Cymbalta for Generalized Anxiety Disorder User Reviews (Page 2)

• will...
• Taken for 5 to 10 years
• May 11, 2013

"Under the supervision of a psychiatrist, I ran the gamut of SSRIs from Prozac to Zoloft with only mild improvements. Cymbalta proved, at 120mg, to be wonderful. My insurance was a buzzkill by limiting me to 60mg, but we tried Celexa as an adjunct with similar but not total benefit. Taken with breakfast, the change within an hour is dramatic, and missing a dose or two is traumatic. My only anxiety now is, God forbid, I am ever to go without my Cymbalta. It helped me through 10 chemo sessions, especially with the resulting neuropathy. Perhaps it will fall to a tier 1 med, and I can resume 120mg... There is hope."

• Chelso
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• December 18, 2019

"I have panic disorder, GAD, and intermittent depressive episodes. After trying numerous SSRIs (Wellbutrin, Prozac, Lexapro, etc.), my GP thought we should try an SNRI. I have had excellent results on this one called Cymbalta. No sexual side effects, no weight gain (in fact, some slight weight loss), no brain 'zaps.' I have been on 90 mg per day, but my psychiatrist just increased me to 120 mg/day. I do have some fatigue, but I'm not sure if it's related to the med or not, and I'd rather be a little tired than suffer constantly. This has been a lifesaver."

• Anonymous
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• November 9, 2015

"Cymbalta saved my life from severe anxiety and panic disorder, as well as Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy (intense nerve pain). I am 22 and have been on it for a few years. A year ago, I stopped taking it because I wasn't sure I still needed it. Within a week, I was living in hell. Crippled by my emetophobia, anxiety, and pain, I couldn't leave my apartment. I was having up to 10 panic attacks a day, sick to the point of throwing up all the time, stuck in bed. I got back on Cymbalta and in six weeks everything was better again. I can live my life now. Thank you Cymbalta! If I have to be on this med for the rest of my life, that is fine with me."

• Anonymous
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• August 6, 2024

"I had been diagnosed with OCD and general anxiety, this med changed my life. I’ve been on it for 7 months now. I went from survival mode and avoidance to actually feeling ‘normal’. I never thought it would be possible. My only issue is that my sleep isn’t as solid as I’d like. But other than that, my life has changed for the better."

• Bells
• Taken for less than 1 month
• January 24, 2021

"This is my first time taking Cymbalta. Today was my day one. Let me say, I took it with food, and within two to three hours, I started experiencing severe nausea. Within another hour, I became very jittery, and it felt like my skin was humming with electricity. Fast forward an hour, and I can only compare this feeling to doing a tab of acid minus the hallucinations, or what I assume people feel like doing speed because I bounced on a yoga ball for two hours while feeling very manic. Crazy. Edgy. Like I was pumped full of adrenaline and needed to jump out of my skin while laughing and humming. I kept twitching and kicking my legs, doing hand snaps and rubbing my hands up and down my jeans to the point where I have rubbed my palms raw. I took ONE pill. The ONLY upside is that my sciatic pain is basically gone, which is heaven. I'm about 9 hours in, and I'm finally sitting down, but I can't stop fidgeting or bring myself to eat anything despite my stomach gnawing at me. Will update in a week."

• Sage
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• August 12, 2017

"Hey everyone trying Cymbalta. This drug has calmed me down and lightened me up. When someone asks me how I'm doing, I can honestly say, good! I used to be intense and I thought about suicide a lot and spent many hours in bed trying to escape from reality. I hated small talk and saw it as phony and awkward, an act I put on just to come across as average, like the average happy person. Nope. That was not me. I was tormented by anxiety, depression, and dark thoughts. Cymbalta is a good drug. Hope it works for you. I started at approximately 5 mg, then 10, 20, and now 30 mg. Low dose I know but effective. I would open the capsule and measure a somewhat close enough dose to what I could handle. Give it a good 3 months to work!"

• a per...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• February 12, 2020

"I have been diagnosed with Bipolar 2 as well as anxiety, OCD, ADD, depression, etc. I decided to start going down off my 900 mg of lithium due to the fact that I felt it was not helping much anymore. So my psych prescribed me a 20 mg dose of Cymbalta to start to help with my severe anxiety. For the first month, I noticed a small change in the way I felt. So we decided to go up to 30 mg. One week after starting the new dose, my life changed. I remember waking up one morning and just being happy. Everything seemed lighter, and my anxiety as well as depression lifted. Unfortunately, two months into that, my bipolar mania symptoms started coming back. So we are trying to figure out how to safely manage all symptoms. All in all, Cymbalta has made the biggest difference in my life."

