I am switching meds and was wondering if anyone has experience with these 2 in particular? What was your experience tapering off Effexor and beginning Cymbalta, were you able to stick with it? Side affects?

I realize that not everyone experiences the same thing, but would just like to see what outcomes have occurred.

I don't start the cymbalta until next Monday, tapering off Effexor more before doing so. I am anxious to see if this works. Effexor caused lots of weight gain prior to me really getting serious about weight loss. Now that I've been trying hard to lose, it's just not coming off. Hopefully this change will get it going for me while allowing me to keep my head on straight!

TIA for any responses you gals may have for me.

hey there
i hvaen't tried cymbalta but i have been on efexor about 2 yrs ago and switched to celexa and am now tapering off efexor again.

has your doc given you a chart for the switch? it's quite complicated to switch and there is a chart you have to follow. i found efexor incredibly hard to get off with all the side effects. they often recommend adding in another longer life ssri like prozac to compensate for the problems

hope it goes well for you

ps efexor is one of the better ones for preventing weight gain - are you sure this is what is causing the problems? are you on any other meds

I am (was) on 300mgs of Effexor. Last week went down to 225, this week 150, next week 75 along with starting 30mgs Cymbalta, and then 37.5 effexor with 60mgs Cymbalta the following week.

I also take Lamictal and Ritalin.

All the feedback that I've read about side effects from Effexor seems to be 50-50. Many do complain of weight gain or out of control cravings, which is something that isn't listed as potential side effect. But it's there, how can that many people be mistaken, as I thought for sure I was. I was comforted to know I wasn't the only one and my p-doc says that yes, it is common for weight gain or cravings to increase.

I have had blood work done several times in conjunction with adding new medications and everything comes back clean. I have had a complete thyroid panel done, all negative. I have NEVER had a problem losing weight(even tho' I do have BED) and when I really crack down and workout and eat right I lose like crazy, doesn't matter what sort of "plan" it is either. So, this leads us to believe that it has to be the medication.

Trust me, if it was something medical instead, I'd be quick to jump off this crazy med train for sure! I would almost have readily taken something wrong w/ my thyroid over being bipolar any day since the 2 seem to mimic closely together in way of symptoms, etc.

There doesnt seem to be many ssrni's. Effexor and Cymbalta are the only ones I'm aware of and unfortunately I need that in order to feel any effect without having 20 bottles in my medicine cabinet. May have to go that route if this new one turns out to be ineffective. Hope it doesnt come to that.

you're right there aren't many ssrni's and in NZ efexor is the only one available. in terms of the interaction it shouldn't affect appetite because of the effect on norapeniphrene, but like you i have BED and tend to override the signals the meds are sending my brain!

i gues you know those thyroid tests are a waste of time, they don't tend to show much and the standard tests only show extreme problems

how are Lamictal and Ritalin and ritalin for weight gain???

have you been to remedyfind.com??? they have users there that rate different meds. you could maybe explore and get more info on side effects people have given for your cocktail of drugs and the cymbalta you will be going on to...

efexor for depression 557 ratings http://www.remedyfind.com/rem.asp?id=91
efexor for bipolar II 153 ratings http://www.remedyfind.com/rem.asp?id=2819

lots more too.. have fun

Funny, effexor causes me to lose weight where others have made me gain. It supressed my appetite quite a bit. Chalk it up to different body chemistries I guess.

Hey Sweet Pea, thanks for the link to RemedyFind! I love reading reviews.

hi... I love the remedyfind too.. thanx for sharing!

you're welcome! it helped me heaps. i had this dreadful side effect (leaking breasts) and no idea what was causing it. i was so relieved when i found out it was a common side effect of a drug. i'd never have known if i hadn't read up about it on remedyfind

Hi everyone, I am new here. I just have a question. For a month now I have been watching my calories - down to 1350 daily. I have not lost a pound. I am on cymbalta and I wondered if that would make it difficult to lose weight or if I am not doing something right. Any tips?

