A Cymbalta lawsuit filed collectively by 11 plaintiffs alleges personal injuries and damages as a result of  Eli Lilly’s alleged failure to provide adequate instructions for stopping the use of Cymbalta.

In addition, the Cymbalta lawsuit says the company failed to issue warnings about the frequency and severity of symptoms associated with stopping Cymbalta, a condition known as Cymbalta withdrawal or Cymbalta discontinuation syndrome.

Lead Plaintiff Rachel Anne B., a Northern California resident who was prescribed Cymbalta in 2012 for treatment of depression, alleges Eli Lilly knew, or should have known, of the significantly increased risk of Cymbalta withdrawal symptoms.

Rachel Anne claims within days of stopping Cymbalta in 2013, she suffered severe and dangerous Cymbalta withdrawal side effects including extreme mood swings, agitation, irritability, electric shock-like sensations, nightmares, sleep disturbances, vertigo, dizziness, and suicidal thoughts as a result of attempting to wean off Cymbalta.

Rachel Anne and the other named plaintiffs claim that Eli Lilly should have been aware of the significance of the antidepressant withdrawal because Eli Lilly had previously researched and publicized the issue with its antidepressant Prozac.

Cymbalta withdrawal lawyers claim that if Eli Lilly adequately, accurately and properly warned about the withdrawal risk associated with Cymbalta, including the high risk of experiencing them and their frequency and severity, Rachel Anne and the other plaintiffs would not have taken Cymbalta.

What is Cymbalta?

Cymbalta is used to treat major depressive disorder (MMD). It is a serotonin norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor (SNRI), which, in addition to supposedly increasing the amount of serotonin in the brain, also increases the amount of norepinephrine (a neurotransmitter and hormone associated with cardiovascular regulation).

Serious Cymbalta Withdrawal Side Effects

Cymbalta can create a physical dependence. Cymbalta withdrawal is a frequent and, at times, painful condition. Cymbalta patients are faced with severe physiological and psychological symptoms when they attempt to stop taking the antidepressant, including:

• dizziness
• nausea
• headache
• fatigue
• paresthesia (tingling, tickling, prickling, pricking, or burning sensation of a person’s skin)
• vomiting
• irritability
• nightmares
• insomnia
• diarrhea
• anxiety
• hyperhidrosis (Excessive sweating)
• vertigo

Allegedly, once Cymbalta users try to stop, the symptoms can be severe enough to force them to start taking Cymbalta again simply to combat the antidepressant withdrawal symptoms. In other words, users develop a physical dependence on Cymbalta.

To beat the physical dependence on Cymbalta, users are forced to endure a drawn-out period of withdrawal — slowly reducing the use of Cymbalta over several months until it is fully out of the body.

During this period, users still experience substantial antidepressant withdrawal symptoms, which can continue for months after fully stopping the drug.

Cymbalta Withdrawal Lawsuits

The Cymbalta withdrawal lawsuit is seeking compensation for economic and non-economic losses as well as past and future damages for Eli Lilly’s alleged failure to provide proper warnings regarding the true frequency, severity, and duration of Cymbalta withdrawal symptoms.

The Cymbalta Withdrawal Lawsuit is Case No. 1:15-cv-01483-JMS-DKL, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California, Sacramento Division.