Duloxetine and Depression: What Users Say (Page 3)

• Anonymous
• Taken for less than 1 month
• June 20, 2012

Duloxetine for Depression "I have been taking Cymbalta for the past 5 days and have noticed a significant change in my personality. My children told me that I am way cooler on my medication. I have not felt like this EVER. Cymbalta is better than Prozac, Paxil, and Depakote, for sure. Prozac made me more anxious and depressed, Paxil made me angry, and Depakote made me lethargic. I must say that I don't particularly like the side effects of Cymbalta, but this medication makes me feel like a human being instead of an irritable, depressed, worried mess."

• Whi...
• January 27, 2017

Duloxetine for Depression "I have been on Cymbalta for at least 4-5 years. I took it with Lamictal also, as it did not seem to help or relieve the anxiety/depression. I now am doing acupuncture and going off both drugs. Horrible! I tried to tell my doctors that I still felt crummy on Cymbalta, but they just upped my dosage. I think there are other ways to deal with anxiety and depression. At the very least, you should find out if a certain drug works well with you by checking it out with a pharmacologist, so you can be matched. Good luck to all who are suffering, it is not much fun."

• Phi...
• August 31, 2015

Duloxetine for Chronic Pain "Was taking this along with 450 mg of Lyrica a day and 150 mg of Tramadol a day. Nothing helped with pain, but I went into such a depression that I could no longer even go out into public. I slowly weaned myself off of all of it. I have pain, but at least I can go out into the public."

• Uji...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• August 19, 2013

For Peripheral Neuropathy "I am on 60 mg duloxetine twice a day. This has definitely helped me, but not completely. I still have to take at least one oxycodone. I haven't experienced any side effects, except a little depression at the pharmacy checkout counter. Ha ha."

• ane...
• April 4, 2009

Duloxetine for Fibromyalgia "As a disabled person on SS, I have both Medicare and True Blue. When the fibromyalgia is treated with 60 mg twice a day, the symptoms were phenomenally changed for the better. However, about 3x a year, the insurance makes me cut back to one tablet daily. Within a week, my depression worsens and my pain intensifies. It's a great drug, and those who take it really need it."

• Lau...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• June 1, 2022

Duloxetine for Chronic Pain "I have been on Cymbalta for a little over a year now. I started taking it to help with pelvic pain from endometriosis and bladder amyloidosis. I was also having depression and anxiety with my diagnosis of amyloidosis. I started off at 30 mg of Cymbalta and did not notice any negative side effects. After 2 weeks, my pain management doctor increased the dosage to 60 mg, which she recommended was the optimal dosage for pelvic pain sufferers. Again, I had no negative side effects and felt the Cymbalta may have been easing my pain. After a little over a year, my primary care doctor suggested I raise the dosage to 90 mg, as I was still having severe anxiety and depression due to my illness. At first, I did not notice any side effects, but about 2 weeks after raising my dosage, my fatigue and depression grew so intolerable I could barely drag myself out of bed, and some days did not. Last week, I went back to my doctor and cut back to 60 mg. My fatigue is way less, and I still have pain relief."

• KDe...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• April 11, 2017

Duloxetine for Depression "I experienced brain 'zaps' and severe mood changes on Cymbalta. It worked great for neuropathy at first, but it worsened my depression and anxiety. I felt restless all the time, like I was climbing the walls. Eventually, I felt numb and unable to function. My doctor refused to take me off of it, so I took myself off and found a new doctor who refilled my Zoloft prescription."

• Dr ...
• April 14, 2017

Duloxetine for Generalized Anxiety Disorder "Within 2 hours of taking the medication, my brain lit up, it felt like I was high. I couldn't contain the energy, so I went for a run. By midway through the day, I went to the park with my nephews, I took them on the swings. I thought I'd go on with them, so I started swinging, and it felt like I was going to die. The most terrible feeling of fear I have ever experienced. It felt like I was free falling. I had a total panic attack. At the end of it, I freaked out and just needed to get home. Could barely drive or focus. By day two, I started feeling a terrible raw feeling in my stomach, fought the feeling of vomiting most of the day, exhausted, detached. My brain would fluctuate between euphoria and complete inability to calculate or communicate."

