Duloxetine and Anxiety: What Users Say (Page 2)

• Anonymous
• January 22, 2019

Duloxetine for Depression "The first time I used it, I could finally stop crying. The effects were very subtle. However, it did nothing for my anxiety. I stopped taking it after some positive life events occurred, and I thought I didn’t need it anymore. But I became depressed again and decided to take a pill from the stash I had saved a year ago for emergencies-when I no longer wanted to die or cry! Cymbalta saved my life; I'm not sure if I'd still be here today without it. But this time, it has helped a little with anxiety. Cured depression 10/10; anxiety 3.5/10."

• Smi...
• October 23, 2019

Duloxetine for Depression "Cymbalta is good for depression and did help my relative for 10 years, 60 mg every day, but my relative wanted to be free from using antidepressants and so stopped it slowly, reducing the dose, which later worked and they felt relieved but got the worst depression and even attempted suicide. I am here to warn everyone not to try to stop taking Cymbalta if it is working for you, just stick to it - the withdrawal was a horror and after withdrawing, it gave them 2 months of peace, and the third month a very bad depression that they have never experienced came back that they attempted suicide. They then had to put my relative to bed rest for 7 months, every medication failed to work, so they were switched back on Cymbalta but it was also not helping even after increasing the dose, so finally at the dose of 90 mg, it didn't help until Aripiprazole was added, that's when it helped with depression but caused bad anxiety, which we stopped with 0.5 g lorazepam morning and evening."

• Nat...
• March 14, 2013

Duloxetine for Generalized Anxiety Disorder "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."

• Anonymous
• August 7, 2009

Duloxetine for Depression "I am on 120mg of Cymbalta to treat my chronic depression, PTSD, and anxiety (severe child abuse survivor and adult sexual assault survivor) and chronic pain (spinal disorder required fusing all but one vertebra in my neck and the vertebra in my lower back; plus severe arthritis in my knees, hips, and both AC joints). I have been on 24-hour narcotics, Ativan, and many antidepressants. Of course, narcotics work, but they caused me to have heart problems. Ativan is great, but doctors are reluctant to prescribe long-term. I thought the panic attacks, insomnia, hot flashes, obsessive worry and dread, gloom, weepiness, and loss of interest in everything would be forever. Cymbalta helped me get my life back."

• Anonymous
• August 7, 2009

Duloxetine for Depression "I am on 120mg of Cymbalta to treat my chronic depression, PTSD, and anxiety (severe child abuse survivor and adult sexual assault survivor) and chronic pain (spinal disorder required fusing all but one vertebra in my neck and the vertebra in my lower back; plus severe arthritis in my knees, hips, and both AC joints). I have been on 24-hour narcotics, Ativan, and many antidepressants. Of course, narcotics work, but they caused me to have heart problems. Ativan is great, but doctors are reluctant to prescribe long-term. I thought the panic attacks, insomnia, hot flashes, obsessive worry and dread, gloom, weepiness, and loss of interest in everything would be forever. Cymbalta helped me get my life back."

• Cal...
• April 10, 2015

Duloxetine for Anxiety "I have GAD, tried Celexa, worked for a while, mental fog. I then tried Lexapro which worked but I decided to try Cymbalta for its chronic low back pain effectiveness. I have a bulged disc, arthritis from home care for many years. I will not even consider narcotics for pain... Cymbalta has been a lifesaver, I too have dry mouth, night sweats, increased weight of 10 lbs. But I feel calmer, I started off on 30 mg for 2 wks then increased the dose per my HCP. I can tell when I don't take it. Chronic low back pain, dizziness as well, and anxiety symptoms return... I am a nurse and I hate taking medicine but this is one medicine I don't mind taking. The benefits outweigh everything else."

• xxo...
• November 18, 2007

Duloxetine for Anxiety "I'm 29 & been on Cymbalta 1 week, prior to taking, couldn't sleep (4 hrs on average), panic attacks, acne breakouts, hair falling out, highly stressed, now a little disoriented at times, loss of appetite (not a bad thing), great sleep (much needed) and I'm much calmer. The doctor wants to add Wellbutrin in 30 days but I am not going that route. I am very pleased with the direction we are going in now it is just taking some time to adjust to the side effects and new routine of actually resting!!"

