The antidepressant Cymbalta is prescribed to treat a variety of conditions ranging from anxiety to depression and even fibromyalgia. This medication may help ease symptoms but some patients report experiencing agonizing Cymbalta withdrawal symptoms — side effects that allegedly were not adequately warned about on the drug warning label.

Cymbalta Withdrawal

Cymbalta was approved by the FDA in 2004, and manufacturer Eli Lilly began marketing the product with a drug label claiming that Cymbalta withdrawal symptoms occur in only 1% to 2% of cases. Dozens of Cymbalta withdrawal lawsuits allege otherwise.

Plaintiffs argue that Eli Lilly intentionally misled not only consumers but also physicians who were not adequately informed to warn Cymbalta users of the severity of discontinuing the product.

According to the medication’s warning label, Cymbalta withdrawal symptoms may occur if patients stop taking the drug abruptly or change from another antidepressant too quickly. Manufacturers recommend tapering off the medication slowly to avoid the debilitating effects of discontinuing Cymbalta.

One of the many problems with this suggestion is that Eli Lilly does not offer a smaller dose of Cymbalta, so patients are either forced to stop taking the drug cold turkey or tamper with it by opening capsules and counting Cymbalta beads in an effort to create a smaller dose of their own. Some consumers do this with the hope that they can avoid severe Cymbalta withdrawal symptoms all together.

People who have tried to stop taking Cymbalta have reported the following symptoms:

• Severe nausea
• Vomiting
• Dizziness, light-headedness, vertigo
• Headaches
• Hot and cold flashes
• Mood swings, anxiety, irritability, hostility
• Nightmares
• Brain “zaps” (electric-shock-like sensations in the brain)
• Paresthesia (sensation of tingling, tickling, prickling, pricking, or burning of a person’s skin)
• Tremors, shaking hands
• Visual disturbances

Cymbalta Lawsuits

Cymbalta was designed by Eli Lilly to increase levels of the neurotransmitters serotonin and norepinephrine which help regulate mood. The manufacturers also claim that the drug may even be able to stop pain signals from traveling through the brain. However, Cymbalta patients consuming this pain-relieving product may face an even greater challenge – dependency.

Numerous Cymbalta lawsuits seek to compensate patients for the lack of warning about the risk and severity of withdrawal from Cymbalta. Some plaintiffs claim it may even be possible for patients to suffer from withdrawal symptoms after skipping a single dose of the medication. Som patients allege that because the drug’s half-life is less than a day and the medication is prescribed to be taken once daily, there’s a high probability of suffering from withdrawal effects even while currently using the product.

Sufferers have joined together on various websites to blog about their personal experiences with Cymbalta withdrawal as a way to encourage others not to use this drug. One entry from a Cymbalta Withdrawal sufferer states:

“I have so far on only day 4 of wihdrawing suffered, dizzy spells, nausea, sweats, flushes crying fits and constant buzzing in my ears not to mention horrific nightmares and no concentration span. Am now feeling very cross with my G.P for not warning me at all about these effects.”

Cymbalta lawsuits argue that patients and physicians should be adequately warned by the manufacturers of the high probability of Cymbalta withdrawal to decide for themselves if it’s worth the risk.