• DoN...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• April 19, 2016

Duloxetine for Depression "The worst decision I have ever made was agreeing to go on this drug. I had no idea about SSRIs and the effects they can have on you and your life. For the first year, I would have recommended it to anyone dealing with depression and anxiety like myself, but that was at a time when I mistook the numbness for satisfaction. Just over 2 years down the line and I am falling apart. This drug has ruined my life. First, I realized the fog I was in. Then came the vertigo and confusion. My memory has deteriorated. Zero sex drive since day one. My depression has worsened, and I no longer recognize who I am anymore. My personality has changed drastically, and my anxiety is worse than it's ever been. I am now weaning off it, but the damage has been done."

• Fra...
• July 25, 2016

Duloxetine for Generalized Anxiety Disorder "Add on to 30 mg mirtazapine. Cymbalta taken in the morning. 1st day: diarrhea, very stoned feeling all day, slightly more anxious. 2nd day: slightly more depressed and anxious, a little less stoned feeling, slight constipation, sexual dysfunction. 3rd day: extremely depressed...worst I've ever felt. Suicidal. 4th day: same extreme and worsening depression. Couldn't handle it, stopped taking it after the 4th day. Worsened depression to the extreme. Don't know if the side effects would've lessened, but couldn't take the extreme depression. Sexual dysfunction also added to depression."

• Anonymous
• May 10, 2011

Duloxetine for Depression "I started Cymbalta in December 2009, and I thought it worked wonders. My stepmom passed away in January of 2010, and it helped me get through it like an adult. I used to cry all the time over everything, but that has stopped. It allows me to feel but not to be manic about it. I have to say the best thing about it, though, is the loss of appetite. I was a chronic overeater and was starting to really chub out. Within six months of using this medication, I lost 25 lbs. Unfortunately, for me, I got stubborn and tried to get off the medicine in January 2011. I felt that I could just do okay without it. I was so wrong. Within three months, I've been depressed, sad, manic, and gained back 10 lbs! I started the medicine again yesterday. Wish me luck!"

• Anonymous
• May 10, 2011

Duloxetine for Depression "I started Cymbalta in December 2009, and I thought it worked wonders. My stepmom passed away in January of 2010, and it helped me get through it like an adult. I used to cry all the time over everything, but that has stopped. It allows me to feel but not to be manic about it. I have to say the best thing about it, though, is the loss of appetite. I was a chronic overeater and was starting to really chub out. Within six months of using this medication, I lost 25 lbs. Unfortunately, for me, I got stubborn and tried to get off the medicine in January 2011. I felt that I could just do okay without it. I was so wrong. Within three months, I've been depressed, sad, manic, and gained back 10 lbs! I started the medicine again yesterday. Wish me luck!"

• Anonymous
• Taken for less than 1 month
• February 12, 2015

Duloxetine for Major Depressive Disorder "My Celexa stopped working around Thanksgiving. I have been slowly going into a tailspin since. My doctor changed me to Zoloft, which I took for 5 weeks and only got worse. I took my first Cymbalta yesterday and woke up this morning with so much less pain and could actually walk without my joints hurting. Not to mention that my mind seems to be coming around too. I cannot believe how fast this medicine has begun working for me. Between the severe depression and back pain, I had been having thoughts of suicide for over 2 weeks now. I actually slept well last night and feel so much better already today!"

• Mac...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• October 20, 2020

For Peripheral Neuropathy "I have to warn you, for me, duloxetine was an ineffective drug with severe side effects. What they won't tell you is how duloxetine/Cymbalta is highly addictive. I took it for a year. Once I went on a 3-day trip and forgot it. I was a nervous wreck. My doctor added it to my neuropathy cocktail. Only on the third attempt was I able to kick it. I wasn't a depressed person. I went through severe depression and thoughts of suicide while kicking this stuff. I believe it was unnecessarily engineered to be addictive."

• Anonymous
• September 2, 2010

Duloxetine for Anxiety "I have been off and on Cymbalta for over a year now. During a really stressful time in my life, I was started on Zoloft and then Klonopin. The Zoloft gave me restless legs, and Klonopin made me severely depressed. After a period of nothing, my doctor suggested Cymbalta. After just a few days, things got so much better. I relaxed and was able to eat and sleep normally again. The side effects were very minimal and lasted less than a week. After hearing horror stories of stopping Zoloft, I quit by counting the granules and tapering down over a couple of months. It worked fine for me. I usually try to take it around noon with lunch for the best sleep at night."

