youtube.com/watch?v=3KdtaFmDTA0

The mom above is a headache patient. She took Cymbalta for her pain and regrets it BIG TIME. It's long winded, but interesting. In the end, she throws it down the toilet.

(If you copy the above and paste in google and you'll be able to find it)


Another Cymbalta "situation!"
http://youtube.com/watch?v=3x1OEaFD2Es&feature=related

I actually got this from another thread at BT. Don't know what to make of this. Perhaps the owner went nutso every time the commercial came on and the dog reacted. Or Cymbalta has something subliminal in the commercial. Or it is a trick of some kind...like someone is blowing a dog whistle in the background.

I've never taken Cymbalta. My guess is that it helps some folks, but perhaps it has some difficult side effects.

Someone PLEASE help me out here ... I know many of you don't like this drug. ... I was put on it in the hospital for 2 months ... but WHY ON EARTH does one withdrawal or have terrible reactions to a antidepressant medication?? I am aware it is also used for pain (as an extra) but the damn thing is NOT a narcotic!!

What am I missing here?

because the drug stops working (very common for antidepressants.)

or because they develop liver toxicity (which this drug causes, and a black box warning is pending for this in fact)

or because their blood pressure has become high and is due to this drug.
(both Effexor and Cymbalta raise blood pressure)

or because a newer drug has come out that is better, more effective and less toxic. Prepare for the introduction of Pristique (Wyeth) soon.

OR because it is NOT working as planned. (most common)

Or the patient can no longer afford it.

(according to some studies-- mostly by Lilly~~ up to 47% of patients experience unpleasant withdrawal events when
coming off Cymbalta)

SSRIs and SSNIs cause withdrawal because they alter neurotransmitters in the brain. That is, THEY CHANGE you. Just like narcotics.
The only difference is that narcotics work on different receptors. SSRIs and SSNIs were put on the market after short
studies, and long term use was never investigated. It took years to realize what was really happening.
And today we still have clouded information as to how they really work. (most of theories are just that..not fact).

To elaborate on this a bit....

Any medication/drug you take that alters your body chemistry carries withdrawal risk. Examples:

Cymbalta is an SSNI (or SSNRI) - selective seratonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor. It allows more seratonin and norepinephrine to remain circulating in the body, which (in successful cases) makes you feel better. Take it away, levels drop - and your body protests because it got used to having those neurotransmitters at those levels.

Opiates behave similarly to endorphins. Over time using opiates, the body actually reduces endorphin production. When opiate use is stopped, it takes time for the body's endorphin production to get back to normal (which is why opiate withdrawal is horrible and potentially lethal). The person in withdrawal is short on a hormone essential for pain control, happiness, energy - feeling good at all.

Cigarettes stimulate dopamine production - another "feel good" hormone and neurotransmitter present in antidepressants such as Wellbutrin. That's why cigarettes are so addictive, and why it is hard to quit. The new drug, Chantix, works to alter this reward system and is therefore pretty effective.


In my personal opinion, the level of withdrawal issues is directly proportionate to the person's psychological dependence on how the drug makes them feel. That's why some people can taper off with ease, and others go through Dante's Inferno getting clean. But regardless of that, whenever your body chemistry is chemically altered, time is required to restore it to normal.

I've been on Cymbalta since 11/07. It works very well for me at 60 mg. I know if I ever want "off" I'll have to taper - but it works so good for neuropathic pain, I don't know why I would stop taking it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v5Q1MkDbVEU

The sale of SSRI anti-depressant medications used to treat these and other diseases, such as Paxil, Zoloft and Prozac, has become an annual $20 billion market. Selling Sickness features commentary from paid medical consultants to the drug companies, patients, researchers, patient advocates, advertisers, attorneys, and psychiatrist Dr. David Healy, a critic of the pharmaceutical industry. The film also examines the deceptive use of clinical trials sponsored by the pharmaceutical companies, the highly addictive nature and many adverse side effects (like suicidal impulses among adolescent patients) of popular SSRI anti-depressants.

At an FDA hearing in Washington, D.C., the testimony of parents who have lost their children to suicide starkly emphasizes the need for greater regulation of these heavily promoted and prescribed anti-depressants.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v5Q1MkDbVEU
part 2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hdau5...eature=related
part 3
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A9Q6Q...eature=related
part 4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nw22OubTpc4
5/5
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hv0Wy_cgqEU

IMO, they should all have black box warnings. People just don't have enough information to make educated choices unless they do a lot of research - which many don't.

The problem is the Cymbalta (which Im an advocate for it) has you feeling well,then.when its removed your depression relapes..I take it not so much for depression but for RLS and chronic Nueropathy from low back pain,its been used in England over 10 years before coming to US a few years ago,NO one should stop taking this drug,it has to be tapered off .............