Have you had delayed antidepressant withdrawal symptoms?
November 1, 2022 10:51 AM Subscribe
I just finished a slow taper off of duloxetine (aka Cymbalta). It's a process I've gone through a few times and there have been very predictable side effects involving dizziness when standing, bursts of tinnitus, and most notably excessive sentimentality. This time the side effects have been delayed and I'm wondering if that's A Thing.
It's not that I mind crying at videos of adorable puppies playing together, it's that this time the taper happened with no noticeable side effects -- but it's now one week later and they're all front and center. I would say it was psychosomatic but getting excessively dizzy when standing or having a burst of tinnitus every time I close my eyes tightly seems a bit much for that.
Has anyone else experienced something like this? Everything I've found about post-tapering involves relapses to the original condition being treated, which these symptoms have nothing in common with. So, is this as strange as it seems?
It's not that I mind crying at videos of adorable puppies playing together, it's that this time the taper happened with no noticeable side effects -- but it's now one week later and they're all front and center. I would say it was psychosomatic but getting excessively dizzy when standing or having a burst of tinnitus every time I close my eyes tightly seems a bit much for that.
Has anyone else experienced something like this? Everything I've found about post-tapering involves relapses to the original condition being treated, which these symptoms have nothing in common with. So, is this as strange as it seems?
Best answer: Yeah, I think I had something like this once coming off Mirtazapine - the withdrawal symptoms kicked in much later than claimed. But that GP also seemed to think 2-4 weeks was a very slow taper, so I didn’t put much store in her AD expertise…
Online forums/websites compiled by other users are a better guide - something like Crazy Meds or No More Panic (or AskMe, obvs, but you might get a higher hit rate of people with your specific med/experience on one of those). Sorry, on phone so no links, but both googlable. Best of luck.
posted by penguin pie at 11:32 AM on November 1, 2022 [2 favorites]
Online forums/websites compiled by other users are a better guide - something like Crazy Meds or No More Panic (or AskMe, obvs, but you might get a higher hit rate of people with your specific med/experience on one of those). Sorry, on phone so no links, but both googlable. Best of luck.
posted by penguin pie at 11:32 AM on November 1, 2022 [2 favorites]
Cymbalta is notorious for being one of the hardest withdrawal experiences of any of the antidepressants, so...
...yes, I absolutely believe you could still be having withdrawal effects.
posted by chariot pulled by cassowaries at 1:31 PM on November 1, 2022 [1 favorite]
...yes, I absolutely believe you could still be having withdrawal effects.
posted by chariot pulled by cassowaries at 1:31 PM on November 1, 2022 [1 favorite]
Best answer: I had intermittent delayed side effects coming off sertraline (Zoloft) many years ago. In my case they were very occasional, but they lasted maybe 6 months.
When I went off duloxetine I had particularly bad side effects (mostly just dizziness), so I actually swapped my duloxetine for citalopram (Celexa), which has similar, but much less severe withdrawal side effects for me. I think switching to fluoxetine (Prozac) might actually be more common because (if I remember correctly) it has much longer half life.
Talk to your doctor about it. They should be able to help — if they can’t, get a new doctor (easier said than done, I know).
posted by danielparks at 3:19 PM on November 1, 2022
When I went off duloxetine I had particularly bad side effects (mostly just dizziness), so I actually swapped my duloxetine for citalopram (Celexa), which has similar, but much less severe withdrawal side effects for me. I think switching to fluoxetine (Prozac) might actually be more common because (if I remember correctly) it has much longer half life.
Talk to your doctor about it. They should be able to help — if they can’t, get a new doctor (easier said than done, I know).
posted by danielparks at 3:19 PM on November 1, 2022
Yes, this definitely sounds like withdrawal. I can’t find it now, but there is research showing that the taper step that causes symptoms is going from the smallest dose to zero. It’s not linear. So yeah, could be that it took a week for the med to wash out of your system and now you are withdrawing.
posted by haptic_avenger at 5:15 AM on November 2, 2022
posted by haptic_avenger at 5:15 AM on November 2, 2022
I have nothing helpful to contribute to your question but I do want to thank you and all the commenters for what I’ve learned just now.
My SIL is in a nursing home and is subject to getting her anti depressants kind of randomly switched without tapering or anything, and it’s really hard for her to get her dose adjusted timely if stuff’s not working. With this information I can help her articulate her symptoms better and help her advocate more successfully.
I’m sorry you’ve had an unpleasant experience, and I hope you get the adjustments you need.
posted by toodleydoodley at 8:09 PM on November 2, 2022 [1 favorite]
My SIL is in a nursing home and is subject to getting her anti depressants kind of randomly switched without tapering or anything, and it’s really hard for her to get her dose adjusted timely if stuff’s not working. With this information I can help her articulate her symptoms better and help her advocate more successfully.
I’m sorry you’ve had an unpleasant experience, and I hope you get the adjustments you need.
posted by toodleydoodley at 8:09 PM on November 2, 2022 [1 favorite]
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posted by vanitas at 11:21 AM on November 1, 2022 [4 favorites]