quitting cymbalta (duloxitine) help

[narcomick]

Hope this is an okay place to be posting this. For some reason I can't post in the 'other drugs' forum.
So, as anyone else who's taken it will know, cymbalta or duloxitine is a hell of an addictive drug. I have never had problems stopping other antidepressants but this takes the piss. I've got to a stage where, after much trial and error, I can go two days without taking it. I was on 60mg, now on 30 and ready to quit. The withdrawal symptoms such as brain zaps, lightheadedness, nausea, sleep problems and general sickness are not nice at all to go through, but I want to quit this med. I do not have depression but suffer anxiety, for which I take clonazepam and other gabergics. What will I need to ease the worst of the withdrawal when it comes? I'm guessing tryptophan, amino acids and such but what else? Any and all help is welcome and a rough plan would be much appreciated, even better if you have had experience with this shitstorm of a med yourself. Thanks.

 

[T. Calderone]

I wouldn't completely stop Cymbalta at 30 mg. Tell your doctor you wish to wean off them and you can work out a taper schedule. How long have you been taking it?

 

[Keif' Richards]

Hey there OP. I just want to clarify your terminology a little bit. I wouldn't really consider Duloxetine (Cymbalta) to be a drug which provokes addiction or compulsive use. It is, however, a drug that is known to be difficult to withdraw from. SNRI medications, unfortunately, are known to be difficult to cease. You should be able to mitigate a significant amount of pain by going slowly with your taper. I don't see any good reason to stop taking the medication at 30mg if you're already having problems with your level of symptoms.

I think that the Clonazepam (Klonopin, Rivotril) should help alleviate some of the pesky brain zaps, RLS/Akathisia and anxiety stuff. It should also help get you to sleep. When you say other GABAergic drugs, what are you referring to specifically? I feel like Clonidine would be a medication with some potential benefit in addition to the Benzodiazepine. My grandmother has been on both Venlafaxine (Effexor) and Duloxetine (Cymbalta) and when she stopped taking them, she complained of shakiness, tremor and anxiety the most. Clonidine can definitely help with these symptoms. It's fairly easy to acquire, isn't a controlled medication and isn't addictive in a practical sense.

 

[narcomick]

Thanks. And kief yeah maybe I should have worded that better, I know it's not addictive like most drugs are by releasing dopamine or whatever but nonetheless the withdrawal is severe and I'm annoyed that I was never warned about this. I have tons of clonidine lying around, 0.25mg is what ill take but it dosent do alot and i usually dont take it. Should I take more than that? Also I'm wondering what will help with withdrawal from the serotonin and neuropinephrine specificaly, any supplements that would be able to increase my levels of these two neurotransmitters as I withdraw?