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Tapering: Cymbalta

researching

1 posts

Chicago, IL

Hi, I'm Cookie

September 14, 2026··
I’ve decided to taper off Cymbalta. I started on 20m to help with Fibromyalgia. I had many side effects (diarrhea, nausea, leg mobility during sleep, sweating). My gut doc chalked up the diarrhea and nausea to being older and Fibro. The leg mobility and sweating got much, much worse at 30m. Brain fog has popped up as well, forget a lot of what I hear or cannot remember simple things. I get irritable at too many things. The interrupted sleep is awful. After two years I’m done. I’d rather deal with the Fibro symptoms another way. I’m going to start tapering on my own at 10%. I’ll be seeing my doctor in a week and am fairly certain she will support the decision and help me taper off completely. I’m glad to find a large group of people doing the same thing! Very helpful and reassuring. I’m 75 and skeptical about many of the SSRIs after using several in the last 20 years. Glad we have them, believe they are overused and often given with little to no guidance or support

Cymbalta — 30m — 2 years — researching taper | without clinician

1 Reply

Catina
Catina4d ago
Community AnchorEffexor
Hi @Cookie, a very warm welcome to you! We fully support your desire to come off the Cymbalta. It seems to be a popular drug for fibromyalgia, but there are many non-drug ways of handling this unfortunate health problem. I'm sorry it has caused you such issues. It sounds like you already have a good pulse on things. If you're interested, we have some information that will help you approach the subject with your doctor: https://taper.community/thread/dbb2cdbb-bb3d-4bb9-93ab-b33de4a3fd0b https://taper.community/resources/blog/how-to-talk-to-your-doctor-about-tapering Yes, I agree with you about these drugs being way overprescribed. And there is definitely little support when wanting to come off of them. We look forward to having you here and supporting you on your tapering and healing journey! Catina 💜

Venlafaxine (tapering) - Current dose 17.92 mg
Trazodone - 50 mg
Levothyroxine - 25 mcg

“Your brain and body know how to heal. Trust the process and keep going.”

Please Note: I am not a healthcare professional. Any advice given is based on personal experience and that of others in the lay withdrawal community.

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