. I didn't know what was happening. My anxiety was worse, I was pacing, heart racing, Panic attacks daily.... I went to my GP and she said I needed to see a Psychiatrist. To get in to see anyone was 3 months. I started to spiral. I had no idea I was in withdrawal! I ended up in the hospital to get help for my anxiety. I was put on Effexor (75mg)and Klonopin (.25mg). I stabilized and was sent home. I did really well on Effexor. After 4 months on Klonopin I started to slowly taper off. I tapered over 3 months. The taper went pretty well. I was cutting and weighing my pills. 8 months after that I felt good and talked to my Psychiatrist about tapering off of the Effexor. She strongly recommended to go slow and we did. I tapered for almost 7 months. To be honest, the Klonopin was easier to come off of than the Effexor. She put me on Prozac before my last cut of Effexor. Tapered off of the Prozac over 3/ months. I still had some anxiety but it was tolerable. It felt AMAZING to be free of AD'S and the Benzo....then COVID hit and my mom passed away. Anxiety came back w a vengeance. I ended up back in the hospital after a very bad reaction to Zoloft. My new psychiatrist kept telling me to "push through," the first 3 months. I was back on Klonopin but now it was.50mg twice a day.The hospital took me cold turkey off of Zoloft and started me on Remeron and Trazadone. The next day they added clonidine. The klonodine didn't agree w my system at all and I was taken off of that in two days. They released me from the hospital 5 days later. I lasted two weeks on Remeron. I was so disoriented, confused, high anxiety and felt like I could become violent on them so they weaned me off of that over 4 days and put me back on Prozac. Prozac didn't help my anxiety, I had constant headaches for months! I did get an MRI and it was normal. I started to feel more and more depressed on it. I was on Prozac for maybe two months when my psychiatrist took me off of that (tapered over 6 weeks) and put me on Lexapro. I had to have back surgery during this. I did NOT take a single pain med out of fear of making my WD worse. At first I thought the Lexapro was helping? I was still having breakthrough anxiety so he bumped it up. My Psychiatrist retired and a new woman came in to take his place until they could find a new one. She bumped my Lexapro up to 25mg when I told her I was having major anxiety rushes, my face would get bright red, I wasn't sleeping very well. That increased dosage was the worst! I was like a zombie but w heightened anxiety. I couldn't work, I would sit at my desk and space off for hours! I felt awful. So, she told me to start tapering off of the Lexapro (4 weeks total! I knew better...) and she wanted to cross taper me onto Effexor. I started that and boy....the depression was BRUTAL! I was not sleeping well, could hardly focus, anxiety was high, my legs felt like jelly, my head would burn, I felt my brain tingle all the time... I was nearing the end of my rope. I was desperate for a Psychiatrist that CARED. The interim Psych left and a new one came in. She wanted me off of the Effexor because she felt it was too hard to come off of and if it didn't work for me, I would be in for hell. I told her I was scared to switch AGAIN and she assured me that switching to Duoloxetine was it's "sister drug," and I shouldn't have an issue. I trusted her. The last 3 months have been.... (How do describe this hell?!) a daily battle to push through hell on earth. I am still working, I can still function, I take care of myself, my home, my dog. I am a divorced woman with a 22 year old son. I live by myself with my Rottweiler. Life is so friggin' hard when you are trying to get thorough this mess. I now have a WONDERFUL and caring Psychiatric nurse practitioner who truly cares. She is holding me on the last 10mg of Lexapro until the Effexor/Lexapro WD calms down...IF it calms down. I should tell you that I can't believe I have pushed through the last year. My symptoms have been Burning in my head, headaches, tingling in my head, mood fluctuations, burning on my skin, bloodshot eyes, pressure on my chest, sensitivity to heat, depression, sweat easily, joint pain, ringing in my ears, no motivation, grinding my teeth, feeling mentally off at times, at the beginning I couldn't sit still, short tempered, at times in the beginning of the Lexapro taper, I didn't want to talk at times...like I almost couldn't, buzzing in my body, feel like I'm going crazy sometimes, anxiety rushes...etc I am interested in this group for support and the combined knowledge from it's members. I know that NO ONE can tell me when this is going to end. What I am hoping is that someone can tell me what I am going through is normal for all of the med changes? I am honestly concerned if I am still having problems because of the Duoloxetine? My anxiety IS better since I have been on it. I get 8 hours of sleep. I don't drink. I don't use illegal drugs, don't smoke. I eat pretty healthy. I don't exercise. It's tough to get out for walks when you feel like hell and I guess I save my mental energy to work. I know I have rambled on. My mind feels like it's in a vice and also these drugs affect how well I put my thoughts into words. For the most part I am a happy and well adjusted person. I feel like the last few years have been stolen from me because I faithfully followed Dr's instructions and thought they knew best...I was so wrong. Thank you for your time. Blessings to all of you.

Hi,everyone. My name is Manny.my psiquiatrist wants me to reduce the cymbalta from 60 to 30 mgs. I know it is a 50% reduction.i should decrease only 10%.how do i taper off 10%? And how long it takes? Should i open the capsules and count the number of beads and remove that 10%? How do i ingest the 90% remaining? With water? With juice? Can i do water tritation? I take cymbalta 60,abilify 25,ativan 2.5,risperdal 7.5 mg.

