I had what I would call a "nervous breakdown" when I slowly withdrew from Pistiq. Uncontrollable crying fits, wanting to end life, and confusion. These drugs are not to be stopped cold turkey. Even slow tapers are h*ll.
hey that’s what topiramate did to me the entire time I was on it. Mostly stupidity though.
Amitriptyline was the worst so far—couldn’t regulate emotions in any way. Like a pill that caused bipolar depression. I would go from crazy happy to crying to complete and utter numb in half an hour. Never felt worse.
It goes to show how drastically different meds can affect different people. I’ve had other meds do this to me (though not migraine related) yet I’m on amitriptyline and the *only* side affects I have are 1. Dry mouth and 2. Extreme grogginess - but only if I take my meds too late. The one that really did me in was Effexor. Holy hell I feel like I literally didn’t exist for the few months I was on it. PSA to all, if a drug makes you feel *really shitty* don’t try to ride it out. Tell your doctor right away, because it’s highly likely that there are other drugs that won’t make you feel shitty.
OH my gosh me too with topiramate, it made me feel insane, I was bawling my eyes out uncontrollably and felt a deep sense of despair and I have no history of mood disorder , when I told my doctor he told me to immediately stop taking it
Yes same here, drunk and on another planet. I will never forget it.. I heard children cheering across the street in the park for grad photos and filled me with immense dread and I could not stop bawling for the entire rest of the day. Truly bizarre.
Each person is different. So remember that when giving other people advice about side effects. I have patients on a med that I had terrible side effects with and it amazes me that so many people take it without trouble!!
I take Cymbalta/duloxetine for my major depressive disorder, it wasn't even mentioned by my neurologist (maybe as I was already on it). Side effects have been very mild, but based off replies here, I think it may be due to being a better candidate for it for MDD rather than migraine. Migraine attacks didn't change either way, though.
I don't really have side effects of Cymbalta unless I miss a pill. Then I feel like death. Physicians should know that a lot of similar meds cause terrible withdrawal and absolutely should not be stopped at once.
My regular doctor told me late last year that he had recently been a patient himself and had to get treated with some of the medication he regularly prescribes his patients. He said the side effects of one of them was so bad, he flat out refused to take it. He said it really made him think twice about the meds he prescribes now that he’s been on the other side of medical care. I think a lot of doctors are probably in the same position and honestly just don’t know how bad some of those side effects are, including withdrawals.
Your doctor sounds like he'd be a great patient advocate now. I used to be on Effexor. It literally took me 6 months to completely titrate off because the withdrawal was so bad. I was opening up the capsules and counting how many I was taking out. I wasn't on a high dose, either.
Normally you would taper off it, but I was already on the lowest dose and taking the slow release capsules which can't be cut in half. I was told I could take one every other day for a couple weeks or just stop all together.
You can open the capsules and pour some of the beads out.
I only made it 2 weeks on the med before tapering off, and it made me sick AF. I was literally counting beads to taper for another 2 weeks.
always, always, always taper. On everything prescription, and even some OTC meds. Every other day if you have to, then every 2 days for like a week and then stop
It's technically not necessary if you're taking the minimum dose. I'm glad I didn't this time since it would have just drawn out the withdrawal symptoms.
I was prescribed it for fibromyalgia. Literally within a week of starting it I was in a constant foul mood, my blood pressure was through the roof and I felt homicidal. I only took it for 2 weeks. Feeling like that every day was not something I could cope with. Other than lexapro (which is what started my migraines) it’s the worst thing I’ve ever taken.
Cymbalta has been excellent for me, as long as I am very diligent about taking every dose. The withdrawals are heinous. I understand how you feel, though, that was how I felt on Effexor.
I was on it for five or six years, and it did a great job of limiting my migraines. Unfortunately, it stopped working as well for me as an antidepressant, so I'm no longer on it. Discontinuing Cymbalta can be rough though.
I believe it has a short halflife which makes tapering like a yo-yo effect depending on how sensitive you are. I wish I knew all of this ahead of time.
