Duloxetine for Generalized Anxiety Disorder User Reviews (Page 5)

• miss_...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• October 27, 2021

Cymbalta (duloxetine) "I have GAD but compared to some it’s quite mild. I believed it was from working in stressful environments. Have had 3 major depressive episodes in 10 years. Wasn’t sleeping, wasn’t eating, anti social… spoke to my Dr and he suggested Cymbalta as it was different to the SSRI family and also having arthritis, it can be used as pain management. This drug saved me. I now sleep all night. I no longer feel anxious. My depressive episode seems to have abated. I have low energy but always did prior to taking this drug. I think also it has affected my libido but I would rather live without sex than live with anxiety!!! I won’t be stopping this drug any time soon. Tapering onto Cymbalta was interesting. I could feel it working from the very first pill. I take it before bed and if I was even one hour late taking it (30mg dose) I would get massive headaches. Once I went to 60mg all the side effects disappeared and I have been on it now for 15 months with no issues."

• CD08
• August 29, 2015

Cymbalta (duloxetine) "Started the 60 mg tablet after breakfast today. Day 1 symptoms are slight nauseous feeling after eating. Some fatigue ( swam 1.5klm today at lunch) some stomach pain and yes some urine retention. Have taken Pristiq before 100mg symptoms were same but had bad itching with pristiq. Lets see what I feel like in 3 days I know the initial period is tough. Score at this point would be NA but I've put 5 until more time progresses. will try to give update on Monday"

• Muche...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• June 3, 2017

Cymbalta (duloxetine) "I personally didn't like this medication as it made me so sick I couldn't eat lost weight and generally felt weak due lack of energy from not eating. Although my GP told me this was a rare occurrence as the side effects generally stop after a couple of days after weeks they didn't. Still looking for a medication that suits me personally. Glad it has been effective so many others"

• South...
• August 16, 2016

Cymbalta (duloxetine) "First dose made me sick feeling, nauseous, stomach issues. Created too many problems, I rather live with anxiety. Wish the drug people would come out with something new, w/o so many bad side effects. I will not take this drug ever. My anxiety is mild compared to many. I can function pretty good most of the time. Things are very stressful for me now with a sick husband. Don't take this drug."

• Cymba...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• September 2, 2022

"I have bpd as well as terrible anxiety. Cymbalta is literally the worst drug. I have been on 30mg for about a month and a half. I have had many health issues arise since starting it but didn’t think it could be from Cymbalta….it definitely was. For one the nightmares are HORRIBLE and the headaches HORRIBLE. I have had a nonstop headache for about 7 days now. I was upped to 60mg 2 days ago. I took one 60mg pill (I take it at night) and woke up the next morning confused and in pain and freaking out. I did not feel like myself AT ALL it was so bad I went to the er and they couldn’t find anything wrong all scans were all normal so it was definitely the Cymbalta I have not taken it in 48 hours and other than having a terrible nightmare waking up sweating last night I haven’t had to much of the withdrawal symptoms. I’m assuming it’s because I was only on 30mg for a month and a half. But seriously beware of this evil drug!"

• Dave
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• January 14, 2022

Cymbalta (duloxetine) "Almost 2 months in, for Personality Disorder /Erratic Thoughts. Initially it was overwhelming Not too much but just the feeling overall Once it regulated in my body though I felt so much better. I'm no longer anxious or feeling bout's of existential dread thinking about my Past:Future ; I'm confident and content everyday I have the energy to move around and motivate myself I'm actively planning and acting to better myself I felt like I was in a hole too deep to climb out of before - now it's nothing to me My sleep is better too which wasn't expected ; eating is still working to a stable footing as I'm so full of energy sometimes hunger doesn't touch me"

• Jackie
• Taken for less than 1 month
• October 8, 2021

Cymbalta (duloxetine) "I am starting to feel better everyday and I’m not having as many anxious thoughts. I’m noticing that I am starting to not care what other people think and just doing what makes me happy. It’s only been a week but I already can tell that it’s helping. My anxiety has always been my biggest downfall. This medicine gives me hope. I hope that it keeps getting better from here."