I’ve been here before but I don’t think I posted an introduction when I first joined the site. That opening sentence is a good analogy for my story - I started something a number of years ago, I didn’t get far, couldn’t fully engage or complete the steps and now looking back, it’s hard to recall the detail (I had to go to my profile page to see the date I signed up - shocked that it was almost 5 years ago). Many ambitions in work, life, health, friendships but minimal progress and much frustration, sadness and increasing ill health. SSRI use began in my early 20s after many years of depression and anxiety. I think I was prescribed Citalopram. Towards the end of my 20s my husband and I decided to start a family. I came off meds twice because I didn't want to be on them during pregnancy or breadstfeeding. I don’t even recall how I stopped. Tried Zoloft after my 2nd child and had a terrible experience. Went on to Lexapro for approx 6 years. Switched to SNRI Effexor. I found the addition of norepinephrine really helpful to begin with as a prominent feature of my depression is lack of motivation and I was positive about the benefits I experienced. After some years I started experiencing debilitating daytime sleepiness. I had very heavy menstrual blood loss after my 2nd baby and often had low iron. Being a tired parent, the sleepiness didn’t seem that unusual, especially with my symptoms of low mood, anhedonia, etc. I tried to research the effect of antidepressants on sleep quality as I suspected that long term use could be affecting my sleep stages. Approx 2012 - 2015 Attempted to withdraw from Effexor twice. First attempt was way too fast and withdrawal was awful and so unsettling. Reinstated Second attempt was much slower after researching and finding anecdotal accounts of slow tapering; I think it was over 10-12 months. I coped until the end of the taper and then was once again really unwell. Once I reached small numbers of the little white beads I was swallowing them without a capsule It’s possible the drug didn’t make it past my stomach acids - essentially at the most precarious stage of tapering the decreases were way too large and fast. Couldn’t cope - back to GP and started on Cymbalta 30 and then 60mg. I saw a psychologist over many months and she encouraged me to investigate my sleepiness with a specialist and also to have an assessment for ADHD. In 2018 I did a number of sleep studies and was diagnosed with Idiopathic Hypersomnia; excessive daytime sleepiness despite fairly normal night time sleep.Sleep specialist prescribed Armodafinil 250mg daily - thankfully this keeps me awake. Psychiatrist diagnosed me with ADHD late 2018, age 46, and prescribed Vyvanse - This gave me mental clarity and optimism for better functioning in life. I couldn’t tolerate side effects and stopped after a few months. Also unable to tolerate Ritalin and Dexamfetamine. Devastated- after a brief glimpse at being able to organise and function well I had to stop the ADHD meds. Sleep Specialist doesn’t believe I have ADHD & that my executive function deficits stem from my sleep disorder. When I have raised the issue of long term antidepressant use as being the cause of my disorder, I get a blank stare and a recommendation to stay on the AD. Vyvanse gave me a very dry mouth, jaw clenching, mouth ulcers and a feeling of having burnt my tongue in a hot drink. The symptoms with my tongue in particular remained even after stopping Vyvanse. Oral specialist ruled out any issues. Nearly 5 years later I still have ‘burning mouth syndrome’. Some literature connects it to anxiety and also menopause. Oh yeah, menopause. ALL of my mental health struggles and symptoms have worsened with the hormonal upheaval. Pretty constant anxiety and very poor executive function. I discuss my depression and anxiety with my GP and they are very sympathetic. Suggested antipsychotics to get my anxiety under control. No thank you. I expressed concern that the long term AD use and daily anxiety is affecting my gastrointestinal health. She referred me for Gastroscopy & Colonoscopy, 2023. Colonoscopy all clear. Gastroscopy showed Telangiectasias in my upper stomach - like spider veins - with a ‘slow ooze’ of blood. No explanation of the cause Second gastroscopy was scheduled at a different clinic so they could treat the blood vessels - they use argon gas to seal off the bleeding - but this time the telangiectasias were not found. No explanation. My own theory is that the long term use of antidepressants is degrading my stomach (affecting so many systems in my body and brain) and that this mild bleeding happens sporadically and then resolves. I sometimes experience a bad taste in my mouth and wonder if it is from the blood. Blood test reveal low iron at times despite no dietary changes and no menstrual bleeding. Woah, this is turning into a long piece. I’m sure I could edit but I may never get it done and posted. I saw a different psychiatrist mid 2023. I was and am desperate to function better. The Psychiatrist didn’t recommend any of the non-stimulant ADHD meds, believing they could lead to adverse effects. Suggested I ask my Sleep specialist about increasing the Armodafinil to see if that helped. I increased by a half but it doesn’t help my executive functioning. Feb 2024 reduced Armodafinil from 375mg back to 250mg bc I was experiencing heart racing. That symptom has gone but I’m struggling with sleepiness during the day again. I guess my brain adapted to the higher dose. I’ve no way of proving my theories about the list of medical and psychological problems I have being linked to nearly 30 years of AD use. I want to get off Cymbalta. I have bought the Maudsley Deprescribing Guidelines. It’s going to be a very long road & I’m grateful for the SA resources and community.

Until July 2017 I was an active, healthy female (58). I'd been extremely fortunate in that, the only health problem I'd ever encountered had been anxiety/low grade depression. At least that's what the doctors diagnosed 20 years ago. I was put on Effexor 75mg and then, some years later, reduced the dosage to 37.5mg. In January 2017 I started tapering off my medication and by July was off Effexor. I did experience the odd brain zap but could easily go about my daily business. Suddenly at the end of July, I started having what I thought to be panic attacks (but which were, in actual fact, heart arrhythmias) and my then psychiatrist put me back on Effexor albeit 150mg/day. At 2am on August 12th, I had a sudden cardiac arrest. Thankfully one of our dogs wakened my husband and he and my daughter performed CPR until the ambulance arrived. My guardian angel was watching over me and after a week in the hospital, where I was fitted with an ICD and was put on 30mg Cymbalta, I returned home. Fast forward to three weeks later. My ICD fired. Off to hospital. In for observation for a week but no arrhythmias could be detected Returned home and 24 hours later the ICD fired again! In hospital for another 10 days, had a catheter ablation but no structural heart damage was found. What they did find was that one of the ICD leads had moved and pushed itself through one of the heart walls which could have explained the shocks. So another intervention to replace the lead. I was still on Cymbalta and an anti-arrhythmic drug. Just when I was beginning to think I was on the road to recovery, my ICD fired on the 12th of November. Off to hospital. In for ten days where I met a fascinating psychiatrist who thought that my SCA could have been induced by going back on Effexor as it's known to have a potential influence on cardiac rhythms. And since Cymbalta is also a SNRI, it would be advisable to stop taking it. Well since November 17th I'm Cymbalta-free and yes, I went cold turkey which I normally would not have done under other circumstances. Initially I experienced, brain zaps, anxiety and irritability. However, the symptoms were bearable. I’ve been taking vitamin D3, magnesium and Omega 3 supplements and trying to eat all the right foods. I walk my dogs every day so am getting exercise and fresh air on a regular basis and I go for acupressure treatments (suggested by my new psychiatrist). I was progressing quite well until March 2018 when I started experiencing severe anxiety, dizziness, muscle tension and headaches.The situation has improved every so slightly since then. Am I experiencing what is known as protracted withdrawal?