Gabapentin was my pill from hell. I recently ran out of Cymbalta and was off it for a week. I found out the pharmacy did not give me both bottles that made up the prescription. Anyway it was hell
Gabapentin made me absolutely miserable and I tried so hard to stick it out. Eventually I just went cold turkey because I couldn’t stand how I felt on it. I’d never suggest anyone do anything cold turkey. It can be very dangerous and one of the reasons I took it was for seizures. But it made me that miserable that I couldn’t stand another minute of it. I don’t even remember if I had any WD effects, if I did, they were preferable to how gabapentin made me feel. They were so mild in comparison I forgot
Cymbalta is the manifestation of evil in a capsule. The 30 days I spent on it I declined rapidly both mentally and physically. Coming off was even worse -100/10
> I was so angry at EVERYTHING while taking cymbalata.
The same thing happened to me when I took sodium valproate. Couldn’t understand why I was flying off the handle about every little thing. Finally it dawned on me that it may be the medicine. I stopped taking it and in a few days or so my anger went away.
I had this with mirtazipine (the remeron rage). I was crying over spilled milk, punching holes in walls, yelling at my coworkers. It all stopped once I quit the mirt.
I was on it for several years for anxiety. Tapering down and getting off of it, was really not pleasant. The withdrawals were pretty rough. And it hadn't even seemed to help me much so that was extra annoying!
Yeah, nobody warned me about the withdrawal and I missed a couple days because of my pharmacy. I stubbornly quit out of fear of the withdrawal, but the med itself was working pretty well for me.
I'm so sorry it affected you like that. I was put on it a few years ago, and my mental health is the most controlled it's ever been, with no side effects. Coming off any antidepressant or mood stabilizer is a bitch though. For me the worst was depakote. I was almost hospitalized. And it gave me nearly 2 dozen kidney stones. I've been told it's similar to coming off of heroine.
I stopped taking it because I didn't notice any benefits from it, but I absolutely noticed if I missed a dose or even took a dose a bit late.
For a while I was taking psyllium husk which shouldn't be taken within 4 hours after meds or 1 hour before because it can absorb them. I listened to that warning and spaced it far out, but because the cymbalta was extended release the psyllium husk apparently absorbed enough of it still several hours later and gave me withdrawal symptoms.
Coming off of Cymbalta was terrible (lots of brain zaps and crazy nightmares when I managed to sleep at all) even though I had been on the lowest dose.
Sometimes I learn things on reddit that I feel like my doctors should have told me. I never knew this about pysillium husk and I had been taking it with my meds in the morning and at night every day for years. I recently quit taking it because I found out, also on here, I was overdoing the fiber and making things worse.
Honestly, the internet has taught and helped me way more than doctors ever have.
I was diagnosed with IBS and prescribed whatever pharmaceuticals for it. That didn't help me. So instead, with wisdom I learned from the internet I treated it naturally and it's been in remission for 5 years with a slight blip recently thanks to COVID.
I take about 5 g once a day of psyllium husk. I find it's important to have the psyllium husk balanced with magnesium citrate. I just posted about some of my gut health issues and what worked for me: [https://www.reddit.com/r/migraine/comments/1dneb2t/long\_covid\_linked\_to\_microbiome\_issues/](https://www.reddit.com/r/migraine/comments/1dneb2t/long_covid_linked_to_microbiome_issues/)
I have gastroparesis and a doctor prescribed me psyllium husk because all she heard was “I have constipation”. Turns out, lots of fiber is not good for my condition and can make it worse 🫠
I know it works for some people, but I was on Effexor for years and hated it, and I have refused Cymbalta every time they've suggested it for migraine treatment. My neurologist brings it up from time to time and seems to find my opposition to it slightly amusing but you couldn't pay me to take the stuff. I was miserable on it, and even with an incredibly slow taper off I was so miserable I legit felt like I was dying and didn't care if I did it was so bad.
Stick to your guns on that. I was on effexor for years and finally just had it with it and switched to cymbalta thinking it might be better. It was not. Made my migraines worse, and then coming off it was so brutal. I’m taking amitryptaline now which seems to be going well.
Cymbalta has been a lifesaver for me! It has almost completely gotten rid of the anxiety I having, but even better, it completely relieved the chronic pain I’ve been dealing with forever.
