Discussion Any knowledge or experiences with duloxetine/cymbalta?

[KillingPain267]

My doctor asked me to give it a chance again, this time with benzos in case I get panic attacks on it again like first time I tried it and rejected it. Or should I insist on trying other antidepressives (most likely TCAs).

I'll be using it to treat moderate-severe depression and severe social anxiety.

 

[freakypossum]

Hi! I'm currently on duloxetine from quite some time now and so far its the best antidepressant I was on. Of course it's not perfect, I'm still on this forum after all, but it helps me to function on a basic level. The bad thing about it is withdrawal symptoms, at least for me.
My doctor thought about prescribing me benzos but ultimately decided its risky in my case so I don't get addicted to it and I ended up with perazine (I think its only being sold in Poland and Germany), was supposed to take it when i feel a panic attack coming but at this point Im just taking it daily.

 

[fallingtopieces]

I have never taken it myself, but there is user feedback here: https://www.drugs.com/comments/duloxetine/cymbalta.html?search=&sort_reviews=most_recent#reviews

Of course like all reviews on the internet at this point, even forums (shills), we can never know their validity and should be taken with a grain of salt.

 

[GeminiButter]

I'm reposting a reply I just put on another thread incase it's helpful for anyone who comes across this in future:

This is a very old thread, but thought I'd put my update incase it's helpful for anyone else.

I've been on 60mg duloxetine for 13 years, tried going up to 90mg once years ago and it didn't do anything except give me side effects.

A few months ago I went up to 90mg and waited it out - this is after a very bad period, getting progressively more unwell for months, v bad suicidal plans, a stay in hospital - and after about 2 weeks of side effects (mostly headaches and feeling sick, so just took painkillers and tried to take it a bit easier) I do think the increase started to have a positive impact, albeit very slowly. Although it's worth saying I had made some pretty firm CTB plans and was just waiting it out, so I was still very unwell.

After about 2 months, I've gone up to 120mg, the maximum dose. And it has definitely made a difference. I've had the things I needed to CTB for about 2 weeks but haven't made any plans, haven't tested them, haven't done anything with them after i opened the packages. It's no longer always the most painful fucking difficult thing in the world to get out of bed or get changed or take the dog out. I've been able to get into bed and read at night, my sleep still isn't great but it's significantly better than it was. it's been about a month and I'm surprised that it has helped like this - obviously there are external factors going on as well - but I'm just writing this here in case it helps someone else looking for info about the medication.

I resisted going up a dose for a long time because it felt pointless or that nothing would work, I'd been on it for so long, and I know medication can be a minefield. But even if you've been on something for years and years, increasing the dose might help, and it might not - but you're worth taking the chance that it might, if you can, because you don't deserve to be so unwell.

 

[Grog]

I've been on duloxetine for a little over a year. Until very recently, I thought it did a very good job at making the thoughts of CTB go away. I could still be depressed, could still be sad, but that depression and sadness would no longer drive me to be actively suicidal. It would turn off that voice in my head that said "you should just CTB" but I could still be sad or depressed.

Now? I think I might need an increase in dose. And sometimes I do miss my dose, so that could have something to do with my current disposition. But, currently, I'm in crisis mode again.

 

[karakoltriste]

Horrible. I felt empty. A terrible withdrawal syndrome, it left me with after-effects: tactile disturbances, PSSD...