How long will I be going through Cymbalta withdrawals?
Question posted by JenJen101 on 9 July 2013
Last updated on 26 April 2024
I've been taking Cymbalta for 8 years for depression and chronic pain. I started having terrible sweating, short term memory loss, severe depression, worsening pain, and many other side effects.
My Dr started slowly trying to get my dosage down from 90mgs, & after getting down from 60mgs to 30mgs, my side effects became unbearable. I forged on and now I'm on my 2nd day of taking just 5mgs of Lexapro, after going 3 days w/out taking Cymbalta.
I'm curious if anyone has successfully conquered this transition, and how long it took to feel somewhat normal? I'm aware it doesn't happen overnight, and I'm not asking for rainbows & butterflies-but the way I feel now is NOT good!! Along with the other stated side effects, I'm so lethargic and my brain is acting as if I turned the switch to off.
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256 Answers Page 10
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Barracuda9
28 March 2016
I have been on cymbalta 60 for about 5 years. I don't like being on meds but was suffering depression anxiety ocd. I tried Zoloft which I didn't feel helped. I then went on cymbalta which I felt was life changing for me. Most of my issues were tamed and I am feeling much better. The bad part is that it is extremely difficult to get off of. I have tried 3x and after 2 days terrible zaps, confusion, cloudy mind, depression started creeping back and all I wanted to do was withdraw from everything and stay in bed. The feeling of despair was getting worse I couldn't take it anymore and went back on. After a few days was feeling much better. After 3 tries I have decided to stay on it.
Votes: +1
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Andy321
24 March 2016
4-6 weeks
Votes: +0
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sci teach
24 March 2016
I believe that is about right. I am currently on week 5. Read my last comment.
SC
sci teach
24 March 2016
Read my last comment once it is posted. Sent it 2 minutes ago. I guess it is being reviewed before posting.
MI
Michele68
24 March 2016
I have been on cymbalta 8 years if I miss a dose I haven't violent nightmares ,sweats and is massive headache and I can't function for day- I've had no luck getting off them because the side effects always make me cave - I truly think going to rehab for a couple weeks to deal with side effects and withdrawal symptoms can be taken care of medically but I don't think insurance covers this.
Votes: +1
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brokenheart12
25 March 2016
Hope it goes well for you! Insurance should pay for it. Cymbalta withdrawal is horrible. Actually the drug company should pay for it.
KI
kinghelen
14 May 2016
I could not find any place that knew what to do with me during cymbalta withdrawal or I would have checked myself in for help. I would have flown to another state even... My counselor said the same thing as no one she knew was knowledgeable or equipped to help me 1 1/2 yrs ago--maybe things have changed. My doctor said 1-2 weeks you will be fine--haha. Helen
JH
Jhoffgoss
12 March 2016
In August of 2015 I started Cymbalta and eventually got to a regular dosage of 90mg per day. In January I tried getting off of it and Epival at the same time because neither of them were helping my anxiety/pain. In fact, it seems like the Cymbalta was making my pain worse and has given me restless legs syndrome. Anyway, my doctor told me to do 10 days of 60mg then 10 days of 30mg. I tried doing that and I completely lost my mind and became severely depressed and angry. I had to go back to the 90mg. Now I am trying again in March, with the help of St-John's Wort (as a Cymbalta replacement) and Kava root (as an Epival replacement). They have helped me so much that this time I went down from 90mg to 30mg for 10 days in one shot. Today was my last day at 30mg then I am going completely off. I urge anyone getting of Cymbalta to try St-John's Wort for withdrawals!