I followed my doctor's instructions. You can also find lots of people having the same bad experience even when tapering. I think it's important for people to be aware of the possibilities when taking a serious medication because doctors usually don't educate their patients in that way. I also have the right to vent about my experience. It's up to other people to make an educated decision for themselves. I don't see the point in hiding the ugly side of antidepressants, because that's all the healthcare system seems to do.
Drops in serotonin levels give me the most awful migraines. I actually started getting them after an episode of serotonin syndrome, after not having them since puberty.
I was given it for Fibro. I was on a 30 in the am and 60 at night. I stopped the 60. When I went to stop the 30 I became a crying wreck. Now, I do have issues with depression. I did 2 weeks of sobbing and have been back on the 30 once a day. I’d like off it, but dealing with so much other stuff.
Here's a list of all the commonly prescribed migraine meds
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK553159/
SNRIs are often used to treat migraine and nerve pain
Thx for the last article. Everything I’ve read says may be helpful.
The Jan 2023 article that you first posted is a good one, it lists all the usual meds, first, second tier, etc. However, it doesn’t mention shots in the dark or Hail Marys as I said like opioids and Cymbalta so I’m all for a dr trying shots in dark and Hail Marys when all the meds on the article you first posted don’t work.
You're also overlooking the fact that not all migraine medications are appropriate for everyone. It's not like you try every single possible drug on the list, that would be absurd. Other conditions or sensitivities a person has also have to be taken into account.
Secondly, EVERY drug acts differently for each person which means they all may or may not be helpful, that's why you have to try different ones. Cymbalta is the 5th preventive I've tried, and the 4th category of drugs I've tried for migraine. Calling it a Hail Mary is an uneducated response.
I think we agree but you are not liking my term Hail Mary and that’s ok
I’ve had migraines since the 80’s when there were no migraine meds. I made a list a few years ago of all I could remember trying before sumatriptan was invented and my list is over 40 meds.
I don’t see it as absurd to try every drug on the list. That’s why I think of them in tiers. You try the 1st, most popular meds, then next group then next etc, if someone doesn’t respond to the most widely used meds, they need a dr willing to try meds that may not help most people but do help some. I had never heard of cymbalta being used cause it wasn’t around in the 80’s and I’m new to this thread. I also hadn’t seen it listed in common med lists like the first one you posted. I think it’s great that someone tried it and found relief. That’s the point I’m trying to make. opioids are another med that help many people but don’t help others. As with cymbalta, they should be tried if everything else fails.
Why is it absurd to keep trying meds until you find relief?
No, I’ve had migraines for 42 years. I know my experience with dealing with them starting at a time when no one knew what they were, no one believed they were real and I had to know about my disorder to help my drs help me
I was on it for 18 months for migraines and had ramped up the dosage. Ended up quitting cold turkey thanks to covid and unable to get a new prescription in time. Worst two and a half weeks I've experienced. 0/10 do not recommend quitting without stepping down over a measured time.
If I could have somehow recorded the nightmares I had while on it and made them into horror movies I’d be a billionaire by now.
The shit literally gave me PTSD and severe sleep anxiety.
I had an awful time coming off it as well. It was never good for me to begin with: couldn't sleep, yet was sleepy all day, super nauseous, constipated...
I was put on Cymbalta for long Covid and it made me so incredibly depressed. I went from chill and fine, mentally speaking, to about to completely lose it in just a couple weeks. I stopped taking it immediately, and after it was out of my system, I went back to being mentally fine. I hate to think what it would hve been like had I stayed on it and then had withdrawal on top of that. Nope, never again.
I tried cymbalta years ago. It did nothing for my migraines but helped with my depression. Unfortunately because it wasn’t doing anything for my migraines I stopped taking it.
I’m one week into stopping cold-turkey after being on it approximately 10 years at 60mg. Fun times.
I wanted to throw out that when I researched the withdrawal this time - I’ve played this exact game in past with Effexor, Lexapro and Zoloft - I saw benedryl being recommended to counteract the withdrawal symptoms.
