With antidepressants like Cymbalta, the terms “antidepressant discontinuation syndrome” and “withdrawal” are frequently used to describe the symptoms patients allegedly experience after they stop taking the drug. While the difference is nuanced, it is medically significant and may have bearing on pending litigation over Cymbalta.

It may sound like a case of drug makers trying to downplay serious Cymbalta side effects, but there is an actual difference between antidepressant discontinuation syndrome and withdrawal. Still, both antidepressant discontinuation syndrome and withdrawal have some common features. In both conditions, using a drug like Cymbalta eventually causes dependence. When the drug is then taken away, patients can suffer  potentially debilitating symptoms.

The main difference between antidepressant discontinuation syndrome and drug withdrawal is that patients suffering from withdrawal will actively seek the drug they have stopped taking. Patients with withdrawal crave the drug and often engage in drug-seeking behaviors. This type of behavior has not been described in patients going off Cymbalta. In antidepressant discontinuation syndrome, like that described in Cymbalta patients, individuals may suffer debilitating symptoms, but don’t crave or seek out more Cymbalta. However, doctors sometimes prescribe patients facing antidepressant discontinuation syndrome smaller amounts of Cymbalta to alleviate the syndrome symptoms.

Allegedly, patients who stopped taking Cymbalta have suffered a host of serious discontinuation syndrome symptoms. Patients have described suicidal thoughts, worsening depression, and anxiety attacks. Additionally, patients have described tremors and mood swings. Users frequently describe debilitating “brain zaps,” a symptom where patients experience a flash of bright light and the sensation that they are being electrocuted. A report by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has stated that Cymbalta users have suffered physical and psychological disturbances after ceasing Cymbalta that were severe enough to interfere with their jobs, strain relationships with friends and family, and even put patients at odds with their doctors.

A report by the FDA dating back to 2009 suggests that the makers of Cymbalta have deliberately covered up how common and severe antidepressant discontinuation syndrome was with Cymbalta. This report stated that the drug safety information packages with Cymbalta deliberately downplayed the associated risks. Additionally, the report alleges that the makers of Cymbalta may have deliberately interfered with the reporting system for Cymbalta complications by having patients call a help line, where call center workers downplayed the seriousness of alleged Cymbalta side effects. Moreover, the reports that came into the call center were not recorded, leaving no paper trail and making it hard to quantify how many reports of Cymbalta side effects were being reported to the company.