Cymbalta users, PLEASE, need help

I'm on Day 7 30mg. I have no motivation in the morning until around 1. I go to sleep around 11pm and wake up at 2, 4, then 5-6:30 for good. I am in a state of panic upon waking and have restless thoughts, vivid dreams. I don't know if this is a good med choice. My pdocs nurse tells me to continue for another week....but I sit in my bedroom/house hiding until the afternoon when I start to feel a little better. IS THIS NORMAL??

I took this 3 years ago and it worked for 2 years then just stopped. I was on 60mg. I weaned myself off slowly and then went to the pdoc. They tried me on a few other meds but I never give them a chance because the first few days of side effects are so great that I stop. So we decided to try the Cymbalta again and see if it would start to work a second time after being out of my system for 6 months. However, I don't remember any of this the last time. I'm a wreck right now and my pdocs office is closed until TUESDAY. I don't know what to do. Is anyone else gone through this??

Miche31, I am sorry you are having side affects on Cymbalta. You contacted your pdoc's nurse and they did not think you were in danger.

Here are lifestyle changes that may give you some relief.

One thing I try is a breathing exercise to focus on breath instead of fighting with the thoughts.

Breathing exercise with natural breathing do not force.
If you are feeling very anxious or angry or just want to calm down, you can try a breathing exercise that takes the attention away from the trigger of anxiety to a simple tool of counting breaths.

Find a comfortable position seated or laying down. Begin to relax your breathing. Silently count 1 on the inhale, and two on the exhale. Then silently count 3 on the inhale and 4 on the exhale. Continue up to 10 or until you lose the count then return to one. No judgement. I sometimes end up at 18 then smile and return to 1. The idea is to focus on the breath and the counting and not get sucked into the anxiety or anger trigger. Also works to quiet the mind.

I have to watch what I eat because foods I eat can stabilize my moods or exaggerate them. A high protein low carb diet with snacks or meals every 3-4 hours will over time reduce my swings. I also avoid alcohol and recreational drugs because those can really increase depression.

Other lifestyle changes that help me are doing yoga, exercises, mindfulness, calm music, and being active on Psych Central.

There are lots of compassionate people here that can make the load lighter by sharing and caring. Feel free to participate actively at Psych Central.
http://forums.psychcentral.com

Please feel free to private message me or any of the Community Liaisons by left clicking on the name in blue to the left of their post) for questions or just to share.

Your doctor can order a genetic test that could indicate whether or not you stand to benefit from Cymbalta. A number of studies have associated specific gene polymorphisms with antidepressant response.

Source: HMSA Policy on Genetic Testing for Mental Health Conditions, effective date 7/1/2015

From GeneSight Psychotropic's website:

Ugh, sounds scary! I know vivid dreams can be side effects of SSRIs and SNRIs. The restless thoughts could be anxiety or possibly a manic episode? Out of curiosity, are you taking it at night or in the morning? You could try switching when you take it.

One other thought--were you on the brand-name before and are now on a generic? Or a different brand of generic than you were before? Some people (including me!) can be sensitive to small differences in generics--I had that problem with Paxil.

I wouldn't stop taking it abruptly for sure. Does your pdoc's office have an off-hours line that you could call in case you feel worse over the weekend?

My psychiatrist did a similar genetic testing, not this one tho. Anyways, it says Cymbalta would metabolize normally for me. So that is why they said to keep taking it. But last year it just stopped one day, at 60mg. So I weaned off. They told me I shouldn't have weaned off but went up or augmented. I'm so tired of being a lab experiment

I'm taking early evening. I was taking at night, but then switched to around 6pm. I'm taking the brand name, never took generic. I am extremely sensitive too, so am not sure what is going on. I think they do have an emergency off hours. Are you not having any of these side effects than?