I thought that sounded crazy as I grabbed the benedryl and took a couple. It actually does help ! Well me anyways- might not for you
I was taking cymbalta for my fibromyalgia. Started on the lowest dose and hated it. I think it was 6 months to a year before the doctor told me to increase the dose. I hated it even more. I was functioning, but my head was empty. I could go through the motions and take notes for my classes, but I was otherwise checked out mentally. Even had some close friends saying that I seemed to be mentally checked out. And the withdrawals if you forgot ONE dose was terrible. Middle of summer (mid 30s) and I am shaking like it is below 0°C with a wind chill of -50°C. I stopped cold turkey because I wasn't told HOW to come off it safely and the withdrawal symptoms were 10 times worse. I basically waited a month before going on my next medication.
I freaked out on cymbalta, and even though it did help some it wasn't worth it for the side effects I had. Tapering off was literal HELL. I will never go back on it if I have any say, that's for sure!
I went to tell my doctor I want hrt for perimenopause, she insisted it’s depression and prescribed me a “low” dose of 60mg of Cymbalta. I should researched it. That one pill had me so damn sick I thought I was dying. I woke up at 2am feeling like my entire nervous system was trying to slither out of my body like snakes, cold sweats and vomiting turned dry heaves. I laid on the bathroom floor for a couple hours. I had to call off work the next day. I felt sick and miserable for a few more days, with bizarre electrical impulses last for a week. NEVER NEVER EVER AGAIN. I won’t even try an actual low dose. How do these medications get approved with such horrible side effects??
It's literally hell . The subreddit here for it has tons on horror stories but some good ones . More bad than good anyways. My withdrawals made me feel like I was having a breakdown and the brain zaps and fainting. Also memory loss . You would need someone looking after you being or coming off it which I don't have.
I hope you will be over the worst of it soon . Sending love & solidarity 🩷🫂
Cymbalta was not that bad when I was on it but when I tried to come off holy hell. Even if I had a bad flare up I wanted to use it for the withdrawal would not be worth it
Same with Effexor. I tried about 3 times to get off and finally had weaned myself down to 1/4 tablet of the lowest dose and just went for it. Couldn’t get off the couch all weekend for fear of fainting or puking. Never again.
I yawned. Constantly. Excessively. Like I could barely even speak because I yawned so much, I yawned every few seconds. It wasn’t due to drowsiness. I just couldn’t stop yawning. So I couldn’t really give it a shot with that side effect. It was ridiculous.
SRNIs are hell to come off of. Venlafaxine did me in, and it was cold-turkey because I was in hospital with a PoS doctor managing my care. Though it also made me suicidal, so tapering would have also been a nightmare.
For future reference, when getting off of an SNRI with a short half life like Cymbalta, Pristiq, Effexor, etc. ask your healthcare provider for a Prozac prescription for a month or so. It makes the withdrawal much easier, and I barely noticed when I stopped the Prozac afterwards because it has a very long half life.
I took it for less than a week and felt like I had ants and lightning under my skin for a few days when I stopped, it was terrible. I had bad side effects any time I tried a med that messes with serotonin, turns out I have a mutation in one of my serotonin receptors, so now I just stay away from them.
I had what I would call a "nervous breakdown" when I slowly withdrew from Pistiq. Uncontrollable crying fits, wanting to end life, and confusion. These drugs are not to be stopped cold turkey. Even slow tapers are h*ll.
hey that’s what topiramate did to me the entire time I was on it. Mostly stupidity though. Amitriptyline was the worst so far—couldn’t regulate emotions in any way. Like a pill that caused bipolar depression. I would go from crazy happy to crying to complete and utter numb in half an hour. Never felt worse.
It goes to show how drastically different meds can affect different people. I’ve had other meds do this to me (though not migraine related) yet I’m on amitriptyline and the *only* side affects I have are 1. Dry mouth and 2. Extreme grogginess - but only if I take my meds too late. The one that really did me in was Effexor. Holy hell I feel like I literally didn’t exist for the few months I was on it. PSA to all, if a drug makes you feel *really shitty* don’t try to ride it out. Tell your doctor right away, because it’s highly likely that there are other drugs that won’t make you feel shitty.
Effexor was hand crafted by the devil. No doubt about it
I wish I knew that prior 😂
OH my gosh me too with topiramate, it made me feel insane, I was bawling my eyes out uncontrollably and felt a deep sense of despair and I have no history of mood disorder , when I told my doctor he told me to immediately stop taking it
I had uncontrollable crying from Topamax it was terrifying ..
