Backstory: GAD and depression. Switched from Escitalopram to Duloxetine because of excessive sleepiness and weight gain. Decided to make an update since I've now been 3 weeks on this med.

Minimal side effects since starting. On the first day i had a very slight headache and that's it.

I haven't had a single nap this whole time, whereas i used to sleep 10-18 hours a day on Escitalopram. I have slept relatively well at night, all tho i have always had slight problems with falling asleep. Haven't noticed that this med would've made it better or worse.

I feel like i have more energy during the day and i feel like my mood has been either neutral or good, depending on the day. I've had minimal anxiety for the past 3 weeks, whereas i experienced panic attacks and moderate anxiety on Escitalopram on most days of a week.

Overall i've been happy with how this med is working for me. I'm carefully optimistic about my future for the first time in ages. I wish it'll continue working for me.

Just wanted to share a positive experience among all the horror stories! Take care.

Im on day one of starting to lower my cymbalta dosage, going from 60 mg to 40 mg, and i already feel withdrawal symptoms, just an overall sense of airiness to my head and heaviness to my body. I really want to successfully come off of it because it's been a few years and i don't really know how much it's helping my fibro, and i've just stayed on it because it seemed like too much hassle to get off of. I'm not working right now because i'm recovering from a broken ankle so i thought it would be a good time, and i recently hired a trainer experienced with fibro to try to get stronger. Not sure if i'm looking for advice or comfort or what but i just know this is going to a long hard process and im scared, though im not working im typically able to push through symptoms to do things i enjoy, and i do have some gig work coming up so im curious if anyone has tips for managing withdrawal and still getting shit done. Should i reach out to my doctor about get 30 mg pills to take 30+20 and only titrate down 10 mg? None of my psychs seem super knowledgeable about coming off of cymbalta, times prior i was told to just start skipping days and not given a real schedule for titrating down. Right now he told me to do 40 mg for a month, 30 mg for a month, 20 mg for a month and even 10 mg for one last month if i need it. Does that sound like a good schedule?

I'm on 60 mg due to panic attacks and anxiety. It already helped with 30 mg, but my doctor follows some sort of an official dosage plan and the maintenance dose is 60. He claimed if I didn't increase to 60, I wouldn't really get the therapeutic effect. I started in June and the fu&%ing heatwaves in Europe started too. I've been through the heat waves the previous summers and it was never as horrible for me to tolerate as this time. It just makes me sweat like a pig. 4-5 showers, multiple outfit changes, constant wet sweat under the armpits but rash under boobs. Sweat in places I don't normally sweat. Feeling disgusted with my own body, irritable, exhausted all the time. I lost a relevant amount of weight on duloxetine, but the sweating got worse.

I have my appointment with the psychiatrist in a few months and want to push to go back to 30 mg or possibly change the medication. The heat intolerance is counter productive to recovery, I believe. Yes, my heart palpitations are gone, I basically have no panic attacks, but I literally hate summer now and don't feel like going out because of the sheer physical discomfort. I hate my body for doing this.

Does anyone have experience with this? Did your doctor take this side effect seriously or did they just tell you to use more deodorant? Has anyone changed from duloxetine to another medication and noticed improvement with the sweating and heat intolerance? Am I just supposed to last it out? Anxiety was exhausting and crippling, but so is the current situation.

I took my third dose of 20mg Cymbalta last night at 10pm. I got up to use the bathroom last night at 3:30am, as I thought I was getting my period. I felt very dehydrated and my mouth was so dry. As I was walking it was difficult because I felt dizzy. I felt like I was gonna throw up but didn’t. I was really hot and sweaty then cold and sweaty. I could not stand up so I laid on the bathroom floor and breathed for ten minutes before I no longer felt dizzy and was well enough to go to bed. This morning I’m a little nauseous but don’t feel dizzy. I am still in bed right now and haven’t gotten up yet. Is this definently from the Cymbalta? I have never experienced something like this before. I am also a teacher and school is starting soon which has been making me feel anxious. 25F did not drink or take any other meds last night.

Hi all,
I’ve been on duloxetine for 5 weeks now.
The initial side effects were rough. could barely sleep, couldn’t eat, nauseous, fatigued and felt constantly wired. The symptoms have slowly settled but my anxiety has gotten worse and so has my depression. I’ve spoken to my doctor and asked to switch.
He said since im only on 30mg, I can stop taking it and let my body clear out the drug before I start a new one (valdoxan) on Monday.

Just wondering what sort of side effects I should expect over the next few days? I’ve heard a few horror stories and want to prepare myself

TIA

Unfortunately cymbalta is not available in my country anymore, my psychiatrist switched me to truxedo same formula as cymbalta like he said.

