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Author: Admin | 2025-04-28
We have received so many complaints about duloxetine (Cymbalta) side effects that we have lost count. Far more disturbing are the number of people who tell us how hard it is to discontinue this drug.Decades ago, doctors did not know a lot about how to stop this medicine. They might have told patients taking a drug like Cymbalta that anxiety, irritability or strange sensations after stopping the drug, were due to their underlying psychological problem returning. Now we know it is probably withdrawal from the medicine.Researchers have found that“Withdrawal symptoms occurred after discontinuation of any type of SNRI [serotonin-noradrenaline reuptake inhibitor]” (Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, July 17, 2018).As a result, they concluded:“Clinicians need to add SNRI to the list of drugs potentially inducing withdrawal symptoms upon discontinuation, together with other types of psychotropic drugs. The results of this study challenge the use of SNRI as first-line treatment for mood and anxiety disorders.”The History of Cymbalta:The FDA originally approved Cymbalta in 2004 for treating major depression. It is officially an SNRI-type antidepressant. In doctorspeak, that means it is a serotonin-norepinehprine reuptake inhibitor and is somewhat similar to other antidepressants such as Effexor (venlafaxine) and Pristiq (desvenlafaxine).The FDA also approved Cymbalta to treat nerve pain associated with diabetes in 2004. In 2007 the drug got a green light for anxiety and in 2008 the FDA agreed that it could ease the discomfort associated with fibromyalgia. The agency also approved this drug to treat musculoskeletal pain associated with arthritis and lower back pain in 2010.In other words, here was a drug that could relieve your blues and your aches and pains. And the drug company that makes Cymbalta (Lilly) marketed this medicine as a good way to deal with chronic low back pain and osteoarthritis. Perhaps you have seen the commercials on TV promoting
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