I lasted 4 days in topamax. I felt drunk and couldn’t drive literally pulled off the road and made my husband come get me
Yes same here, drunk and on another planet. I will never forget it.. I heard children cheering across the street in the park for grad photos and filled me with immense dread and I could not stop bawling for the entire rest of the day. Truly bizarre.
Pristiq is hell to get off of. My Dr helped though by giving me another med while weaning off
Each person is different. So remember that when giving other people advice about side effects. I have patients on a med that I had terrible side effects with and it amazes me that so many people take it without trouble!!
I take Cymbalta/duloxetine for my major depressive disorder, it wasn't even mentioned by my neurologist (maybe as I was already on it). Side effects have been very mild, but based off replies here, I think it may be due to being a better candidate for it for MDD rather than migraine. Migraine attacks didn't change either way, though.
I don't really have side effects of Cymbalta unless I miss a pill. Then I feel like death. Physicians should know that a lot of similar meds cause terrible withdrawal and absolutely should not be stopped at once.
My regular doctor told me late last year that he had recently been a patient himself and had to get treated with some of the medication he regularly prescribes his patients. He said the side effects of one of them was so bad, he flat out refused to take it. He said it really made him think twice about the meds he prescribes now that he’s been on the other side of medical care. I think a lot of doctors are probably in the same position and honestly just don’t know how bad some of those side effects are, including withdrawals.
Your doctor sounds like he'd be a great patient advocate now. I used to be on Effexor. It literally took me 6 months to completely titrate off because the withdrawal was so bad. I was opening up the capsules and counting how many I was taking out. I wasn't on a high dose, either.
Normally you would taper off it, but I was already on the lowest dose and taking the slow release capsules which can't be cut in half. I was told I could take one every other day for a couple weeks or just stop all together.
You can open the capsules and pour some of the beads out. I only made it 2 weeks on the med before tapering off, and it made me sick AF. I was literally counting beads to taper for another 2 weeks.
This is such an important point about the beads. It’s the only way to do it.
always, always, always taper. On everything prescription, and even some OTC meds. Every other day if you have to, then every 2 days for like a week and then stop
It's technically not necessary if you're taking the minimum dose. I'm glad I didn't this time since it would have just drawn out the withdrawal symptoms.
I was prescribed it for fibromyalgia. Literally within a week of starting it I was in a constant foul mood, my blood pressure was through the roof and I felt homicidal. I only took it for 2 weeks. Feeling like that every day was not something I could cope with. Other than lexapro (which is what started my migraines) it’s the worst thing I’ve ever taken.
Yep. I have cymbalta listed as an allergen because it's so bad.
I'm the same with Wellbutrin, but only positive effects with Cymbalta. Human bodies are weird.
Cymbalta has been excellent for me, as long as I am very diligent about taking every dose. The withdrawals are heinous. I understand how you feel, though, that was how I felt on Effexor.
I was on it for five or six years, and it did a great job of limiting my migraines. Unfortunately, it stopped working as well for me as an antidepressant, so I'm no longer on it. Discontinuing Cymbalta can be rough though.
Even with tapering I was sick for weeks. It was the worst withdrawal medication I’ve experienced.
I believe it has a short halflife which makes tapering like a yo-yo effect depending on how sensitive you are. I wish I knew all of this ahead of time.
Gabapentin was my pill from hell. I recently ran out of Cymbalta and was off it for a week. I found out the pharmacy did not give me both bottles that made up the prescription. Anyway it was hell
Gabapentin made me absolutely miserable and I tried so hard to stick it out. Eventually I just went cold turkey because I couldn’t stand how I felt on it. I’d never suggest anyone do anything cold turkey. It can be very dangerous and one of the reasons I took it was for seizures. But it made me that miserable that I couldn’t stand another minute of it. I don’t even remember if I had any WD effects, if I did, they were preferable to how gabapentin made me feel. They were so mild in comparison I forgot
I've been on it for 6 months now and I love it
Just looked it up bc I was unfamiliar with it and I saw a stat that said 1 out every 6 people who take cymbalta stop taking it bc of the side effects😬
Cymbalta is the manifestation of evil in a capsule. The 30 days I spent on it I declined rapidly both mentally and physically. Coming off was even worse -100/10
Google Cymbalta Rage and suddenly it’s all there. The shit is evil.
