Duloxetine and Dizziness: What Users Say (Page 3)

• ItW...
• October 14, 2016

Duloxetine for Generalized Anxiety Disorder "I have GAD and mild depression. I initially had side effects such as insomnia, no appetite, and nausea, but they went away after a few days. This has helped my anxiety tremendously! It is not without side effects, though. If I forget to take it, I will get nausea, headaches, and dizziness. I did gain weight and some diarrhea, but it has had no bad sexual side effects. I have been taking this for a year now. I am finding that the depression is now increasing, so maybe time for a dosage change. Just keep in mind everyone is different, and sometimes the benefits outweigh the effects."

• joh...
• November 28, 2011

Duloxetine for Depression "I was on Cymbalta about a year ago, but when I found a job, I wasn't able to make my monthly appointments due to being new and having a probationary period, so I stopped cold turkey and stayed very, very dizzy. However, I was able to beat it, and the dizziness went away. After losing my job, my depression worsened very badly, so I went back to my psychiatrist and got back on them. I got so bad I cried a lot while being alone, had suicidal thoughts, anger and hatred, and lack of confidence. I sat in a recliner for 16 to 18 hours a day, but let me tell you something: when I got back on Cymbalta 60mg, I have done a complete turnaround. I have lost 40 lbs, my sex life is great now, and my confidence is through the roof. I smile and laugh instead of crying, and there are no suicidal thoughts."

• Anonymous
• March 12, 2008

Duloxetine for Depression "To begin with, I experienced nausea, excessive yawning, extreme fatigue - I'd fall asleep in the afternoon, sweating, and bad dreams at night, and really bad anxiety. These side effects lasted for a few weeks, but then I started to feel great. After 5 months, I decided to stop taking it - big mistake. I felt dizzy, sick, pounding heart, headaches, and the depression came back almost instantly. I started taking it again 2 weeks ago. Side effects aren't as severe this time, but they haven't kicked in either."

• mr ...
• June 15, 2016

Duloxetine for Chronic Pain "I have taken Cymbalta for 5 days now, worked a bit to take some sharp pains away, but side effects outweighed the good. I started 30 mg, dizzy, headaches, very upset stomach, very gassy, burping, and farting. I had a lot of pain along the beltline from my belly button all the way to the left side of my hip. Today I passed bright red blood with clots 3 separate times. I had one other time months ago with severe pain in the same location and passed blood then too. Both times I was on Cymbalta, so today I got googly and found that Cymbalta can cause abnormal bleeding in intestines, stomach, etc., and mixing drugs such as aspirin can increase the risk of bleeding. It reads bleeding can get as bad as having a life-threatening hemorrhage. rxlist.com is 1 source."

• Gin...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• March 14, 2013

Duloxetine for Chronic Pain "I can't take NSAIDs anymore, so I tried Cymbalta. Worked great for my pain and my depression. However, I had to stop it because of horrible side effects. The worst headaches I have ever had, dizziness, and eventually mood changes. I took it for about 7 months total, the last 2 months were tapering off. My doctor had a patient end up hospitalized when they rushed the taper."

• Boo...
• February 24, 2021

Duloxetine for Depression "I have depression and anxiety, so my doctor prescribed me Duloxetine (generic for Cymbalta). I tried other ones, but they either made me too sick or suicidal. He started me at 20 mg and moved me up to 60 mg. It’s helped me a lot. I take it with a combination of going to therapy. I admit when I don’t take it, I become an emotional psychopath. I start to pick fights with people and cry all the time. I also get lethargic, headaches, brain zaps, and dizzy (what happens depends on how long I stop taking it). It’s really great when I’m not being careless or self-destructive. Something I really like about it is that I don’t get sick if I don’t take it with meals. Sometimes I have to skip breakfast, so that makes it convenient. If you choose to take it, I recommend the first week or two to take it at night because it’ll make you really sleepy, but after that, start taking it in the morning because your serotonin starts flowing. It’ll prevent you from sleeping if you continue to take it at night."

