Going off of Cymbalta Journey

I think for one you didn't give the Cymbalta long enough to work fully; and when you dicided to make the switch you you dropped and added to quickly. Even though SSRI's are supposed be from the same family; genetics determine how the person will respond I believe. Our brain is very delicate and from experience I have seen some easy withdrawals and horrific ones. I choose not to take a chance on the worst ones so going slow and steady has been the best thing for me on this switch. I haven't had any terrible reactions that have disrupted my day or normal sleep patterns too badly. I feel better with each passing day. I only dropped 1/4 of my previous medicine at a time while adding the 1/4 of the new medicine. Though I do go through the normal tired spells, and even some irritable feelings it does pass in a few days as I wait out the wash out period for the escitalopram. Then I give myself a couple extra days to settle before I drop again. It took me 16 days to get on a fell dose of my new medication. Now I am waiting for the full effect of that to take effect and the last washout of the escitalopram. It will probably take about 4 more weeks to see the full effect if it is going to be a success. Titration amounts and timing are very important for switches; though some may disagree. You should contact your doctor and discuss your reactions to this switch.
I myself do not smoke pot but I do know of someone that does to relieve anxiety that the meds he takes doesn't work for yet. His doctors know about it. Though I do think it 'drones' him quite a bit when I have seen him.
I hope you feel better soon : (

Post Edited (3Shadows) : 8/29/2015 7:39:00 AM (GMT-6)

I think genetic testing is a great thing; and even greater that you can have assess tot hat wherever you are. I had genetic testing done to determine if I had a genetic mutated gene or two that causes depression and anxiety among other things. I found I did have it and that I am wired with this chemical imbalance. So it was good to know that it was not just situational in my life. If I had access to that type of test too I would get it done. Then you don't waste your health on med's that are not going to help you. Just my opinion. Let us know what you find out. It would be really interesting to hear and to hear your take on the information they give you.

I thought this might help you as you move forward to recovery:

How long does it take for Prozac to work? Sleep, energy, or appetite may show some improvement within the first 1-2 weeks. Improvement in these physical symptoms can be an important early signal that the medication is working. Depressed mood and lack of interest in activities may need up to 6-8 weeks to fully improve.


On another note: Have read that it take a very long time for the Cymbalta to fully wash out of your system; and it does have withdrawal symptoms also. Taking the Prozac may be masking some of the withdrawal symptoms and increasing your present depression maybe. Until you get tot he full effective time lapse of the prozac and through the withdrawal period of the cymbalta you will not really know how much the prozac is helping if it is. Keep trucking a long with it.

I am glad you are seeing a ray of some depression lifting. I myself feel much better that I did on the escitalopram; but as with most depression, I go up and down with my energy levels. My take is as I know only for myself; that because or chemistry is altered creating depression; so are our hormones which the brain controls. This also effects other areas of our moods and energies. Take care!

HI!
I am on paraxotine(Paxil). I went off of it 7/8 years ago and have tried a few different ones along with every supplement under the sun; but no help-just survival.

I have been feeling improvement each day/week. Yesterday though we decided to increase it to 25 mgs instead of 20 to help with the continuing mild.anxiety and panic. I felt a little more off today - shortness of breath and increased anxiety; but all and all I feel much better than I have in the past 7/8 years since stopping it.

I am also on hormone therapy that is a trial and have missed a dose due to insurance issues so that might be adding to my increase side effects. I am not concerned though-if it is too much I will know and we will work at weaning me back to 20mgs.

I almost went to the hospital with my pcp's suggestion before I decided to go back on the paxil. Going as an in patient is not a bad thing if you are not feeling that well even though it has been a few weeks on. You should be feeling a little bit better than feeling like you should be in the hospital. But.......again the withdrawals from the Cymbalta can linger a while and make it hard to tell if your new med is helping more than it is.

Feel free to post anytime to me. Don't let yourself get to a hopeless state. If you feel like you need to into the hospital get to the ER. Don't try to 'suck it up' and be strong. That is what the hospital is there for.

Warmly with hope for you.

***Warning, Possible trigger***

25 off of Cymbalta
24 days on Prozac

Hello everyone. I’ve been putting off updating this. I’ll start with the good news… Still no physical withdrawal symptoms.

Bad news… suicidal ideation has not stopped. Unlike the first time I went off of Cymbalta, I don’t feel like my brain has been hijacked and is on a loop of death and despair. This time, it is more a steady hopelessness, a more ‘rational’ solution. BUT I’d like to be very clear about the fact that I do NOT think this is an emergency, I know I will be safe for the next few days/weeks. I have already been to two Mental Health hospitals for evaluations in the past week and everyone, including myself, thinks inpatient will be of little help to me (72 hour hold isn’t going to do much). So I start outpatient tomorrow and I’ve been staying with a friend.

I got the results from Genesight a few days ago, and Prozac is not on the list of good medications for me, so I will be switching again in the next few days.