Hi,

I am currently on Cymbalta 60mgs, and titrating up to a theraputic dose. What dosage are you at, if you don't mind me asking? I was originally on Effexor XR (7 mon.)at 300mgs, and it works beautifully for everything except for allowing me to lose any weight at all. Cymbalta is my other alternative and hopefully I will be able to lose once I reach that right dosage.

I'm sure you've heard it a million times, everyone is different. We all react so differently to many meds, that the only thing to really do is talk to your doctor and make them understand what your desire is regarding weight loss.
I've met many people who've lost tons of weight with Effexor and many who've gained. Cymbalta is the same. Due to the fact that there are limited choices for SSRNI's I was willing to give it a shot.

Are you sure you're taking in enough calories? You didn't mention if you exercised daily or for how long. Need to make sure you're supplementing your calorie intake with what you're expending to help keep you in a nice healthy burning mode, and not put your body into starvation mode.

Good luck to you! I hope you figure out what will work for you quickly. You can do this!!

I've been on Cymbalta for about 2 months. I was put on 30mg and then moved up to 60 a week later. I stayed on 60mg for about a 5 weeks, but went back down to 30mg last week. the 60 made me so constipated that I wasn't going for a week at a time. Colace, Peri-Colace, and even enemas woudn't work. The only thing that would do it was Citrus of Magnesia. Not only that, but I started getting really tired in the afternoons, usually from 2-5pm. I went back down to 30 and started Metamucil and Psyllium Husks and that works for the bathroom difficulties. I no longer get real tired in the afternoon either.

I found that I felt good on the 30mg initially and that once I was moved up, I didn't feel as good. My therapist believes it was "overmedication". The reason I'm saying this is because I don't think drs should be so quick to up the meds. If you feel good on 30, stay at it.. I wish I would've done that in the beginning.

Also, be very careful not to miss a dose. I did that last Sunday and I thought I was losing my mind. Turns out that Cymbalta has one of the worst withdrawl symptons out of all the ADs. It is not easy to get off of at all. I'm not trying to scare anyone away from this drug, but I just want you to know everything before you jump right in.

There are alot of positives though. I used to be so anxious that I would wake up in the middle of the night to worry about things, I haven't done that since I've been on meds. My BP II is alot more under control and I tend to feel better about things, instead of always feeling dreadful. And it doesn't make me hungry and it hasn't made me gain weight. I have heard that people have had the opposite reaction, but it's been good to me there.

Just research whatever the dr is going to put you on before you get on it. My mom always says if she had read up on Xanax beforehand, she would've never went on it.

hi desertdreamer! Please tell me how smoothly your transition was from effexor to cymbalta!!! It's my turn next week and I don't want any effexor withdrawl. I'm hoping the switch to cymbalta will prevent any. I'm nervous!!!

Thanks!!!! Wray

Hi Wray,

The transition wasn't nearly as bad as I'd thought. Thank goodness!
I did get 1 or 2 headaches the first couple days that I started weening, but I just took some motrin and it took care of it. The hardest part for me was having my disorders rear their ugly little heads in an uncontrollable way. The way I'd felt before meds all came back and that was very exhausting. If that makes any sense!lol
While the Effexor worked great for what I needed, it just made me feel tired and I gained weight like crazy.

Cymbalta 60mgs., my 2nd week and so far so good. I feel great! Even more so than the effexor ever made me feel. No tiredness, and I feel like I've got energy through out the day which I never got with the E. Minor side affects, some nausea and a headache when I went up from the 25 to the 60's. Other than that, it's been very nice.

I'm glad I made the switch. Best of luck to you. If you want, feel free to pm me any time. I know it's frustrating to go thru some of this stuff when you feel like no one understands.

Take care.

Danielle-

I just started Lamictal last week. How is it for you? What about the effect on weight? I am also coming off Celexa. All the ssri's affect me sexually. Right now I could easily go the rest of my life without sex. My poor husband!!!

Hey Danielle. I switched from Effexor 150mg/day to Cymbalta 60mg/day about six months ago. I wasn't getting the results I wanted from Effexor-felt teary and emotional all the time. I did two weeks of Effexor @ 75mg/day then started with the full 60mg of Cymbalta the third week. I really love how it me feel.

Good luck!