Symptoms of Cymbalta discontinuation syndrome can be severe
Q: No one ever told me just how hard it would be to come off Cymbalta. I have constant “brain zaps” and ringing in my ears. I get angry and break out in fits, yelling then crying.
Sunlight hurts my eyes, and loud noise makes me crazy. I’m dog-tired, with no energy, but I can’t sleep. If I do happen to sleep, I get stuck in a world between awake and dreaming where my dreams seem real and most of them are nightmares.
Am I losing my mind? I wonder if I need to be committed.
My family is scared and unsure how to help. My 7-year-old daughter cries to me: “Please don’t leave me, Mommy. I don’t want you to die!” It’s breaking my heart.
I have been on Cymbalta since 2009. I was taking 120 mg a day and dropped the dose to 90 to 60 to 30 mg to now nothing. I’m a mess, and I can’t live this way. I lost my job because I flipped out on my boss. How can I move forward to find another job when I feel so ill? I keep hoping for this nightmare withdrawal to end.
A: Duloxetine (Cymbalta) is prescribed for anxiety, depression and pain. The Food and Drug Administration acknowledged a “Cymbalta discontinuation syndrome” in 2009. Unfortunately, symptoms such as severe mood swings, brain zaps and neurological problems might last for weeks or in some cases months.
Perhaps you reduced your dose too quickly. You may need a much more gradual withdrawal regimen under close medical supervision to wean you off this medicine.
Q: I have just read about a study that shows pain relievers can lead to heart attacks. It said that the ones they tested all have the same risk. At what dose do complications kick in?
I take an ibuprofen (200 mg) almost every day to ease back and hip pain. Sometimes I take an additional dose. In addition, I take a 325 mg aspirin for my heart. Am I asking for heart trouble at these doses?
A. The PRECISION trial you read about showed that celecoxib (Celebrex), ibuprofen and naproxen all posed about the same risk of heart attacks (New England Journal of Medicine online, Nov. 13, 2016). The dose was much higher than the one you are taking: 600 mg of ibuprofen three times a day.
Since you are taking a fraction of the amount tested, the danger is low but probably not zero. Another concern is that ibuprofen and naproxen can undo the anti-clotting activity of aspirin. As a result, you might not be getting the expected heart benefit from the aspirin you take.
Celecoxib, on the other hand, does not appear to interfere with aspirin. You may want to ask your doctor if it would be a better alternative than ibuprofen.