Cymbalta and Anxiety: What Users Say (Page 2)

• SSN...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• May 28, 2021

For Chronic Pain "Cymbalta is one truly awful drug, which has caused side effects of muscle and nerve damage to my legs. I reported this twice to the FDA, who couldn't care less. It took me 18 months of horrible withdrawals, including brain zaps, rashes, teeth grinding so bad I cracked a root of a molar and had to get it pulled, blisters, anxiety, and three suicide attempts. The list is a lot longer. I wouldn’t give this drug to my worst enemy. It took almost two years after discontinuing Cymbalta to finally feel normal again."

• Nan...
• May 11, 2021

For Major Depressive Disorder "I was put on Cymbalta about 2 years ago for severe depression. I also suffer from chronic pain, osteoarthritis, severe hypertension, anxiety, and insomnia. The only thing my 60 mg has done for me is stop me from crying at the drop of a dime. My doctor has now diagnosed me with Major Depressive Disorder (MDD), my depression has become debilitating. No energy, no drive, no strength to leave my bedroom. I was on Vyvanse for almost 2 years. I really needed a stimulant to animate me, I had energy and had function. I changed doctors, and she took me off of it, and I've been like this ever since. She put me on 30 more mg in the afternoon and also prescribed Wellbutrin XL 150 mg. Cymbalta has not touched my chronic pain or anxiety. We shall see what happens in a month."

• Xyz...
• May 6, 2021

For Anxiety "I’ve been on Cymbalta for almost two weeks. The first few days were a little tough. My mind was racing a bit, and I had tension in my throat and jaw. I was a bit more anxious those first couple of days, but it got a little better, and I feel SO much better. I’ve tried Zoloft, which made my anxiety worse, then Citalopram, which didn’t really do much of anything except make me restless and jittery, but Cymbalta is finally the right one. I feel like a normal person for the first time in a long time. My piece of advice: I see a lot of people on here saying that they’ve felt miserable for 3-4 weeks, even a month plus. That’s too long in my opinion. I was told if you’re still miserable 2 weeks in, tell your doctor and switch up your meds."

• Xyz...
• May 6, 2021

For Anxiety "I’ve been on Cymbalta for almost two weeks. The first few days were a little tough. My mind was racing a bit, and I had tension in my throat and jaw. I was a bit more anxious those first couple of days, but it got a little better, and I feel SO much better. I’ve tried Zoloft, which made my anxiety worse, then Citalopram, which didn’t really do much of anything except make me restless and jittery, but Cymbalta is finally the right one. I feel like a normal person for the first time in a long time. My piece of advice: I see a lot of people on here saying that they’ve felt miserable for 3-4 weeks, even a month plus. That’s too long in my opinion. I was told if you’re still miserable 2 weeks in, tell your doctor and switch up your meds."

• Dan...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• April 16, 2021

For Generalized Anxiety Disorder "I was on the edge of taking my life again. I was on Lexapro for almost a year, but it stopped working. I switched to so many different things, Paxil, Abilify, Prozac, nothing helped. I was still not sleeping and had major depression and anxiety. Then I got on Cymbalta. My anxiety and stuff isn’t completely gone, but I’m so much better. I’m FINALLY sleeping through the entire night without anything!! Give this med a try and wait a few weeks, the transition period is tough, especially if you're switching meds."

• AJa...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• April 12, 2021

For Back Pain "I only took 1 pill at 9:45 a.m., and by 10 a.m. I was moonwalking in my room. I'm jittery and keep moving around. I'm going to take it for 2 weeks to see how I feel. I'm assuming this is a temporary side effect. If you have an interview or anything important on, then schedule it BEFORE you take a dose."

• Krs...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• February 28, 2021

For Depression "I was prescribed 30 mg a day by my doctor. I took my first dose after dinner, as suggested. Around 4am, I woke up, and the room was spinning. I had pain in my stomach as if I had food poisoning. I wasn't able to fall asleep, and I didn't get up because I knew I would vomit. I took another dose the next day and experienced shivering, chills, sweaty palms, anxiety, and dilated pupils. I thought maybe it would improve or subside, but on the third day, I woke up, looked in the mirror, and a gaunt, pale face with large pupils was staring back at me. I jumped in the shower and was shivering so badly, I thought I would go into cardiac arrest right then and there. I should've gone to the ER. I was so scared. I stopped the medication immediately. My doctor switched me to Lexapro, and I filled the prescription, but I'm too shaken up from my experience with Cymbalta, I'm holding off until I feel like myself again. I'm in recovery, and I haven't felt like that on any drug in the past. Quite unnerving. Never again. And I don't recommend."