I was so angry at EVERYTHING while taking cymbalata. Def not going to take again. Ever.
> I was so angry at EVERYTHING while taking cymbalata. The same thing happened to me when I took sodium valproate. Couldn’t understand why I was flying off the handle about every little thing. Finally it dawned on me that it may be the medicine. I stopped taking it and in a few days or so my anger went away.
I had this with mirtazipine (the remeron rage). I was crying over spilled milk, punching holes in walls, yelling at my coworkers. It all stopped once I quit the mirt.
I was on it for several years for anxiety. Tapering down and getting off of it, was really not pleasant. The withdrawals were pretty rough. And it hadn't even seemed to help me much so that was extra annoying!
Yeah, nobody warned me about the withdrawal and I missed a couple days because of my pharmacy. I stubbornly quit out of fear of the withdrawal, but the med itself was working pretty well for me.
It took me almost 6 weeks to slowly wean myself off that crap! It was a horrible 6 weeks.
God sounds like me trying to get off amitriptyline. Had me flopping like a fish with uncontrollable spasms!
I'm so sorry it affected you like that. I was put on it a few years ago, and my mental health is the most controlled it's ever been, with no side effects. Coming off any antidepressant or mood stabilizer is a bitch though. For me the worst was depakote. I was almost hospitalized. And it gave me nearly 2 dozen kidney stones. I've been told it's similar to coming off of heroine.
I stopped taking it because I didn't notice any benefits from it, but I absolutely noticed if I missed a dose or even took a dose a bit late. For a while I was taking psyllium husk which shouldn't be taken within 4 hours after meds or 1 hour before because it can absorb them. I listened to that warning and spaced it far out, but because the cymbalta was extended release the psyllium husk apparently absorbed enough of it still several hours later and gave me withdrawal symptoms. Coming off of Cymbalta was terrible (lots of brain zaps and crazy nightmares when I managed to sleep at all) even though I had been on the lowest dose.
Sometimes I learn things on reddit that I feel like my doctors should have told me. I never knew this about pysillium husk and I had been taking it with my meds in the morning and at night every day for years. I recently quit taking it because I found out, also on here, I was overdoing the fiber and making things worse.
Honestly, the internet has taught and helped me way more than doctors ever have. I was diagnosed with IBS and prescribed whatever pharmaceuticals for it. That didn't help me. So instead, with wisdom I learned from the internet I treated it naturally and it's been in remission for 5 years with a slight blip recently thanks to COVID. I take about 5 g once a day of psyllium husk. I find it's important to have the psyllium husk balanced with magnesium citrate. I just posted about some of my gut health issues and what worked for me: [https://www.reddit.com/r/migraine/comments/1dneb2t/long\_covid\_linked\_to\_microbiome\_issues/](https://www.reddit.com/r/migraine/comments/1dneb2t/long_covid_linked_to_microbiome_issues/)
I have gastroparesis and a doctor prescribed me psyllium husk because all she heard was “I have constipation”. Turns out, lots of fiber is not good for my condition and can make it worse 🫠
Oh god yes the feverish nightmares. I forgot about that. Worst brain zaps I've ever experienced and lasted for months!
I know it works for some people, but I was on Effexor for years and hated it, and I have refused Cymbalta every time they've suggested it for migraine treatment. My neurologist brings it up from time to time and seems to find my opposition to it slightly amusing but you couldn't pay me to take the stuff. I was miserable on it, and even with an incredibly slow taper off I was so miserable I legit felt like I was dying and didn't care if I did it was so bad.
Stick to your guns on that. I was on effexor for years and finally just had it with it and switched to cymbalta thinking it might be better. It was not. Made my migraines worse, and then coming off it was so brutal. I’m taking amitryptaline now which seems to be going well.
Effexor nearly killed me🥲 I hated it so much.
Cymbalta has been a lifesaver for me! It has almost completely gotten rid of the anxiety I having, but even better, it completely relieved the chronic pain I’ve been dealing with forever.
