Patients using the anti-depressant drug, Cymbalta, have reported a number of physical and emotional side effects suffered after attempting to stop use of the drug.

The drug’s manufacturer, Eli Lilly and Company, has come under fire for failing to disclose the risks of Cymbalta withdrawal and promoting use of the drug while downplaying its side effects.

What is Cymbalta?

Cymbalta (duloxetine) is manufactured by Eli Lilly and was approved by the FDA in 2004, for the treatment of depression. It is in a class of drugs known as SNRI, or “serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor,” which blocks neurotransmitters in the brain that affect mood and emotions.

While Cymbalta is marketed primarily as a treatment for depression, it is also prescribed to treat anxiety, fibromyalgia, neuropathic, and even muscular or skeletal pain.

In clinical trials, researchers estimated that Cymbalta withdrawal symptoms could appear in up to 44 percent to 50 percent of people who discontinued Cymbalta, including 10 percent classified as “severe.” During the trial, patients were randomized to receive Cymbalta or a placebo for 8-9 weeks and then discontinued.

Unfortunately, about half of patients who had withdrawal symptoms did not get better within two weeks of discontinuing Cymbalta, when researchers stopped monitoring the patients, prompting the FDA to require the following warning on the label for Cymbalta: “Never stop an antidepressant medicine without first talking to a healthcare provider. Stopping an antidepressant medicine suddenly can cause other symptoms.”

However, this warning does not explain how often “other symptoms” occur, how severe they might be, and what a patient should do to minimize the risk of Cymbalta withdrawal.

Patients who discontinue use of antidepressant drugs often experience some degree of withdrawal side effects. However, the complications from Cymbalta withdrawal can be so severe that doctors have assigned them a diagnosis of their own – Cymbalta Discontinuation Syndrome.

These Cymbalta withdrawal side effects include:

• Nausea, vomiting
• Suicidal thoughts
• Anger
• Hallucinations
• Personality changes
• “Brain zaps”
• Tremors, dizziness, severe vertigo

Studies have shown these effects can last for weeks or months, and can negatively affect a person’s ability to work or maintain relationships.

Eli Lilly conducted studies revealing as many as 51 percent of patients taking Cymbalta experienced withdrawal symptoms for several weeks.

However, they downplayed the side effects of Cymbalta withdrawal to doctors and told patients only around one percent of users suffered problems. The company also failed to give patients a way to slowly taper their use of the drug.

Cymbalta Withdrawal Lawsuits

Many Cymbalta users who have attempted to discontinue their use of Cymbalta and subsequently experienced unforeseen and severe withdrawal symptoms have filed Cymbalta withdrawal lawsuits.

These Cymbalta lawsuits allege that Eli Lilly failed to adequately warn patients and doctors about the nature of Cymbalta withdrawal. While there is some mention of Cymbalta Withdrawal on package labels, the rates of Cymbalta Withdrawal appear to me much higher than the rates indicated by Eli Lilly.

Plaintiffs filing Cymbalta lawsuits claim that the drug’s label is misleading. The label suggests a withdrawal risk of one percent or greater. However, in Lilly’s clinical trials, around half of participants experienced withdrawal symptoms.

The manufacturer has clear evidence of this potential danger, yet the warning information provided to physicians and consumers remains inadequate.