• Kev
• July 30, 2015

"I initially took Cymbalta for dystonia, which was involuntary movement in my hands caused by a type of Muscular Dystrophy. A combination of Cymbalta, Neurontin, and Tramadol are very effective in reducing my pain. After several months, I noticed a great change in my personality. To make a long story short, I realize I've dealt with anxiety most of my life. Cymbalta has literally changed my life. If this medication had been available in the 1960s or 1970s, my life would have been dramatically different. I can't imagine life without Cymbalta."

• Anonymous
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• May 11, 2013

"I've been on Cymbalta for over 2 years, and it has worked great for my anxiety and irritable bowel syndrome. I sometimes add Vistaril at stressful times. I tried Topamax and Lexapro, and neither gave me the relief I needed. I wish I would have had Cymbalta 30 years ago."

• Nativ...
• March 14, 2013

"I was prescribed Cymbalta after taking Zoloft for a few months. Zoloft was horrible, but when my prescription was changed to Cymbalta, my anxiety and everything else seemed to lessen. I was more calm in handling situations, and my husband seemed pleased with the change in my attitude. For the first week while on Cymbalta, the experience was horrible. I had all the side effects listed and more, but I was determined to stay on it. It only lasted a week, then things became more clear. The only thing I fear is the withdrawals. I've experienced it accidentally when the medication wasn't available to me."

• 30yrs...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• November 22, 2016

"Out of the blue, I started experiencing anxiety. I was nervous for no reason and having anxiety about anxiety! I tried to change my diet and so on. Then I had the mother of all panic attacks (I'd never had one). I quickly realized that I needed to talk to my doctor. I tried Zoloft and Celexa, both gave me terrible side effects. I stuck with Zoloft for 2 months and wasn't feeling any better, so I went off discouraged. Then I started on Cymbalta. It's been about 5 months with zero side effects. I realized a few days ago that the meds must be working, on a particularly stressful day, I felt a panic attack coming on, but it just didn't materialize into anything. Then I realized I really haven't been nervous for some time. It can get better! 40mg"

• Kroita
• October 9, 2011

"For the last 2 years I have suffered massive panic and anxiety attacks. I thought my world as I knew it was over. Thanks to Cymbalta, everything is almost back to normal and I am feeling myself again. I started taking it 2 months ago, the first 2 weeks I had a bit of nausea but now it's gone. No other side effects."

• GenieP
• August 15, 2017

"To the gentleman whose doctor switched him from Klonopin to Cymbalta: The reason you are suffering from severe anxiety is that you were taken off a benzodiazepine too quickly instead of having been tapered off the drug. Cymbalta is no substitute for Klonopin. Your doctor needs to go back to med school! I've been taking 60 mg of Cymbalta since 2009, after my husband committed suicide. It has helped me a lot with depression and anxiety, but I'm finding that my anxiety has recently increased because my new husband has lung cancer. I was put on 90 mg of Cymbalta recently, and I'm hoping that the higher dose will decrease, and not increase, my anxiety levels."

• Anonymous
• November 13, 2012

"Excellent for controlling anxiety that, for me, can spiral into major depression. I feel more like myself on Cymbalta than I did on Zoloft. It has been excellent at relieving chronic musculoskeletal pain. Cymbalta benefits do come at a cost, financially and physically. The most annoying physical symptom is profuse sweating. I never sweated much, even on hot days. With Cymbalta, it can be cold outside, and I'm in my car AC on, face dripping with sweat. I can easily tell this from a menopausal hot flash. The two sometimes occur together. Cymbalta can give me bad morning headaches, and I can't use Motrin while on it. Once you're on Cymbalta, you can't just stop it without getting severe withdrawal symptoms, especially dizziness."

• Good...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• August 20, 2013

"I started on 30mg of Cymbalta for a week then up to 60mg. I've taken it for about 2 years and noticed it really helped. When I got pregnant, my doctor told me to wean off it by taking it every other day. That was hell! He should have prescribed me a lower dosage. The price of it doubled so I no longer take it. I weaned off it this time by going from 60mg to 30mg then to 20mg. What a difference. That was manageable. Another downside is when I was on 60mg, if I would work out in the evenings, I would be wide awake at 3am! That was not the case when I was taking 30mg."

• Anon
• October 29, 2013

"After having done fine with alprazolam and citalopram for years, and wanting to slightly up my alprazolam for my GAD, Doc suggested I try Cymbalta. I had a *horrible* experience with this drug (have never before experienced such bad side effects). I can't recall the dosage, but it was a sample, so I don't believe it was anything too high. First day I took it, I felt absolutely wiped out, like all the energy had been sucked from my body. I could barely make it to the bed to lay down. A few hours later, the muscles in my jaw began spasming involuntarily, I could feel them tightening and clamping my teeth together, then slightly relaxing. I didn't take the next pill, and it took a day for side effects to go away. I'll never take it again."

• tiffy...
• October 6, 2014

"Best out of many I tried. Helped the best with least side effects. Added Wellbutrin and combination is awesome. I'm a high functioning person. Abilify at night. All good. Been on over ten years, Abilify recently."