I am newbie here. I have a long history with other psychotropic drugs and several DSM diagnoses over the course of my life and I am now well over 40 years of age. I won’t go into the totality of it as it would take too long and the moderators have enough to do. I just want some advice on getting off Remerone (Mirtazpine) and dealing with what I think may be ongoing withdrawal from Cymbalta which I stopped taking 2 and half years ago. My story in as brief as I can make it (not great at editing) I started to suffer with chronic back pain in 2007 when I was 36 years of age which resulted in severe insomnia and work absences and was not resolved by manual treatments or exercises. It was eventually diagnosed as fibromyalgia and I started to take 50mg Trimipramine, brand name Surmontil for sleep in 2007. By 2014 it was no longer working for the pain. I had met people on a pain management course for arthritis who were taking Cymbalta. I saw the rheumatologist about it. She said Cymbalta was good for nerve pain so I decided to give it a go as I was desperate for the pain to stop. On the first night I stopped the Surmontil I got no sleep and began in the next three days to experience severe anxiety, restlessness and insomnia. I took my first Cymbalta pill (30mg) four days after stopping the Surmontil. The back pain went away within 24 hours of taking it. I was ecstatic. However the anxiety and insomnia that started when I stopped the Surmontil got worse. For the first time in my life I got akathisia and panic attacks. I could not sit still or concentrate – I couldn’t even watch TV and I’m a big TV watcher. I walked about 12 miles a day and could not eat. I was prescribed sleeping pills but still got no sleep. I spent the night pacing around the house and lost over a stone in weight (I’m relatively slim for my age so a stone is a lot for me). After six weeks of this was I was near breaking point and saw a psychiatrist. A friend of mine had been taking Remerone (Mirtazapine) and found it wonderful for sleep. I was desperate for sleep so I asked the psychiatrist if she could prescribe me some and she gave me 30mg of it and some Rivotril and Seroquel to take as needed. To be honest I think if I hadn’t gotten the Remerone I might have gone psychotic from the lack of sleep. I got my first night’s sleep in six weeks and stabilised within a month. After two weeks I reduced the Remerone to 15mg. For the next four years I was ‘stable’ on 30mg Cymbalta and 7.5mg Remeron except for regular appalling migraines which I put down to approaching menopause. After approx. eight months the pain killing properties of the Cymbalta pooped out and I started to get pain again but it was manageable. In 2018 my blood results showed dangerously high cholesterol and liver enzyme readings. I rarely drank – maybe a glass once every six weeks. My psychiatrist said it was the Cymbalta and said I could have a drug holiday as she called it. She told me that I could stop the Cymbalta immediately as 30mg was a low dose but by this point I had finally realised from stopping the Surmontil that this would not be a good idea. I looked up the instructions on tapering on this site and some other sites and purchased the book ‘The Antidepressant Solution’ by Dr Joseph Glenmullen on withdrawal from antidepressants. I bought a milligram scale and started a journal documenting my titrations by removing a number of beads and decreasing by 10% of that reduction every two weeks. I documented my withdrawal symptoms in a journal. I started the titration on the 2nd of June 2018 and finished on the 20th February 2019. Even with extremely slow titration I began to experience insomnia, anxiety and restlessness and my mood began to drop in July 2018. I took herbal, vitamin and omega three supplements throughout but to be honest I don’t think they helped greatly. I thought once I was off the drug the side effects would dissipate completely but two weeks after my last taper they got much worse. I had constant debilitating anxiety, insomnia and began to experience regular suicidal ideation. I was unable to concentrate. I had also tapered my dose of Remeron down to 3.75mg in tandem. I had developed eczema on my hands and feet four months before I started the taper from Cymbalta and this continued unabated. The only thing that brought down the anxiety was HIIT workouts but the hip issues I had been dealing with for the previous 4 years acted up again I had to stop the classes. I started bioidentical HRT in September 2019 and though the progesterone did help with sleep a little bit it did not resolve the anxiety and suicidality. The following year 2019 I again sought psychiatric ‘help’ as I was at the end of my tether with suicidal thoughts and severe anxiety. I was told I was bipolar. I got a prescription for Lamotrigine 50mg in January 2020. I got assessed for Autism spectrum disorder as a therapist I had been attending had kept banging on about my being on the spectrum for several years. Two weeks before the lockdown occasioned by the pandemic in 2020, I got a diagnosis of ASD and was told the other diagnoses I had been given over the course of my life of borderline and bipolar disorder were probably incorrect. The local mental health clinic had shut down due to the lockdown. My anxiety was very bad and I had no other meds to ‘help’ so I started taking the Lamotrigine in June 2021 and within nine days developed a rash. I sent photos to my GP who told me to stop taking it because it could prove dangerous. I tried taking it again three weeks later – same rash. On this occasion my GP told me I could not take it again. I finally got an appointment with the Mental Health day clinic and got 150mg Seroquel. I had upped the Remeron up to 7.5mg again. After being on the Seroquel one month I developed stomach issues and was prescribed Omeprazole. I had to take laxatives and enemas for constipation. I lasted on this dose until October 2020 when I got a bowel impaction an enema did not fix which was scary. I gradually weaned the Seroquel dose down not very scientifically until December 2020 when I stopped taking it completely. I noticed that since taking the Seroquel that I had developed muscle cramps and pains in addition to the chronic pain I already had. In the last month I started doing somatic exercises which have proved quite helpful. My anxiety has continued but I have held off taking anything else like Rivotril or Lexathan which I had a small supply of as the rebound anxiety they cause is not worth it. I am 2 years and four months off the Cymbalta and am currently still on 7.5mg Remerone in tablet form. I would like to get off Remeron but accept that it might not be possible. Once I had titrated down previously to 3.75mg the weighing scale would not register any further decrease in weight and there are no chemists where I live who will liquefy the dose down. I missed the dose by two days once when I ran out once and nearly ended up in A&E with fever, vomiting and diarrhoea. My immediate concern if someone has managed to read this far is how much longer does the Cymbalta withdrawal last? And if this any way in hell that I could ever get off the Remerone? My sleep has stabilised somewhat over the last three months and I now get five/six to seven hours per night most nights. My anxiety is still very high but my living situation is very difficult and I don’t have any significant support. The pandemic removed the few support structures I did have so I think this has a bearing on things. I have found that the amino acid Lutein helped the eczema which is now (touching a lot of wood) manageable though I still can’t wear jeans because of the nickel. surviving antidepressants timeline.docx

Hi Everyone, Im so glad I was referred to this site from Reddit. I’ve been reading the forums over the last several days before signing up and introducing myself. Here’s my history and where I’m currently at. I have been on Lexapro 20mg since summer of 2007. Starting in 2016 I began experiencing debilitating left jaw pain and left eustachian tube dysfunction as a side-effect of the Lexapro. I did not know at the time the Lexapro was causing these side-effects. I was grinding my teeth so badly that I thought I had trigeminal neuralgia in my left cheek. In November 2019 I was prescribed Cymbalta 60mg by my neurologist at the time for the pain in my face. I was on Cymbalta 60mg until February 2020 because it killed my libido. Went down to Cymbalta 30mg. Stayed on 30mg until August 2020 when my neurologist reduced the dose down to 20mg to being to taper off the meds completely. In October 2020 I began to experience withdrawal symptoms from the cymbalta: vertigo and adrenaline surges. I did not know at the time that these were related to the cymbalta withdrawals. A few days before Xmas 2020, my mind began to catastrophize about the holidays and death and I was sent into a constant state of adrenaline fueled panic attacks that did not stop for five days. I spent Xmas Eve in the out patient psych ward. They gave me hydroxizine and sent me home. I looked for a psychiatrist and was able to get an appointment with my current psychiatrist two days after Xmas. He switched me back to Lexapro 20mg. On the morning of the second day of taking the Lexapro the adrenaline stopped surging and the panic attack state stopped. I was stable from then on until August 2021. In August the panic state returned, this time without the adrenaline surges, and lasted for two weeks straight. My psychiatrist prescribed me gabapentin 300mg x3 daily. The gabapentin saved my life. I was on this regimen until May 2022 when I felt stable enough to begin to taper off the Lexapro. I went from 20 to 15 to 10 to 5 about a month at a time until I finally came off the Lexapro a month ago on October 15th, 2022. I began tapering off the gabapentin and have been off it since Halloween. The panic state returned Sunday night and I’m back on the gabapentin but not the Lexapro. The gabapentin keeps my brain from catastrophizing but I can feel underneath the gabapentin that I’m still having the panic attack: heart palpitations, chest tightness and some pain, butterflies in my chest, paresthesia in my arms and hands. I’ve read about the 10% dose reduction and about going back on a smaller dose of the Lexapro to stabilize and start the taper again at the 10% rate. I’ve been off Lexapro for a month now. I don’t know if I’ll kindle by going back on or not. I’ll stop here and wait for replies from mods and you other guys who know so much about what we’re going through to get healthy again. Much love!