• Anonymous
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• January 19, 2017

Duloxetine for Depression "I was put on Cymbalta 60mg when I was in the psych ward for a suicide attempt. This medication significantly helped my depression and my thoughts of suicide went away. Cymbalta has been life changing for me. I thought I didn't need it anymore so I took myself off of it a month ago. The withdrawals are terrible! Worse than withdrawing from benzos, I was shaky for a straight week. After being off of it for a couple weeks my depression and anxiety came back full force, I realized how much it had been helping me and asked my doctor to put me back on it. I'm now on 30mg and feel less anxious and less sad."

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

Duloxetine 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."

• Sha...
• December 22, 2019

Duloxetine 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."

• Gen...
• August 15, 2017

Duloxetine for Generalized Anxiety Disorder "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."

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

Duloxetine 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."

• Ell...
• April 11, 2016

Duloxetine for Anxiety "Was prescribed for depression, but it affected my panic disorder very much. I went from 6-7 panic attacks a day to 1-2 a week/month. It really helped with my anxiety. The initial 2 weeks were horrible though, increased anxiety, hot flashes. And it interacts with a lot of medications (including vitamin D supplements)"

• Ser...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• November 4, 2018

For Pain "For pelvic pain syndrome. Started on 30 mg, made me slightly more nervous for 5 days. Then it kicked in, the pain decreased within a few weeks substantially. Now I have been, for all practical means, without pain for more than 18 months. I decreased the dose to 15 mg (yes, I open the capsule, take about half the little pellets out, and swallow them). I'm generally happier, less anxious, I sleep well and enjoy life again. I do feel very grateful to the scientists who developed this drug."

• hol...
• January 13, 2013

Duloxetine for Depression "I'm a 21-year-old female and have suffered with depression and horrible thoughts for as long as I can remember. I was started on one medicine (can't remember what it was), then Zoloft, which did not work, and was recently put on Cymbalta about three weeks ago. My depression had gotten so bad that I was willing to try everything. I was having emotional breakdowns at work, having horrible thoughts, bad dreams, and was withdrawn from everything. My depression is a brain imbalance rather than caused by other things. Only being about two weeks on Cymbalta, I can already notice a difference. I'm more peppy, I don't think bad thoughts nearly as much, much more patient, haven't cried since I've been put on the medicine. I was a little jittery at first."

• par...
• August 26, 2015

Duloxetine for Anxiety "At 25, I started taking Celexa. When I became pregnant less than a year later, I noticed it not working anymore. Then after my daughter was born, I noticed a huge difference. My doctor prescribed me Cymbalta, starting at 30mg and finally leveling out at 90mg. This is the best I have ever felt and I have now been taking it for almost 5 years. A year ago, I tried to lower my dosage (through my doctor of course) and within the week, noticed a huge difference. I was more irritable, less patient, and more anxious. And when I don't take it for a few days, my head pounds, I feel nauseous, and not like myself at all. At the end of the day, the good outweighs the bad. Although I do wish they were not so expensive, how can you put a price on feeling normal?"

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

Duloxetine 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."

• ell...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• July 21, 2022

Duloxetine for Major Depressive Disorder "Cymbalta is the worst medication I have ever been on. I took it for depression and anxiety, on the lowest dosage, and started getting terrible anxiety symptoms. Constantly sweaty but cold, shaking, a feeling of imminent doom, dizziness, headaches, and daily panic attacks for the first time in years. I couldn't grip the wheel well while driving. I started slowly decreasing my dose, which was super hard because you have to do it extremely gradually, but this medication was causing me so much pain and anxiety that I tapered too quickly. I had brain zaps (an electric shock going through my brain every time I moved my eyes), terrible pressure in my head, chest pains, nausea, dizziness, and even more panic attacks. This medication is genuinely the worst thing that has ever happened to me. I got chronic daily headaches when I started it, and they have not gone away, over a year later. Talk to your doctor about a different medication, unless you want to be on it for the rest of your life because tapering is impossible."