Votes: +1
FL
Floridagirl62
16 March 2016
I have been on various SSRI/ SSNRIs for about 15 years. I took Effexor (it's generic equivalent) for a few years. Then my doctor switched me to Cymbalta (it's generic - Duloxetine), which I have taken for a few years. I started all of this due to general anxiety. Many things have changed in my life over the last 15 years and I am ready to try life without meds. At first I tried skipping doses, which is not good. Duloxetine has a very short half life and skipping doses is like stopping and starting the drug over and over again. Within a day I was having brain zaps and was very irritable. I heard about people opening the capsule. Mine is a 60mg capsule. Easy to open. Every one has exactly 12 little beads in it. Easy to handle. I thought they would be smaller! With my doctor's consent, I have started taking out one bead a week to taper off (I am saving them though). 12 beads means it should take 3 months. I am only on week 2, but no withdrawal symptoms so far.
If this does not work, I may have to taper even more slowly. I also have a benzodiazepine (tranquilizer) to help me sleep. My doctor said I can take half a pill during the day if I need to for anxiety. I have been remarried for almost 4 years. My husband has never known me without meds. But he accepted me for better or worse! He is ready to ride this out with me and help me monitor my progress. I will give it my best shot. But if I turn into a bitch wife, I will go back on the meds!
FL
Floridagirl62
23 June 2016
It has been about four months for me now. I slowed down the taper near the end because it was getting more difficult. Now I have been completely off for a couple weeks. I do have to say that anger and irritability are major problems. This surprises me. I am normally a very friendly and patient person. But now I find I have a very short fuse. My husband has been very supportive, however he has told me that I am acting weird lately. I was on medication when we met and have been on medication up until now. Life is basically the same, with its day-to-day struggles. But I am finding it harder and harder to cope. I have fits of rage and fits of crying. I don't even really want to be around people. But I must continue to work and live my life. I wish I could just check out for awhile, but I have a lot of people depending on me in various facets of my life. I don't want to give up yet. I think I just need more time.
But if this is the new normal, if this is how I am off meds, then I would prefer to take the pill. Maybe I actually need it to function in the world with other people.
DA
Dani MB
12 March 2016
So I've been dealing with some chronic back pain, neck pain and headaches. Which in turn gave me anxiety along with some slight depression. Was prescribed 20 mg which I believe is the lowest of duloxetine (generic). Just wondering if anyone knows are the withdrawals the same, lesser, worse since it's generic? Also, I plan on exploring some more holistic approaches first. I've had the duloxetine for months now but just couldn't bring myself to take it. I've thought about it several times, but after reading most peoples comments who are trying to get off, not sure if I even want to start. Your thoughts please?
Votes: +0
SC
sci teach
24 March 2016
I wish I had never went on it. My withdrawals from just 30 mg down to 20 mg and now nothing, are not worth going through, until you have tried other avenues. Not sure it is worth it then. Holistic and exercise might be the answer.
LA
lalag60
21 May 2016
Hope you never started taking it. It is just awful. I have taken 60 mgs for at least 5 years or more. Almost going on 3 months weaning myself off, by myself. Totally worth it. Hoping I wont keep having issues for months to come!!
PE
penelopeforan
10 March 2016
I tend to be very pro-active when it comes to medication. I have been taking Cymbalta (30 mg 1x per day) for 6 years. I live in NM, where the summers are quite hot, but thankfully not humid. Cymbalta has consistently caused excessive sweating in hot weather. The first 2 years I just stopped taking it in summer and that worked out okay. With the 3rd year, when I tried going off it in May I became quite depressed. My doc recommended transitioning to a low (50mg dose) of Zoloft which I had used successfully in the past for depression, and he recommended I do this every summer. Works great for me! The main effect I experience from Cymbalta is that my overall body and joint pain is dramatically relieved, without NSAIDS or more dramatic pain meds. Never had any other negative side-effects that I have noticed. Just the terrible sweating. I would love to find something that does what Cymbalta does without the sweating.
I figure what IS working is the combined effect on serotonin and dopamine. When I stop the Cymbalta I alternate between a lower dose (20 mgs) and the Zoloft for a week and then just d/c the Cymbalta. Easy Peasy. Hope you find a good solution also.
