Cymbalta not helping after 5 yrs.

[Qlexxie]

Im a 30 yr old very active mother. I have taken cymbalta for 5 yrs. I have wanted to get off of it because of the weight gain. Yes i tried diet, i walk and jog everyday and i just need advice on getting off cymbalta once and for all. I have tried myself which is awful, i explain it to my friends and family like being a crack head having to get off crack. Is there a clinic somewhere ( midwest USA) because i cannot try to get off of this drug in front of my children,i have tried. So regardless of my reasons for wanting to get off this drug please help me any suggestions would help. Thank You

[repowm]

I agree with everyone, cut back slowly.  I have been on Cymbalta for 3 years now and take 90mg nightly.  So yes I take a 60mg & 30mg each night.  I did gain weight at first, but now I have not gained or lost any in over a year.  I take Cymbalta for several reasons and it has helped me, but lately it almost like I haven't even taken it.  I have talked to my doctor just last week and on my next monthly visit we are going to cut back the mg a few days at a time and he said once I am steady on 30mg, than I will take a 30mg every other day. I hope it works out for you.

[JASVINDER]

I had the same problem with this drug and came off it and tried Prozac and i love this drug. Prozac has made me loose so much weight

[MisterTimC]

As M4 says, taper off slowly. I have also been on the damn Cymbalta for about 4 years at 60mg and am doing the slow taper now.

I am not a doctor, but this method works better for many people. Open a capsule, pour the beads into your hand, scoop about 10 beads, which is about 1 milligram, back into the capsule. Toss the remaining beads in your mouth and wash them down. (There is no taste and they don't begin to dissolve until they get into acidic conditions in your stomach and digestive system.) Save the beads that you removed in the spare capsule and put them in a bottle you mark SPARES. Write down what you have in your spares bottle. When you get enough beads for a dose you take those.

Every day that you're feeling good, remove about 10 more beads than the day before. What I mean is, the second day remove about 20 beads, the third day, remove about 30 beads as long as you're feeling OK. At the beginning you actually might be able to remove more, but as you get closer to the end, you might need to remove less.

If a decrease ever leaves you with withdrawal symptoms (headache, dizzyness, brain zaps, flu symptoms, etc.) you might need to stabilize at that dose for a few days before your next decrease.

Some people can drop from 60mg to 30mg pretty quickly, but 30mg to 0 is often a longer journey.

Some people have a very smooth withdrawal by adding a small dose of Prozac and then they can drop Cymbalta much quicker. Talk to your doctor. You may be able to do it at home.

Best wishes,
TimC

[M4Y0U]

Due to the potency of Cymbalta in can indeed be a really tough drug to stop, can be worse than Effexor. Also another disadvantage about Cymbalta are the slow release capsules the duloxetine is in. This prevent you from slowly tapering it by slowly reducing your Cymbalta intake. First step would be to get on 30mg, not quit cold turkey after 5 years of use. About the clinic I never heard about a antidepressant rehab but you can ask your doctor about it. Also ask you doctor and pharmacist for a proper tapering schedule for Cymbalta. Maybe for withdrawal reasons you can break the capsules and take some twice a day and slowly taper off. At that point I really don't know.

My advices for now is that you should talk to your doctor and pharmacist to tell them your intention of quitting this drug. Being referred to a psychiatrist sounds like a possible option to maybe try other medications for withdrawal purposes.

M4