Been on and off antidepressants for the last ten years. Prescribed amiltriptalian 2012 to relief arthritis pain. CT as requested by surgeon pre operation 2013.. PTSD diagnosed by dr after surgery prescribed Dosulapin 2013. Was swapped to another antidepressant after a couple of years think it was duloxetine. CT. Cant remember year swapped to gaberpectin to help with OA!!! CTed. Eventually another antidepressant after a couple of years think it was fluroxetine?? No taper. Tried to come of but didn't understand taper diagnosed paroxetine 2019 30mg also given amiltriptalian to help with sleep again but luckily didn't use it. Been reducing current meds since 2021. Now doing ten percent taper every 4 weeks. Ups and downs!!!! use breathing teckniques, mindfullness,graditude diary,crafting , nature, essential oils, baths, books,support services such as berevement phone line, samartians, therapy of NHS for free or cheep charity counsellors but essentially do it all alone, no support from family limited support from friends

Background: I’m 22 (turning 23 years next month), and been on duloxetine for 5-6 years. It was prescribed for my tics initially, and at this point I just hate this drug and want to get off. 2017-2021: I was on 120mg 2022: I decided to go off, and I tapered from 120mg to like 10mg in 8-9 months. I only recall having very few brainzaps, otherwise no withdrawals. At the last quarter of 2022 I tapered down to 0. I don't recall the tapering precisely, but I think I went from the 10mg (or maybe 5mg) to 0 in 3 months. The last dose was probably 1mg or 0,5mg. 2023: The following months I had crazy horrible withdrawals. Crying spells, intense nothing matters almost like serotonin didn't exist in my brain, crazy sadness. Eventually I went back to 1mg, and the following 4-5 months I more or less had a solid level there. In august to september I tapered from 0,8mg to 0,55mg, and then I got sick for a month. It was the same time where the weather changed to winter, so I'm not sure if it was side effects or maybe a combination of the flue. I recently got healthy again, but had to go up to 0,6, and then even 0,6 wasn't enough, so now I'm at 0,65. Today: I don't even have a dose where I feel somewhat normal. Even without side effects I can't think clear, I feel numb and everything seems unreal. The lowest I can go in dose difference is 0,025mg, but even then I get withdrawals. My situation is now that I want to get off this hell drug, but it seems impossible. So here's my questions: 1) I've heard people have succes with switching from Duloxetine (Cymbalta) to Procaz, would that be a good idea, and how long would I do the cross-taper over? 2) What the f*ck else do I do, when even on such small changes in dose, I still get withdrawals, and based on the last weeks, I'm going UP not down. Thank you for reading! Any thoughts will be much appreciated!

I had been on some form of anti-depressant and mood stabilizer/anti-psychotic since high school, 2002 or 2003. Initially I was put on Zoloft for depression which caused me to become "manic" which lead me to be put on Lithium, Abilify and Risperdal (not sure doses or when). Starting around 2008 I was put on Cymbalta and Lamotrigine/Lamictal. I got off the Cymbalta & Lamictal cold turkey on my own in 2011 and it resulted in brain-zaps and then a deep deep depression. I reluctantly got back on my meds. Beginning in 2020 (exact date I'm trying to find), my psychiatrist agreed to help me taper off my meds. I was able to get off the Cymbalta it seems fairly easily, which I have been off since the end of the Summer 2020. After getting off that I began tapering off the Lamictal ... I'm trying to find information on how much I lowered initially, etc., and don't have it right now. I do know I got down to 100mg by November 2020 and had to go back up to 150mg over the winter due to debilitating depression. Starting in ~March 2021 I began tapering again (again don't have exact dates/dosages as of now). I have detailed records of my tapering beginning in May 2021 when I began using the 25mg tabs to taper: 5/18/21 (May 18) - 6/13/21 (June 13): I alternated daily between 87.5 mg one day and 100 mg the next day (87.5mg/100mg/87.5/100) 6/14/21 - 6/21/21: 87.5mg each day 6/22/21 - 7/11/21: 75mg/87.5mg/75/87.5 7/12/21 - 7/26/21: 75mg each day 7/27/21 - 8/8/21: 62.5mg/75mg/62.5/75 8/9/21 - 8/30/21: 62.5mg each day 8/31/21 - 9/12/21: 50mg/62.5mg/50/62.5 9/13/21 - 9/26/21: 50 mg/day 9/27/21 - 10/10/21: 37.5mg/50mg/37.5/50 10/11/21 - 10/24/21: 37.5mg/day 10/25/21 - 11/7/21: 25mg/37.5mg/25/37.5 *On November 1, 2021, my dog and best friend of 10+ years, the Big Guy (110lb. half boxer/half mastiff), died after a brief fight with cancer... in retrospect I should have ceased tapering at this point; instead I continued my tapering in earnest and began to self medicate excessively with alcohol and cannabis 11/8/21 - 11/21/21: 25mg/day 11/22/21 - 12/5/21: 12.5mg/25mg/12.5/25 12/6/21 - 12/20/21: 12.5mg/day 12/21/21 - 12/31/21: 0mg/12.5mg/0/12.5 January 1, 2022 - Present: Off Lamicital Completely I had no idea about this site or a couple days ago. I have been realllllly struggling this whole year but especially the past couple weeks. Some days I am so depressed I can hardly get out of bed. Some days I am "functional." I have major brain fog where I can hardly think most of the time (which is not good for my job!). I can't hardly make even the most basic decision. It is bad. I am desperate. I do not know what to do. I really don't want to get back on the Rx. I'm looking for suggestions on how to cope with the withdrawal symptoms. I have been sober (no alcohol or cannabis) since January 1st as well. I workout, do Wim Hoff breathing, garden, meditate/pray and eat mostly organic. Supplements: EMPowerPlus Lighting Sticks, 5-HTP, Vitamins C, D, B-complex (6&12) & K2, Magnesium Glyinate, Kyolic Aged Garlic Extract; Just started taking St. John's Wort a couple weeks ago I don't really recall withdraw symptoms (depression) prior to my Dog being diagnosed with cancer in September 2021 (which coincides with me getting down to 50mg/day)--since he was diagnosed and then passed Nov. 1st, I have been mostly depressed. The brain fog didn't really start that I recall until ~January of this year when I was totally off -- but I could be wrong. Since November of last year, it has kind of been a blur. On another note, while not directly related to withdrawal, I am very unhappy with my current career and have been for some time. I think doing something that goes against my values and not really knowing what my purpose is has a big impact on me feeling depressed. However, right now with my brain fog and depression, I am having a really hard time doing any work whatsoever. So my purpose now is to get past these withdrawal symptoms so I can find my purpose in this world and what gift I can offer to other people. I am VERY wary of getting back on any RX and do not want to go that route if at all possible. Thank you if you read this far and I appreciate any advice on how I should proceed!! -Will

