Stopping Duloxetine. Severe withdrawal symptoms.

[fortygin]

Just looking for some advice.
have been on Duloxetine for 15 years after my exh cheated on me. Was sold to me as the ‘new wonder drug for depression with no side effects!!’
this was obviously a situational depression that sorted itself out after I got rid of the cheating ex.
I have tried multiple times to taper off this drug as I don’t need it But have been unsuccessful due to the head zaps, dizziness, irritability and suicidal thoughts when I get to a certain lower dose.
I have now been diagnosed with severe hypertension and , for one reason or another, need to come off Duloxetine completely.
I have reduced from 90mg to 20mg since January with little to no withdrawal symptoms.
On the advice of my GP, I finished my month of 20mg capsules last weekend and have now not had any duloxetine in my system for 5 days but the symptoms are horrendous. I have constant vertigo-like head zaps, am extremely irritable and my sleep is disturbed by leg cramps, numb hands and vivid dreams.
i have also developed a covid-like virus that has floored me.
I was wondering if anyone had any tips on how to reduce/deal with the withdrawal symptoms?
Am currently trying to do a bit of treadmill walking and deep cleaning.
need to go back to work tomorrow ( had a few days off as feel so unwell).

I asked my psychiatrist about getting off duloxetine because she wanted me to increase from 60mg to 90mg and I’d read it was one of the hardest ADs to get off. She said she had only had a couple of patients who had struggled with it and she wasn’t worried about getting me off it when the time was right.

You were incredibly lucky and should not be saying anything that might lead others to do such a reckless thing.

Wasn't reckless it was medically advised.

My DD was tapering off a different AD for years. Early on in her reduction journey when she followed her GP’s directions she suffered terrible withdrawal symptoms. She slowed right down and toward the end she was on fractions of a mg diluted into a solution.

Take it much more slowly than you think you need, especially as you get down to the tiny amounts.

I recommend anyone on or contemplating taking ADs to look at Katinka Blackford’s work on the subject. Her book “The Pill That Steals Lives” documenting her own experience is a sobering read.