• Aus...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• April 11, 2023

Duloxetine for Depression "This medication was a nightmare. Caused me to dissociate regularly. Felt as if I was in a waking dream. It made me removed, and I felt as if things weren't real. It also gave me bizarre dreams and made me emotionally blunted."

• hic...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• August 9, 2019

Duloxetine for Fibromyalgia "I was on it for 3 days and was experiencing all kinds of mental things and had severe panic attacks. It helped with the pain along with Lyrica, but that was scary. I felt cloudy-headed and confused, sad, happy, depressed."

• hic...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• August 9, 2019

Duloxetine for Fibromyalgia "I was on it for 3 days and was experiencing all kinds of mental things and had severe panic attacks. It helped with the pain along with Lyrica, but that was scary. I felt cloudy-headed and confused, sad, happy, depressed."

• SIE...
• August 18, 2010

Duloxetine for Fibromyalgia "I have fibromyalgia and started taking Cymbalta about 5 months ago. At first, it was great. All my pain and depression disappeared. However, in about 4 months, I began to have severe wrist, elbow, and shoulder pain. My depression began to return, and I became exhausted. Another side effect that was intolerable was sensitivity to heat. I could not be outside for more than 20 minutes. I became violent. Today, my doctor started me on withdrawal with 30 mg (from 60 mg) for 2 weeks and then 30 mg every other day for 2 weeks. I can't wait to feel normal again."

• Anonymous
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• May 22, 2012

Duloxetine for Fibromyalgia "I started on 30 mg a day for a month for fibromyalgia and had moderate pain relief along with some mild side effects that faded after a few weeks (mostly trouble staying asleep). Then I bumped up to 60 mg, and it was extremely helpful with reducing my pain! I was able to do things with energy and not crash so much at night! However, I'm apparently one of the unlucky few who get really bad psychological effects from it. After 3 months of denying the increasing depression, I ended up being hospitalized for wanting to kill myself. Fortunately, the psychiatrist who treated me recognized the importance of pain management, and he has me on 30 mg of Cymbalta again with an added dose of Lamictal (mood stabilizer) to combat the crazy. It helps."

• Anonymous
• December 19, 2020

Duloxetine 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."

• cat...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• May 16, 2012

Duloxetine for Anxiety "I took Cymbalta for 4 days for anxiety, panic attacks, and mild depression. I read many reviews and wondered whether I should stick with it despite the side effects, but in the end, I just couldn't. I've been on Lexapro and Effexor before, and I was expecting the same type of side effects: dry mouth, nausea, headaches. But this was a lot worse. I was sleeping okay before and started having insomnia from Cymbalta. My heart was also racing, which for a panic attack sufferer, is the worst thing that can happen. I almost stopped eating, no appetite at all. I also started feeling really low, super anxious, and depressed, and could only go through the day with the use of alprazolam. In the end, I spoke to my doctor and I will now start on Pristiq."

• Sar...
• October 11, 2009

Duloxetine for Bipolar Disorder "Cymbalta was a wonderful mood elevator and controlled my swings especially well at first, but the emotional blunting and sexual disinterest and malfunction were devastating to my relationship with my mate. After several months of taking Cymbalta, it quit working so well, and when my dose was increased, the emotion blunting and other side effects turned me into a walking, talking zombie."

• Ann...
• May 15, 2017

Duloxetine for Major Depressive Disorder "Although OK when I first started to take this 30mg capsule, then increased to 60 mg daily... After some years, I am showing more signs of tiredness, confusion, anxiety, hot flushes, and forgetfulness, and general mental decline, and still get depressed, among symptoms... Am truly concerned about this, as is my husband and children (as I am not yet 65 years old)... And have always been in good health. I do not smoke, do drugs, and very seldom drink alcohol..."

• Sal...
• Taken for 10 years or more
• January 5, 2023

Duloxetine for Depression "Have been on for over 10 years. Worked well for approximately 8-9 years but less effective since 2019. Now it is early 2023 and have experienced a severe exacerbation of severe depression and need new medication/treatments. Stress and anxiety are out of control too."