Just a reminder that it is illegal to give a medication that was prescribed to you, to anyone else. And there are more penalties for sending a medication through the mail.
Best,
Starr
pravda said:
IAM NOT SURE WHERE U LIVE BUT I HAVE SOME ORIGINAL CYMBLATA THAT I CAN SEND TO U ,SO WITHDROWALL WILL BE EASIER
FOR ME IT WAS VERY HARD . I KNOW I SHULD NOT LET SOMEONE USE MY MEDS BUT I KNOW U CAN BE IN BIG TRUBLE TO QUIT COLD TURKEY
I LIVE IN MA AND JUST QUIT IT DUE TO NOT WORKING FOR ME Deniece said:
Hello,
I am currently experiencing Cymbalta withdtawl. I basically stopped cold turkey due to and issue with my insurance. I explained how badly I needed my meds, however they have not helped me and I smmot afford the cost. I have to wait until next month to have prescription coverage again and honestly at this point, I'm afraid to even start Cymbalta again for fear of future withdrawl complications. I've heard by many (even a family member of mine that has taken it) that Cymbalta is one of the hardest drugs to wean off of, so imagine cold turkey due to no fault of my own. It's been a very difficult transition. Sometimes I cry, sometimes I want to but can't cry, sometimes I'm angry, then sad, and on top of this, my body is feeling all sorts of things--pains, twitches, electric like shocks. I really wish you the best and I hope that you do not suffer thru this like so many have. There's actually talk of a class action lawsuit. Look it up when you get the chance. Also, look up what the FDA had to say about the manufacturer misleading people about Cymbalta withdrawl. I'm in the process of seeking help and support in this as well.
I was on one got off to go to the other. With me none of the meds worked. Just my body. I am in a fibro flare and my husband is like What. He does not understand. Both meds are dangerous check them out before taking.
I did come off of it many years ago--slowly off Cymbalta and onto Savella. Cut down by 20 mg. ev. couple of weeks. At the time there was not a lot of talk about how hard it was to come off. I actually hard a harder time coming off Paxil, but did that fairly successfully with time.
I would suggest treating the symptoms as you go off---i.e., using sleep meds, anti=anxiety, other things to ease the symptoms as you go off. It doesn't have to be so painful. It would be very hard to do cold turkey--I would work with your doctor and get support here but avoid blogs that focus on all of the horrible things that could happen.
My sister went off and was blogging all about the withdrawal symptoms and developed every possible symptoms out there!!!! I am not trying to minimize the discomfort but use reliable sources in treating the symptoms of "withdrawal". I am sure that you can do it with support and medical help
I am sorry you were upset that people didnt get back to you right away. I, personally am chronically ill and have been too ill for a long time so not been on the computer.
As someone else said i hope you are being weaned off the cymbalta slowly. That is the best thing to do. some folks go off much too quickly. I always wean off drugs very slowly and never had any problems.Stopping anti depressant (cymbalta for one) and anti epileptics( lyrica, nerurontin, gabapentin) should never be stopped cold turky or in a quick fashion. I dont want to scare you either but one side effect of doing that is seizures. If there is a problem with insurance i would not get off the phone with them till they approved the safe way of doing it. I wish you all the best and send you
I actually weaned myself off of Cymbalta about 6-8 weeks ago. I gotta say: I feel soooooo much better. Cymbalta was fine for me about 50% of the time; I just wanted to get off of meds period and now I'm using supplements and minerals instead. I have more energy to work and now I'm even going out of the house on my off days. For me, it wasn't a nasty withdrawal, thank God. I hope your weaning process is as good as mine. I'm not totally pain free; when I need to, I take a cyclobenzaprine or tramadol, but seldom. I also take strong ibuprofen before I go to the other stuff. I also took Lyrics in the past for two years; it was horrible for me. Anyway, I wish you all the best.
Hi Wendy here. On line Briggs .any ssri which cymbalta is can feel like coming off benzos. Sweats, barfing ,restless leg syndrome , muscle cramps. I was dxnd with fibro thi past March , but had been on cymbalta for years. When I stopped cymbalta is when fibro hit like a b… But since reading stories on this site now know had fibro for @ least 25 yrs. I have RA and this confused fibrio dx. I am now on Sevilla 25 mgs bid and oxy for the really bad pain.the one thing I keep hearing that helps in the long term for pain is exercise.what has helped me is getting in a pool and just walking and stretching joints.iam retired rn why are you on22meds? This worries me.do you have other stuff going on. No judgment ,just concern.