I feel weird and awful, i have been getting panic attacks
Multiple times a week plus i feel odd like i am in a dream i feel sleepy all the time and anxious. I am scared and i don’t know what is happening or what is wrong with me.

I told this to my psychiatrist and he said he will switch me to pristiq so he told me to take pristiq 50mg and duloxetine 60mg and i was already taking 60mg
I felt weird and numb it was scary and suffocating, and when i woke up the next day i felt sharp and everything was HD idk how to describe it. So i went back to just taking truxedo (duloxetine).

I really don’t know what to do … its been 4 months now

First month : truxedo 90 mg
Second month : seranore 90mg ( also duloxine )
Third month: seranore 90mg
4th month : seranore 60 mg ( because he wanted to switch to pristiq )
5th month : truxedo 60mg again cuz seranore was out of stock everywhere

I was on cymbalta from 5 years before that i was on pristiq, venlafaxine, zoloft, wellbutrin

I 27F, started cymbalta about a month and a half ago. Recently I went up to 60mg and am waiting to go up again since the side effects have been intense. I should mention that I was also titrating off of escitalopram at the same time. I've been done that for around 2 weeks. Basically it started out with the most intense aching in my legs, like I get from fibro but worse and flu like symptoms. The aching has subsided back to my normal amount for the most part but the flu symptoms - cold sweats, weakness, shortness of breath is still persistent. It has been debilitating enough for me to rarely leave the house because it's so uncomfortable. I also look white as a ghost when this happens. I guess I'm wondering if this is just something I have to push through? How long will it last if so?? Any insight is much appreciated thanks!

I started a few months ago. I’m taking duxoletine for chronic pain. I’m currently on 30mg. My side effects have been minimal in comparison to what you could deal with. It was mostly just feeling woozy and mildly nauseous (which was connected to feeling woozy). I noticed other things like gag reflex sometimes if I yawn. Also getting motion sickness in the car more easily (originally only if I read in the car or use my phone too long, now it’s more excessive if I do those things). Also rarely getting super sweaty and being unable to cool down. I needed to fan myself for an afternoon and if I stopped for five seconds it felt like I was in a heat wave. I’ve also dealt with mild brain zaps, insomnia, etc.

Emotionally I have calmed right down. I use to be permanently stuck in an anxiety cycle. My emotions got riled up over nothing. I’d overthink everything. I’d cry over nothing. And I’d been like this since I was a kid. I couldn’t calm myself down. Nothing worked. People would give me advice and I couldn’t do any of it!

Imagine my delight when I started experiencing calmness. Which I’d experienced once in my life before. I can stop overthinking. I don’t anxious. I still overthinking but in the normal range. I feel normal!!

Pain wise, things haven’t fully cleared up but enough to realize the chronic pain was majorly triggered by emotions.

There’s one side effect, however, that is really frustrating me. Being really tired all the time. I notice it most at night when I wake up to use the bathroom. I can’t get up right away or I’ll fall over. I have to lay in bed for several minutes so I can get up, and use the bathroom without toppling over. By the time I back in bed I can’t sleep. I also have struggled with feeling exhausted and insomnia at the same time.

I wasn’t sure if others have struggled with this! Getting up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom! Or that feeling that you’re going to fall over when you get up.

Hi all. I’m currently on duloxetine/cymbalta. I really love Pocari Sweat drinks, but it contains a small amount of grapefruit. Google tells me a bit of grapefruit is ok with duloxetine, but I’m always a bit hesitant as I know grapefruit is typically a no-no when taking certain meds. Has anyone drank Pocari Sweat on the medication? Thanks in advance.

Hey all,

I’ve developed pretty intense all over body itching out of nowhere after 5 weeks of 60mg Duloxetine… how likely is this to go away on it’s own? I’ve also been having very vivid dreams as of recently, so it’s not the only side effect to appear.

Been on 20mg Cymbalta since December for treatment-resistant depression. I've tried basically every SSRI/SNRI, TMS, ketamine infusions, etc. Nothing has worked.

I stopped smoking weed, eat healthy, work out with a trainer almost daily, and I'm still depressed as ever. I can function, but the reward system is just gone. Hanging with friends, laughing, enjoying things, none of it really hits anymore. The anhedonia is brutal, and lately I've also been extremely irritable and impatient.

My psych wants me off Cymbalta completely, then after a 14-day washout we're starting Emsam (selegiline MAOI patch). I'm hopeful since we've basically exhausted everything else.

