Cymbalta Help

I have been on a variety of antidepressants over the last 7 years, most recently Cymbalta for the last 18-24 months. From Nov 2013 - Nov 2014 I had been taking 90 MG daily. While my dose increase from 60-90 MG helped at first, after a very short time my skin/face became horrible and no matter what I have done for the last year nothing has helped. But I stuck with it because I was mentally/emotionally feeling better. Then last summer/fall it had gotten to the point where I no longer felt the meds were helping me at all - in fact, I physically was feeling horrible majority of the time and I no longer felt any benefit of taking it (no energy, no motivation, nauseous, sick at times, headaches, horrible sweating and I was ALWAYS hot, memory loss and confusion) - so with my drs help I began to wean off before Thanksgiving. Late Nov/Dec I had a variety of unpleasant withdrawal side effects, which I expected. When I woke up one morning with horrible itching, feeling like I was literally being bitten all over my body - but no rash or anything on my skin - I called my practice (the first of a few calls with the same issue/question about the skin itching) and was told they've never heard of it and to take Benadryl. Finally doing some research, I was reading over and over that it was likely my nerves coming back to life after being on the med for so long – pins and needles in my feet, unbearable itching feelings, burning sensations, prickling and surging pains. Jan '15 I stopped taking it altogether. About 1-2 weeks out I was very sick, again which I expected. I have since been given hydroxyzine to help the skin itching/burning/tingling, which has helped a bit. Now the itching seems to be worst at night. The last few weeks have been difficult - day-to-day it has been a roller coaster, sometimes feeling OK and the next hour I could be very sick - but overall week-to-week I have felt better on average, so I have felt like there IS a light at the end of the tunnel. The last 7-10 days, however, I have been sick again, nauseous, vomiting; the last 2-3 days I have not been able to keep any food down and I have horrible headaches & lightheaded/dizzy (which I realize could be dehydration). I have not been able to find any doctors that are knowledgeable or helpful and I DO NOT think I have a stomach bug bc of the pattern. I was initially told by my psychiatrist & primary care that bc of the half life of the drug, it should only take 1-2 weeks to get out of my body. My primary also said however that it could take longer than that for my body to adjust and get back to “normal.” Despite having felt so crummy I have been trying very hard to eat well and exercise, take a vitamin, drink tea & take baths – anything I can think of to help my body & mind, and help detox. The only other med I take is my birth control pills – I have even tried to keep away from Tylenol, Benadryl/allergy meds as much as possible. I had blood work done several weeks ago when I was initially pretty sick in early Jan and everything was normal. I have been trying to ride it out, but the last few days I have been SO sick again and not been able to keep any food down. I am a young wife & Mom, with two young children, and this has severely affected my quality of life, and I am desperately seeking any info or advice.

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Hello, Erin! How are you feeling? I'm very sorry about how miserable you are.

If your vomiting often and getting dehydrated, the dehydration can also cause more nausea and vomiting, so it can create a pretty vicious cycle. Withdrawals, according to the FDA, may also include chills, fever, depression and diarrhea.

Do you take your birth control with food or on an empty stomach? That can also cause some nausea, if you take it on an empty stomach, which could worsen the problem.

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My Dr suggested I get on Cymbalta,...no guarantees he said,it might help,it might not,....my question is,...so many people are suffering from similar symptoms,tired,no motivation,can't sleep,....why are Anti Depressants so hit and miss,the symptoms are consistent,...and why so many side effects,??...that effect some and others not so much?

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Hello, Jeffrey! I was just discussing this on another post this morning…

The reason they are so hit and miss is because we only have theories on what causes depression, we can't actually test the human brain of a living person to see if these theories are correct.

There's also a chance that these theories may not apply universally to everyone, which could explain why the medications work well for some people that take them, but not all.

We are constantly learning new things in science and medicine, but we will not likely ever know and understand everything.

Are there any other questions or concerns?

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I was also wondering why Dr's are so willing to prescribe anti depressants vs other "addictive" drugs when they're no different.I had a one time script for Xanax that worked very well but he won't give me cuz it's very addictive,....but so is cymbalta.

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