Hi there, Been using antidepressants for nearly 20 years. Started with Prozac, then citalopram, escitalopram, Zoloft, Cymbalta, amitriptyline, Remeron, tried Lyrica and some others as well. Nice years ago I tried to stop cold turkey (I was taking 20 mg citralopram back then) and had the worst year of my life after that decision. Had conflicts with everyone, had terrible back pain, living was Hell. Now I'm back a tapering, because at some point it was too much: I was drinking alcohol, drinking coffee, needed 20 mg melatonin to get asleep, took L-theanine, Remeron that knocked me off, 20 mg amitriptyline and 60 mg Cymbalta. I had ED from Remeron and the others, and felt really bad. Enough was enough. So I changed things. In the last month, I eliminated everything except for the Cymbalta. I stopped alcohol, caffeine, amitriptyline, Remeron, L-theanine, and melatonin. And I started tapering off Cymbalta, going down 3 mg each week for 10 weeks, which is my objective, to be at 30 mg for winter and maybe try to taper off again next Spring. So far it's difficult. Anxiety is going through the roof, sleep is only marginally better, feel anger all the time. I take magnesium, D3 and K2 to help me, but it only helps a bit. Is my tapering strategy too fast? Any advice? Should I keep going or stabilize first, and any way to manage anxiety? Any supplement that could help? I think I was vitamin depleted from so many years of AD... Thanks

Hi Everyone! I was started on duloxetine 60 mg for idiopathic foot neuropathy or pins and needles feelings in my feet about 1.5years ago. After 6 months with no relief my neurologist upped the dosage to 120 mg per day. After 6 months at the 120 mg and no impact to the pins and needles feelings, I asked him to taper me off of duloxetine. The schedule provided was a 6 week taper. The first 4 weeks went okay. I had some nausea, dizziness and insomnia but overall not bad. When I got to the 5th week, I was supposed to take 60 mg every other day. On the days that I didn’t take duloxetine, I noticed a significant increase in the pins and needles feeling in my feet. My neurologist said this was an indication that duloxetine was working and started me back on 120 mg per day. I have now read that tingling in the hands or feet can be a withdrawal symptom. How does one that is taking duloxetine for neuropathy know which it is while tapering off of the drug? I am now skeptical of this doctor since he doesn’t seem to know much about withdrawal difficulties. I would like to get off of duloxetine as I have had many side effects such as fatigue, general malaise, sexual dysfunction and extreme weight gain. The weight gain has been so bad that my primary care doctor has me on Ozempic now. Thanks! Stephanie

Hi, this is my second attempt at tapering this evil drug. I've been on it for well over 10 years, originally at 120 mg but I've been on 60mg for at least 6 years and I feel that I can no longer tolerate the side effects, anger, impatience and emotional blunting. I've also read that duloxetine shouldn't be prescribed to people with suicidal ideation and that this is even worse in withdrawal, which I find quite scary but I feel there's never a good time to get started, so it's now or never. I've made up a week's worth of 54mg (5%) capsules using the scale method, I struggle counting beads. I intend to reduce no more than 10% every 4 weeks and probably less. When I tapered before I felt better until I went below 40 mg but I now realise I went far too fast and intend to take it slow this time. I don't know my ultimate aim, being drug free seems almost impossible, so I'm just playing it by ear and hope to reduce the duloxetine to 40mg and see how I feel. I'm also on 7.5mg olanzapine, again I would love to reduce/stop this but I have no intention of tapering it until I see how I am on the reduced duloxetine. My doctor is still prescribing 120mg duloxetine and 10 mg olanzapine, oh dear I forgot to tell her lol, and I'm in two minds whether I should tell her anything at my appointment next week. It would be handy to have some 20mg tablets but I think it might be better to not tell her anything. Any advice/encouragement would be much appreciated especially success stories from people tapering or having quit duloxetine. Thanks for reading and good luck on your own journeys.

Hi I’m mark. I spent an hour trying to make my signature , but it wouldn’t allow it because it was to long. Tried cutting it down significantly, still to long , gave up. Basically I’ve been on a million drugs on and off , and didn’t ween off any of the em correctly except lamictal and seroquil. I can make a extremely generalized timeline . Starting with cymbalta 16-17 years ago. cynbalta -2007 1 year 2012 -1 month wellbutrin-2007- a few days xanax-2012- 1mg, recreationally 10-15 doses klonopin-2013 1year .25-1mg lexapro-1-2 months 10mg topamax-2weeks small dose lamictal— 2015 7 years- doses(25-400mg) Seroquil- 2015 5 years -15-100mg ketamine-2019 -10 iv treatments gabapentin-2020- 300mg- 2 months litrhium-2020 1200mg-1 month ambien-2020 5-10 mg 3 months Propalanol-2023 10mg -2 weeks I’ve had several med trials for past 10 years trying to address symptoms that came out of nowwhere in 2013, which I now realize we’re most likely issues from taking cymbalta at an early age , not weening off then going into more rec drug use and Xanax . past ten years of my life were terrible , Constant doctors , trying meds , psych ward visits from bad reactions , not knowing what was wrong , more meds , even was convinced I had lymw and did antibiotic protocols , hyperbaric chamber , etc. also multiple shoulder surgeries from bad shoulders , one of which was a botch job and caused terrible nerve damage furthering my issues . started realizing psych drugs were the problem in late 2021. Got off everything for about a year I got hit with a severe life threatening bout of insomnia in 2022 June , and after being off of drugs for nearly a year , had to resort back to trying things , and things spiraled quickly . While I always have had the hypersensitive nervous system symptom, i I started developing this at a new level . super sensitive to sounds ( even not loud soundslike fridge clicking on, car door in distance , anything etc). Can’t watch most movies emotions trigger symptoms . Constant tinnitus . Can’t exercise , sex release , can’t go to the store without flare .) nighttime adrenal surges / jolting . even then I STILL was seeing psych and trying meds because I was not familiar with kindling . How would I know ? I was member of benzo buddies and knew something was going on drug related but was suffering and didn’t know how else to try and fix it . Then I finally learned of kindling , and found this site . I’ve been off everything for 6-7 weeks . I see people with exact symptom profiles and I see a lot of people that don’t seem to show improvement with the hyper arousal especially from sounds . ive already suffered most of my life , and it’s been ten years and I’m not even close to better , in fact way worse. I guess what I need is a success story, for people with similar countless (to long to list) drug trials , that had the hyper arousal from sounds , lights , emotions , etc and eventually showed improvement . I don’t want to break any rules by saying how I truly feel , but this basically isn’t doable . I saw one lady that said she has the auditory arousal issues seven years later .. what?????? No.. can’t, sorry, I’ve already been in hell for 10 plus years . any success stories or other who had this issue and showed improvement WOULD help. I can’t really find any though . thank you for allowing me in the group and for reading