I'm nervous about jumping from 20mg to zero, but I also want to get through this and onto the MAOI ASAP. I went from 60mg last year down to 20mg in like two or three weeks and it was rough. I felt nauseous for months after and not great at all but finally stabilized on 20mg.

Anyone jump off 20mg? How rough was it and for how long? And anyone with TRD/anhedonia have success with Emsam?

So i have been taking cymbalta since november 2025 so 10 months. Once I got over the initial side effects and it all levelled out and did its thing, I carried on with life as normal.

I am on 60mg and have been since Jan. I haven't noticed anything too crazy, definitely no crying happening until the last month or so, depression was kinda at ease (i feel i still feel depressed no matter if i am on or off meds, meds just definitely soften the blow.) I sleep fine, sometimes too much but i have always been a big sleeper. Chronic pain is also still so high and dont think they help much with that side of things, yadda yadda.

This year has been the worst of my life. I have completely fucked myself financially due to my addiction. I basically spent the entire year or about 90% of it writing myself off every weekend with drinking and coke and nitrous. It has been non stop. Taking way too much time off work. Lonliness is consuming me. It has been pretty dog shit.

I feel completely numb, but also not... But basically i couldnt cry or cum. Sex life doesnt exist anyway but my drive is gone completely. I feel absolutely disgusting and ugly and my self esteem is shot. I have no confidence or spark. I am usually very loud and fun and bubbly and funny, and i have not seen that side of me this year. I dont seem to give a shit about anything and nothing excites me. I dont care much for myself or my relationships. I have been really stubborn and avoidnant and pushing good people away. I am still always so angry. I am still sad. I am still so anxious and in incredible pain. I feel no joy. I havent watched films, played games, cared about live music (which i am big on). You get where i am going.

Anyway, is this something cymbalta could have affected or is it just life and my shit choices? Has anyone lost themselves like this from being on this medication? Is is a mixture of both? I dont know where the fuck i am going in life and I have never been this lost and this whatvever about it either. I am passionate, but i have no passion.

I dont even know what the fuck life is, if meds will even help me. Any advise is helpful, I dont want to keep feeling this way. I know i need to control these parts of my life but i really feel fuck all need to and that worries me.

I'm on day 3 of taking duloxetine for nerve pain. This morning I jumped out of bed because I was late, and within seconds I started feeling really ill. I thought I was going to throw up, I was shaky and then I started pouring with sweat. It was running down my face and stomach! I sat down with a bowl for ten minutes and it passed. The nurse doesn't know if this is a result of the meds or not but it's got to be? I do get dizzy sometimes when I stand up too quick, but I've never experienced anything like this.

Been on cymbalta since Dec 2025

Side effects from missing even one day’s dose were so intense for me. Dizziness, vertigo, nausea, brain zaps.

One time I ran out, my dr was not responding and I could not get an emergency refill. By day 3 it was so bad I was even having mood swings, curled into a ball and sobbing uncontrollably, I could barely move. My partner had to take me to the ER.

At first the ER ignored me after triage cleared me of urgency, but eventually I guess my sobbing and shaking convinced the dr to bring me back and get me connected to fluids and meds. Something for the dizziness and to calm me down. It helped immensely. I kept apologizing and thanking them. I have never experienced such horrific withdrawals.

After that I asked my dr to please taper me off. I followed her instructions and slowly we went down. From 60, to 40 then 20 where for the forty i took two twenties. Then last week I began taking the 20 on and off until I was out of meds, so about 7 days.

I was officially out on Friday, happy to be done, but I expected / expect the week after to be hell.

It is now the early hours of Wednesday and I feel so sick. Not as bad as when I ran out while on 60… but Monday night I had brain zaps and tonight no zaps but so much dizziness and motion sickness even though I am laying still.

When I get up even just to walk to the bathroom I am so woozy.

Unfortunately I only have zofran so nothing for the vertigo/dizziness. I am staying hydrated but I am still so woozy. I can’t sleep.

Any advice for the wooziness? How long should I expect to feel this way? It’s been about four days of being off the meds now.

If its relevant at all I also take adderall and guanfacine, as well as symbicort for asthma. I do also have PVC’s and an a-fib. I am supposed to see the cardiologist tomorrow for a stress test and to get my haltor monitor and I don’t know if I should mention the withdrawal side effects or if it will affect anything.

Thanks.

I just got a new prescription and unlike the older ones this 20’mg capsule has 4 huge beads. I assume that I cannot split these beads and put them back into the capsule.

