Duloxetine and Withdrawal: What Users Say (Page 4)

• Anonymous
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• November 2, 2017

Duloxetine for Depression "These capsules made me feel worse. I am gradually removing these awful meds from my life. The withdrawals are so intense that they leave me incapable of driving, give me spasms and brain zaps, uncontrollable shaking, and twitches. Do not ever even start taking Cymbalta."

• Emm...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• July 11, 2024

For Anxiety "I was on duloxetine for about 6 months. It helped me initially but stopped being effective after 4 months. I think this medication needs to be understood fully before taking. It has a very short half-life. I experienced withdrawal after 11 hours so needed to take 2 tablets a day. I ramped my dose up slowly and tapered off slowly by adding or removing beads. I think this is the wisest way to take this medication and then, for me, the withdrawal was intense but manageable. The first day I took it, I felt like a happy sociopath, I could have said anything to anyone or done anything and I wouldn't have cared at all. When I was used to it, it gave me the most glorious feeling in my brain and I was so much fun to be around, but I did spend stupidly and realized I was slightly manic the whole time I was on it in hindsight. I am now on Prozac and feel a lot more calm and level. Prozac has a long half-life so I didn't have any overwhelming symptoms even if I didn't take it for 3 days."

• Sum...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• February 22, 2023

Duloxetine for Depression "I was on Cymbalta for over three years. I was put on Cymbalta after being hospitalized for severe depression due to family issues. In the beginning, Cymbalta was initially life-changing. I was no longer emotional, but the side effect: I had no emotion toward anyone or anything. I lived three years of my life with no feelings, emotions, or desires. As horrible as it is to be depressed and emotional, it's even worse to feel absolutely nothing! The withdrawal from this medicine is no joke, it is hard, and it takes months."

• Anonymous
• October 2, 2009

Duloxetine for Anxiety "I took Cymbalta for 7 weeks for postpartum anxiety/depression. After the initial week of feeling nausea and fatigue, I started to feel better. I stayed on 30 mg, but found after 5 weeks I was having vivid, disturbing dreams, insomnia, sweating, and the anxiety came back. I started tapering off, and even at the low dose, the withdrawals are quite uncomfortable - after tapering and stopping the drug I still get a buzz/pulse/shock-like sensation in my head almost constantly after a week. Great if it helps, but hard to get off!"

• Pam...
• February 26, 2017

Duloxetine for Generalized Anxiety Disorder "Please do not take this!!!! I have been taking it for 7 years. It never really worked, I don't know why I kept taking it. When I was diagnosed with a mood disorder, they put me on new meds and took me off Cymbalta. They did wean me off, but I was awful. The withdrawals were, and still are, 3 weeks later so bad!!! The brain zaps are the worst, and then there is sweating, shaking, nausea. Please don't even start it, even if it makes you feel good."

• mus...
• Taken for 5 to 10 years
• July 22, 2015

Duloxetine for Major Depressive Disorder "Was on 60 mg for 4 years, had some relief from panic attacks with depression. Had some rough times job-related, medical issues not related to the above, and the doctor increased to 120 mg. Normal dosage is no more than 60 mg according to the insert in the med bottle and the Internet. After 3 years on this dose, it quit working. The withdrawal was the worst thing ever. During taking Cymbalta, I developed diabetes. Withdrawal took 8 months, and the pdoc gave me lamotrigine, an anti-seizure med for withdrawal. As I tapered off, my diabetes went away! The pdoc denied Cymbalta caused it. I googled it and found proof, all SSRIs can cause hyperglycemia! I've tried everything from Prozac to Lexapro. Same crap. Now on trazodone and back to having normal feelings."

• Lan...
• December 16, 2018

For Depression "This is honestly the worst drug anyone could ever take. I took 60 mg of Duloxetine for over 5 years and had to come off it for surgery. I was initially prescribed it by a psychiatrist and left on it for so long because my GPs didn’t know what it was. The withdrawal is absolutely horrendous. I actually thought I was having a seizure at one point. I can’t even describe how awful it is trying to come off this drug. I honestly thought I was going to die. I had flashes of electricity through my brain every couple of minutes that rendered me totally unable to do anything. My head was fuzzy, I had awful dreams and sweats, I had stomach upsets and just a terrible feeling of paranoia. Please be aware before taking this drug - stopping it was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done in my life."

