[MartyD19]

I have been taking Cymbalta (60mg daily) together with Gabopentin (900mg daily) to help deal with the neuropathy pain in my feet for about 4 years now. Due to what I believed to be the negative side effects of Cymbalta (tired all the time, decreased libido, weight gain, lack of motivation to work out, ...), last week I went cold turkey and just stopped taking Cymbalta, to see if the Gabapentin alone would be enough to keep the pain at bay. All week I have been in a constant fog, have been more tired than I have ever been, and have been getting the brain zaps and tingling in my arms on a regular basis. I have never felt so out of it in my life. As for the pain, for the first 3 or 4 days, I felt no different than when I was taking the Cymbalta. I figured if I could make it through the fog another week or so, the cloud would start to lift and the brain zaps would eventually go away. On nights 4 & 5, the pain started coming, probably equal to the worst nights I have when I was on both meds. Even still, I figured if I could hold out another week or so, I would be ok. Then this afternoon came - I was so agitated I was yelling at my kids (4, 6 & 8) for things I would just brush off in the past. Every little thing they did had me worked up like I have never been worked up before. I felt like such a bad Dad. Then the pain in my feet hit - pain like I have never experienced in the past. It was so bad, I was practically screaming in pain. To make a long story short, I popped a Cymbalta. It is now five hours later and I feel like a normal human being again and the pain has subsided. I guess the grass isn't always greener on the other side. Just thought I'd share - thanks for listening!

[aussiemom]

Interesting! I take a lower dose of Cymbalta, and nothing else for the pain on a regular basis. If I miss that dose, I am in big trouble! But I do think you aren't supposed to stop it cold turkey, taper down gradually. Talk with your doc about that.

I read somewhere, don't remember where, that if you think the med isn't working, try not taking it for a few days

[lesley21]

Thanks for your story MartyD19, I am also on 60mg of Cymbalta and 900mg of neurontin a day, I have not had any problems at this stage. I saw the doctor on Saturday, and I am trialing another 30mg of Cymbalta for the next two weeks to see if that helps with the pain, if it does nothing I guess I will go off the extra dosage, so I will keep in mind the possible withdrawal symptoms if I am to stop the extra 30mg of Cymbalta.
Thanks for sharing.

[nide44]

Surprised that both Cymbalta & gabapentin are Rx'd together.
Usually one or the other will suffice, along with a pain med such as Ultram.
Are these meds being Rx'd by a neuro who is a specialist in neuropathies?
Especially PN ? sounds as if med changes are in order, by someone who is really up-to-date.

[Rrae]

Originally Posted by MartyD19

(tired all the time, decreased libido, weight gain, lack of motivation to work out, ...), last week I went cold turkey

Those are the top 4 symptoms I had when I was diagnosed with HyPOthyroid.
Just wondering if you've had recent bloodwork to see what your T-levels are on your thyroid.

Your body may have been angry with you for quitting colt turkey after being on it for 4 yrs. Usually Drs tell us to taper, but maybe yours didn't......
I took Cymbalta 2 yrs......can't say that it helped really, but after quitting from a tapered dose, I did notice the wierd electric-like jolts and jerking.
The thing I didn't like the most about the Cymbalta was it made me sweat profusely and overheat real easy. Everywhere felt like 110 degrees, even in the shade!

Glad it works for you, though! Thanks for sharing!

I am curious about the Thyroid thing tho....

Caring
Rae

[plgerrard]

Originally Posted by nide44

Surprised that both Cymbalta & gabapentin are Rx'd together.
Usually one or the other will suffice, along with a pain med such as Ultram.
Are these meds being Rx'd by a neuro who is a specialist in neuropathies?
Especially PN ? sounds as if med changes are in order, by someone who is really up-to-date.

I have been on amitriptyline & gabapentin together for several years. My neuro, who is a PN specialist, wanted me to try the Cymbalta in place of the amitriptyline. He didn't prescribe it as a replacement for both, but only as a replacement for the amitriptyline. So, I was taking both Cymbalta & gabapentin for a short while. I only tried the Cymbalta for a month, and went back to amitriptyline. My insurance wouldn't cover the Cymbalta, and I thought the side effects not worth me paying out of pocket.

It's possible his intentions were to eventually wean me off the gabapentin, but he never mentioned that.

[Swmnupstrm]

I was prescribed gabapentin with Cymbalta. Cymbalta didn't seem to do much, so I weaned off it.

I take 1800 of gabapentin daily, with methadone as needed for pain.

[glenntaj]

--for people to be prescribed both an anti-convulsant such as Gabapentin and an anti-depressant such as Cymbalta or Elavil for difficult nerve pain; in some people there is a synergistic effect.

Some people are even described a third med such as an opiate type painkiller (or synthetic opiate such as Tramadol) for really intractable nerve pain.

[JoanB]

I have been tapering off of Cymbalta after having been on it at 120 mg a day for a few months. Am down to 60 mg now and dropping to 30 mg tomorrow. Didn't notice any side effects on it, but having withdrawal symptoms now. Cranky, brain zaps, and had what I could only call a manic episode over the weekend. But some of you who witnessed it and the resultant landscaping had some positive comments. I didn't tell you about all of the other stuff I did. They were not frightening activities in themselves, just a frightening amount.

Feeling much calmer this morning, but aware I may not be out of the woods yet. Pain level hasn't changed.

[cyclelops]

I have some wierd thing, I can't take any SSRI type drug lest I end up puking and with the worst migraine on earth. I was given zofran which is an antiemetic and ended up with 'chorea' for 12 hours, and nothing would stop it.....

I did try cymbalta with predictable results.

I don't think they tell people very clearly that these drugs cause a physical dependence....just like opiates or benzos. All this stuff has to be 'weaned' off of and it takes a while and it isn't pretty.