Please go see your current physician and have him/her advise you on the Cymbalta taper. Do not stop it suddenly or follow others advice from the internet. Contact your doctor if you need urgent medical advice. Most clinics have an urgent care advice line staffed by a medical professional who can get you in touch with your doctor's office immediately. Also if you call first thing in AM, you can get a same-day appointment. If you want medical advice urgently, go to your Urgentcare facility.
I tapered off Cymbalta a few years ago under my doctors supervision and had no withdrawal, none. So don't let other's stories scare you. Make sure you have an appointment with your doctor on the day your taper is finished so you can be started on the Lyrica immediately. Sometimes doctors will start the titration up on the new medication while the old one is being tapered down. Ask about this.
I'm sorry just so frustrated. Cervical spinal stenosis, hyper hydrosis in hands & feet, trochanteric bursitis in both hips (right one is my everyday holdback), anxiety disorder and now fibromyalgia (I guess ive been years &years misdiagnosed). More specialists than I care for expecially the bills that follow. My poor husband works and works trying to care for me. We went to walmart - the lyrica is over $300 so staying on 60 mg cymbalta (I was told that was the max?!?) Finally got some tremidol that helps some. Social anxiety has always been my biggest fear, but my doctor said to reach out...... so here I'm am a terrible nervous broken mess.
Oh Mel, I’m so sorry about your difficulties. I certainly relate. I’ve got spinal problems too plus severe osteoarthritis in left hip and no cartilage in right shoulder. Trying to find out which surgery I need to do first! And I also understand about affording medications, I’m on SSDI so have Medicare Advantage plan (HMO) and they won’t cover many of my meds.
First, I want to say that there is absolutely nothing wrong with being on 22 medications, as long as your doctor has prescribed them and knows everything that you are on. Between all my medical issues, in addition to fibro, I’m on around the same amount. I’m on many prescription meds not related to fibro, such as meds for thyroid, high cholesterol, high triglycerides, eye dryness, stomach upset, hormone replacement, anxiety, vitamin D deficiency, etc. Plus meds for fibro and all its manifestations, such as IBS, insomnia, muscle cramps, etc. I’m on Tramadol too and it really helps. And I just started on Savella again as finally my insurance started covering it.
You never mentioned why you decided to stop Cymbalta. Would you want to stop medications for diabetes or cancer? Fibromyalgia is just as real a disease. With the right medication regime you should feel much better and be able to better deal with flares. Plus if you’re having nerve pain from spinal stenosis, Cymbalta can help with that too.
Hugs,
Starr
I also wanted to talk more about not going on Lyrica due to the cost. First, if you really need to get off Cymbalta and go on Lyrica, ask your doctor about taking Neurontin instead. It is in the same drug class as Lyrica, but is available in a generic form and is much less expensive.
Does your medical insurance cover the Lyrica at all? The other thing you could do is apply to get an exception ruling from your insurance company. There is usually a procedure to do this in your benefits explanation. You will have to fill out paperwork and your doctor will too, but it might be worth it. I did this once and got one of my non-covered fibro meds covered for two years!
You also should read the Fibro 101 discussion on Prescription Drug Savings. Drug companies themselves may cover the cost of Lyrica. I just printed out the forms to try it with some of my non covered meds.
Finally, have you considered trying Savella instead? It’s also approved to treat fibro. Maybe your insurance will cover this one. Check your insurance company’s formulary or call them. Ask your doctor about this and your other options.
And Mel, I just wanted to say that we are glad you reached out to us. Fibromyalgia can be a very isolating illness. You might want to take a look at our Groups, there is one on Fibromyalgia and Arthritis you might be interested in.
Did you know that many areas have in person Chronic Pain or Fibromyalgia support groups? Check out your area, maybe there is one you can attend.
Ask your doctor about being referred to a psych specialist or therapist to deal with the anxiety. There are also medications that can help. You might also try meditation, I recently found a free app Insight Timer that is really helpful. I’m finding it very calming, I’ve never meditated before but I’m doing guided meditations for 10 minutes twice a day and it’s helping. There is also a Chronic Pain and Illness Group on the app to join that is great.