• Anonymous
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• October 8, 2013

Duloxetine for Depression "I don't feel like this made too much of a difference and was prescribed to replace Zoloft, which I believe was better but made me gain a lot of weight. Getting off of Cymbalta was very hard, although I followed my doctor's instructions and decreased very gradually. By the end, I had to start taking motion sickness pills due to the dizziness and nausea I experienced from the withdrawals. I also experienced headaches and felt like my eyes would cross every time I took a step. Getting onto it was super easy. I went from 60 mg to 120 mg pretty quickly, and I lowered it from 120 to 90 to 60 to 30 over the course of about 2 months and still dealt with these withdrawal effects."

• MtR...
• July 16, 2015

Duloxetine for Chronic Pain "First placed on medication for severe arthritis of one hip. Helped with pain at the lower dose, however, eventually, I needed an increased dose. The increased dose increased my nausea, weird dreams, itchy skin, and twitching. My blood pressure also increased. I began to stumble and fall while walking slowly. My nerves seemed to cause me to tremble internally. Currently, I am tired all the time, however, I cannot stay asleep at night. Last year, I tried to get off the medication, however, I had severe withdrawal. I had trouble standing up, I was so dizzy, and my stomach was upset. I will soon be getting a hip replacement since the side effects decrease your quality of life. I am withdrawing from this medication prior to surgery."

• Anonymous
• April 18, 2009

Duloxetine for Fibromyalgia "I took it for fibromyalgia for 4 weeks. I had loss of memory, dizziness, and fainting. I weaned myself off with the help of my doctor. Withdrawals were horrible. Headaches, slurred speech, loss of memory, heart racing and palpitations, trouble breathing, and dizziness. It lasted nearly 8 months. It was the worst time in my life. I'm happy for those that can tolerate the side effects and are successful on this medication. This is just my story."

• deb...
• July 31, 2013

Duloxetine for Fibromyalgia "I was on Cymbalta for 2 years and found it to be a wonderful relief of pain and anxiety. The problem I had with it was 'brain zaps' and dizziness if I made any sudden movement with my head. I weaned myself off of it slowly and am now back to suffering with pain and anxiety, but I do not wish to take Cymbalta again due to the strange brain effect it has. Getting off of it was extremely difficult, and luckily I was between jobs, or I could not have made it to work during that withdrawal period. Extreme 'brain zaps' were the worst thing to get rid of."

• Anonymous
• August 29, 2011

Duloxetine for Anxiety "This medication did amazing things for me after being diagnosed with an anxiety disorder. I suffered panic attacks, inability to control my emotions, crying to bouts of anger, along with other symptoms. Within 2 weeks, there was a huge change. I am now laughing and joking again, I have no mood swings, no more crying, I have no anger issues now, just incredible. I did suffer side effects for the first 17 days and was very nauseous. The first few days are the worst, and then it eases off, some minor headaches, a small amount of fever, a little more sweating, some dizziness, but overall, it was worth it. Back to a happy-go-lucky girl."

• Dan...
• July 23, 2015

Duloxetine for Fibromyalgia "I have fibromyalgia as well, and I stopped taking Cymbalta because my pains improved a great deal, but I had extreme nausea and exhaustion (especially in the AM). Now my pains have come back to kick my behind. Day 2 of Cymbalta. Seems as if it makes me light sensitive, which gives me a headache and dizziness. Like my eyes are heavy and my skin was clammy. I will continue. I'll get back to you in a few weeks."

• Anonymous
• March 31, 2009

Duloxetine for Depression "Was on 120 mg for 2.5 years after trying most of the antidepressants on the market. It worked the longest and the best on my Treatment Resistant Depression (TRD) out of all the other SSRIs I've been on over the last 10 years. Unfortunately, its effectiveness began to drop out and my depression came back, so I had to switch to something else. If you have been taking this medication for an extended period of time and need to stop taking it, please wean slowly and do so only with the help of your doctor. Many people, including myself, suffered for weeks from terrible withdrawal - symptoms included vomiting, dizziness, head spins, extreme fatigue, and a worsening of depression symptoms."

