troop111 Posted October 20, 2011 Share Posted October 20, 2011 Hi, I am switching slowly from Effexor to Cymbalta, and was wondering if any of you could share your experiences with Cymbalta? Thank you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Recluse Posted October 21, 2011 Share Posted October 21, 2011 I have really enjoyed Cymbalta. No weight gain, clear-headed, although in my own experience, it works better if you take it in the morning, rather than before you go to bed. I notice a distinct difference in moods if I take it and sleep, it doesn't seem to work as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Another Random Person Posted October 21, 2011 Share Posted October 21, 2011 It gave me the runs really, really bad. I lost 10 pounds in a month before the doctor suggested the problem might be the drug and I should stop taking it. But I'm back on it in combination with Amitriptyline which makes me constipated and causes weight gain. Now the two are cancelling out each others' side effects. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomas Posted October 21, 2011 Share Posted October 21, 2011 I take my Cymbalta 60 mg. morning and the same at bed-time. It works well for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
malachite Posted October 21, 2011 Share Posted October 21, 2011 I took Cymbalta for awhile. It worked for me for some time. Hope it works for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Indigo 'n dye Posted October 21, 2011 Share Posted October 21, 2011 I have been on 120 mg Cymbalta for ten or so weeks. It has been a boon to cutting through the fog of depression and a joy in its ability to partial reduce some types of chronic pain. I also switched from Effexor as it seemed to be having an adverse effect on my blood pressure Like Recluse, I too find it most effective to take a single dose in the early AM. I have some gastrointestinal upset the third and forth week, but tweaking my diet and increasing my exercise took care of that. Good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
troop111 Posted October 21, 2011 Author Share Posted October 21, 2011 Thank you all for your replies. I have heard that, like effexor, cymbalta causes bad withdrawals. I also read that cymbalta has a short half-life. I know that this can be an issue with some quickly metabolized benzos, that people who take multiple doses throughout the day can actually go into withdrawal in between doses. Have any of you heard the same said about cymbalta? Or will one dose stay in the system sufficiently until the next dose the following day, so no need to worry about WD? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saveyoursanity Posted October 25, 2011 Share Posted October 25, 2011 I'm pretty sure the Cymbalta that's on the market is an extended release form. No need to worry about withdrawals from that. As for the withdrawal syndrome itself, my experience was fairly benign, but then again, Effexor didn't give me bad withdrawals either. It absolutely varies from person to person. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
breezy Posted October 25, 2011 Share Posted October 25, 2011 I was literally just put on it yesterday. I took it at night and didn't sleep at all, even with Xanax and melatonin, so I took a dose this morning and will be taking it in the morning hereafter. I like it better than Zoloft. I am noticing a very quick decrease in appetite, which is okay with me as I gained 25 pounds rather quickly recently. I am tired today, but I'm also on anxiety meds that cause drowsiness and I didn't sleep last night at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jt07 Posted October 25, 2011 Share Posted October 25, 2011 I was on Cymbalta when I made a serious suicide attempt and ended up in the hospital where I was immediately taken off of it. You can imagine that my opinion of it is not very high. I don't blame Cymbalta for my suicide attempt because I was going through some pretty heavy crap at the time, but it sure did nothing to help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
breezy Posted October 25, 2011 Share Posted October 25, 2011 jt07, that's what happened to me on citalopram. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cattitude Posted October 29, 2011 Share Posted October 29, 2011 I was on it for a couple of months. It didn't do much for my depression and it completely shut down any libido I had. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
renaeden Posted October 30, 2011 Share Posted October 30, 2011 I was on Cymbalta for nearly two years, so I gave it a good try. But it didn't really do much for my depression. It had no side effects at all which was good though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Electrawoman Posted March 1, 2012 Share Posted March 1, 2012 I tried it for a month for anxiety/panic. Prior to this, I had been med-free for a year (not by choice). Before that, it had been a Lexapro/Wellbutrin combo for 5 years prior. The first week on Cymbalta was kind of fun. Even though I had a lot of side effects right away, I was euphoric so I didnt care too much. Then, things got ugly. I had awful joint and muscle pain, stomach cramps, loss of appetite (another good one), felt like a zombie at times, had to take two days off work and I never take sick days. I caught myself drooling and zoning out at work, experienced severe anorgasmia (but no libido loss), tired all the time, yawning, headaches, depression, irritability and more that I can't even remember now. The side effects grew worse as my dose was increased. I tried a couple times to reduce my dose to the original 30mg but that made things worse because the withdrawals exacerbated the existing symptoms. I could time the joint/muscle pain increase to about 15 hours after taking my pill. I eventually took a giant list of problems to my Doctor and he agreed that it was not worth it. My anxiety was certainly squelched but the cost was too high. He switched me to Pristiq 7 days ago...so far so good. I will post on that separately. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redsaturday Posted March 2, 2012 Share Posted March 2, 2012 I haven't had a libido in many years. I finally weaned off Effexor, started Cymbalta and suddenly I can't wait for my husband to come home and the kids to go to bed. Score one for me finally! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CookieN Posted April 6, 2012 Share Posted April 6, 2012 Troop111: did you start cymbalta? how is it going? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
balletomane Posted April 18, 2012 Share Posted April 18, 2012 I had a severe adverse reaction to Cymbalta, so I don't know if I'm the kind of person you're looking to hear from. I ended up in the ER two nights in a row (thanks be to universal healthcare). I was on 60mg if I remember correctly. Definitely wasn't the drug for me. I had never been on Effexor prior. Take it for what it's worth I suppose? Good luck to you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
San Posted April 19, 2012 Share Posted April 19, 2012 Cymbalta worked really well, except I had tachycardia (160) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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