Cymbalta what to do? Anti D help PLEASE!

[tptptp]

Anyone with suggestions or advice about ANY anti d that has helped them or has sucked please chime in....

My friend finally got his Cymbalta and doesnt know whether or not to give it a shot. Was well aware of side effects etc. after doing some research but now after doing alot of research getting kinda worried, more so scared of becoming manic than anything else and not realizing it or something.....maybe just paranoid, wish he would have got 20mg instead of 30's now too.

Worried about being addicted to some stupid shit that may make him feel worse than he already does but not being able to jump off quick.....

Basically just worried altogether...seems to either be a love or hate affair

Thinking of starting 30mg once a day or throwing them in the trash all together, the people reporting on the WD make it sound really hardcore and long lasting, and hard to wean because of it being a capsule (I imagine you could open the capsule and swallow small amounts of it though if you really needed to wean? maybe they just didnt think of that cuz they arent drug addicts? Dunno)

What about lexapro? I heard that supposed to work well I know you WD from it also, but maybe not as bad?

What has/hasnt worked for you guys?

Anyone know what the anti d's do to your glaucoma if you have glaucoma? (cuz they say not to take it but my friend was supposed to see a specialist a long time ago about the possibility of having it or being high risk, but doesnt have insurance so hasnt)

The pod wean is going very well for him and looking for a little something to get him to be a weekend warrior without feeling like complete ass in the process.

Hes had major depression as long as I can remember...

Thanks!

[HistoryofMadness]

well most if not all anti-D's have WD. as for glaucoma (I am high-risk also due to an injury 10 years ago), the anti-D's won't increase the risk as far as I know.

in fact, WD from opiates w/o blood pressure regulators could be worse than meds for glaucoma. i use danshen to keep mine regulated when i'm detoxing.

bupropion is my anti-D of choice, after trying a few. zoloft (tried) and prozac (didn't try) both suck in my opinion. bupropion is the only med in the states that stimulates dopamine as part of the process.

try crazymeds.org for more info.

and take the meds, that's my advice. something is better than nothing, and you've gotta start somewhere. i've never tried cymbalta but my friend (who is bipo) swears by them - has for years.

but everyone is different. its all about finding the right one, which can be a long process. i got lucky and the third one helped.

good luck to your friend.

[tptptp]

Thanks HoM, much appreciated....He probably will try them...I also had an eye injruy almost 20 neyars ago but dunno if im high risk/have it in both eyes or what, something about flared cups or some shit.....thats really good to know about opie WD I will have to keep that in mind, any articles on danshen regulating bp?

Anyways a nurse told me alot of tricyclic or whatever's are labeled not to use if you have glaucoma, I know cymbalta and several others are labeled for that....

I havent tried any anti d's in years but was always strung out on antipsychotics and shit when I was taking them, always got really tired dont think they ever worked (yay for mental institutions and being underage with no rights)....shit that fucked me up mentally more than anything, did not feel connected with the world for a long period after that.

I'm not "right" in the head thats for sure but I definitely dont require antipsych's being on tons of stuff really made me hate just about all drugs.....found a few pages on cymbalta of a ton of users reporting the several week unfunctional cymbalta w/d so was worried, and if he does decide to take it he has to order more overseas right away even if it doesnt work so he doesnt run out, bleh

I will keep everyone updated I know theres been alot of talk about this med on the board lately, I will also look into that bup stuff.

Thanks again

[Ragdoll]

I've been on every one of the ssri's at one time or another. The ones that worked best for me were Celexa (2 years on it), Lexapro (about 3 years on it) and Cymbalta (which I am currently on; started it about a month ago). The ssri's are addictive, if you take them for more than a couple of months - regardless of what any doctor says (usually, docs say the meds are not addictive). Anyone who stops taking anti-d's needs to do so extremely slowly; titrate down bit by tiny bit (unless you're replacing one anti-d with another).

I realise that many people are not helped by the ssri's. For me, they have saved my life. Without them, I am severely, dangerously clinically depressed - meaning, psychologically and physically ill. The tricyclics and other older anti-d's are terrible because of their side effects. The ssri's are so much better. And antipsychotics (neuroleptics) are so disabling; they can't be compared to any ssri.

I wish your friend the best, and I hope the anti-d's help. If you have more questions, feel free to ask - pm me or whatever.

~Rags

[AWOL]

Most anti-depressants affect your ability to ... errrrr .... yeah .... so that may depress your friend even more. Not that you can't get it up, more that you have to wear your woman out for an hour to ... well, I better just stop there.



In the end (for me personally) I've decided that it's better to cope with the depression than it is to deal with the anti-depressants. FOR ME they caused far more problems than they ever solved. But that's me.

[HistoryofMadness]

I've been on every one of the ssri's at one time or another. The ones that worked best for me were Celexa (2 years on it), Lexapro (about 3 years on it) and Cymbalta (which I am currently on; started it about a month ago). The ssri's are addictive, if you take them for more than a couple of months - regardless of what any doctor says (usually, docs say the meds are not addictive). Anyone who stops taking anti-d's needs to do so extremely slowly; titrate down bit by tiny bit (unless you're replacing one anti-d with another).

I realise that many people are not helped by the ssri's. For me, they have saved my life. Without them, I am severely, dangerously clinically depressed - meaning, psychologically and physically ill. The tricyclics and other older anti-d's are terrible because of their side effects. The ssri's are so much better. And antipsychotics (neuroleptics) are so disabling; they can't be compared to any ssri.

I wish your friend the best, and I hope the anti-d's help. If you have more questions, feel free to ask - pm me or whatever.

~Rags


ssri's do nothing for me either. i might try cymbalta or another one i can't remember right now dammit... anyway screw ssri its a bad way for us dopamine heads (or lack thereof).

[Ragdoll]

I feel really bad for guys because of ssri's causing *erectile dysfunction*. I know a number of men who want to be on ssri's but aren't for that reason. Supposedly, there's stuff md's can give for the *problem*, but that's just adding more pills to the mix...

[flipside]

Lexapro worked well for me, but when I moved was put back on prozac..not working any more.. time for a switch. I am going on the Cymballta, esp after talking with a good friend tonight who has strted on it and appears to be everything it claims. ( for him anyway) he even said it took away his WD symptoms.

HOM gave you some solid advice...take the meds once you get them.