... weight gain and my doctor thought I was in a good space. Two things - I was fine until about 10 days ago and since I’ve had high anxiety, sleeplessness, and teary. Is this withdrawal? Would it start this late? My doctor raised my Cymbalta to 80 mg but so far no help. Please no opinions on the medicines themselves, looking for advice on moving forward. Thank you.
I was on 2 mg of Abilify in conjunction with Cymbalta 60 mg. I stopped Abilify because of…
Question posted by mmmmmm19 on 6 Oct 2021
Last updated on 14 October 2021
The information on this page reflects personal experiences shared by our community members. It is not reviewed for medical accuracy and should not replace professional medical advice.
Answers
WildcatVet
6 Oct 2021
Hi, mmmmmm!
First off, thanks for asking that people not render their opinions of the drugs you're using. They're not conducive to helping you.
It sounds as if you're experiencing a rebound of your anxiety symptoms and I doubt that it's withdrawal after the time lapse. Unfortunately, the antipsychotics like Abilify all carry the potential to cause metabolic changes that result in weight changes and Abilify is probably the least apt to cause weight gain. You could try another like Rexulti because just because one medication caused weight gain doesn't necessarily mean another one will.
It may be that you need to give your Cymbalta a little longer to become more effective but you could raise your dosage again if needed up to a maximum of 120mg/day.
All that being said, none of this may be helpful but there are a couple of points you might discuss with your doctor.
mmmmmm19
6 Oct 2021
Thanks WC!
Today honestly seems like the worst day, teary, waking up anxious etc etc. my doc mentioned that the abilify masked the anxiety etc and she is hoping the 80 mg of Cymbalta will help. She also mentioned lamictal or adding a small
Dose of SSRI. Any thoughts? That being said, I’m worried the upped Cym won’t help but I guess I need to give it more time.
WildcatVet
7 Oct 2021
Try to stay the course... no matter how much we want relief it usually is a matter of time. It's interesting that Lamictal came up as it's one of my meds and has helped a lot I think in addition to my other meds. It's worth investigating...
mmmmmm19
8 Oct 2021
Thank you!! I’m hoping but so hard to know. Have you had any issues w lamictal?
WildcatVet
8 Oct 2021
None at all as far as I can remember... and I would remember because I don't usually have side effects from any of my medications.
Lee1309
14 Oct 2021
Wildcat gave you been on cymbalta did you find it a good drug and how many weeks did it take to work?
Thanks
WildcatVet
14 Oct 2021
@Lee.
It was a long time ago so it's hard to remember but I know it worked well for me. I don't remember any problems with it so I assume it must have become effective quickly.
Related topics
abilify, cymbalta, anxiety, generalized anxiety disorder, withdrawal
Further information
Similar questions
Search for questions
Still looking for answers? Try searching for what you seek or ask your own question.