• Pur...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• June 4, 2023

For Anxiety "I was on this medication for a little over a year. It helped with anxiety and depression, but it didn’t make it completely disappear. It also helped with nerve pain (I was on a low dosage), but I noticed if I would go up in dosage, it would cause more nerve pain than help nerve pain. The biggest downfall is getting off the medication. The withdrawal is the worst thing I’ve ever experienced in my life. I’m not a doctor, but what helped me was staying on the lowest dosage for 2 weeks, then switching to Prozac for 2 weeks, then stopped Prozac, so I was on nothing. I had no withdrawal when I did it that way. Hope this helps."

• Anonymous
• August 25, 2011

Duloxetine for Fibromyalgia "Wonderful medicine, but beware of withdrawal if you have to get off the medicine. I had to when I lost my insurance, and I had severe withdrawals ranging from brain shocks (feeling like on a constant merry-go-round), severe nausea, suicidal thoughts, anger outbursts, extreme confusion. These lasted for about 6 weeks."

• dpa...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• March 1, 2020

For Depression "Duloxetine possibly helped my depression a little. I liked that it didn't have side effects until month 6. I then began crying for no reason every morning within 20 minutes of taking it. I hated getting up and going to work and was stressed out about everything, way worse than my usual depression. Withdrawal was worse! Tapered myself off by removing one bead at a time, and each time I moved down was worse than the previous. When I went from 15 mg to 10 mg, I was sent home from work, had to go on leave, and was hospitalized for 2 weeks."

• Jes...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• June 27, 2019

For Anxiety "This has greatly helped me with my anxiety. I've taken it for 2 years. My irrational thoughts have almost completely diminished. I don't feel on edge. Less irritable... I am very thankful for how this has helped me. If I miss just one pill, though, I get very dizzy. Withdrawal symptoms are pretty intense."

• Dac...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• October 10, 2020

For Depression "I have been on Duloxetine for just over a year now, and I’m incredibly grateful for it. The first week or two, I was very spaced out, and things just didn’t feel ‘real’, however, I no longer have any side effects. If I take it over 6 hours late, I’ll definitely feel withdrawal symptoms, brain zaps, shakes, and generally weak. In terms of improving my depression, duloxetine has done wonders. I can function, get out of bed, and work 99% of the time. My mind is quieter, but I’m not numb."

• Dau...
• May 10, 2011

Duloxetine for Fibromyalgia "My mother started taking this medicine to help with her fibromyalgia and depression. A few weeks after she started taking it, she developed pain and stiffness (a rare side effect) in her right calf. (This was different from her fibromyalgia pain. Blood clots and various other problems were ruled out with dozens of visits to doctors.) She stopped taking the medicine, but withdrawal was bad. Her doctor was of no help and was ignorant of the withdrawal effects. She still suffers from the effects of withdrawal, although most days are better than they were. However, she still has immense pain in her leg, and finally a doctor discovered that she had actual muscle damage."

• Anonymous
• October 27, 2011

Duloxetine for Depression "I was prescribed 30 mg of Cymbalta in February 2010 and took a daily dose until now. I am currently on Day 12 of being Cymbalta-free. For a period of time, Cymbalta worked really well for me; however, after over a year and a half on it, I was beginning to feel like a zombie, and there were serious sexual side effects that interfered with my quality of life. My doctor instructed me to stop Cymbalta cold turkey, and so far, it has been the worst 12 days of my life. Horrible, HORRIBLE withdrawal symptoms that actually sent me to the hospital. Although Cymbalta did work well for me in the beginning, had I known about the withdrawals, I wouldn't have taken it."

• Dog...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• May 9, 2021

Duloxetine for Major Depressive Disorder "I was on Cymbalta for over a year at 60 mg. I asked my doctor to adjust my dosage due to depression getting worse, I had a reaction to it. Then, the doctor wanted me to taper off of it in a 4-day period. The dosage caused another reaction. I am now on day 4 of withdrawal. I have to be on a medication to help me withdraw, as well as the new antidepressant the doctor put me on. I feel so very, very awful. I strongly recommend you do not take this medicine. It does more harm than good."

• Jus...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• August 26, 2021

For Osteoarthritis "Never ever again!! I was on this for one month for osteoarthritis pain, mildly helped but gave me anxiety, depression, panic attacks. Withdrawal symptoms were horrendous and almost hospitalized for suicidal thoughts with constant crying because of nausea. Please I beg you to do your research before using duloxetine. If I could give it a negative 10, I would."