• Car...
• February 4, 2021

For Anxiety "I took Cymbalta for only 4 days and had to get off of it. Even with taking 1.5 mg of Xanax a day, I could not get over my extreme anxiety and jitteriness. I was constantly in my head and experiencing horrible physical symptoms like heart palpitations, sweating, hot flashes, and nausea, and having to go to the bathroom frequently. Panic symptoms would crop up like every 2 hours, and I felt like the Xanax was barely doing anything for me to stop the anxiety. This was the worst medication I have been on by far!"

• Car...
• February 4, 2021

For Anxiety "I took Cymbalta for only 4 days and had to get off of it. Even with taking 1.5 mg of Xanax a day, I could not get over my extreme anxiety and jitteriness. I was constantly in my head and experiencing horrible physical symptoms like heart palpitations, sweating, hot flashes, and nausea, and having to go to the bathroom frequently. Panic symptoms would crop up like every 2 hours, and I felt like the Xanax was barely doing anything for me to stop the anxiety. This was the worst medication I have been on by far!"

• Bel...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• January 24, 2021

For Generalized Anxiety Disorder "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."

• Bir...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• January 12, 2021

For Depression "The first time taking it, like others, I woke up the next morning, my pupils enlarged and my head a mess. I ended up going home from school and seeing the wood grain on my walls move and cry about it. I had started on 60 mg, I tried to sit it out for 2 days, but as soon as I could, I called my doctor. She set me back to 30 mg, and I've been on it ever since. I'm on 60 again now, I stopped having suicidal thoughts for months, and my almost daily panic attacks have majorly decreased. I went from staying home in fear of another panic attack to feeling almost normal. I still struggle with both depression and anxiety very much, but this does take the edge off."

• Anonymous
• Taken for less than 1 month
• December 26, 2020

For Depression "Cymbalta was the first drug that my psychiatrist prescribed to me. I took it while I was at work. After an hour or two, I felt like I was having a panic attack. My palms were sweating, and my heart was racing. But that was not the main problem. I felt like I was going crazy. I came home and tried to lay in bed, but when I closed my eyes, I saw hallucinations. I needed two pills of bromazepam to calm myself down. Also, my anxiety started with this medication. Before, I had mild anxiety and mainly depression. After Cymbalta, I felt panicky all the time. Until I started Zoloft. Till now, I don’t know what happened, but my guess is that maybe it could’ve been serotonin syndrome. I don’t know. Or just not the right medication. But it was like one long, bad trip."

• Anonymous
• December 19, 2020

For Major Depressive Disorder "18F. I was recently diagnosed with MDD, but have had symptoms of this illness since at least 14. When I turned 18, I was recommended Cymbalta by my PCP. I started at 20 mg daily for 1 month and was bumped up to 40 mg after. Though I don't necessarily regret taking this medication, it was most definitely NOT for me. My depression worsened, and I experienced intense emotional blunting/dissociation. For a good 2 weeks, I did not get out of bed except to use the bathroom. No showers, no brushing teeth, not much eating. My anxiety shot through the roof. A 20-minute trip to Costco left me in the fetal position on the bathroom floor for 2 hours, sobbing. Suicidal ideation increased, I got closer to a suicide attempt than I ever had before. I started abusing Adderall again. Libido was okay, definitely lowered a bit, though. I quit the medication cold turkey, the withdrawal symptoms weren't too terrible-likely because my dosage was relatively low. Keep fighting the good fight, everyone."

• Kit...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• November 28, 2020

For Diabetic Peripheral Neuropathy "Horrible. Made my stomach upset, groggy, nausea, anxiety worse. After one day!!! I can't handle it. I can't believe how hard it is to find decent pain relief. Inhumane to keep someone alive with nerve pain."

• Anonymous
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• October 11, 2020

For Major Depressive Disorder "HORRIBLE HORRIBLE HORRIBLE!! I was on Cymbalta for almost a year, it hardly helped with my depression and did NOT help with anxiety, and intrusive thoughts came back. I tried every dose, but it just made me worse. I was constantly crying and panicking over things that I thought were going to happen. And let me tell you, it’s absolutely sickening how horrible the withdrawal is. Cymbalta isn’t for everyone, but it messed me up."

• Reg...
• July 29, 2020

For Anxiety "I have been on Cymbalta 30 mg daily for almost two weeks for anxiety and depression. I have taken the medicine two times before with no side effects. This time however, my first week side effects were diarrhea, nausea, unable to eat much, worse anxiety, and hot flushes in my chest causing a bad panic attack. New thing for me. Never had this hot sensation in my chest before. Second week felt a little better for two days, then boom, hot flushes again throwing me into another panic attack. This one milder than the previous week. I’m so confused. Not sure whether to keep taking or not. Scary stuff when I get these hot flushing sensations across my chest and my heart rate goes up."