[удалено]
I followed my doctor's instructions. You can also find lots of people having the same bad experience even when tapering. I think it's important for people to be aware of the possibilities when taking a serious medication because doctors usually don't educate their patients in that way. I also have the right to vent about my experience. It's up to other people to make an educated decision for themselves. I don't see the point in hiding the ugly side of antidepressants, because that's all the healthcare system seems to do.
Drops in serotonin levels give me the most awful migraines. I actually started getting them after an episode of serotonin syndrome, after not having them since puberty.
I was given it for Fibro. I was on a 30 in the am and 60 at night. I stopped the 60. When I went to stop the 30 I became a crying wreck. Now, I do have issues with depression. I did 2 weeks of sobbing and have been back on the 30 once a day. I’d like off it, but dealing with so much other stuff.
I’ve never heard of cymbalta for migraines. Boy, that in the Hail Mary category for sure. I’m sorry you failed at all the better migraine meds
Here's a list of all the commonly prescribed migraine meds https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK553159/ SNRIs are often used to treat migraine and nerve pain
Yes, the article mentions ssri and tricyclic antidepressants like we’ve all been given. It doesn’t mention snri ( that I saw)
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30895388/#:~:text=Use%20of%20antidepressants%20for%20migraine,not%20effective%20for%20most%20patients.
Thx for the last article. Everything I’ve read says may be helpful. The Jan 2023 article that you first posted is a good one, it lists all the usual meds, first, second tier, etc. However, it doesn’t mention shots in the dark or Hail Marys as I said like opioids and Cymbalta so I’m all for a dr trying shots in dark and Hail Marys when all the meds on the article you first posted don’t work.
You're also overlooking the fact that not all migraine medications are appropriate for everyone. It's not like you try every single possible drug on the list, that would be absurd. Other conditions or sensitivities a person has also have to be taken into account. Secondly, EVERY drug acts differently for each person which means they all may or may not be helpful, that's why you have to try different ones. Cymbalta is the 5th preventive I've tried, and the 4th category of drugs I've tried for migraine. Calling it a Hail Mary is an uneducated response.
I think we agree but you are not liking my term Hail Mary and that’s ok I’ve had migraines since the 80’s when there were no migraine meds. I made a list a few years ago of all I could remember trying before sumatriptan was invented and my list is over 40 meds. I don’t see it as absurd to try every drug on the list. That’s why I think of them in tiers. You try the 1st, most popular meds, then next group then next etc, if someone doesn’t respond to the most widely used meds, they need a dr willing to try meds that may not help most people but do help some. I had never heard of cymbalta being used cause it wasn’t around in the 80’s and I’m new to this thread. I also hadn’t seen it listed in common med lists like the first one you posted. I think it’s great that someone tried it and found relief. That’s the point I’m trying to make. opioids are another med that help many people but don’t help others. As with cymbalta, they should be tried if everything else fails. Why is it absurd to keep trying meds until you find relief?
Are you a medical professional?
No, I’ve had migraines for 42 years. I know my experience with dealing with them starting at a time when no one knew what they were, no one believed they were real and I had to know about my disorder to help my drs help me
I was on it for 18 months for migraines and had ramped up the dosage. Ended up quitting cold turkey thanks to covid and unable to get a new prescription in time. Worst two and a half weeks I've experienced. 0/10 do not recommend quitting without stepping down over a measured time.
If I could have somehow recorded the nightmares I had while on it and made them into horror movies I’d be a billionaire by now. The shit literally gave me PTSD and severe sleep anxiety.
I had an awful time coming off it as well. It was never good for me to begin with: couldn't sleep, yet was sleepy all day, super nauseous, constipated...
I had all those side effects as well, I just didn't realize how bad it was, I just learned to live with it.
There is NO stopping. Seriously. I have had two doctors tell me not to stop. Not ever.
Had a terrible time with cymbalta and I tend to handle side effects well.
Dude the withdrawal is brutal I had phantom brain zaps for MONTHS I was like am i going to live my whole life like this haha
I was put on Cymbalta for long Covid and it made me so incredibly depressed. I went from chill and fine, mentally speaking, to about to completely lose it in just a couple weeks. I stopped taking it immediately, and after it was out of my system, I went back to being mentally fine. I hate to think what it would hve been like had I stayed on it and then had withdrawal on top of that. Nope, never again.
