What are the symptoms of Cymbalta withdrawal?

Oh, hobbies - writing (articles I publish), and other genres of writing as I love to write, composing, listening to and playing music on my piano, volunteer work -- a nearby agency that distributes food to people with low incomes and I help pack the food in the warehouse and you get to meet people who pack as well and have a social outing, too. : ) And walking daily!!!

I have been on Duloxetine 120 mg for several years. Recently I had eye surgery with the complication of abnormal bleeding into the vitreous fluid in my eye. I mentioned this to my psychiatrist and he looked up adverse effects. There is a rare instance of abnormal platelet agglutination being on Duloxetine. My psychiatrist stopped 60 mg of the drug which I did fine with. About 10 days ago he told me to stop taking the other 60 mg. I have a diagnosis of major depression with anxiety disorder. I received upsetting news about my son while out of town about 5 days after being off Duloxetine. I had a volatile anxiety/depression crisis with crying, severe anxiety, and deep depression. So it has been 10 days since I’ve been off the Duloxetine and the brain zaps, the prickling skin sensations, air hunger, the increasing anxiety, abdominal pain, nausea, confusion, and feeling like I’m in outer space are worsening daily. Of corse it’s Saturday and I am unable to reach my psychiatrist. I am taking my clonazepam which helps with the anxiety for now but I have had to take 1 more pill than ordered to keep me from losing it. I have 20 mg caps of Duloxetine but I don’t want to do anything without my doctors orders. I am having a hematology consult next Wednesday. I wish my doctor would call but his office recording doesn’t mention an on call Dr and my doctor’s cell phone mailbox is full so I can’t leave a message.

Hi @jeanne51 and welcome to Connect. Those withdrawal side effects must be frustrating.

I wanted to introduce you to fellow Connect members @elwooodsdad and @petangelkat1 as they have experience with Duloxetine and may be able to help you as you wean off of it.'

Back to you @jeanne51 how are you feeling today? Has your psychiatrist started you on a different medication?

@jeanne51 - just wanted to check in and see how you are doing?

You can private message (PM) me on this site.

I have been on Cymbalta for 2 1/2 years. I had a vitrectomy about 5 months ago and had abnormal bleeding. In retrospect I have had issues with severe bruising with hematoma formation. I saw a hematologist and had lots of tests done. Everything was normal. My psychiatrist looked up side effects of being on Cymbalta was abnormal bleeding. He cut my 120 mg daily dose in half and for a month I had no issues. When he told be to stop taking the 60 mg about 5 days later I went into severe withdrawal. I had head zaps, nausea, extreme anxiety with labile emotions, insomnia, air hunger, and this feeling of impending doom. My psychiatrist told me to go back on 20 mg which I did and my symptoms of withdrawal subsided for the most part other than being quite depressed. I reduced the dose to 10 mg (opening capsule and splitting entering beads in half) and have been on that dose for 4 weeks. I saw my psychiatrist and he said to cut the dose in half again which I did yesterday. I was very anxious with labile emotions all day. I woke up this morning at 4am with head zaps, anxiety and inability to go back to sleep. I will go back up to 10 mg and reduce by 1/3 in a week. I also have mild cognitive impairment which compounds the withdrawal issue.

Hi @jeanne51 you may have noticed I moved your post to this existing discussion on Cymbalta withdrawal in order for you to see what others have said about this topic. Simply click VIEW & REPLY in your email notification to find your post.

I wanted to tag fellow Connect members @inky and @jeanne51 as they may be able to offer you support.

Back to you @jeanne51 what has your doctor told you how long you will be on the next reduced dose?

You can see how my cognitive deficit is at work. I forgot that I had already posted on here previously. Thanks for redirecting me. My psychiatrist is very experienced and a very good MD but he doesn’t realize the difficulty in coming off Cymbalta. Previously when I titrated off one SSRI he would titrate me up on a different one. I don’t want to go on any more of these drugs because of the side effects. My serotonin levels in my brain are taking a long time to readjust without the drug. There is a very good support group on Facebook called Cymbalta hurts worse. They offer many suggestions on how to taper down.

Hi, @jeanne51 - that sounds challenging coming off the duloxetine (Cymbalta) and feeling like your brain is taking a long time to readjust without the drug.

I'd also like to tag @popolopo @coralbells1 @lioness @kimspr3 to speak to their experiences tapering off of this medication. @artscaping may also have some input for you.

@jeanne51, Good afternoon. I have read with dismay your post about Cymbalta side effects and your struggle with the cognitive issues. And I have read posts on the referenced FB page re: Cymbalta. Maybe because I never have been a medicine taker, or because I am generally distrusting of medications and/or the drug industry I am cautious and a true doubting Thomas. It has now become second nature for me to build on experience, trust my assessments and keep things as simple as possible.

Based on years of questionable experiences, I now am labeled as highly sensitive to medications. In my simple language, that means that I do not tolerate new medications unless the dosages are delivered in stages over a 3 month period. It takes a while for our bodies to adapt to a new chemical....especially if it has to get along with everything else we swallow daily. This "Connect" forum has taught me to be my own advocate and my mantra for every day is "May I be free and protected from both inner and outer harm."

What has amazed me is that with this 3-month plan, most of the listed side effects do not pay me a visit. So a foggy brain on an initial dose of 60 mg of duloxetine is just a forgotten item at the grocery store because you start the first month at 20 mg. My PCP and I worked this out and our first test was duloxetine. It worked beautifully. The side effects have all been positive in terms of reducing my anxiety induced pain. I do need to mention that after becoming familiar with medication at a certain dosage....it does happen that after a while, our bodies are quite comfortable and the desired effects have decreased or dimmed. Then, we will complain that a medication isn't working for us and request a higher dosage. Or, we learn that there is something else and perhaps something better just coming out and we want to give it a try. So we wean ourselves off one and take on a new pharmacological challenge.

That behavior is certainly justified for those of us who are in chronic, all the time, pain. We are anxious to believe and to experience those cherished pain-free moments. I hope you find peace. And I will share one last example. With a recent diagnosis of osteoporosis, I was given the monthly capsule of Boniva. There was no way to build tolerance so I went for it. That experience turned out so poorly, with pain in my facial bones e.g., eye sockets, and jaw, that I was begging to have all of my teeth pulled just for a few moments relief. We are now in negotiations for an exception ruling so that I can give myself daily injections for the next 18 months at an unbelievable financial cost. Still, I want to live as well as I can at 77. I have my fingers crossed for both of us. Chris