most of US have detoxed off caps by skipping a day every other day for three days then skip two days for three days & then every three days till we get to awk ...then if no side effects just stop! so about 2wks unless doc give you less dose but still skip every other day!for a wk then go two then three! so you go off it slowly! but please don't just stop! to much shock!

Just found this post, blue, so I'm a bit late....no good answers, except like sunshine said, I wouldn't just go cold turkey. Most of the meds don't take kindly to that! Hang in and tell someone at the docs office that you MUST have an answer Monday.

Hope things get better! HUGS from down south :)

Blue, can't help you out in regards to Cymbalta. Have never taken it but with any drug, you don't go cold turkey. Do as misunshine has suggested. Wean yourself off. Also inform your doctor on what you are doing.

Thinking of you.

HUgs Nancy

Geez Blue....I only made it to two pills on the Cymbalta before I broke out in hives. (rolling my eyes)

I'd be torn if I were you. You can't allow yourself to get all blocked up as much as quitting Cymbalta cold turkey.

Is there another med you can take in replace of the cymbalta? So that you can stop the cymbalta now....yet slowly lower the SNRI levels in your body so you can quit it?

I hope your doc can help. My prayers are with you hun!

I wasn't aware Cymbalta had withdrawal effects. What the heck? Why do all of the FM drugs have these painful side effects? Or is it just us? If so, doctors should take greater care in prescribing this stuff or the drug companies should take the addicting factors out - but they probably add something to create a captive audience.

I have been on Cymbalta for about a year and a half and if I miss a dose my head feels really funny. My doctor said with any antidepressant you cannot quit cold turkey it would be very dangerous, so please don't do that!!! You need to go back to the doctor and talk to her about that. You can work your way down, but do it only by the doctors advice and with his help. Good luck, you are in my thoughts and prayers, Please let me know how it goes. Becky

I tried to quit under the advice of my doctor, slowly and still after over a month of trying I couldn't stand the side effects.. something they call "electrifying" feelings in my head esp when I moved my eyes. Now I am STUCK on this drug forever.. I am going to be contacting the FDA to let them know. If I knew once I was on it, I could never get off - I NEVER would have tried. just don't quit cold turkey!!! Have you tried Miralax? I have to take it every day...

I was only on Cymbalta for 2 months when I quit it cold turkey. For me, I had no problems quitting it quickly but I was on the lowest dose and was on it for just 2 months. You have to weigh which is worse, the side effects from the drug or side effect from coming off it quickly. Remember, when you're constipated, all those toxins begin to leak into your system.

I just recently read an article that serotonin levels can influence IBS. I had never heard that before. Remember SSRI's (serotonin reuptake inhibitors) like Cymbalta doesn't help your body produce serotonin, it just keeps your brain from "taking it up". Once you're off the Cymbalta, you may look into the supplement 5-HTP for serotonin help for both your sleep and digestive track.

Also, weren't you fighting some kind of infection awhile back that required antibiotics? You should be taking a probiotic to get your gut loaded with the good bacteria that the antibiotic wiped out. What most people don't realize is that it can take your body over 10 years to naturally build up the good bacteria in your stomach after just one round of antibiotics! You can eat yogurt until you burst and it won't build up enough of the good stuff. After antibiotics, you really need a decent probiotic to take for about a month or so.

One other thing that helps you to go naturally is flax meal or ground flax seeds. The oil itself won't help as well. Fix yourself a bowl of oatmeal and put in 3 heaping spoonfuls of flax meal before you cook it. Also, I think the regular oats are better than the quick oats. The prepackaged stuff is horrible. Just remember to add a little salt to the plain stuff to make it taste better. (the prepackaged stuff is actuall loaded with sodium) The flax meal adds more fiber but also a natural lubricant, so to speak. It's also not a fiber that doubles you over like wheat products. Most grocery stores now carry flax meal. It's usually with the specialty flour products.

Here's a link to the article I read about IBS that included the info on serotonin and probiotics:


http://www.ei-resource.org/illness-information/environmental-illnesses/irritable-bowel-syndrome-(ibs)/

I hope you get results soon. I know how painful it can be. Big hugs!

ok thanks! so basically, DO NOT quit cold turkey.... got it.
i just tried to call them and the rheumatologist isn't in, she only comes in 2x a month. i tried making an appt, too, but they are booked till Nov. so now i'm tryin to a hold of my PCM. hopefully she can issue me a lower dosage to take for a week and then start skipping it like misunshine said to do. i, too, get the brain ZAPS!

Shari, i was taking probiotics right after i got off the anitbiotics, so i should be good.

Jules, miralax was one of the 1st ones they prescribed me that no longer works.

i'll keep y'all updated as things happen.....

shit... i can't get a hold of ANY of my docs today! what's up with that???? i left messages.

i skipped today's dosage and already, i am getting results. i just went to the toilet with no problem. is that a sign or what! good thing i'm gettin off this stuff.....

just to add to what's been said. Cymbalta really messed me up-brain zaps, inability to focus, function-decided to get off of it, slowly with my primary care's support, so that I could go on the Savella. Please be careful-I had such bad symptoms that I really was scared-couldn't work-couldn't drive, couldn't even complete a sentence, I would lose my thought completely. I was ready to return to my neurologist, but decided to check online-sure enough, there is a Cymbalta Withdrawal Survivor's group-and there were so many people sharing the same nightmare I was living-it helped me hang on, though. It took a few weeks to really get it out of my system and savella has been much better-I am so angry that this kind of information becomes shared information by those who live the nightmare-
Please take care of yourself-
Blessings,
Angel

OMG! I'm so sorry. It's unbelieveable the crap we have to go through in our efforts to feel a little better...to live with a little less pain---it's really sad actually. I don't know how many times the medications have made things worse for me. I've had some luck so far with Effexor, but I'm on a really low dose and i've been on it for 4 months now (I think...fibrofog) with no MAJOR side effects (just hot flashes---I'm 28-LOL---, mild nausea, loss of appetite---which is actually kind of good for me). I'm scared to think it's actually gonna work, because I've done that before, and was heart-broken when I had to stop it because of major reactions.

The fact that we are soooo sensitive to medications is one of my biggest gripes about FM. I get terrified to take anything.

Good luck and I hope things get better!