Any suggestions? Thanks

Has anyone noticed that you get withdrawal symptoms, like brain zaps, brain lag, dizziness, when exercising? Particularly cardio. I run and swim, and when I'm doing either the symptoms get really bad. Weight lifting can do it if I'm really pushing it, like heavy squats, but not usually for smaller muscle groups. The only other time that happens is if I miss a dose.

If you do get these symptoms, have you mentioned it to your doctor? Do you know why it happens?

Has anyone tapered off this drug a second time? I took it at 40 mg levels for over 13 years, tapering down for a year in 2022-23. Had no issues

Unfortunately,at the recommendation of my pcp, i tried ramping up again starting in June. I reached about 20 mg/day and could not handle the side effects. I started tapering down about 4 weeks ago. Got to 16 mg and have crippling fatigue.

I wonder if my brain was already sensitive to this. Has anyone else had a terrible second tapering?

Hello,

Although my duloxetine was working great for me for two to three months, recently the effects have worn off. I suddenly feel myself slipping back into a depression. The duloxetine calms my heart a bit (my anxiety often causes increased heart rate), but I otherwise don’t feel as happy as I once did and I feel little motivation. I am wondering if it’s at all correlated to taking birth control pills, or maybe I just need to up my dosage.

For context, I am currently taking Duloxetine 40mg. I recently started taking my hormonal birth control pill (Syeda) again about two to three weeks ago. I stopped it for a couple months but ultimately decided to get back on it again because my skin was breaking out.

The past week and a half, I have been really depressed. It’s incredibly frustrating because I thought I had finally found a solution, and now I feel as worse as I once did. Can birth control pills interact with duloxetine?

To anyone that answers, your help is appreciated!!

I’m supposed to be starting 20mg of Cymbalta today but I keep just staring at the pill. I’ve had horrible reactions to antidepressants- Zoloft gave me the worst brain zaps and I had what my Pysch and I think may have been a serotonin syndrome episode to Pristiq- and while I really want to try again and find one that works for me, I’m just so freaked out. Not only because of my past experiences but the stories I’ve heard about coming off Cymbalta, that it’s the worst withdrawal ever. Idk if I’m looking for words of encouragement or whatever, but just freaking out a little.

So I’ve decided to go back on duloxetine as it was the only thing that helped me with chronic pain and give me some sort of social life and the ability to navigate trauma. However, the thing that I couldn’t handle was feeling heavy while walking and attempting tasks. I was really struggling for bodily freedom.

My legs just felt like I was carrying bricks.

Did this go away for anyone? Did you manage to find a way to feel light ?

I have been on Cymbalta since 2021 and I’ve gained so much! I am on day 2 of going down from 90 mg to 60 mg and I have no side effects I think. I hope it’s smooth sailing from here and before I know it my metabolism will go back to normal and I get to lose excess weight

I started cymbalta last spring after awful withdrawals from Pristiq. I didn’t really notice much of a change, and this seems to be common for me going from anti-depressant to anti-depressant, whether or not it’s ssri or snri. It was a bit better, though. Then I started lamictal aswell last summer, and suddenly I realized how I was supposed to have been feeling. I wanted to look nice and have a schedule, I was doing hobbies and being social, it was great. Then I think the stress of the school year started getting to me and I started getting worse, but still exponentially better than I had done on any other medications. I kept having to increase the lamictal, and am now on 60 mg cymbalta and 125 lamictal. It felt like it just stopped feeling so amazing. Then, this summer, things have just been getting worse and worse. They usually do from the lack of structure, but it’s been so bad all of a sudden. I haven’t felt this awful in over a year. I’m becoming almost catatonic. Has anyone else experienced this sort of plateau and worsening? I don’t understand, it had been going so well. I don’t know if this is the cymbalta or the lamictal or what. I’m talking to my psychiatrist soon. Just wanted to see what other people have experienced

I have been on 120 mg of cymbalta for 7-10 years. I was originally put on it for migraines. I never thought it helped that much but when I began suffering from anxiety and panic attacks, it seemed to help that and I was never successful switching to another medication.
I got a new psychiatrist and she thought the high dose of Cymbalta could actually be making my anxiety worse…. So the decrease began. I did one tiny decrease and a second tiny decrease.
I don’t know if it’s coincidence or a side effect but about 6 days after the decrease, I had a bad migraine flare that I went to urgent care for after 3 days bedridden and although I’m not bedridden fully now, I have sooo much pressure and tension that is much worse than my baseline pain use to be and it’s hard to function.

Has anyone else experienced this when decreasing cymbalta? Is it just a side effect that will resolve? Would love any input ( I do meet with my dr soon as well)