• Working...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• August 25, 2019

"I've taken this for a week now... I read a lot of the comments on this page and have noticed a few common denominators that I wonder if it makes a difference. I haven't had any adverse side effects from this , other than, a few hours after taking it, I feel for a very short period of time like I drank a 5hour energy. Not jittery or shaky, just a little bit of a faster heart rate. Nothing extreme and doesn't last long. This is my first time ever taking any sort of medication. Most of the proplr having bad side effects on here all say they were taking other medications before. I wonder if that plays a part. feel as if I have more energy. I'm not tired by 2pm as I usually was, I feel more talkative, more at ease. It is working great for stress/anxiety. My doctor did say it would take about 2 weeks for the medicine to get in your system and take affect..that it is possible to have some side affects those first two weeks but then they should subside. So just something to maybe keep in mind."

• Sever...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• July 29, 2023

"I started life on Citalopram for many years and it was fine. It did help a lot, but I still worried a lot. Then I switched to sertraline and it didn't really agree with me. I was more anxious, had headaches, random sleepiness, and stomach pains. So I asked to switch again. Now I'm on duloxetine and it's pretty good. The first few days were great and I felt amazing. Sadly, that didn't last. Although I don't have the headaches or other problems with sertraline. It was very easy with little side effects. So if you're worried about that, I'd say this is a good one. I mean I still worry, but it's definitely less than the previous 2. The only downside for me so far is that drinking alcohol makes me extremely sleepy. I'm not an alcoholic. I do enjoy a couple of beers a few times a week, and I really can't have them on these. It's a bit of a bummer as drinking is fun, in moderation. Still, not the end of the world!"

• Lisa
• December 8, 2020

"I was diagnosed with depression and anxiety. I started with 30mg of duloxetine in the morning for the first week and then continued with 60mg. I also was prescribed prolonged effect xanax to take if needed. Now it has been 2 months and finally these past several weeks I have been starting to feel like myself again. I now realize I had depression/major anxiety for over 8 years and did not enjoy anything for sooo long. Thanks to this drug I'm enjoying life again. I did have major side effects for the first 3 weeks: drowsiness, nausea, headaches, feeling high, dizziness. But since it almost completely erased my anxiety I enjoyed the "rest" on my brain so much that I just powered though and I do not regret it. I did have one anxiety attack during the time the side effects started to go away. The one side effect that has stayed until now, but I don't mind, is that I don't feel hungry. Ever. I do enjoy food while I eat but theres no need to overindulge. I am really happy with the results so far."

• Candy
• Taken for 5 to 10 years
• December 10, 2021

Cymbalta (duloxetine) "It's awful and Doctors are too fast to put patients on it for different things! Go read first hand what it does to us patients. Drs have no clue how to tell patients to get off of this medicine!! You have to taper, counting the little beads in capsules. Do NOT go cold turkey!! Go read Groups *CYMBALTA HURTS""

• Lina
• Taken for less than 1 month
• November 23, 2023

"I tried Prozac, sertraline, you name it, I tried it. Duloxetine is my saving grace. I take it at night because it makes me sleepy but I’m so much happier and less irritated and angry. I haven’t had anxiety since!"

• Farmboy
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• December 24, 2021

Cymbalta (duloxetine) "So I was on Zoloft for 10 years and it stopped working. Panic attacks, anxiety, derealisation. I can barely function some days. After months of increasing dosages and trying to get in to see a psychiatrist (3 month wait) I was switched to Lexapro which didn’t help me, then we switched to cymbalta. I haven’t been able to come down less than 50mg of zoloft the whole time. Now two months after being on cymbalta I never saw much change. One day I missed a dose at night and the next day I thought I was dying. Didn’t realize I missed the dose but it was bad. So I’m trying to go down from 60mg to 30mg and the first few days have been very rough. Old symptoms of anxiety and panic that never left have gotten worse. Either the Cymbalta was helping some but not enough or these are symptoms of withdrawal. For me this medication wasted another 2.5 months in my search for a med that can give me my life back."

