2 weeks off Duloxetine - now the tears are hitting hard

[janey50]

Angela, well done for coming off Duloxetine! However horrid you feel right now, you've got past the worst bit and just think, you've DONE it! Now you will need to be very kind to yourself and appreciate that you are in recovery from a very powerful drug. Crying is therapeutic but I know just what you mean about grown-up kids not wanting to see you in distress. for me, it's perhaps rather, I don't want them to see ME like that, altho both mine are very kind and sympathetic. At least if they are grown-up they should be able to get their heads round the fact that sometimes life is very hard and mums are not invincible. I'd give St Johns Wort a go, but not till you have settled down a bit. As for feeling hot, well I'm going through the menopause so that happens anyway but a lot of these drugs cause hot flushes and I'm sure it will pass as the drug leaves yr system. My very best wishes to you. Janeyx

[Justin1501]

I picked up on your story from a google search I was doing on cymbalta/duloxetine withdrawal.

I am a 28-yo male from Dallas/Ft. Worth, Texas, and I have just started cessation from the drug. I have been on antidepressants for more than five years now. I have gained over 40 pounds and lost my libido during this time. The side effects during treatment are what I can no longer endure given the limited effectiveness of the drugs.

I am now taking one 30mg capsule of duloxetine every other day, which is down from 90mg everyday. I am experiencing the intense electric jolts throughout my body, intense headaches, and blurry vision, although psychologically, I feel fine.

And not to offend you or anyone reading this, but my libido has increased dramatically. I haven't felt this way since adolescence, and that's all I'll say about that.

I read your blog and became concerned that you are now experiencing crying spells. That is the withdrawal symptom I am terrified of the most. However, thanks to you I know firmly what to expect. I'd rather be prepared to deal with it than to have it sneak up on me , which might lead me to relapse onto the antidepressant.

Best of luck to you from a friend across the pond!

-Justin

[ElizabethJane]

Dear Yvonne I didn't know that you were trying to withdraw from duloxetine. I was on mirtazapine last year and I took two goes to come off of it with terrible side effects. Keep strong and take one day at a time. I wish you all the best. Jane.

[janey50]

Justin - well done for coming off Cymbalta. You are doing so well. Don't look back! If you do start to feel weepy (and I hope you won't) try to remember it's not about REAL sadness or problems - it's just the last kicks coming from the drug as it leaves your system. Horrid drug! So many of us do without sex because of anti-depressants and no psychiatrist I've evr had seemed to think that was important. You'll feel much more in control now. Best of luck to you, Janey.

[Yvonne]

Hi Justin friend from across the Pond lol

It was December 2007 I was coming off the Duloxetine. I was only on 60mg but coming off it still wasn't easy, I'd only been taking it for a year.

I don't agree with every other day withdrawal method, I think you should have a dosage in the drug daily and take it down that way. Did you come down from 90 to 30?? If so, no wonder you are having body shocks.

It's horrible Justin, but you will get through it. You may not even get the tearful stuff. As regards libido - yep I don't mind admitting that when you do come off these meds you do start to get feelings you had forgotten about. Yes, even me at 51 (very young and vivacious, good looking etc 51 lol).

Keep us posted won't you. You have to just be determined. Maybe have a word with your P Doc as you Americans call it and ask him if you could take a dosage of the med each day rather than day on day off.

[Justin1501]

hey yvonne,

thanks for the words of encouragement.

my P doc? wouldn't that be awesome if i still had one. my reasons for coming off the med are two-fold. first, i'm not up to the challenge of taking these meds for the rest of my adult life. and second, the US healthcare system is an ABSOLUTE MESS, and i no longer have health insurance. so, i cannot afford to keep taking cymbalta. it is almost $175 (US dollars) for a thirty day supply. isn't that absurd?

anyhow, im happy to be coming off of it. it's been half a decade since i've not been taking some sort of antidepressant, so i'm looking forward to it.

take care.

-justin

[Yvonne]

Justin

Wow! Hearing that makes me feel grateful to have the NHS - I complain about the £7.50 I have to pay for my scripts.

I wish you every success coming off and I think you're attitude is brilliant. Go for it. The meds are certainly not magic wands and if I could get off the meds I would. However, I can't and that's another story.

Keep in touch and let us know how you're doing, I'll give you support ifyou need it.

[ElizabethJane]

Hi Yvonne me again you can buy a pre payment certificate for your prescriptions. I have a yearly one and it costs about ten pounds a month. As you know I have at least four items a month. I pay by direct debit and all I show at the chemists is a plastic card rather like a credit card. I agree with Justin that anti depressants can dampen sexual feelings but they can re awaken them too.

[ElizabethJane]

I hadn't realised that this was an old thread.

[rnathoo]

Hi,
Thanks for your thoughts and expeiences while coming off duloxtine. I am in my second week and am experience light headedness some pins and needles and slight body/head jolts.
Feel restless and sickly at times.
Hope you are now near your normal self.
Ram