Hi everyone, I’m new to the site, but I have been dealing with psychiatric withdrawal symptoms (from benzos) for a very long time. Currently, I am hoping to taper very slowly off of Duloxitine, but I need a doctor recommendation. I live in the Chicago area. I contacted Dr. McMasters who was listed on this site, but she is not taking new patients. Does anyone have any other recommendations?

I started Citalopram 20mg in January 2008 for anxiety and depression. It didnt work well so doctor updosed me to 40mg. After a month of sides i went back to 20mg. She changed me to different generics. I didnt have withdrawal or side effects on the different generics. In October 2010 a new doctor switched me to 20mg Paxil generic. In November 2011 I went onto original paxil 20mg, i had a panic attack in my sleep, but the next day i was fone. I felt really happy and everything was good. April 2012 I decided to go off paxil. I halved the dose to 10mg for 3 weeks, the next 3 weeks I skipped alternative days untill I stopped completely mid May 2012. I had the usual withdrawal symptoms, then I felt good. In July 2012 I had a breakdown. I got new symptoms and went to see the doctor. He advised I go on prozac. I started on 20mg for 4 days. I stopped on the 4th day because of start-up effects like anxiety and sedation. Doctor said ok fine, lets put you on a small dose of Cymbalta 30mg. 1st day the same as Prozac, second day all hell broke loose. Had a severe adverse reaction to the cymbalta. I had dearelization, head felt funny as if no blood was flowing to my brain, nlood pressure was low I felt like death. I found another site and they advised i go back on paxil and get stable. A week after the cymbalta incident i went back on paxil but started out on 5mg. I took it for 18 days and then stopped as it didnt work and made me confused and sedated. Now, 3 months med free I am suffering badly. My anxiety, dizziness and head symptoms are a bit better but now i am really suffering from extremely severe derealization and depersonalization. I mean extreme 24/7 and I am so so scared I messed up too badly to recover I dont think im going to recover. I am 23 years old btw. I have brain fog, dizziness, extreme fatiugue, DP/DR, apathy, anhedonia, tremors. I have lost all hope....

( mod note, mmt) Ewa's Introduction topic is here: Ewa;Cymbalta 60 mg coldturkey My name is Ewa, I’m 49 years young and I have recovered from the voyage to hell that was initiated by cold turkey from 20 years of antidepressants use. In the title SHE is my daughter (now 12 years old) my first and main reason to stay here, second is my husband Eric who was my caregiver and was there for me unwaveringly, third information about withdrawal from this website (was my first website I found when looking for answers) and others like it, success stories of people who came through victorious, and relentless search for truth. On February 2018 I cold turkey from 60mg of Cymbalta (December 2017 I turned 44 years old) almost instantly I was in altered state of consciousness (in medical community labeled as mania, I dislike their terminology but I will use it here in parenthesis) had out of body experiences and visions (not hallucinations) one of them was my mothers trauma I didn’t know about. I was in trans like state very euphoric, didn’t need much sleep, had diarrhea for about one month, metallic taste in my mouth, could not eat meat and other foods. I was functioning but in different way. Gradually I was coming down from euphoria, it took 8 months and one day it was clear to me that I was very much different in past months (I had that awareness during but was not afraid of it) also I started to feel internal vibration that I thought was anxiety (never had anxiety before in my life). In the end of August 2018 I went back on 60 mg Cymbalta plus 0.5 mg Ativan (first time in my life I was put on benzodiazepine), two weeks into being back on drugs I became suicidal. Every two months I was in hospital changed the antidepressant Ativan stayed the same 0.5 mg twice a day or as needed. My condition was worsening and in January 2019 I did ketamine which put me further down the hell. By this time my diagnosis changed from depression (my original sign 😉) to treatment resistant depression, all they have left for me was ECT, I had 8 sessions in total and after last one as I was walking out of hospital (for my last two sessions I was outpatient, for so called maintenance sessions) I heard just a whisper of my own soul “Ewa you have to find your own way out of here, if you stay,there will be no coming back”, by this time I was a shell of my former self, a mare shadow of a human being, that upon waking from last ECT had to guess what year it was, I was successful in this but the president of USA in 2019 was still Obama.As soon as I got home I went on internet and found this website, my search for my own way out of hell has begun. At that time I was on Zoloft and Ativan, I decided to cold turkey again (two months taper) and in May 2019 my drug free life has begun. The level of suffering has intensified greatly and stayed the same for two years. I did not have windows not even one. I had severe insomnia, slept 2 or 3 or 0 hours, anhedonia, depersonalization, déréalisation, intrusive thoughts, suicidal ideation and urges, memory loss, cognition loss, complete loss of appetite, my GI was twisting and burning, I forced myself to eat and it was two bites at the time, I didn’t shower for weeks only when I was on my period (I never lost my menstruations still have it now), all consuming terror was always there, didn’t brush my teeth (had to have 3 crowns last year), I had light sensitivity sunny days in summer where extra torture, sounds sensitivity (I love music but in that state was torture), my whole body was stiff like I was log of wood very hard wood. Adrenaline rushes like toxic waves through my body, Agoraphobia ( was mostly bad bound), apathy, confusion, crying it was more wailing like a caged animal I became. Inner trembling, lethargy, complete loss of libido, during my very short sleep I manage to have nightmares. Tinnitus was not severe and it went away after about one year. January 3 2020 I wrote this “All I want is to be able to be a mother and wife again ! I love Chloe and Eric so much” at that time I had all the symptoms I listed above. Also I have to add that during my altered state of consciousness (mania) April 2018 I had breast lift surgery(it was scheduled in 2017), day after walking up the stairs I heard myself saying “it is not normal to cut healthy body” , this procedure so accepted and even praised by our sick society is a band aid in form of self mutation to secure love and approval of others behind which is a very deep pain. I had infection and was put on very strong antibiotics, further destroying my got. (I have to go to my appointment now second part of my root canal treatment, I will continue later on today, I will submit this now because I don’t know how to save this and don’t want to loose it 😊) Thank you to my father Jan whom I love deeply, it was from his life journey and strength I drew inspiration to go on.