• tried...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• January 2, 2022

"I have tried duloxetene twice. The first time I felt spaced out and decided to come off it. I recently gave it a go again as I’m in a better place but needed a little something. Unfortunately for me I couldn’t get past day 5. I know your meant to wait at least two weeks and it gets worse before better but I was experiencing very intense suicidal ideations like never before and my anxiety was awful 24/7 everything that would usually calm it down wasn’t working. I couldn’t eat and sleep which are common side effects but it all made my mental state worse. After speaking to a mental health team and a gp they decided it would be best for me to come off them due to the suicidal thoughts I was having. I am sad as I can see lots of positive reviews but unfortunately due to my bad experience in the past with other meds such as sertraline I am cautious. Back on my journey of finding something that helps make my anxiety better. Follow your gut it could be helpful to you."

• Meg
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• May 2, 2019

"I've been on duloxetine for about 3 months now. I have to say, it has worked wonders since switching from citalopram. (I take this med for anxiety and PTSD) I haven't had an anxiety attack throughout the whole time taking it. HOWEVER, I recently raised my dosage and it has given me all sorts of strange side effects. Very tired all the time, dizziness, nightmares, etc. Really messing with my head. Gonna switch back to the lower dosage ASAP."

• Zpf
• Taken for less than 1 month
• October 21, 2022

Cymbalta (duloxetine) "I’m 30 years old I started this drug about 5 days ago Day 1-3 was horrible I had side effects of fatigue, nausea, mild And panic attacks and muscular skeletal pain and spasms on my eye lid and dry mouth with some dizziness that faded, I still experiencing muscle spasms and a little nausea and loss of appetite and some depersonalization here and there. I noticed the positives I felt some euphoria and less depression and felt less fatigue, but overall I’m trying to do my best to just rough it out and see in the next 3 days if things get better. It is different for everyone. I’m only on 30mg dose but little by little have breakthroughs that are positive my thoughts did race a little but just gotta pray and have hope it works but overall some of the negatives disappear. I will keep people updated!, I have autism, ADHD, GAD and PTSD so just keep praying"

• Bannie
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• August 28, 2021

Cymbalta (duloxetine) "Made me really tired at 60mg so went down to 30. I was on that for a year, I was very stable and everything seemed very blah. I gained 10 lbs because I couldn't taste anything and nothing sounded good so I would get really hungry and just eat whatever crap I could stomach. Getting off seemed insurmountable because if I missed a dose it was like dizziness, migraine, brain zaps, full body aches, nausea. I switched to Prozac and then went off Prozac after a month with no withdrawal from either. I still have anxiety though, so I am back on Cymbalta 20 mg. I get brain fog and can't focus on it but at least I'm not anxious, right???"

• Sano
• October 27, 2018

"Started at 30mg a year ago but moved to 60mg after a month. The first few months were amazing. I was much less anxious, less irritable and angry. After several months I started getting brain zaps, even if I hadn't missed a dose. I got more strict about taking my pill at the same time everyday, but I still get brain zaps for a few hours around the time when I take my pill frequently. Sometimes I just lay in bed and wait for them to go away because moving makes it worse. It's been awful. My irritability and anger is coming back. I've had several anxiety attacks over the past few months and I feel like it's not helping very much anymore. Withdrawal symptoms are terrible. I missed a dose the other day and had horrible brain zaps. It felt like I was fighting off the flu. I slept for fourteen hours the night before, but couldn't get much rest between the vivid dreams and horrible night sweats that kept waking me up. I really want to get off this medication, but I've heard it's hard to do."