• cho...
• August 15, 2015

Duloxetine for Generalized Anxiety Disorder "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."

• Ela...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• May 2, 2018

Duloxetine for Depression "I've been on Cymbalta 60 mg for about 5 years. It was working fine for me, I thought - until people started telling me that I was snappy. But I had a lot of trials in life happening all at once. Anyhow, I decided to switch, and what a nightmare it has been. The new psychiatrist tried me on Lamictal for a bit, that made me hyper and jittery, so I thought I'd try Zoloft since my sister has been on it. Sometimes meds can work the same, but, yikes, not for me. I'm in an awful depression and working on getting back on Cymbalta, what I hope will work for me. I guess the old saying goes, 'if it's not broken, why fix it?' I will keep you all in my prayers and hope you will do the same."

• Ash...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• August 4, 2013

Duloxetine for Depression "I suffer from mild depression and back pain associated with scoliosis. I hoped Cymbalta could help. It did not help me. Initially (first few days), it was positive mentally, despite side effects: headache, nausea, then bad anxiety. As I took it more, I just started to feel not like myself, lethargic and weak. I almost felt too calm and didn't care. I can see how this might be helpful to those that are severely depressed. I am not. I'm sharing my experience because if you only suffer from minor blues, I would not recommend a strong antidepressant. I told my doctor it was minor, yet he prescribed me 60 mg immediately. I gave it a month and felt worse each day."

• Anonymous
• Taken for less than 1 month
• September 21, 2016

For Pain "Been on Duloxetine for 4 weeks now at 30 mg. First day had terrible diarrhea, then felt groggy and almost in a dreamlike state for the first week. I was prescribed Cymbalta for migraines and general anxiety. Week 2, I started to feel more normal, but my anxiety was worse (to be expected). Week 3, I noticed my migraines were less frequent, and I tolerated the pain better, I also started feeling happier and less anxious. Week 4, my anxiety is almost gone, and migraines have gone from daily to maybe every 3 or 4 days and are less severe. Worth the first two weeks of feeling crappy."

• woo...
• July 31, 2013

Duloxetine for Depression "Been on most antidepressants and ended up with mirtazapine, which although very good, does make you really fat. Cut dose right down, but then the old feeling of depression, anxiety, and suicidal feelings came back. My psych doc put me on Cymbalta (after a roundabout of others that I couldn't cope with) and Cymbalta works. 30mg is lovely, but 60mg is way too strong for me. Blurred vision, restlessness, anxiety, insomnia, etc., etc. So went back to 30mg and now feel great. I do take half a mirtazapine at night to help me sleep and don't know if it's the combination or just the Cymbalta (as half a mirtazapine is a very tiny dose) working. It has taken about 3 months for it to fully kick in, but now I feel hopefully optimistic and more at ease about life."

• Lon...
• July 12, 2016

Duloxetine for Anxiety "I'm on at this time 1 mg alprazolam 3× a day. And Cymbalta 60 milligrams once a day. Ever since I started taking the Cymbalta, my anxiety, my mood, my pain, it all feels way better. I used to take 8 or as many as I needed bars a day for my anxiety. Finally got into a psychiatrist, I was so freaked out that they were going to prescribe me Xanax for anxiety because doctors are so blah blah blah about it because people screw it up for people like me that need it. Well, the Cymbalta lowered my Xanax use basically in half. I think it's really more mental on my part, and the Cymbalta has been really good for me. I had one time that I went off of it for 2 days because I couldn't make it to the pharmacy, and yes, my anxiety came back in full-blown anxiety."

• hap...
• Taken for 5 to 10 years
• April 1, 2013

Duloxetine for Depression "After 5 years on Cymbalta, I cannot say enough about its effectiveness. I really can't speak to the claims of pain relief, but as far as depression and anxiety, it's the best I can recommend. The insurance has tried several times to get my Dr to prescribe Celexa, or Effexor, but neither work like Cymbalta. Initially, I was a little spacey and jittery, but those went away with time. I'd hate to have to pay for it as is. But overall, I'd rather not take anything than to have to switch."