Votes: +0
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cymbalta_sucks
23 Feb 2016
I CONQUERED Cymbalta and you can too!!! I want everyone to know after taking this drug for 18 months, I was able to taper for a few months (literally counting the little beads inside the capsules and making my own capsules from caps that are sold at the all natural food store, before finally quitting. I felt like $h!t for 6-8 weeks when finally the fog lifted, the dizziness went away and I felt "normal" again. There is a light at the tunnel. YOU CAN DO THIS!
Votes: +4
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Andy321
23 Feb 2016
Me too,but I was for 9 years:... it took months but I'm totally clean
SC
sci teach
24 March 2016
Thank you!
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Rebekajabuk
22 Feb 2016
Has anyone tried tappering off bit by bit? There are white balls inside the capsule. I tried once just taking away say 20 balls and then another day 21 balls..and so on. But i still got brain zaps so after a while started taking it again, at that time i didnt know about the withdrawal process being so heavy,but i think i was off about a month and it was just the zaps and dizzines. I was on it for about 4 years,changing from 60 mg to 120 mg to 90 mg and now I am on 60 mg again for a year. But i thought to myself that if people would tapper off reeeeeally slowly( for example 5 balls each two days),and taking supplements- vitamins,fish oil,eating healthy... It might not be so drastic.. Good luck to you all!
Votes: +2
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Rebekajabuk
24 March 2016
Last month i lowered the dose from 60 to 30. I didnt take it for two days, then on the third day i did amaroli, and when i got the brain zaps,later on the third day, i just took 30 and was fine. I plan to do this for another 30.
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llh111
4 Feb 2016
I have been prescribed Cymbalta for fibromyalgia and periphal neuropathy. They say it is for pain management. They started me on 30mg in 2014, and then upped it to 60mg in 2015, as they said "I seemed to be doing fine with the lesser dose."
My last visit to the doctor (10/2015) they wanted to increase it to 90mg but I said NO. I wanted to either stay or stop, I could not understand why they wanted to increase when the current does (or as they say lesser dose) was working just fine. That was three refills ago.
When I requested refill this month, I run into delay. Delay from pharmacy blaming doctor, delay from doctor blaming pharmacy, blah blah blah, etc. etc. etc. That was over one (1) week ago... and still no response. Not to me or my pharmacy. I am feeling I guess what you would call "withdrawals" from not taking it. Ranging from physical pain, mental and emotional sensitivity, to headaches and irritability.
Here is the question... how long before it is out of my system??? I am done with these quack doctors and their legal drug pushing.
Votes: +1
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Steph1976
5 Feb 2016
I'm on week # 2. The first week was just awful this week it's been manageable. I'm a stay at home mom so I have some down time during the day. Try to sleep as much as you can. I have also been juicing for the last 3 weeks and I think this has helped flush out my system. From what I've been reading the time frame is different for everyone. I will pray for you! Try to keep a positive attitude and you will get through it!
LA
ladybadone
5 Feb 2016
Cymbalta is bad news. I am trying to get off it now. I am down to 30mg. OMG its crazy withdrawals. Go to facebook and search for a group called Cymbalta hurts worse. Tons of help there about how to get off this stuff ect.
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Steph53
8 Feb 2016
I need to be off this med. I have been on it for four years now. I've been on it for joint pain. Like many of you the doctor I saw would want to up the dose. It made sense because I hurt. But now four three of those four years I've been taking 120mg a day. Coming off scares me.
CH
Chris62185
13 Feb 2016
60mg still is not a very high dose; you can't go by internet adds or sites. You should of stopped all withdrawal symptoms by week two. Anything else you were feeling would be your underlying reason why you were prescribed in the first place you were feeling.