3Shadows, Thanks for checking in on me  I’m glad you’re seeing slight improvement with Paxil, have you adjusted to 25mg yet? Paxil was one of the first medications I was on, but it was too long ago for me to tell you how it worked for me. It was one of the medications on my Do Not Take list from the Genesight Testing (I will type a more detailed post about those results later). Hope you are well.

Hello everyone. I ended up checking into a hospital. Just as I imagined, it didn't cure me but it wasn't a bad experience either. I just hope it doesn’t come back to haunt me when I switch health insurance policies in the future.

Someone requested I share my Genesight results...

My genesight results indicated that Cymbalta, Luvox, Paxil were poor medicines for me, all of which I have been on in the past. Though due to being so young and taking the medicine inconsistently, I don't remember about the times I was on those medications. As I've said before I was on Cymbalta for two years recently, and though I still got down, it worked enough. It did however cause me to be nauseous in the mornings. The doctor said that just because drugs are listed in the poor/"use with increased caution" column doesn't mean someone can't take them, just that they may need a higher dosage? I'm not entirely sure how the test works, but I decided to take it's advice anyway.

Which brings us to the medium/"use with caution" column, which Prozac was in (which, as stated before, I just started taking) and Remeron, which I've never taken before. So since the Prozac was on this list, I decided to switch to a medicine on the good list.

There was a lot listed under the good/"use as directed" column:

SSRIs
Celexa
Lexapro
Viibryd
Brintellix

SNRIs
Pristiq
Fetzima
Effexor

Tricyclics
Elavil
Anafranil
Norpramin
Sinequan
Tofranil
Pamelor
Desyrel

Atypicals/MAOIs
Wellbutrin (which sent me into panic attacks when taken alone)
Emsam


I narrowed my decision down, which the help of 3 psychiatrists (don’t ask). Since I am still responsive to SSRIs, I decided to go that route, though I was considering the SNRIs. I chose Lexapro mainly because of the cost. A booster was added, all 3 doctors’ first choice was a mood stabilizer - Lithium. I asked for Lamictal, and they agreed.

SO…

12 Days off of Prozac (20mg)
12 Days on Lexapro (10mg)
9 Days on Lamictal (25mg)

:sigh:

As to how I’m feeling… depressed. More stable though. This pharmaceutical merry round seems never-ending.

It's sometimes hard to find 'success stories' online so I thought I'd check in again.

I'm on 15mg Lexapro, 25mg Lamictal. I feel stabile again, finally, I can push suicidal thoughts out of my head now. I'd say they come about once a day, but are way more abstract, just passing through- not dominating as before. I'm working with a therapist to challenge my negative thinking, it sucks :) I know it needs to be done, but sometimes I feel like a person with no legs and she's demanding, "Just get up and walk! I do it all the time. Everyone does it. Honestly, it's like you don't even want to get better" -.- A month ago, though, I probably would have been too depressed to even drive there, so I see it as a success. After a month of research and relentless fear, I've decided to take steps to make a career switch (this hellish episode I've been through will not be in vain). Moving from an administrative career to Pilates Instructor, which will be good for my mental health, have me engage with the community, allow me to help people, and most importantly get me out of the dreaded white collar world.

3SHADOWS, thanks to you and the others for keeping me company on this journey. I am so happy to hear you are doing better! I wish you luck figuring out the anxiety portion!

I'm not sure if the mood stabilizer is boosting the serotonin effects since we've been tweeking the medicine, but I notice my mood is more stabile (imagine that). I didn't have extreme mood swings before, but now that they are gone I realize how draining it was.

Side notes:

1. Check out the book Furiously Happy by Jenny Lawson it's a comedic take and her journey with mental illness

2. For anyone suicidal, I'd like to offer my take on getting help when you're in the thick of it... For me, intensive outpatient therapy sucked, but it helped but in an unexpected way. Some days I'd just cry the entire 3 hours and not say a word, hearing other suicidal people talk sometimes made me think there was no hope, and the content wasn't new or overly helpful. BUT someone told me, "stop looking at it as a learning experience, and just look at it as a place to be". And that's what I needed. Intensive outpatient therapy for me was a safe place where I could go in unshowered, makeup-less and just cry. I could talk about the terrible thoughts I have without upsetting friends and family, at a time when I spent all night and all day in bed, it was a place to break that monotony, a place to be surrounded with humans (which is important even if I didn't want relationships with any of them). It didn't give me the answers I was looking for, but it did help keep me alive.

3. Despite what my psychiatrist says, if I miss just one dose of my medicine I go into a tail spin. The marijuana may be having a negative effect as well for me. It certainly doesn't help with the ssri apathy.



Some sayings that are helping me:

"If we don't realize the fastest way to our destination is one step at a time, we will become frustrated"

"Self-discipline takes practice. Self-control brings happiness"