Posted by Meagan on December 14, 2007, at 10:46:14
In reply to Re: need help,please. Minimum dose too strong, posted by rskontos on December 14, 2007, at 8:38:50
Hello rskontos,
I'm on 20 mg of cymbalta, and this is my third day on it. My main side effects are weakness, insomnia and mild to moderate headache. The insomnia I can take care of with a benzo. I tolerate the headache, but I am most concerned about the weakness I feel. I go to the gym and am exhausted after my workout, rather than energized. I've had to drop my weights (which weren't very high to begin with) and I do my workout very slowly.
Did you experience weakness, and if so, did it go away?
Like you, I know, (and fortunately my pdoc knows) that I have other issues that realistically contribute to my depression, but that is not the entire cause of it. So I need something - I take other meds that have worked for me for a long time with no side effects; problem was when my prozac stopped working, and that's why I'm on Cymbalta right now.
My pdoc has no plans to increase my dose, and I'm only on day 3 of it; i need to give it a decent trial, but if the weakness doesn't go away, it is not worth it to me to be on it.
If I have to go off it, I'm dreading withdrawal, and I thank you for sharing the info your phramacist told you about the beads; it's good to know there are options that help ease the withdrawal process.
Thanks again,
Meagan
> I opened the capsules of cymbalta when I was tapering off of it and took out beads in order to go down from 60 to zero over a 3- 4 month period. It is true it is a delayed release from the beads themselves. Not the outside. I asked the pharmacist. It did not make me vomit from doing that. Now cymbalta itself affects the gut and can do that no matter the dosage you on it. It works on serotonin which is produced in the gut as well in the brain. They post that to protect themselves. Some people I know dissolved cymbalta in liquid and only drank a portion of it in order to taper off slowly. So there are numerous ways to reduce a dosage that works. Not perfectly but then the drug itself doesn't always work perfectly. I am suppose to be on 20 mg. of lexapro and if I did that I am not sure I would ever be awake. Cymbalta too made me sleep all the time. At 60 mg of cymbalta I did notice eventually the tiredness went away if that is one of your side effects. I am sorry at this point in the thread I don't remember what you said about what you were having problems with the cymbalta about being too strong. I was on it for a year. Some side effects went away some didnt. If you want to list those that are making you feel it is too much I will tell you my experience of those that went away for me and those that stayed. And I can tell why I did not stay on the drug. My depression was a secondary symptom to my real issues though and the gp prescribing the cymbalta didn't get to the root of the problem.
>
> Good luck let us know how you are and what you decide to do.
>
> rk
poster:Meagan
thread:800540
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20071213/msgs/800762.html