• Pst...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• June 3, 2020

For Anxiety "Ok, I gave a review at 5-6 months being on Duloxetine. Now it's been a year. I started out on 30mg for a week, then moved up to 60mg. Felt great for a while. After about 5 months, I noticed I started to feel anxious and just didn't feel right. When up, so we moved it up to 80mg. Pushed through, 80mg helped, but still didn't feel right for a few months. Now I'm on 100mg. I take 60mg at 9 am and 40mg at 5 pm. And man, do I feel great! I finally am back. Life has been amazing. I know this medication isn't for everybody or people have had bad experiences on it, but it has truly helped me, and I'm so thankful for that! Only rated it a 9 because nothing is perfect."

• Las...
• February 28, 2020

For Depression "I was on this medication over ten years ago. It took a month for the fog to lift once I had started it. But then I started to be paranoid reading about the Cymbalta withdrawals on the internet. So I panicked and went off it. I always start at the lowest dose possible and stay on it for a month before increasing to the next to avoid being sick. And it’s the same thing when you want to get off these meds to avoid withdrawals. You go off as slow as possible. And I want to mention that these meds are metabolized by different enzymes in our body that we all have different levels of because of our DNA. So one person might need a lower dose of Cymbalta than another because they metabolize it faster than others. The goal isn’t to get to the highest dose but the dose that works with your metabolism. Ten years later and I have Fibromyalgia too now, so my new doctor decided to put me on Cymbalta. I started at 20mg today and will stay with that dose for at least a month before I see if I need to go up. Remember, Go Slow!"

• Lpa...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• February 27, 2020

For Depression "I started taking Cymbalta 30 mg 9 weeks ago under my primary doctor's recommendation. I had severe anxiety and insomnia and very serious depression. I slept all day and had no motivation and couldn't shake it off no matter what I did. I have tried Prozac 50 mg for depression and expressed that I didn't like that it made me eat all the time (which led to a 50 lb weight gain) and no libido. So she recommended this. I feel very numb (but not high) as if I have no more conscience. I also have a slow reaction time to everything. People will speak to me, and I don't realize until they repeat my name over 3 times. I also cannot sleep still even with all types of OTC sleep medications. I take Cymbalta in the morning, so it has no effect on my sleep. I am going to keep taking this medication as suggested but will make a follow-up appointment. Should there be any secret to make this drug less numbing, I will add another review."

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

For Major Depressive Disorder "I understand we all react differently to medications. Effexor was working well, but due to severe scoliosis, my psych switched me to Cymbalta. It had the opposite effect in every way. I became angry, irritable, suicidal, anxious, had insomnia, sleep paralysis, nightmares, and my pain worsened. After 6 weeks, I switched back to Effexor on my own until I got in to see my psych to do the same. These side effects are hit or miss, and I always recommend giving all new meds at least 3 weeks, so take this review with discernment, but if you encounter these effects, they will likely stay. Effexor may be harder on the liver, but the difference is night and day, and adding Rexulti finally broke through a decade-long wall."

• Lex...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• February 3, 2020

For Generalized Anxiety Disorder "I was scared to take this med after the reviews. An anxiety attack triggered me to finally try it. I took 1 tablet, 30 mg, yesterday afternoon with lunch and experienced nothing until night. I was having constant random visions all night. When I finally got up in the morning, I began shaking, my skin felt like it was burning, I was on fire hot, and my mouth was so incredibly dry. Then I got the chills. Shaking, burning skin, chills, dizziness went all day. I was wiped out tired and could not eat. I was in bed all of this beautiful day until 4:30 pm when I forced myself up. Honestly, I felt poisoned. I drank 2 gallons of water waiting to flush this out of my body. It was about 28 hours from the time I took it until I felt somewhat back to normal."

• Add...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• January 24, 2020

For Anxiety "I am taking Cymbalta 30 mg for a week now. My primary care physician gave it to me for bilateral hip pain when I sleep. It has been helping. More so, however, it has decreased my anxiety. Amazingly so! I feel calmer and I haven’t been grinding my teeth, which I do all the time from anxiety. It’s working for me. I think the 30 mg dose is plenty."

• Sha...
• December 22, 2019

For Anxiety "I’ve been taking Cymbalta for 7 days for anxiety, and I hate it! Today has been the worst. I keep forgetting where I’m parked and/or where I’m going as I’m driving down the street. I will suddenly just be like, where was I going?! Also, I have been extremely paranoid. Friends think I’m on drugs that are making me twitchy and nervous, and that just adds to the anxiety. The one thing I specified to my doctor is that I don’t want to feel like I’m out of control and not myself! I’m only taking 30 mg. I’m weaning off ASAP. Thank goodness it’s only been a week."

• Loo...
• November 27, 2019

For Anxiety "Prior meds were not working as effectively anymore. I was slowly weaned off and started Cymbalta. The first day I ended up cursing out a supervisor due to extreme anxiety."

• Anonymous
• October 30, 2019

For Anxiety "Worst drug I’ve ever taken! It made me feel horrible and paranoid!"