• Anonymous
• March 31, 2009

Duloxetine for Depression "Was on 120 mg for 2.5 years after trying most of the antidepressants on the market. It worked the longest and the best on my Treatment Resistant Depression (TRD) out of all the other SSRIs I've been on over the last 10 years. Unfortunately, its effectiveness began to drop out and my depression came back, so I had to switch to something else. If you have been taking this medication for an extended period of time and need to stop taking it, please wean slowly and do so only with the help of your doctor. Many people, including myself, suffered for weeks from terrible withdrawal - symptoms included vomiting, dizziness, head spins, extreme fatigue, and a worsening of depression symptoms."

• Med...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• January 12, 2022

For Persistent Depressive Disorder "I was diagnosed before 2 years with permanent depression, major depression and anxiety disorder. My anxiety was at the worst of my life. I had started with 30 mg for 2-3 weeks, then switched to 60 mg for almost half a year, then I increased my dose to 90 mg. For the last 3 months, I am again at 60 mg. To tell the truth, I can't imagine how I had been living without Cymbalta. This medicine not only saved my life, this medicine made my life worthy. Tomorrow I will visit my psychiatrist and maybe the dose will be reduced to 30 mg. If you asked me before a year, I would probably rate Cymbalta with just a 9 because I was experiencing some side effects (dry mouth, dizziness), but now I am not anymore and the quality of my life is perfect. I can't say if this medicine will work for everyone, but I am happy that it worked brilliantly for me."

• Sus...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• October 28, 2016

Duloxetine for Depression "I had/having a horrible time with this medication. Currently trying to wean off with my MD's help. I've had every listed side effect and subsequent health problems that required expensive work-ups. Most dramatically, I developed vertigo and severe headaches after being on the med for about 3-4 months. Vertigo was debilitating and required time off of work and multiple doctor appointments to rule out other conditions. I also had electrical zings and numbness and tingling down my body. The weaning has been the most problematic, causing these awful side effects to worsen. I'm a registered nurse, and I would never recommend this drug to anybody. I did not feel any benefits for my depression."

• Luk...
• February 11, 2015

Duloxetine for Depression "Loved this medication when I first started taking it. I started taking it to get through depression, and my father was dying of cancer. Thought it was the best medicine ever until I gained 50 lbs within 5 months, and the effect of the medication started to wear off. What was worse was the effects of getting off this medicine: vertigo for a month, with migraine headache and what I call brain buzz for a month straight. That was tough, perhaps worse than having depression. I wouldn't have taken it had I read the reviews first."

• Has...
• August 5, 2016

Duloxetine for Depression "It didn't help depression or low-grade chronic pain at all. I had better depression relief from Celexa and Wellbutrin. But the biggest reason I caution against Cymbalta is because of the extreme withdrawal symptoms I experienced. I followed the doctor-recommended protocol to wean off. Weaning seems to mean prolonging misery. The nausea and dizziness I have endured for the last 5+ weeks with no end in sight is debilitating. I urge you to please research your options thoroughly before even trying Cymbalta."

• Cal...
• November 13, 2011

Duloxetine for Depression "I have suffered from major depression since childhood and have had fibromyalgia since 2000. I've tried Effexor, Paxil, Elavil, Zoloft, Lexapro, Wellbutrin, Nortriptyline, Prozac, and on and on. All made my depression worse and left me so tired I couldn't function. I promised her that I wouldn't quit taking it because of side effects and without talking to her first. Three weeks I had had it, but my husband kept encouraging me, and my doctor was out of town. In the 5th week, all the side effects (super, super fatigue, dizziness, nausea, stomach cramps, yawning, no appetite) have disappeared, and I feel fabulous emotionally and physically. Give it time if you've had little success with other antidepressants. This one worked for me."

• MJa...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• August 30, 2019

Duloxetine for Diabetic Peripheral Neuropathy "I've been taking Cymbalta for 6 months, 20 mg once a day. It has helped with my neuropathy in my legs, but nothing has stopped it, so it's better than taking nothing, which causes pain that is unbearable. But when taking the 60 mg, it has me very nauseated and off balance. So I have not been able to take a larger amount than 20 mg a day. I tried taking it at night, but I was really restless, oh, so I take it in the morning with food."