Hello everyone! I apologize this will be long but unfortunately doctors played me on a hamster wheel. I now realized how bad I affected my CNS because of writing out a timelines of everything I took. Summer of 2021 I went into depression and actually did not know what was happening to me. Extremely fatigue, could not sleep, could not eat, nothing made me happy, complete anhedonia. I was so scared because of what was happening to me...then came in anxiety when my neurologist friend says I should start AD meds. I was loosing it....so after 2 months of pure agony here it goes: July 2021 - started prozac 20mg, romeron 30mg and ativan 1mg September 2021 - started going down on prozac as I got to 50mg and was having horrible side effects (headache, dizziness, etc.) October 2021 – switched to Zoloft 50mg and added Lyrica 75 with the to drop the Ativan. was taking Romeron on and off, was able to get off it easily. January 2022 – still taking Ativan and Lyrica also, tapering down Zoloft as I got to 125mg and was again feeling horrible. Headaches, zombie, numb no feelings. Went down according to my dr from 125 to 75mg and felt horrible, the dr wanted to put me on Cymbalta. I decided to try to get off meds totally. January-end of March 2022 – by the end of March I was done tapering Zoloft, I had no actual taper rules because I did not inform myself anywhere and I did not tell my dr either. I was just cutting small pieces of the tablet off. The whole experience was horrible, I had bad anxiety, nausea, fuzzy head type of feeling, vertigo, emotional numbness, anhedonia – I was just there and felt horrible physically too. April 2022 – After 3 weeks totally off Zoloft I am back at new psychiatrist and got back on Prozac 20 to take me out of withdrawal. Bad mistake. All this time I was still taking Ativan and Lyrica. May 2022 – Major headaches started again, I got switched directly from Prozac to Cymbalta 30 and from Ativan 1mg to Valium (10mg). June 2022 – upped Cymbalta from 30 to 60 being a therapeutic dose. This increase totally kicked my a$$. July 2022– my dr. started tapering my benzo, she really wanted me off (so did I!!!) She insists I do it like she says and not go to “forums I keep reading”. I told her about Ashton Manual and my Cymbalta hurts worse group and she was not happy. So, I said ok, lets do it like her and started tapering Valium by a quarter every 7 days 😕 August 2022 – by the time I got to the last quarter (2.5mg) of Valium I was a mess: anxiety, complete fatigue I could barely do anything, my whole body hurt, blurry vision, wanted to sleep and lay down all day. I lasted like this 10 days and could not do it anymore. I have 2 small children to look after. Dr says to go back to Valium 10mg and increase Cymbalta to 90 saying 60 is not enough to get me off of valium….. October 2022 – headaches start here and there. I was feeling okish other than headaches. December 2022 – by Christmas time I was so desperate to do something, I was having day and night pressure type headaches that did not go away with any meds for the past 5-6 weeks nonstop, from the minute I opened my eyes. December 2022 – dr. switches me from Cymbalta 90 straight to Effexor 75 without any tapering. I was still on 10mg Valium and 225 Lyrica by now. January – March 2023 – the switch to Effexor was bad: constant faint like feeling, stiff neck and painful neck and skull/head and major anxiety. Got increased to Effexor 112 and the anxiety was much better. Within 14 days headaches started again, I was terrified. April 2023 – had headaches most of the time from January to April when I suggested my dr to back to Cymbalta 60 when I was fine and had no headaches. She agrees and has me direct switch from Effexor to Cymbalta 60mg. The switch was horrendous: bad migraines for days, flu like feeling for days, tired, anxiety and continuing headaches. May 2023 – my doctor makes the wonderful decision of trying to get me off antidepressants to see how my natural state is and figure out this headache mystery. She says go from 60 to 30 cymbalta for 2 weeks and increase lyrica to 300 and then zero Cymbalta and 375 lyrica and 1mg Ativan again (instead of Valium). OMG OMG OMG. I lasted 2 weeks off Cymbalta while I was having mild anxiety and what bothered me most was very intense pain, burning, pins and needles at the base of my skull and going up my skull in the back of my head like someone just hit me with a baseball bat. I called my dr crying and she says to start Cymbalta 30 again and see what happens. I was a little better, the pain was better but still there. I find the Cymbalta hurts worse facebook group and post my story there also. They advised me to go up on Cymbalta (try weighing beads if I can and take less then 60 or just take straight 60). June 2023 – I increased to Cymbalta 50, the first week was great I had such pain relief and I was getting excited I am finally a bit better after everything I have been through. The increase in Cymbalta was rough on my body again, I was having BAD headaches daily, the neck pain returned. I go to the dr again and she wants to switch me to amitriptyline. She says go down to Cymbalta 30 and start ami 12.5 for 10 days then drop Cymbalta to zero and go up to 25 ami. I went down AGAINNN to Cymbalta 30 and added 12.5 ami on June 10th 2023 and have been there since then. I did not go CT on Cymbalta again, I am honestly scared to do any other change. I still take 1mg Ativan and 225 Lyrica. So 4 drugs total…..I am 35 and have 2 kids and psych meds totally ruined me so far. What I have now is a different symptom every week (that s about how long it lasts untill a new one comes or they keep rotating). They are probably still withdrawal symptoms, that is my guess: -neck and head pain/headaches - I am almost sure cymbalta is also causing my headaches -nausea -anxiety especially in the afternoon but not too bad -anhedonia - I could care less that it is friday, monday, vacation or I am at the office. I have not felt happiness, excitement, joy or even sadness in a longgg time. -lack of motivation or excitement to do anything. I was a very active person that loved to do things/go places. What I take now (nothing changed to the AD since June 10th): -0.5 ativan in the AM -75 lyrica at noon -30 cymbalta at 5pm -0.5 ativan afternoon or whenever I feel it necessary (it helps most with the neck pain) -225 lyrica and 12.5 ami before bed usually around 8.30 pm Pls help! where do I start tapering these 4 drugs? I am familiar with the scale method, the bead method for cymbalta. Do I have to wait until completely stable after the cymbalta dose change in june? Tthank you so much. You are honestly my only hope that one day I will be free from all of this. I have been to multiple drugs and they all have no clue....I have been to 2 of the top doctors in Bucharest Romania and I felt I knew more... -

Hi all, I'm going to start to taper off Cymbalta this year and am doing some research into the process of tapering, speed and side effects. Thanks to all those here and all who've walked this path, for sharing your experiences and stories which all really help. I'm strongly considering the 'bead' method and going very slowly, although even the thought of it has kicked up my anxiety. I'm quite concerned because I know I'm sensitive to chemical changes and medications so I will need to take it very gradually. I also don't know if I will get a lot of FM pain back again once I stop taking it or cut down. Anyway, lots of reading for me to do first before I start. I'll keep posting as I get going.