I had a bit of anxiety the first few days, and I do feel a little more anxious than I was feeling before. I should note that I did have some pretty strong negative reactions to the last couple meds I was on--Prozac and Effexor, with Prozac making me much more anxious and Effexor making me much more depressed. So Cymbalta might just not seem as bad to me by comparison...

I take mine in the morning with breakfast--maybe try that, since it's causing you sleep problems? You could gradually move earlier in taking it over a couple days if you don't want to try changing the time too quickly. The lack of good sleep is probably contributing.

Or it could just be, for whatever reason, that this isn't the right medication for you now, even though it worked for you before. Could be hormonal, brain chemistry, other reasons. If you're still feeling this way Tuesday, definitely call your p-doc!

My friend gets bad side affects when stopping cold turkey.

I think there's a distinction between whether a drug 'metabolizes normally' for you and whether you actually respond to it, but I'm not a doctor. Both I and my doctor(!) could be getting this test panel, and I'll report back if I find out anything interesting.

I used to take Cymbalta, but it made want to sleep 18 hours a day. My pdoc & I thought it was a side effect that would wane, but it continued to affect me this way. I finally told mt pdoc that I couldn't exist like that anymore & was taken off it gradually & placed on a different med. Now I take Pristiq, which is working pretty well so far.
If the excessive sleeping doesn't clear up by Tuesday, then definitely talk to your pdoc about a switch. I felt so clear-headed after I tapered off & Cymbalta was out if my system (abt a week after the last dise for me)!
Good luck and hang in thete!!

I'm not sure that 30 mg is enough to work very well. You might do better at 60 mg. Or switching to Pristiq might be a good option.

I have taken Cymbalta for several years for depression and fibromyalgia pain. Last year it seemed to stop working for depression and I started having delayed-onset sleep (falling asleep around 3 am or later most nights) and needing to sleep 10-12 hours every day.

My pdoc added 7.5 mg Remeron/mirtazipine at bedtime to help my sleep and I have started sleeping well again and my mood is much better. I've been taking the mirtazipine for about two months now, so I feel like it's too early to say for sure that it's going to keep working this way, but I am hopeful.

I wouldn't blame you if you wanted to stop the Cymbalta with the side effects you are having. If you do, remember to taper down.

Thank you. Are you still taking your Cymbalta then, with the Remeron augmented? This is exactly what happened to me, it stopped working last year and I just tittered down until I went off of it, without going in to see a Dr. or psyche. Now I guess they wouldn't have taken me off it without have adding an augment or upped it. I was up to 60mg last year when it stopped working. I have been given Remeron to take as well but haven't started it yet as I need to see how I react to Cymbalta first. I'm sure I will get back up to 60mg eventually but I'm so sensitive to side effects that I have to go slowly.

Yes, I'm taking 60 mg Cymbalta with 7.5 mg Remeron for sleep. I don't know if it's considered as "augmentation" since the Remeron was prescribed primarily to help my sleep. My depression has gotten much better since my sleep has improved, though.

If I were in your shoes and wanted to stay on an SNRI antidepressant, I might look into taking Pristiq. Those Cymbalta side effects you're describing sound very unpleasant. Did you have them the first time you started taking Cymbalta?

I went straight from Effexor ER to 60 mg Cymbalta, so I never went through any side effects when I started Cymbalta.

Well, the side effects have been a little better today. Yesterday afternoon and all day today the panic has been dulled...Sleep is "slightly" better, but I've always have had problems sleeping. And I honestly don't know if I had the side effects the last time I went on Cymbalta, because I went straight from 40mg Celexa to Cymbalta 30mg....then up to 60mg. I always have severe side effects because I'm super med sensitive. I'm thinking to stay on Cymbalta 30mg until I see the psych nurse Tuesday morning and then discuss it then. I know they were talking about the augmentation thing too, or adding the Remeron for sleep, and they said the same thing, with better sleep comes better control on depression. Im sure they'll want to exhaust all avenues on Cymbalta before switching over but we'll see. I have starting over on meds. I just want a "magic" pill.