• Ali...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• May 29, 2015

Duloxetine for Anxiety "Started on Cymbalta for anxiety and depression fall 2014. It was the first antidepressant that I'd ever tried (aside from St. John's Wort). Side effects during the first week of taking it were so terrible that I had to stop. I was constantly dizzy. I couldn't focus on anything. It made my body so tense, I'd catch myself clenching my teeth and fists. Insomnia was terrible; I'd wake up about 5 times per night. I work in healthcare, and I felt like I couldn't do my job with all of these side effects, so I stopped. The side effects were really worse than my anxiety and depression. I have no doubt that they would have eventually decreased, but I couldn't wait for that to happen. Obviously, the side effects will be different for everybody, but that's my story."

• NoM...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• September 26, 2022

Duloxetine for Chronic Pain "I was prescribed Cymbalta because of nerve pain and fibromyalgia. I took it three nights. The first morning, I had a little dry mouth. The second morning, dry mouth was worse, and I was feeling a little off. This morning, I woke up with severe dry mouth, shaking, off balance, cognitive function very slow, and I am fatigued. I felt like this once before when I was on gabapentin, which I will never take again. I was on it for 2 years and ended up with seizures. The seizures went away after I stopped gabapentin. I was not going to give Cymbalta any more time to do more damage. I don't think I will get withdrawals since I was only on it 3 days, at least I hope not."

• uhh...
• January 5, 2013

Duloxetine for Depression "First week on Cymbalta, and I can report that it is certainly effective. I have severe recurrent depression with some psychotic symptoms and have been on Lexapro, Prozac, tried natural supplements, etc. Nothing worked too well. I'm also currently taking Wellbutrin, and that helps with energy. Still early on, but I can already tell a decrease in suicidal thoughts, delusional rumination, and such. Of course, it's not without side effects. Dry mouth, nausea, constipation, emotional lability (random laughing and such), dizziness, orthostatic hypotension (lightheadedness upon standing)."

• Bob...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• January 4, 2019

Duloxetine for Depression "Had tried 4 different meds before Cymbalta in various doses for GAD/depression. Had quit them due to side effects, usually 'brain fog', increased anxiety or depressive symptoms, etc. Psych doctor put me on Cymbalta 30 mg, morning/30 mg night. At first, I had some improvement with just mild brain fog. Kept on it for a total of 4 months, hoping this could be the one. However, slowly turned into a zombie. Tired, unable to think clearly, trouble processing. Dr. switched me to Vibryyd 20 mg and tapered me with 30 mg of Cymbalta at night for 7 days. She said the new med should help counter withdrawal effects. Well, during the first 7 days, I had mild vertigo, insomnia, heart palpitations, etc., and was dealing with it. The next 7 days without any Cymbalta have been the worst. Vertigo, confusion, agitation, severe vertigo, mood swings, sweats, loss of appetite, tinnitus, headaches, forgetfulness, etc. I pray I am not one of those people who have withdrawal for months."

• Bob...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• January 4, 2019

Duloxetine for Depression "Had tried 4 different meds before Cymbalta in various doses for GAD/depression. Had quit them due to side effects, usually 'brain fog', increased anxiety or depressive symptoms, etc. Psych doctor put me on Cymbalta 30 mg, morning/30 mg night. At first, I had some improvement with just mild brain fog. Kept on it for a total of 4 months, hoping this could be the one. However, slowly turned into a zombie. Tired, unable to think clearly, trouble processing. Dr. switched me to Vibryyd 20 mg and tapered me with 30 mg of Cymbalta at night for 7 days. She said the new med should help counter withdrawal effects. Well, during the first 7 days, I had mild vertigo, insomnia, heart palpitations, etc., and was dealing with it. The next 7 days without any Cymbalta have been the worst. Vertigo, confusion, agitation, severe vertigo, mood swings, sweats, loss of appetite, tinnitus, headaches, forgetfulness, etc. I pray I am not one of those people who have withdrawal for months."