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Raven-Zintos
16 March 2016
I can certainly relate with all this. This stupid drug has ended me up in the ER twice. It's tearing my family apart or helping me tear my family apart. I have a sulfa allergy, so I attributed the itching to something I came in contact with even though I take Zyrtec 10mg nightly. I have also had severe weight gain, in part to my not exercising anymore, but I haven't felt like exercising either. My husband even tried to tell me it was bad news but I wouldn't listen. It was the worst mistake I ever made, because now I am trying to come off of it. I have gone from 120mg (60m 2xdaily) down to 30mg twice daily since the first of March and it has been hell. I thank God I have my husband and his family. I have an Angel in heaven watching over me and if she were still here she would be kicking my butt right now. Let's all pray for each other and we can all get through this.
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Sharon44116
28 March 2016
Stick to it and don't give up! You'll all make it and don't let your physicians talk you into anything else, I.e. Lyrica or pregbalin (sp). That stuff is even worse! Good luck and God bless you all!!!
FA
Faithfully trying
31 March 2016
I have been on Cymbalta for almost 2 months and I have had all symptoms of Flu like symptoms aches night sweats and gained from 188 to 225 in short time been on this feel like in a fog eyes have gotten worse been telling Dr and finally today she said stop taking all together any advice plzz??? What should I suspect? ?
I am withdrawing from Cymbalta for the 2nd time in 8 years. The first time, I had been taking it for about a year. My doctor helped get off it over the course of 8 weeks by reducing the dosage. I went back on it due to a new source of depression and anxiety. This second time has been much more difficult. I have been weening myself off after 6 plus years. It's taken over 4 months but I'm almost off it completely. I did it by opening time released 60 mg capsules. Each capsule contains 12 small "pellets". I reduced the amount of pellets by one per week. I'm down to 1 pellet (5 mg) per day. Although I still get some brain zaps, they're less intense with the passage of each week. It seems the longer you're on it, the more lengthy and gradual you must withdraw. My doctors did not seem aware of just how difficult withdrawing can be.
Votes: +2
LA
ladybadone
5 Feb 2016
There are not many that know anything about this drug. There is a big lawsuit in the US against the company that makes it: Its very very hard to get off cymbalta. I am doing it now as well. Its reawlly good that you avhe done the tapering because most drs just reduce you in a couple wks and send you into crazy withdrawals. If you want support and help go to facebook and search for a group there called Cymbalta hurts worse. They are amazing there.
SC
Schnarf
12 Jan 2016
I wanted to offer an update on my withdrawal from Cymbalta. It took me a full year to taper completely off from a 60 mg dose. At every decrease in dose, my main withdrawal symptom was shock sensation in my upper body and head that would smack me periodically throughout the day. It happened more often if I was moving (walking or exercising). In the instant of the zap, it also affected my vision and hearing - I would describe it like a forceful blink. I also experienced crippling insomnia. The most disruptive symptom was extreme emotions, including ridiculous sensitivity - crying about anything and nothing - and major irritability, feeling like I could just punch people in the face. These emotional reactions were the worst at the nadir as I approached time for the next dose. All these things would happen for 2-3 days after each incremental decrease in dosage.
On bigger step-downs, I also experienced fumbling due to coordination/grip strength issues, and numbness and tingling in the sides of both my hands - the pinky and ring finger.
I am here to tell you that there is a light at the end of the tunnel, even if the tunnel is long. It came down to counting individual beads of the drug. I purchased empty gelcaps and filled them with gradually decreasing level of the medication, stepping down 20% or less every 2 weeks. I cannot emphasize enough the benefit of going SLOWLY. I wish you all the best of luck.
Votes: +1
LA
ladybadone
5 Feb 2016
So glad you are doing good now. I am down to 30mg. Tapering as well. My worst withdrawals so far are the pain in my whole body, feeling like I have the flu; and yes the emotional ups and downs, geez. Let me off this roller coaster ride. LOL
WO
wommy1958
12 Jan 2016
I came across this website and so happy I did. I have been crying while I read all these horrible stories of duloxetine. Been on this drug for 6rs 120mg a day. I have depression, anxiety, and nerve pain. I also take bupropion 450mg. For 4 days I have been going through these same horrible withdraws due to my pharmacist not having the drug in stock. I feel so alone and scared because I don't want to go back to how I was before not functioning at all. I will say both drugs has helped me through however I don't want to live like this. During the winter I suffer from seasonal depression and it has helped me get through some rough spots. I decided 2 years ago to take control of my life by living healthier. I do a lot of excerising and swimming at less 4xs a week. I wanted to ask my doctor to start taking me off these drugs slowly and going through what I'm going through now, I'm so scared all I have come through I will slip back.