• Smiley...
• December 9, 2015

Cymbalta (duloxetine) "I've anxiety had a minimal level 4 about 6 months now and it has been getting worse and worse now my doctor tells me to up my cymbalta 290 milligrams, it's been about the month that I have done that along with taking my anxiety medicine both together really isn't doing much good. Will it help me?"

• LCano
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• January 18, 2020

"I started taking cymbalta about 4 years ago. Within the first couple months, I increased to the dose I am at currently. Initially, it caused me to have major constipation issues, but those settled over time. Now, the only side effect is hot flashes / absolutely no tolerance for heat. I feel like I am sweating all the time! But overall, very happy with this drug. Has quieted a lot of my anxiety!"

• inf-czR
• April 30, 2016

"23yo M - This medication is a god send for me in complete honesty. I have had problems with GAD for around 4 years. Previously I've tried Citalopram which was effective for treating my issues, but had side effects in my sexual life which was not possible to overcome. I tried Venlafaxine which was similarly effective but also had the same side effects - took too long rather than nothing at all! I gave up on the current generation of anti-depressant medication before trying Duloxetine. This is in the same category as Venlafaxine although not as strong. I've gone straight from VF into Duloxetine and after 20 days have found this medication to be extremely effective. More than any other SSRI or SNRI. For once I feel like a normal person!"

• dfw
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• March 13, 2018

"I’ve been on almost all of the anxiety/depressant drugs including an anti-psychotic. This one, by far, has helped me the most. I function normally on a day to day basis. I can get up & carry on and enjoy my everyday activities. They started me on 60 mg a day at first, which I found made me sleepy. They lowered me to 30 mg. That was the magic number. I take it at night with a .25 mg Xanax and sleep well."

• Kat
• November 29, 2020

"I took duloxetine yesterday around 2 PM and found that around 8 PM I had a slight “stoned” buzz, so I curled up on my couch and watched movies with my girls until everyone started migrating to their respective rooms, going to sleep around 10pm. Not me though! Every time I drifted into sleepland... a jolt of electricity, a pain in my head, paranoid thoughts, chomping on the sides of my tongue, and sweating/shaking prevented me from falling asleep. I got up to go to the bathroom and looked in the mirror, and my pupils were different sizes. Like one was 3 mm circumference whereas the other one was 6 mm circumference… It was really freaking scary. Because my breathing was normal and my heart rate was normal I did not call 911. I just decided to lay in bed and pray for sleep. Around 9 AM the following morning, about 17 hours after my first dose, I was able to transform into a peaceful sleep for about five hours. Needless to say, I will not be taking this medication again"

• Unlucky...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• July 29, 2019

"Sooo I've depression, anxiety, OCD... But Idk why exactly my doctor decided to add these pills to my other medications. 1 month ago I started on 30 mg twice a day along with bupropion which I've been using before this, I couldn't have done any of my daily plans I constantly liked to just throw myself in bed and do nothing, it's like a hollow deep and dark pit, it is calm but a dangerous kind of calmness. Then I got severe constipation. And I stopped taking it for 3 days but I started to get dizzy and disoriented, now I have to use it again and decrease the dosage gradually to avoid the withdrawal symptoms. P.s: nobody mentioned this and I'm not sure, but I kinda feel like my belly gets expanding like a ballon after using it, also if I try to take a nap after consuming it, I'll have these unintentional muscle contactions in my legs and I wake up"

• Caret...
• Taken for 10 years or more
• January 25, 2021

"I was on cymbalta for a few years and switched to duloxetine (generic for cymbalta) when it became available. I have definitely noticed a marked reduction in my general level of anxiety over the years. The only side effects I have experienced are hot/cold issues (although now that I have been in menopause for over 3 years, they have become much milder) and some time going in my big toes. I've also had chest pain maybe 10 times over the years but several diagnostic tests have shown my heart/circulation to be fine. As I've gotten older (I'm now 60) I am in a "calmer" situation in my life and I am considering lowering my dosage or quitting it altogether. Overall, I have been pleased with the results and would rate it at 8.5 in helpfulness for me."