Taking a break from forum.
 

Good luck to all in your recovery. You will get there, it just takes time.

I am going to be off here for a while. Just got to get off my SNRI medication Cymbalta over the next few days. It really turned things around for me, and helped to get me out of the acute PCS stage.

Thankfully I don't have any PCS symptoms now - unless I exercise.

So I am going to be taking it easy over what is going to be a very long weekend I imagine.

All the best to you Mouse! I hope the withdrawal isn't as bad as you are anticipating. Please let us know how it goes! I will be going through it myself someday soon and would like to hear how it went for you.

Take care!

CC

wish you the best and hope you have a fast withdraw from the medication.:hug:

Great news! Hope the cymbalta withdrawal goes well. Would love to hear!

Best of luck. Please come back in the future and let us know how you're doing!

Thanks everyone!

I am doing well so far, I took my last dose on Wednesday, so am three days into withdrawal.

You read some dreadful information on the internet about Cymbalta withdrawal, but I haven't experienced a lot so far. I have had some very minor tinnitus and what I can only describe as a faint rattling sensation in my ear.

I have the occassional mild headache, sweating and I have fatigue from the withdrawal.

Otherwise my mood is great and I have no sign of PCS whatsoever. My stomach is getting better as well.

My doctor said that I shouldn't have any withdrawal symptoms as I have only been on it for just over two months. If it wasn't for the side effects he would have kept me on it for another 6 months.

Good luck to you all!

Thank you so much Mouse for sharing your experience with us. Good luck to you and take are!!

Well I am now a full week off the Cymbalta, and got over the withdrawal.

Unfortunately my headaches, tinnitus and fatigue are more frequent. So the medicine was helping my PCS synptoms reduce for sure. My mood is fine overall.

Things will have been complicated by the chronic diarrhea I have, which cannot be stopped with medication. It isn't caused by an infection, so bloods have been sent to the lab to find any indicators.

I think this would increase anyones fatigue levels. I just wonder if all the painkillers and the SNRI has upset my stomach balance.

On a positive note, I have a 3.7 cholosterol reading, which is the lowest since my 20's, I am now 41. The PCS causing me to be more healthy and abstain from alcohol and caffeine has probably helped!

I hope you all continue on your recovery.

Good luck mouse. I am so glad you have healed so much. Have you tried taking 3 Imodium pills for the diarrhea? This has always helped me. You are probably having this from withdrawl of medications. Hopefully it will clear up soon. I wish you the best.
Brain patch

I think you got lucky with your withdrawal, mouse! I was only on cymbalta for 3 weeks (30mg) and then had to come off it quickly due to extreme depression/suicidal thoughts. I have been off it now for about 4 days and have had some HORRIBLE withdrawal symptoms. Of course it's hard to tell what is concussion and what is withdrawal, but I've been having headaches, nightmares, shakes, brain zaps, nausea, fatigue.. it's been pretty bad. I think I may be starting to see the end of it now.

Now I'm going to spend a month or so trying to figure out where I am in my recovery without any meds. I had a bad time with Effexor and a bad time with Cymbalta but both were helping cure some concussion symptoms so it will be interesting to see what I'm left with once I'm off everything! What a mess.....

Hope you are still doing well on your return to work schedule!

CC

Sounds awful, Cyclecrash! Hope youare feeling better. It is a catch 22 - some meds help some symptoms but cause problems elsewhere! Sounds like you had a bad reaction. Like you needed that!

Hang in there and good luck with the detox.

Cyclecrash,

I couldn't take SNRI's either. Too many bad reactions for me. Cymbalta was the worst! I ended up finding my happy combo with Remeron and Paxil. Paxil is a strong anxiety and depression reliever. I use Remeron to counteract the side effects of nausea. But also remember there are alternatives to AD's. CBT is an option if you don't like meds, and also there are natural alternatives, I can recall Mark being on L-Tryptophan, which works also. Good luck with the withdrawal, and best wishes!

Thank you all for being so candid about your symptoms with SSRI's. Because of your experiences, I decided to go the L-tryptophan route which has worked so far.

Hang in there- you are listening to your body's responses which with PCS / mtbi can be so hard to parse out. This too shall pass!

Cyclecrash,

I have got off lightly compared to yourself, I am sorry to hear what happened you. Get well soon and take it even easier than ever for the next few weeks.

I am now missing the Cymbalta a little because headaches and fatigue have really increased since I stopped it. I also have a whirring noise in my ears which I am told is tinnitus.

I was fine until my stomach upset - now I have come off all medication and supplements until a doctor can get to the bottom of it.

I really need to get my stomach fixed, I hope it is medication withdrawal and not something physical. It has obviously made my work life much more difficult.

Brainpatch - I think imodium is the best medication around for this problem, unfortunately I am allergic to it. All the other treatments prescribed have made no difference.

I know that everyone reacts to medication differently, but I do find the amantadine has helped a lot with fatigue and with my tolerance to noise. Specifically multiple sources of noise. It has relatively few side effects for most people and has been around for almost 50 years. It is even prescribed for children. It is more used in the US for brain injury fan in Canada and the UK but it may be worth a try for those of you who are really struggling with fatigue.

Thank you everyone for the kind words and tips! I'm starting to think now that some of this "withdrawal" is actually my PCS symptoms, that were helped by the anti-depressants, coming back. Yesterday I was very sick in the car and the light and noise were bothering me again. These were all things that I had kind of forgotten about since started Effexor 6 weeks ago or so. The fatigue is pretty bad too but that could be a combination of things right now.

Amantadine and l-tryptophan will be things I will look into once everything has settled down and I know what I am left with. I started medication because of anxiety and over-stimulation issues, not depression, so if that becomes a problem again I will look at my options. I feel like I've gone back a couple months in my recovery and hope that that is not the case. Next week will be better and I will get more of an understanding what's going on.

I hope everyone has a great day!

CC

Cyclecrash,

You are right to think this perhaps. Since stopping Cymbalta I have more fatigue, headaches, a new form of tinnitus, and sure enough when I was really tired last night the lights bothered
me.

However, the Cymbalta had pushed me forwards I think, as I am working four days a week and my job involves a lot of driving as well. I am functioning a lot better now.

I also got my bloods back and they are all clear, which makes me wonder that the Cymbalta has caused the diarrhea perhaps.