I'm sitting here now waiting for my doctor to call me so she can guide me through this. I feel better knowing what is happening to me by reading these stories... thank you all for sharing.
Votes: +0
LA
ladybadone
5 Feb 2016
The only way to get off cymbalta is to taper off. Please go to facebook and search for a group called Cymbalta hurts worse. Once they accept you read all the info in the files tab, make a post. They will help you.
CH
Cherra
2 Jan 2016
I have been on 60 mg for the past 5 years. For two weeks I alternated 60 and 30 mg. then I did 30s for two weeks. I am now on 20s and will do every day for two weeks followed by two weeks of every other day. If I can't stop completely at that time, I'll try every 3rd day. Has anyone ever done it like this? I am under a doctors care.
Votes: +0
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brokenheart12
5 Jan 2016
"Cymbalta's half life is 12 hours and clears your system in about 3 days" I'm not sure if my source is correct but if it is that might feel like a withdrawal symptom roller coaster. I wish they made smaller doses to help wean people off it.
DL
dlholland
12 Jan 2016
my doctor gave me a couple Prozac. One pill is good for up to 3 days. It took me a week. The withdraws were very limited. Nothing like they were when I tried to get off the Cymbalta. I am pill free now.
BR
brokenheart12
13 Jan 2016
Congratulations!
CH
Cherra
24 Jan 2016
I've about given up on coming off 20 mg. I don't have a week to go to bed with the symptoms and I can't function by day 3.
LA
ladybadone
5 Feb 2016
The only way to get off cymbalta is to taper off. Please go to facebook and search for a group called Cymbalta hurts worse. Once they accept you read all the info in the files tab, make a post. They will help you.
Im new to this cymbalta thing having only been on it about six weeks, what a bloody nightmare.Was diognosed with FM and told the cymbalta would help but it has turned me in to a nervous wreck. Went back to doctor after feelig worse and worse now im iv been off it for two days and back on cylexa but the feelings are not going away hoping for a better tomorrow.
Votes: +3
ST
stylemanmd
12 Jan 2016
30 mg capsules (1 daily)
You're so right... it's a nightmare. I was on it from Sept. 3rd/2015 until about December 20th/2015 for pain and stress and a hundred other things caused by who knows...
Then... knowing I couldn't handle it any longer... I pulled the capsules apart and just swallowed 1/2 of it for 2 weeks... I then dropped it to 1/2 of that again until I finally felt strong enough to stop it altogether.
It took about 3 weeks before I started to feel like I was free. Today is Jan. 12/2015 and I woke up this morning feeling so relieved knowing that I was finally clean of that stuff.
I swear to God this stuff is awful! If you can work your way down by taking less over a couple weeks at a time to allow your body and brain to adjust... and then less again for another couple weeks, you'll beat it. (:-))
It's OK to open the capsule and swallow the grains, but don't chew them as they are time released. If you chew them... you won't be able to handle the instant full blown effect. Hang in there and one day at a time will get you off it.
I'm sorry you've had to experience this... and for anyone else as well. God bless you all and a Happy New Year.
LA
ladybadone
15 Dec 2015
Anyone develop tinnitus while taking this med?
Votes: +0
HU
husky28
15 Dec 2015
I did not suffer from tinnitus when I was on it. But, when I stopped taking this medication (today is the 11th day), the annoying high pitched hissing noise on both my ears is continuous... horrible sound indeed!