• No...
• September 29, 2018

"20 mg reduced my stress, worries, and obsessive thoughts. I've never been able to relax because I thought I wasn't doing enough, but now I enjoy the moment. I'm better at work, chores, getting things done. I'm not at war with myself. I'm finally living in my life instead of being in my head. I started because GAD and PMDD were causing shingles and interstitial cystitis. All better, relationships too. I can also finally fall asleep, which was a part of my struggle. I also run better, fewer pains. After muscle tightness and insomnia disappeared, there are lasting, but manageable, side effects. Libido lower, appetite higher, orgasm slower, constipation common, but patience, coffee, and probiotics help. Alcohol causes headaches, but I don't crave it either."

• Windee
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• August 22, 2017

"Cymbalta seems to be working great for me. I had been on two others, Lexapro and Zoloft, just prior. One made me feel happy but had bad side effects, and the other stopped the panic and anxiety but left me feeling depressed/unhappy. I was not really hopeful going on this, as I thought I needed more serotonin in my body versus just leveling out what I had. I was happy to find out that it seems to help a lot. No panic and anxiety and I actually feel like getting up and doing something rather than lying around, and I have lost 8 pounds! I take 20 mg, and that seems to be all I need. Overall, I am happy with it."

• beste...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• September 18, 2015

"I took Cymbalta for years before and always loved how good I felt. Because of life-changing circumstances, I had to get off of them about 3 years ago. I did well for a year, then all my symptoms came back like a trainwreck! I have bipolar 2 now along with GAD. I was going crazy, mad all the time, anxious, depressed, couldn't remember where I was or days at a time. I finally had enough. I hadn't felt this bad since I was in my 20s, I'm now 40. I was put back on Cymbalta starting at 20 mg a day. The side effects are minimal to how I felt before, the worst thing is the stomach issues, but you have to keep on them. The future benefits are amazing, it's been 9 days, I already feel good!"

• choose...
• August 15, 2015

"I was on Celexa for a few years. When I started feeling 'well' again, I decided to stop taking it. Within a year, I was constantly crying and went back on it, but it affected my ability to fully enjoy intimacy, so the mental health nurse told me to ask my doctor for Pristiq, which I did, and he prescribed me Cymbalta instead, which I took along with my Celexa. When I went back to see him, he said that he told me to stop the Celexa and prescribed me 60 mg of Cymbalta a day, which I now have been on for about a year. To say it's a godsend is an understatement. I actually went to an outside concert with approximately 5,000 people in attendance. Although I was still a little anxious, a couple of drinks helped me to somewhat enjoy myself. Normally, crowds cause me unbearable anxiety."

• Soup
• April 1, 2014

"My Cymbalta experience was brutal. After a few days, I felt weak and tired. So tired that I started missing work. One week in, I started to get these strange brain zaps that made me feel as if I was being electrocuted. Two weeks in, I would start to cry. Just out of the blue, I would cry for no reason. It was the first time I had shed a tear in 10 years, and it was awful. I stopped taking it and am now afraid to take anything for my panic other than Klonopin."

• Libby
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• May 26, 2023

"I have panic disorder and agoraphobia as well as spondylolisthesis. I took Lexapro for about 5 years and thought it was doing a good job...Until I built up a tolerance to it and started having withdrawal symptoms halfway through the day every day. My doc switched me to Cymbalta and it was a real eyesopener. I had NO IDEA how poorly Lexapro was affecting me until Cymbalta changed things for me. I had been sluggish, unmotivated, tired, gained a lot of weight, and was still in pain all through my years with Lexapro and, since I was just so darned happy to not be suffering from random crippling panic attacks constantly, I figured that was "good enough". Not true. Now I know better. With Cymbalta, I have far more energy, my mood is boosted, my pain is reduced, I've lost weight and I'm just generally more "chipper" as well as being able to focus better at work and not suffering from panic attacks. Total life changer."

• lou
• July 19, 2011

"I had been taking Lexapro, which worked very well. I had been having pains in my back and headaches for a while, so my doctor started me on Cymbalta. I must say that with the switch, my pains are relieved, and my whole being is in a very good place. Thanks, Cymbalta."

• Anonymous
• February 2, 2012

"I took Cymbalta 60mg for 4 months. It helped tremendously with general anxiety so I believed it to be a miracle, however, after about 4 weeks, I noticed depression setting in. It had gotten so bad that I felt compelled to leave a review on here. My heart was cold, didn't care about co-workers, friends, and family or myself. The depression hit so quickly. I was angry at the world for my own issues, everyone walking around all happy and everything, I wanted that so badly. I was mean and angry. I'd yell at people for things and accused them of being rude to me or not considerate enough for my standards. I got off Cymbalta and gained my life back. It did help my generalized anxiety disorder though."