Eli Lilly Co. submitted a motion to dismiss a Cymbalta withdrawal lawsuit filed by a New York consumer who claims the company failed to fully warn him of the severe, negative Cymbalta withdrawal side effects he would experience when he stopped taking the antidepressant.

This case is just one of more than dozen lawsuits concerning Cymbalta withdrawal side effects consolidated into one proposed multidistrict litigation (MDL).

Eli Lilly attorney Michael Imbroscio has argued that this Cymbalta withdrawal lawsuit should be dismissed because the plaintiff has not sufficiently supported his failure to warn claim. That same argument should be applied to the other lawsuits, he argued.

Plaintiff Jesse McDowell was prescribed Cymbalta by his physician in early 2009 to help treat and manage McDowell’s symptoms of anxiety and depression. The plaintiff continued to take Cymbalta at the recommended dosage for the next three years, though he was still allegedly experiencing severe anxiety and depression. On March 1, 2012, McDowell’s physician advised the plaintiff to taper his use of the Eli Lilly antidepressant over the course of the next seven months.

According to the Cymbalta withdrawal lawsuit:

“Upon discontinuing Cymbalta, Plaintiff experienced severe and dangerous withdrawal symptoms. By way of example, Plaintiff experienced extreme brain zaps that left him disoriented and confused. Additionally, Plaintiff suffered from frequent suicidal thoughts, bouts of insomnia, and debilitating headaches. At present, Plaintiff continues to suffer symptoms of withdrawal, including but not limited to brain zaps and severe headaches.”

McDowell has accused Eli Lilly of negligence, failure to warn, and design defect product liability. McDowell’s legal counsel is seeking to combine this Cymbalta withdrawal lawsuit with 27 similar cases alleging Eli Lilly failed to warn consumers of brain zaps and other withdrawal symptoms.

Imbroscio, on behalf of Eli Lilly, argued McDowell was required to sufficiently plead the failure to warn claims by demonstrating that had the Cymbalta box warning been stronger, McDowell or his doctor would never have chosen to take or prescribe Cymbalta. However, McDowell’s physician fired back stating that had she known that over 40 percent of Cymbalta consumers who ceased taking the antidepressant experienced Cymbalta withdrawal symptoms, she would have chosen to prescribe another antidepressant.

The presiding judge has not yet made a ruling on the future of the Cymbalta withdrawal lawsuit.

The Cymbalta Withdrawal Lawsuit is McDowell v. Eli Lilly and Company, Case No. 13-cv-03786, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

Cymbalta Antidepressant Discontinuation Syndrome

According to a 2005 drug study, 51 percent of patients using Cymbalta have claimed some type of experienced antidepressant discontinuation syndrome symptoms, with up to 17 percent allegedly experiencing severe withdrawal symptoms. This study was not conducted by an outside third party, but rather by Cymbalta drug producer Eli Lilly in order to determine the extent of the Cymbalta withdrawal symptoms. It was reported that two weeks into conducting the study, none of the withdrawal symptoms had been resolved.

Some Cymbalta withdrawal side effects include:

• Severe nausea
• Vomiting
• Dizziness, light-headedness, vertigo
• Headaches
• Hot and cold flashes
• Mood swings, anxiety, irritability, hostility
• Nightmares
• Electric shock-like sensations in the brain
• Tingling, tickling, prickling, pricking, or burning sensations of the skin
• Tremors, shaking hands
• Visual disturbances

As a result of this and other studies, many antidepressant consumers are pursuing Cymbalta lawsuits and may choose to a Cymbalta withdrawal symptoms class action lawsuit in the future.