Duloxetine experiences?

[greatbigbushybeard]

Hi there, I have a bit of a complicated history but back in December got put on sertraline (SSRI) after anxiety & insomnia. I found it intolerable in terms of side effects- felt like I was going mad at one point & could not sleep at all. I came off after 8 days & then a few days later had a massive anxiety episode where Crisis team got involved. They prescribed Escitalopram & Diazapam. It didn’t have much effect & the pacing & panic attacks became more established. There was talk of upping to 20mg but due to sleep issues I was given mirtrazapine. I’ve been on it for 3 months but not really had that much improvement & now depressed, anxious & very pacey & stick in my thinking. The latest idea is to come off the mirt- I am reducing now, see what I am like without meds & then possibly try Duloxetine. It was that or Venlafaxine that was recommended. I was very scared of side effects & the difficulty in getting in & coming off Venlafaxine so Duloxetine was recommenced. It seems I am very sensitive to medication in terms of side effects. So please let me know your experiences of it. I have more than one week left of mirt then have a psych appt to follow up. My head is tight & now not sleeping as well on reduced dose &waking up very early. Thanks in advance. Has anyone come off & actually found that better? They have warned me about relapse but my husband thinks all the meds aren’t working & giving me worse side effects .

I take 60mg duloxetine for nerve pain but with hindsight I was clinically depressed too before taking it. It should have been obvious as I was having suicidal thoughts really.

30mg made me so tired, nauseous and I had no appetite for about a week. Other than that it didn't seem to be working, I was at that dose for 6 weeks.

60mg worked so well, I still had the same side effects as the lower dose but I also began to feel soo much better. I feel happier, can see a future and it works on my pain too.

When I was researching it I found lots of stuff about it being hell to withdraw but I was willing to take the risk and will cross that bridge of I need to come off it.

If you can survive the first couple of weeks they're great but I warn you now they're vicious little bastards. I've never been so sick or dizzy in my life. The irony is that they were supposed to be the gentler alternative to Tricyclics.

Similar experience to yours op, prescribed citalopram which had a terrible affect on me, then mirtazapine which helped me sleep but did nothing for the overwhelming anxiety. 30mg Duloxetine eventually added and almost immediately felt an improvement, increased to 60mg and I now feel stable and in control and able to take steps to help myself.

I haven't noticed any side-effects with Duloxetine - quite a few with Mirtazapine but I am gradually reducing it so hopefully will be able to continue with just Duloxetine.

I was prescribed duloxetine at the end of last year and it triggered a manic episode for me. Since being on it for a while I have found it to be quite helpful and it has eased my symptoms too :)

Thank you so much for sharing your experiences. I am still coming off the mirtrazapine. The psychiatrist said to switch from 30 mg & just take 15 mg for 2 weeks & just stop but i’ve been alternating taking 15mg one night & none the next to be more gradual. I’m almost done & have found past few days that i’m actually crying a lot more whereas I haven’t cried tears for a while. Wednesday wasn’t good; I didn’t sleep at all & was anxious in night & was so bad that morning, kept crying & pacing, v anxious. The day before I felt v low & agitated. Past few have been better. I’m a bit scared to come off altogether but we won’t know what i’ll be like & whether the meds are paradoxically making me worse- which GP said she we visited after my episode. She said I shouldn’t have any meds as they’ve all had bad effects on me. We said we weren’t leaving until something was sorted for me & she went straight to crisis team & they prescribed the next meds.... I am scared to take the next lot but if I have to perhaps it’s best to enter in with a positive mindset about it. One thing that’s bothered me this whole time had not really being able to have a drink. I’ve relaxed a bit in that now. How have you found taking Duloxetine & having a drink? Does it increase your appetite? The mirt has been crazy for that & I mindlessly eat chocolate etc mostly stood up!

There are lots of reviews of Duloxetine on this page:

www.drugs.com/comments/duloxetine/

I thought about asking for it as I have Depression, OCD and ADHD but decided not to because the withdrawal is apparently terrible. It seems like most if not all SNRIs have worse withdrawal symptoms than SSRIs.

Tried it for a few weeks; didn’t do anything for me unfortunately. Although I realise it can be of great help to some people.

Anyone else? I have been off the mirtazapine for a week now & am feeling pretty low & v anxious in the mornings. I need to speak to psych tomorrow to let et know what my plans are- Duloxetine or not. I wonder if there is anything else that might be appropriate when SSRIs agitate.

I got put on sertraline and diazepam 2 days ago. I'm yet to take the diazepam as I'm
So scared of how it will make me feel and if I may become addicted to them as I have a very addicted personality anyway. Is sertraline not any good?

I think sertraline can be good for some people but I found I couldn’t get past the side effects to stay on it long enough. It might be fine for you. I think i’m very sensitive to medication. The diazepam will help to take the edge off the Sertraline side effects. I took diazepam whilst on Escitalopram & didn’t find it too hard to get off. I too didn’t like taking it due to the addictive quality but was fine. It’s probably just short term to help bed in the sertraline.

I'm a bit late with this but in case you are still thinking about what to do... I felt dreadful on duloxetine, like I had flu basically, chills, vertigo, nausea - could barely get off the sofa. I had a tremor too but I got that with SSRIs as well. I tried it for 5 weeks because the docs kept saying the side effects would lessen. Nothing changed. I'm now on Valdoxan and have no side effects and it really helps with sleep. It seemed to stabilise my mood too. It doesn't feel like a miracle cure but I think it's worth a try if you are sensitive to side effects.

Hi, yes i’m still thinking of trying it. I’m nearly 3 weeks off the mirtrazapine & I am feeling very low & panicky. I think perhaps the mirt was working a little more than I thought. My sleep is really out of the window now too. I go to sleep but wake up very early in morning. I think I may have to do bite the bullet & take them this morning I was so bad. I really didn’t want to get up & am losing my functioning x

Duloxetine is an evil drug!!! Don't believe me.... Try and stop taking it!

The nerve pain I suffered was immense.. I had to take the capsules and every day empty them into a bowl and take 7 out everyday..... This is was the only way I could do it.. Otherwise I suffered I tense withdrawals. I couldn't stand. Walk. Pick my clothes out the wardrobe. My ex used to have to bath me and wash my hair.. The pain used to make me scream.

Be very careful on this medication

Oh God you poor thing, that sounds horrendous. Did you take it for nerve pain? Mine is for depression, anxiety. GP thinks if I try it within a week it will help.