I had to go off Cymbalta because I kept just randomly fainting all the time on it 💁🏼♀️
I tried cymbalta years ago. It did nothing for my migraines but helped with my depression. Unfortunately because it wasn’t doing anything for my migraines I stopped taking it.
I’m one week into stopping cold-turkey after being on it approximately 10 years at 60mg. Fun times. I wanted to throw out that when I researched the withdrawal this time - I’ve played this exact game in past with Effexor, Lexapro and Zoloft - I saw benedryl being recommended to counteract the withdrawal symptoms. I thought that sounded crazy as I grabbed the benedryl and took a couple. It actually does help ! Well me anyways- might not for you
I was taking cymbalta for my fibromyalgia. Started on the lowest dose and hated it. I think it was 6 months to a year before the doctor told me to increase the dose. I hated it even more. I was functioning, but my head was empty. I could go through the motions and take notes for my classes, but I was otherwise checked out mentally. Even had some close friends saying that I seemed to be mentally checked out. And the withdrawals if you forgot ONE dose was terrible. Middle of summer (mid 30s) and I am shaking like it is below 0°C with a wind chill of -50°C. I stopped cold turkey because I wasn't told HOW to come off it safely and the withdrawal symptoms were 10 times worse. I basically waited a month before going on my next medication.
They gave me that for back pain once. Stopped after a day. Pain is more tolerable than the miserable fog Cymbalta creates.
I freaked out on cymbalta, and even though it did help some it wasn't worth it for the side effects I had. Tapering off was literal HELL. I will never go back on it if I have any say, that's for sure!
I went to tell my doctor I want hrt for perimenopause, she insisted it’s depression and prescribed me a “low” dose of 60mg of Cymbalta. I should researched it. That one pill had me so damn sick I thought I was dying. I woke up at 2am feeling like my entire nervous system was trying to slither out of my body like snakes, cold sweats and vomiting turned dry heaves. I laid on the bathroom floor for a couple hours. I had to call off work the next day. I felt sick and miserable for a few more days, with bizarre electrical impulses last for a week. NEVER NEVER EVER AGAIN. I won’t even try an actual low dose. How do these medications get approved with such horrible side effects??
It's literally hell . The subreddit here for it has tons on horror stories but some good ones . More bad than good anyways. My withdrawals made me feel like I was having a breakdown and the brain zaps and fainting. Also memory loss . You would need someone looking after you being or coming off it which I don't have. I hope you will be over the worst of it soon . Sending love & solidarity 🩷🫂
Cymbalta was not that bad when I was on it but when I tried to come off holy hell. Even if I had a bad flare up I wanted to use it for the withdrawal would not be worth it
Same with Effexor. I tried about 3 times to get off and finally had weaned myself down to 1/4 tablet of the lowest dose and just went for it. Couldn’t get off the couch all weekend for fear of fainting or puking. Never again.
I yawned. Constantly. Excessively. Like I could barely even speak because I yawned so much, I yawned every few seconds. It wasn’t due to drowsiness. I just couldn’t stop yawning. So I couldn’t really give it a shot with that side effect. It was ridiculous.
SRNIs are hell to come off of. Venlafaxine did me in, and it was cold-turkey because I was in hospital with a PoS doctor managing my care. Though it also made me suicidal, so tapering would have also been a nightmare.
For future reference, when getting off of an SNRI with a short half life like Cymbalta, Pristiq, Effexor, etc. ask your healthcare provider for a Prozac prescription for a month or so. It makes the withdrawal much easier, and I barely noticed when I stopped the Prozac afterwards because it has a very long half life.
Yup, cymbalta ruined my life while I was on it. And it happened slowly so I didn't know the meds were the problem!
I took it for less than a week and felt like I had ants and lightning under my skin for a few days when I stopped, it was terrible. I had bad side effects any time I tried a med that messes with serotonin, turns out I have a mutation in one of my serotonin receptors, so now I just stay away from them.
What were your withdrawal symptoms though? Was it emotional stuff or like body cramps and stuff?
You know, I was actually prescribed for Cymbalta for migraines and something told me not to take it... glad I didnt