Hi I have missed a few cymbalta pills and the side effects were horrible, so if i ever have to get off of them i would be worried. I realized that gabapentin (prescribed for my muscle spasms) alleviated the side effects. Look it up or ask your doctor.
In my experience, Lyrica was a good drug but the weight gain was too great ( just to prepare you for what is to come). Since you were on 80mg of cymbalta, and my dosage is 60mg, I will research increasing it. I assume there was a benefit for you, right?
Just to clarify, most people on Lyrica do not gain weight. It can be a side-effect but doesn’t happen to everyone. The prescribing medication guidelines for Lyrica state that:
“In LYRICA controlled clinical trials of up to 14 weeks, a gain of 7% or more over baseline weight was observed in 9% of LYRICA-treated patients and 2% of placebo-treated patients.”
This means that over 90% of patients did NOT gain weight of 7% or more. And note that 7% of a 130 pound woman is only 9 lbs.
Thank you all. I do feel better. My new Dr thought lyrica would help better (fibro fog is out of control). Im fine with cymbalta and can't afford the lyrica anyways. My husband is at a new job with better insurance so in 90 days hoping my meds will be cheaper. And yes they are all prescriptions through my doctor. Muscle relaxers, anti inflammatory, gerd, anxiety, sleep, hay fever, etc... Love my new doctor when she sends me to a specialist they report back to her! I have been seen at a clinic for two years -they helped but only so much.
I do not remember how it all played out but I know that the thing that concerned me most was that I felt so good on it I hated to come off of it. Really concerned me to be feeling the way that I did prior to taking it. But I did what my Dr. instructed and came off of it and am only taking gabapentin at this time and have started to decrease that because it is causing me to feel dizzy, confused and my balance is off. I still take 300 mg but at bed time and that seems to have helped my symptoms.
I know how hard it is to change medications and then to stabilize on the new one.
I hope that it works out for you and that you feel comfortable with Lyrica.
I was on Cymbalta, and coming off of it was absolutely HORRIBLE. Sorry to scare you, but it was the worst thing I've experienced physically. I was communicating with my doctor and tapering off exactly as I was supposed to. I felt increasingly irritable on Cymbalta, and this only increased when I was coming off of it. I didn't want to talk to anyone, see anyone, do anything, or be awake. I felt like I had someone tapping their fingers in my brain for weeks. I was on a small dose, every other day, and I finally just quit it early, which after two days I was fine, but I was close to being done anyway. I felt like taking it was prolonging my symptoms with my body. I was not very nice to be around that month. I started taking Savella after that, which was terrible, and I couldn't tolerate it (heart palpitations and blood pressure issues). I was on Lyrica before too, which helped me not feel pain from the cold, but long term, financially, medically, and with the weight gain, it wasn't feasible. I hope it brings you some relief, but don't judge your body on the Lyrica until you're fully feeling like the Cymbalta isn't affecting you. Also worth noting, I was on a low dose of Zoloft with the Lyrica, if you're doing SSRI's or SNRI's for other reasons besides pain (I have anxiety disorder) that those could be affecting you differently too. Prep the people around you, if you can, that you'll need extra patience and support through this transition. I also tried to keep a journal of how I was feeling, because you think you'll remember it all, but you don't!
Well, yes. I have heard that getting off of it can be difficult for some. Same is true of Cymbalta, tho I have a close friend who got off it without a twinge of pain or anything else. Maybe fibro amplifies a fibro sufferer's pain when getting off Cymbalta or Lyrica that normal people wouldn't feel? So I would suggest that you ask your doctor the pros and cons of being on it.
Also, I have experienced a good response to pain with Lyrica. It tamps it down enough so that I am not feeling like exploding from the pain. But if I miss a dose, I can really feel the fibro pain take over.
I know that's an imperfect answer. I think the only way you will know is by trying it.
I forgot to mention that it can make you extremely dizzy at times when you first get on it.
Did those brain zaps hurt, Sara? I've heard if them and am curious about them.
SaraG said:
Get off Cymbalta slowly. You will have to taper down. It has some rough side effect. I would fall sideways and have "shocks" in my head every once in a while coming off of it.