I am 47 years old have been on anti-depressions for 11 years. I was on venlafaxine for the first few months early 2012. While it helped, nausea was unbearable so I switched to Cymbalta. I was on cymbalta until Early 2017. When it started to lose its efficacy, I switched to Zoloft (sertraline) quickly. I was up to 200mg per day through the end (2022 summer) and I wanted to sleep 24/7. With my doctor's approval, I weaned off in 30 days. (Looking back - this was definitely too fast) I have been chemical free for the past 30 days. While the withdrawal symptoms are still there, they are definitely getting better every day. Reading a few comments here helped me a lot already. I feel very hopeful now. One final note - It is amazing to me how doctors take this so lightly. They prescribe these drugs like they are m&ms and they switch your medication like changing your bed-sheets. And when it is time to wean off, they treat like it is nothing. Shame to the medical system!

When can I just stop taking cymbalta? Currently on 15mg of Cymbalta from a compounding pharmacy. I’ve been fine with 25% decreases. Curious when I can just stop taking it. Pharmacy will compound till 1mg. I’m working with an acupuncturist and about to start traditional Chinese herbs. Supplements I’m taking are: mag glycinate, multivitamin, riboflavin, coq10, vitamin d, zinc, and fish oil. Working with a functional medicine doctor and getting blood work redone tomorrow. Tested negative for sibo. Getting a gut microbiome test done. In a taper support group and a group for exposure therapy to help me with anxiety and ptsd. Interviewed to participate in Hopkins pscilycbin research and waiting to hear back. Got into UPenn’s neurofeedback program but need to be off cymbalta to start. I really want to do emdr but can’t afford it. Any recs on that? I’ve been gluten free for 7 years (non-celiac allergy) but getting allergy testing done again and starting the AIP elimination diet to see if it helps with my autoimmune issues. Trying to also really focus on my sleep and exercise.

Moderator's note: Link to gardenlady's benzo thread I would like to taper off of 60 mg Cymbalta. However, I am in the middle of a taper off of Valium and am now at 11 mg/day. The horror stories I have heard about Cymbalta withdrawal terrify me. Should I cross over from Cymbalta to another AD and then taper off? And, should I wait until I finish my Valium taper? I cross tapered from 1.75 mg Ativan to 13 mg Valium and am now down to 11 mg. It's going to be a long time until I'm off of it. I am horribly depressed since switching to Valium, but the anxiety from interdose withdrawals on the Ativan were unbearable. I want off of ALL of these psychotropic drugs but realize I have to go slowly. I just want my life back. Any advice would be much appreciated.

This is my first posting here and I apologize in advance if the topic of LDN is well known. LDN is the acronymn for Low Dose Naltrexone. Naltrexone has been used for many years to help treat opiate and alcohol addictions. I was put on Cymbalta in 2010 after the death of my 21 year old son in a car crash. I was in shock (still am) but I also felt like my body weighed 3000 lbs. The Cymbalta DID help relieve me of that unbearable heaviness. I did eventually reach the max dose of 120mg. I had run out of my prescription a couple of times, due to forgetting to pick it up etc. I do recall becoming tearful and the "zaps" in the head. The last couple of years are much a blur anyway. My most recent incident occurred during a trip out of state to see my brother. I ended up staying an additional week to help him with a number of things but had only packed my "pillbox" for a 5 day stay. Needless to say I started to feel terrible pretty quickly. I remembering saying to my brother that I could relate to the heroin addicts that always feel sick until their next fix. I at first thought that I could tuff it out. No I could not! By day 3 I called my PCP for a script to be faxed over to an out of state pharmacy. That was in October 2013. I did discuss this event with the psychiatrist that prescribes my Cymbalta and it seems to be a rare occurrence according to him ? Well I did go from 120mg down to 90mg after that appt without a problem. Fast forward to January 2014, I am doing some research on autoimmune disease as my siblings and I have developed a few. I came across the use of LDN ( low dose naltrexone) in a number of auto immune disorders and requested a prescription from my PCP 2 weeks ago. I read as much as I could find and it made sense to me to try to further reduce my heroin like addiction to Cymbalta to see if the LDN may reduce the awful withdrawal symptoms. I am currently taking LDN 4.5mg at bedtime along with only 30mg of Cymbalta! And I am happy to say not only do I feel a little better from the LDN I have not experienced a single uncomfortable symptom from the reduction in Cymbalta. I am a bit nervous about going from 30 to 0, I may wait a couple weeks. I did want to put this info out here tho. LDN is not very well known, it's cheap, off patent etc. Just google LDN and educate yourself. It may not work for everyone. BTW, my auto immune disorder was/is Transverse Myelitis. My withdrawal symptoms had NOTHING to do with the TM. I had TM in 1977 with a 90% recovery.

[50, male] Hi. I'm about to embark on a taper of the dreaded Cymbalta, which I have been on for almost 4 months-- 1 month of ramp up plus 3 months at 30mg. I'm quitting because its main effects have been lethargy, apathy, and demotivation. Some anxiety and sleep relief comes with that but it's not worth the zombification. This stuff scares me and I want nothing more to do with it. Starting about 6 weeks ago, my shrink added Wellbutrin 150mg which hasn't made much difference. About 6 years ago I went through this same process with a prior shrink (for the same complaint, anxiety)-- try Prozac, experience apathy/lethargy, add Wellbutrin. The Wellbutrin felt pretty amazing but ultimately was too speedy and I decided to quit everything. I agreed to Wellbutrin once again in hopes of a similar effect but this time no luck. I think the ugliness of Cymbalta just drowns everything else out. Unfortunately I don't recall the exact details of my prior Prozac/Wellbutrin taper but my best guess is that it lasted between 6 months and 1 year (I was aware of this site and the importance of slowness). There were no adverse effects during the taper. So my primary goal this go round is to taper Cymbalta. But I'm torn between wanting to taper safely/slowly vs reducing my overall exposure and getting back to my pre-zombie state as soon as possible. If I were to do 10% at 2 week steps I'd be looking at an 18 month taper from 30mg. This seems too long. Since I've only been on it 3-4 months, I'm hoping I can go a little faster than that. I'm thinking of trying 15% at 1.5 week steps which would take a total of 10 months. Along the way I may or may not pause to taper some piece of the Wellbutrin, depending on how it all goes. My question is whether or not my 10 month taper plan seems reasonable. Thanks for any input. Sonny

Hi, I just joined and wishing to learn to be away from drugs. I tried to stop my medicine voluntarily but experienced withdrawal symptoms. I resumed medicine but with a low dose of 30mg Cymbalta. I have been taking various medicine since 2011.