• AJP...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• December 29, 2022

For Depression "Took various dosages over my 2 years on duloxetine. It worked quite well for about a year for my depression, then pooped out. It was very effective for anxiety, but sexual dysfunction and emotional blunting were quite debilitating. Withdrawals have been absolutely awful. If I had known about them prior to starting the drug, I would have never started this medication."

• sen...
• May 21, 2011

Duloxetine for Depression "It worked pretty good for a while. Didn't stop the suicidal urges, but it was better than other antidepressants I tried. I had to have the dose increased over time to 90 mg to keep getting the same effect, and then it quit working entirely after a couple of years, leaving only the side effects to contend with. Reaching orgasm was pretty difficult, and sometimes I would only be able to once every week or two. It took 3 months to taper off of this, withdrawal was troublesome but not impossible to deal with."

• Poo...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• April 28, 2018

For Major Depressive Disorder "I wanted so badly to like this one. Within just a few days of starting on it, I started feeling productive and more on top of things. I am also autistic and have poor executive functioning, and this medicine seemed to help a lot with that. BUT within a few days of taking it, my emotions took over, and my sense of control was lost. I felt dark and violent. I hated everyone and everything. My anxiety and stimming increased. I had terrible dreams and night sweats. It only got worse and brought out the worst in me. And the withdrawals were even worse! On to something else. I have heard positive anecdotes about this medication, but please take the warnings pertaining to side effects and withdrawals seriously."

• Kri...
• July 4, 2009

Duloxetine for Depression "I was on this medication for three days, missed one day, and for a week, my body was in the most excruciating pain. It was almost as if the withdrawal gave me fibromyalgia. Also, I was a different person on all of the medications I tried. Be careful with any medicine you take. It was painful, but I also needed it because of severe suicidal ideation."

• Woo...
• October 3, 2019

For Fibromyalgia "On duloxetine for FM, I felt disconnected. Lost sense of smell. Became highly anxious with surges of stress hormones. Pain levels from fibromyalgia lessened a notch. However, real problem when coming off. Terrible effects of withdrawal, including dark depression and suicidal actuation. Think seriously before accepting this drug. I truly wish I had never been put on it."

• Chu...
• January 19, 2018

For Fibromyalgia "Prescribed 120 mg, I would take 60 mg in the summer, 120 mg in the winter for years. It was great. The pain was minimal, if any. But the withdrawal of missing a dose is too much. I felt like someone was shocking me in the head with a stun gun. The dizziness is a bit much as well. So if you decide to use this drug, take it every day at the same time."

• Lil...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• July 5, 2018

For Fibromyalgia "Like many of you, I started taking Cymbalta for fibromyalgia. It did help with my pain. I was functioning again, and pain had lessened. After 5 years, I decided to stop. I went from 60 mg to 30 mg for 2 months, then stopped. OMG! Worst time of my life! I was totally unprepared for this withdrawal. At first, I thought I had the flu without fever. Night terrors followed...10 per night is no exaggeration. Jolts of pain in my brain. Physical pain intensified. Severe depression. Exhaustion. Fatigue. Constant crying. I could not work and took almost 1 month off. This was 3 months ago. I am better than I was but not at all well. Now I am afraid to take any meds. My doctor is giving me 3 months to try lifestyle changes of less stress, exercise, and Tai Chi."

• Cro...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• June 1, 2021

Duloxetine for Major Depressive Disorder "Ok, so this (Cymbalta) one worked well, but I had a bad experience with it. This stuff really peps up your mood and works quickly and will make you feel happy and energetic. However, I forgot my meds when I flew from CO to TX for my sister's wedding and went into a horrible withdrawal. I could not think straight and had unnerving thoughts and felt the lowest I've ever felt in my life, a nasty experience. It worked well, but the withdrawal I had from forgetting my meds scared me from taking it again. However, it will help with depression, but has a few bad side effects."

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

For Major Depressive Disorder "When I went to stop this, I had awful withdrawals. It should be illegal because of the withdrawals. Worked well for about 18 months, then stopped working. The short amount of relief was not worth the long withdrawals. The worst brain zaps ever... over a month, and they are still awful."